25/26 Blue Ridge School Teachers Guide

A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL

2025-2026 EDITION

MISSION STATEMENT

Blue Ridge School’s faculty specifically focuses on helping boys reach their potential through personalized, structured, innovative learning practices in a college preparatory, all-boarding community.

TEACHING AT BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL IS AN ART

AND A SCIENCE.

A Teacher’s Guide to Blue Ridge School aims to explain our School’s philosophy and approach to effective teaching and learning while also providing context, helpful advice, and some things to keep in mind while performing the challenging, but eminently rewarding job of being a faculty member at Blue Ridge School. Being a faculty member here at Blue Ridge is a multi-faceted role. It extends beyond the classroom and into the daily lives of the students.

This guide is for you. It is part policy manual, as all major academic policies are explained, but with some added context and background. We hope this guide will be helpful to you as you transition to this community!

Sincerely, THE ACADEMIC TEAM

Amber Wilkins

Assistant Head of School for Instructional Programs

Jack Warren Dean of Academics

Courtney Gardner Registrar/Academic Associate

A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL 2025-2026 EDITION

BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL

IN 1910 THE BLUE RIDGE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL OPENED ITS DOORS to students who lived mostly in the immediate vicinity of the campus. In the early twentieth century the area around the school was remote, and its residents were isolated from the rapidly changing world around them. Poor roads and little public support for state funded schools made regular school attendance almost impossible for most of the children in the area. In Greene County 35% of males of voting age were illiterate, and only 53% of school aged children were actually enrolled in school. When the Blue Ridge Industrial School opened, it was the crown jewel of an extensive network of Episcopal missions throughout several counties on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Establishing these missions, which provided health care, education, and other basic social services to these remote communities, was the life’s work of Frederick Neve, an Episcopal Priest who arrived in Albemarle County from England in 1888.

To lead the new school, Neve hired George Pickett Mayo, an Episcopal Priest who was instrmental in developing the school’s vocational curriculum and its original mission, which he explained in 1910 as: “To give boys and girls of limited means the opportunity to become practical and efficient men and women. Boys will be taught agriculture, fruit growing, stock and poultry raising. Girls will be taught cooking, sewing, and general housework. Our effort will be to fit both boys and girls for the ordinary duties of everyday life.” The school was successful in its first decade, and by 1920 boasted 100 students and 12 teachers. By the late 1930s, however, the original mission of the school was becoming increasingly obsolete. Better roads, coupled with improvements to the public education system, and the fact that many families who had once lived around the school were displaced by the construction of the Shenandoah National Park, necessitated that the school change its program.

During the 1940s and 1950s the school transitioned into a new phase, and its student body was composed mainly of boarding students from Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic who had been orphaned, or removed from the custody of their parents, and had no place to live. School Superintendent Dewey Loving, a graduate of the school, was in regular correspondence with social service departments across the mid-Atlantic who sought a stable placement for one or more of their children. More often than not, they could only pay a fraction of the tuition. In 1947 “Industrial” was removed from the School’s name and the institution became simply Blue Ridge School. By the late 1950s it was no longer financially viable for the Episcopal Church to operate the school, and it closed in 1961.

A reconfigured board of trustees led by Rev. Dudley Boogher of Charlottesville, set about deciding the School’s future and weighed three options: shut the school down entirely and sell the property, become a junior college, or become a new kind

of boarding school for boys. They settled on the third option citing increasing reports from those in their networks that the older, traditional boardingschools were focused on becoming more and more academically intensive, and were chasing after a shrinking group of only the very brightest students. Parents who wanted a college prep boarding experience for their sons but with a “standard” academic experience didn’t have many options.

The “New” Blue Ridge School opened on September 14, 1962 with 6 teachers and 66 students in grades 8–10: 43 came from Virginia, 22 were from other southern and mid-Atlantic states, and one was from the Panama Canal Zone. The first annual operating budget totaled $124,760. After a rocky first year, the new school quickly found its footing under the leadership of Headmaster Hatcher Williams who was a prolific fundraiser and tireless champion of the unique mission of the school: a place where the faculty and programs focused on the “average” boy and helped him to unlock his talents and potential. By the end of his tenure Williams had grown enrollment to nearly 200 and the endowment to over $1 million.

In its more recent history the School has established several marquee, mission aligned programs that continue to distinguish us from our peers and complement our academic program. In 1993, The Fishburne Learning Center opened with the mission of supporting boys with mild to moderate learning differences to give them the support and accommodations needed to be just as successful as any other student in a college prep setting. To take advantage of the miraculous campus and increase opportunities for learning and recreation outdoors, the Outdoor Program was formally launched in 1998 and continues to grow.

mountain biking trails attract regional and national attention to the School as do championship caliber athletic pro-grams, particularly basketball, football, and lacrosse. Most recently the School launched a character education program, a highlight of which are grade level Rites of Passage Expeditions (ROPES) each spring.

Perhaps the greatest change at Blue Ridge School has been the growing diversity of its student body. While never explicitly a “whites only” school, it is impossible to understand the founding of a new prep school in the south in 1962 outside of the context of the ongoing school integration battles of the era. Blue Ridge School hired its first Black teacher in 1970 and the first Black graduate was a member of the class of 1975. Today, approximately a quarter of the student body are students of color and over the last twenty years, the number of inter-national students has grown to average around one third of the student body and we are proud to enroll students from well over a dozen coun tries. In 2021, the Board of Trustees adopted a statement of Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion, to guide the School in the years ahead.

While the School has witnessed enor-mous changes throughout its history, what has always remained constant is a fidelity to its mission, and the success that its programs have had in transform-ing the lives of many young people for the better. What has made this possible throughout each stage of Blue Ridge School’s history have been dedicated and passionate members of the faculty and staff. ◆

OUR CURRICULAR PHILOSOPHY

BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL OFFERS AN ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE unmatched by any school. At the heart of our curriculum is our mission to prepare young men to thrive in college and in life. Students are challenged by a rigorous, but supportive and engaging college preparatory curriculum delivered by a passionate team of educators who know what their students need to be successful, and who embrace the philosophy of relational teaching and learning. To best facilitate these relationships, individualize our instruction, and give each boy opportunities to succeed, no class has more than 15 students, and our average class size is 11. Every Blue Ridge Boy is known by each of his teachers but also by advisors, hall parents, and coaches, who play to his strengths and develop his growth areas.

While college readiness is a top priority, it is not the only thing we want for our graduates. Above all else we want them to grow into men of charac-ter who have developed the skills necessary for success in the 21st century. We want our curriculum and programs to produce young men who are confident in their scholastic abilities and who will use them to lead lives of purpose. We do not want graduates who spent high school simply memorizing and repeating a lot of stuff with earning high grades and SAT scores as the ultimate objective. Instead, our curriculum undergoes regular revision and evaluation so that it can be effective in achieving six important aims beyond just college readiness. After graduating from Blue Ridge our students will be:

• Critical thinkers,

• Effective communicators,

• Artistically literate and appreciative of the visual and performing arts,

• Stewards of the natural environment,

• Aware of the diverse cultures, societies, and religions around the globe

• Empowered to live independent and healthy lives.

A key question for any school to answer about its curriculum is, “What makes it rigorous?” For far too many schools rigor is defined simply by the volume of work that students are expected to complete. Blue Ridge School strives to measure the rigor and efficacy of all of our curricular programs by asking whether they challenge the young men in our care to meet high, but achievable expectations. In developing our curriculum accordingly we build self-esteem through repeated successes in the classroom, on the playing fields, and in the arts. The result is that our students begin to realize their true potential and to discover their passions.

As an all boys school, the Blue Ridge campus is a space in which some of the negative but pervasive versions of masculinity that have resulted in a behavioral health crisis among boys in America today can be forcefully challenged, and in their place students can develop positive, healthy versions of manhood and adulthood that are centered on our School’s Code of Conduct. ◆

WHO IS THE BLUE RIDGE BOY TODAY?

OVER THE LAST DECADE, seemingly the toughest question on campus to answer has been: “Who is ‘The Blue Ridge Boy?’” It is a question we discuss internally, and it is one that multiple VAIS accreditation teams and outside marketing professionals have asked us to answer. It’s not an easy question to answer, although certainly not for lack of trying. Why it is so difficult to pin down a quick, easy answer is the fact that the profiles and backgrounds of the boys with whom we work, and who have been successful here, are wide and diverse. Historically there has been an understanding that Blue Ridge School serves students of “average” academic ability. This has always been, and continues to be true. However, ideas about what “average” is, and the connotations that come along with that word, as well as how intelligence is defined and measured, are always changing, and have changed significantly since the school opened. “Average” today does not mean to teachers, parents, and students what it meant in 1962 and it is perhaps no longer the most accurate word to describe our student body. No one who works with our boys would say “they’re just average.” Each one is remarkable in some way. BRS has also been a fantastic school for students who are “below average” academically and for students who far exceed “above average” and have gone on to some of the most elite universities in the country. What they all have in common is that each of these boys benefited from our program, often different aspects of it, and all in different ways, but some combination of the things we do here helped each boy tap into his potential and become a better version of himself. A “Mission Appropriate Blue Ridge Boy,” therefore, is any student who will benefit from our carefully constructed programs in academics, residential life, athletics, the arts, and other co-curricular programs, and who because of those experiences will be set up for academic and social success in college and in life. ◆

“Boyslearnbestfrom peoplewithwhom theyhaveapersonal relationship,peoplewho undeniablywantthemto succeed.”

— Mr. William “Trip” Darrin, Head of School

EFFECTIVE TEACHING AT BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL

WHILE BRS TEACHERS ARE FROM many backgrounds, and there are many different approaches that have been tremendously successful at Blue Ridge School, there are six consistent themes that emerge when thinking about the most impactful Blue Ridge School teachers:

• Relational Learning

• Student Engagement

• Authentic Curriculum & Instruction

• Differentiation & Accessibility

• Clear Communication & Organization

• Growth Mindset

RELATIONAL LEARNING

Perhaps the most powerful data to emerge from the numerous studies of boys education over the last twenty years is this: that boys will learn from teachers who they know care about them and who are invested in their success. They are much less likely to learn when they feel a teacher dislikes them, doesn’t know them, or misunderstands them. Relationships are not just a nice byproduct of teaching, they are the vehicle through which effective instruction is delivered. According to Dr. Michael Reichert, an expert in this field, “Boys experience their teachers before they experience the lessons they teach.” In the largest study about relational teaching in boys’ schools to date, Dr. Reichert concluded that:

“The boys we studied described no single type of ‘effective’ teacher. Some shared stories of being uplifted by their teacher’s humor, passion, and care; others related their positive responses to highly structured, demanding, ‘no nonsense’ teachers …. In sum, the boys in our Teaching Boys study indicated their willingness to engage in classroom work, to suspend prior resistance- to try- for teachers to whom they were able to relate.”

It is the responsibility of the teacher to continuously “take the pulse” of, and manage, each relationship with each student; it is the teacher who has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of the relationship, even when the student is “at fault.” There are many strategies for cultivating strong relationships and for repairing relationships when there has been a breach. For a detailed, excellent look at relational teaching and learning in boys schools, it is highly recommended that BRS faculty read: I Can Learn From You: Boys as Relational Learners by Michael Reichert and Richard Hawley (2014).

AUTHENTIC CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

The most effective Blue Ridge School teachers understand that strong relationships and support should be balanced with authentic curriculum and instruction. One of the great strengths of Blue Ridge School’s faculty and curriculum is its ability to spark a newfound interest among many of our students in the subjects we teach. Students, everywhere, but especially at BRS genuinely want to know the reason behind the school work they are asked to complete: “Why are we learning geometry? Why are we learning about the 18th century? Why

would anyone read Shakespeare? etc. Blue Ridge School teachers realize that every year a decent number of their students will show up to class without a pre-existing love for the discipline being taught. It is therefore incumbent on the teacher to demonstrate why the subject is important, worth caring about, and worth putting effort into. To best serve our students, we dedicate time to developing authentic assignments and assessments. One effective instructional method we employ is ProjectBased Learning. Its focus on student-driven inquiry and the creation of an original public product gives students a sense of ownership over their work. When students create high quality, authentic public products, the effectiveness of the teacher’s instruction and curriculum becomes obvious. By concentrating on authentic and challenging problems or questions, PBL has been a highly successful strategy teachers have used to facilitate more engaging, authentic, and student-driven assignments.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Student engagement is perhaps the best measure of our instructional effectiveness. It can be observed in various ways, such as frequent student participation, curious questions, and sustained focus on an assignment. Many methods can cultivate high levels of student engagement, and these are closely tied to other aspects of being an excellent teacher at BRS, including strong relationships and authenticity! Connecting learning to the real world, the present day, and students’ lived experiences will significantly boost their interest and engagement in our classes. When students perceive the value in a subject and sense their teacher’s passion for it, they will readily invest their time and effort. This investment becomes evident through their genuine participation, curiosity, and sustained focus, even when these are not directly graded on these factors. When students are engaged, they can be full participants in our curriculum and achieve the learning goals we set out for them.

DIFFERENTIATION & ACCESSIBILITY

Great accomplishments at Blue Ridge School, whether in the classroom, on the playing fields, on the stage, etc. are often the result of high expectations. It is important to set the bar high for our students, athletes, performers, musicians, and student leaders, but simply setting high expectations is easy, and too many schools and teachers pat themselves on the back simply for doing that. What sets Blue Ridge teachers apart and

makes them so impactful is that they set high expectations as a first step, but then think deeply about how to scaffold, structure, and support each student so he can meet those expectations and feel confident, rather than fail to meet them and feel demoralized. Great teachers at BRS understand how to address diverse student learners. They use differentiated instruction and support to ensure students meet their lofty goals, designing assignments and assessments to be accessible without modifications or lowering expectations. Teachers should also be aware of students’ learning differences and accommodations to further differentiate instruction and make these high expectations accessible for everyone. While not always evident, BRS students generally want to be challenged and engaged. While they may like the “easy” teacher at the moment, they don’t respect and won’t remember that teacher long term.

GROWTH MINDSET

Setting aside time to reflect on what has worked well in the classroom and what could be improved upon is a hallmark of great teachers. For some, this reflection happens formally through journaling, or in meetings with colleagues, for others it’s informal and might happen while driving or going for a jog. The International Boys’ School Coalition conducted a study and released a report about Mastery Teaching in Boys Schools and found that one of the most common themes among those identified as master teachers was that not one of them felt like or believed that he or she was a master teacher. Instead, each of these teachers displayed a commitment to continual evaluation and revision of his or her work and was continually asking the question “How could I make this lesson/assessment/interaction etc. … even better? What works really well in my practice and what would I like to improve?” Actively seeking feedback, pursuing professional learning, and sharing findings with others are hallmarks of excellent teaching and continuous professional growth. This cycle of constant revision and reflection is an important element of growth for any teacher. ◆

GRADING AND ASSESSMENT

OVERVIEW AND GRADING SCALE

Assessing student work and assigning letter grades to it is one of the more challenging aspects of teaching anywhere. Assessment is how you collect and then measure evidence of learning and achievement; it is part science and part art. There’s no perfect formula that works for every teacher in every class. No matter how hard we try, there is always a level of subjectivity in the grades we assign our students, and grading can be awkward because, essentially, you have to make judgments about your students. In some ideal world we would just provide extensive feedback that students would internalize, reflect on, and then use to improve, all for the sake of learning. We operate, however, in a world where letter grades matter and they are of great significance to students, college admissions offices, and to parents. Like many schools, Blue Ridge uses the A-F grading scale to evaluate student work in each course:

A 100–90: Superior

B 89–80: Good

C 79–70: Average

D 69–60: Poor

F 59 and Below: Insufficient to earn credit

STRONG ASSESSMENTS AT BLUE RIDGE

The key to assessment is that it should be varied, occur at regular intervals, and it should allow students to demonstrate their level of mastery of the content and skills being taught in the class. Assess what you value. If you value critical thinking and creativity, but your assessments are asking students to restate information that they memorized, it may not be an ideal assessment for your class and for your goals. Our assessments should de-emphasize rote learning and stress learning by doing and by thinking. A crucial part of college preparation is to develop and nurture thinking skills and communications skills, such as listening, reading, writing, and speaking. When students feel a level of own-ership and pride in their work they’re likely to take it more seriously.

TRENDS IN GRADING

Like every school in the United States, the trend at Blue Ridge has been that the average grades in our courses, and our GPAs, are on the rise. The “A” is overwhelmingly the most common grade at Blue Ridge. While this is concerning to some, it should not be viewed as an inherently bad development, and there is no need to suddenly start lowering our grades just for the sake of it. As assessments have changed, particularly with the adoption of some of the ele-ments of project based learning, grading in the

traditional sense is a challenge. For example, if you ask students to use self reflection, or self or peer critique as a means of assess-ment it can be a powerful learning tool, but how do you put a mark of “A, B, C” on something like that? Additionally, with all of the structure and support Blue Ridge School and our faculty provide, it wouldn’t make sense to see large numbers of struggling students and many grades of D and F, like you would at other schools. Increasingly, students and parents are viewing C’s as “bad” grades even though on our scale a C indicates average performance.

What is essential when it comes to grading is that every teacher be able to clearly articulate what the letter grades in his or her class mean. You should be able to clearly answer the question, “What do your grades mean?” to others. Does earning an “A” mean that a student has truly mastered the content and skills taught? Does it mean he has turned in all of his assignments, done test corrections, and attended meeting periods? Or is it somewhere in between?

GRADING PARTICIPATION, EFFORT, OR BEHAVIOR

Teachers have diverse views on what to include in the gradebook. While we agree that skills like participation, effort, behavior, work ethic, and contributions to group projects are valuable and often contribute to student understanding, grading them can be challenging due to concerns about fairness, bias, and validity. While we don’t impose strict rules on what you can include, we recommend using a rubric if you choose to grade these subjective or non-academic areas. This ensures clear communication about a student’s grade. Use quantifiable measures whenever possible, and ensure these grades are balanced so a single “bad day” doesn’t disproportionately harm a student’s overall grade. You should always be able to communicate and justify what your grades mean. It’s also important to remember that for significant behavioral issues, our established discipline system is the appropriate channel for documentation and holding students accountable, more so than the gradebook! For those who prefer not to include behaviorbased grades in the overall calculation, we highly encourage an optional “Engagement” section (0% weight) in the gradebook. This allows you to formally track and report on these areas without impacting academic grades. It’s a valuable tool for communicating with parents about behavior, tracking student growth in non-academic areas, and helping students connect their ungraded behavior to their academic performance.

RE-TAKES

Many teachers at Blue Ridge School use nuanced approaches to retakes, balancing support for learning with concerns about enabling poor preparation. When managed correctly, retakes can be a powerful learning strategy that ensures valid student understanding and encourages re-engagement with challenging material. At Blue Ridge School, we strongly encourage teachers to provide students with opportunities to revisit topics, re-learn, and take a retake, though this isn’t required. If you choose to offer a retake, take these steps to avoid enabling poor preparation habits: Provide a completely new assessment with different questions that validly measure improved understanding. Offer the retake under the same conditions as the original assessment (ex: if the original assessment had no notes, do the same on the re-take). Mandate that students take concrete steps to improve their understanding before the retake, such as completing missing work, performing test corrections, or attending a meeting period for review. When these steps are followed, students often see retakes as a genuine opportunity for learning improvement. The effort required will be significant enough to discourage initial poor preparation and encourage strong preparation the second time around, which can even lead students to better prepare for future assessments.

ZEROES IN THE GRADEBOOK

This topic often elicits strong opinions from every teacher. While it seems logical that an unsubmitted assignment should receive no credit, a zero on a 100-point scale holds disproportionate power, given that most of the scale represents failing. Both a 50% and a 0% indicate a failing grade and that expectations weren’t met. A few early zeroes can be so demoralizing that students might give up on a class, feeling a rebound is mathematically impossible. To best support student growth over a semester, our grading policies should avoid disproportionately weighting early performance, allowing students ample opportunity to learn and improve. Different approaches may suit various grade levels or classrooms, but we must understand the “zero issue” and its implications. We strive to limit zeroes by utilizing tools like required meeting periods or supervised study halls until completion, open communication with advisors and parents, extended support from the Fishburne Learning Center, and the strong relationships and support we offer our students.

For further reading and more context about this conversation, see:

Do No Zero Policies Help or Hurt Students?

https://www.edutopia.org/article/do-no-zero-policies-help-or-hurtstudents (Edutopia)

LATE WORK POLICIES AND GUIDANCE

At Blue Ridge School, we prioritize student learning and accountability. Our late work policy reflects this by offering more flexibility to younger students to prioritize learning while holding older students to higher accountability. As boarding school educators, we should leverage our strong student relationships, use differentiated instruction, and all the support structures the school offers to ensure our students complete assignments. While we expect teachers to promptly update their gradebook for missing assignments, it’s not enough to just enter a “0” and an “M” and move on, regardless of the grade you teach. Teachers should communicate directly with the student, or they could require a student to attend a Meeting Period, or collaborate with the student’s advisor or learning specialist. However, if proactive support isn’t enough, teachers do have some discretion in their late work policies. We require that no teacher implement penalties harsher than those outlined below, though some flexibility is allowed for individual classes.

Ninth Grade and Tenth Grade

• 10% deduction on the first day overdue.

• An additional 10% deduction each subsequent day, down to a 50% floor.

• Students are still expected to complete the work, even if several weeks late, at least until the next summative assessmen

Eleventh and Twelth Grade

• 20% deduction on the first day overdue.

• An additional 10% deduction each subsequent day, down to a 0% floor.

• Although we allow 11th & 12th grade teachers to give a “0”, we still encourage teachers to accept late work for partial credit at their discretion, at least until the next summative assessment, as assignments may retain learning value.

MIDTERMS & END OF SEMESTER EXAMS

At the end of each semester, students sit for an exam in five of their core courses (English, History, Math, Science, and Spanish). These end of semester exams should assess the student’s mastery of all of the content and skills that were taught during the preceding semester. One of the goals with these exams is to prepare our students for the kind of high stakes, cumulative exams that still dominate college level instruction. But like everything we do, we offer support so that our students can find success. Teachers are expected to provide review materials and to be present for review sessions in their classroom the day before their sched-uled exam. There really shouldn’t be “surprise” or “trick” questions on an end of semester exam. The midterm will be administered during a two-week period in the middle of the semester during normal class time. It can take the form of an alternative assessment or a traditional test. Teachers will be instructed on when their midterm should be project-based and when it should be a traditional test. This approach aims to balance the assessment load, preventing students from having five tests or five projects in a single week, while also encouraging teachers to use varied assessment strategies. To emphasize the importance of these assessments and to help students be prepared when they face exams in college it is a require-ment that the midterm and end of semester exams together count for 25% of the student’s semester grade. Because only about half of our students take Spanish, the Spanish exams generally take place on the same day as another exam in order to avoid a day with a large number of students having no exam.

SEMESTER 1

Midterm due date of October 31st

(Progress Reports by November 5th)

Exam Week December 15th - 19th

SEMESTER 2

Midterm due date of February 2oth

(Progress Reports February 26th)

Exam Week (seniors) May 11th - 15th

Exam Week (underclassmen) May 18th - 22nd

SCHOOL YEAR

Exam Week Schedule

Monday Review Day (all six classes) – We will have an abbreviated academic schedule on Monday ending at 12 PM. Conflict Exams and Foreign Language Exams will begin at 1:30 PM.

Tuesday - Friday

9:00 am Exams for English, History, Science, Math

2:00 pm Afternoon Review Sessions 4:00 pm Sports/Afternoon Activities 6:45 pm Evening Review Sessions

Alternative Assessment Midterms Exams at the end of the semester will be a traditional, sit down, exam. We want alternative assessments to take place during the midterms. The best alternate assessments embrace the tenets of Project Based Learning and teachers should strive to create alternate assessments that align as much as possible to “Gold Standard” PBL. In order for students not to feel overloaded with big projects during that midterm week, the following proposed rotation will exist:

English/Science in Semester 1

Math/History in Semester 2

Foreign Language has free reign to do an alternative assessment whenever they please. A grade level meeting will be scheduled in advance to discuss balance for students who might have multiple alternative assessments.

SPRING SEMESTER SENIOR EXAM EXEMPTIONS

If a senior receives an A or a B in a class in semester 1, and has an average of an A or a B in the gradebook on the Friday before spring semester exams, then he is exempt from taking the exam in that class. ◆

COURSE PLANNING & SYLLABI

SCOPE & SEQUENCE DOCUMENTS ARE IMPORTANT for teachers to create and maintain for each of the classes they teach. Scope & Sequence documents should accurately reflect the content and skills taught, methods of assessment used, and the learning goals for the course. Department Chairs are the best resource for helping you to develop and design your courses, and to help you craft a syllabus and should keep a record of every teacher’s scope and sequence. An essential part of scope & sequence documents are tracking the learning goals for your course and aligning your grading practices to those standards. Consider how you will assess and score students understanding based on your learning goals when designing your course.

UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN

Blue Ridge teachers and departments have generally found great success in adopting the foundational principles of the “Understanding By Design” (UbD) framework for course development as they create their course, learning goals, and daily lessons. Essentially, UbD is a three step backwards design process. Teachers must first determine the desired results they want from their students, then they must determine what evidence they will need to collect to determine whether the results have been achieved, and then they must plan learning experiences and instruction that will lead to these learning outcomes. Throughout the course design process, teachers should keep the focus on the “big picture” and on the “enduring understandings.” What should students still know and be able to do years after this course is over? Some guiding questions to consider in course development are:

• What should students hear, read, view, explore, or otherwise encounter?

• What knowledge and skills should participants master?

• What are the big ideas that students should retain?

Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching provides an excellent over-view and resources related to Understanding by Design Framework: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/ guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/

CREATE A “MISSION STATEMENT” FOR YOUR CLASS

A great way to “anchor” your class and make determinations about what to include and what to leave out as you plan learning experiences and instruc-tion is to create a mission statement for your class. A clearly articulated “class mission” provides an excellent lens through which to think about the work and assessments you assign. Mission statements highlight the unique character of our curriculum, and highlight that we value a lot beyond just rote content memorization. A few examples are below:

Geometry

To help each student to improve his curiosity and ability to be an independent and flexible math student.

History 10

To equip students with the essential skills of historical research and analysis, and a firm grasp of the fundamental themes of history so that they can comprehend past eras, events and peoples.

Calculus

For students to gain confidence in their mathematical abilities as they move into more complicated mathematical concepts.

Biology

For students to develop the essential skills of a scientist by learning about, and proposing solutions to, critical biological problems and phenomena that are relevant to their lives and communities. ◆

GRADEBOOKS

EACH TEACHER IS REQUIRED to maintain an accurate and up to date gradebook in our student information system, Blackbaud. Grades should be entered within four days of assessment. Larger assignments, like essays, labs, papers, etc. will be given a little more leeway. Every teacher should structure their gradebook with two distinct sections: one for Process and one for Performance

Process (No Greater Than 40% of the Grade):

• Purpose: Formative Assignments. Support learning and provide feedback

• Examples: Classwork, homework, short essays, written responses to guiding questions, daily quizzes

• Grading: Can be graded for accuracy or completion and should include feedback to support student improvement ahead of assessment

Performance (No Lower Than 60% of the Final Grade):

• Purpose: Summative Assessments. Assess and evaluate learning.

• Examples: Research papers, essays, labs, presentations, projects, written tests/ quizzes

• Grading: Graded for accuracy against content standards

Teachers are responsible for posting a minimum of two assignments per week, with one being a larger “performance” assessment every two-three weeks. By the end of the semester, this means you’ll have at least 30 grades in the gradebook. This framework ensures consistency in answering “What do our grades mean?”, clearly communicating this to all stakeholders. Simultaneously, it allows for autonomy to account for student age, ability, discipline, assignment distribution, and teacher pedagogy. With parents and students having real-time access to gradebooks, it’s essential that these valuable sources of feedback and information are kept clear, current and accurate. ◆

August

2025-2026 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

September

November

December

February

March

May

Open Weekends (students may go home)

Closed Weekends (dates TBD)

DATE EVENT TIME

Aug. 11-13

Aug. 11

New Faculty Orientation

Prefect & Proctor Arrival (no registration)

Aug. 13 Football/ELL Camp/Prefects Registration 1-3pm

Aug. 18-22 All Faculty Inservice

Aug. 22 Soccer/Honor Council/Disciplinary Council Registration 1-3pm

Aug. 29

Sept. 3

New 9th & 10th Grade Orientation Registration 1-3pm

All student registration 11am-3pm

Sept. 4 Opening Day

Sept. 4 Convocation 1:30pm

Oct. 2-3 Board of Trustees Meeting

Oct. 4-5 Fall Alumni/Homecoming Weekend

Oct. 6-9 ROPES Character Education Trips (9th & 10th grade)

Oct. 10-13 Fall Long Weekend

Oct. 24-25 Fall Family Weekend

Nov. 21

Nov. 30

Dec. 14

Thanksgiving Holiday begins at 12:00pm

Thanksgiving Holiday ends at 7:00pm

Candlelight Service 5:00pm

Dec. 15-19 Exams

Dec. 19

Jan. 4

Jan. 30

Christmas Holiday begins at 12:00pm

Christmas Holiday ends at 7:00pm

Mid-Winter Break begins at 12:00pm

Jan. 31 117th Blue & White Bash (New York City)

Feb. 2

Mid-Winter Break ends at 7:00pm

Feb. 27 Spring Break begins at 12:00pm

Mar. 15 Spring Break ends at 7:00pm

Mar. 19-20 Board of Trustees Meeting

Mar. 29-Apr. 2

ROPES Character Education Trips (11th & 12th grade)

Easter Break begins at 12:00 PM

Easter Break ends at 7:00 PM

Apr. 24-25 Spring Family Weekend

May 10 Honors Service 10:30am

May 11-15

May 16

May 16

Exams - Senior Class

Baccalaureate 5:00pm

Baccalaureate Dinner 6:00pm

May 17 Commencement 9:30am

May 18-22

May 22

Exams - Underclassmen

Underclassmen depart 12:00pm

May 26-27 All Faculty Inservice

June 11-12

Board of Trustee Meeting

DAILY/WEEKLY

CLASS SCHEDULE CALENDAR

BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL’S WEEKLY ACADEMIC SCHEDULE follows a six week rotating pattern. The idea here is that you don’t teach your sections at the same time, every day, throughout the year. We know that attention spans and energy levels vary at different points of the day, and if you always had the same students during the last period of the day, they might not accomplish as much in your course as you want them to! Tuesdays and Fridays are shortened days in which students attend three of their courses (either a combination of periods 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5, 6). Tuesdays and Fridays feature longer class periods ideal for labs, projects, or extended hands-on work.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY

Breakfast 7:30 AM 8:10 AM

Assembly/Advising/Chapel 8:15 AM 8:35 AM

Period 1 8:45 AM 9:35 AM

Period 2 9:40 AM 10:30 AM

BREAK 10:30 AM 10:45 AM

Period 3 10:45 AM 11:35 AM

Period 4 11:40 AM 12:30 PM

LUNCH 12:30 PM 1:15 PM

Meeting Period 1:10 PM 1:50 PM

Period 5 1:55 PM 2:45 PM

Period 6 2:50 PM 3:40 PM

Athletics 4:05 PM 5:35 PM

Dinner 6:00 PM 6:45 PM

Study Hall 7:30 PM 9:30 PM

TUESDAY AND FRIDAY

Breakfast 7:30 AM 8:10 AM

Chapel/Assembly 8:15 AM 8:35 AM

Period 1/4 8:45 AM 10:05 AM

Period 2/5 10:10 AM 11:30 AM

Period 3/6 11:35 AM 12:55 PM

LUNCH 12:55 PM 1:45 PM

Meeting Period 1:45 PM 2:30 PM

Athletics 3:00 PM 5:00 PM

Dinner 6:00 PM 6:45 PM

Study Hall 7:30 PM 9:30 PM

*Rotates Week 1 through 6

A MONTH BY MONTH WALK THROUGH OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

AUGUST

Maybe the most exciting time of the year. The energy of returning students seeing their teachers and friends cou-pled with the excitement of new students and teachers is palpable across campus. The football and soccer teams and students in our ELL camp are the first to arrive. The faculty will have some supervisory duties while these students are here, but it is not yet full blown weekday and weekend duty. A weeklong faculty in-service marks the start of the school year for teachers and frenzied planning to get lessons, syl-labi, gradebooks, and classrooms set up ensues.

SEPTEMBER

Classes begin! The first three days of school are like a “test run.” Students will go to all of their classes in the mornings and time will be carved out in the afternoons for orientation activities including sessions for International Students, Honor Council, and other school wide programming. There will be an academic orientation to help students get set up with various aspects of the academic program.

OCTOBER

Competes with May for the title of “busiest month.” Classes are in full swing and so is the fall sports season which sometimes results in students missing classes for away games. This is the first time we write progress reports for students. A major event is the Fall Parents Weekend which is one of several “Command Performances” throughout the year. On Friday morning, family members arrive and have the opportunity to attend classes with their students. On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, parents will schedule 20 minute meetings with teachers. While these sometimes cause anxiety, it’s always unfounded; overwhelmingly par-ents express their deep appreciation and support and often wind up doing most of the talking.

NOVEMBER

November moves quickly as students and faculty start to get excited for upcoming breaks. Seniors start to feel more pressure during this month as many of them start to submit their applications to college. A seated “Thanksgiving Dinner” with advisees in advance of the holiday break and the hustle and bustle of the month is a nice and timely reminder of why we love the school.

DECEMBER

Many people’s favorite month on campus. We are in session

for only a short window between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The “Candlelight Service” on the last Sunday before Christmas Break will put you in the holiday mood. Exams are proctored this month, before heading off for a long, much needed, and well deserved, two week break that kicks off with a faculty/staff Christmas party that never fails to entertain.

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY

Generally felt to be the hardest months of the school year. The weather can be bad, the days are short and sometimes tempers are too. It is a time of year when it’s especially important to be on the lookout for students and advisees who are feeling depressed or homesick and to pay attention to your own well being and self care. While it can be a challenging time of year there are many great campus happenings: The basketball team enters the busiest part of its season and its successes and home games in Massey Gymnasium are a source of excitement for fans (as are JV and squire games). Buzz starts to build around the school’s annual drama production, and we are always amazed by a few breakout stars who showcase talents we didn’t know they had. Spring Break always arrives just in time in late February and the year is 2/3rds complete.

MARCH

Everyone arrives back after a long and relaxing spring break. Spring sports get going in full swing. This is the shortest semester and season. There are fewer class days remaining than you think. You’ll need to be flexible as all kinds of special events and athletic travel are scheduled this time of year. This is the season when we have the most teams competing, and probably the most competitions.

APRIL

Three big events are April highlights. The first is Spring Parents Weekend, which is another command performance. Attendance in the spring is always lower than in the fall, but the conversations that do take place with parents are just as valuable. The annual ROPES trips happen in April, and a long weekend for Easter is a chance to catch your breath before the sprint to the end of the year is scheduled.

MAY

It becomes common to hear teachers and students reciting a countdown of how many days are left. Students are approaching the deadlines for big end of year projects,

often with fun public presentation components. Seniors are clearly ready to be done with school, but also in a reflective mood and feeling a newfound gratitude as it dawns on them that graduation is imminent. End of year events like underclassmen academic awards, honors service, senior dinner and baccalaureate punctuate the last week of the year. A two day end of year in-service and closing staff party ends the academic year. ◆

WHAT IS HEAD’S DAY ?

Generally on two school days throughout the year, Head of School Trip Darrin will make a decision to hold a Head’s Day. Students are usually not aware when it will happen although speculation abounds. The announcement, especially when it catches students and faculty by surprise, brings euphoria and is fun to watch. On a Head’s Day all classes are canceled and students can spend the day relaxing or participating in activities we plan for them.

WHAT IS MEETING PERIOD?

Meeting Period is a core strength of the Blue Ridge School schedule and is highly “mission-aligned.” It provides a dedicated opportunity for teachers to build relationships, individualize instruction, and offer essential support. Many teachers proactively schedule appointments or use signup systems for Meeting Periods. For struggling students, standing weekly appointments are often beneficial. While some teachers might resist requiring meeting periods, hoping

students will intrinsically seek help, it’s crucial to consider student barriers to this. Some may not immediately see the benefit or may have a history or poor relationships with teachers. Requiring a student to attend and then providing appropriate support can help them understand the benefits and build a trusting relationship.

Teachers should primarily be in their classrooms during Meeting Periods. However, we understand that you may not be available every day due to other school commitments like athletic events, or departmental, grade-level, or task force meetings. It’s also perfectly acceptable to use some Meeting Periods for walks, chats with colleagues, extended lunches, or to use it as another prep period. Despite these other uses, remember that the primary purpose of Meeting Period is direct work with our students. A good guideline: if you go a full week without working with a student during this time, it’s time to analyze if you’re using this time effectively!

WHAT IS A COMMAND PERFORMANCE?

A Command Performance in BRS vocabulary is a campus event that all faculty must attend. Only in extreme circumstances can a “Command Performance” be missed. Some of the major ones throughout the year are: Student Registrations, Faculty In-service, Convocation, Fall and Spring Parents Weekend, ROPES Trips, Honors Service and Baccalaureate, and Graduation.

HOW TO THINK ABOUT HOMEWORK

HOMEWORK, AND WORK OUTSIDE OF THE SCHEDULED CLASS PERIODS, is a vital component of the BRS college-preparatory curriculum. While “busy work” should be avoided, teachers are expected to assign homework most nights. It is not appropriate for a teacher to determine that he or she simply does not believe in homework and therefore will not assign any homework at all. Research indicates that homework significantly benefits high school students when it’s short, frequent, reviews taught concepts, is closely monitored, and its purpose is clearly communicated. A common recommendation is 10-20 minutes of homework per night on most nights. Assignments should be shorter for 9th graders and gradually increase for 12th graders. That said, every student is going to complete homework at a different pace, and sometimes you may want students engaged in a more challenging, longer assignment, and sometimes you may not have anything to assign at all! Above all else, your homework strategy should be intentional. Effective homework generally

• Reinforce and strengthen skills and content covered during class

• Provide students an opportunity to apply what they have learned

• Allow students to make a connection between something they have learned and something new

• Help students be prepared to get the most out of an upcoming class.

Homework must be closely monitored and checked to ensure appropriate completion and prevent independent mistakes. Incorporating “checks for understanding” is beneficial, as simply telling students to “review” or “read” without assessing comprehension can lead to misunderstandings. Teachers have the autonomy to differentiate homework as appropriate, determining its gradebook weight and assigning varied tasks based on individual student needs. Remember

that students have a 90-minute study hall each night: help them use this time effectively without overwhelming them! Look to your department chair for any additional homework guidance or policies. ◆

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

The Order of St. George is Blue Ridge School’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS), a national organization founded in 1921 for scholarship, service, leadership, and character. NHS has chapters in all 50 states and around the world, where students are recognized for achievement and community engagement.

The Order of St. George recognizes students who are outstanding citizens, who have achieved exceptional academics, and who have a record of service and leadership. The cumulative Blue Ridge School GPA requirement is a 3.75 or 90% or above in all Blue Ridge School classes. Members must be a junior or senior and have attended Blue Ridge for a minimum of 1 year.

Students who meet the academic requirements are invited to indicate their interest by applying for membership. Once a student’s application is received, they will be contacted to schedule an interview with the council, after which their candidacy will be reviewed in full for membership.

After initiation, members must participate in at least 3 community service projects, 1 of which will be organized and facilitated by the chapter; monthly meets are mandatory and times will be determined during the first meeting of the year; annual chapter dues are $10.00 per member.

THE ROLE OF PROJECT BASED LEARNING (PBL)

PROJECT BASED LEARNING IS AN INSTRUCTIONAL approach that, in addition to covering course content, emphasizes the development of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. Because all of these traits have been identified as aims for our curriculum, a PBL approach to some units makes sense in all Blue Ridge School classrooms regardless of the department or discipline to complement more traditional instructional approaches like lecture and note-taking. We have seen that PBL facilitates the kind of connections to the real world that will engage students and promote ownership of their learning. Training in Project Based Learning is a regular feature of faculty-wide professional development and it is an expectation that Blue Ridge School teachers engage with this instructional approach. Over the last few years Blue Ridge has partnered with PBL Works, a

national organization, to provide professional development and resources, and a thorough look through the resources on their website is highly encouraged by all BRS teachers: www. pblworks.org. The graphic below displays the seven essential elements of high quality PBL units. Incorporating any one of these elements into a lesson or assessment will help improve student engagement regardless of whether it is part of a full scale PBL unit or not. ◆

Courtesy: PBLWorks.org

THE FISHBURNE LEARNING CENTER

THE FISHBURNE LEARNING CENTER (FLC) is a tremendous asset to Blue Ridge School and is one of our signature academic programs. Created in 1993 the FLC works to support students with mild learning differences so they can be successful in a college prep curriculum and be empowered with the skills and habits necessary for academic success here and in college. The Learning Center is staffed by an expert team of five learning specialists who work directly with small groups of FLC students but who also work directly with teachers. Teamwork, communication, and collaboration between FLC teachers and teachers in other departments is a vitally important element of making this program successful.

EDUCATION PLANS AND “STUDENT AT A GLANCE” DOCUMENTS

As an independent school, Blue Ridge is not legally required to follow IEP or 504 plans, however, we do make sure that our students with diagnosed learning differences have a documented set of accommodations to which they are entitled while they are students at Blue Ridge School. For each student enrolled in the FLC, his learning specialist will create an educational plan drawing from the information available from the student’s psychoeducational testing. Parents are required to share this documentation in the enrollment process. The educational plans are all reviewed and approved by the Director of the Fishburne Learning Center and then shared with a student’s teachers so that they have a better understanding of the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and strategies that might be effective. The Education Plan is an important document because it is what allows a student to obtain accommdations on standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. Colleges often require these documents from a student’s high school to verify that he is entitled to the requested accommodations. The Education Plans can sometimes be a bit lengthy, so FLC teachers will also create a “Student At a Glance” document about each one of their students. This document is a teacher-friendly, easy to use and easy to reference document about a student. FLC teachers review and update these each year before distributing them to teachers. ◆

ACCOMMODATIONS

While not an exhaustive list, some of the most common accommodations to which FLC students are entitled are:

• Extended time on assessments, either 50% or 100%. It is important to note that there is no such accommodation as “Unlimited Time.” Students also may not work on a test or exam over multiple days unless there are truly extenuating circumstances and this has been approved by the Director of the Learning Center.

• An exemption from the foreign language graduation requirement if recommended by an educational psychologist in testing.

• Taking tests and/or exams in a small, quiet setting away from distractions, usually in the FLC

• Preferential seating in classrooms

• The ability to type rather than hand write some or all assignments.

CLASSROOM POLICIES

Technology, Attendance, Reporting, Missing Students, Obtaining Class Coverage

TECHNOLOGY IN CLASS

Cell Phones are, in a way, the new smoking: addictive, antisocial, and not permitted in certain places, chief among those places is the BRS classroom. Our School’s policy is that students turn in their phones to their Hall Parents before the school day begins, so they won’t have access to it in the classroom. While this policy does help with student engagement, the underlying issue is a complex, societal challenge faced by every school. In place of their cell phones, students will inevitably try to use laptops in class inappropriately for texting, gaming, or video watching. Therefore, it’s crucial to only allow laptop use when directly relevant to the assignment. Technology can support learning when used properly, so when laptops are permitted, teachers must set clear expectations for appropriate use and actively monitor student usage. Simply allowing a student to remain on their laptop when the assignment doesn’t require it, without checking in, is unacceptable. This is a significant and constant classroom management challenge, but consistently enforcing these policies is crucial. One teacher not enforcing school policies makes the work of his or her colleagues more difficult. Consistent expectations from faculty members make these policies easier to enforce. When enforcement is inconsistent and varies from classroom to classroom, problems ensue.

RECORDING ATTENDANCE

Teachers are required to take daily attendance in each of their classes so that the school can maintain accurate records about student attendance. Teachers use the Student Information System, Blackbaud, to record daily attendance. Forgetting to take attendance happens from time to time, but shouldn’t be a regular occurence. The school registrar will send a reminder out at the end of each academic day to the teachers who forgot. If you get this email, take a moment before going home to record your attendance.

WHAT DO I DO IF A STUDENT IS MISSING FROM CLASS?

When a student does not appear for your class and you were expecting him it is usually for one of the following reasons: He is in the infirmary, he is away for athletics, or he is away from campus. If you are missing a student you do need to find out and confirm where he is. A first step is to look at your email and see if a nurse has sent any notification about boys in the

infirmary. If not, the next step is to call Cat Dickerson, extension 147, then Kat Darnell. You can go ahead and start class before making the call but when there’s a natural moment to pause, call Cat, Courtney or Kat. Sometimes students are just late for one reason or another and it’s best to wait about 10 minutes before reporting the absence. Please do not send an all faculty email asking if anyone has seen a particular student. If you are unable to reach any of these folks, continue to call administrators until you get someone on the line. It is important that you get a live person to understand the student is missing so they can initiate the search for the student and ensure their accountability and safety.

WHAT DO I DO IF I NEED TO MISS ONE OF MY CLASSES?

There will certainly be a time when for expected or unexpected reasons, you will have to miss some or all of a school day. If you have a sudden emergency that demands your immediate attention, you do not need to leave a lesson plan. Take care of the emergency. Notify Amber Wilkins that you need coverage and he or she will arrange it. Your colleagues will cover you and come up with a useful plan for class time in an emergency. If you know in advance that you are going to miss one of your classes, however, it is your responsibility to obtain class coverage from a colleague. Teachers are asked to be judicious in taking time

away from classes. In-person class time with their own teacher is the most valuable resource we have for achieving our school’s mission. If you are going to miss one of your classes you must notify Amber Wilkins - it is not acceptable to miss a class without notifying her.

SOME THOUGHTS ON CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Our small classes, coupled with high expectations, a focus on relationships, and our school culture generally keep disruptive behavior in classrooms to a minimum. Nevertheless, there will be times when students behave inappropriately during class. The key is to handle the situation without escalating it. It’s important to remember that any confrontation between a student and teacher in a classroom has an audience. Subtle signals to the student about disruptive behavior or a brief conversation in the hallway to re-state your expectations are good first steps. For typical classroom management challenges, your Department Chair or the Dean of Academics, Jack Warren, can provide strategies, advice or support. While there are times when it makes sense to dismiss a student from your classroom, this really should be an action of last resort. If it does happen you should notify Dean of Students, Tony Brown so he can take any necessary follow up action. It’s also important to speak with the student one on one about whatever happened and why. There are some behaviors for which there must be zero tolerance in our classrooms, chief among them is bullying or harassment of one student by another whether verbal or physical. Any instance of this must be reported to the Dean of Students. Students who are tired and fall asleep in class will be a challenge you deal with. Like missing assignments, try not to take it personally. Some strategies include asking the student to stand up or to take a walk/get a drink of water, etc. Again, do not escalate the situation and let it get to the point where it derails the class for the other students. Set your expectations for student conduct and behavior in class high. Do your best to maintain a classroom environment that you would be proud of should a colleague, parent, or administrator walk into at any time. ◆

ACADEMIC HONESTY & PLAGIARISM

EARLY IN THE YEAR, STUDENTS SIGN AN HONOR PLEDGE to not to lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate such behavior from others. While our students generally uphold this, instances of suspected unauthorized aid (ex: plagiarism, copying) will occur. Taking steps for prevention is the best deterrent. Requiring students to sign the school’s honor pledge on major assignments like tests and exams is a significant deterrent, and many teachers include it directly on their assessments. Clear communication of expectations also helps deter plagiarism. For support in developing plagiarism expectations and discipline-specific considerations, consult Chrisantha Hermanson (Director of Library & Digital Literacy), Jack Warren (Dean of Academics), or your Department Chair. ▲

ADDRESSING SUSPECTED ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

When academic dishonesty is suspected, always begin with a direct conversation with the student. For a first offense or genuine confusion, an educational approach is best. Some students may be encountering an Honor Pledge like this for the first time, and may not understand it’s significance. Others may have misunderstood what constitutes plagiarism. Additionally, many of our students are international with different cultural conceptions of plagiarism. Teachers should allow students to correct and resubmit the work in this case as a “warning.”

That said, documentation is still important. All plagiarism cases, even those handled with an educational approach, must be documented by informing the Dean of Students, Tony Brown to assess if it should be recorded as an Honor Violation. Hans Hermanson, the Assistant Head of School, can help teachers establish an educational plan to deter continued behavior. This documentation serves two key purposes: it tracks first offenses to prevent habitual dishonesty across classes, and it ensures due process for the student before it’s officially documented as an Honor offense. In cases where Honor violations are documented and addressed through a meeting with their teacher and Hans Hermanson, teachers have some discretion to apply grade penalties. However, these penalties should not exceed 10% for 9th and 10th graders, and not exceed 20% for 11th and 12th graders, as the priority in these cases remains education and learning, not solely punishment.

SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES AND SERIOUS VIOLATIONS

If a student plagiarizes again after receiving education and documentation, or if the offense is more blatant or significant (ex: using a phone on an exam), you must involve the Dean of Students, Tony Brown. After your conversation with the student, Tony Brown will determine whether to refer the matter to the Honor Council. If referred, the Honor Council will take jurisdiction, assess the academic dishonesty, and, if confirmed, assign a consequence. If the academic dishonesty is confirmed by the Honor Council, your grade penalty can be more consequential than before, though it should still align with the student’s grade level. For 9th and 10th graders, teachers should still require the student to re-do the assignment (or a similar version) for at least a 50% grade, on the teacher’s

timeline. Teachers of 11th and 12th graders are encouraged to follow this model to ensure students still gain educational value from the assignment, but they also have the discretion to simply apply a zero at this point. Your Department Chair may offer further guidance on discipline-specific nuances for grading plagiarism. In all cases, for any grade level, teacher policies regarding academic integrity should be documented on course syllabi provided to students.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In the past few years, the use of Language Learning Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini is on the rise, creating a significant challenge in accurately assessing a student’s academic integrity. Blue Ridge School is continuously evaluating the educational benefits of AI in the classroom, as well as the risks. For the complete policy, recommended practices, and resources regarding AI, please refer to our AI Policy. ◆

GOOGLE CLASSROOM

GOOGLE CLASSROOM IS THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS) for Blue Ridge School teachers. For the sake of consistency, BRS teachers may only use Google Classroom as their LMS. At this time, platforms like Canvas, Moodle, or Blackbaud’s LMS system should not be used. At a minimum teachers should have a Google Classroom page on which they post announcements and class resources like the course syllabus or required readings. Google Classroom is a powerful LMS when used to its full potential. The workflow of assigning, reviewing, grading, and returning assignments can all take place within Google Classroom eliminating the need for printing and allowing students to easily submit assignments to you. It also makes it easy to keep track of which students have submitted assignments. If you teach new students, especially in ninth grade, don’t take it for granted that they all know how to use Google Classroom perfectly. It would be beneficial to confirm that your students know how to use the platform and all of the features you want them to before assigning work through it. Google Classroom has a feature that allows parents to receive a summary of the announcements and the posts from their child’s teachers’ Google Classroom pages. We encourage you to extend invitations to your students’ parents. While some teachers find it useful to use the Google Classroom gradebook, all official grades must be entered and stored in Blackbaud. Blackbaud is the gradebook of record. ◆

ACADEMIC HONORS

High Honors, Honors and National Honor Society

REWARDING STUDENTS for outstanding academic work is an important means to fostering growth. At the end of each semester, students who exhibit outstanding academic achievement are recognized by being named to either High Honors or the Honors . To be named to the High Honors List, students must have no grade lower than 90% and a GPA at or above 3.7. To be named to the Honors List, students must have no grade lower than 83% and a GPA at or above 3.0.

The St. George Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) recognizes students for scholarship, service, leadership and character. Members of The Order of St. George are outstanding students. The grade point requirement for membership is 3.75 with no grade below 90%. Members of The Order of St. George are also outstanding citizens. Disciplinary records will be reviewed as part of the nomination process. Members of The Order of St. George have an established history of service and leadership by the time they are admitted to The Order. In accordance with the residency requirement of the Constitution of the National Honor Society, students must have attended Blue Ridge School for one year before qualifying for nomination to membership in The Order.

HELPING STRUGGLING STUDENTS

YOU WILL INEVITABLY NOTICE THAT ONE OR MORE OF YOUR STUDENTS has become disengaged, or checked out, or is perhaps noticeably more irritable than usual. This can be a confounding challenge. The most important thing to keep in mind is that communication is paramount and that there are many resources and people on campus to help you help this student. This should not be solitary work. Here are some things to consider:

What seems to be at the root of the issue? We have had many examples of students who are incredibly bright but who are disorganized, or procrastinate, or don’t feel motivated to put effort into their coursework. When motivation is the issue, the connection and relationship you build with the student can be a powerful tool. Genuine, ongoing, one on one conversations with students about why their coursework matters have been responsible for lots of positive growth here.

On the other hand, we have all worked with students who want to succeed but who are genuinely struggling to master material and may be in need of extra help or some remedial instruction. Regular, scheduled use of meeting periods, and evening study halls for extra help will be vital. If a student has a diagnosed learning difference, our four learning specialists are excellent resources to consult.

Something we know for sure is that emotional and physical safety and stability is a precondition for learning. Students who are anxious, depressed, fatigued, hungry, etc. … are just not in a good position to learn. In any situation where you suspect a mental health concern it is wise to communicate your observations directly with our School Counselor, Cameron MacDonald. Often at the root of disengagement can be a difficult personal matter, or family sit-uation at home. Tony Brown, Dean of Students, is another great resource to help you think through any scenario in which you are struggling to connect with a student, motivate him, or help him be successful in your class. ◆

COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS

Writing Comments for Progress Reports and Report Cards

IT IS A REQUIREMENT THAT PARENTS BE KEPT WELL INFORMED of their son’s progress. Once provided with good information, parents can serve a critical support role in the academic growth of their child. Blue Ridge teachers write four formal sets of comments each academic year. At the midpoint of each semester teachers submit progress reports, and at the conclusion of a semester they submit end of semester grades and comments. What follows is an excellent guide on comment writing that was created and shared by the Independent Curriculum Group, and is reproduced here with permission. Adhere to the following recommendations when writing comments:

WHAT PARENTS/GUARDIANS WANT TO KNOW

• Do you really know my child?

• Is my child doing the work?

• Is my child behaving properly?

• What is my child doing well?

• What can my child do to improve?

• Parents want to hear more about their child than about your class Limit any description of course content to one or two sentences.

THINK

• PERFORMANCE (how the student has done)

• PROCESS (how well the student has mastered the skills of doing), and

• PROGRESS (how the student’s mastery has changed over time relative to expectations)

GENERAL GUIDELINES

FOR WRITING COMMENTS:

Stay away from words that imply something about a child’s emotional state or innate ability: average, brilliant, neurotic. But don’t be afraid to say that you have seen evidence of anxiety, tiredness, or distractedness (but make sure you’ve read anything that may be in the student’s file, which may refer to these).

If you are reporting catastrophe, it had better not come as a surprise in your comment: “Bob seems to have skipped a number of classes” or “Bob has done almost none of the assigned work this term” or “I am concerned that Bob seems to have lost a great deal of weight since the year began.” Messages like these should have been conveyed a long time ago. Then you can say it again, but start with, “As we discussed on the telephone recently….” Then say something specific about how you are addressing the dire situation. Avoid an enumeration of test and quiz grades. If you must do this, try to make some generalizations about the kinds of material being tested and what the scores reveal; don’t just write a laundry list.

Sometimes one finds oneself with a theme for a set of comments: how the students listen to one another, performance on a particular kind of work that

GOOD COMMENT WORDS & PHRASES

• consistent (but give it a context: consistently late, consistent effort, consistent level of achievement; never just a consistent student)

• Reticent (but not reticent to speak; reticent implies that already)

• Demonstrate (as in “his term paper demonstrated his mastery of …”)

• Competence and confidence (a wonderful pair, but go easy with them)

• Fine (but beware: although this word means “very good”—as a stamp or coin—to some people, it can mean

• “just adequate” to someone else; use it cautiously or perhaps not at all)

• Diligent

• Hard-working

• Thoughtful (but be aware of the difference between thoughtful as

• “considerate” and thoughtful as

• “inclined to be reflective” or “de monstrating thought”)

• Engaged

• Active participant in discussion

• Active listener

• As shown by (that is, give evidence where you can or must)

• Haphazard

• Shoddy

• Reluctant

• Tentative

• Passionate

• Mastery

• Eager

• Challenging (about material or particular kinds of work)

• Intellectually curious

• Creative

• Anxious to please, eager to please

• (but note the difference between anxious—worried—and eager)

• (More) attentive (to directions)

• Difficulties with conceptual material, abstract material, concrete material

• Collaborator or partner or team member (especially when group work is an important aspect of the course)

seems especially revealing, whether students have begun to find their individual voices, or how they have demonstrated some aspect of intellectual curiosity, growth, or maturity. Some of the best comments reveal very clearly the classroom culture of the teacher. Mentions of active listening and specific kinds of contributions to class discussion reveal a room rich in discussion. References to students’ performance as partners demonstrate that collaborative/cooperative learning is going on. Comments can reflect what matters to you about the learning that goes on in your classroom, and how each student is doing with regard to this special value. It’s okay to have values.

Don’t sell yourself out: “Bob is often a leader when the class becomes disrup-tive.” Don’t advertise class problems to parents, as this reflects badly on you.

Don’t compare students: “Bob is one of the few truly able students in this class.” But praise is good: “Bob brings a sparkling intellect to our discussions each day.”

Do express surprise (positive or negative) or delight, but don’t make it sound as though you had held low expectations: “Bob surprised me with an exam-ination that revealed effective review,” but not “Bob did much better than I might have expected” UNLESS you continue on “considering the haphazard way she had prepared for several earlier quizzes.”

The rule of thumb should be that what you write about the student should never be shorter than what you write about the course.

Don’t predict, unless you qualify: “Based on the progress he has made thus far, I would expect that Bob will finish this course on a very positive note.” NOT, “I know that Bob will finish in the A range this year.” ▲◆

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Growth oriented teachers are a hallmark of a great school. Engagement with regular and meaningful professional development is an expectation for each BRS teacher. One of the many benefits of working at BRS is a substantial professional development budget. Professional learning does not need to be a massive undertaking; taking a course online, or reading a book and discussing it with colleagues can be just as impactful as presenting at a global conference. Requests for professional development that require school funds should be submitted to the Dean of Academics who works with the Assistant Head of School to allocate professional development funds. Professional development requests that directly improve student experience in a class or program will be prioritized, relative to cost. ◆

ACHIEVING WORK LIFE BALANCE

This work is demanding, and it can be emotionally and physically draining. There are times of the year when you are teaching, coaching, advising, and doing duty, while also trying to balance family, friends, and a personal life too. There are tremendous highs that come with the job, and there are lows. You might feel both emotions over the course of the same day, or even in the same class period. You might feel prolonged versions of either for quite some time. While this is normal, it is important to set boundaries and not take the weight of the world on your shoulders. Your students, colleagues, supervisors, advisees, players, musicians, prefects/proctors, actors, and their parents will come to you with problems and you will do everything in your power to help them, that’s part of why you got into teaching! But sometimes you can’t solve every problem and that can be frustrating or demoralizing. We are not our students’ (or their parents’) friends, however close, positive, and cordial our relations with some of them may be. In the end it is our duty to act in the interest of the student but always in our capacity as teachers. If any situation involving a student makes you feel uncomfortable or is just too much for you alone to handle, take these concerns to a member of the School’s administration, or at least discuss them with an experienced colleague who can offer guidance and advice. It is important to cultivate parts of your life and hobbies that are not directly linked to Blue Ridge School. It’s important to schedule some time away from campus and to set aside some time for yourself. It’s important to be intentional about using the long breaks to relax and recover. You can’t be at your best for your students and colleagues if you’re exhausted, stressed, or frustrated. While these emotions certainly come up for every fac-ulty member throughout the course of a school year—they don’t have to be normal, and if you feel too much of any one of these it’s important to reach out to your support network of colleagues and administrators.▲◆

SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS

For Every Blue Ridge School Teacher

• Do I know each one of my students, and what am I doing to foster strong, positive relationships that will result in learning?

• Is my class rigorous? How do I define rigor in my classroom?

• How does what I do in my classroom fit into larger conversations about my discipline and in my field? Am I embracing some current trends, and if so why? Am I cautious about current trends in my field, and if so why?

• What would be the most useful professional development I could accomplish this year or next year?

• What data do I rely on to make decisions about what to teach and how to teach it?

• Am I able to achieve the kind of work/life balance that I need to be most effective? Am I practicing self-care? What obstacles are getting in the way of creating or maintaining balance?

BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL CODE OF CONDUCT

THE GOLDEN RULE

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

INTEGRITY

I will be honest in all my interactions with others. I will not lie, cheat or steal, nor will I tolerate these actions by others.

RESPECT

I will respect myself and others. I will respect others’ property and privacy. I will play by both the letter and spirit of the rules. My words and actions will show respect for those in leadership positions, as well as my peers.

RESPONSIBILITY

I will take responsibility for my actions, rather than make excuses or blame others. When I fall short, I will learn from my mistakes and try again.

MORAL COURAGE

I will stand up for my beliefs. I will do what I know to be right, regardless of the consequences or what others do or think.

WORK ETHIC

I know that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without sacrifice. I will not fear failure but will embrace challenges and persevere through adversity to achieve my dreams. I will never quit or give up.

LIFESTYLE

I will work to develop healthy habits of mind, body and spirit. I will not use illegal drugs or other harmful substances.

BROTHER’S KEEPER

At Blue Ridge School and beyond, I will help others even when it requires personal sacrifice.

DEIJ STATEMENT

Blue Ridge School is an all-boys boarding school where students thrive in an intentionally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students. Employees and students alike benefit from the experience of learning, living, teaching and working alongside others from a multitude of backgrounds. While remaining an all-boys boarding school, diversity at Blue Ridge School encompasses an array of ethnicities and races, family structures, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, ages, sexual orientation, abilities, countries of origin, native languages, traditions, religions, learning styles and differences and their intersections.

To be an inclusive community means that we respect and embrace each person’s values and understand the impact of these values.

We recognize that simply existing in a diverse community will not automatically result in the inclusive culture we seek to create.

Cultural engagement allows students and faculty to consider different perspectives and enriches both the teaching and learning experience. Cultural engagement also drives innovation and fosters creativity. Therefore, we purposefully promote inclusion across all of our programs and nurture a supportive, encouraging, and affirming environment that celebrates individuality. We seek to help our students become capable and engaged citizens.

We are committed to diversity as an immersive experience and encourage challenging conversations that promote growth and learning and that help us achieve our goal of graduating culturally competent students who will be equipped to act as leaders in advancing equity and justice.

Ultimately, we endeavor to impart the fundamental truth that every person is valuable and worthy of respect.