School:  THE LOGAN SCHOOL for CREATIVE LEARNING

Website: http://www.theloganschool.org/

Main Phone: 303-340-2444

Type: Private accredited member of the Association of Colorado Independent Schools

Tuition: Tuition for 2009/2010 school year is $14,090 per student.  Need-based scholarships are available.

Tours: Parent information sessions and tours take place beginning in October through the middle of December.  Call or email Rachel Shields to schedule: 303-340-2444 x133 or Rachel.shields@theloganschool.org.

Head of School: Andrew Slater

Director of Admissions: Becky Godec

Location: 1005 Yosemite Street, Denver, CO 80230 – Lowry Neighborhood

Hours: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

Before/After Care: Extended Care is available before school from 7:30 to 8:30 and after school from 3:10 until 6:00 for $5/hr.

Students: 248, ages 4-14, 19% students of color, avg. class sizes range from 16 in the younger classrooms to 22 students in the older classrooms.

Playground/Facilities: At first, driving up to the school, I was slightly put off by the location and campus as it seemed somewhat barren and, quite frankly, ugly. The decommissioned Lowry Air Force military space did not appeal to me.  This quickly changed as I got to the front and saw a nice playground, attractive landscaping in the main entrance area, and a modernized renovation to the main building. There are a total of three buildings on the campus, one that holds the lunch facility and extended care and another that holds a huge gymnasium and a theatre.  There are also playing fields on campus for sports such as soccer and baseball as well as another playground area.  In total, the campus is about 13 acres. 

Special & Core Programs: Since The Logan School is an experiential learning institution, students participate in a variety of field trips to meet their needs for individual units, class units, environmental education and service learning needs.  Some of those trips for the upper level students will be overnight trips.  The Logan School also has a student Expo in the winter where students showcase the work they’ve done since the beginning of the school year on their individual units.  There are a number of extra curricular activities including a school rock band, poetry competitions, MathCounts, geography and spelling bees.  On campus there is a natural wetlands, a hands on butterfly habitat and a garden. 

Impressions: I have visited the Logan School on several occasions and, after my initial poor first impression of the campus, I was thoroughly pleased.  Both my husband and I were greeted each time by the front entrance with a handshake from either current parents, the Admissions Director or the Assistant Admissions Director.  Prior to the tour, we were briefed on the school, its philosophy and direction, shown a video, and given an opportunity to ask any questions we had.  Then, we were led around the school by some of the most polite Upper Level (8^th graders) students we have ever encountered.

It was great to be taken around the campus by a student rather than an Administrator or a parent that might give a biased view of the school.  We were able to ask the students their perspective on particular qualities of the school that we would not have been able to get from anyone else.  We were also given an opportunity to see the children “in action” and speak to some of the teachers to get a clearer picture of how the Logan teaching philosophy works.

The Logan School philosophy is quite different than a traditional school in that the students are empowered to be extremely independent and think for themselves. Early in the school year, they choose a “Unit”  to study and then apply more traditional subjects to that Unit.  For instance, if they chose insects to be their Unit, then they would apply math, reading, science, etc. to the subject of insects.  There is a culminating “Expo” in February where the children present their work on the Unit to parents and faculty. Then in the Spring, they typically choose another area of study.  Teachers act as facilitators and mentors while encouraging independence at the same time. Then in each homeroom, the lead teacher covers other subjects such as World History, Geography or Science so that it is more multidimensional.

This experiential style of learning may, or may not be right for your child so it’s up to the parent to understand what type of learner your child is and if it makes sense for them. This experience-based style instruction is then taken beyond the classroom to include several field trips that allow students to explore art, environmental studies, foreign languages, business, etc. and to then be applied to their studies.

It seems that the Logan School has a very rich learning environment that fosters a unique way of thinking for children.  The school is indeed for students that have gifted and creative tendencies, however, it is not exclusive or pretentious.  The qualification of “gifted” is more than just a test score; they’re seeking students that would be impacted the greatest from the style of instruction Logan offers.  Students who are the best fit for this school are those that do fall in the gifted range, but have other qualities on top of that.  A child might score in the 99.8^th percentile on an intelligence test, however, they might not learn in a way that would allow them to succeed at Logan. One thing to also understand is that, while Logan does offer instruction to 4 year olds, those children must be “Kindergarten-ready”.  Logan does not consider true age as much as they do readiness, both emotionally and intellectually.

Logan looks at the child “as a whole” through the admission process and considers heavily each aspect of the application package including the 2 hour observation of the child, an intelligence test score, teacher evaluations, and the parent questionnaire.  The admission process is lengthy but there is a reason for it.  There are typically very few spots for incoming 4 and 5 year olds.  For the 2009/2010 school year there was approximately 1 spot for every 2 applicants and even fewer openings for the younger students.  There were also quite a few sibling applicants and they are given first priority.

Parents are expected to participate in school fundraisers including an annual spring auction and to also be involved in school and classroom activities.  Volunteerism and philanthropy are a very important part of the school community.  There is a well-established Parent Association and a Board of Trustees that manage Logan’s events and affairs.

You should consider this school heavily if you are able to afford private school and believe your child could prosper within an experiential environment.  Do think long and hard about the fact that, if accepted, your child could be in this school for 10 or more years.  There are only about 248 students and it goes from age 4 through 14, or until high school.  Making the transition to a traditional high school has been known to be tricky, but students coming from Logan tend to adjust quickly, especially in the more advanced classes, due to their independence and ability to apply their experiences to each new learning environment.

We welcome your comments and impressions on your experience with The Logan School.