History
The Dragon Academy was founded in 2000 (the year of
the Double Dragon in the Chinese calendar) as a progressive alternative to
conventional, didactic education. Respecting the individuality, ambition and
potential of adolescent learners, Dr. Meg Fox's experiences as a student, a
parent and a teacher, and her extensive research in pedagogy, educational
philosophy and developmental psychology convinced her that adolescents were
particularly poorly served by conventional approaches to secondary education.
The Dragon Academy was founded as a laboratory school, where teachers and
students could explore ways of learning and working together which would
inspire creativity, freedom of expression, collaboration and a commitment to
social justice, the core principles of progressive education. For members of
The Dragon Academy community, school is a dynamic experience. We honour the
many facets of human intelligence, exploring the treasure trove of
knowledge.
From Dragon's beginning in a converted house where
twelve students across six grades followed individualized programmes, The
Dragon has grown to offer a full programme of regular academic classes across
six grades (7 through 12), led by a remarkably gifted staff of subject
specialists. Dragon graduates are now pursuing doctoral programmes in
distinguished universities, from the University of Toronto to Oxford,
entrepreneurial careers and public service. We are a coveted placement for
students of education at OISE and York University. We have received prestigious
grants for our Integrated Progressive Science Programme and our Art of the
Twenty-first Century initiative. We are engaged in collaborative educational
research projects, including a pioneering study in the integration of art and
studies in biology with faculty of the medical school at the University of
British Columbia. We are committed to our own ongoing action research, studying
ourselves under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Silin, of the Bank Street
College of Education.
Looking to the future, we are raising funds to
purchase and equip our own facilities, to provide leadership in curriculum
innovation which will be freely accessible, and to continue expansion of our
student body and teaching staff. While we believe that only a small school can
deliver the kind of education we value, we anticipate reaching our capacity of
150 students. The Dragon vision includes adjunct activities, including our
reading series and publishing ventures. We're already on the map. We'd like to
share what we have discovered.
