The 'Secret Sauce'

Dear Friends:

How do you describe a feeling? It’s a challenge that has inspired the greatest writers, artists, and storytellers of all time, and yet often the feelings we experience are still intangible, still a mystery to define, even to ourselves. 

This recently came to light for me when I was talking to a friend about her son with complex challenges. He is enrolled in a high-performing local school district, yet he is struggling. 

He is not being bullied by his peers there, but neither are they truly connecting with him or embracing his differences. My friend worries that the district’s well-intentioned push to include him in as much general education as possible has caused him to miss out on a lot of learning. She is considering placing him in a learning support class, but she is uncertain. 

She’s not sure what to do next. Something to her feels off. 

“Go visit the classroom,” I told her. She replied that because she is not an education professional, she’s not even sure what to look for. “What will I see that will help me make a decision?” she asked. It took me a moment, and then I realized. 

“It isn’t what you see that matters,” I said. “It’s what you feel.” 

What you feel, your gut instinct, when considering the right learning environment for your child with complex challenges provides critical clues as to whether or not your child will flourish there.  

I see this play out every day at The Quaker School. When a family walks into our doors, they immediately feel what we’re all about. They sense that the teachers love the students and that the children love coming to school. It is not the new Promethean boards, the latest assistive technologies, or even the service animals so much as what people feel when they are here in our building. 

We sometimes call it our “secret sauce.” 

Spring Valley School in Birmingham, Alabama recently sent a contingent of administrators all the way to Horsham to visit TQS and learn about our programs. (As one of the only Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) providers in the country, TQS has been attracting schools from all over to country to learn best practices.)   

While our visitors asked many questions about Step Up to Writing, Wilson Reading, Project-based Learning, and CPS, what intrigued them most was how they could feel that everyone who works here loves the children, and loves their jobs. 

“How do you do it?” my colleagues asked me. “Every person we talk to gets a shine in their eyes when they talk about their students.” 

“That feeling is why I chose to work here five years ago,” I told them. 

As TQS expands into high school, we have been talking a lot about how to maintain that special feeling while developing a leading-edge program for young adults with complex challenges. 

Some steps -- like hiring the original school architect so the new building looks and feels cohesive, and hiring already-beloved faculty member Nicole Schwartz as Upper School Director -- were clearly the best choices. 

The rest will come as we develop the culture of the Upper School -- as the young people in the new grades live into our shared values of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Stewardship, and Equity; as new students are added and more young adults benefit from feeling like they are known, loved, and nurtured. 

Our building may not be constructed yet, and there may not be much to see in our high school, but there sure is a lot you can already feel. 

So as I told my friend (and as I’ll tell you, dear reader), trust that feeling. It can tell you so much more than a fact sheet or a website page. 

If you want to know what it feels like to have confidence in your child’s future, please contact admissions. We’ll be happy to share our secret sauce with you in person. 

Shine on,

Alex