English-Only Policy
The main objective of our Summer TOEFL® and SAT® Program is to help Grier's international students gain proficiency in English. Our excellent student-to-teacher ratio, facilities, extra-curricular activities, and field trips are all designed to help student-campers put their English skills to use while exploring the American culture and landscape. Our teachers, counselors, and staff are here to help the student-campers integrate into Grier life and learn English, making sure that classroom learning is applied in everyday life.
However, we have found that what matters most is each student-camper's effort in using English as much as possible and taking advantage of the opportunities that are offered to them. Without a serious effort at utilizing English both inside and outside of class, a desire to learn and grow both as 'scholars' and 'people' and a willingness to explore new things, student-campers will simply not maximize their potential or improve their grades and test scores.
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Therefore, we will be enforcing a "Five Strike English-Only System" intended to ensure that the quality of our language program is not compromised. The system functions as follows:
- Speaking in a language other than English anywhere outside of the student-camper's personal dorm room, at any time, will be considered a "Strike." When a member of the staff hears a student doing so, he/she will approach the student-camper and give a verbal warning, telling her that she has acquired a "Strike." Every 2 weeks, the system will reset and student-campers will start with a clean slate.
The consequences of the strikes are as follows:
- Strike 1: The student-camper receives a verbal warning.
- Strike 2: The student-camper receives a second verbal warning and a letter explaining the situation is sent to both the parents and consultants of the student-camper.
- Strike 3: The student-camper forfeits her privilege to go on the Friday-evening trip to the mall and instead stays on campus and attends a supervised study-hall period.
- Strike 4: The student-camper receives another verbal warning and a second letter is sent to both the parents and consultants of the student-camper.
- Strike 5: The student-camper forfeits her privilege to go on the weekend trip and instead stays on campus for the entirety of the weekend.
In the past we have never had to resort to such drastic measures as denying a weekend trip to any of our student-campers. Our goal is not to punish student-campers but rather to promote English-speaking in a positive and constructive way. To achieve this, I would like to recruit your help in putting as much pressure as you can on your daughter to speak English both in and out of class and to take an active interest in the world around her while at the Summer Program. Student-campers who receive no strikes during any given week will get either free frozen yogurt/ice cream/sherbet at the local parlor or Grier dollars to be spent at the Grier School store or at the school snack bar, The Coffee Barn.
Grier School
2522 Grier School Rd. | P.O. Box 308; Birmingham, PA 16686-0308
Phone: 814-684-3000 | Fax: 814-684-2177
Phone: 814-684-3000 | Fax: 814-684-2177
