About the Network

Read 2001 Missouri Teacher of the Year Statement, click here

About the Basic School
The Basic School Network, housed at The Boyer Center at Messiah College, Pennsylvania, represents the original school-based practitioners who were trained and commissioned by Ernest L. Boyer, founder of Basic School philosophy and practice.  These educators in turn have trained and welcomed hundreds of their colleagues into the work of the Basic School Network.  Practitioners engaged in implementing and assisting others with Basic School Network concepts continue to increase.

The Network was organized in 1994 with 12 demonstration schools.  Network practice is based on Boyer's 1995 report from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, The Basic School:   A Community for Learning.  Today, the Network numbers well over 100 actively engaged schools and interest continues to grow.  The Basic School Network has been identified by the United States Department of Education as 1 of 17 programs recommended for Title 1 funding initiatives.

The Network currently includes a host of diverse schools--public urban and suburban sites, private Christian and Catholic institutions, a Native American Tribal school, charter schools, and American Overseas schools.  The Network has transformed from a small cohort of schools to a closely coordinated group of national Regional Centers to which member schools are attached.   Regional Centers work together to offer a consistent array of services and training institutes to interested schools and districts across the nation and abroad. 

Membership is open to all interested schools, districts, and individuals through Basic School Network Regional Centers.  Click on Member List and Application to view demonstration sites, member schools, membership benefits, and the membership application form.

The Basic School Network has a national Board of Directors whose members represent regional center schools, universities, and other organizations engaged in the work of Basic School renewal.  For a current list of Board members, click here.

The Basic School Network began as an initiative of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation supports the Basic School Network.

The Basic School Affiliated Organization
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
The Boyer Center
Developmental Studies Center (DSC)
National Association for Elementary School Principals (NAESP)