In June, 2007, Purnell School will launch the first annual McCord Symposium for Distinguished Teachers. The Symposium will last two days and bring to campus 12 distinguished independent school secondary teachers from around the country. Teachers will attend the symposium by invitation.
The mission of the McCord Symposium is to stimulate, celebrate and generate innovation in teaching. In advance of the Symposium, teachers will receive readings intended to ignite their creative thinking. A guest speaker will present during the first day to engage the twelve teachers in thoughtful discussion around topics in teaching. This salon type setting will help teachers get to know one another, relax and enjoy the kind of stimulating intellectual conversations that they are often not able to do in the hectic push and pull of an academic year.
An Honor Dinner will be served in Brook House on the second evening, during which all twelve teachers will receive awards for the outstanding work they do at their schools. This will be followed by a video presentation representing their work.
During the day, teachers will form groups and brainstorm projects that they can do back at their schools during the following year. These projects will be highlighted on the Symposium webpage on the Purnell website. Each year, twelve new teachers will be selected as McCord Distinguished Teachers. As teachers continue to attend and bring ideas back to their schools, independent schools across America will be the beneficiaries of the work done at Purnell. The Symposium is the brainchild of Jenifer Fox, who will begin as the Director and principal teacher-leader of the Symposium.
