Roundtable Q&A Discussion About Delano Academy & Delano High (2020)

My boys have become very independent and I think Delano Academy has a lot to do with the fact that our kids spend 90% of their time at school. They're hardly ever home. They're always at school. I think that has a lot to do with the school itself, the teachers, and everybody that works there.

I think that you have exceeded my expectations right now. Delano Academy is awesome. I think you are great, and the kids love it, and you can see it. It makes a big difference.

I have to tell you that even when there's no school, my kids ask, ‘Can we go to school?’ That's how much they love Delano Academy. I thought after the pandemic, and after being online for classes, they would have been done. I thought they would have said, ‘Oh, my God,’ but you guys were so awesome with them that every morning they get up and run downstairs.

My kids were so excited that they went out and told everybody what an awesome school, what great teachers, what great friends they have. It's like they have a big family, and they love the work, even though they say it's challenging. That's what makes it so great, because they listen to their friends talk about their schools, and they say, ‘You don't know what you're missing at Delano.

Obviously, we want Delano Academy to grow much bigger, but my boys say what makes you so special, is that the connection that you have, and the size the school is right now is so unique to every individual. The school knows so much about every single child that comes there. They love that Delano Academy caters to everybody.

Whether they stay until Grade 8 or move on in Grade 12, basically Delano Academy is  setting them up to what life is going to be when they leave through the learning and the teaching with technology and all the programs that you guys have to offer.

Whatever you guys are doing, I'm sure the kids are loving it, because they're happy no matter what. You really would think they would not be happy right now because of COVID, but they are.

Everyone’s so caring. They try to make everybody feel comfortable. Everybody's nervous on the first day of school, if you're new.

The first time I met with the school, I didn't get resistance. Instead, I got acceptance, and Delano Academy understood who my kid was. They knew, just like I did, that if you solve the academic problem, then the social and emotional issues can be dealt with just as easily. A lot of the time the social and emotional issues act up because the academics aren't satisfied.

This year my son is in Grade 7 for most of his classes, and Grade 6 for a few of his classes. It was that acceptance that really brought us to this school. It felt like coming home, it felt like coming to a place where they just got you, and not only understood my kid, but understood the struggle of the entire family. It continues to be this safe place, this place where he can be himself, either on a good day or a bad day, because he does have bad days.

The teachers and everyone respected him, and they would speak with him with respect. They would understand that, sometimes, he doesn’t act his biological age. He's either older or younger. And they were very adept at recognizing which age kid they were talking to. Sometimes that would switch mid-sentence, and they were just able to adapt to that.

I also really appreciate how in class the curriculum is sometimes a little bit controversial, in that they'll speak about news items. They've spoken about Black Lives Matter, and they've gone through studying the holidays. Delano Academy doesn't just do the big holidays; they do all of them. It's about respecting everyone and learning that there are things in your life that are beyond your own nose. They talk about that stuff, and they do it respectfully, and they do it very appropriately, but they address them. So it exceeded my expectations when we started in Grade 3, and it still far exceeded my expectations of what the school is.

We didn't know what to expect about my son's health during the pandemic. My son's world was falling apart except for school. That really had an impact on him, and on all of us. Delano Academy kept us all on a routine. My other kids were home, and we kind of kept our routine going the same as Delano, it gave us all stability during that time.

My son is up and ready to go to school, his uniform on, his bag is packed with everything before I come downstairs. After, he comes home and logs in and does his homework, before I have the chance to ask, ‘Do you have any homework today?’ In the car ride home, he tells me voluntarily about what he did at recess, who he hung out with, what was discussed in science class or in history class, or what current event is getting discussed in language class, and what the assignments are. It's the voluntary information that speaks more volumes to me, than when I say, ‘How was your day today?’

Delano Academy is about forward thinking, and gaining knowledge, and caring, and thoughtfulness, and all of those traits that we all want for our kids, but sometimes parents aren't the best teachers to instill that in them. That is where the teachers and staff come in. That kind of leads into the families. We all want the best for our kids. We are all pretty frank about our kids, too. We tend to know that while they are all great children, they are not perfect.

On my son's first day, back in Grade 3, he was assigned a buddy in his class to show him around, show him where the bathrooms are, where lockers are, and eat lunch with him, that sort of thing. So, there was an immediate connection, and that bled into who are you going to play with at recess and the idea of being included and having instant friends. So, the buddy system worked really well.

It goes back to the idea of inclusiveness and acceptance.  You walk in the doors. You are part of this family. And that is very much instilled into the kids.

You are immediately part of a family, and part of this sense of belonging. The shyness of having to meet and make all these new friends dissipates very quickly because of how Delano Academy is set up to be inclusive, and to promote oneness and wholeness.

I was particularly careful in my choice because we are a black family and I had some fears and apprehensions about that because I wanted to make sure that she would be welcomed and accepted, but in a seamless way that it wouldn't be hard, or difficult, and I have found this at Delano Academy, and I'm so happy about that.

I saw the curriculum offered at Delano Academy, and it spoke to me. I know that this is a gift, an investment that I'm making in my daughter so that she will be ready for whatever the future holds.

Many things have impressed me about Delano Academy, but the one thing that stood out, specifically from my daughter's perspective, is how many students she knows. One of the biggest hesitations for my daughter to move to a new school was  ‘How am I going to make friends?’ Now, every day she has come to me and mentions new names of new students that she's engaged with and met.

Delano Academy has absolutely exceeded my expectations, because she has friends not just in her class, but also in other grades that are part of her cohort. So that's one way I think that my expectations have been exceeded, and she's adjusted well in large part because of that.

I have been trying every which way, trying to rephrase my question of what my daughter does not like about Delano Academy in so many different ways, and the answer is a blank. I cannot get from her anything that she does not like about Delano Academy. I have asked and I've tried.

Three words to describe Delano Academy are authentic, fun, and approachable.

It's that amazing balance of valuing the child, each child, knowing their names, who they are. For a child, it is so comforting knowing that they matter and really feeling it  but that doesn't trump the collective. You’re part of a house team. You're part of a class. There's the respect that Delano Students have to have for each other. You have to learn how to coexist. You're all important, individually, but also as a group.

Delano Academy is in such alignment with me and my family and the way that we value our kids  . I don't just care about my kids. I care about the kids in the community, in the neighbourhood, in the schools as well, because I want all of them to do well. I find the Delano's showing such an incredible balance between these two complementary sets of values.

Delano knows wellness is important and they're going to do something about it. I'm so pleased with that. The wellness side is really taken care of and it's raised in importance and value. I think the kids can then grow up to value that as well, and I like that.

My daughter has never been happier. She's finally at a school where she's challenged in certain areas that she absolutely needed to be challenged in  and also emotionally and peer wise. As we know, the last year has been exceptionally difficult, particularly for our children with the lockdown, and everything else that they're trying to process around that mentally. She desperately needed something like Delano Academy.

It's overwhelming in such a beautiful way, that Delano is truly a family and she needs that. So, scholastically she's getting it, peer wise she's getting it, mentally and psychologically, she's getting it. It's just really an incredible program. I'm not just saying that because I teach there. So, on the next note, because I teach there, I can truly say that it's just a really strong program in every way, and it's such an incredible team as well.

Delano Academy has also exceeded my expectations because it's small. It’s nice to see that students have a very close tie with not only their peers but also with their teachers, and the adults who are there. The relationships are closely tied, but they're not allowed to get away with anything, but it's done in a very respectful way.

They’re still learning how to behave in a society and what that means. They don't get lost in the herd, and any issues are recognized, and are called upon immediately. Staff are always nipping things in the bud. There's never anything allowed to go past.

The students all play with each other. They're all involved with each other's lives. They're so in tune with each other. Unfortunately, of course, because of COVID we must divide the school into two different cohorts. My daughter’s cohort, they're so tight, they're so closely related. It's exciting to see. Doesn't matter if they're in Grade 6, 7, or 8, they're very closely tied.

Teachers at Delano Academy do an assessment. That’s the point where they step it up for some and make sure they maintain a very solid level for others. The students who need to be more challenged are allowed to take leadership roles. So this is kind of exciting to see as well.

I think the biggest impact is that my daughter is that she is just so excited to go to school now; that's monumental for us. Prior to her coming to Delano Academy, she was lost in the class. My daughter needed that challenge that she rises to. Competition, but in a healthy, balanced way for a 10-year-old. She really needed that.

There is never a complaint about the school from my daughter. I never hear a complaint about a teacher, I never hear a complaint about other students. I just don't hear it. She's very expressive, so she would say that, she would tell me.

Three words to describe Delano Academy are inviting, innovative, and exciting.

It's really true, what’s incorporated into the very fibre of all of Delano, is  preparing them for global citizenship. They are being trained at Delano Academy to be life learners and they are being helped to love learning  that sets them up for success, it's prepping them for the very next steps, because if you don't love learning, if you're not open to learning and you're not open to the world around you, this sets you up for a lot of hurdles.

Delano teaches the students to be responsible individually, to be responsible to the community of the school, and even the larger community. It's not just a matter of don't do this, do that, it's a matter of questioning why. A large part of critical thinking at Delano is outstanding.