Field School flourishing

By Barney Breen-Portnoy

Published: May 5, 2008

For several years, Todd Barnett envisioned founding an all-boys middle school in the Charlottesville area.
Last fall, he turned that vision into a reality with the opening of the Field School in Crozet.
The school has 23 students — 13 in fifth grade and 10 in sixth. The school will add a seventh-grade class for the upcoming school year and an eighth grade the following year.
The mission of the Field School is to develop well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment, Barn-ett said.
“We keep that mission simple, so everyone can remember it,” he said.
Barnett has been an educator for nearly 20 years and has worked at several all-boys schools.
In 2000, he co-founded the Field Camp of Charlottesville, a co-ed day and overnight summer camp.
Given the success of the Village School, a private all-girls middle school in Charlottesville founded more than a decade ago, Barnett concluded there was a need for a similar all-boys middle school in the area.
“We wanted to be the boys alternative to the Village School,” he said.
Planning and fundraising for the Field School started about two years before last fall’s opening. Barnett was able to raise about $50,000 and worked with county park officials to secure access to a seldom-used building in Claudius Crozet Park. The building includes space for four classrooms, as well as a shared office.
Field School students receive daily instruction in English, history, math, science and Latin.
Arts and music activities, such as choir, are also incorporated into the school day, as are team sport activities.
Subjects are tied together by interdisciplinary themes. Themes used this year have included pioneers, aviation, service, civics, blues music and the Chesapeake Bay.
The school has four full-time staff members: English and Latin teacher Ned Oldham; math and science teacher Scott Rubinow; office manager Lady Keller; and Barnett, who teaches history. The school also employs several part-time arts and music teachers.
Trips abound
Barnett is a strong believer in the value of field trips, and Field School students have taken 14 so far this year. A field trip to the Air and Space Museum in Washington capped off the aviation theme and the civics theme included a trip to the statehouse in Richmond.
The curriculum is designed specifically to meet boys’ interests, Barnett said.
“Schools chronically try to do too much,” he said. “But because we can just focus on the interests of boys, we are able to simplify everything education tries to do.”
Oldham believes that Latin has helped students both with their organizational skills and their English grammar.
“The kids have enjoyed the discipline of Latin and it has resulted in the development of good organizational habits in some previously scatterbrained students,” he said. “And students now come at English grammar through Latin, which gives us more time in English to discuss ideas and write creatively.”
Both Oldham and Rubinow credited Barnett for allowing them to tailor the curriculum as they see fit. The only requirement is that the curriculum stays within the guidelines of preparing students for high school.
“We have the freedom to run our classrooms the way we want,” said Rubinow, who became a teacher several years ago after a career in the financial sector in New York City.
After working in the corporate world, Rubinow also appreciates how the small size of the school allows decisions to be made and implemented quickly.
“We discuss something at 8:45 a.m. and it is policy at 9 a.m.,” he said. “There is no bureaucracy.”
Expectations met
Ruthie Buck, the mother of sixth-grader Daniel Pisano, said that the school has met the expectations she and her husband had.
“It’s just been great,” she said. “Daniel really, really likes school and it’s fun to have a child who enjoys all aspects of school.”
Buck particularly likes the school’s flexible nature.
“There was a gorgeous afternoon so they decided to get on bus and go to the Blue Ridge to hike,” she said.
Riley Covert, a Field School fifth-grader who had previously attended Jackson-Via Elementary, enjoys the Field School’s less structured environment.
“Not everything is planned or set in stone,” he said. “So we get to do more experiments and it’s a lot more fun.”
Barnett expects the Field School’s enrollment to grow over the coming years. Several dozen prospective students already have visited the school this year. Tuition cost $8,500 this year.
Barnett’s long-term vision for the Field School includes building a campus as close to Charlottesville as real estate prices will allow.
“Todd has a real passion for this school,” Buck said.