Homeschooled Students Mark

The End Of Their 1st Year

Thursday, June 8, was the final academic day for the homeschooled students attending Progressive Learning Center (PLC) in Monroe. All students completed intensive portfolio evaluations by panels of PLC staff, parents, and outside community representatives.

Adam Kooper, owner of Carston Stereo in Danbury, served as community representative for seventh grade student Paul Brunner. Mr Kooper expressed his surprise at both the comprehensive and creative quality of students’ work at PLC, stating, “I’m so impressed.”

Students were also required to give an oral presentation, relying on the public speaking skills they had learned over the course of the year.

PLC Director Kathleen Green has this philosophy: “If a student can get up in front of an audience and successfully give a five to seven minute speech, that student can do just about anything!”

Marcia Brooker, a middle school teacher in the Westport school system, participated in the evaluation process as well. Ms Brooker said, “It’s so delightful to see such happy students, so eager to present as a representative of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Northern Fairfield County in W. Redding. The church will be using a 9-week curriculum written by the PLC students, entitled “A Summer of Virtue,” in their summer religious education program.

The curriculum project was a part of character education and community service.

Composition instructor and Newtown resident Daren Liker watched students progress from poor writers with weak composition  skills to extremely creative, confident poets and authors over the last  sixteen weeks.

Mrs Liker also teaches at Housatonic Community College and Gateway Community and states, “All students need are the ‘tools’ and the attention.”

Progressive Learning Center will be conducting its performing arts programs over the summer and will resume academic work with homeschooled students in September. Anyone looking for more information on the Center can contact Director Kathleen Green at 203/452-9496.