New School of Monmouth County Celebrates 40 Years Without Homework or Tests! Little-Known New Jersey School Offers Lessons About "the Ideal Classroom"
The New School of Monmouth County in Holmdel, NJ celebrates 40 years of student success. The school provides a unique environment where children are encouraged to play, experiment and observe-- all with no testing or homework.

MORGANVILLE, NJ, May 25, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Imagine an ideal elementary school classroom in which children - instead of focusing on tests and homework - are given the freedom to immerse themselves in books, observe nature, play outside for hours, experiment and talk freely to each other and their teachers.

Well such a school does exist. The New School of Monmouth County, a private K-to-8 school in Holmdel, New Jersey, has been doing things quite differently for 40 years.

"At a time when our Government is debating how to define public school standards, we need to think really hard about how we measure success," said Dr. Susan Chilvers, the school's founder and director. "We ought to be thinking about developing children rather than test scores. We know that children learn best by doing."

Press and photographers are invited to attend the school May 29 and 30 for a rare chance to meet dozens of graduates and current students during the New School's 40th Anniversary Reunion.

Much of the learning takes place outside of the classroom at the New School. Children play outdoors for at least 90 minutes a day. They take dozens of class trips, beginning in October, when they design and build "boats" from recycled materials, then sail them on the Raritan Bay with parents and teachers. Older children explore a different neighborhood of New York City each month by public transport. The school year ends with a three-day camping trip to the Pine Barrens for older students.

As for the indoor classroom, most work is collaborative and project-based, like the three school newspapers the children publish and the colorful animal murals recently completed by the younger class. Children recently performed a musical play about Earth Day at Brookdale Community College. The show featured "Aggy," a mannequin clothed by the children in a dress made of 500 plastic bags (with accessories knitted from plastic bags) to illustrate how many disposable bags an average family uses each year.

The New School divides students into three, rather than nine "grades," which encourages revolving leadership roles. The school embraces students of diverse social, intellectual and ethnic backgrounds. Visitors can observe teenagers chatting with kindergartners, boys and girls playing basketball together (athletes and bookworms alike) and children huddled in self-directed projects.

"Visitors are amazed at how comfortable children are with talking to adults, as if this were somehow strange!" Dr. Chilvers said.

And yes, there are no tests and no homework. As one graduate famously commented, 'How else would I find time to work on my novel?"

"We are often asked, 'How can children learn if they don't have tests and homework? How will they fare in the real word?'" Dr. Chilvers said. "But this is the real world."

Graduates say time and again that the school nurtured their curiosity and love of learning, and taught them teamwork, tolerance and problem solving -- traits they find missing in many of their desk-bound peers.

"When I started the school in 1969, I had hoped to change the world," said Dr. Chilvers. "In 40 years, we have learned a lot about children's ability to be partners in their own education. I believed it. Now I know it happens. And I would love for this model to be of use to others."

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