Barbara McFall, Betsye Sargent
Founders and heads of The Phoenix School

“Don’t do it,” said a marketing team from Suffolk U. after evaluating the potential for opening a new school in Salem in 1981, but Barbara McFall and Betsye Sargent paid no attention and went ahead anyway. You may remember 1981 was a time much like today. Budget deficits, staff lay-offs, programs cuts were all having a serious impact on the Salem Public Schools. As employees of the Salem Public Schools, we were not willing to see the substance of the gifted and talented and magnet school programs decimated, so we left the system and founded The Phoenix Enrichment Center, now The Phoenix School. Truly rising from the ashes of an economic downturn, The Phoenix School continues to offer a vibrant, innovative educational opportunity in downtown Salem.

The Phoenix School is now located at 89 Margin St., next door to the Salem Police Station. In addition to a full-time educational program for children in Pre-K through grade 8, it offers enrichment programs on Saturdays and vacations as well as during the beginning and end of the summer. These ‘adventures’ are especially designed for bright, curious kids looking for the intellectual and creative challenges that may not always be offered in their regular schools.

27 years of challenges

Like any small business we faced a myriad of challenges over the last twenty-seven years. We were educators; what did we know about running a business? Contributing $300 each and our retirements, we went ahead anyway. Twenty families believed in us and joined us on this adventure. “It wasn’t always easy, but we always found a way. When our first space wasn’t ready for the opening of school, we simply packed our school supplies into the back of my station wagon and headed to school on Winter Island for several weeks,” Betsye remembers. “Thank goodness it didn’t rain.”

In the beginning our financial books were done by hand, carefully color-coded to show each expense. We knew where every penny went, but our first accountant almost fell off his chair laughing when he saw them. Needless to say, although our books may not be as pretty to look at, they now follow proper accounting practices.

Whenever we thought things were settled, there was always a new challenge. When the City told us our 120 Washington St. building was unsafe, we packed the entire school in three days and moved into the auditorium of St. Mary’s School, thanks to the generosity of the Immaculate Conception Church and the Archdioceses. All Father Murphy asked was that we didn’t move in on Good Friday. Or when we had all our school supplies packed up ready for our move to 118 Washington St., the space wasn’t finished in time for the beginning of school. What did we do? We boarded a yellow school bus every day with our backpacks, clipboards, and lunches and went ‘on the road’ to learn.

An education especially suited to the new and rapidly changing demands of the world

No matter what the challenge was, we didn’t miss a beat. The educational program never suffered; perhaps it was even enriched. The kind of thinking that allowed us to meet each new challenge is part of what makes a Phoenix education what it is today, an education especially suited to the new and rapidly changing demands of the world –flexibility, working together to solve problems, creative thinking, excellence. When one thing doesn’t work, regroup and try something else has been our philosophy and it is what we teach our students. “We talk with our kids about ‘climbing mountains’ or finding ways to meet personal challenges, taking risks, and learning from mistakes,” said Barbara McFall. “Although there may be T.B.P. (temporary brain pain) along the way, there is no better feeling than reaching the top of the mountain and experiencing the feeling of success. This is what builds self-esteem — finding one’s own personal strengths inside – and give ourselves our power to succeed.”

The vision, energy, and passion of the founders

“One cannot talk about Betsye Sargent and Barbara McFall without talking about The Phoenix School,” said long-time music teacher Linda Hall, “ because the School and what it represents embodies who they are as well as their contributions to the Salem community and to the education of children. Although they have won numerous awards for innovative educational programs in math, science, technology/engineering and for community service, it is really their vision, passion, and energy that has allowed them to weather the ever-changing directions in education, the economy, and shifts in demographics.”

Over the years we have often felt like we are on a ship, holding steady in the midst of the storm. Whether it was economic conditions, shrinking demographics, changes in educational philosophies, MCAS, safety, or Gen-Xers demand for measurable outcomes, there was always something to consider. We have come to realize that the core values of The Phoenix School are just as valid now as they were in 1981, perhaps even more so. Preparing students of today for success in the world in which they will live is not as simple as MCAS scores and fancy facilities. It is the love and excitement for learning, the quest for excellence, the concern for making the world a better place as well as the ability to collaborate, to think critically and creatively, to be open to new ideas and challenges, to be willing to reach beyond where we know we can go that will meet the requirements for success in the Innovation Economy in which we now live.

Two strong women are now three

What began with two strong women sharing a vision for education plus the passion, energy and, skill to bring it to life has become three. Embracing the philosophy of the founders, Leslie Levesque has added extensive skills and knowledge to the team, another empowered woman to ensure the viability of The Phoenix School into the future.

Phoenix kids care, too.
EarlyAct decides to donate $1,000 to help the Salem Public Schools.

On Friday 26 students in grades PK-7th at The Phoenix School in Salem met to discuss the financial problems in the Salem Public Schools. Finding it hard to imagine losing a teacher or changing teachers in the middle of the year, they empathized with their peers. The message was clear. We need to help, too.
These students are members of the Phoenix School’s EarlyAct Club. EarlyAct is an elementary school community service club sponsored by the Salem Rotary. As a club they perform community service and raise money to give away to others. For two years they have been saving money to help a school in Costa Rica. It is this money that they decided to share with the Salem Public Schools to help save teachers’ jobs.

As Jeffrey Childs of Byfield said, “Why should we save all this money for a school so far away when our schools are in trouble here?” Others in the club agreed, and they voted to share their money.
“How much should we give?” From the youngest to the oldest, everyone had a say. They discussed 3 possibilities: $750, $1000, or $1200, finally deciding to give $1000. Leo Santoro of Salem summed it up well, “I think $1000 is a good amount, not too much, not too little. It will still leave us with some money for the school in Costa Rica.” Daniel Tremblay of Peabody agreed, but added, “I just wish there was more we could do.”
“Service to the community is an integral part of the mission and philosophy of The Phoenix School, said Head Barbara McFall. “Yet the decisions the students make as part of the EarlyAct Club are theirs alone to make. I was impressed by their concern and the thoughtfulness of their deliberations as they made their decision to help.”
As parent Kim Underhill said, “I am tremendously proud of the decision that the EarlyAct Club made today.”
Parent April Crane agreed, “This was such a wonderful action and I am glad my daughter had this experience. I’m so proud of these kids.”

Here is a copy of the letter that Daniel Tremblay of Peabody sent to Mayor Driscoll along with the EarlyAct check for $1000. You can see from what he wrote, what an important decision this was for the EarlyAct Club members and how much they cared.

Daniel’s Letter

Dear Mayor Driscoll,

We are the EarlyAct Club of The Phoenix School. We help the community and the world as best we can. We heard about the money problem that the city is having right now and our Steering Committee wanted to help. The Steering Committee discussed what our EarlyAct Club is doing to help the community. A couple of years back we decided to help a school in Costa Rica and we have been saving money for three years. We now have $2,733.66 to spend on community service. Since we wanted to help, we debated whether we should give some of this money to the Salem schools and if we do, how much should we give. We figured why should we donate to a school so far away when our schools are in trouble here and decided to make a recommendation to our Club that we use some of our EarlyAct money that we had been saving for the project in Costa Rica to make a donation to the schools of Salem.

We are afraid that if there is lost money and teachers have to be fired, that a number of bad things will happen. Classes will grow bigger and that is bad for the kids who will get less attention, thus not get as good an education, and the teachers will have more kids to handle. There will also be teachers dumped without jobs in the middle of the year who will have to get new jobs on a moment’s notice. My dad is getting a new job himself except he had some time to find a new one so it is not as bad as it will be for the teachers.

The whole school of 26 kids PK-8th grade, teachers, and our school dog got together today and had a big discussion. We went from person to person and we each had a say about what we thought. Everyone thought we should help the Salem schools. Some people thought we should donate $750 because the school in Costa Rica still deserved a lot. Some people said we should go with $1200 because the schools here are really important. Everyone including the really little ones all seemed to understand and have their own opinion. In the end we voted to give $1000 to help the schools of Salem. I just wish there was more we could do.

Sincerely,
Daniel Tremblay, grade 5
Assistant Treasurer, EarlyAct Club

100% of the 3rd through 6th grade students at The Phoenix School in Salem qualified to participate in the Center for Talented Youth Talent Search 2007, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth :

• Jonah Levin
• Leo Santoro
• Zachary Barshevsky
• Matt and Daniel Tremblay
• Eric McCathern
• Olivia Hanna
• Andrew Fusco
• Jeffrey Childs
• Matt Wysocki
• Sam Carlberg

The purpose of the Talent Search is to identify, assess, and recognize the academic abilities of highly able students. To qualify for the Talent Search, students must score in the 95th percentile or higher in a reasoning or achievement section of a nationally normed test. Should they choose to do so, students are then eligible to take additional above grade level qualifying exams to better assess their mathematical and verbal reasoning abilities. The CTY Talent Search then offers a variety of services and opportunities for qualified students.

The Phoenix School Receives $2,500 Best Buy Teach Award to Enhance Technology in School Curricula

Best Buy Teach Award Program Gives $4 Million to Schools Nationwide for Integrating Interactive Technology into the Curricula

The Phoenix School announced today that Best Buy has awarded a $2,500 Teach Award to the school for integrating interactive technology into the curriculum. The funds will be used to enhance the interactive technology throughout the school.

“Engineering/technology design challenges are strong motivators for learning academic concepts and using higher level thinking skills.” - Betsye Sargent, Head of School

Best Buy started the Teach Award Program in October 2003, to reward schools that creatively integrate interactive technology into their curricula. All accredited, public and private nonprofit elementary, middle and secondary schools located within 50 miles of a Best Buy store were eligible to apply. Awards of $2,500 were given to 1,300 schools to sustain or enhance existing educational programs.

“Today, teachers across the country are using technology in new and exciting ways; we want to support and recognize their efforts to engage students and make learning fun,” said Paula Prahl, VP of Public Affairs for Best Buy. “The Teach Award program helps creative educators enhance their curricula. By committing dollars to the communities in which we work and live, we can more fully support our employees, our customers, and their families.” Visit www.BestBuy.com and click on Community Relations for more information about how Best Buy supports communities and the education and technology-based partnerships and programs it supports.

The Phoenix School offers an accelerated curriculum for students in Pre-K through 8th grade. To learn more about our innovative program for 21st century achievement visit www.phoenixschool.org or call 978-741-0870.