Some of my first memories involve Clear Spring School. Early in the 1980s, in my pre-primary years, I attended the red brick schoolhouse campus. I write campus because there was a structure fire at one point and I think I was actually nearby at another location, not in the red brick building. That’s how I remember it, and as well my few friends from those days. We were very young. I remember Carol Brown as an amazing teacher, listener, and nurturer. She still is and I can feel it when around her.
In my kindergarten year our family drove to Mexico for Christmas break in 1985. During our trip my sickness relapsed and I was hastily hospitalized in Dallas. I was a sick kid in the 1980s and early 1990s and missed lots of school. After our trip and hospital, I returned to Clear Spring School, now at Dairy Hollow.
Public schools treated absenteeism with failure whereas Clear Spring School did not. I was encouraged to flourish and learn without the constant fear of missing days and failing grades. CSS allowed me to learn and work at my own pace.
We were a small group then. I have a handful of friends from that time, still. A couple of them are no longer here; however, I can see them on the playground. Enduring senses of love, friendship, and belonging emanate from there and I can see it clearly when students play there now.
Nancy Wood was my main teacher then. I remember her driving us around, singing, and asking learning questions. Specifically, returning from a dinosaur exhibit at the University of Arkansas and we were all counting out loud “2,4,6,8…” and then “5,10,15,20…”
Camping trips are a big deal at CSS. We would load up in vans, station wagons and pickups, and drive hours away. Flashlight tag and marshmallows by the fire were my favorites. The singalongs, not so much, although I do remember the songs: “Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.”
Steven Foster taught us how to brush our teeth with dogwood. His stepson, Farar, taught me how to antagonize a stepparent while camping.
After the fall camping trip and end of school in 1988, my family moved to Tennessee. My adjustment to public school took months of tears and adjustment as I was accustomed to the idyllic environment that CSS offered. Eventually I gained my confidence and made friends.
We returned to Arkansas in the summer of 1994 and lived in a short blue school bus for the summer in Beaver RV Park. We found a rental house just over the Madison County line and prepared for the fall school year. My mother, Charla Destry, was hired in the pre-primary school at CSS.
My brother, Jackson Destry, was one of the students her first year. At the time CSS was only through sixth grade, so I attended public high school. Friends from CSS moving to seventh grade had an awkward adjustment period and all of them overcame their fears eventually. This was an indication to me that CSS remained a safer, softer place than public school.
Throughout high school and afterwards Charla continued teaching there and Jackson was growing up there. As he entered later grades, he would go back and forth between CSS and the public high school. Before he graduated, I was enlisted by Jessica FitzPatrick to help at CSS as a substitute teacher and chaperone. I was back at school and now around my brother.
During the 2008-09 school year I got to chaperone 2 trips with Jackson. The first was to Heifer International in Perryville, Arkansas. Their world village teaches students how other cultures live in poverty and make do with their limited resources. This activity was great for CSS students because we had always been taught creative ways to problem solve, communicate, and camp in huts.
In April 2009 I accompanied the high school group to Washington, D.C. via train. I was in a unique position to travel with my brother for his senior trip. Our last night in DC, Jackson and I went to a concert. He was 18 and I arranged permission for him through Charla, Jessica, and Phyllis, who was head of school at the time. I know that this was possible because CSS encouraged adventurous endeavors through open mindedness, community communication, and trust built with years of collaborative exposure.
One year later I accompanied another younger group to Santa Fe and Taos in New Mexico, and Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado; Jessica was trip leader. Our group visited cliff dwellings with some ladders in steep areas. As a former student, I realized again the traveling part of learning at CSS is so beneficial for further, future exploration.
A parent chaperone dented the rental van bumper on a big rock, and I was glad it wasn’t me.
Despite adolescent apathy, the students managed to participate, learn, and enjoy themselves. What other school can you think of that decamps to the Abominable Snow Mansion hostel in Taos? As an adult I acknowledged and appreciated the groundwork laid by the school as I witnessed in real time its efficacy with a new generation.
A few years later my roles at CSS changed again. This time I was a parent. My stepdaughter, Anna, attended the pre-primary with Charla, and now I was dropping off, picking up, and participating in lunch making and other daily activities. I realized that Charla was on the path to reach something likened to sainthood, and she was only halfway through her tenure there.
Charles Templeton became interim head of school after Phyllis’s departure. On a block schedule, Fridays were club days and I led two that year, around 2015-16. I led an anatomy and physiology club, and helped students assemble their school year anthology in the spring. Working with Charles on our first writing collaboration led me to sitting in this chair right now to meet deadline…
During this time period I was interested in getting my real estate license and it took me a year to find the classes and make room for the dates. I told Charles I was going to use the money earned from clubs and miscellaneous jobs to pay for the classes and he found me the hours in two weeks. I was able to pay for classes and am now in my seventh year as a Realtor.
In April we went to Hot Springs to crystal dig, visit the Mid-America Science Museum, and Garvan Woodland Gardens, the botanical gardens on the lake. Often split in groups, as is the way with CSS, these smaller pods can roam together and then meet the others at specified times and places. I enjoy this part because you can really connect with 2-4 minds in a distilled moment. The gardens are expansive, and I got to witness some students playfully holding hands and I realized again that lifetime memories are formed on trips away from campus.
In the fall of 2018, our group visited St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. A student’s parent rented a Victorian era 3-story house for us to stay in. Hearing the kids laughing and hanging out in all the rooms was a treat; I felt like I was part of an old movie, this time as the respected, second-thought chaperone, listening to everything.
Currently I am in my fourth decade learning from CSS. I have resumed previous roles and expanded into new ones. I am the parent of another student, Kaya, the boyfriend of a teacher, Hanna, and I’m a board member. This spring I chaperoned a trip to the Ozark Natural Science Center for 3 days of hiking and teenage loathing.
I saw a shooting star during a night hike and spent time reflecting and journaling, another CSS tool for self-discovery. As I sit here, contributing to this anthology, I can’t help but marvel at the profound impact Clear Spring School has had on my life and the lives of others. It has been a sanctuary of learning, a haven of friendship, a springboard for dreams.
I am proud to be a part of the Clear Spring School family. As I continue my journey with CSS, I am filled with anticipation of possibilities, knowing that the spirit of this remarkable school will guide me. Working with the board, I am an ambassador for CSS in creating this anthology. I’ve learned that I can seamlessly work multiple roles within a varied framework to communicate with folks of all backgrounds, and for this and dozens more reasons, I am a part of Clear Spring School.
Miracle in the Woods, a captivating anthology of stories and essays penned by current and former students, parents, and staff, celebrates the spirit and memories of Clear Spring School, which is turning 50 in October. Available in September 2024, your purchase will contribute directly to the school’s fundraising efforts.