Photo submitted by Blackland Prairie
As Richardson ISD continues to deal with overcrowding issues, a Lake Highlands parent is preparing to launch a new and different kind of school right here in the neighborhood.
Dr. Tiffany Lipsett is behind the Blackland Prairie Conservatory & Atelier, a nonprofit, private mixed-age kindergarten (and eventually expanding) that opens next fall on McCree near Audelia.
Lipsett has worked more than 10 years as an educational consultant creating what she calls “art-based and science programs” for a variety of institutions. She says that after learning how education can be, she “can’t go back.” She met her Blackland Prairie co-founder Shelly Biggerstaff at an education workshop two summers ago. They had a lot in common—both mothers of young children, both were interested in progressive types of learning such as European-style forest and nature schools, where children spend a large portion of the day outdoors. Both women live in the area (Biggerstaff is in Richardson and Lipsett is in the Highland Meadows neighborhood) and after exploring other local offerings, they decided to embark on starting their own project, and things came together rather quickly.
According to a recent press release, “Blackland Prairie will accept children ages four to seven for its full- and half-day mixed-age kindergarten. Administrators are also gauging interest in a mixed-age first- through third-grade class for seven to nine year olds, with a long-term plan of growing the school to 12th grade. Open enrollment begins February 16.”
Lipsett, who serves as the school’s executive director and Biggerstaff, the director of school administration, answered a few questions about the new academy and what it might mean for the Lake Highlands neighborhood. (You can also visit their new website for further details.) Qs and As have been slightly modified for brevity and clarity.
What makes this school different from the schools already in Lake Highlands and around Dallas?
TL: We do not want to position ourselves as competitors to other schools. I think there are a lot of institutions doing what we do. We are part of a nature movement, where we believe that art should be a part of learning, that children should learn from nature and the outdoors and that, in a mixed-age setting, the older students can mentor the younger ones. In fact, there are other schools doing similar work.
Outdoor programming is modeled on European forest and nature schools, and children spend at least one and a half hours outside each day. Our outdoor space will have 32 garden plots and campfire storytelling stumps, and students will have the opportunity to design a wildlife habitat. The children will also be seeding, tending to, and observing an authentic blackland prairie. We will employ an artist in residence and students will participate in a piece’s creation from inception to conclusion. There is a large Waldorf influence in the school.
And the mixed-age kindergarten is not exclusive to Montessori or Waldorf. It is based on the European way of raising a child where the older children show what they have learned to the younger classmates.
Could you explain a little further what a “Waldorf influenced” day looks like for students?
TL: We believe in rhythm, having a specific rhythm each day, week, year … Children are taught knitting, storytelling, gardening, woodworking, and performing and visual arts. Students may garden, bird watch, or play in the mud one day and sculpt clay models, paint, dance, and bake the next.
How will you assess learning and progress?
TL: We will use a portfolio style assessment. From the moment they walk in teachers will assess. As the year unfolds parents will be involved — how are they at home? — we will evaluate the whole image from the ground up.
How large will the classrooms be, initially?
TL: There are a couple ways it could go. We could max out a class at 18 students, which would be the highest a class could go, or if we have more, we might have two at 15 in each class with two teachers.
Are the students who have enrolled so far from Lake Highlands or other areas, and are there still spaces available?
SB: We have families enrolled from Lake Highlands, East Dallas and other areas, even Oak Cliff. There are still spaces open for families who are a good fit. There is an open house this coming weekend. We ask families who are interested to RSVP, because there was a very large turnout at our first open house, and attend.
(Open house is 10 a.m. Saturday. RSVP to bpca.info@gmail.com. The address is 9949 McCree.)
What makes a good fit for your school?
TL: Parents who limit screen time, who want their children outdoors, who value creativity and play — parents who realize the many types of play and the value of imagination. We hope the child will arrive at school and be excited every day. The curriculum is preparing kids for life and the atmosphere is designed to hopefully help them discover their talents.
Does “limited screen time” mean no iPad, no TV or what?
TL: For our students it will mean limited as opposed to none. Some parents will choose to allow zero screen time before a certain age—we basically will trust our families to do their best. We know parents do the best they can.
The school is expected to grow, to what capacity?
SB: The long-term plan is to go all the way to high school. Our more immediate goal is to build a community here in Lake Highlands and East Dallas.
TL: … to get Dallas and the community back out loving nature. That is why we will make memberships available and have festivals that involve the community. In Fall 2016 there will be opportunities for the community to visit and walk the campus in the forms of festivals and celebrations. We want to establish a community that supports nature- and arts-based learning. We want to give families many opportunities to connect and learn about Waldorf-inspired curriculum, and give young children the space and time to play and explore the natural world.
