Leaving the Nest

Led by long-time Prep teacher George McJimsey, the Center for Learning Excellence (CFLE) provides students with an actionable opportunity to assist their academic success, whatever their challenges. That kind of individuation is a hallmark of Prep, whether a student needs subject matter coaching, alternative learning-style accommodations, standardized test preparation, or homework strategies.

George McJimsey has been in education for 27 years. His first academic gig was in France, teaching English in the early nineties. “I cut my teeth as an assistant and that’s where I caught the bug being in front of the classroom and working with [students]. I really enjoyed that.”

George majored in French as an undergrad, taught at a private girls’ school in central Pennsylvania, then got his master’s degree in French history at the University of Wisconsin. While in grad school, George worked in elementary school special education for a year and fell in love with the idea of working with kids who might need extra help. His time there taught him how to work with students with substantial physical, emotional, and academic needs. He arrived at Prep in 1999, hired as a French teacher and basketball coach, and was Chair of the Modern Language Department for nine years.

Joining the CFLE five years ago made sense for George because of his time in Wisconsin special ed, where he “learned a lot about patience, needing to listen, and leaving most of my assumptions at the door. I think that helped me become a better teacher in general, but it certainly serves me well in this role [as CFLE director].”

George is quick to add that his work in the center is very much a team effort, and he can’t say enough about science teacher and CFLE instructor Anna Wilkerson. The two strive to have clarifying conversations with parents about their child’s needs because, oftentimes, it’s not the content of the courses or a lack of organizational skills that might be holding a student up, but a combination of factors. The center’s role is to help assess those factors and remediate their challenges.  

The Center for Learning Excellence offers

Accommodation Plans
Academic Coaching
Structured Study Hall
Academic Skill Intervention
Study Strategies Support
Assistive Technology Support
ACT & SAT Standardized Test Accommodations

George lauds the faculty’s eagerness to engage in those same conversations, too. “What’s great about Prep teachers is, they’re very open to talking about a student and sharing what they know professionally might help the student.”

During the pandemic, the anxiety of both parents and students has been understandably higher. So, George has reassured parents that no one expects the students to be performing normally in these trying times. He marvels at how “everybody adjusted their curriculum and how they were running class.” And although no one preferred to teach on Zoom, options like online chats and breakout rooms helped facilitate confidential one-on-one work with students utilizing the center.

With most students returning to campus during the 2021-2022 school year, George noticed a dip in everyone’s stress level. “Now that we’re back, it’s like night and day in [that] the students seem so much happier to be here.” George also feels more open to riff, sharing personal accounts of tensions he experienced as a student and relating it to his class’s own frustrations. “And of course, it’s much easier for them to share when they’re sitting three feet from each other than as blocks on Zoom where they were more hesitant because it felt contrived. Physical space really matters, so it’s been nice to take them outside in the New Mexico sun, too.”

If there’s an ethos driving George, it’s the hope that students don’t always have to come to the CFLE. He wants students to feel supported, learn skills, and describe their needs to their teachers, so that they don’t need the center anymore. “Ultimately, we want to provide a lot of support on the front end, lots of homework help, organizational assistance, and role-play about how to talk to teachers.” George encourages their self-reflecting and goal-setting. “In many respects, that’s no different than our goal as parents. We’re raising our own children to leave the nest, and I think that’s true about Prep. We’re raising our students to leave this nest and feel the confidence to go forward. Some students just need a little bit more reassurance along the way.”