Oak Lane In Its Final Year

The Board of Trustees recently made the decision to close the school at the end of June 2010. The past several years of declining enrollment and the current economic climate forced the school to sell the land on which it stands in the spring of 2009. In the months that followed, Board members, faculty and staff worked diligently to secure a new location and explore the possibility of Oak Lane continuing elsewhere. When it became clear that this was not financially feasible, the Board determined that it was in the best interest of the school to cease operations.

Founded in 1916 in Cheltenham Township, Oak Lane Country Day School, as it was then known, was rooted in progressive education and became one of six schools in the country used by the U.S. State Department as a model school for visiting dignitaries. Until 1960, Oak Lane was connected with Temple University as a lab and demonstration school. After that connection ended, the school ultimately moved to its current location in Whitpain Township.

The hallmark of an Oak Lane education has always been a focus on the preservation of childhood and an emphasis on “learning how to learn.” Graduates of Oak Lane leave the school as strong independent learners who have gone on to excel in the fields of arts and entertainment, sciences, entrepreneurship, literature and writing, athletics, social concerns and other endeavors.

While it has been frequently said that Oak Lane’s existence at the corner of Butler and Stenton Avenues in Blue Bell was a “well-kept secret,” the many families who experienced an Oak Lane education made no secret of their love for the school. The graduation speeches of outgoing students resonate with appreciation for the beautiful campus, the arts program and the many opportunities for performance across all the grades. Sixth graders talk passionately about the benefits of being “sons and daughters” of Oak Lane, of being known and appreciated by all faculty members. Also referenced are beloved traditions like the Woodland Walk, catching frogs, sledding on the meadow, tractor rides, the all-school theme of Winterlude, drama club, community service with “buddy” classes and learning to play recorder. A rich and recurring motif in the speeches is the students’ sense of themselves as valued members of a diverse community, who leave the school knowing that their voices have been heard.

In one sense, every current student at the school will graduate in June 2010. Between now and then, the children will continue to mine the deep vein of an Oak Lane education and experience the community’s respect for childhood. The mood will be celebratory and the broader Oak Lane community, past and present, will be invited to join in the gatherings planned for this year.

Congratulations to the Class of 2009!

An Original Eric Carle On Stage

See us in the Weaver's Way "Shuttle" in the May edition!
Click on the link below and go to page 25 --
http://weaversway.coop/uploads/File/SHUTTLE2009-05b.pdf

The Anita Mednick Legacy Concert: A Testimony to the Talent of Oak Lane Students

ON THIS PAST SUNDAY, APRIL 5TH, the Cutler Gymnasium was filled with the spirit of music, art and the Oak Lane community. Nearly 90 people, including current and former families and faculty, alumni of various generations dating back to the 60's and their families, Board members, and family and friends of the Mednicks', gathered for an afternoon of music and art, in memory of Anita and in honor of Armand.

The sun shone brightly as guests listened to a movement of a Bach Sonata played by Delia Raab-Snyder, Anita and Armand's granddaughter, followed by Hungarian Folksongs played by faculty members Marlis Kraft-Zemel, Janet Easlea, and Rainer Beckmann. Alumni and former students of Anita's, Maya Sabin, David Zaslav, Mariah and Miles Butler, Miriam Zemel, Lisa Spiller, Alain and Julien Schremmer, and Ashley Opalka, all performed with grace and skill nurtured by Anita and Marlis as they grew up in the Oak Lane music program. Anita's daughter, Claudia, got everyone singing with her "Anita" verse to a Mexican song, and current 5th grade student, Claudia Villa, wowed the crowd with her amazing voice singing a Russian song, Ryabinushka, accompanied by her classmate Chandler Kalitsi on recorder. Sixth grader Jessica Vorse took the leap to play in a quartet with her teachers, and Brayden Druger and Drew Jacobson performed one of Mr. Mednick's favorite songs, Chevaliers de la Table Ronde, on the recorder and guitar. What great confidence in such young performers!!

This, the 3rd annual Anita Mednick Legacy Concert, showed again what makes Oak Lane a unique and outstanding place to grow up. In the words of parent Stacey Jacobson, "The Anita Mednick Legacy Concert exceeded my wildest expectations. I am still blown away by what I saw. The talent in that room from Oak Lane students, faculty and alumni, ranging in age from 9-50+, was exceptional. Many students leave Oak Lane learning to think outside the box. This was so evident in the selections chosen. Students were singing songs in many languages and playing music written by French, German, and Russian composers, as well as their own original compositions. The pride on the performers faces, along with the elation I felt as a parent, was one in a million. Thank you Marlis and Oak Lane for a job extremely well done."

A slide show of artwork and quotes from alumni documented the impact Mr. Mednick has had on Oak Lane's art program and students since 1960. Together, he and his late wife Anita have over 75 years of teaching here at Oak Lane. They have inspired many young people in their love of music and art as evidenced by the attendance and performance of former students. Sunday's concert was a wonderful collaboration in their honor.

-- Carina Urbach, Associate Director of Development --

We Know Kids!

EACH WEEKDAY MORNING I PARK MY CAR and walk through part of our beautiful campus to the main building of our school. It always feels good to be here. Why is that? Well, to begin with, our grounds, which change in appearance seasonally, are beautiful, and I am always greeted with a smile and kind or funny remark by Ray. Perhaps I should just allow these gratifying feelings to exist without any further thought, but for some reason I found myself slowly reflecting on 'why' I continually feel this way, day after day, and year after year. The following are some of my thoughts.

The children at Oak Lane Day School are a joy to teach. Their curiosity knows no bounds, which is stimulating, exciting and challenging for those of us fortunate enough to be teaching them. This curious state of being is perhaps one of the most important traits of a good student, as without it, their minds would not grow in directions needed for self fulfillment, success, and contentment. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "At the birth of a child, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity."

Another reason our school shines is because my colleagues, the teachers of your children, reflect the highest qualities of educators. They are full of positive energy, have profound respect for education and children, and continually demand what often seems to be the impossible from themselves. New ideas are embraced while traditions are carried on, and difficulties are analyzed and tackled. They are able to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge in their students, and they understand and believe that there is no limit to their own personal growth as teachers and human beings.

Last and far from least, you, our parents, round out our community. You have placed your most valuable treasure(s) with us, and your faith and support is reflected in all that you do for your children, for the faculty, and for our school.

How fortunate for all of us here at Oak Lane Day School to have found a place where students, teachers, and parents work together with mutual respect to create a place of learning where every one of us, both children and adults, can thrive and shine.

-- Ruth Solomon, Learning Skills --

Spend Summer Days at Oak Lane Day School

Imagine, summer at Oak Lane!

Art, swimming, archery, drama, music, cooking, rocketry, science and nature exploration and many, many other fun activities are waiting for summer to arrive when The Camp at Oak Lane Day School will be in full swing.

If you value the importance of childhood, the arts, friendship and fun, you found the right place!

For parents with children ages 3-12, we invite you to apply. Check out our Summer Camp Program online.

On Being an Oak Lane Parent and Teacher

My first experience of Oak Lane was as a parent, when my son Jhamir entered Allen Garner's class last year as a third grader. For the first time, Jhamir actually loved going to school.

He couldn't wait to get there each morning and was crestfallen every afternoon when we collected him at the extended day program. One typically imagines a child's first year at a new school as a source of parental anxiety, but for us the only negative emotion we might have had in thinking of Jhamir at Oak Lane during the day was envy.

What a pleasure it was to bring him each day to a place that looks more like an inviting park than a school, and to know that the fields and the pond would be part of his classroom, as well as places for tag and hide-and-go-seek. Soon, our living room was transformed into a gallery of monumental sculptures from Mr. Mednick's amazing art classes, and our house filled with songs learned from Marlis. Jhamir brought home math games, told us about the Battle of Germantown, and pointed out the trees and birds in our neighborhood he had learned about with Dottie. Jhamir also began asking thoughtful questions about everything, his curiosity and imagination having been sparked by an approach to teaching that values wonder.

The Oak Lane staff quickly won our complete trust. It was evident that they had taken the time to really understand our son, and because of this, their expectations for him as a student and as a classmate truly fit him. We've actually learned quite a bit about him ourselves from these caring and perceptive teachers.

From my first visits to Oak Lane, when my son was a prospective student, I thought it would be a great place to be a teacher. So I felt very lucky when I joined the Oak Lane staff this year as the kindergarten teacher. With every passing week, my respect grows for the experience, intelligence, commitment, and hard work that goes into creating this remarkable learning environment.

In the pre-primary division, Fairlight and Judy are relentless advocates for young children. At times I am awed by their knowledge of young children and their mastery of every aspect of working with this age group. Everything that takes place in their rooms has such an impressive clarity and coherence of intention.

This coherence and clarity of educational approach is evident in everything taking place at the school. In other parts of the building, I see the teachers in the primary and intermediate divisions discussing curriculum, visiting one another's rooms, planning activities together, and evaluating each other's work. The specials teachers routinely ask me about my curriculum and plan learning experiences to complement and extend what we are doing in the kindergarten classroom. In staff meeting, teachers think as a group about children and about our mission as a school.

I feel very fortunate to work at Oak Lane and that my son attends a school that cares so deeply for its children.

-- Rochelle Krauss, Kindergarten --