Imagine a classroom lined in student artwork and projects that keep children thoroughly and happily engrossed in learning. Perhaps they’re acting out a history lesson, sharing a story or building a science model. These are common scenes at New City School, an independent school educating students from preschool through sixth grade, says Thomas Hoerr, head of school since 1981.
New City celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. It was founded in 1969 to help stabilize the Central West End neighborhood after Barat Hall and City House schools closed. Although it has grown in many ways through the years, its core values of joyful learning and diversity have remained the same, Hoerr says. “We focus on success in life, not just success in school,” he adds. “We make sure kids are prepared academically, but we also work hard to instill character.”
Diversity at New City School is more than a quota game, he says, with students taught to understand and appreciate differences in culture, family, religion and politics. “It’s more than demographics for us,” Hoerr says. “One of the best things we can help children learn is that what really matters is what’s inside. It helps kids look past issues and fosters a more collaborative atmosphere.”
The school’s teaching philosophy is anchored in Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, which capitalizes on students’ individual strengths. The theory holds that there are eight intelligences that need nurturing in children: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal. “It’s the idea that there are a lot of ways to solve problems,” Hoerr explains.
Each class integrates each kind of learning. “We use it as a tool to expand the ways kids learn in the classroom,” says Kate Dorsey, director of marketing and communications. “For example, a math class might use linguistic intelligence to talk through a problem or spatial intelligence to make a model of the problem.”
New City School also is focused on students developing grit, Hoerr says. “We have the responsibility to help students become problem solvers,” he explains. “In too many schools, the focus is on test scores, and teachers become like actors or actresses delivering a script. By using multiple intelligences and by focusing on grit, teachers become artists. It shows they know the kids best; they can use their skills and creativity to help kids succeed.”
Today, New City’s student body comes from nearly 50 zip codes; almost one-third are students of color, and 40 percent receive need-based scholarships. “I hear from alumni all the time, and there’s two common threads,” Hoerr says. “They love learning and are doing cool and interesting things, and they are people you want to be around. They’re caring, and they want to make the world a better place, and this makes me feel good about what we do.”
Photo: New City School
[New City School hosts a Fall Open House Nov. 15 for visitors to tour the facility and meet faculty, parents and students. For more information about the school, visit newcityschool.org or call 314.361.6411.]
