We ALL know how different everyone is, whether that is in reference to children or adults! In fact, even identical twins can have different personality traits. For the Grover family, it was the fact that KCS was willing to work with their child as he was, and the fact that the school had programs and services that seemed almost tailored made for their child, that has made the biggest impact on them.
This family, like many others, would say that they have what you might call a "high energy child", one that is driven to be active and always on the move. For many families, this is not uncommon, but it can seem to parents of children like this that their child's future at schools will be a difficult one. "He is that child," said Justin Grover, the father of such a child in our current grade 1 class, "who put a rock up his nose!". However, their child is also a very driven young man whom the parents believe will be a leader one day if that energy can be positively channeled. "My wife and I joked because he watched the Olympics one day and he said 'Dad, I want to be in the Olympics.' And I said "Of course you do, because why wouldn't you!".
"I have to have Oliver here because he is not a 'sit in a row' kid."
What helped them, then, to make the decision to bring Oliver to KCS? It was specifically the furniture! Or at least, the school's desire for flexible learning environments and styles which was reflected in the classroom seating and arrangements that they saw during their tour of the school. "When we toured the school with you, the one thing that stuck out in my head is the different chairs in the classroom and the couches. You said 'a child needs to be comfortable to learn best', and that stuck with me."
KCS recently completed a campaign to raise funds for rooms such as our Learning Commons and FLEX rooms, which have flexible seating and movable furniture, to specifically address this notion of having an environment that can adapt to the needs of each student and assignment type, and this idea resonated with the Grover family as they saw their child being able to be who he was (active, moving, driven) without having to fit into a classic classroom environment. Furthermore, our push for outdoor experiential learning (KCS has a W.I.L.D. school designation) made KCS even more attractive as our Wonder Walk program allowed for learning through movement and inquiry.
"KCS has not only impacted our students, but it has reached further and impacted our store."
Is it working?
"He really relishes in that. The Wonder Walk program is just how [he] learns!". In fact, Mr. Grover liked the idea of flexible seating so much, that he took that back to his workplace. "I have a millennial boardroom in my store, You know the very first change I made was? The chairs. I now have wobble chairs in there, I have hard chairs, desk chairs, a sofa, etc... We've noticed using this schools theory that our staff meetings go smoother, our planning sessions go better, and there is not a sense of not wanting to go to a meeting anymore."
If you want to hear more about what KCS can offer for your family, or take a tour and look at our facilities (and our "wobble" chairs :), please contact the school for a one-on-one educational consultation with Mr. Cuzzetto. If you have a story about Curiosity, Character, or Courage, or how KCS has already helped your family and are open to sharing that with the rest of our incredible community, please contact Mr. Cuzzetto and book a Coffee with Cuzzetto time (sandroc@kamcs.org)!
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