Founded by progressive education pioneer, Clara Bell Baker, in 1918, Baker Demonstration School serves close to 300 toddlers through eighth grade students. In the 21st century, Baker continues its mission as a demonstration school whose outstanding faculty study how children learn and mentor the next generation of teachers. A curriculum that promotes academic excellence is taught through innovative research-based best practices and assessment tools. With over 50,000 square feet of green space Baker boasts a sports field and two play areas including a dedicated Early Childhood yard. Our library of 24,000 volumes, dual-platform technology/media labs, seven interactive whiteboards, laptop cart, performance hall, art studio, drama studio, dance studio, music studio, pool and gymnasium are used by students prek-8th grades. Baker's inclusive community celebrates individual, family and cultural differences. Baker graduates attend top public, private and parochial schools throughout the Chicagoland area.
News
Whiteboards in every classroom!
Thanks to the generosity of our community and the wonderful success of the 2010 Fund-a-Dream effort, interactive whiteboards are being installed in every classroom, kindergarten through middle school, throughout Baker.
Come fall, our students will be able to write, erase, and perform mouse functions with their fingers, a pen or anything with a maneuverable, firm surface. They’ll be able to write in digital ink over applications, Webs sites and videos. Both students and teachers will be able to capture work or save notes directly into different software applications. As one seventh-grader put it, that’s "totally ninja!"
What does that mean? It means that when students are learning a math lesson, for example, and taking notes, their teacher can email her lesson to the students at the end of the day. The students can then see if their notes match the teacher's—important for the child who struggles with board to paper transitions or auditory learning. Differentiated instruction made stronger with the help of our new whiteboards.
Second Grade Garden Bounty
Tomatoes, squash, peppers, basil, oh my! The second grade garden was brought to life this summer with the help of garden plot preparer extraordinaire Ross Buchanan, Dana O’Brien and the second grade team. Tomato plants grew taller than our fence, basil multiplied by the bushels, and the orange squash flowers were simply breathtaking.
Growing our own produce has been a lesson in agriculture, horticulture, patience, and prosperity over these summer months. Many thanks to all of those who helped with this important teaching and learning!
Perfect Score on the 2010 Introduction to Latin National Latin Exam
We are pleased to announce that Ari Ben-Zeev of Evanston achieved a perfect score on the 2010 Introduction to Latin National Latin Exam. Only 795 students out of over 18,800 who participated in the entire United States and fourteen other countries attained this distinction. In addition, Cooper Brannigan, also of Evanston, achieved a perfect score, earning him a Gold Medallion, on the National Mythology Exam for Latin.
Latin has long been a hallmark program of Baker Demonstration School and classes consistently perform above the national average on exams. This year, 12 of 16 eighth-graders received an award for their performance on the 2010 Introduction to Latin National Latin Exam, as did half of the seventh grade class.
State Finalists in the Doodle 4 Google Competition
Fifth-grader Elise Buchanan was selected as one of 400 state finalists in the national Doodle 4 Google competition.
Doodle 4 Google is a competition that invites K-12 students to create a new logo for the Google homepage and answer the question, "If I Could Do Anything, I Would …" Depicting a beaker, a series of test tubes and colorful chemicals, Elise’s proposed Google logo is entitled "Positive Chemical Reaction." Her response to the required question was, “If I could do anything, I would become a scientist and invent something to help the environment."
Elise's illustration was chosen from 33,000 entries and is a finalist in the grade 4-6 category for the State of Illinois. She was the only finalist in the north suburban Chicago area.
Eighth-graders Jake and Cole Receive Honorable Mention
Eighth-graders Jake Orlan and Cole Vincent earned an honorable mention in Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge for their Battery Recycling Group. 25 states participated with two honorable mentions and one finalist per state.
The purpose of the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is to:
· engage students in identifying and solving local environmental problems
· utilize their creativity
· involve their community
· recommend how others could use this solution in their communities
Congratulations Jake and Cole!
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Come one; come all to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", a one hour adaptation of the screenplay originally written by Shakespeare that is being presented by the Baker Demonstration School Middle School.
Tickets cost $6 per person. All tickets are general admission except for people with limited mobility or for those who use wheelchairs. Do not just bring yourselves, bring the whole family. Invite as many people as you want. Performances are limited so start buying tickets now. ...more
Baker Welcomes Dan Schwartz
Baker Demonstration School is pleased to announce that Daniel Schwartz has been hired as the new Head of School beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
Mr. Schwartz has extensive experience in teaching and leadership positions in education and has been the Principal of the Carleton Washburne Middle School in Winnetka, IL for the past 12 years. He has served in a variety of local and national leadership positions, most notably as a board member of the International Network of Principals' Center (Harvard University) and the North Dakota Study Group, a well-known network of educators principally focused on concerns about accountability of schools and assessment of children. Mr. Schwartz brings a deep understanding of child-centered and reflective learning environments....more
Third Graders Receive a Special Visit from Iraqi Immigrant
A hallmark unit of study for the second and third grades this year is immigration, giving students an opportunity to examine the theme through exposure to immigrants’ experiences and study of individual family histories.
Always eager to take advantage of the "teachable moment," Baker warmly welcomed Shadan Salah, a 30-year-old female Iraqi who recently emigrated from Iraq to the United States and was staying with the Haight family, to Jen Rappin's third grade class. Shadan's visit was a wonderful complement to the class's conversation about visas, green cards, permanent residency, and becoming a U.S. citizen, and the students very much enjoyed hearing about her experience of coming to America only a week prior. ...more
Chicago International Children's Film Festival at Baker
On Tuesday, October 27, lucky middle schoolers gathered in the drama/music studio to watch a screening of "Felix" by visiting award-winning screenplay writer and director, Andreas Utta. The Chicago Children's International Film Festival, CICFF's , Directors in the Schools program is one of many special opportunities brought to Chicagoland children and educators during the festival each year. Baker kids blew Andreas away with thoughtful comments about themes of trust, deafness, the Internet, privacy,communication with parents and friendship. ...more
A Great Horned Owl, Rehabilitated After Being Tangled in a Baker Soccer Net, is Set Free to its Natural Habitat in a "Teachable Moment"
Baker in conjunction with Flint Creek Rehabilitation Center (FCRC) of Barrington released a rehabilitated Great Horned Owl from the Baker sports field where it was found last spring entangled in a soccer net. The bird was set free at approximately 6 PM on October 7th. Nearly 300 individuals from the Baker community and the community-at-large gathered to view the raptor's release back to her home in the woods near the school. A short presentation about the Great Horned Owl was given by FCRC before the bird was set free, during which children shared their hopes for her to "get married and catch a lot of mice." ...more