Clear Spring School,which has been called the Miracle in the Woods because there is no other accredited independent school in the country in a community as small as Eureka Spring, is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
“At CSS, we meet students where they are,” Phyllis Poe, a retired educator who has been involved with the school since 1977, said. Poe has been Head of School for the past nine years.
“It’s a project based, hands-on learning style school,” she said. “We focus on the five Cs: communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and character. We teach the students how to learn, which prepares them for a future none of us can foresee.”
Poe said the traditional method of instruction, where the teacher is the “master” and holder of all knowledge while the student is the vessel and receiver of information, assumes a system and structure where all that needs to be known and understood already exists.
“This worked well in the post-industrial revolution era, when information was limited and future jobs had set parameters and prerequisites,” Poe said. “The truth today is that we don’t even know what the jobs for which we are preparing our students, are.
“As the world is increasingly saturated with information and students are bombarded with media, the world inside the classroom and the ‘real’ world outside get further and further apart. If we are not prepared to radically alter our education system, what we teach and how we teach it, we should not be surprised by the consequences of our inactions. In truth, the traditional means of instruction, which is lecture based, is ill-equipped to deal with the sheer amount of information confronting students today.”
Poe initially was an art teacher at the school where she taught all grade levels and subjects throughout the years. She was director of development for six years.
“Graduates have gone on to do amazing things,” Poe said. “We have so many wonderful alums living all over the world in more countries than I can remember. Our travel program really gives them a curiosity and love to learn more about the world. It broadens their perspective. Some are working for international non-profits. Graduates include doctors, architects, PhDs, artists, chefs and good parents.”
Poe said CSS doesn’t just limit its growth to students; parents and teachers also learn a lot. Some teachers leave to get their master’s and PhDs and come back.
“It is about everyone learning,” Poe said.
Jane Tucker, whose three children attended CSS, agreed that it was a whole-family education.
“What it has provided us as a family is we were all educated together,” Tucker said. “I learned as much as they did. The school only went to sixth grade at that time. My oldest son, Devon, was asked what Clear Spring was like after attending public school. He said at public school, they teach you things and at Clear Spring, they teach you how to learn. I think what they learn best is the joy of lifelong learning.”
Devon, who lives in Japan, has become an expert on the Kuril Islands that are in contention between Russia and Japan. He speaks, reads and writes Russian, Japanese and English. He can communicate in Spanish and French, as well.
Molly Seeligson, a co-founder and long-time supporter of the school, agrees the success of students has been significant.
“We’ve had Fulbright scholars, we have had a number of students go to Ivy League colleges, we have had many students study and work abroad,” she said. “For a such a small school, it has been a tremendously wide variety.”
One CSS graduate, Maija Wallace, received a full scholarship to college, traveled and studied abroad in 10 countries, became a Fulbright scholar in Spain, and speaks five languages. She has earned two master’s degrees and works for Homeland Security. Another student has started a business in Russia.
“CSS students fall in love with knowledge,” Seeligson said. “They work with their hands. They travel. It is interesting to be in a small community like Eureka, and feel like the world is your oyster. We have had an inordinate number architects, doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, chefs and designers for the number of students we have had. It is incredible.”
Students often advance quickly and do work at higher grade levels.
“I remember when our seventh graders all tested post high school,” Seeligson said. “The U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander invited me to D.C. to meet with the Undersecretary of Education to tell them how we achieving so much success in our small rural school.”
She attributed a lot of the success to the support of the community contributing to auctions, volunteering at the school, and teaching for not much money.
“I think it is successful because of the community,” Seeligson said. “It is something the community should be very proud of. Banks, other businesses and artists, a whole community has come together to make this happen. When learning is a joy, academic excellence follows.
“When they have a good time and enjoy what they are doing, you just can’t stop them,” she said. “Teachers follow a curriculum, but the methods they use are their own. For example, they might use outdoor classes or go on a field trip. It’s just a wide variety of teaching methods.”
This year’s CSS Spring Fling Auction will be held at Main Stage on March 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. Items found at the CSS Auction are sometimes items rarely found in stores or readily available for sale. A silent auction will begin the night while tasting the abundant buffet of food from around the world. Beginning later in the evening, there will be a live auction, and a D.J. with a fun music selection to meet the theme. Because there is a cash bar, is an adults only event. Art, services, and all things in between, will be listed in a catalogue to help participants view and ponder the items to be auctioned.
Be sure to check out the Clear Spring Fling 2019 Facebook page for a peek at some of the generous donations to be auctioned. Tickets are available at the door or can be purchased in advance by calling (479) 253-7888.