Trinity School for Children is a charter school

Charter school

Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

 in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, USA. The school is based on the philosophy of the Bank Street College of Education

Bank Street College of Education

Bank Street College of Education is located in Manhattan, New York City.-History:Bank Street was founded in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell as the "Bureau of Educational Experiments"....

, which is in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and was established in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, who helped found the City & Country School in New York with Caroline Pratt (educator). The school's principal is Dr. Madeline O'Dea.

History

Trinity School for Children was established in 1999 with 211 children aged 3 to 9 years old. Today, Trinity educates over 700 students 7 weeks old to 14 years old.

The founding members of Trinity are Jim Castillo , Brian Erickson , Reggie Earl, Celeste Greco, Irma Hernandez, Gloria Marchese, Rene Martinez, Madeline O'Dea, Jessica Perez, Jennifer Solar, Heather Wolf-Erickson, Jim Weiskircher, and MJ Weiskircher

Credo

This is the school credo:

What potentialities in human beings – children, teachers and ourselves – do we want to see develop?


A zest for living that comes from taking in the world with all five senses alert


Lively intellectual curiosities that turn the world into an exciting laboratory and keep one ever a learner


Flexibility when confronted with change and ability to relinquish patterns that no longer fit the present


The courage to work, unafraid and efficiently, in a world of new needs, new problems and new ideas


Gentleness combined with justice in passing judgments on other human beings


Sensitivity, not only to the external formal rights of the “other fellow” but to him as another human being seeking a good life through his own standards


A striving to live democratically, in and out of schools, as the best way to advance our concept of democracy


Our credo demands ethical standards as well as scientific attitudes. Our work is based on the faith that human beings can improve the society they have created.

Curriculum

Trinity offers a Family Center for infants - 2 year olds. The Early Childhood curriculum begins with an EC 2/3's class, and continues through Kindergarten (EC 5/6). Middle School curriculum is taught to 6/7's through 10/11's(1st-5th grades). The oldest students are 11/12's, 12/13's, 13/14's (6th-8th grade) and attend Trinity's Upper School.

Notability

The school is the only one in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to fully incorporate the Bank Street College of Education

Bank Street College of Education

Bank Street College of Education is located in Manhattan, New York City.-History:Bank Street was founded in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell as the "Bureau of Educational Experiments"....

's Bank Street method of education as an entire school rather than selectively for a class or two. Because of this, it is widely known in the national primary education community and is the subject of several studies in early childhood education and is used by University of South Florida

University of South Florida

The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...

 and University of Tampa

University of Tampa

The University of Tampa , is a private, co-educational university in Downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2006, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary...

college of Education students for field-study course work and internships

Sources

• Education in an Era of Accountability: Do you have to Sacrifice Wise Practices? - Early Childhood Education Journal, Volume 34, Number 2, October 2006, pp. 117–123(7)
• Students learn outside charter school - By John Petrimoulx, St. Petersburg Times published December 23, 2001
• TLC Resources

External links