This summer the Gurian Center for Educational Excellence and Crespi Carmelite High School welcomed educators from the Los Angeles Region for a powerful PD day at Crespi, the Helping Students Thrive Summit.  The day featured Dr. Michael Gurian, Dr. Glynetta Fletcher, and Crespi staff and Gurian Certified Trainers.

This Summit day was just one of the many exciting things going on at Crespi and the Center.  Check out www.crespi.org to learn more about this leading edge school for high school boys.  We at GI are proud to be working with Crespi to bring brain-based education to the LA area.

Vice Principal Dr. Alan Swaney wrote this article about the PD day.  “On August 19, 2024, The Gurian Institute Center for Educational Excellence at Crespi Carmelite High School hosted the Helping Students Thrive Summit.  Nearly 200 participants from 12 schools in Los Angeles and Ventura County convened on the Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California for full day of professional development based on the work of the Gurian Institute as well as the innovations and traditions at Crespi.

“The event began with a keynote from Michael Gurian himself as he enthralled the capacity crowd with insights from his latest research in developmental neuroscience as illustrated in real-life examples and relatable stories.  In the late morning, participants had their pick of various workshops hosted by current Crespi faculty who highlighted the ways in which the research of the Gurian Institute has confirmed, informed, and extended the boy-friendly practices developed at Crespi since its inception in 1959. The Gurian Institute’s Dr. Glynetta “Fletch” Fletcher also offered her poignant and interactive workshop, “The Trauma Advantage” – in which she takes trauma-informed teaching to the next level.

“After a delicious lunch catered by Crespi Alumni-owned Greco’s Gyros, participants were treated to an afternoon keynote by five-time NBA champion, Laker legend, and Crespi Head Basketball Coach Derek Fisher. Coach Fisher explained his character-focused approach to coaching basketball and illustrated connections to the daily work of all educators who seek to help young people become their best selves.

“More and different workshops continued in the afternoon including original content like Mr. Daniel Parlato’s workshop “Turning Boys into Readers and Writers” and the limited capacity experiential learning workshop in Taiko drumming hosted by Crespi’s Mr. Blaine O’Brien.  Participants left the event inspired and invigorated – ready to take lessons from Crespi and the Gurian Institute straight into their own classrooms. The energy and enthusiasm that was shared for brain-based education foretells only great things in the year ahead for the thousands of students who will benefit from the Helping Students Thrive Summit at Crespi Carmelite High School.  For more information on how your school can share in the work of Crespi Carmelite High School and the Gurian Institute, contact us right away!”

GI and Michael would like to thank Dr. Ken Foersch, Dr. Liam Joyce, Dr. Alan Swaney, Daniel Parlato, CJ Kruska, Jose Diaz, and all the other Gurian Certified Trainers and wonderful teachers at Crespi who presented at the Summit.  Among the joys of working with Crespi for GI is meeting and working with some of the best teachers in the LA area.  One of them, Felipe Sebastaio, gave Michael Gurian his newest published book and this letter during Michael’s time at Crespi.  This is the kind of quality of instruction Crespi features.

“Dear Dr. Gurian, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the insightful and inspiring summit today at Crespi Carmelite High School. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I’ve attached a picture of us together from the event.  I was also honored to gift you a copy of my book, Borrowed Elegance: The 100 Most Used French Words in English. This book was created with the goal of making it easier for teachers to teach languages and for students to learn them. After all, why struggle with learning new words when many of them are already familiar?  I hope you find the book valuable and that you might consider spreading the word about this initiative. It’s my aim to inspire boys around the world to discover the joy of learning languages in a way that feels both accessible and exciting.  Best regards, Felipe Sebastiao Psalm 91,World Language Teacher, Crespi Carmelite High School”

The Gurian Institute has been associated with Crespi since 2006 when Crespi became a Gurian Model School.  If you know of anyone in the LA area who is looking for best-practices high school for their son, we hope you’ll go to crespi.org, explore the school’s site, then contact Crespi for a conversation about the school.  The Gurian Institute studied Crespi and wrote a White Paper based on our study which you can read on the Crespi website at https://www.crespi.org/crespi-news/?id=33464.  You can also read that White Paper at https://gurianinstitute.com/the-gurian-center-for-excellence-at-crespi-carmelite-high-school/.  On this site, too, you’ll see testimonials and comments from teachers and parents.

We highly recommend Crespi not only for the individual boys and family the school serves, but also as a model for others to visit.  Again, check out www.crespi.org for more information about the school.