Laura James, Head of Middle School, revels in the thick of it. During her 30-plus years in education she’s felt most at home working directly with students, always asking, “What do children need to succeed?”  That simple question pretty much sums up her life’s work as an educator and an administrator.

In 2014 Waman French, Head of School at The Friends School of Atlanta (FSA), asked if she could step in to support the school’s growing middle school. In retrospect, the timing couldn’t have been better.

Before FSA Laura had spent years at The Children’s School in midtown Atlanta teaching various grades, from kindergarten through middle school. She then earned her master’s degree in curriculum design for learning differences. “I then realized something that has proven to be truer than anything else I know: Everybody learns differently. It’s not just that children with dyslexia learn differently. Everyone does.”

She moved up to become principal of the Children’s School middle school program, then retired from that several years later and moved into educational consulting. The career move that made sense at the time, since her mind was set on retiring from school life. But then she got the call from Waman.

“I had zero intention of returning to the world of school,” she recalled. “I had celebrated leaving it, in fact. But the honest truth is, I was mesmerized and captivated by the faculty at FSA. The kids are wonderful here, and the philosophy and mission are aligned with everything I know. But I watched how the teachers taught here, and I knew I wanted to be part of this.” Seeing FSA in action reminded her why she had wanted to teach in the first place: to help children be the best they can be—and not just academically, but socially and emotionally, too.

Laura helps teachers design curriculums that match the needs of the kids they have. That’s not unique, especially among progressive independent schools. “But this is more,” she said. “Here, it’s more about, ‘What can I do to help you do your job? What can I do to get things out of your way, so you can just focus on the kids? What do you need? Once we know, let’s get it. And it’s a moving target. It changes. But let’s do the best we can today, and then let’s do it again tomorrow.’”

This has brought Laura’s lifelong specialty—what’s known in educational circles as “differentiated instruction”—to another level. Again, everyone learns differently, and teachers aim to give students the unique help they need. This can include assistive technology like voice-to-text, but it also be about pushing students as far as they can go, be it in math or science or a second language. If a student proves he or she is ready for, say, high school calculus, FSA gives that person the tools to go forth and learn, derivatives and all.

It’s not just what students learn, but how. “For instance, we teach various ways a student can study and how to prepare for a test,” Laura said. “Some study with a person, some study alone, some are in groups. And we find that, by the time kids reach 12 or 13, they’re picking the best ways that work for them.

“In other words, they’ve learned what they need to be successful.”

For the middle schooler— and, for that matter, all of us—this may well be the most valuable lesson of all.

FSA fourth grade teacher John Grijak recalled sitting in his adviser’s office during his last year at college. John had excelled as an accounting major, and sure, the subject was interesting enough. After all, excelling at something tends to build confidence. But something didn’t feel quite right. Would he be happy?

“I remember my adviser saying, ‘Once you get into the real world, things are going to change. There’s a lot of drilling here in school, but you have so many different opportunities you could pursue. Besides, just look at your grades! They say you should be an accountant.’”

Life as an adult commenced. He landed a good accounting job, met his wife, moved to Atlanta, and had a son, after which he became a stay-at-home dad. The move made financial sense for his family, but in retrospect, it also opened his eyes to a new world of opportunity. He volunteered at his son’s preschool, coached T-ball and essentially did everything he could to spend more time with his son—but the experience turned out to be so much more.  

“I remember people asking me, ‘Why aren’t you in education?’ After a while, I started asking myself, ‘Yeah, why aren’t I in education?’’

During this time John and his wife were considering schooling options for their son. They could tell he was bright, and the last thing they wanted was for him to fall through the cracks. They wanted small class sizes and instruction tailored not for answers on a standardized test but for actual student needs, both academically and socially. They found all this and more at The Friends School of Atlanta.

Meanwhile, John pursued a graduate degree in education at Mercer University and student-taught at various public schools. The public schools weren’t bad, but besides their large class sizes, they took a prescriptive approach to teaching. The approach certainly worked for some, but it just didn’t feel right for him. Children are human beings, he thought, not numbers on a balance sheet or scores on a standardized test.

No wonder The Friends School of Atlanta felt right. When he substituted at the school, he met middle schoolers who weren’t anything like the stereotypical tween and young teenager. They engaged in class, spoke their minds and knew how to present a convincing argument. When he landed a full-time job at Friends as an elementary school teacher, he began to see why the school’s approach worked as well as it did. 

Teachers continually adapt their lessons to meet the needs of the children in their classrooms. Every class is unique, as is every student. Wouldn’t a cookie-cutter approach leave some students behind?

Besides, a cookie-cutter approach doesn’t reflect the world beyond the classroom. John certainly hasn’t lived a cookie-cutter life, and his students won’t either. Life isn’t a standardized test or a prescribed teaching plan set in stone. People change paths and adapt to do what’s best for them, their families, and their communities; Friends graduates learn to think about all three.