Stephens College Children's School

By ANNE SHIFLEY

COLUMBIA — The existence of Stephens College Children’s School is no chicken-or-egg controversy. The laboratory school wouldn’t exist without Stephens' department of education, said Leslie Willey, school director and education department chairwoman. The school is intimately connected with the education department.

“We’re one of the last true laboratory schools in the U.S.,” Willey said. “Our No. 1 mission here is to educate pre-service teachers.”

There are about 50 education students working closely with and observing the six or seven fully certified teachers with varying educational degrees at Stephens College Children’s School in the 2008-09 school year. Observation rooms line the classrooms to give not only students but also parents an opportunity to learn by watching.

This manifest focus on giving college students a hands-on learning experience bolsters the creative juices pulsing through the school. Each college student’s individual interests and strengths add flavor to the school from year to year, Willey said. Annual events such as the Fall Festival in November vary depending on the group of students organizing and designing the celebration. One year might have an apple bob and T-shirt art, while the next may have a hay bale maze.

But one unchanging tradition at Stephens College Children’s School is the Independent Inquiry projects required of second- through fifth-graders every five weeks or so. Students must complete the project at home on whatever subject they choose, but they need to have a written report as well as an oral presentation with visual aides. Past projects have brought everything from roller coasters, bees, tae kwon do and even Queen Elizabeth and Elvis into the classroom.

“Public speaking is a vital skill for children to have,” Willey said.

“And the research process the kids go through is often at a higher level than the college student projects we see,” she said with a laugh. Combined enrollment in the preschool classes and the kindergarten through fifth-grade schoolroom is just under 100, which Willey said is about the maximum the school can accommodate.