News & Articles

Mentors Make All the Difference: A Reflection on Student-Teacher Relationships at High Tech High & Bennett Day Upper School

Bennett Day School is the only school in Illinois to receive the New School Creation Fellowship from High Tech High, the progressive, project-based school featured in the documentary “Most Likely to Succeed.” Representatives from Bennett Day Upper School spent a week at High Tech High in San Diego for the second phase of the fellowship….

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News & Articles

Building Bennett Day School: An Interview with CEO Cameron Smith

After the birth of his first son in 2010, Bennett Day School Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cameron Smith, came face-to-face with the shortage of options for progressive, independent schooling in Chicago. Though his heartfelt reasons as to “why” he founded the school are well-documented, we sat down with Cameron to discuss the “how” behind his motivational journey in creating…

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News & Articles

For Students Highly-Committed to Extracurriculars, Bennett Day Upper School Provides an Ideal Experience

Most high schools expect their students to sit through regimented class periods beginning strictly at 8am (or even earlier), participate in their after-school activities that can sometimes go well into the late evening hours, and then somehow manage to thoughtfully complete hours of homework and get a good night’s rest—all to do it again the…

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News & Articles

CEO Cameron Smith: “The Schoolhouse Gate” and the Changing Face of American Education

In November, I had the privilege of engaging in a discussion at the offices of education law firm,Franczek Radelet, with University of Chicago Constitutional Law Professor, Justin Driver. His new book,The Schoolhouse Gate:Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind,inspired me to think more deeply about how our schools are addressing…

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