In 1990, Nancie Atwell turned into a reality her vision of a school that practiced active learning and taught other teachers. She founded the Center for Teaching and Learning, a K–8 demonstration school in Edgecomb. The school has a double purpose: to teach kids in powerful ways and develop effective methods. “That’s been the mission from the beginning,” said Atwell.

Atwell has published several renowned books about effective teaching methods, including The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers and her classic text for teachers, In the Middle, which has sold more than half a million copies. Her latest book, Systems to Transform Your Classroom and School, published by Heinemann, is about CTL and what makes it special.

CTL operates on the understanding that all people, ideas, and opinions are accepted in the school community. “If I had to boil down our social ethos here, it would come down to the rule ‘you can’t say you can’t play,’” said Atwell. This rule applies to all students of all ages. Since the rule is well established, children understand that excluding peers is not tolerated. This makes for a safe and friendly learning environment.

Rather than having students go directly to their classes in the morning, as most schools do, CTL starts every day with an all-school assembly known as Morning Meeting. Atwell commented, “I think Morning Meeting gets our feet under us as a community before we start our day.” Kids share stories and updates about their lives and then read a poem and sing a song together. Only then do the students and teachers head to their classes.

In their reading classes, students are given time to choose their own books and read them. “Choice is everything for readers. If we want them to read well, we need to ensure lots of opportunities for engaged practice,” said Atwell. She believes in Malcolm Gladwell’s ten-thousand rule— ten thousand hours of committed practice are necessary for someone to become an expert in something. Atwell wants students to get good at reading and to enjoy themselves at the same time.

Atwell explained that there are two primary kinds of teaching at CTL: instruction to the whole class and one-to-one help as children engage in independent work. Teachers check in regularly with their students in all their subjects; it’s important for kids to feel known and supported. By learning to work independently and develop problemsolving strategies on their own, children learn how to self-assess.

“Self-assessment is a major thread running through all the learning here,” said Atwell. “At CTL, kids self-assess all day long in all their subjects.” Every trimester, students compile work and self-evaluations into portfolios that they then present to their parents in a conference with their teachers. Children are not given grades at CTL—they set their own goals and also receive additional goals from their teachers. “I think evaluation should be nurturing— should help students grow,” added Atwell.

CTL has many unique traditions that Atwell captures in her new book. Among them are the inside shoes children wear, overnight bookbags for K–4 kids, pumpkin planting in the spring for incoming kindergarteners, combined grades, kindergarten and fourth grade reading buddies, a five-year K-8 spiral curriculum in history and science, a school literary magazine, and a weekly newsletter. Atwell wants other schools and teachers to be able to adopt these customs and traditions, and well as the innovative methods used in classrooms.

“There is a real curiosity among teachers about what else a school could look like,” said Atwell. “This new book opens a window on an exceptional small school—one that has produced, so far, eight high school valedictorians and salutatorians.” The book and DVD of Systems to Transform Your Classroom and School can be purchased from Heinemann or on Amazon. All royalties go to CTL to support tuition assistance. Atwell concluded, “The book and DVD are for educators who want new models for teaching and being with children. CTL’s mission is to inspire change.”