Paideia Program

Guilford County Schools has eleven sites which began implementation of Paideia in 1994 and the program has expanded each year. The goal of the Paideia program is to provide a rigorous, liberal arts education in grades K-12 that will allow all graduates to have the skills necessary to earn a living, to think and act critically as responsible citizens, and to continue educating themselves as lifelong learners.

Teachers using Paideia integrate three kinds of teaching and learning: didactic instruction for conveying knowledge, coaching sessions to develop skills for learning; and Socratic seminars to enhance critical thinking skills, understanding ideas and improvement of communication skills.

The staff development of Paideia is provided in collaboration with the National Paideia Center located at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. In 1997, the Joseph B. Bryan Foundation awarded a million-dollar grant to the National Paideia Center to train all Guilford County teachers in Paideia over a four-year period. By the year 2000, over 4000 teachers and administrators have been trained in the Paideia philosophy and seminars. Over half of the schools have had their entire faculty trained.

Guilford County Schools' Paideia Faculty consists of thirty or more staff members trained as trainers. This team presents teacher training, serves as an advocate for the program in the community and often provides coaching and facilitation at school sites. Fifteen members of this team also serve as trainers with the National Paideia Center Faculty.

Paideia School Facilitators are regular classroom teachers or media specialists who assist staff members in the implementation of Paideia at the school site. They facilitate the growth of Paideia in their school, provide leadership to the school in implementing the 12 Paideia Principles, and serve as a conduit of information between the National Paideia Center and the school.

There are several demonstration sites for Paideia in the school district. Please feel free to contact the National Paideia Center or the school to arrange a visit to any of the following schools:

• Bluford Elementary (Communications Magnet)
• Jamestown Elementary
• Monticello-Brown Summit
• Jesse Wharton Elementary
• Madison Elementary
• Pilot Elementary
• Murphy Elementary
• Welborn Middle
• Northwest High
• Southern High

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