YOUR ALUMNI

Home-schooling away from home
Diane Swiatek created a school where children thrive

By Leslie Strudwick

alking into the brick office building on 14th Street N.W., you’d never guess you were entering the “hallowed halls” of education. And that is exactly what Diane Swiatek, BA’69, BEd’71 is going for. “We provide a home education away from home,” says the founder of the small, independent Banbury Crossroads School.

Swiatek spent a few years teaching in the public system and quickly realized it wasn’t for her. She believed in a more open approach to education and wanted to move away from the uniformity and conformity she saw promoted to students in public schools. “As I see it, schooling shouldn’t be static. Plus, I wanted to give children more opportunity to make decisions about their own education.”

When she started reading about the history of education and found some books offering different philosophies, she realized she wasn’t alone in desire for her an “ideal school.” She learned how the public school system grew from industrialization and the desire to teach children as preparation for work in the factory. “One teacher/many students mirrored the one boss/many workers concept in factories,” explains Swiatek. “For me, the concept of Banbury is to provide education on the basis of the family instead of the factory. The adults who teach here not only care about what the students learn, but they care about the students themselves,” she adds, “This takes time, and that time is much more available in a small environment.”

Banbury is an open-school concept. Students are in small groups of varied ages. The main reason parents choose to send their children to Banbury is that they want more nurturing attention for their kids. Each class is limited to 10 students. The children are encouraged to move around the classroom. “We want the kids to move around, investigate, and take an active role in their own education.” The teachers are more like mentors. If problems arise, the students are encouraged to solve them on their own, something that Swiatek says instills confidence and a sensitivity to others’ needs.

The school is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In 1979, Swiatek opened the doors with two students. Today, there are about 75 students who attend daily. Some of these students come from around the world to learn at Banbury. With a strong ESL program, they’ve had students from as far away as China, Germany, Colombia, and Taiwan. They also teach children from the neighbourhood. Either way, each student receives as much attention, teaching, counselling, and care he or she needs to thrive. And that sounds like home.