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Leaving Home
With Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota
Featured in "Life 360" on PBS
Friday, Nov. 16, 2001; 3 p.m. EST
Does leaving home pave the way to academic success? Can boarding schools
teach more than history and science? Why should you or shouldn't you send
your kids away to school?
Talk with Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota, two young visionaries who
founded the country's first and only inner-city public charter boarding
school, the SEED School in Washington, D.C. Their vision: to
prepare inner-city kids for college through a rigorous academic program,
life skills training and 24-hour care and attention.
Adler and Vinnakota will be online Friday Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. EST to discuss the school and their vision.
Vinnakota, former management consultant and co-founder of the SEED
School, is just 30 years old. Born and brought up in Lausanne, Switzerland
and then later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he has a degree in Molecular
Biology and a certificate of studies from the Woodrow Wilson School of
Public Policy at Princeton. Adler taught high school physics at St. Paul's school in Baltimore
before going on to earn his MBA at Wharton. A native of Flushing, New
York, Adler grew up in the D.C. area. Now 37, he is co-founder of the SEED
School and Executive Director of the SEED foundation.
Their story is part of this week's episode of "Life 360," a
Friday night series on PBS (check local listings). Each week, "Life 360"
invites independent filmmakers, writers, comedians, musicians, and others
to
take a theme apart, put it back together, and stand it on its head to
discover unexpected perspectives. This week, "Life 360" examines the
significance of "Leaving Home."
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Arlington, Va.:
What made you decide to start the SEED school?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: We just really felt that it made sense. We believe and still believe that there's a group of kids that, unless you address, the structure of their living situation that they will not achieve educational success.
Raj Vinnakota: It's very important that we also have our students in a safe, secure, nurturing environment that supports education.
Minnesota:
What qualifies a student for admission to the school? What certain criteria are you looking for... I imagine it takes a certain type of young person to thrive in such an environment.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: It's simply that the student has to be a District of Coumbia resident, has to be an incoming 7th grader between the ages of 10 and 13 and the student has to sign a statement that they understand what the school is and that they want to come. That's it, that's what's required to be technically eligible. In fact, we don't choose betwen students by looking at their academic ability. For instance, we don't look at one student and say that student is academically talented and look at a second student and say he/she is not talented. Rather as long as the student has meet those three requirements, then that student goes into a lottery and has an equal chance of being admitted to a SEED school.
What we're looking for is students who are adventuresome, who for whatever reason want to take a risk in their lives, and who just think that they want to go to college.
Washington, D.C.:
Did you both go to boarding school? What do you think the benefits are to these kids? How involved are parents with the school?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: Neither Eric nor I went to boarding school, though a number of our board members are leaders within boarding schools. We believe that a boarding school can offer a structured learning environment and can help create a strong supportive culture, but this has never been tried in an inner city public boarding school. So in many ways the idea of a successful urban public boarding school is a hypothesis that we're trying to prove. We believe that the best way that we can succeed with our students is by partnering with the parents. Some parents are able to be involved in their child's education, and other parents may not have the time or ability to do so. The SEED school has a full-time parent coordinator who can make sure to connect the parents and the school successfully.
Washington, D.C.:
Is the school co-ed? Can kids date and go off-campus unattended?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: Yes, the school is co-ed. Can they leave campus unattended? No. And that makes dating pretty tough. Of course, our students do have some weekends home and they have most of the summer off so they have the opportunity to date then.
Raj Vinnakota: It's not that we restrict dating nor that we don't allow our kids to hang around with the other sex, but our full schedule (6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.)keeps our students pretty busy.
Bethesda, Md.:
Who or what funds the SEED school?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: The SEED school is funding by a combination of public and private money. The public money comes from the fact that we are a District of Columbia public charter school. The private money is raised from individuals, foundations and corporations who support the operating costs and also to build the campus.
New York:
What are each of your qualifications for running a school and why did you choose to do so in the district?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: We don't actually run the school. We have a professional educator who runs the school. We are responsbile for helping to raise the money and build the buildings but someone else is running the school.
The main reason we chose the District is because we both live here.
Raj Vinnakota: Eric and I hope to start other schools after the SEED School of Washington, D.C. is established and financially stable. We hope to talk to you in four years, New York.
Arlington, Va.:
How many students do you have there and what kind of subjects do they study?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: Right now we have 154 students and they study a pretty traditional college prep curriculum. That includes math, reading, writing, speaking, science, social studies, foreign language, the arts. We also have a life skills curriculum and an athletic program along with other extra curriculars such as drama, yearbook, etc.
Vienna, Va.:
In the SEED school does technology play an important part in teaching the kids? Do work within the community to partner with businesses that could possibly offer internships, training?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: At the SEED school we believe that technology is a great means to teach our children, though not an end in itself. For instance, we have partnered with Microsoft and a public school in Kent, Wash. to create the first school-to-school technology program. The program is called "Washington2Washington." This is one example of our corporate partnerships. We have not yet begun to build internships into our relationships.
Detroit:
Do your teachers serve as advisors to the students -- for instance, does each teacher work with a few students mentoring and advising on making decisions, choosing a college, career.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: Yes, they do. We have a homeroom period every day where students are with their advisor.
Washington, D.C.:
What are the benefits to a boarding school? disadvantages?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: Structure, more hours in the day that the development of the child can be addressed, safety, security and round the clock consistency, teaches personal responsibility. The disadvantages: stucture can sometimes drive kids nuts. Also, being with the same people 24 hours a day can be a very intense experience. And one other disadvantage is cost.
Austin, Tex.:
Education, vouchers, school choice are such hot topics in Congress. Have you ever addresses any members of Congress about your school and the idea of publicly funded inner city boarding schools?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: We sure have. We had to address members of Congress in order to get the funding which supports this program.
Richmond, Va.:
Where I went to school in Delaware we were all required to do chores each morning whether on financial aid or not. Do the kids at the SEED school contribute to their living environment?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: Students do chores every morning before they go to school. Maybe you have a few things to teach us, Delaware. We'd love to give them more responsibility in the morning.
Washington, D.C.:
Do you have a Web site? How does one find more information on the school? How diverse is the student population?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: We do have Web site: www.seedfoundation.com. The site is an excellent place to learn more. Our population is about 95% African American and about 5% Hispanic.
Vienna, Va.:
Have other schools been modeled after the SEED school?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: We're still a very new school so at least not yet.
D.C.:
You said that board members were affiliated with established schools. Which schools?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: The Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania, Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., St. Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore and Girard College in Philadelphia.
Baltimore, Md.:
Do most of your teachers live on campus?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: Very good question. There is usually an implicit assumption that teachers also serve as residential advisors in a boarding school. However, the needa at our school are so acute, that we need full-time staff dedicated to each of the academic and the residential programs. Thus, we do not full-time have academic faculty also playing a role in the residential program. Therefore, we have a separate residential faculty.
Washington, D.C.:
I went to boarding school. The model is a sort of utopia detached from the world in order to focus on academics and the schools social sphere. How can you achieve this in the city? Also, the old impetus for boarding school was really socialization; rich kids tend to just get spoiled at home. I find this a fascinating response to inner-city family/community breakdown.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Eric Adler: This is an excellent but complicated question. We specifically designed the school to be a separate environment but within easy reach of home. Thus, we create the cultural environment that we want on campus while avoiding isolating our children from their families.
Raj Vinnakota: Call us at the office if you would like to have a longer discussion on this point. (202-785-4123 but please don't call before 4 p.m.)
Alexandria, Va.:
Do the students wear uniforms? With all of the pressures kids have to dress a certain way and the pressure it puts on parents to provide certain items for their kids, I really like the idea of uniforms? Or is this a touchy subject?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: Yes, our students wear uniforms during the day. Watch the show tonight to get more details!
Fairfax, Va.:
How many students are admitted each year? What is the percentage of students that graduate and go on to college?
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: The school has only been in existence for three and a half years. Since all of our students start at the 7th grade, we do not yet have a graduating class. Our oldest class is now in the 10th grade.
Washington, D.C.:
Because you receive public funding must the school meet all public school requirements which are usually stricter than those of private schools.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: As a public charter school in the District of Columbia, we are exempt from nany of the laws that are required in a traditional public school. However, we still have a higher level of accountability and reporting requirements than a private school. So, we're somewhere in between.
Falls Church, Va.:
If these kids are boarding... albeit in what is probably their home city... how are they learning about family dynamics and values that they'd have in a normal home environment? Boarding school has always struck me as an easy out for parents who don't want to deal with parenting.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: I'd like to address this question both from the perspective of the children and the parents. As far as the children are concerned, we have instituted a fairly intense life skills program which requires each one of our students to meet certain skills at each grade level. This includes community service activities on every weekend that the students stay at the school. As far as the parents are concerned, we require them to provide at least four hours of volunteer work at the school every month. In addition, there are parenting workshops, anger management classes, counseling support that is provided through our parent resource center. All of these resources help to support the families as well as the students that we serve.
Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota: Raj Vinnakota: Please watch our show tonight. It's on PBS/Channel 26 in Washington at either 9 or 10. Tonight's show profiles a number of our kids. Understanding our kids will tell you more about our motivations and our goals than anything that we could tell you ourselves.
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