Welcome Letter

Welcome from the Directress, Deborah Kingdon         
 
While you cyber-traveled to Liber Community School via the click of your mouse, I have traveled a “long and winding road,” as The Beatles put it. The journey down that road began in 1981 when I viewed a beautiful documentary about a teacher who made a difference in a South Side Chicago school. I was so moved by her experience that I didn’t want to be like her, I wanted to be her and I wanted to work hard to get the tools necessary to make a difference in children’s lives as she did. Although I didn’t know it then, that was the day Liber Community School was born.
Each day at LCS we are asking ourselves, “What do my students need? Are they happy in their learning? What can I do to help?” Ask yourself, as my staff and I do, whether you want your son or daughter to:
  • Develop deep, caring, and respectful relationships with their entire student body and faculty;
  • Engage in challenging work that builds and fine-tunes core academic skills;
  • Complete projects that reflect habits and skills that have value beyond school;
  • Read great literature and learn to write and respond at a deep and meaningful level;
  • Practice being a respectful citizen, collaborator, self-advocate, and confident leader in a close-knit nurturing community where mistakes are viewed as opportunities to learn;
  • Experience the joy of learning and of becoming their best selves;
  • Develop a deep appreciation for the opportunities they have been afforded and look outside themselves to help in their community;
  • Develop leadership as they mentor each other and take turns planning, running and participating in school wide service projects;
  • Exercise creativity and pursue areas of interest;
  • Learn to use technology as a tool and not just a time waster; and
  • Love coming to school every day?

 Liber Community School understands that at the heart of a great school lies both a deep level of respect for each individual student and staff member and a curriculum that challenges students academically, ethically and socially. They know that students need to become strong readers, writers, speakers, mathematicians, and scientists; however, they also believe that students must become liber.

 
Liber is the Latin word for tree or tree bark. Tree bark was used to make paper for writing and making contracts. The word liber is therefore associated with those who can read, write and engage in contract; hence, in the classical world, there were two classes of people: slave and liber. Liber is also the root of the phrase “liberal arts.” Liberal education is the education that prepares mankind to be free. Becoming liber means getting the kind of education required to remain free; knowledge gained from the study of the classics of history, law, government, the arts and sciences. This kind of study leads to independent thinking and the ability to move beyond rote memorization and test-taking to problem solving on the level of a great diplomat.
 
We have a quote on the wall that states, “Unquestioned answers are far more dangerous than unanswered questions.” At Liber Community School our teachers guide their students through the hard work of asking questions leading them down the “long and winding road” that will take them somewhere as incredible as our journey has taken us.
 
I welcome the opportunity to help you and your child start that incredible journey as we "acquire the tools of liberty together."
 
Deborah Kingdon, Directress 
 
Phone: 408-356-0931
Email: info@libercommunityschool.org