“Let us roam underneath the redwood trees, smell the bay leaves, the fog and the breeze, see the stars for miles & miles around, Deergnaw, memories abound.” From Deergnaw song by Tiffany Tai.

After 27 years at the Messing/Naschke homestead in Healdsburg, Farm School is moving to Ocean Song, in Occidental. On April 21, 2012, the Synergy family came out to celebrate and thank Arlene, whose vision and commitment gave us one of Synergy’s most beloved and essential traditions. Synergy and the Ecoteam dedicated our new Butterfly Garden to Arlene, presenting her with a gorgeous plaque the students designed and painted, and which will be installed on the garden at Synergy. We made flags with messages of gratitude and hope for Arlene and Russ to take back to Deergnaw.

Current students performed music and read Farm School poetry in a lovely ceremony orchestrated by Mahala Bundy; parents, alumni parents, and alumni spoke about how Farm School had taught them, and of favorite Synergy memories at Farm School, still vibrant after years.

Pat Tokunaga, board member, and the first Synergy teacher at Farm School, read from a report on the first Farm School: “In late April 1985, Synergy saw a dream come true.” Twenty-seven years later, the dream continues. Thank you, Deergnaw.

In this issue:Celebrating Farm School 1

An Interview with Arlene 2

Ocean Song Welcomes Synergy 5

Tidepooling with Tiff 6

Letter to Arlene 7

The Garden Project 9

Alumni News 10

Technology Visioning 11

Celebrating Farm School at Deergnawby Jenna Schott

1Synergy Times | Summer 2012

Synergy Times

Synergy co-founder Russ Messing & Arlene NaschkeArlene & Synergy co-founder Arlene & Synergy co-founder Katherine Czesak

The newsletter of Synergy School

Summer 2012

Arlene Naschke (whose husband, Russ Messing, is a Synergy co-founder) established Farm School almost 30 years ago, opening her home and her land— known as "Deergnaw," in Healdsburg — to Synergy students every spring and fall. Last year, Arlene reluctantly decided it was time for Synergy's Farm School to find a new home. On April 16th, Synergy parent and film maker Kevin White sat down with Arlene to talk about Farm School, its origins, her most cherished memories, and her vision for the program as it continues in its new location. Some excerpts from that interview:

What was the genesis of Farm School? How did it start?

Arlene: Farm School started a long long time ago, because Russ and Jill Goffstein and Katharine Czesak had this idea to create Synergy. And then Russ

and I had the idea that we wanted to move back to the land. You know, everyone was doing it in the 70's. As we started to look for the place where we wanted to live, I always had the idea in my heart that it would be a Farm School, some kind of nature school.

Pat Tokunaga, the [Synergy] fourth grade teacher at that time, was game. There were thirteen kids to start out with; there weren't many of us. [Synergy teacher] Jeff Sheppard came along to help Pat. We didn't have anything set up — we didn't even have outhouses. And that was the beginning. That was the genesis

of Farm School.

What was that first Farm School like?

Arlene: That first Farm School was really chaotic. Pat had a basic curriculum put together but we were inventing as we went along. Jeff started building an outhouse. We dug a little tiny fire pit. We knew there would be gardening, we knew there would be fishing — my neighbor Bernie taught fishing — we had wildflower hiking, my neighbor brought her horse and showed us about horses, we did body maps for the art project, and the kids worked in the garden. That was the beginning.

What were you hoping for the kids back then, during that first Farm School?Arlene: My hope for the children when they came up here was that they would have an opening where they would appreciate the smell of the earth and the magic of an apple blossom on a tree before it became fruit, and the deer running around the property — just the aliveness of the natural world. That is what I wanted to convey. As the school progressed and as I grew, it became more about deepening their experience with nature, and it became a nature-based program. (continued on page 3)

An Interview with Arlene NaschkeBy Kevin White

2 Synergy Times | Summer 2012

“They would have an opening where they would appreciate the smell of the earth and the magic of an apple blossom.”

Students hiking with Arlene at Deergnaw Arlene at Farm School 1994

(Interview, continued)

I'm wondering if you can talk about the importance of this for kids, particularly for urban kids.

Arlene: Pat reminded me of one incident during the first Farm School. We took a wildflower hike with Bernie, my neighbor, down into a canyon. We saw the water coming out of the side of a mountain. And this little girl, she couldn't believe it — it was such an awesome experience for her to see water coming out of the side of a mountain, not from a kitchen sink.

I had a mother tell me recently that her child would never have gone on the eighth grade trip to Costa Rica if he hadn't come up here and experienced the eighth grade rite of passage. We spend the night together with the eighth graders around the pond, and the adults sleep in tents and the kids sleep apart from one another. That experience gave him the courage to do something else that was even harder.

The night hike is also a rite of passage. We don't use flashlights; everyone is in the dark. We walk up the road together as a tribe, but the kids choose if they want to walk back by themselves, or walk in twos or threes, with no lights. And they love to walk back in the dark. Some kids start planning in the fourth

grade that in the eighth grade they are going to walk back by themselves.

Some of the kids just haven't been exposed to the outdoors that much. Can you talk about how it can inform their life a little bit?

Arlene: I can't speak for each child, but I've seen kids settle into themselves at Farm School and find a center somewhere that's not about cell phones,

television and all of that. Some of them become curious about the earth. Some go on to become scientists; I know of at least one Synergy alum who became an environmental lawyer. My prayer is that their experience here helps teach them to become stewards of the earth.

Stewardship of the earth —that's a message that I think has come through loud and clear at Farm School. Can you say why that is important?

Synergy Times | Summer 20123

Arlene: I think to really care for something, you have to fall in love with it. And if that opening can happen here for the kids, then so be it. Because I care so deeply about environmental stewardship, and talk about it, and the teachers who are creating the curriculum do too, that value gets passed along.

One very powerful activity we've done is the Shamanic journeys — every child

became an endangered animal, and made a mask to represent that animal. Ritual is so important, because we were using science, but we were also using art and metaphor and drumming and dancing — all the other ways we learn and receive information, it's not just through books. Or looking in the microscope and seeing all the little things that live in the pond, for example, helps you develop respect for a body of water.

(continued on page 4)

“ The night hike is also a rite of passage. We don't use flashlights; everyone is in the dark.”

(Interview, continued)

You've been doing Farm School for 27 years. What do you think the legacy is going to be?Arlene: The legacy is that it will continue. Because now more than ever, children need earth-based education. They need to get dirty, and sit on the earth, and swim in ponds, clamor around in tidepools and climb trees — and hopefully they'll be inspired to be the next caretakers of the world. So Farm School — it will go on. I'm not sure what it will look like, but it will grow as the teachers grow, just as it did here for 27 years. It will be great.

The legacy for me is stewardship. I love the smell of dirt. Every year I say, "Nope, I'm not going to garden anymore, I'm done." But every year the spring comes and the earth warms up and all of a sudden I'm out there with a shovel. I love the dirt. And I want other people to love it. And I want them to take care of it.

What are you going to miss the most?Arlene: What am I going to miss the most? It's a hard question, because so much of my heart has been in Farm School, and wanting to share our land. I can't imagine two old people living up here at Deergnaw, without the sounds of children's voices coming up from the pond — I love it when I hear them down there. What am I going to do without the Maypole Dance? That has always

been so important to me. As is the Harvest Day, when we close everything down. So I've been thinking about new projects. Maybe kids could come up and pull broom or — what else could they do? I'm trying to dream up other projects that wouldn't go on as long as Farm School, but would invite people to come back and enjoy the land, because it is really is so beautiful, so beautiful. So I want to send this message from Deergnaw to the Synergy community: "Goodbye, but come back!"

Spring 1985 Farm Schoolby Pat Tokunaga

Pat Tokunaga, former Synergy teacher and current Synergy Board member, read her 1985 article about the first Farm School at Synergy’s Farm School Celebration on April 21, 2012. We continue the rituals and traditions as Farm School moves to Ocean Song.

In late April, Synergy saw a dream come true. The pilot program of “The Farm School” finally happened. For one week, thirteen city kids camped at the Messing/Naschke homestead just outside of Healdsburg.

They got up with the sun and filled their days with the rhythm of the land using muscles half forgotten from living on concrete. Amidst the redwood, oak and by tress, wildflowers and turkey vultures, these 8 to 10 year olds went on nature walks, fed chickens and gathered their eggs, learned how to fish “like Huck Finn”, wrote poetry, planted

vegetables and flowers, swam in a pond, helped cook their own meals, got ticks in their hair and poison oak on their faces, learned how to spin wool and embroider, took pictures and keep a journal, found “secret places” in the woods and got good and dirty.

They learned to help each other adjust to their new environment and comfort one another as each evening brought its cold reminder of home and family.

Back in the comfort of their regular routines, they reminisce with their photos and journals. But a certain quiet stirring becomes evident in their eyes whenever news of the pumpkin patch or the hoop weaving or the horse Penny Candy, or the dogs Bess and Spudly reaches the classroom. They can hardly wait to harvest their pumpkins in October. Synergy’s Farm School is underway.

4th and 5th graders at farm school

4Synergy Times | Summer 2012

All School Picnic & Reunion

Join us on Saturday September 15 from 11 am to 2 pm

for a celebration of 40 years of Synergy School.

Golden Gate ParkPioneer Meadow East near Log Cabin

40years

After two years of planning for the next evolution of Farm School, it was so satisfying to finally experience a week at Ocean Song. Over 40 4th and 5th graders along with over 20 parents and teachers spent May 7 – 11, 2012 camping, learning and discovering our new site.

Upon arriving at Ocean Song Farm and Nature Preserve near Occidental, we settled in quickly. We set up camp among butterfly and bee habitat gardens and explored the large lawn area that was our home base. We were welcomed by Lisa Baiter, the educational program director at Ocean Song, and Arlene talked to everyone about the spirit and intention of Farm School. Our ceremony included planting some yarrow using Ocean Song compost combined with soil and ash Arlene brought from Deergnaw.As a symbol of each student’s wishes for the week, we hung banners the students made like prayer flags around our camp. Then we hiked around and started the process of discovering all that Ocean Song has to offer.

On the second day, we spread out across the land and dove into classes. Parents and teachers together taught students about botany, poetry, art and

the forest habitat at Ocean Song. Students learned about flower reproduction and sketched diagrams in the gardens. They wrote poetry inspired by William Carlos Williams and hiked along the Beeman Loop trail looking for evidence of herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and scavengers. Students made prints from landscape sketches after viewing work by Tom Killion and other print artists. They learned about the process of rolling out the ink on their foam blocks and made multiple prints to experiment with color. The results were

impressive and reflected an appreciationof the vast views of rolling hills out towards the Pacific.

Arlene brought the Maypole from Deergnaw so we could perform the ancient springtime ritual of weaving the

ribbons in a circular dance around the pole. Students made a skit about spring taking over from winter and wore ribbon headbands to set a bright mood. The pole remained in the center of the lawn for the duration of our stay, a symbol of Farm School traditions and of new beginnings.

Our students enlivened the already buzzing and blooming space with their energy and enthusiasm. Besides classes, sit-spots everywhere from Solstice Hill to Split Rock, and swimming, there was time to play and be together. There was

always a group taking turns on the rope swing. There was a field for soccer and an area of lawn set up as a shooting range for stick-and-string bows and arrows. We used the large stage on the lawn for(continued on page 6)

“The Maypole remained in the center, a symbol of Farm School traditions and of new beginnings.”

5Synergy Times | Summer 2012

Ocean Song Welcomes Synergyby Rea Inglesis

6 Synergy Times | Summer 2012

(Ocean Song, continued)

eating in groups and putting on the talentshow.

The other evening highlight was the night hike. It was quite a new experienceto do this on a single-file trail, starting at dusk and ending after dark. Students went alone, in pairs, and in threes, having to trust their feet and night vision to follow the straight path back. Needless to say, everyone made it and many had tales to tell of their quiet, starlit walk.

We also spent a glorious day at Goat Rock Beach enjoying the sunshine, sand and seals. Harbor seals were hauled out with their adorable pups in the Russian River estuary that comes out at Goat Rock.Students also learned about marine debris while doing a beach cleanup.

This first trip to Ocean Song was a successin so many ways. The staff was welcoming and helpful. The weather was ideal, and our parents showed incredible support and skills. Our students were brilliant in classes,with teamwork and showed so much talent! They met the challenges and embraced the opportunities to enjoy Ocean Song and each other. We look forward to years of continued discoveries and evolving traditions that define Farm School.

The end of the school year is so frenetic, what with performances, sports playoffs and planning for summer, but when Tiff proposed an optional tidepooling trip on a Saturday in May I really wanted to make time. As a non-science-y mom I struggle to provide ample support and enthusiasm for science subjects. I do, however, love tidepooling and thought it would be great to go with Tiffany Tai, Synergy’s rock-star science teacher who brings humor and passion to the subject. I knew that with Tiff, my 7th grader would be enthusiastic. I also knew my 2nd grader would love the chance to hang with the big kids while exploring the Pacific’s rocky shores. One of the many special qualities of a Synergy education is that the older kids look out for, and teach, the younger ones.

We caravanned down the Coast to Half Moon Bay and spent a few hours studying the creatures, pools and tides. Soon, I saw a purple sea star with more legs than I’ve seen before! Tiff gathered the kids and explained that it was a sunflower sea star. We were able to touch the creature gently and even

have it rest on our arms. This is something one might do at a touch exhibit at an aquarium, but how special to feel comfortable to do it in the wild with someone who knows what to do.

Many parents joined the trip not just as chauffeurs, but as genuinely interested participants. We enjoyed that exploration of the beach. Thank you, Tiff, for going that extra step to bring science to life!

Tidepooling with Tiffany by Darya Mead

Dear Arlene,

When I heard from my family that you were bringing the Deergnaw chapter of Farm School to a close, I wanted you to know that I have been thinking about you, and Russ, and Synergy, and Farm School increasingly often in the last few months. I want to tell you a little about what I’m doing now, and try to explain some of the ways that what you created at Farm Schoolserve as continuing inspirations to me.

Since graduating from SwarthmoreCollege, I’ve been working for a publichousing authority in Chester, Pennsylvania, an old industrial town where three-quarters of the residents are black, the school district is the worst in the state, and the poverty rate is 35 percent. I find myself relying in my daily work as an organizer and educator more on my experiences at Synergy and Farm School than on any of the things I’d learned later on. The experience has me reassessing most of what I thought I knew about how the system works, and what the role of someone like me ought to be.

Beneath the brilliance you and your collaborators created at Farm School — from the vision quests to the hands-on biology — there is something more fundamental that deserves recognition.

It takes a certain kind of courage to commit to one’s own project when others don’t suffice, and a great degree of integrity to stay true to your intentions across years of growth and change.

It is one thing to work little bits of magic in the ghetto — the eight-year old eating her first tomato off the vine; the teenager’s first home-made video; the walking group that braves the streets to get in their exercise for the day. These victories are meaningful, but they are at best drops in the bucket, unsustainable without a framework that brings them together. The real task at hand is, dare I say, more radical: to create a culture and way of being among a group of people that

is both supportive and productive, that nurtures just the kinds of individual creativity and dynamic social relationships that are viciously suppressed in a place like Chester, from the politics above to the norms and

conventions below.

Your success in exactly this regard has my thoughts returning to Farm School again and again. I’m beginning to suspect that San Francisco and Healdsburg are in some ways fewer worlds apart from Chester, or any of the other marginalized communities like it, than they might first appear.

Thank you, for all you do and all you teach.

Jesse Marshall

“I find myself relying in my daily work as an organizer and educator more on my experiences at Synergyand Farm School than on any of the things I’d learned later on.”

7Synergy Times | Summer 2012

An Open Letter to Arlene Naschkeby Jesse Marshall, Synergy Class of 2003

Jesse gardening with kids in Chester, PA Jesse Marshall’03

On March 3rd, twenty-three sleepy eighth graders, accompanied by Synergy teachers, Nate, Tammy, and Sogolon, met at SFO to embark on an amazing trip to Costa Rica. Most of us knew little about this foreign country, but had high hopes of the food, the people, and the place. Once we landed in Costa Rica, all of our expectations were met when we first saw Dan, our Global Works tour guide.

Dan is an amazing guide, hailing from the motherland of the Bay Area. We were driven to the hotel, where we were told about the locals, what we would be eating,

and how the weather would be this week. The first night we stayed in a motel; it was family-run and the food was very good, even though it was not what we are accustomed to.

The next day, we loaded our gear onto the bus and headed for Palmichal,

where we would be spending the next four nights. At Nacientes Palmichal, a sustainable community initiative in a rural area of the San Jose province, we met our first local people in Costa Rica. They were some of the nicest people we had ever met. They cooked us delicious food, and then in return we helped them with projects around the area. We spent parts of the next three days pouring cement for a new floor in an outdoor kitchen/meeting area, scrubbing moss off rocks, building a small dam on the river, preparing a garden plot, repairing

drainage channels and repainting tables, benches and bleachers around Palmichal. But our days were not just all hard work. We had a lot of fun too.

We broke into small groups one evening and excitedly made plans for the English lessons we would be

teaching to the students at the local school a short walk down the road. We played games with the groups of kids and taught them basic games in English. We also drew pictures with the younger kids to help them learn the English names of animals. This was, for many of us, our favorite part of Cost Rica. We learned how fun it is to work with kids, and many of the eighth graders said that the experience of teaching kids is something that they will keep with them forever. After teaching the kids English, we all played a pickup soccer game, which gave us an opportunity to test our Spanish. No one really cared who won; all that mattered was that everyone had fun.

Of all the things Costa Rica gave our eighth grade class, the most important was the bonding of our class. Everyone felt closer and people who didn’t usually hang out together started hanging out after the trip. Costa Rica was an amazing place with amazing scenery, people, and food. But the most amazing thing about Costa Rica was the bonding power it gave our class. This was, truly, an amazing trip.

Synergy Eighth Grade Trip to Costa Ricaby Kailan Claiborne, Class of 2012

8 Synergy Times | Summer 2012

“After teaching the kids English, we all played a pickup soccer game, which gave us an opportunity to test our Spanish.”

9Synergy Times | Summer 2012

The farm of old consisted of a red barn, a cow, a pig, and some chickens. The farmer wore coveralls and had a bucket and pitchfork. Circa 2012: a two-story building called “the barn” where classes on math and agriculture take place, 145 acres of plants and herbs, a greenhouse, many native plants of California, a life-sized tractor, and Synergy alumna parent and grandparent Cathrine Sneed, better known as the Plant Whisperer.

This year the Rainbow Room participated in three units that would come full circle in one field trip. In September we studied how each person within any community has a significant contribution to make and investigated who some of these people are in our community. Afterwards, the huge sunflowers found in a neighbor’s yard on Valencia Street paved the way for an in-depth study of plants. The Rainbow Roomers planted arugula, snap peas, and fava beans in our classroom. You may have witnessed the trellis climbing the classroom wall or sampled the fruits of their labor during the Thanksgiving celebration. Then, there’s the food chain: the Rainbow Roomers learned about producers, consumers, and

decomposers. These lessons all can be evidenced on the grounds of Cathrine’s Garden Project in San Bruno.

The Garden Project, which is housed on land near the San Bruno prison, is a hidden jewel, unknown to many. Schools have the opportunity to take children on a glorious expedition of the great outdoors right in our own backyard, if they have access to transportation.

On a sunny day in May, the Rainbow Room joined Cathrine and some of the staff of The Garden Project to pick some chard, hike around the farm, and climb on the John Deere tractor like it was a jungle gym. There is no better person in the world than Cathrine to give a tour, showing the students quail crossing, ladybugs and millipedes hiding, garden snakes slithering, and red-tailed hawks soaring above. She is well-versed in the history of the plants and animals that inhabit the farm’s grounds and embodies the spirit of community, a value Synergy strives to create. If you ask me, Cathrine knows “best”!

Field Trip to the Garden ProjectBy Ebony Manion

The Garden Project

Cathrine Sneed, mother to Synergy School’s Middle School Math teacher Sogolon Best and grandmother to Azana, is co-founder, with former Sheriff Michael Hennessey, of The Garden Project. Cathrine had a vision many years ago that the young people she counseled in the San Francisco County Jail would heal by becoming closer to nature. She came up with the idea to recruit young adults who needed a second chance, teach them horticultural skills, pay them, and feed starving communities organically grown food.

Today, all over the world, people are using The Garden Project as a model for community change. Cathrine put herself through law school, worked at a correctional facility helping to counsel inmates, and raised two young children. She doesn’t like to focus on her accomplishments and is very humble about the path she has taken.

In 2000, Cathrine went on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was a recipient of a gift award from Oprah’s Angel Network. Such an award helped purchase the John Deere jungle gym (aka “The Boomer”).

Read more at thehttp://www.gardenproject.org.

Synergy alumni turned out in force, much to the delight of the guests who gathered at the home of Cheryl Barth and Tom McCurdie on March 25th for a party to launch Synergy’s 40th Anniversary Campaign. The party was co-hosted by Cheryl (Ashley Forbes ’97) and Marilyn Bancel Myslewski (Carey ’97 and Roxanne ’01), and with both Tammy and Elena on hand, the memories poured out.

Our children are all impressive young adults now. Many talked to the group about what they are doing now and how Synergy had helped get them there. We heard from Ashley Forbes, who came from counseling college students; Carey Myslewski, Madeline Anderson ’03, Mark Kunitomi ’94, Amelia Guyot-Nagel ’98. Zoe Roller ’01, back in town for a few weeks from Brazil, joined us, as did Javieree Pruitt ’98. And we heard about Cian ’93 and Brendan Moroso ’98 from their folks Jeff A’Hearn and Jeff Moroso; about Kaneza Schaal ’97 from her mom Margot; about Ben Kumli ’91 from his dad Paul; about Emily Nelson ’02now home and working for the San Francisco Symphony’s AIM program, from her mom Kathy Angus; about

Nina ’97 and Hannah McCurdy ’95 from parents Anne Whiteside and Jonathan McCurdy, and about Roxanne Myslewski from Marilyn and Rik Myslewski. Alum parents Consuelo Faust-Anderson (Madeline), Judith Beaumont (Mark), Donna Guyot-Nagel (Amelia and Iris ’05), and Colette Crutcher (Zoe) also attended.

Cheryl and Tom prepared and served a fantastic buffet. All the guests were handed information about the Securing the Promise-40th Anniversary Campaign and asked to make a generouscontribution to “pay it forward.” Synergy only exists thanks to the generous contributions of others in the past and will continue to thrive with what we can do now.

The party was memorable for all us. We strongly encourage you to invite all your old Synergy friends over and take your own walk down memory lane. The amazing thing about Synergy — just one of the amazing things — is that alumni continue to be part of the community. It’s “just” a grade school and old folks populate the room, but there are the alums — the real attraction, in every way.

Alumni Gathering for 40th AnniversaryBy Marilyn Bancel

10 Synergy Times | Summer 2012

Alumni News

Class of 2005Matthew Indelicato has joined the US Air Force. He will ship out in July for 8 weeks of basic training in Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He'll be pursuing a career in aircraft aerospace maintenance.

Class of 2007Tyler Langenbrunner’s social psychology research was featured in the NSF grant to the Exploratorium’s exhibit“The Science of Sharing”. Tyler and Vance Merrill attend Evergreen State. Angie Matarozzi is at Villanova U.

Class of 2008Alum parent, Kathy Angus organized a reunion in May at Dolores Park for class of 2008 alums and their families.Ian Sicurella is heading to Bard College. Keenan Joyce and Juana Medina are going to UC Santa Cruz. Rebecca Nelson is off to Gonzaga University. Lucas Bartholomew-Good is taking a gap year to work and travel before attending Seattle University. Oriana Schaaf isheading north to Humbolt State University. Kit Castagne will attend Northeastern, and Rose Carr has deferredher admission to Hampshire College in favor of a gap year in India with the LeapNow College Study Program. Aiden Fruth-Lembi is off to Loyola University of Chicago, and Julian Faro-White will attend the University of Redlands. Sami Bass and Mesale Ephrem are going south to Santa Barbara City College. Maggie McKitrick will pursue Equine Science at Cal Poly. We have heard that Marshal Lawler is off to Wesleyan, Alice Blecker is taking a gap year before heading to Bennington. Emma Arnesty-Good is going to Tufts. Aysha Lee Wildman will attend University of California at Davis next year. Good luck all!

Join the Synergy Alumni Community on Facebook! www.facebook.com/groups/synergyschoolalumni

Class of 2008 Reunion, Dolores Park May 2012

Ask any parent for their thoughts about computers in the classroom and you’ll likely get back more or less the same conflicted response: Yes, digital literacy is mandatory for the next generation. Yes, the web offers infinite opportunities of all kinds. But no, the social and creative values we want most to instill in our children often aren’t ideally delivered via glowing screen.

On a brilliant, sunny Saturday last October, about two dozen Synergy parents, students, teachers, staff and alumni spent more than half a day addressing this conflict. The goal was straightforward: to create a five-year technology plan (as part of the school’s overall 5-year strategic plan) that offers Synergy students the best of the digital era while protecting them from the worst of it.

This was the second “visioning workshop” in Synergy’s history and — like the earlier one — it was moderated by Kevin Sousa, a middle school parent and the Assistant Dean for Medical Education at U.C. San Francisco. The workshop was quintessential Synergy, with a free-flowing engaged group collaborating on a slew of ideas and

asking essential questions, including: Should every kid have an iPad or an eReader? Would 4/5 classes benefit from using mobile devices in the classroom? What’s the right balance of security and freedom for online students?

Synergy’s approach to technology and education has always been thoughtful.

“One thing we don’t do at Synergy is technology for technology’s sake,” says Kevin White, the tech committee chair and board member.

The ideas generated during this year’s workshop will allow Synergy to use ever-more sophisticated technology, while staying focused on our progressive educational goals. The virtue of these workshops is they allow collective input that can be used to guide the school’s technology plan. The technology report will be discussed in more detail at a

board retreat this fall before it’s incorporated into in the Strategic Plan. In the meantime, says White, parents are welcome to attend tech committee meetings to learn more.

“The ideas generated from this year’s workshop will allow Synergy to use ever-more sophisticated technology, while staying focused on our progressive educational goals.”

11Synergy Times | Summer 2012

Technology Visioningby Michael Krantz

The Annual Fund helps to bridge the gap between tuition and the actual cost of educating a student at Synergy School for a full year.

The support we receive from our community of parents, friends, alumni and grandparents helps Synergy to maintain the strength of our program while keeping our tuition affordable and offering financial aid more than a third of our community.

Every gift counts. It’s not too late to contribute to the fund.

If you have any questions about donations, please contact Liz McDonald, Director of Development, at liz@synergyschool.org.

Synergy Annual Fund

The mission of Synergy School is to provide a quality education by empowering children to flourish academically, to blossom as individuals, and to become self-confident, creative learners.

Synergy School was founded in 1973 and is a non-profit teacher cooperative. We are a vibrant, diverse community with 190 students in kindergarten through eighth grade located in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Synergy Times is published twice a year by Liz McDonald, Director of Development of Synergy School. Feedback and story ideas are welcome.Editor: Jenna Schott & Connie MatthiessenDesign: Sam TripodiPhotography: Russ Curtis, Sam Tripodi,Annie Aguirre, Darya Mead, Brian Castagne

Every Gift Counts

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