(Written By: Delani Ennis)
Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking with a member of our esteemed leadership team, Danielle Cassase. Mrs Cassase started at Calvary four years ago with her two daughters Natalie and Priscilla.
At first, the Cassase's were uncertain as to whether or not Calvary was the right cooperative for their family. Due to the fact, they were originally looking for a group that was heavily academic in addition to extra curricular activities. However, in no time at all, Calvary with all its charms, won them over.
Being a member of the leadership board has enabled Mrs. Cassase to incorporate her desire for academics which has become a benefit for us all.
One thing that Mrs. Cassase really likes about Calvary is that the classes are hands on and immersive, where students are encouraged to really think and solve important issues. She also enjoys that the parents and teachers can learn as much as the students. She appreciates how the parents and students have a large say in what gets taught, where as at other places she has been the students were given a schedule and they didn't have a lot of say in what went on when it came to education and learning.
Some other things that Mrs. Cassase would like to see happen at Calvary as we move forward, is that she feels we could improve in the area of really getting our students prepared for college.
Such as, learning and studying for CLEP tests, admissions writing, building portfolios, and collage level essay writing. However she does believe that Calvary has an advantage over other cooperatives because of its official New York State school number.
When asked if she would recommend someone to the cooperative; she quickly replied with absolutely! stating “she has previously recommend it to different families; especially those of whom were feeling over whelmed; as it is an outlet where they could bring their children to learn and find different resources, as well as those who could use a social outlet.” Advice she would give to someone on their first day is to stick with it, do not judge it by the first day; wait and see how it goes.
A helpful suggestion would be to write down your child’s class schedule and room number as an attempt to make the day less hectic. She also says to offer up your gifts, as God has blessed everyone with different gifts, for example, if you are good at art teach art, or if you're better with small children try the nursery. Do what makes you comfortable and would be beneficial for all involved and help the co-op run smoothly and attempt to create a stress free day.
When asked why it is she loves teaching, I was surprised at her response; stating that she actually doesn't like it at all. She is much more a learner, than a teacher; her teaching style is more interactive and hands on where she learns along with the students in an attempt to keep them engaged; compared to just lecturing to them or assigning tests. If Mrs. Cassase were to attend Calvary as a student knowing what she does now; her class schedule would look as follows:
It would be two days a week; the first day being writing, a lab science, debate team, and CLEP exams for collage credit, because she felt high school was not challenging enough.
Her second day would be more performance, like drama, choir, and maybe even an organized sport; not just gym class.
She feels meeting a second day for discussion would be good, due to the fact you can't do everything in one day. She feels that teaching one day and then actually working and testing another day would be beneficial because “you can ask a child to read but by the time they get to class, days later, they most likely will not remember it.”
All in all, I think Mrs. Cassase has some great ideas, what do you think?
