Beacon School
Beacon is a small privileged community within a sprawling city. The challenge is to provide opportunities for students to engage in community work that enables a greater appreciation of the larger community, its problems as well as opportunities, always within the development of an understanding of that larger context.
Sixth graders work within the safety and familiarity of the school community, investigating its waste disposal, particularly paper waste, and maintaining a worm bin for composting. They plant and maintain a vegetable garden and give the harvest to members of the custodial and security staff. Seventh graders learn to plan and cook meals in Design Technology early in the year, and by mid-year are able to plan and cook meals once a week for a feeding program in a nearby school. Eighth graders experience the problems of the public school system when they tutor first graders in basic skills of reading and math, once a week for 6-8 weeks.
