- April 8, 2011
- 12:01 am
- Steve Christensen
A new school, and a new school of thought
Timothy Grivois (MEd '05) hopes to create a charter school in Chicago with a longer school day and a year-round program.
School is now in session, or, at least, those are the words Timothy Grivois (MEd ’05) can’t wait to hear.
In 2003, Grivois began teaching for the first time through Loyola’s LU-Choice program. Now, less than eight years later, he works to define his education model and open up his own charter, the Excelencia School of Chicago—in between working full time and writing his dissertation, of course.
“When I walked into the classroom the first day and I realized I was ‘Mr. Grivois,’ I discovered the schoolhouse environment really fit me like a glove,” says Grivois.
LU-Choice takes a small group of students every year and places them in underserved schools around the Chicago area. The program participants also live in an intentional community environment. Together, the 12 students share a communal experience of living, teaching, learning, and faith, says Lee Hubbell, director of LU-Choice. This has created a bond so strong that Grivois has remained a part of the program long past his own completion by participating in the interview process and leading prep seminars.
Grivois’s passion for teaching has led him to seek a career in administration. “Many people talk about administration as ‘leaving the classroom,’ but I never really saw it that way at all,” Grivois says. “I saw the career in administration as a way to affect a whole school full of those classrooms.”
Hubbell isn’t surprised that Grivois is in the process of opening a charter school. “From day one, he has had so much enthusiasm for teaching and education,” Hubbell says.
Part of Grivois’s model is based on the premise that students are not in school long enough. According to Grivois, after lunch and recess, students just are not receiving adequate time in the classroom. His charter school model includes a longer school day and a year-round program. With sufficient staffing by committed professionals, Grivois believes students will receive more attention and therefore be more successful.
Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Spring 2011).
