Baker Demonstration School
Encyclopedia
Baker Demonstration School is an independent school
located in Wilmette, Illinois
.
Until 2005, Baker was the laboratory school
of the National College of Education, National-Louis University
. In 2005, Baker became an independent school, though still affiliated with National-Louis University and has begun a relationship with Northwestern University. Baker, a progressive school whose teachers differentiate
and provide experiential learning
environments for its students, is a provisional member of the Independent School Association of Central States and in the final phase the three year full accreditation process.
Head of School Daniel Schwartz joined Baker, having served for 12 years as Washburne Middle School Principal in the Winnetka Public Schools. He was Assistant Principal of the school for four years prior to becoming Principal. Before relocating to the Midwest, he lived in Boston, where he worked as Director of Education at the USS Constitution Museum, and was a teacher in both the Boston and Brookline Public Schools as well as at New Perspectives High School, a private therapeutic school. Mr. Schwartz earned his B.A. in History from the University of Connecticut, his M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Lesley University in Cambridge MA, and is currently working on his dissertation at National-Louis University. His dissertation topic is What are the Implications of Progressive Education for School Leadership? Kimeri Swanson-Beck serves as the Instructional Coordinator.
Approximately 80% of Baker graduates attend public high schools such as Evanston Township
, New Trier
, Northside College Prep
, and other CPS selective-enrollment high schools. 15% attend parochial schools Loyola Academy
and St. Ignatius with the remaining 5% attending independent high schools: Latin, Francis W. Parker
and Roycemore
. Baker graduates routinely score high on high school entrance examinations, achieve advanced placement and do well in all high school environments.
Baker is noted for its Middle School Certamen
team, who recently came in second place in the North Shore Junior High Certamen and won prizes in the Northern Regional district. Other school activities include sports such as basketball, flag football, track and soccer teams. Baker competes with other junior day schools and local public schools.
Baker launched Baker Summer Discovery in 2010, where children ages three though ninth grade spend their summer mornings engaged in learning and the afternoons delighted by traditional day camp activities.
The school first opened at 2944 Michigan Avenue, on what was then the "Gold Coast"; in 1918 and moved to the North Shore on the Evanston campus in 1926. By 1929, the Children's School was a complete elementary school with classrooms of nursery through eighth grade. Our school took on the challenge of "charting new ways for better educating the individual as a member of a changing and developing society, and to prepare children for living together in a democracy.";
Clara Belle Baker's vision carefully linked the study of children and the preparation of teachers. A progressive pioneer, she believed that children enjoyed being challenged by unanswered questions and problems. The school soon came to be highly regarded for its style of "learning by doing.";
When Clara Belle Baker retired in 1952, the school was renamed Baker Demonstration School because of the demonstration of best practices in classroom methods. Baker continues to pioneer the practice and the demonstration of innovative teaching techniques, materials, and technology while still adhering to the values and tone set forth by Clara Belle Baker and Elizabeth Harrison.
Notable people who have attended Baker (but not necessarily graduated) include: actor, Charlton Heston
; former U.S. Secretary of Defense
, Donald Rumsfeld
; Eric Pierce; Playboy
CEO
, Christie Hefner; Louis Nelson.
In 2005, Baker became an independent school, though still affiliated with National-Louis University and also now involved with Northwestern University. Baker is a provisional member of the Independent School Association of Central States. Baker is governed by a self-perpetuating 18 person board of directors.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
located in Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...
.
Until 2005, Baker was the laboratory school
Laboratory school
A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentation, educational research, and professional...
of the National College of Education, National-Louis University
National-Louis University
National–Louis University is a private non-profit American university. NLU has campuses in and near Chicago, Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin, Florida, and Nowy Sącz, Poland. Many NLU courses and programs are also offered at-a-distance. The university practices multi-campus, at-a-distance, and...
. In 2005, Baker became an independent school, though still affiliated with National-Louis University and has begun a relationship with Northwestern University. Baker, a progressive school whose teachers differentiate
Differentiated instruction
Differentiated instruction involves providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teaching materials so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in...
and provide experiential learning
Experiential learning
Experiential learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience. Simply put, Experiential Learning is learning from experience. The experience can be staged or left open. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." David A...
environments for its students, is a provisional member of the Independent School Association of Central States and in the final phase the three year full accreditation process.
Head of School Daniel Schwartz joined Baker, having served for 12 years as Washburne Middle School Principal in the Winnetka Public Schools. He was Assistant Principal of the school for four years prior to becoming Principal. Before relocating to the Midwest, he lived in Boston, where he worked as Director of Education at the USS Constitution Museum, and was a teacher in both the Boston and Brookline Public Schools as well as at New Perspectives High School, a private therapeutic school. Mr. Schwartz earned his B.A. in History from the University of Connecticut, his M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Lesley University in Cambridge MA, and is currently working on his dissertation at National-Louis University. His dissertation topic is What are the Implications of Progressive Education for School Leadership? Kimeri Swanson-Beck serves as the Instructional Coordinator.
Approximately 80% of Baker graduates attend public high schools such as Evanston Township
Evanston Township High School
Evanston Township High School District 202, is a four-year, comprehensive high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS serves the multiracial city of Evanston and a small portion of the neighboring village of Skokie, for a total...
, New Trier
New Trier High School
New Trier High School is a public four-year high school , with its major campus located in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, and a second campus in Northfield, Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration...
, Northside College Prep
Northside College Preparatory High School
Northside College Preparatory High School is a Chicago Public-Selective Enrollment School. Founded in 1999, it was the first new Chicago Public High School to be built in 20 years. It is a selective enrollment school, teaching at the Honors and AP levels only...
, and other CPS selective-enrollment high schools. 15% attend parochial schools Loyola Academy
Loyola Academy
Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...
and St. Ignatius with the remaining 5% attending independent high schools: Latin, Francis W. Parker
Francis W. Parker School (Chicago)
Francis W. Parker School is an independent day school serving students from junior kindergarten through grade twelve of high school. Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the school is based on the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey and Colonel Francis Wayland Parker,...
and Roycemore
Roycemore School
Roycemore School is an independent, nonsectarian, co-educational college preparatory school located in Evanston, Illinois serving students in junior kindergarten through Grade 12. The School's current enrollment is approximately 255 students.-History:...
. Baker graduates routinely score high on high school entrance examinations, achieve advanced placement and do well in all high school environments.
Baker is noted for its Middle School Certamen
Certamen
Certamen , Latin for "competition", is a quiz bowl-style competition with classics-themed questions. The reference invokes the brief ancient Greek account of the Contest of Homer and Hesiod, Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi. The formats differ, but most are similar to the formats of quiz bowl...
team, who recently came in second place in the North Shore Junior High Certamen and won prizes in the Northern Regional district. Other school activities include sports such as basketball, flag football, track and soccer teams. Baker competes with other junior day schools and local public schools.
Baker launched Baker Summer Discovery in 2010, where children ages three though ninth grade spend their summer mornings engaged in learning and the afternoons delighted by traditional day camp activities.
History
The roots of Baker Demonstration School reach back to the founding of National College in 1886. College founder Elizabeth Harrison was deeply interested in the individual child and in understanding children's behaviors. Her enthusiasm and commitment to early childhood education sparked a fire of equal dedication in one of her students, Edna Dean Baker. Edna Dean's sister, Clara Belle Baker, founded the Children's School and became its first director.The school first opened at 2944 Michigan Avenue, on what was then the "Gold Coast"; in 1918 and moved to the North Shore on the Evanston campus in 1926. By 1929, the Children's School was a complete elementary school with classrooms of nursery through eighth grade. Our school took on the challenge of "charting new ways for better educating the individual as a member of a changing and developing society, and to prepare children for living together in a democracy.";
Clara Belle Baker's vision carefully linked the study of children and the preparation of teachers. A progressive pioneer, she believed that children enjoyed being challenged by unanswered questions and problems. The school soon came to be highly regarded for its style of "learning by doing.";
When Clara Belle Baker retired in 1952, the school was renamed Baker Demonstration School because of the demonstration of best practices in classroom methods. Baker continues to pioneer the practice and the demonstration of innovative teaching techniques, materials, and technology while still adhering to the values and tone set forth by Clara Belle Baker and Elizabeth Harrison.
Notable people who have attended Baker (but not necessarily graduated) include: actor, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
; former U.S. Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
; Eric Pierce; Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, Christie Hefner; Louis Nelson.
In 2005, Baker became an independent school, though still affiliated with National-Louis University and also now involved with Northwestern University. Baker is a provisional member of the Independent School Association of Central States. Baker is governed by a self-perpetuating 18 person board of directors.