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The faculty in the first decade were brought from Great Britain to teach with the exception of the French teacher who came from France and an occasional European or American. This faculty set the standards for academic excellence based on the British Day School system. St. Richard’s, a Pre-K through 8th grade school, is proud of the rigorous nature of its instruction during the past forty-six years. The classic curriculum comprises today what the archives show were present in early years: French for all students (our students test into 3rd year high school French, and many take a second language during their freshman year); Latin for all Middle School students; divinity; language arts, science, mathematics, social studies/history; physical education/health; art; and music. In mathematics, students study in the Everyday Math program until grade 7 when they take Pre-Algebra. 8th graders take Algebra I. Everyday Mathematics is a complete kindergarten through sixth grade curriculum that embraces many of the traditional goals of school mathematics as well as two ambitious goals:
The program helps teachers move beyond basic arithmetic and nurture higher-order and critical-thinking skills, using everyday, real-world problems and situations—while also building and maintaining basic skills, including automatic fact recall. Students work with a multiplicity of models, diagrams, procedures, and inventions to solve problems in a manner that makes sense to them. They learn that solutions and answers are two different things. Please see www.everydaymath.com for more information. The instructional progression of reading unfolds in Open Court Reading as Pre-K 4 and Kindergarten children learn about the alphabet, develop an understanding of print concepts and alphabetic knowledge, blend to read words, and read Pre-Decodable and Decodable Books. Students engage in phonological and phonemic awareness activities and link letters and their sounds and use that knowledge to identify words. 2nd graders enjoy Literature Club, an enrichment program wherein students work independently and in groups to read a variety of novels. This process enables children to drawn on their own reading skills and the support of their parents and peers to develop as readers. By the time they are in middle school, students are reading and writing reflections and analyses on such books as The Call of the Wild, The Giver, Nothing But the Truth, To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, The Lord of the Flies, Cry the Beloved Country, and Anne Frank—The Diary of a Young Girl. Please click here for more information. While St. Richard’s School has maintained its classic foundation, we have also grown with the times. The classic content is juxtaposed with innovative/modern methodologies in areas such as brain research, Multiple Intelligences, and Science as Inquiry in partnership with the University of Indianapolis and its CELL project. Specialized classes such as the following have been added: computer training; Writing Symposium (8th grade enrichment); Spanish as an alternative to French in the Middle School; a philanthropic partnership with the Center on Philanthropy and its Learning to Give project, which is based on social study standards; hand bell training for all middle school students. In addition, the school partners with the Children’s Museum and Young Audiences. St. Richard’s was the first school in Indiana to write and present a radio broadcast “From the Top” with WFYI and Young Audiences in February 2006. This November the 3rd annual Leadership Forum will be held: “Growing Life-long Learners” attracts students from a dozen middle schools. This project is in partnership with Youth Philanthropic Initiatives of Indiana. During the 2006-20007 school year, all eleven grade levels will place an emphasis on science. The week of October 8-12, National Science Week, showcased each classroom and its partnership with an outside science-based resource. Approximately two dozen scientist-parents (and others) demonstrated their expertise with hands-on projects and experiments. A virtual museum was held at the beginning of the next week, and the scientist-parents remain as a resource for each classroom during the rest of the academic year. In May students will reflect upon what they learned and prepare with classmates some kind of creative presentation to the rest of the school. Two of St. Richard’s pillars of success comprise “leadership” and “civic responsibility.” We, therefore, help students from help students from Kindergarten through 8th grade to be able to prepare and present an all-school Friday assembly as well as other productions that are curriculum based. In addition, teachers not only utilize good pedagogical practices of review and reflection, but they also encourage active participation in one’s own learning about people who have promoted the common good. One such program is 4th grade’s Famous Hoosiers assembly where each student creates a puppet of an Indiana hero with their art teacher, researches his or her life and philanthropic works, and presents the knowledge to parents and other students. Another example is the 5th graders planning, preparing, and implementing a high tea for parents and teachers. They practice proper etiquette to accompany the presentation. To showcase Middle School students, the music department presents hand bell concerts at Lesson and Carols in December and graduation in early June. The classic and innovative curriculum prepares students well for the competitive Educational Records Bureau (ERB) standardized tests administered every year. Three years ago, a Writing Assessment Project, evaluated by ERB, was added for Grades 3-8. Each year students score state wide and nationally in the National French Exam. At Indiana University each fall, Latin students earn several awards as they compete against high school students in several categories. High school admission personnel actively seek our graduates for their secondary program. |
The Reverend G. Ernest Lynch, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, 1953-1978, founded St. Richard’s School in September 1960. He had entertained the idea of establishing an English-style school for some time and had a fondness for English education with its high academic expectations and the respectful demeanor of its students. In the late 50s, Fr. Lynch had visited churches across England, Scotland, and Ireland. Impressed by the quality of education he saw in the parish day schools attached to the Anglican churches he visited, Fr. Lynch returned, and with a planning committee investigated teaching staff in Episcopal schools. On September 14,1960, the first head of school, Miss Helen Bevan, of Suffolk England, welcomed sixteen preschool and kindergarten students. Traditions were begun and still abound. You can read about them in James Fadely’s “ Brief History of St. Richard’s School, 1960-1995.”