About five years ago, the community of Deerfield, Illinois, came together to anticipate the educational needs of future generations. Alan Shepard Middle School has led the way. First converting the junior high school to the more student-centered middle school model, leaders at Shepard then expanded students’ encore options (as distinct from core—math, ELA, science, and social studies—classes) to include the kinds of sophisticated technologies students were likely to encounter in the workplace.
Principal John Filippi explains the thinking behind these changes and teachers, coaches, and facilitators describe how they work and benefit students.
Read the transcript of High Tech Makes Learning Personal.
Read Alan Shepard Middle School’s NBRS application.
Contact Information
Dr. John Filippi, Principal
440 Grove Place
Deerfield, IL 60015-4219
(847) 948-0620
Website: http://shepard.dps109.org/
Email: jfilippi@dps109.org
Student Demographics 2016
| Number of students K – 5 | 513 |
| Students eligible for subsidized meals | 1% |
| Limited English Proficient students | 1% |
| Students receiving special ed services | 15% |
| White students | 88% |
| African American students | 1% |
| Hispanic or Latino students | 5% |
| Students of 2 or more races | 3% |
| Asian | 3% |
| Average student daily attendance | 97% |
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:45 — 635.5MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | RSS
Excellence Girls Charter School (Brooklyn, New York) was founded, at parents’ urging, as a companion to Excellence Boys Charter School, part of the Uncommon Schools network. Led by Nikki Bowen, Principal of the Elementary Academy, and Meredith Anderson, Principal of the Middle Academy, Excellence Girls is dedicated to preparing young women to be “fierce females”—confident, knowledgeable, and articulate women in a world that has not always made room for women, especially women of color.