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Chicken Coop School


Overview

The Chicken Coop at the Farm School is a full-time Middle School for local children. It offers local middle-school students the opportunity for an excellent education in North Orange, MA. Graduates of the Chicken Coop have excelled at Athol and Mahar, Monty Tech, Franklin County Tech, Northfield Mt. Hermon, Cushing Academy, Winchendon Academy, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, and Four Winds Charter School.

The total class has 10-14 students. There are often two teachers in the room, so children have some classes in groups of 6. Teachers are able to meet students where they are as learners and then challenge and extend their thinking by engaging them in year-long projects that lead to a deep understanding of the topics. Most importantly, the teachers know their students and have the time to be joyful with them.

The students leave the Chicken Coop more than prepared for any high school. Students can study math through quadratic equations, develop their thinking in the weekly 5 paragraph essay, and get plenty of experience reading critically and thinking carefully.

Curriculum

The Chicken Coop curriculum covers a full range of subjects including Social Studies, Reading and Writing, Math, Science, Physical Education and Art and is organized around a number of core principles. These principles include:


Teachers

Theresa Heary and Wendy Davenport are the principal teachers at the Chicken Coop. Both of them have their Masters degrees in Education, and many years experience teaching. They have both been at the Chicken Coop since its beginning, 9 years ago. They love their jobs, and enjoy watching children learn and grow.


A Sample Day at the Chicken Coop

Time
 Subject
 Sample Content
8:30-8:50 Games and Meeting The students check in with each other and the teacher, play a singing game, and learn what the day's adventures will be.
9:00-10:00 Literature or Social Studies The children study literature with Wendy or Social Studies with Theresa. In literature, they might be carefully considering a book such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry, or a more contemporary novel. In Social Studies, they might be making a board game that depicts the path a bill takes in becoming a law, or analyzing the role of Gandhi in the thinking of Martin Luther King.
10:00-10:10 Break In most all weather, the students have their breaks outside. They might climb trees, visit the chickens, or chase each other through the snow.
10:15-11:45 Writing and Math half groups The students have both writing and math in half groups. This means that there are usually about 6 kids in a class. The small group sizes allow the teachers to more effectively meet everyone's learning needs. Kids are able to advance as far as they can, but they are encouraged to take their time and really learn the material well.
11:45-12:30 Lunch and Recess The kids eat lunch together in the farm house. They might chat with a farmer at lunch, or see what they are up to on the farm. Lunch is always lively. After they finish eating, the kids play outside.
12:30-1:15 Essay The kids might read and discuss an article that they will write about in their weekly essay. They often get the essay started at school, and then finish it for homework.
1:15-2:00 Science, Art, Construction, Gardening, or Chores Every afternoon is a little bit different. Some days they do a science experiment in the garden. Recently they did an investigation of the simple machine while disassembling a tractor engine. They designed and constructed their own tables and desks.
2:00-2:15 Tidy The students maintain their own office spaces and the shared spaces on the farm and in the classroom.
2:15-2:45 Independent Reading The children read any book that is interesting to them. The teacher confers with them about their reading and their selection of books.
2:45-3:00 Read Aloud  
3:00-3:15 Meeting and Homework  
3:15-3:45 Dismissal  

Children get about an hour of homework each day.

Evaluation

Children get an extensive written evaluation of their academic progress twice each year. The students are not graded against each other, but are instead evaluated as to their own personal learning. For a list of the skills we attempt to teach, click here, and for a sample evaluation, click here.

Costs

We aim to cover the teachers modest salary and any expenses for in-school supplies with contributions and tuition. Current tuition is $3,600/year, paid in monthly installments. This fee covers about half the total cost of the education – the other half comes from fund raising in the community. Tuition can be reduced to match the particular capacities of individual families.

Logistics and Application

We convene during typical school hours with activities based at the Chicken Coop at Maggie's Farm (thus the name), which a part of The Farm School. We are organized in the form of a home school cooperative: we provide parents with our curriculum, which fits within the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and the parents then submit the curriculum to their school district for approval for their child.

If you are interested in exploring the Chicken Coop for your child, please get in touch with Theresa Heary at theresa@farmschool.org, or call 978-248-9426 to arrange a visit. If you'd like to apply after seeing it in action, we have a simple application process, the core of which is a conversation with the parents. Let's work together to figure out if this is a good match and that, indeed, we can serve you and your child well!

Download the Chicken Coop Admissions Application here (pdf format).

The Farm School does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, family structure, or national or ethnic origin in any of its school administered policies or programs.

Contact

Theresa Heary
theresa@farmschool.org
Chicken Coop at The Farm School
80 Athol Road
Orange, MA 01364
978.248.9426