LREI News 2018

Leading Progressive Education Since 1921

news 2018

Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School | lrei.org

news 2018

IN THIS ISSUE 2 LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Letter From the Director Dear LREI Community,

3 MY DAUGHTER, MY TEACHER; MY ACTIVIST EDUCATION

The LREI News provides one last opportunity to look back at the previous year and to celebrate all that school offered, and all that was achieved. In these pages you will read about the day-to-day work of learning and growing and succeeding in our progressive curriculum. You will read about the deep and thoughtful work that our teachers and administrators offer each day. You will learn how we are bringing the school’s historic mission to bear on our plans for today, and for tomorrow.

4 DEPARTMENTS 6 FROM THE PRINCIPALS 10 REFLECTIONS ON COURAGE 12 ATHLETICS: ACCOMPLISHMENTS 14 CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2018!

14 CLASS OF 2018 MATRICULATION LIST 15 STORYLAB 16 GRADUATION 2018 18 LREI ALUMNI FEATURE WITH KIMBERLEY A. MARTIN ’99 19 SUMMERS AT LREI 20 LREI WELCOMES A NEW BOARD CHAIR 21 NEW TRUSTEES 22 REUNION WEEKEND 2018 24 CLASS NOTES 24 ALUMNI COUNCIL MEETINGS & EVENTS 27 REMEMBRANCES: NICHOLAS FRANCIS CLEVES '12 AND JULIE STERLING

COVER ART

By Zahra Aboulwafa ‘19 LREI NEWS DESIGN

By Katelyn Baker MAGAZINE EDITOR & CHIEF: Peter Martin, Director of Communications PHOTOGRAPHY Jon Bjornson, Peter Martin, Darren Ornitz, Katia Repina, Myrna Suarez, and LREI community LREI NEWS welcomes community submissions. Send your article suggestions to Director of Communications Peter Martin at pmartin@lrei.org.

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Clearly, a thorough examination of the past school year has to address the issue of LREI’s class placement policy for lower school and middle school students, which has been the subject of much recent discussion and press coverage. Whether you are a current family, an alum, a past parent, a former colleague, or a friend of the school, you have received some correspondence from me about this situation. You have heard that the school’s placement policy was created to support all students in a manner that fits squarely within LREI’s mission and long-standing commitment to social justice and ensuring that every member of the community has access to the full LREI experience. We feel that the media, by and large, presented this issue in a manner that lacked the nuance and complexity which characterize all conversations about race, and instead painted a picture contrary to how the policy was implemented last year and in previous years. You may also have heard that this year we will revert to the policy as implemented in years past while at the same time engaging in a community-wide conversation about how we can best support all LREI students.

Many of the articles in this year’s edition of the LREI News share a theme of “courage.” Courage is one of LREI’s Four Cs, attributes, or habits of mind, that are embedded in much of what we do each day and are essential to an LREI education. We define courage as, “standing up for what you believe, taking risks, and persevering in the face of difficulty. A courageous person is willing to try – and to try again if faced with failure.” I hope you see this in our students and faculty as they live on these pages.

Finally, I want to invite you to stay in touch. I have had so many honest and thoughtful conversations over the past few months as we worked through some very challenging issues. I have been thrilled to reconnect with alumni and past parents and to get to know current families better. I invite you to do the same.

Sincerely,

LREI students proudly participate in the Women’s March

FROM THE VILLAGER - JANUARY 26, 2017

My Daughter, My Teacher; My Activist Education

BY YUKIE OHTA

On Saturday, my daughter and her friend made a sign that read, “Nasty Girls for Equality,” and we marched proudly and loudly with the throng toward Trump Tower. I don’t think I would have taken part in the Women’s March had it not been for my daughter — and her school. I am not an activist. I am an archivist. I deal with documenting things that have already happened, not changing what will happen in the future.

Sure, I went down to Washington, DC in my youth to fight for a woman’s right to choose, but that was as much a social gathering as a political event for me. I have also made it my life’s work to document the activism of those who pioneered my nowgentrified neighborhood, SoHo. Don’t get me wrong — I have a social conscience and try to make a difference wherever I can. I am just not an active activist. Or I wasn’t, until now.

Having a child changes everything. We want for our children the precious things we were denied in our own childhoods. My daughter is 8 years old, a third grader at LREI (Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School), a progressive, independent school right here in the Village. Her school encourages student-initiated “courageous conversations” about race, class, gender, LGBT issues, and most recently, politics, among other thorny topics. Its emphasis on active, experiential learning gets the school’s students out into the world to examine and

debate these difficult topics.

Some might say that the early elementary years is too soon to introduce social issues into the classroom. However, social issues are being played out in my daughter’s classroom and her city every day. In this age of mass media, she has seen and heard way more than I ever did at her age. Thanks to experienced teachers who are well versed in progressive curricula and the use of age-appropriate language, my daughter has learned to make sense of what she sees going on around her, and to engage with the world in ways I only learned to do…well…since she started school.

The school has not only welcomed my daughter, but our entire family, into its community. It has been edifying, to say the least, to be included as an equal partner in the shared goal of nurturing a future adult.

Forgive me for my past complacency, but before my daughter entered kindergarten, I never gave much thought to my gender, race, or class.

Being a woman of color who grew up as a member of the privileged poor, one would think that I would have contemplated these things a little bit more. But without a peer group that dwelled on such issues, I was not armed with the language to discuss with precision what I perceived to be the injustices in the world. I have now found the peer group and the words that I did not even know I lacked. I am thus able to hold

up my end of the partnership, and for this, I am grateful. My daughter and I can now explore the world together. And when she is at school, I am comforted to know that she will be encouraged to explore further.

When my daughter graduates high school, she will be ready to make her mark on her community and the world because she will have learned to be an engaged citizen in her school, city and beyond. In his farewell speech, President Obama warned that our democracy is threatened because, as he said, “without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other.”

I am confident that my daughter will grow up to be one of the willing. Her education at school and at home will lead her to make her own informed decisions, no matter her politics. If we teach children — and adults, like me — to be inquisitive, to think for themselves and to come to their own conclusions, we will ensure that our leaders of tomorrow embrace diversity in all of its forms and have the courage to bring meaningful change to the world. After all, isn’t that what we were marching for?

(LREI Trustee and parent Yukie Ohta is also founder of SoHo Memory Project)

LREI NEWS | 2018 3

A STUDY OF OUR DEPARTMENTS

As the conversations unfolded a clear design question emerged for the group, ‘How might we design a departmental structure that supports the leadership of the chair and encourages departmental and institutional growth?” – Mark Silberberg

WITH DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND INNOVATION MARK SILBERBERG

structure that supports the leadership of the chair and encourages departmental and institutional growth?"

An investigation of this question allowed chairs to affirm their focus on supporting professional development, coordinating curriculum across the divisions and building a strong sense of collegiality within and across divisions.

It also produced three important insights: 1. We need to prioritize chair responsibilities so that it is a sustainable position given the chair’s regular teaching demands.

2. Departments want to play a role in the oversight of our curriculum. However, since design lives in the divisions, there needs to be a clear communication path between chairs and principals so that chairs know what is happening across the divisions.

3. We need to move beyond the constraints of the current schedule of six meetings spread out across the year as this does not generally support deep and ongoing work.

In prototyping a plan for the coming year, the chairs, along with their department members, each identified a

departmental focus that was grounded in two essential questions: 1. Can our department identify an area for shared inquiry among our members that recognizes the important developmental differences of learners across the divisions, and informs the design of curriculum? and, 2. How do we move beyond only reporting and sharing what department members are doing, and move towards learning that is focused on shared aspects of practice?

Flowing from these focus areas, departments then decided to create an agreed upon work/meeting plan and schedule that addressed two questions: 1. What if departments did not all follow the same meeting structure, but instead set their annual meeting schedule based on the needs connected to their goals and area of focus for the year? and 2. How might departments structure meetings (formal and informal/full group and smaller groups) that best support the work to be done and build collegiality and ongoing connection among department members?

These were critical and courageous conversations that hold significant promise for the future work of our departments.

They also point to number of questions whose answers will help us to assess the effectiveness of these departmental prototypes: 1. Are there particular meeting structures that best align with certain kinds of work?

2. What kinds of communication structures best support each of the areas of focus?

3. Do particular areas of focus lead naturally to other areas of focus as the department asks, "What work do we need to do next?"

4. Is there is a natural cycle of work that departments might follow from year to year (e.g., curriculum review is followed by an examination of assessment practices, which is followed by a cycle of peer observation of practice)?

Clearly, a rich set of professional explorations await the LREI departments in the 2018-2019 school year. It is also abundantly clear that LREI department chairs take seriously their responsibilities as teacher leaders. By creating the space and time to reflect on their work and by examining the structural challenges and opportunities that the position affords, chairs have sought to create an exciting pathway forward for their work in the coming year.

For the 2018-2019 school year, the academic departments will be exploring the following areas of inquiry: Educational Technology

For the past 20 years, the academic department chairs have played an important role in bringing faculty together to support the articulation of our progressive 14-year program. These teacher leaders take on the three-year commitment of being a chair in addition to their regular teaching responsibilities. The responsibilities of the chair are significant; they must build departmental cohesion through their ongoing attention to collegial relations among department members and through work that connects across the three divisions. The formal job description for the role states, Academic department chairs at LREI are leaders, advocates, supporters, and colleagues. Equipped with strong interpersonal, communication, and administrative skills, department chairs

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demonstrate a passion for learning and teaching in their discipline and a commitment to progressive values and pedagogy. In regular meetings, they engage their department members in thoughtful, complex, and challenging discussions about theory and practice across the grades.

They may also act as resources for ongoing professional development, both inside and outside their departments. The academic department chairs occupy a position unique to LREI, serving as a bridge between the faculty, divisional principals, and the director. Thus, the chairs play an important role in strengthening interdivisional communication and helping to shape the overall program of the school.

This past year, Director of Learning and Innovation Mark Silberberg engaged with chairs Sherezada Acosta (Science),

Michelle Boehm (Mathematics), Heather Brubaker (English), Adele de Biasi Pelz (World Languages), Susannah Flicker (Learning Support), James French (Visual Arts), Jennifer Hubert Swan (Libraries), Matthew McLean (Performing Arts), Thomas Murphy (History), and Clair Segal (Educational Technology) in a series of conversations and design-focused activities to explore the work of departments and the role of the chair. These meetings created a space for chairs to share learnings across departments and to problem solve together.

It also allowed chairs to share the successes and frustrations they were experiencing in working to meet the responsibilities of the role.

As the conversations unfolded a clear strategic question emerged for the group: "How might we design a departmental

Is refining the scope and sequence of the core tech literacies that every LREI students should have at the end of each divisional level.

Learning Support Plans to explore how a “case study” approach can be used by the department as a methodology for problem solving and reflection on practice. This will be complemented by continued interdivisional visits and visits to other schools.

English

History

Library

Science

Is mapping the social justice/ activism strand to better articulate the following: 1) where we are studying social justice, 2) where reading/ writing is explored with a social justice lens, 3) where are we asking or encouraging students to take action or engage in activism, and 4) where we might better connect social justice themes and/or activism to more deeply invest learners in the work. This will involve sharing specific examples of best practices around reading and writing with a social justice focus and moving from learning to action.

A goal is for each teacher to emerge from this work with new approaches to a specific unit, project, or assignment to implement.

Is working on developing the key elements of the writing program related to historical analysis and research within and across divisions with the goal of supporting greater consistency and opportunities for student growth. A parallel project will also examine how geography is taught within each division.

Plans to continue its work on exploring where and how digital literacies are taught across the 14-year experience. The two key area of focus are 1) supporting the existing program and 2) creating opportunities for new program related to identified gaps in the curriculum.

Plans to engage in a series of sharings and conversations with the other departments about areas of shared practice to support better alignment/reinforcing of skills/habits, and to provide an opportunity for the department to reflect on practice.

Visual Arts Uses the Critical Friends Group protocol to engage in a cycle of peer observations within and across divisions to support individual practice and with an eye focused on examining the student progression through the 14-year experience.

Mathematics Plans a deep dive into what inquiry-based math learning looks like in each division and how this maps on to current ideas about best practice. An additional focus will be on how the math program meets the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

Performing Arts Plans to engage in a comprehensive review of the 14-year performing arts program.

This review will look at content, approaches to pedagogy, and assessment of student learning.

World Languages Plans to examine the varied ways that reading is explored within the French, Mandarin, and Spanish programs in all three divisions as a skill that also informs both oral and written communication. To do this, they will explore student work, classroom techniques, and approaches to assessment related to these essential skills.

LREI NEWS | 2018 5

FROM THE PRINCIPALS In Conversation: Lower School Principal Elena Jaime and Kindergarten Teacher Alisa Soriano The summer months invite both rest and space to reflect on the ways in which the progressive mission of the school informs our students’ daily experience. As Elisabeth Irwin said, “Above all things, the progressive schools believe that childhood is a part of life and not just a preface to something important…” What does it mean to support the growth of children in a school that believes the “chief purpose of any school should be to fit the child to investigate, understand, and extend his experiences through the examination of his immediate world…?” How does this belief inform the LREI kindergarten program?

Lower School Principal Elena Jaime sat down with Kindergarten Teacher Alisa Soriano to discuss this topic.

EJ: I’m always struck by the level of student engagement in your classroom. How do you go about creating this space?

AS: Our job is to identify and cultivate the potential in the children we teach. I do this by creating authentic learning experiences that give my students opportunities to investigate the world around them. Our students are encouraged to become capable problem solvers and learn to persevere when they fail at tasks, as they inevitably will.

EJ: It takes great courage for 5-and-6year-olds to engage with the world and each other. How do you support children to take risks, even in the face of failure?

AS: Courage is the ability to do something that may frighten you. Adults often forget how much courage it takes to be a kindergartener — to ask a classmate to play, or say, “I don’t know, please help me,” or even write a new letter of the alphabet. Our classroom provides students the space to encounter these problems. It takes a lot of courage to speak your mind, to stand up for yourself, for others, and to do what’s right. For example, during block play, students can be overheard saying,

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“You are not letting your block partner have a turn and that’s not right” or, “I feel upset when you don’t listen to my building ideas so what I would like is for us to take turns saying ideas.” A crucial part of supporting children to find the courage to take risks is about providing the time and space to do so. Another critical piece is teaching children that making mistakes is a part of learning. One of our favorite class sayings is, “Hooray, I made a mistake, now I can learn!”

This further develops their ability to be courageous and to persevere.

EJ: I constantly think about the ways in which we, as adults, must model the behaviors and habits that we hope to see in our students. You are someone who is always taking risks as a professional and lifelong learner. Can you speak more about this?

AS: I feel fortunate to work in a school community that has provided me and my colleagues with the time and resources to continue our journeys as lifelong learners.

For example, I am honest with my students when I introduce an activity I have never

I feel fortunate to work in a school community that has provided me and my colleagues with the time and resources to continue our journeys as lifelong learners. For example, I am honest with my students when I introduce an activity I have never done with a class before. I make my learning clear to them, like inviting the children on my journey as I learned how to knit this past year.” – Alisa Soriano

done with a class before. I make my learning clear to them, like inviting the children on my journey as I learned how to knit this past year. I talked with them about the feelings I had learning this new skill, and how it felt to not succeed the first time.

EJ: As we approach our hundredth year as an institution, it feels appropriate to return to the vision of Elisabeth Irwin and what she hoped to achieve when founding the school. What do you think she would say about our kindergarten program today?

AS: When I think of Elisabeth Irwin, I always think of her vision for our school to adapt to the times, where ideas are not stagnant, but take on the life of the people who live them.

This vision continues to be a lived reality for our students because of the emphasis we put on building a child’s selfconfidence, creativity, grit, and compassion.

Elisabeth Irwin would be proud of the way our students take charge of their learning, ask questions, and make discoveries that will have an impact on their lives for years to come.

LREI NEWS | 2018 7

During the Moving Up ceremony on June 12, Middle School Principal Ana Fox Chaney '94 addressed LREI’s Class of 2022 with her own version of Instructions – Unsolicited Advice from Ana to the Class of 2022, inspired by and modeled after the book Instructions

by Neil Gaiman. Ana’s words will be carried into next year’s adventure as the class courageously moves into their high school years together at Charlton Street.

Touch the door in the wall you never saw before, Say “good morning” before you touch the handle at 8:19, go through; this is the beginning of the path…

Some walk ahead of you, some behind. Some linger in the library, behind glass. Do not tap the glass. Do not.

Travel every floor of this house. Fear nothing. Tease no one.

However, if any one tells you their fears, soothe them. If they tell you they are lonely, sit beside them. If they tell you secrets, if you can, keep them. And when you can’t, say so.

From the windows of the first floor classroom you can see the wild world.

The streets that stretch out from here lead through the teenage realm. There is another land at the end of it.

If you turn around here, you can walk back, safely; You will lose no face.

We will think no less of you.

Once you enter, you are in the garden.

Teachers peer at you from everywhere. Your antics will frustrate and delight them.

At a long gray desk sits an advisor.

They may ask you how you’re doing, and then how you’re doing really.

Tell them. They will point the way forward.

Along the road you’ll have many partners. Do not stick with the one who is the most comfortable, or who praises you the most. Walk on.

In the late and early hours, there are other guides assembled, before dawn on fields and courts, after dusk on stages and dressing rooms.

They will be like guild masters to you always, if you show interest and persistence.

You may always bring a book with you. It will be a friend in cold dark places. Trust in reading, but don’t always go where the heroes are going.

There is no challenge you can’t meet.

In the independent work period of life, effort will always take you where you need to go.

The question is how badly do you want it? And why?

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Political Courage in the High School with Humanities Teacher Ann Carroll and Kalli Jackson '18 Make these decisions in your own quiet place, out of earshot of the dreams and expectations of others.

If a little buddy gives you a gift, keep it safe.

Remember: A noisy room is better quieted with a whisper than a yell.

Being proven wrong is a great gift.

Old friendships can be new again.

Bullies have one soft spot, somewhere, always; sympathetic eyes will find it first.

Don’t be jealous of your colleagues.

Know that everyone’s family conference gets uncomfortable sometimes; everyone has created something questionable at the salad bar, everyone’s jump-rope has twos. Some more than you, no matter what it looks like.

Remember your passwords.

Do not lose hope What you seek will be found.

Trust TEAC Trust number talks Trust those you have helped to help you in their turn.

Trust 2-and 3-point perspective.

Trust your heart.

Trust your story.

When you need a rest, find the longest route to the farthest water fountain. People will understand.

When you need to turn back, do it without apology. Abandon books that don’t suit you. The best way forward is sometimes in reverse.

Do not ask for extensions at the last minute. Do not ask for favors over email.

Always Try for a rebound - you will not fall.

Try to dance at a dance - they will not laugh.

Try being the group member you wish your group had.

When you come back here, the place your journey started, you will recognize it, although it will seem much smaller than you remember.

Walk up steps, through the door in the wall you never saw before but once.

And now go home.

Or make a home.

Or rest.

When the students from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL scheduled the National Student Walkout for March 16, 2018, some LREI ninth graders voiced concern because the action was timed to conflict with the second trimester final assessments. When they expressed their anxiety to the Student Government Executive Board, upperclassmen eased their fears by reassuring them that the LREI administration wouldn’t allow students to be penalized for joining the walkout, thereby allowing the entire student body to participate. I recalled this situation when, as a member of the high school history department and advisor to the High School Student Government, I was asked to reflect on the ways in which students exhibit “political courage.” I wondered if the school community’s common and lived commitment to progressive political values made it difficult for students to experience political courage. I reached out to recent graduate and the high school’s 2017-2018 Vice President for Social Justice Kalli Jackson ’18 to address the ways in which she has experienced political courage both in and out of the classroom.

AC: As adults in the community, we hope that students will continue to engage in activism and advocacy around social justice issues when they leave LREI. However, you will rarely find yourselves in an environment with such shared values; rather, you will be required to demonstrate political courage in the face of opposition and possibly hostility.

How do you think LREI has prepared you to continue the work beyond high school?

KJ: First off, LREI has been a place where students are not only encouraged, but required, to engage in critical thought.

It is not enough to have a perspective or opinion on an issue. We have been asked by our teachers and the community to be able to articulate, learn, and understand. When we move on, we do so with the language, perspective, and intellectual skills to engage a movement for change. We are not leaving LREI with opinions alone; we have a foundation in the complex histories that support those opinions.

AC: Is there anything else in the toolbox that you will find valuable?

KJ: When I came here as a ninth grader, I was immediately encouraged to dive into discomfort and to lean into difficult conversations. As a freshman, for me, that took a lot of courage. Students are not given the option to opt out, and that kind of honesty and self-reflection can be really challenging.

It is a habit for most of us now to face the difficult conversation.

AC: You were the organizer of LREI’s participation in the Women’s March. The school had about 200 people who attended as a community, but there wasn’t pushback to the LREI RESIST hats, or to the use of the building or resources in the planning process. Does the school make things too easy for students?

KJ: No. Because of how supportive the community is, it was stressed for every student how important these issues are for everyone in the community. The adults around us set an example by being passionate about social justice issues, and students were allowed to be confident in their decisions to march, or walk out, or speak up. And it is confidence that can instill courage.

AC: You invited Lee Rowland from the ACLU to speak to the student body after hearing her last summer. She is an example of someone who exhibits political courage. What message did you want her to bring to the high school?

KJ: It is so easy to just dismiss, or ignore, or yell over someone we don’t agree with, especially in a hyperpolarized climate. Lee is a liberal, a progressive, but she believes firmly in two important things. First, that free speech applies to all speech, even speech we find disagreeable or offensive. In a community where we so rarely hear a dissenting voice, it is important to remember that we don’t have to agree, but we have to agree to let all voices be heard. The second thing is that we need to engage those with whom we disagree.

That takes courage. It is much easier to walk away from someone than engage them, but engaging is really the best way to change minds and hearts. To stand up for all speech, even speech you disagree with, and in the face of opposition by your friends and community — that is courage. And ultimately, that is a kind of lesson we all can use right now.

AC: When you think back on your activism work at the school, what will be most memorable to you?

KJ: When I first joined the LREI community as a ninth grader, a few of the seniors had organized a walkout in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and had the entire high school walk out with signs down the street. I remember being a really shy student who had never been asked to think about systemic racism before; who had never even been asked in school to think about race. The first walkout I did at LREI is definitely the most memorable because it was a real turning point for me. It was the first time I could form my own political opinion and decide to speak up and make that opinion heard. LREI gave me the courage to do that. *Kalli Jackson '18 attends Wesleyan University.

LREI NEWS | 2018 9

REFLECTIONS ON COURAGE FROM DIRECTOR PHIL KASSEN

If you have read the LREI News over the past few summers or visited LREI.org, our information-filled website, you have read about the Four Cs. These components of our progressive program emerged from a conversation a number of years ago, during which we were thinking deeply about the growing high school curriculum and trying to distill some of the habits of mind that we felt had to remain in the new program to keep it consistent with LREI’s historic mission. Since that time, we have kept the Four Cs front and center and have worked to communicate with students in all three divisions about our expectations and with

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families about their children’s achievement.

Sometimes when we consider these four areas the examples we conjure up are big and dramatic. An example of creativity might be writing an opera or painting a beautiful portrait of the school’s director.

However, practically speaking, examples of creativity and the places we look to for signs of growth in this discipline are subtle and are seen frequently, yet without fanfare.

What sorts of questions are being asked?

What solutions are being offered? How often do we hear, “Hey, I have an idea!”

The same is true for the other Cs. As many of the articles in this magazine mention

courage, let’s focus on this C. What do we mean by courage? Often, we picture some act of physical bravery that occurs in a life-or-death moment or superhero-level opportunity but these are rarely called for at LREI. In school, courage can be seen when a student shares their work for the first time that year, or ever. Courage can be seen on the stage or the playing field. We often see the courageous acts of taking the first step to make a new friend or telling a classmate that they are hurting your feelings. On the first day of school we saw new 4-year-olds demonstrating near hero-level courage as

In school, courage can be seen when a student shares their work for the first time that year, or ever. Courage can be seen on the stage or the playing field. We often see the courageous acts of taking the first step to make a new friend or telling a classmate that they are hurting your feelings.” – Phil Kassen

they entered the school for their first first day; we saw courage in the experiences of new middle schoolers, a difficult time to be new to a community and we saw courage when our 68 ninth graders boarded a bus and left for three days away together on the first day of high school. I am breaking out in sweat just thinking about it!

We should also look at LREI’s summer 2018 experiences through this lens.

There are a number of examples where courage can be seen in the conversations about class placement, race, and equity.

In a society where we generally avoid intellectual discussion about race, we see courage (and critical thinking and citizenship) in the discussions that our students are having about race specifically, and about “similarities and differences” with our younger students. These are hard conversations and if the students are going to participate fully there is a level of risktaking involved that we all should admire.

It is important to note that we have a number of students who, for one reason or another, due to one piece of their identity, often do not feel fully welcome, visible, or represented in the wider LREI community.

For these students, just coming to school can be an act of courage. Participating in class, offering ideas, and generally sharing yourself contains a level of risk taking and challenge. In fact, this can be true for all students. It can be hard to open up to your classmates, and to propose a new possible truth, as suggested by our founder.

One of the benefits of working at LREI is that we are encouraged to model what it means to be a learner; to live the lives that we are creating for our students. Our faculty members engage in conversations about race in their curriculum, about race in society, and about the impact of their students’ racial identities on their lives in the classroom. Courageous? It can be. Again, we do not live in a society where honest conversation about race is honored and thus engaging in this dialogue can be hard. Pushing yourself into an uncomfortable realm in your workplace and with colleagues whom you value? A fair amount of courage will be brought to this effort, for sure.

As challenging as it is for many of our students to engage in honest conversations about race, it can be that much harder for their families. That said, we are appreciative of the members of the adult community who engage in these conversations. We are grateful for the parents of children of color who generously share their experiences with their peers. For some, this is a truly courageous act. We are also thankful for those who are new to these conversations and who listen to the experiences of others and accept others’ truths as their own. This, too – challenging yourself to examine your views of the world – is a courageous act.

Learning and growing as an adult is not something we all do eagerly. Doing so in a

public meeting with your friends and peers in the room is a significant risk. Thanks for taking it.

A final note: In addition to the people in it, the institution has a responsibility to model the Four Cs as well as other parts of our progressive mission. I have written about this a fair bit over the summer. There are so many examples, large and small, old and new, noteworthy and relatively pedestrian, where LREI, the entity, demonstrates courage, takes risks, succeeds, fails, regroups, and moves ahead. These institutional moments are rarely easy, but we always learn from them, we always grow through them, and when engaging in these moments, we can be proud that we are truly living the mission of the school.

LREI NEWS | 2018 11

2017-2018 LREI ATHLETICS: ACCOMPLISHMENTS

7/8 Soccer at Pier 40

The 2017-2018 year marked a historic season for our program.

Congratulations to LREI Athletics.

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER

• First ever League and Playoff Championship team in LREI history • First Boys team to make NYSAIS Tournament

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER

• Reached semi-final playoff game

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER

• Undefeated for second consecutive year • Won the DISC Tournament for third consecutive year Girls Varsity Volleyball at Thompson Gym

Varsity Baseball in Central Park Varsity Cross Country

Girls Middle School Basketball at Thompson Gym

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

VARSITY SWIMMING

• Boys placed second overall at ISAL Championships • Girls placed third overall at ISAL Championships

VARSITY FENCING

• Record number of participants in second year of competition

MIDDLE SCHOOL WRESTLING

• 11-3 record • Undefeated ISAL League Champions for third consecutive year • Team advanced to NYSAIS Championships for fourth time in five years

• Two student athletes ranked in top four in New York City • One student athlete ranked second in New York City

JV VOLLEYBALL

• Defeated second-ranked team in ISAL semi-final playoff game

• Tied for first place in league

BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY • Won ISAL Team Championship for sixth consecutive year • Placed seventh overall at NYSAIS

GIRLS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY • Won ISAL Team Championship for fifth consecutive year

• Placed tenth overall at NYSAIS Nine LREI student athletes (Boys and Girls) were named to the All-NYSAIS Team

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL

• Advanced to the LREI Invitational Tournament Championship Game

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL • 13-1 record in league play (tied for first place) • 63-3 record in league play over the past five years

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JV BOYS BASKETBALL

• Tied for third place in league play • Advanced to league semi-final playoff game

VARSITY SOFTBALL

VARSITY BASEBALL

• 7-3 overall record • Advanced to league title game

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOFTBALL • Won DISC league for third time in LREI history

BOYS VARSITY TENNIS

• Tied for third place in league play • Advanced to semi-final playoff game

BOYS VARSITY TRACK

• Ranked second overall at ISAL Championship

GIRLS VARSITY TRACK

• Ranked first overall at ISAL Championship • Combined LREI Boys and Girls teams ranked first overall at ISAL Championship Eight student athletes (Boys and Girls) were named to the All-NYSAIS Team

LREI NEWS | 2018 13

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2018!

LREI Class of 2018 at 40 Charlton Street

55 students from the Class of 2018 (86%) applied via early application NEW PROGRAM: The Presidential Scholars Program at Boston College, an academic merit program that awards fifteen full-year scholarships to select men and women of outstanding talent and character.

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University is on the list for the second year in a row.

THIS YEAR, LREI HAD ANOTHER POSSE SCHOLAR. THIS MARKS FOUR OUT OF THE PAST FIVE YEARS THAT LREI HAS HAD AT LEAST ONE POSSE SCHOLAR. 14

LREI Class of 2018 Matriculation List American University Babson College (3) Bard College (2) Baruch College (SUNY) Boston College Boston University Brandeis University Bryn Mawr College Clark University Colby College Columbia College Chicago Columbia University Emory University Franklin & Marshall College George Washington University Grinnell College Haverford College Howard University Hunter College (CUNY) Lafayette College Lehigh University Loyola University Maryland McGill University The New School (2) New York University Northwestern University Oberlin College Pitzer College Pomona College Pratt Institute Purdue University Reed College (2) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Sarah Lawrence College School of the Art Institute of Chicago Skidmore College (4) SUNY Purchase Syracuse University University at Buffalo University of Miami University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Rochester University of Vermont (2) Vassar College (3) Wesleyan University (3) The College of Wooster (2) Yale University (2)

The Class of 1988 shares memories from elementary school for StoryLab.

StoryLab is LREI’s ongoing oral history project, modeled after the popular NPR-supported StoryCorps. It is a popup-radio booth that records alumni sharing memories from their time at LREI. LARRY KAPLAN (TEACHER, ALUMNI PARENT, AND HONORARY ALUMNUS '12) Reflecting on his 35-year career teaching physical education at LREI, Larry explained how he has used humor to motivate kids and get them to participate in sports. He also worked hard to promote an inclusive environment that allowed all students to participate.

“It was important to me that nobody be left out,” he stated.

EVE STUART (FORMER BOARD CHAIR, CURRENT TRUSTEE, AND ALUMNI PARENT) “I love everything about [LREI], it’s like home. You know, I started as a parent here in the ’70s and I never left…This school is not like an institution; it’s really a community. It’s like a family, and I’ve made lifelong friends here.”

JOHN MELISH '58 “[LREI] was so important to me that I did not miss one day of school from seventh through twelfth grade. And I had to commute from Brooklyn; pretty far out Brooklyn. I was so impressed with the fact that our teachers were really attentive to us, were like parents, ideal parents. They were commanding; they had high standards. We really wanted to respond to whatever they requested us to do. We were expected to excel academically and we were expected to excel socially, too. So that provided us with a real groundwork, and the reason we’ve come back 60 years later.”

ALMA BERSON '58 “I’ll never forget that the second or third day in the 8s; a woman came into the room and started to play the piano, and she sang.

Her name was Charity Bailey. She was so unbelievably talented and

inspirational that within about a week I said to myself sitting there, and I never forgot it, that if I could make other children as happy as Charity made me, I wanted to be a music teacher. And that’s what happened. The teachers cared so much about each of us and had a great deal of imagination.”

SUSAN MEYER '58 “I’m here because of gratitude for the fact that the school rescued me…I’m 78 years old and I’m still doing whatever I can to help the school because the basic philosophy is still the same; it’s just been updated. Social justice is something that’s of this generation, and it’s still as revolutionary as it was then. Anything I can do for this school, I will do.”

CLASS OF 1988 The Class of 1988 reconnected for their 30th reunion. When they visited StoryLab, they shared memories about LREI teachers, trips, birthday parties, and even the animals they studied in the 9s. Jed Friedman ’88 shared his memory of Dr. Handwriting: “Amy, our 7s teacher, would leave the room and she’d say, ‘A special teacher is coming.’ And then someone would come in in a lab coat and glasses that looked like her, with an unidentifiable foreign accent. And I really wanted to believe all year that it was a different person, even though I knew it was her.”

Do you have an LREI story to share?

Contact us at alumni@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 269 to schedule a recording session.

LREI NEWS | 2018 15

This year, more than ever before, asking for help instead of permission has given students like us our most powerful voice.

We are a class that has come of age in the era of #MeToo, of the Parkland students, of the Women’s Marches, of the Black Lives Matter movement, of airport protests, and of an unprecedented resistance to oppressive politics, all with teenagers at the frontlines. All of us have made a point to make ourselves heard in those battles, in each of our own ways, and what we learned as a result is that we cannot do this alone.” - Kalli J. '18

I can’t wait to see how you’ll (Class of 2018) change others the same you helped to change each of us. Though it’s sad to see you go out into a world that will not applaud your every move the way it deserves to be applauded, I can’t wait to see how each of you will change to become even better than you are right here right now.” – Lauren S. '18

2018 GRADUATION

I suggest that you will never get ‘there’ as there is always more you can experience, more truths you can hear, understanding and empathy can always deepen and life is diminished if this process stops. Ever closer, always splitting the distance between where you are and where you are going, closer, closer, halfway, and halfway again, never quite arriving, though continuing to try.” - Phil Kassen, Director

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The world right now, and our country in particular, is a confusing place. It’s particularly lacking in the qualities that all of you (seniors) hold...You’ve been taught to be allies. You’re been taught to stand up to those who would use their power and position to bully others.

You’ve been taught to work with others from different backgrounds.

As said by Elisabeth Irwin, ‘the foundations of democracy are built by the daily habits of recognizing the rights of those that differ from ourselves.’ You have learned these habits at LREI, and the world needs each of you.” – Amy Zimmerman, Board Chair

I have learned that life is not a sprint but a marathon. Think positive, stay upbeat, tap into your natural curiosity, and remain in sync with who you are. Nurture a caring and trust-centered relationship with friends and loved ones. If you keep in mind these simple precepts, you will live a life as Ms. Irwin lived hers: a life rooted in meaning, value and an authentic sense of self-worth.” – Mark Bledstein, Faculty Speaker

LREI NEWS | 2018 17

LREI ALUMNI FEATURE Kimberley A. Martin '99 Kimberley A. Martin '99 joined The Washington Post in November 2017 as the paper’s Washington Redskins beat writer.

About Kimberley

Education: Wesleyan University, B.A. in psychology and African American studies; Syracuse University, M.A. in magazine journalism Honors & Awards: Salute to Excellence Award: Sports (first place), National Association of Black Journalists, 2016 Best Feature: Sports (first place), New York Association of Black Journalists, 2016 Trailblazer Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women (Long Island Chapter), 2014 Emerging Journalist of the Year Award, National Association of Black Journalists, 2011 Professional Affiliations: National Association of Black Journalists, Pro Football Writers of America, Association for Women in Sports Media

I have gotten very comfortable with being the only.

When you look like me, you have no choice.

Some days, I’m the only woman in the room; other days, I’m the only African American. In a sea of predominantly pale skin and male voices, I am the outlier. It is an uncomfortable reality for anyone, but it is a particularly unique experience for a female sportswriter of color whose office these days is an NFL locker room.

I have written hundreds of articles, covered dozens of playoff games and won a few awards. But my experience as a veteran journalist still doesn’t offset the feeling of being “the only,” nor does it alleviate the pressure and responsibility I feel to be an example.

In a three-month span, I went from covering the New York Jets to being a sports columnist in Buffalo, to covering the Washington Redskins full-time for The Washington Post. (Sidenote: I do NOT

recommend juggling that many jobs and relocating from Western New York to DC that quickly, but the stress was worth it to join my dream paper.) In each of those jobs, I found myself being “the only.” I went from being the only black, female beat writer covering an NFL team for a major newspaper, to being the only black female sports columnist in the entire country. Now, at The Post, I’m back to being “the only” in NFL beat writing circles.

But because I often stand alone, my voice is sorely needed. I say that not because I’m the best writer or reporter. I say it because this black girl from Brooklyn — who was lucky enough to be a part of the Prep for Prep family and later was shaped by the LREI experience — understands at her core that representation matters.

Turn on the TV and you’ll see plenty of women in on-air roles.

Their areas of expertise vary from news, to sports, to politics to entertainment. Now, pick up the nearest newspaper, turn to the sports section, and count the number of bylines by women. Then see how many of them are black women. Chances are you won’t find any. That is, unless, you’re reading The Washington Post (“Shameless Employer Plug” alert!).

I’ve been fortunate in my career to have covered the Yankees and Mets, all three New York football teams, and even Super Bowls.

And over the years, I’ve come to learn — and revel in the fact — that standing out is one of my greatest assets.

For many of us, LREI was the place where individualism was appreciated. It was a safe space where you were encouraged to shine and to express your opinions, even if they were counter to your classmates’. We were celebrated for our intellect, but praised for the skills, interests and talents that were uniquely ours. Graffiti artists were lauded for their creativity in the same way chorus singers were praised for their melodic range and the drama kids were applauded for their acting skills.

For many of us, LREI was the place where individualism was appreciated. It was a safe space where you were encouraged to shine and to express your opinions, even if they were counter to your classmates.” -Kimberley A. Martin

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LREI students have always been more than just test scores. We’ve always been a collection of kids with distinct identities, and it’s that foundation, that sense of welcomed individuality, that has helped me in those moments when I’ve had to look around a locker room and see only athletes and mostly middle-aged, white, male reporters.

There is no other choice but for me to rely on what makes me uniquely special: My New York City upbringing. My Caribbean heritage.

My gender. My race. My psychology degree.

My experience working in finance. All of those facets inform and shape my perspective as a black woman who writes about the NFL and predominantly black players. I see stories that others might miss; I provide context where understanding may be lacking.

To do this job effectively, accuracy and objectivity must be your mission at all times.

But to thrive as a woman of color in the so-called “old boys club” of sportswriting, you must come to terms with the different standards and expectations. You must remain undeterred by the difference in treatment and the exhausting exercise of always having to prove yourself. You must be better than your male colleagues, you must possess an even thicker skin than them, and you must accept that they and your editors often are unaware of how your daily struggles on the job vastly differ from you male colleagues.

Above all else, you must navigate the inherent challenges and the unforeseen stressors with the same unflappable resolve that got you the job in the first place. And, you must juggle all of these responsibilities while also meeting deadline.

So far, I’m doing OK. Kimberley A. Martin, The Washington Post Twitter: @ByKimberleyA

LREI’S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN 2020-2021 – JUST TWO YEARS AWAY! Thank you to the 329 members of our community who completed the Centennial Celebration Survey this spring! If you didn't get a chance to fill out our brief survey, we welcome your input at surveymonkey.com/r/lrei2021.

Volunteer archivist Yukie Ohta has been working with the community to organize LREI's archives in preparation for the Centennial Celebration.

If you have LREI objects, mementos, photographs, or documents you would like to donate to the school's archives, contact centennial@lrei.org or 212-477-4316, ext. 232.

Summers at LREI Pictured here are the 29 counselors who worked at camp this summer, many of whom were once campers in our program. In fact, roughly one-third of all our counselors attended Summers at LREI! Courage presents differently for each of us, and can this can change at particular stages in our lives. When asked to reflect on the activities or experiences that allowed them to practice courage, some counselors shared their personal stretches: “sharing as a homegroup on theme day,” “singing and dancing,” “socializing and making friends with campers I didn’t know,” and “going down the waterslide for the first time.”

They also reflected on what feels like a stretch for them now that they are camp counselors: “leading an activity and speaking in front of others,” “getting campers to recognize me as a leader,” “preparing and leading a group in an activity,” “[feeling] okay being myself,” and “going out of my comfort zone and doing things that don’t come easily.”

One junior counselor explained, “Camp has always felt like a safe space for me, whether as a camper or a counselor. I like to use the comfort I feel at camp as an opportunity to try new things, where in other spaces, I would be too afraid to try. Something that would take a lot of courage to do in other spaces would be easy for me to attempt at camp because of the judgement-free environment.”

At camp, we hope to support everyone in the Summers at LREI community in feeling safe enough to step outside their comfort zone, engage in new experiences and work on skills, even when it feels like a stretch; maybe especially when it feels challenging. The hope is for everyone to have the courage to try and learn about themselves (and each other) during the journey.

For more, visit summers.lrei.org

LREI NEWS | 2018 19

Amy and Jim at the NYU Skirball Center, Commencement 2018

2018-2019

HALEE SAGE

NEW TRUSTEES

PASSING THE TORCH

LREI Welcomes a New Board Chair

ANGIE VIEIRA BAROCAS

LREI is proud of the work Amy Zimmerman has accomplished as our Board Chair. On July 1, 2018, Amy passed the torch to fellow LREI Trustee Jim Harris. As both reflect on the successes of the past year, the two parents discuss the theme of “courage” at LREI. As experienced LREI parents and trustees, how is courage central to LREI’s mission?

AZ: LREI teaches students to be courageous from day one.

They are taught that they can express themselves without fear of ridicule, that real growth can only occur in the absence of fear. On a bigger level, LREI itself has been courageous over the past century – inviting people into our community who others shunned, be they families accused of communist activity during the “Red Scare,” students boycotting schools that refused to integrate during the Civil Rights movement, or LGBT families, students, and teachers.

We have never been afraid to take bold positions in the interest of justice and equity.

JH: Courage is central to the mission at LREI. We don't want our students being passive in the classroom, absorbing what faculty doles out to them but rather, we hope they become active participants in learning by working collaboratively with fellow students to solve problems and engaging with the outside world to better understand those problems. Examples of student courageousness abound: from the first trip with the attendance ledger to Eileen's desk, to the first time away from home for the farm trip, to eighth graders arranging and conducting field work for their social justice program, to students doing all the prep work for eleventh grade trip.

How is courage reflected/defined in the work as Board members?

AZ: We do it in two ways. First, we make sure the school has the resources it needs to allow its faculty and students to be courageous; to try something new and fail, and try again. Second, we guard the mission of the institution. In order to do that well, we sometimes have to be courageous ourselves to make a decision of which Elisabeth Irwin would be proud.

JH: The faculty and students are the truly courageous ones, as they design and engage with the curriculum. The Board’s

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role is merely to ensure the administration and faculty have the wherewithal to design and implement programs that are consistent with the school's mission and create opportunities for students to be courageous in the classroom and beyond.

As LREI parents, is there a courageous moment that has made each of you proud to be part of this community?

AZ: There are too many to name, but one I love is watching the theatrical productions each year in the Middle School. Each year, you’ll find students who have previously been shy suddenly stepping into the spotlight and blossoming. At that moment, you can see the impact of being a part of a community that allows its members to try new things without fear of ridicule, and encourages each student to embrace his or her own unique identity.

JH: The Eighth Grade Social Justice Project provided my son innumerable opportunities to be courageous. Whether it was engaging with adults outside of the school in the research phase of the project or leading a teach-in on his chosen subject for younger students in the Middle School, opportunities for courageousness abound. The students’ activism in leading the Black Lives Matter and gun control debates is another example of how courageousness is organic in everything that goes on at school. On the courts and athletic fields, in the theatre and art studios, there are many examples of courage on the part of our students.

(Jim to Amy): Amy, what advice can you offer as I prepare to step into these shoes?

AZ: Serving as LREI’s Board Chair is an honor – it’s an honor to be part of a nearly 100-year old institution that has been so true to its mission for all of that time. Enjoy every minute of it. And spend as much time as you can with our alums; they are the walking embodiments of all LREI stands for and have great stories to tell.

For the past four years, Angie has been a passionate volunteer and advocate for LREI's mission. She served as the Lower School Coordinator for two years and is currently in her second year as Co-Chair of the Fund for LREI. She has also volunteered for and contributed to various PA committees including the Art Auction, Big Auction, Community Service, Faculty & Staff Appreciation, Halloween Fair, School Store and Sports. Angie brings to her work a unique perspective due to many years as a strategic marketing and advertising executive for companies including Mother New York, Six Flags Inc., Bugaboo North America and Wieden + Kennedy. A graduate of Brown University and a native of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, she now resides in New York with her husband and their son Atticus '26.

SUYSEL DePEDRO CUNNINGHAM is the mother of Cecilia '25 and the co-founder of the boutique interior design firm Tilton Fenwick. When not volunteering her time at LREI, she travels the world speaking on a variety of design topics with a particular focus on the effective use of social media in the design field. Charity work has always been an integral part of Suysel's vision for Tilton Fenwick. One of her proudest pro-bono career highlights was designing the teen center at Boom Health AIDS Services in the Bronx for LGBTQ kids. Suysel also proudly serves as trustee at The East Harlem School at Exodus House. At LREI, Suysel was a founding co-chair of Azúcar, a Latinx parent affinity group which she co-headed for four years. In that capacity, she helped organize the hurricane relief efforts benefiting Puerto Rico in the fall of 2017. Suysel currently lives downtown with her husband, David, daughter Cecilia, and a rescue dog Bago.

KATHERINE E. FLEMING Proud LREI parent of Lulu Fleming-Benite '21 and Cora-Louise Fleming-Benite '22, Katherine E. Fleming has been the Provost of New York University since 2016. A historian, she joined the NYU faculty in 1998, where she is now the Alexander S. Onassis Professor of Hellenic Culture and Civilization. Beyond NYU, Dr. Fleming has been a longstanding associate member of the History Department of the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, and also served as the president of the Board of the University of Piraeus, Greece. A specialist on modern Greece, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean, she is the author of several books about the region. In 2015, she was awarded honorary Greek citizenship by the Hellenic Republic, and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Macedonia (PAMAK) and Ionian University.

YUKIE OHTA Yukie Ohta, mother of Hanako '27, is an archivist and founder of the SoHo Memory Project, a nonprofit organization that celebrates the history of SoHo as a New York City neighborhood. She is also a collage artist and has worked as a writer, literary translator, and book editor. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago in Japanese literature, as well as an M.S. from the Palmer School of Library Science. Yukie has been LREI’s volunteer archivist since 2014 and currently serves as co-chair of the Development Committee. She has also worked with the Office of Admissions, taught an archives X-Block, and was a mentor for a senior project last year.

Halee is a current LREI parent to Layne Friedman '20 and Miles Friedman '22.

Since becoming a member of the LREI community, she has volunteered in various capacities: the Art Auction, the Big Auction, the Literary Committee, the Community Service Committee, the Fund for LREI, and the Endowment Campaign. Halee has also been a PA class representative. After graduating from Northwestern University, Halee was a Teach for America Corps member in Baltimore, MD. She has spent her professional career fundraising, designing programs, and developing products for the social sector, as well as focusing on go-to-market strategy, project management, new venture analysis, and determining mission oriented revenue streams to amplify social impact. Outside of the LREI community, Halee sits on the board of the Lynn Sage Foundation, an organization she founded in 2006 with her sister, Laura. She is a Make-A-Wish wish grantor and sits on the newly-formed MakeA-Wish Metro NY Women’s Council.

ALISA SORIANO Alisa Soriano was born and raised in New York City.

She began her teaching career in 2006, and since then has taught children ranging from two years old through the first grade in both public and private settings. While her relationship with LREI began when she was an associate teacher many years ago, she returned to LREI to teach kindergarten in 2014. During her years at LREI, she has participated in multiple hiring committees, facilitated the revamping of lower school progress reports, mentored numerous student interns and associate teachers, started a service learning program in her classroom, assisted with Staff Association work, and participated in the Innovation Institute. When asked if she chose teaching or if teaching chose her, Alisa always answers, “Teaching chose me.” One of her favorite parts of teaching is being able to have conversations with children about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and teach them to fight for social justice.

LREI NEWS | 2018 21

REUNION WEEKEND 2018

Caleen Sinnette Jennings '68 accepts her Distinguished Alumna award. (from left to right: Alumni Council President Tamar Gargle Krakowiak '88, Caleen’s husband Carl Jennings, and Director Phil Kassen).

Alumni explore photos from the archive.

The 33rd Annual Alumni Reunion took place on June 12, celebrating classes ending in “3” and “8.” This year, the Class of 1968 celebrated their 50th reunion.

Over 200 alumni from the Classes of 1956 to 2016 joined us for the weekend.

The class of 1968 celebrates their 50th reunion

We kicked off Reunion Weekend 2018 with a celebration to honor the retirements of Mark Bledstein and Larry Kaplan, two beloved LREI teachers. Their decades of extraordinary work have impacted generations of students. Their awards were presented by Jeffrey Nurenberg '94 and Violeta Picayo '09.

On Saturday, we had a full day of exciting events, starting with a walking tour of historic Greenwich Village led by former LREI history teacher, principal, and historian, Nick O’Han. Alumni visited locations frequented by Elisabeth Irwin and her contemporaries and learned about the school’s connection to this iconic neighborhood.

The Class of 1988 reunited for a special lunch at the Sixth Avenue building. After lunch, they toured the building, revisiting classrooms and sharing stories from elementary school.

LREI parent and archivist Yukie Ohta and Honorary Alumni Kasey and José Picayo led the archives session. Alumni sifted through decades of photos identifying teachers, classmates, and events while recalling memories from their days at LREI. Following the archives session, alumni remembered former music teacher Bob De Cormier through a sing-along of LREI classics with current music teacher Susan Glass and associate teacher Jay Saper.

Songs included “Dark as a Dungeon” and “This Land is Your Land.”

Caleen Sinnette Jennings '68, this year’s Distinguished Alumna, performed excerpts from her memoirs Queens Girl and Queens Girl in Africa. Her performance included her experiences as an LREI student in the 1960s. Caleen is an actor, director, playwright, and highlyesteemed professor of theatre at American University.

Prior to the main reception and presentation of awards, Director Phil Kassen took alumni on a tour of the expanded high school to show alumni both familiar spaces and newly-renovated facilities.

Reunion Weekend concluded with a reception and awards ceremony for all alumni. Alumni Council President Tamar Gargle Krakowiak '88 welcomed everyone in attendance and shared heartfelt memories about the reunion classes. The Distinguished Alumna Award was presented to Caleen by her classmates Andrew Weiss '68 and Nora Heflin '68.

Tamar awarded LREI parents and trustees Kasey and José Picayo as Honorary Alumni. Alumni of all ages enjoyed catching up with old friends and teachers and taking fun pictures in our photo booth!

LREI Historian Nick O’Han leads alumni on a walking tour of Historic Greenwich Village.

Caleen Sinnette Jennings '68 holds a picture of herself in French class in the 1960’s.

Kasey and José Picayo, longtime LREI parents and volunteers, accept their Honorary Alumni Award.

Photos can be viewed at lrei.org/photos.

Larry Kaplan

22

Mark Bledstein

LREI NEWS | 2018 23

CLASS NOTES FEATURED ALUMNA: ASTRID BEIGEL '54

Astrid Beigel '54 left New York in 1954 to attend college at the University of Michigan, majoring in psychology. She moved to Chicago and then to San Francisco before settling in Los Angeles, where she has lived ever since. Astrid has devoted most of her life to various parts of the field of psychology. In 2017, Astrid retired and now enjoys spending her time traveling, going to events, meeting interesting people, and seeing good friends. She also keeps in touch with some classmates. She is currently looking forward to continuing her work in the behavioral health field as a volunteer and her wonderful life filled with fun and activities. Her fond memories from LREI include the day it was announced that girls could wear pants to school (if they were below the knee!), being allowed to call teachers by their first name, and support for Girls Basketball team (she was co-captain her senior year). Most importantly, she recalls being elected to Student Council as the Chairman of the Sports Committee, a position that had previously been held by boys only. She shares, “I will always remember and often talk about the four years at EI and how indirectly the experience influenced much of my life.”

Carolyn (Lyn) Campbell Macfarlane '46 is still enjoying life. She lives in Lynnwood, WA, an appropriately named locale for a Lyn. In her residence, Garden Retirement Apartments, she reads funny short articles and stories to her neighbors.Especially in these unfunny times, making people laugh is important. She says, “Everysmile and

2018-2019 Alumni Council Meetings & Events Alumni Council Meeting Thursday, September 20, 2018 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Alumni Archives Room, 40 Charlton Street Alumni Happy Hour Thursday, October 25, 2018 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tio Pepe, 168 West 4th Street Alumni Council Meeting Monday, November 26, 2018 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

272 Sixth Avenue

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especially, hearty laugh makes me feel great!”

She is now working on her twenty-second novel using a critique group.

Max Gottesman '52 received a degree in Philosophy from Swarthmore College, an M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale University and did a postdoc at Rockefeller University. He worked at the National Institutes of Health

Alumni Basketball Game Friday, December 14, 2018 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Thompson Street Gym MLK Day of Service Monday, January 21, 2019 272 Sixth Avenue Alumni Council Meeting Tuesday, January 22, 2019 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Alumni Archives Room, 40 Charlton Street Alumni Archive Night Monday, February 11, 2019 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

40 Charlton Street

in Bethesda, MD for 19 years and then moved to Columbia University to take on the directorship of the Institute of Cancer Research. In addition to publishing articles on cancer genetics, and a two-year stint in acting, Max also writes, publishes and performs poetry.

Carol Levine Paasche '55 attended Antioch College and later Harvard University for her master’s degree. She has three children. She taught for 30 years and wrote two books on children with special needs. Recently, she and her husband returned to the United States after living in Canada for nearly 50 years. They live on a farm in Upstate New York, which they consider their family hub.

Don Coburn '57 graduated from LREI 61 years ago. The school's spirit has been his guide all of these years. He retired three years ago after a long career in law. He is currently serving on the Monterey, MA Select Board.

Don and his wife, Ellen, have two sons, Jeff and Jim, and two grandchildren, Beckett and Myles. Home is Monterey, but they also spend time in Marlborough, MA to be nearer to their grandchildren.

Peter Smith '57 retired from Green Mountain College in May after almost 20 years of teaching wildlife ecology and natural history of Vermont. He hopes to begin work on a

Alumni Council Meeting Monday, March 4, 2019 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Alumni Archives Room, 40 Charlton Street

Breakfast for Alumni with Current Students Wednesday, May 15, 2019 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m 272 Sixth Avenue

3rd Annual Alumni Giving Challenge Monday, March 11 Friday, March, 15, 2019

Reunion Weekend 2019 Celebrating classes ending in “9” and “4” Friday, May 31 Saturday, June 1, 2019 40 Charlton Street

Spring Alumni Happy Hour Spring 2019 Date and offsite location TBD Alumni Council Meeting Tuesday, May 7, 2019 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Alumni Archives Room, 40 Charlton Street

World Pride NYC June 2019 Date and offsite location TBD

biography of his father, former LREI director Rank Smith. To celebrate his retirement, he and his wife spent two weeks in early June in both Theodore Roosevelt and Yellowstone National Parks.

Paul Levi '59 and his wife, Cathy Waldman, have moved to Washington, DC to be closer to their grandchildren.

Michael (Mike) Bancroft '59 is currently retired, after a career as a salmon conservation lawyer for NOAA, in Seattle, WA. His old and continuing hobby is folk dancing, while his principal new hobby has been learning to play the recorder. This April, he spent a wonderful three weeks in Japan, travelling with his wife, Vicki, and daughter, Naomi.

Stephen Bonime '62 Since LREI, Stephen has continued to pursue music, math, political action, French, and travel, [and] now he’s added photography, computer programming, vigorous gardening, competitive running, yoga, and tai chi. He got a B.A in West African politics from Haverford and then a Ph.D. in music history at Bryn Mawr. He taught students of all ages, including middle school, high school, and university levels, followed by 20 years doing and teaching programming at MetLife, IBM, and ADP. Recently, his main focus has been on his grandchildren, two of whom live in Paris and the other two of whom live in New York City.

Leslie Weingeist France '62 and her husband, Thomas, a retired ophthalmologist, are about to celebrate 35 years together living in Madison, WI. They spend their time reading, gardening, being engaged in their community, and keeping up with their six grown children and 14 grandchildren. They continue to be involved with national and international ophthalmology, particularly in Latin America. For many years, they have spent part of the winter in Argentina.

Following a career in hotel management and radio, Susan Levin Wiland '62 was a paralegal at a New York City law firm. For the last 35 years, she has managed her husband's arboricultural business in Westchester County.

She says, “I have been to the Redwood Forest and the Gulf Stream waters; this land was made for you and me."

Laurie Altman '62 is a noted and prolific composer based in Switzerland, whose last album, Sonic Migrations, received a Grammy nomination for “Best Classical CD.” Next year, Salzburg will feature the world premier of his concerto for violin and orchestra and his concerto for clarinet and orchestra.

This coming academic year will be Lucy Bregman’s '62 final before she fully retires in the spring of 2019. For two years, she has

In Memoriam

Josephine Sloane Homburg '47 Gideon Seaman '47 Naomi Smith '47 Stephen Wersan '50 Stephen Kunitz '56 Pietro Nivola '62 Judy Tytell '62 Brandon Kaplan '99 Nicholas Cleves '12 Thea Jones '21 Bob De Cormier, former music teacher Julie Sterling, Spanish teacher

been on “graduated retirement” from Temple University where she has taught in the religion department. since 1974. She plans to continue writing and publishing. She enjoys kayaking in small lakes and rivers.

Faiga Brussel '62 continues to run a cornerstone in Delhi, NY. It’s a multi-purpose store known as Good Cheap Food, and it has 4.9 stars on Google!

Peter Cummings '62 was a promoter of voter registration in Mississippi during the summer of 1964, jailed twice, and started Southern Courier, a civil rights newspaper in Alabama in 1965. He became a general practitioner for the United Farm Workers Union from 19711973 and then an internal medicine/cardiology and ER doctor. He also studied public health and joined the faculty at University of Washington. Peter is now retired and lives in Bishop, CA, a small town east of the Sierra Nevadas. He still volunteers.

Jane Miller Doyle '62 lost her beloved husband, Tom, a renowned sculptor who graced her class’s reunion in 2016. The rugs Jane has woven, which provide joy and comfort tomore than one LREI grandchild and kinfolk, are available online at www.janedoylerugs.com.

Beth (Herzig) Emerson '62 has been in North Beach in Miami Beach, FL since the fall of 2010. She is working on marketing her life’s creative works, which include approximately 100 songs of various genres, photo collages, and short coffee table-style how-to manuals.

She wishes all her LREI family well, sends love, and will be at the next reunion.

Barbara (Easton) Epstein '62 taught at University of California, Santa Cruz for 40 years, teaching history and Jewish studies.

She lives in Berkeley, CA and has written three books and is working on the fourth. She continues to be involved in the Socialist Left and remains on editorial boards of a number of leftist journals. She would love to

hear from anyone who would like to get in touch.

Deena (Berke) Freed '62 has been living in EcoVillage in Ithaca, NY for over 20 years.

She was a founding member of the community. Her passion is still playing classicalguitar, and she has attended workshops in Mexico and Europe. She is also an avid knitter.

Since 1970, Jaqueline (Jackie) Fried '62 has been working as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst, dividing her time between a private practice and working with other groups for whom good mental health services were not available. She managed a residence for heroin-addicted teens, a halfway house for recently released chronically ill patients, led groups for HIV/AIDS patients in various settings, and developed programs for low income or uninsured people in need of services. In 2014, she retired and left New York City to continue raising and homeschooling her grandchildren.

Paul Golden '62 and his wife Ellen, moved to Atlanta, GA last year to be near their daughter and grandkids. A collector and champion of contemporary African American art, among other genres, he managed to help organize the effort save an iconic New York mural in glass – Louis Delsarte's “The Spirit of Harlem” – which had been boarded up by a Foot Locker outlet, all while living in Atlanta!

Diane Gould '62 writes that after a thirty-year career writing for TV and movies, she got an M.F.A. from Bennington College and wrote her first novel, “Coldwater,” which won the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Award for Best First Book. Diana is a senior teacher at InsightLA, a mindfulness meditation center, and a volunteer with hospice. In 2014, thanks to Anthony Kennedy’s swing vote for marriage equality, Diana married her longtime partner, Kirsten Grimstad, after 36 years together at that time (now 40).

Steffi Finberg Graham '62 and her frequent reunion companion and husband, Andy, have been residents of Baltimore for what seems like forever; a city she has chronicled with her camera. Her work is featured on docbaltimore.com/steffi-graham.html Jeff Green '62 is among Israel's preeminent translators. He was also the ghostwriter of A Daughter's Gift of Love by Trudi Birger and the co-author of A Typical Extraordinary Jew. After completing a doctorate in comparative literature at Harvard in 1973, Jeff moved to Jerusalem with his wife, Judith.

They have three grown children and eight grandchildren. (continued on next page)

LREI NEWS | 2018 25

Recently, Jeff has taken up pottery and the classical flute and continues to play baritone saxophone in a quartet and a wind orchestra.

Andy Hecht '62 continues to practice real estate law in Aspen, CO. Visit his website: garfieldhecht.com/attorney-directory-2/ andrew-hecht/ After LREI, Bill Hodes '62 attended Harvard College (1966) and Rutgers Law School (1969), where one of his professors was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Between 1979 and 1999, he was a law professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, where he taught constitutional law and became a nationally known legal ethics scholar. Bill and his wife, Sara, now live in The Villages, FL, where Bill plays a lot of golf and tennis. He still works full-time as a legal ethics consultant, expert witness, treatise author, and budding courtroom drama novelist.

Johnny Jenkins '62 is retired and is still living on an inactive farm after many years in the dairy business. He has four geese in their 30s, two cats, and a dog. He writes, "Still walking and loving the peace and quiet and trying to figure out how to save the country."

David Kellner '62 and his wife, LaVon, sold their business in 2016 and took off a year to volunteer. LaVon volunteered with various arts organizations and David helped low-income people fill out the FAFSA for their kids in the fall and their income taxes in the spring. Their daughter, Chloe, graduated from Manhattan Friends this year.

Since learning photography with Milton Unterman at LREI, doing some shots for INFO, and studying studio lighting with Philippe Halsman back in 1974, William (Billy) Lulow '62 has pursued a career in photography. He opened his own studio back in New York City in 1980 and has been serving the greater New York City area ever since. He continues to teach photography to all types of students from his current studio facilities in Chappaqua. Bill has been married to his wife, Judith, for the last 35 years. They have one granddaughter, Haylie, and another due in October 2018.

At Balthazar: The New York Brasserie at the Center of the World, is Reggie Nadelson’s '62 third and latest non-fiction book. Other works include biographies of Angela Davis '61 and Comrade Rockstar (which has been optioned by Tom Hanks for a movie), and a nine-installment Artie Cohen detective series.

Reggie splits her time between the Village and London.

Betsy Bone Pepperman '62 and honorary classmate Richard live in New Jersey,

26

where she still does social work. Their marriage is well into its sixth decade.

John(ny) Robbins '62 is 90 percent retired after 35 years as a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis. He and his wife of 50 years spend part of the year in Lyon, France, and the rest of the year in California. They visit their daughter in Australia frequently.

Paul Solman '62 embarks on his thirty-fourth year as an economics correspondent for the PBS NewsHour (née MacNeil/Lehrer). He won a James Beard award this year, though sadly not for cuisine, in which scrambled eggs remain his signal achievement. He also co-authored Get What's Yours: the Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.

Jeff Weinstock '62 has begun to show and sell his Urban Surfaces photographs that, as Michael Kimmelman of The New York Times has put it, "gently, almost serenely nudge ready-made abstraction into a fresh century." Jeff has recently turned his attention to trees. View his work at jeffweinstock.com. Jeff 's mom Ruth is 95 and going strong.

Ed Tobias '66 retired at the end of 2012 after working for more than 40 years in the news media. Most of that time was spent with the broadcast division of the Associated Press in Washington, DC. Now he and his wife Laura are beach bums, spending most of the year in Ocean City, MD but “snowbirding” to Florida in the winter. He continues to do freelance writing for a few websites.

Oliver Fultz '73 In the last few years, Oliver’s work has taken him all over the world, including London, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Durban, and Istanbul.

Author and host of the Happy Ending Reading Series Amanda Stern’s '88 hotly-anticipated, widely-praised new memoir, “LITTLE PANIC: Dispatches from an Anxious Life,” came out on June 19th and is available in bookstores everywhere. “LITTLE PANIC” charts Stern’s childhood in the 1970s and 1980s New York – from her mother’s barefoot bohemian world in Greenwich Village to the sanitized, stricter sphere of her uptown father –where Amanda experiences the magic and madness of life through the filter of unrelenting panic.

Ama Birch '95 is busy marketing her Choose Your Own Adventure video game, Space Quake for 4-year-olds and up, available where digital games are sold. She is also the author of Sonnet Boom and the Ferguson Interview Project.

Nick Brown '04 is engaged to Halley KatshWilliams, a classmate from his high school.

Ella Saunders-Crivello '08 is getting married

on August 10, 2018, and after six years at TED, she joined a technology innovation campus and accelerator as Director of Partnerships earlier this year.

After graduating from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Caroline du Pont Noonan '09 began working in marketing for consumer brands. Back in 2015, she joined MM.LaFleur, a women's fashion startup specializing in workwear.

After three amazing years, she is moving on to a new brand marketing role at the fitness startup Peloton. In her free time, she cooks with her sisters Lizzie '12 and Julia '17, practices yoga, and travels as much as possible.

Since graduating from Brown University in 2013, Thea Aguiar '09 has been working with nonprofits in the United States and abroad to expand their impact. In 2017, she began working at One Acre Fund, a social enterprise that serves smallholder farmers in six countries in East Africa with the tools, training, and financing to grow more food on their land and provide for their families. Thea is based in New York but travels to Kenya and Rwanda for work. Outside of work, she hangs out in Brooklyn and tries to keep up with the creative side LREI instilled in her through her book club, going to plays/concerts/exhibits/films, and sometimes making time to write.

Lola Lorber '09 graduated from Oberlin College in 2013, where she majored in film production and minored in Gender Studies.

After graduating, she worked at an advertising agency in New York City and then in the production office for Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” Lola enrolled in an acting program at the William Esper Studio and started to do commercials and short films. Lola also began studying to be a birth and postpartum doula and has assisted in the birth of four babies and worked with 15 families postpartum. Learn more on her official website, loladoula.com Steven Susana-Castillo '12 will be heading to the Yale School of Public Health this fall to get his M.P.H. in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases.

Alumni Mentorship Program LREI introduced a new Alumni Mentorship Program last spring. The program seeks to advance the careers of young alumni by creating meaningful mentoring relationships with alumni who are established in their field of interest. We are currently accepting applications for both mentors and mentees.

Please email alumni@lrei.org for more information.

REMEMBRANCES REMEMBRANCE OF NICHOLAS FRANCIS CLEVES '12

Nicholas Francis Cleves '12 was tragically killed on October 31, 2017 in a terrorist attack on the West Side Highway. On May 30, 2018, the LREI community came together at 40 Charlton Street to celebrate his life. During the evening remembrance, the Charlton courtyard was dedicated in his memory.

As part of the ceremony, classmate Calen McGee '12 spoke about his friend Nicholas.

This is hard…I would like to start by thanking everyone who is here today and those who have kept Nicholas in their thoughts over the last six months…

Thank you to everyone who had the bravery to speak at Nick’s funeral – thank you for speaking up in our time of collective emotional turmoil. It is partially because of you all that I even believed I could speak today…This is the second time in my (LREI) lifetime that I recall part of the school being named in honor of a lost (LREI) member.

The first, many years ago, was for Marie Weiss; a woman who was well known throughout my early years in the community, had the Reading Room named in her honor. The Reading Room, as we have come to call it, has served and continues to serve as a nexus of growth for children throughout the Lower School. Nicholas and I were among the hundreds of children that have used that space as a learning center, hang-out spot, and place to learn about ourselves. The room brings people together, regardless of age, race, financial background, and truly activates what LREI is about: community and learning. In fact, if you go there today, there are a series of plaques that line the wall of the room; Nicholas’s is one of the ones in that room…This courtyard is a dedication to Nicholas; a dedication to his life, his morals, his relationship to LREI, his dedication to others, and a dedication to the various ways that he touched our lives…Richard Bach said in the 1977 philosophical novel Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah: “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” Similar to the way that Weiss touched many lives in the era before us, Nicholas

has done the same. The Nicholas Cleves Courtyard will go on to be a place of community, unity, and growth for current high schoolers and children of the future in the same way that Marie’s was for us.

Thank you, Nicholas; we will always love and, truly, we’ll never forget you. One love.

- Calen McGee '12

Nicholas Cleves '12 embraces Calen McGee '12 during LREI Commencement 2012.

REMEMBRANCE OF JULIE STERLING

On September 27, 2017, our beloved lower school Spanish teacher Julie Sterling passed away due to illness. Julie was a dedicated teacher and colleague at LREI for 19 years, and a mom of two wonderful daughters, both of whom attended LREI. On November 28, 2017, the LREI community held a memorial remembrance to celebrate and share memories of Julie’s life.

Coming into a new community, I understood the importance of making early connections with the faculty and staff at LREI. With that in mind, I sent out a message during my first week on the job to invite teachers and staff in to share about their journey to LREI and their hopes for our first year together. Julie, being the person she is, was the first person to respond to my email, eagerly suggesting a few dates to meet. On the day of our visit, she came in, sat down, and the first thing she said was, “Welcome to our community.” She then proceeded to ask me about how I was feeling about becoming a new mom, advice about how to raise a Spanish-speaking child in New York City, books I could buy for Zoë, and ended with offering support in making my transition a smooth one. I left that meeting more sure that I had made the right decision in choosing LREI. Julie, in that moment, represented the spirit of this community –passionate about her craft and committed to making space for all of its members. I know that the spark she shared with the world, shared with each of her students, will live on. We are all blessed to have been a part of Julie’s life, and our community will be infinitely better because she chose to share it with us.

-Elena Jaime, Lower School Principal

LREI NEWS | 2018 27

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