INTERVIEW SJA Jeju to promote student-led education

School to nurture compassionate, creative, inquisitive students

By You Soo-sun

St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJA Jeju) School Head Peter M. Toscano, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, Dec. 7. / Courtesy of SJA Jeju

• Published Dec 13, 2017 3:57 PM KST
• Updated Dec 13, 2017 3:57 PM KST

The St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJA Jeju), the newest international school on Jeju Island, was built on the idea that students should take the lead in their education. The school, instead, should merely serve to create an environment in which students can question, explore, and collaborate in their learning.

Its head Peter M. Toscano believes this is already happening at the school, now only eight weeks old. It is already becoming a place where students feel free to express their creativity ― something that was missing when he came to Korea 21 years ago to work for public schools here.

What especially struck him back then was that all the classrooms were equipped with lecterns ― an implication that students are expected to listen in order to learn.

“You don’t learn just by listening, but more so by doing,” Toscano said in an interview with The Korea Times, Dec. 7. And it is through active engagement, students can fully express themselves and achieve their potential.

Its curricula, spanning preschool through high school, emphasize student-led growth. And with this approach, the school seeks to nurture students to become inquisitive and compassionate people with global mindsets.

SJA Jeju is unique in that many of its programs are adopted from its main school in Vermont, U.S., which has a history of over 170 years, Toscano explained.

As the only U.S.-grounded international school, it has been rapidly gaining attention here with 443 students already enrolled and staffed with 70 teachers, 80 percent of whom have at least a master’s degree.

Learning by doing

One of the main programs at SJA Jeju is the “senior capstone project,” in which students make a presentation of a topic of their interest at the end of the school year.

Inspired by a program from the Vermont school, the program was extended at SJA Jeju so that students present their projects at the end of their elementary, middle school and high school years.

“It requires them to read deeply, write concisely and present engagingly,” Toscano said. “The idea is that it should be about their passions. They have to pick their topic as they progress throughout their school years. Once they do, teachers merely provide guidance and help them with the materials they need to develop and implement their ideas.”

The project-based learning approach is meant to stimulate innovative thinking and student-centered inquiry. It is a way of fully engaging the students in their learning, Toscano said.

Academically, the school rigorously prepares the students for college. The school runs on a block scheduling system with two separate semesters, allowing students to take eight classes a year. This is meant to provide students with the opportunity to explore different electives or build on a particular area of interest.

As part of its high school curriculum, it offers a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) courses which many U.S. universities accept for credit based on the students’ AP exam scores. It will offer up to six AP subjects next school year and will increase this up to 12 by the following year.

It offers middle school students the AP Spring Board curriculum to prepare them for AP level studies ― the first school in East Asia to do so.

Besides its academic curriculum, the school offers a student exchange program with the main school through which high school students at SJA Jeju may go to the main school in Vermont for a semester. Likewise, students from Vermont can apply to come to Jeju.

Its afterschool activities are diverse, including computer programming, yoga, film production, fashion design, and arts and music. It also has a hiking course, allowing students to explore the different parts of Jeju Island.

School culture

The school has adopted three distinct features from the home school: assembly, advisory and conference period.

First, the assembly is held three days a week during which everyone gathers together to share a moment of silence, listen to the principal’s speech, and take the time to contemplate on the day.

“The main school has been doing this for over 170 years. It’s a way of developing community,” Toscano explained.

It is also a time for students to share their ideas. Recently, 15 students volunteered to give speeches during the assembly.

This was when their personalities shined, according to Toscano ― a moment in which they were able to freely express themselves.

“Everybody is creative. But only some have the opportunity to express their creativity while others do not,” he said. “At SJA Jeju, we encourage the students to express their ideas and know that nobody is going to be disparaging about it.”

The advisory was another program Toscano emphasized. Teachers are each assigned to a group of about six students whom they help guide throughout the students’ school years.

This is already proving successful, with teachers forming a strong bond with their “advisory students.” And because of this system, many teachers are considering to extend their two-year contracts.

Lastly, the school holds conference period every day for 20 minutes at the end of school. All of the teachers are required to hold these, giving the students a chance to talk to them privately and approach them easily.

These features are there to promote an environment in which students can express their creativity, develop their interests, and participate in collaborative learning. And these are already producing beneficial effects.

When the school first opened, there were not many things to share and most of the things were just up to the teachers, he explained.

But in a matter of few days, things began to pick up, as illustrated by the various works of art hanging on the walls, teachers asking for more bulletin boards, and every classroom displaying what they have made in the hallways.

These are all the ways of celebrating student achievement, Toscano said. “And student celebrations should be happening all the time.” he said.