The Roeper School

When I first joined the staff at The Roeper Middle and Upper School, I was excited and awed. Never in all my years involved in education, as a student and now a teacher, had I ever seen faculty who were so committed to their student body and staff and so happy with their jobs. These people were actually excited about returning to school. Prior to my first day I knew something was awry when I received two letters from the head of school, Ken S., welcoming me to the "community." The first letter explained that "there was no way to provide [me] with all I'd need to know, but my colleagues would do the best they can." He closed the letter with "it is not only your obligation to figure out how to fit in here, but also our responsibility to make you feel welcome, and to value the new ideas and experiences that you will bring with you to add to what is here and enrich this community." What was going on? Was he saying that we, my boss and I, were 'colleagues?' Where were the W2s and list of rules and regulations? As an arts educator in the public schools I never felt my superior respected what I did, let alone who I was and we certainly weren't peers. The funny thing to me, at the time, was that Ken S. was sincere.

The Roeper School was founded by Annemarie and George Roeper in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan sixty years ago. The Roepers, refugees from the holocaust, were committed to creating "a safe place for children to grow into intelligent sensitive contributors to their world." A private school for gifted and talented students, the community is diverse ethnically, socially, economically, religiously. Students address all faculty by their first names. Issues affecting students, whether it be changes to the building facade or changes in curriculum are discussed in town meetings. Each student selects a homeroom teacher who acts as their personal advocate, working with student and parents to create a schedule best suited to their learning style and closely monitoring their progress through the year. Included on staff are a psychologist and learning disability specialist. The school recognizes that one can be learning disabled or troubled and still be gifted. School sports teams and artistic programs don't cut anyone. If you want to participate, you can play. At the center of it all is validation of the individual. Roeper kids are eloquent, enthusiastic and involved. It's not uncommon for kids to spend twelve hours a day at the school; they're so comfortable that it's home away from home. They're not afraid to challenge you if it results in the betterment of their education. Above all they respect commitment. They're eager to learn why you love your subject and they want to love it too. A teacher, popular with the students told me, "students here don't take classes, they take teachers."

My experience at Roeper taught me to love teaching, to be fearless in my self expression and to respect the inherent value of my students contributions. The school truly lives their philosophy. I also learned to reflect and evaluate and what I discovered was two fold: I love to learn and these kids were soaking up my knowledge so fast I needed to get more. So I resigned to return to school to pursue a masters degree. Their thirst for knowledge spurred my own. From my tenure at Roeper I was able to define my educational philosophy and teaching role. I learned as much from my students as they learned from me, probably more. I am still part of the Roeper community and I hope to rejoin the faculty someday.

One of my favorite Roeper stories is one Ken S. relayed about the school philosophy. He and the principal of another independent school were discussing how to combat school violence in the wake of the Columbine tragedy. The nameless principal listed extensive security measures, evacuation plans and zero tolerance policies. What was Roeper's plan he asked? Ken S. replied, "the philosophy." Principal no-name was confused. But Ken S. was sincere. And the funny things is, it works.

-- Melanie George, American University