Alumnus Testimonial:

Michael, 2001 Schilling School graduate -
            "My first day at The Schilling School was the best day of my academic life, because it opened the door to a true academic challenge. 

            I spent all of my elementary years in public school, an experience that left me bored and unmotivated. Even the gifted pull-out program had nothing to challenge me. And I was to a certain extent ostracized because of my ability, some of my classmates even taking it as an accomplishment when they could catch me in a mistake in class. 

            It was all different at Schilling. I loved the small classes and the opportunity they provided for discussion. I always asked a lot of questions, and the interaction with the teachers at Schilling helped me learn and motivated me to work harder so that I could ask harder questions. It was at Schilling that I became a skilled writer, and was able to take math and science classes from a teacher who had been considered in 1990 for a Nobel Prize. It was a Schilling trip to Washington, D.C. that gave me the opportunity to meet and talk with the late Stephen J. Gould. And it was at Schilling that I discovered, thanks to a very gifted teacher, a love of Asia that has developed into my career direction. The competitiveness at Schilling was not who's right and who's wrong, but finding the questions and answers that led to learning. 

            Following my graduation from Schilling in 2001, I spent a year in Taiwan as a Rotary International Exchange Student, and from there I enrolled at Tufts University, where I have been a Dean's List student each semester with a double major in Chinese and international relations. 

            And it all began – truly began – on August 27, 1997, the first day I walked into The Schilling School."

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The following are samples of student responses to the question, “What Does the Schilling School Mean to Me?”

Dayna 10th grade: In one word, alot.  In 32, this school has both an environment of creativity and a wealth of academic opportunity.  I cannot express my appreciation and debt to the teachers and students here adequately enough with mere English.

Robert 11^th grade:  Having a place that develops the mind, without restricting our thoughts.  It is one of the few places that gives a spark to my creativity, logic and curiosity.  An amazing variety of people come here, faculty included, which prevents any day from seeming plain. 

Kevin 9th grade:  Work that is finally a challenge, freedom to learn however works best, and the ability to personally know all my teachers and classmates.                       

Sarah 2^nd grade:  Schilling is the best school, because in my other school I had to spell 3 and 4 letter words!  Now that I’m at Schilling, I feel better because I don’t have to spell words like “spot” and “read”!  In my other school, we didn’t read any chapter books!

Stephen 11^th grade:  It is a place where friends are made and acceptance is genuine.  It is a place where I have learned far more than I ever imagined.  Simply put, it is a great school to be a member of.

Tyler 8th grade:  The Schilling School puts me in an environment where I can use my intellect to its full extent.  The school is nurturing and caring, but at the same time, it is challenging.  Here, I can discuss my opinions and views on things freely, therefore enhancing my learning.  Schilling means a great deal to me.                  

Chris 12th grade:  I enjoy the discussion-oriented classes and the flexibility with regard to class placement, which takes each student’s strengths and weaknesses into account.  It’s also nice how the teachers work to teach us the concepts and applications of the subject, rather than requiring excessive busywork. 

Curtis 2^nd grade:  I have a lot more freedom here than I had at my old school.  Schilling challenges me more than my old school.  This school tries hard to let everybody be bilingual.      

Richard 9^th grade:  It is a place where I can study the things I am able to, at the level I am at.  How many 9^th graders get to take calculus?

Audrey 11th grade:  Students here are very accepting and I can be myself around them more so than I feel I can at home.  My good ideas feed off of those of other students.

James 6^th grade:  At Schilling, I feel safe.  At my old schools, I was called “anti-social,” “geek,” “idiot.”  Here I feel among equals.  Schilling changed my life.

Tristan 3^rd grade:  I like the Schilling School, because I’m challenged.  I like that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we take math, science, reading, language arts and social studies.  On Tuesday and Thursday we take drama, Español or Français, gym, art, creative movement and music.

Austin 9^th grade:  Schilling is a place where gifted children can both learn and have fun, and fit in!

Adam 6^th grade:  I like Schilling School because it has a lot of flexibility.  For example, I’m in sixth grade and I take geometry and astronomy. Last year I had physics, anatomy and physiology, and algebra.  I’m also taking fencing this year.  I really like this school!

Bob 11^th grade: This school is a place where I finally fit in.  The kids are nice, the teachers are great and the courses are awesome.

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            It doesn't seem like I've been teaching at The Schilling School for seven years, but I have. In fact, I was a part of the school even before it opened its doors in August of 1997, working with Dr. Schilling as she turned her dream of a school for academically gifted young people into the “knowledge unlimited” experience it has become.

            I am a scientist and an entrepreneur as well as an educator, with a PhD in chemistry and an international reputation as an expert in Auger spectroscopy. My work has been featured in several scientific books and international journals. I write this not to brag about myself but to indicate the caliber of instruction offered at Schilling. I have really found an intellectual home here, both with the faculty and with the students.

            I have been known to say that my time at Schilling is my “recess,” but perhaps a better word is “recreation” or “re-creation,” because it is my opportunity to work with talented students who remind me of myself when I was their age. At Schilling I am privileged to teach in a collegial atmosphere where students learn eagerly and my energy is renewed.

            It is also academically stimulating to work alongside faculty members like Judy Strong, a Yale PhD and research scientist at the University of Cincinnati, and Paul Bowen, who also earned his doctorate at Yale and whose gifts range from philosophy, math and science to mentoring students and writing a novel.

            I teach advanced science and math courses at Schilling, but every once in a while I sneak into one of the Lower School classrooms – like Judith Johnson's kindergarten class, where creative things are always going on – and talk science with the younger children. And believe me, I don't do all the talking! You can't talk about atoms and molecules and why we have tides even to kindergartners at Schilling unless you seriously know your science.

            Schilling's foreign language teachers bring a true international flavor to the school. Mieke Klok, Belgian by birth, lived in both Switzerland and France before coming to the United States and Schilling School. Frank McAvinchey has worked with Spanish speaking migrant workers in California and children in a Mexican orphanage, Atsuko Fatica was born and raised in Japan and Amy Zhao was born and raised in China.

            We have three working artists on our faculty, Calista Bockenstette, Tom Dusterberg and Jan Peak, and I understand that at a showing a couple of years ago – a showing that included the work of some Schilling students – visitors literally flocked around the oil paintings of Mrs. Bockenstette's young Rembrandts.

            I am a busy man as founder and president of my own business, Precision Analytical Instruments. But I never let myself be so busy that I don't have time to teach at The Schilling School, one of the privileges of my life.

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