Winter 2013
DWIGHT TODAY A Magazine for the Global Dwight Community
Volume 10, Number 1
Dwight Celebrates 140 Years of Igniting the “Spark of Genius” in Every Child
Also in This Issue
Putting Dwight School on the Map in Seoul’s Digital Media City A Dwight Alum Blends Passion and Purpose Through Dance
From the Editor DWIGHT TODAY Dwight Today is a publication serving the entire Dwight community, which includes current students and their families, as well as alumni and friends of the Dwight, Franklin, and AngloAmerican Schools. Its purpose is to inform you of exciting news from Dwight School as well as from members of our community. Our goal is to keep you connected to the spirit of Dwight. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please address all correspondence to the Editor, Dwight Today, Dwight School, 291 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, or you can email us at rbennett@dwight.edu.
DWIGHT SCHOOL Chancellor Stephen H. Spahn Editor-in-Chief Rachael Bennett Director of Communications
Friday, April 12, 2013 @ 7:30pm Cipriani Wall Street 55 Wall Street, New York City Cocktails & Seasonal Tasting Reception featuring the cuisine of Todd English, Anthony Scotto, Jr. of Fresco by Scotto, and Julian Medina of Toloache Special Performance by STOMP’s Keith “Wildchild” Middleton Genius Auction & After-Party Tickets from $350 Experiential Packages from $10,000
Contact The Dwight School Foundation Benefit Office at dwight@cwandco.com or 646.688.3057
Editorial Staff Laurie Silbersweig Interim Director of Global Marketing and Communications Diana Brooks Manager of Global Communications and Marketing Graphic Design Audrey Miller Global Director of Creative Design DWIGHT SCHOOL FOUNDATION Editorial Staff Kari Loya Director of Institutional Advancement Caroline Axelrod ’03 Director of The Dwight School Foundation’s Alumni Affairs Proofreaders Jessica Gutierrez Caroline Walsh PHOTOGRAPHERS Ghila Krajzman Oistin Mac Bride Stan Schnier Ian Wilson
Dear Readers, A new year brings new beginnings, and as we send this winter issue of Dwight Today to press, it brings a new beginning for me as well. After ten terrific years, I will be leaving Dwight at the end of the school year to move to London with my family. It has been a privilege for me to be at the helm of Dwight Today for a decade, watching it grow, quite literally, from nothing into something great. Our communications department has expanded as well — from a team of two to a crew of many that spans across four global campuses, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give tremendous kudos to all of my colleagues (you know who you are!). While I am excited about what lies ahead, I will miss Dwight’s special community that I have come to know as family. It has truly been a pleasure to work with so many amazing parents, students, and faculty and staff members. As Dwight wraps up its milestone 140th birthday later this year, I look forward to seeing — from the outside now — the exciting places Dwight will go as a truly remarkable global school.
Rachael Bennett Editor-in-Chief
PRINTING Queen City Printers Inc., Burlington, VT, environmentally certified to the Forest Stewardship Council™ Standard
Winter 2012 |
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At Franklin’s senior prom, circa 1958, girls traded in their sweater sets and pencil skirts for dresses with full skirts that swooshed, along with de rigueur corsages and pearls. Boys traded in their daytime jackets and ties for evening versions of the same and sported boutonnières. This is just a glimpse into a bygone era in Dwight’s 140-year history featured on page 46. —Photograph from Dwight School archives
At Dwight’s senior prom, circa 2012, both girls and boys traded in their skinny jeans and backpacks for sleek, modern formal attire. Fifty four years had come and gone since 1958, but Dwight’s steadfast commitment to igniting the “spark of genius” in every child remained just as strong — and will continue well into the next 140 years. —Photograph by Stan Schnier
From the Chancellor
Winter 2013
DWIGHT TODAY A Magazine for the Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American School Communities
features
global vision
32
Dwight’s Got Seoul
Opportunities abound for students with our newest global campus in South Korea
Chancellor Spahn with Ian Chambers, Director of the Asia Pacific Region of the International Baccalaureate, at the opening of Dwight School Seoul
community
Dear Dwight Community, “Igniting the spark of genius in every child” —
40
Dancing Across Borders
Daniel Maren ‘11 is footing the bill for education in Indonesia one step at a time
personalized learning 46
news
events
07 Chancellor’s Letter 08 Foundation Trustees 10 Community News 6
| Dwight Today
A Dwight History Lesson
140 years of igniting the spark of genius in every child
18 Events 54 Community Milestones 58 Alumni News
Dwight School’s credo — has been passed down from generation to generation for 140 years. It has been my privilege to follow in the footsteps of a long line of visionary educators, including my father, Dr. M.C. Spahn, who served as headmaster before me. You will meet these men and read about their contributions to our rich and kaleidoscopic history on page 46. It has also been my privilege to serve as the educational steward of thousands of Dwight students over the last forty-five years. Every day, I find new reasons to be proud of the mark they have made on the world. One student, Daniel Maren ’11 invited me to visit West Timor, Indonesia, where he was working, to see for myself how his “spark of genius” had translated into building a school for orphans. I was delighted that he was inspired to do so while a student at Dwight, and encourage you to read about Daniel’s journey on page 40. As we celebrate our milestone 140th birthday, we do so with one eye on our history and the other on the future. Dwight School has deep American roots with an unlimited global vision. Our founding fathers, who carved a path from the latter part of the 19th century into the beginning of the 20th, were instrumental in educating many children of elite families who had immigrated to the U.S. and quickly became successful. Mid-century, my father opened the door to educating those in the middle class. And I’ve worked with our extraordinary team to take that to another level by breaking down barriers and forging partnerships that bridge schools, communities, and countries in the new millennium.
Global vision is one of Dwight’s three pillars, along with personalized learning and community, which serve as the foundation of a Dwight education today. We are committed to educating global citizens like Daniel who are equipped to solve the challenges we face in our own backyard and worldwide. Undergirding our ability to do so is the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, which was founded by one of my mentors at Oxford, Alec Peterson, the first Director General of the International Baccalaureate Organization. His inspiration, as well as the guiding principles set out by the IB — to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” — have shaped my work as Chancellor. As a school with a long legacy, we take pride in all our firsts, and it is with personal gratification that I mention a few innovations: • Dwight was the first independent school in the U.S. to establish a campus abroad in 1972 • Dwight was the first school in the U.S. to offer the comprehensive IB curriculum from preschool– grade 12, and was the first in Manhattan to offer the Primary Years Program • Dwight co-founded the Guild of IB Schools of the Northeast, comprised of 109 public and private schools that work together to bridge traditional boundaries Dwight School in New York is our flagship campus and is the standard-bearer for our expanding global network of schools (see page 32.) While we have grown exponentially from 8,000 square feet in Manhattan to a million square feet across three continents, we take great pride in the fact that our tradition of academic excellence and track record of success in personalized learning were born — and took flight — in New York City 140 years ago. “Per aspira ad astra.” Fondly,
Stephen H. Spahn, Chancellor
Winter 2013 |
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Dwight Today | New Foundation Trustees
New Foundation Trustees | Dwight Today
The Dwight School Foundation
Welcomes Five New Trustees for 2012-13 The Dwight School Foundation welcomes five more members to its Board of Trustees: Sharon Feldman (Ex-Officio, Parents Association President; Emily ’16), Katherine Grollo (Finnigan ’17, Matilda ’21), Doug Naidus (Jordan ’19, Jonah ’21), Michael Naify (Hannah ’13), and Andrew Pizzo (Isabella
’15, Stefano ’18). They join fellow trustees Marlene Arbess (Matthew ’13), Libby Callaway, Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71, Hege Fossum Eriksen (Elise ’21, Selma ’26), Gary Fuhrman ’79, Michael Kalnick, Susan Kessler (Stephen ’10), Marie Lippman (Adam ’15), Eric Semler (Nicholas ’13), Ravi Singh
Sharon Feldman (Emily ’16), Ex-Officio: Parents Association Sharon is a partner at Andrew M. Lawler, P.C., a boutique law firm in New York City that specializes in the defense of white-collar criminal and SEC-enforcement actions. She received her BA in English from Yale University in 1978 and her JD from New York University School of Law in 1983. Sharon started her legal career at Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon. She is a former Adjunct Instructor at Cardozo School of Law and member of the Board of Directors of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers. Sharon is the President of the Dwight School Parents Association and has served in various positions on the Executive Board since 2004. She has also served on the Foundation’s Annual Fund and Spring Benefit Committees. Sharon is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Temple Israel of the City of New York and President of the Religious School Parents Association. She is married to Alan Eidler, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Spiegel Associates, a Long Island-based real estate management and development company. Sharon and Alan have been members of the Dwight community since 2003, when their daughter Emily entered kindergarten.
Katherine Grollo (Finnigan ’17, Matilda ’21) Kat was born in England, educated in Australia, and received a degree in Hospitality Management. For a period, she worked in a number of five-star hospitality venues in Melbourne. Kat also served on the Advisory Board for the Ilhan Foundation, which works with a variety of medical institutions on childhood allergies. Today, Kat is a full-time mother and a part-owner along with her husband, Daniel, in Australia’s largest property development and construction company, Grocon. This requires her to fulfill a number of positions on family and related company boards. Kat has a keen interest in international politics, travel, and art.
Andrew Pizzo (Isabella ’15, Stefano ’18) Drew is owner and President of Collection XIIX, Ltd., one of the premier leaders in design, brand licensing, and product development in the fashion accessory industry. The company was established in 1982 as a privately held, fashion accessory company specializing in scarves, cold weather knits, and hats for designer brands and private label collections. Drew has owned Collection XIIX, Ltd. since 1992. He is a veteran sales and marketing specialist and the architect of the company’s growth and expansion. In addition, Drew serves as a trustee of the executive board of Cancer Care, a nationwide charity that provides services and financial aid to cancer patients and their families, and he is also a director and trustee of FABB, the leading charitable arm of the accessory industry. He graduated from C.W. Post College with a BS in Finance and a minor in Economics. Drew resides in New York City with his wife, Annette, and children, Isabella and Stefano.
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| Dwight Today
(Maya ’22), Peter Timmins ’90 (Ex-Officio, Alumni Council President), Shiv Vasisht ’95, and Richard Zinman (Emily ’11). Trustees advise and work in conjunction with the Chancellor and Head of School to think critically
about the future of the School to ensure that a Dwight education is of the highest quality. The Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity, was established in 1969 to give members of the Dwight community a way to provide meaningful support to the School’s faculty and students.
Doug Naidus (Jordan ’19, Jonah ’21) A successful entrepreneur and finance professional, Doug is the Chairman and CEO of World Business Lenders, a company he founded in 2011. Most recently, he worked as a managing director and the Global Head of Residential Lending and Trading at Deutsche Bank. In this capacity, Doug oversaw the firm’s residential lending and trading operations worldwide. He also assumed responsibility for retail business in Gulf Cooperation Council states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the United Kingdom, as well as in Latin America, enhancing Deutsche Bank’s presence in a number of key international markets. Before joining the team at Deutsche Bank, Doug served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MortgagelT Inc., which he founded in 1999. He listed the company public on the NYSE in 2004, and oversaw operation as Chairman and CEO until the sale of the company to Deutsche Bank in 2007. Before launching MortgagelT, Doug spent eleven years as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IPI Skyscraper, a mortgage brokerage he founded in 1988, and sold in a private transaction in 1999. Doug holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University, where he studied finance and marketing and belonged to the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He is the father of two boys, Jordan and Jonah, and is engaged to be married to Tatiana Toler.
Michael Naify (Hannah ’13) Michael is a successful entrepreneur who has been involved in cultural and commercial projects since the early 1990s in the U.S., Europe, and South America. He has been involved in international real estate development, publishing, and the entertainment industries as either owner/founder or as senior management. Since 1998, Michael has been the owner/developer of Villa Strozzi SRL, L’Incontro SRL, and Torre del Gallo SRL. He finds underutilized properties of historical and cultural significance, transforming them into contemporary living spaces while at the same time respecting their cultural significance. Michael has restored three properties to date representing more than 120,000 square feet of livable space. Since 1996, he has served as Chairman/Founder of Cosac & Naify Edições, which operates primarily in Brazil and specializes in books of art, architecture, design, fashion, biography and literature, as well as children’s books. Cosac & Naify is considered a leader in its field as an innovative publisher. Michael served as a member of the board of the International School of Florence (2007-2011) and as co-chair (2010-2011). He holds both a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Manhattan.
Winter 2012 Winter 2012 2013 ||| Winter
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Community News | Professional Development
Professional Development
Dwight Faculty at the Forefront of Educational Initiative and Knowledge Dwight School Style Guide —Michael Wiesenfeld, Head of the English Department Formal writing is one of the most basic yet challenging skills for students to learn. Writing abilities are typically honed over not weeks or months, but years. The IB program focuses intensely on writing in both the Middle Years Program and the Diploma Program, with regular assessments in English, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, and other subjects. In recognition of its importance as an academic skill and a life skill, Dwight School emphasizes writing in its curricula for all grades, at all levels.
ments of formal writing that would remain consistent across teachers, subjects, and grades, from year to year; and second, to provide teachers in all departments across the school a resource to use as instruction for their own writing assignments.
A difficulty sometimes associated with the teaching of writing, especially when being taught and assessed by many different teachers, is a lack of standardization. Students may learn a process of formal writing from one teacher and a different process from a different teacher. Methods of citation, quotation, and even essay structure may vary depending on the subject or instructor. While different areas of study require different modes of assessment, many aspects of formal writing are still susceptible to standardization, at least to a limited — but useful — extent.
The Guide is a website, now available at styleguide.dwight.edu. The site is easy to navigate as a quick-reference manual on the most common rules and exceptions for plagiarism, quotations, grammar, and formal writing structure. The Guide also offers concise but detailed rules and examples on citation as promulgated by the Modern Language Association, or MLA. The MLA method is being adopted by Dwight School as the preferred method of citation for all assessments in all subjects. Throughout the year, students will be learning the features of the Guide, including MLA citation, in English and Social Studies classes.
This past summer, in an effort to enhance our teaching of writing, I created the Dwight School Style Guide. I had two goals in mind: first, to provide students with instructions on the main ele-
Researching and writing the Guide was an arduous but rewarding process. Overall, I am proud of the work and hope that the Guide becomes an effective and relied-upon resource across the School.
Enhancing Algebra II & Trigonometry Curriculum —Jaya Bhavnani, Math & Physics Teacher, Head of Scheduling
Last summer, Director of Scheduling Jaya Bhavnani and Head of the Mathematics Department Beverly Soares received a grant to rewrite the Algebra II & Trigonometry curriculum. Vast experience in teaching middle and high school mathematical concepts allowed them to examine the curriculum from different perspectives, critical to horizontal and vertical understanding. To ensure that students benefited from learning thorough and challenging math content, the team combined skill sets from the Common Core Standards of the New York State and MYP standards focusing on the Unit Planners. The new curriculum enables teachers to utilize a variety of resources and assessments for differentiated learning. Students are benefitting every day from the practical application of the resources and worksheets. This new math framework will encourage a greater number of students to select the appropriate mathematical courses for the Diploma Program.
10 | Dwight Today
Professional Development | Community News
Language Arts Task Force This summer a language arts task force was created to review and update the language arts standards for grades 1-5. In order to ensure a continuum across divisions, the task force included teachers from both the lower and upper school. The task force members were: Betsy Doss, Michael Wiesenfeld, Eric Dale, Esther Schott, Nikki Weldzius, and Sara Jo Wyllie. As an IB school, the task force discussed at length the PYP language scope and sequence. The scope and sequence provided a clear continuum and open-ended objectives, including the understanding that people read and write for pleasure, an element the task force agreed was important. However, the phases, while flexible, are vague. The task force agreed that more structure was needed. The task force unanimously agreed that the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts should be the foundation for the Dwight School language arts standards for a number of reasons. The transdisciplinary nature of the Common Core allows for authentic integration within the PYP units of inquiry. It is also in accordance with the IB philosophy that all teachers are language teachers. The Common Core, as a rigorous pre-K–12 framework, provides a model for the School’s continued development of a language arts continuum. It builds 21st century skills by incorporating digital literacy and keyboarding skills. Finally, the NWEA is also aligned with the Common Core. With the Common Core standards as a foundation, the task force adapted the standards to meet the needs of Dwight School. Handwriting skills were added. Inspired by the PYP language scope and sequence, the task force also included reading and writing for enjoyment. The new grade level standards were shared with the Timothy House faculty in September at Faculty Orientation. Implementation began with the start of the 2012-2013 school year. The standards documents are updated on the Dwight website and the Skills section is updated on Rubicon.
Timothy House Mentor and Assistant Program
—Betsy Doss, Associate Head of Lower School I began my work this summer by surveying mentees from previous years to hear their thoughts on the effectiveness of our current program. I subscribed to a number of blogs and Twitter feeds about mentoring and professional learning communities. I also gathered current articles and texts. Among these were Edutopia, transformEd, the Center for Teaching Quality, and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Design (ASCD). I found that over the last decade, research has shown that quality mentor programs have a number of benefits for teachers and schools. Among these benefits are staff retention, reduced teacher isolation, and improved morale. By providing a framework for improving the quality of teaching, mentor programs improve teacher’s skills and enhance their knowledge of pedagogy. While there are a number of models for mentor programs, they typically fall into three categories: temporary support, individualized professional development, and cultural transformation. Temporary support programs provide temporary support for existing faculty or staff that are experiencing a new challenge or role. Individualized transformation programs on the other hand, are more extensive. They include weekly meetings over a two-year span, professional development opportunities, and observations with feedback. Cultural transformation mentoring creates an external network of teachers and utilizes common planning time. Each of the models has its benefits. However, at Dwight, we are in need of an individualized transformation model. We have new faculty who are new to the teaching profession. While we have new faculty members that have years of teaching experience who just need to learn “Dwight ways.” We have teachers with PYP experience, and others who are brand new to the program. We pride ourselves on personalized learning for our students. We should be doing the same with our faculty. The program I have created allows for this. Highlights from the program: • One-on-one cyclical meetings for first-year staff addressing Dwight ways and personalized topics • Monthly meetings with second-year staff addressing professional development topics • Agendas including time for instructional conversations as well as time to air concerns and frustrations • Regular review of program
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Community News | Professional Development
Professional Development | Community News
Timothy House Life Skills Program —Jessica Sarnicola, Counselor Development of a Timothy House life skills curriculum for grades 1 through 5 aims to serve as a guide for students as they navigate the nuances of social, academic and emotional issues. A comprehensive life skills program will broaden the spectrum of Timothy House instruction to include education on social-emotional development, communication skills, and selfcare. The goal is to introduce a curriculum with content specific to each developmental level. As each student and class engages
in the reflective process that life skills groups encourage, one can expect personal and community growth in areas of peer relationships, mutual respect and self esteem. Though standard lifeskills curricula exist, this project aims to meet the specific needs of Dwight students, keeping in mind the social climate and culture of our diverse and urban population. A life skills curriculum aims to not only enhance the developmental progression of the individual student, but embodies
the goal of fostering a stronger community among students in each class and between classes as they are given an opportunity to share with other grades what they have learned. In the lower grades this includes topics such as dealing with social aggression, problem solving, and mediation among peers, assertiveness versus aggressiveness, communicating feelings to others, supporting classmates, and demonstrating empathy. In addition to those topics listed, older grades will engage in discussion on effective
decision making, communicating with teachers, gender-related issues, and self-care topics such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, and hygiene.
excuse to act silly and sing. For me, it’s a chance to show a different side of myself to my students and a way to share the music of The Beatles. It’s also a chance to show them that just because you’ve got a job doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Most importantly, it’s a unique technique for engraining some chemistry concepts deep into their brains without them even realizing it.
when I finished my tenth song this past spring, I decided that I needed to find a way to record them professionally. It was an idea that had been growing in my mind for some time, but not until I had all ten songs did I really feel like I had a true and complete album. With lots of encouragement from my wife, friends and family, and my students, I decided to apply for a summer grant. I was thrilled when I found out I’d received a grant, because it meant I could take this seven-year-long project to the next and ultimate level.
In addition to in-class discussions and workshops that would extend through the winter term, each class will work together on a project and showcase what their newly learned skills to the rest of Timothy House in community meetings via skits, videos, student-made newsletters, etc. The culminating experience of the Life Skills curriculum will be a
week-long and house-wide project known as “One Hundred Acts of Kindness.” A Timothy House mural will be created for all students and teachers in grades 1 through 5 to make note of their commitments toward achieving 100 acts of kindness in their community within one week’s time. The mural will be displayed at the following community meeting. As dictated by the topic at hand, curriculum will be presented to students by the school psychologist, Timothy House vice
principal, and teachers. At times, discussion will include the class as one group, while other topics may be best presented in smaller group formats or students separated by gender. Parents will also be invited to attend a parent-counselor breakfast devoted to acclimating them to the new curriculum, and will be able to view the Timothy House mural upon completion of the program.
All You Need Is Chem —Peter Durning, Chemistry Teacher
You can listen to Peter’s full track on dwight.edu
Peter performs with the faculty band at Spirit Day
12 | Dwight Today
When I first began teaching seven years ago, I approached my first day of school with a great mix of emotions, the foremost of which was definitely anxiety. How would I connect with students? How could I be different and make chemistry exciting? I turned to my own positive experiences in high school chemistry, and among the many things that I remembered were the chemistry songs that my teacher used to play for my class. While the songs may have been a bit cheesy and the idea of singing out loud in front of my classmates didn’t exactly thrill me, there was something about those songs that I really enjoyed. Try as I might, I couldn’t help the melodies
from getting stuck in my head and I’d spend the day singing lines from those songs (in fact to this day I can still sing a few of them). Having played music for years, I thought that maybe I could make some chemistry songs of my own. Then the question was: where to begin? Lucky for me, a thorough obsession with The Beatles meant that I didn’t have to think about it for long. I figured that if I let John Lennon and Paul McCartney do the hard work of writing the unforgettable melodies, all I would have to do was come up with some rhyming chemistry lyrics and I’d be good to go. With this game plan in mind, I set off writing and in one night “Yesterday” became “The Buf-
fer’s Way.” I was pleased with the result, but I could never have guessed where that one silly song would lead me. Since then, one song has turned into ten, and my fond memory of high school chemistry has become one of my favorite and most unique teaching tools. I love playing them with my classes. At first my students don’t know what to think, but with enough encouragement I can usually get all of them to take part in the singing. I’m very lucky that I get to teach a two-year course, and among other activities I really believe the songs help build a sense of community in my classroom. They are a light-hearted break from the stress of the day and an
As much as my songs might have been fun and helpful, they have always been limited in their effectiveness because I lacked a good way of sharing them with my students. My students could hear each song only when I played them in class, which only happened once or twice over the course of two years. So
The experience this summer was fantastic. On a familyfriend’s recommendation I contacted Saltlands Studio in the DUMBO neighborhood
of Brooklyn. I ended up in their Studio B, also known as “The Honey Jar,” where I had the good fortune to work with Devin Greenwood, a recording engineer who has worked with numerous professional artists, including Sufjan Stevens and Norah Jones. As fate would have it, he even owned a book called “Recording The Beatles,” which catalogues all of the equipment and techniques used by the band to create all of their characteristic sounds. With Devin at the helm, we worked at a breakneck pace, recording, editing, and mixing all ten songs in just six days (one of which went on for sixteen hours!). I was able to find an amazing line-up of musicians,
willing to work at discounted rates to help out a teacher in need. More than anything, this project was so much fun to undertake. Being in the studio, recreating songs that I love and adding my own little twist to the finished product. It truly was a dream come true. I can’t wait to share the recordings with my classes and use them to better my students’ understanding of chemistry. If they enjoy listening to them even a fraction as much as I enjoyed recording them, the project will be a huge success. Thank you to the Dwight Foundation and thank you to John, Paul, George and Ringo. I hope I’ve made you proud!
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Community News | Professional Development
IB Philosophy at Dwight — Michael Klebnikov, Head of Social Studies Department
This summer, I developed a new, two-year IB Philosophy curriculum at Dwight. I spent most of early July and August in New York City for research, which sandwiched a four-day, IB Level 2 Philosophy workshop in Montezuma, New Mexico for training. IB Philosophy at Dwight will provide a balanced introduction to philosophy beyond what is mandated by the IB. The curriculum will attempt to familiarize students with some of the
main philosophical thinkers and ideas, expanding on a unit currently taught in IB History II – the development of Western thought. The course’s intention is to teach students how to think critically and analytically, to teach intellectual rigor, to study philosophical texts in depth, to develop open-mindedness, and to put current societal problems into a philosophical context. My task was to design a flexible curriculum involving the study
of the obligatory core theme (“what is a human being?”) and the selection of two optional themes as well as one prescribed text, as required by the IB. The core theme has two main subthemes: the mind-body relationship, which considers the arguments between the rationalists (we know only through our reason) and the empiricists (we know through our senses), and freedom and determinism (do we make free choices and are we free, or is everything determined for us?). The result of my work was a curriculum plan that outlined major units, assessments, and lesson plans for the first year’s units. Some flexibility was built in to take into account student strengths and weaknesses. Interestingly, I found many opportunities for both inter and intra-disciplinary teaching, and there are clear linkages to both the TOK curriculum as well as
to ninth grade, tenth grade, and DP historical themes. After some analysis of the optional themes, I decided that Ethics and Political Philosophy would best suit Dwight students but that it would be useful to expose students to a bit of all the rest. Thus, in my course, students are exposed to metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, ethics, political and social philosophy, aesthetics, and logic In my final construction, I decided that the course would have four main objectives: to introduce students to the subject of philosophy and to some of the great thinkers, past and present; to teach students how to think clearly and logically; to teach students how to argue persuasively in class and in written work; and to prepare students for the IB exam in their senior year.
iTextbook Creation
—Basil Kolani, Director of Information Services These aren’t your parents’ textbooks, the ones that you used, or even the ones that we used last year. Textbooks have transformed from big, heavy, and static texts to dynamic texts that can be updated, shared, and interacted with, and teachers have the opportunity to curate the best material on the topics they cover and collect them in one place, accompanied by their own explanatory material that will make it all make sense to their students.
interactive digital textbooks. The mix of study and practice walks our faculty through using their own subject materials, navigating copyright issues when using external material, the ready availability of manipulatable online texts, the actual creation of a textbook using not only iBooks Author but other tools, and the distribution of all our new online material.
Last summer, as Dwight made plans for a significantly increased number of iPads for both student and faculty use, I wrote a curriculum to be used with internal faculty development for creating
The professional development course on textbook creation will run several times a year for Dwight faculty as they prepare more portable, dynamic, and interactive texts for their students.
14 | Dwight Today
A dream: Chancellor Stephen Spahn has long wanted Dwight students to have every resource available at their fingertips to develop and succeed as superb scholar-athletes.
A dream comes true: We recently signed an innovative community partnership agreement, adding a 40,000-square-foot athletic facility overlooking the East River to Dwight School’s facilities. Located at the East River Landing Cooperative at 108th Street and First Avenue (a short drive from our Main Campus), the facility features a twenty-five-yard, six-lane swimming pool; a regulation-size high school gym, which will include bleachers to seat two hundred; exercise and locker rooms; and a rooftop space, which will be recast to house two tennis courts. Extending our campus and community, the Athletic Center will soon become home to our championship athletic teams and expanded PE, after-school, mini-camps, and summer day camp programs. It will equally benefit and add significant value for the 6,500 East River Landing residents who have been unable to use the facility for many years. In addition to enhancing Dwight’s facilities, the new Athletic Center will provide opportunities to create shared value between our community and the East River Landing community. Chancellor Spahn, who envisioned the possibilities for this space where others did not, looks forward to a long and close partnership, ultimately creating scholarship, mentoring, and joint athletic and leadership development programs. News of this exciting collaboration made headlines in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Observer, and numerous other media outlets. Read all about it in the Press Room section of www.dwight.edu. Dwight’s new Athletic Center will usher in a myriad of new opportunities all. And we can think of no better time for this dream to come true than in Dwight’s milestone 140th birthday year!
Josef & Stefani Langel Parents of Josh ’13 and Sarah ’17 Annual Fund Donors Since 2000 Why get involved? If you want to see any kind of transformation, then you need to help make it happen. As parents, our goal was to help make Dwight the best place it could be for our children, so we stepped up. It has been so rewarding to know that you have a voice and that someone is listening. Parent involvement has led to so many positive academic, social, and structural enhancements at Dwight. We are excited to be part of it and encourage all parents to get involved.
to apply to Dwight, we stood outside the building at 18 West 89th Street at dismissal to observe students. It was important to see that they seemed happy and how they interacted with one another — and it’s obvious thirteen years later that we made the right choice. One of our most endearing memories was when the kindergarten and Timothy House classes would sing and perform their PYP presentations for the parents. We remember thinking, “Oh, they’re so proud and cute in their uniforms!” Watching them stand shoulder to shoulder with one another, trying to remember the words, brought smiles to everyone’s faces. What we like most about Dwight is the feeling of community, of being part of something great. Students are happy and support each other,
16 | Dwight Today
parents are warm and friendly, teachers enjoy their work and become involved with their students, and the administration listens and cares. At first, “spark of genius” was just a phrase to us, but now it’s much more. Dwight is ready and willing to help each student discover and develop his or her personal spark. We experienced this first-hand with our son, whose teachers all helped form the mold. But one particular English teacher gave him the confidence and support to explore his dormant leadership abilities. Dwight’s internationalism was extremely important in our decision to send our children here. Dwight has students from all over the world and enormous diversity. It’s fantastic that the students are exposed to worlds that might otherwise be unfamiliar to them.
The Annual Fund is critical to the continued development of the Dwight faculty and students. Contributions help fund faculty professional development, necessary for our children’s growth, and other enrichment items that tuition does not cover. The Annual Fund also provides financial assistance for intelligent, talented students who might not otherwise join the Dwight community. You might read this and think, “They are talking the talk,” but we have seen first-hand how every dollar helps. Therefore, we have volunteered to serve on the Annual Fund Committee to reach out to other parents and to let them know that their contributions truly make a difference. We are encouraged by Dwight’s path and look forward to many more exciting developments. Our son will graduate this May and our daughter will graduate in 2017, but we will always be proud members of the Dwight community.
You might read this and think “They are talking the talk,” but we have seen first-hand how every dollar helps.
The Annual Fund is the backbone of The Dwight School Foundation’s fundraising programs. It provides critical support for student financial aid, faculty professional development, and other enrichment items and programs. We depend on your contributions to have the greatest impact on Dwight students and faculty. We hope you will help us reach our 2012-13 annual giving goal of $1,400,000. For further information about our Annual Fund, please call 212.724.6360x232 or email esilverman@dwight.edu. To make a gift online, please visit www.dwight.edu/givingtodwight.
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Events | International Society Cocktail Reception
International Society Cocktail Reception | Events
The Dwight School Foundation’s
2012 International Society Cocktail Reception
Chancellor and Mrs. Spahn, along with Dwight School Board of Trustees Chair Susan Kessler (Stephen ’10, William ’14), hosted the International Society cocktail reception on October 22, at the Lotos Club for an esteemed group of donors in the Club’s Tennyson Room. The International Society recognizes individuals who made gifts of $1,880 or more to last year’s Annual Fund (for 2012-13, the International Society
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will include gifts of $1,872 or more to coincide with Dwight’s founding year, see page 46). The 135 International Society donors contributed 87% of last year’s Annual Fund total of $1,138,942. These monies enable Dwight to provide substantial student financial aid, faculty professional development, and other enrichment items. A poster with Dwight’s new lion mascot announced with pride that this year’s Annual Fund goal is $1.4 million.
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1. Willam Abramson and Richard Zinman (Trustee) 2. Marlene (Trustee) and Daniel Arbess 3. Christian Bruner, Rafael de Fex, Sandra Jimenez, Elizabeth Nieto, and Michael Archer 4. Head of School Dianne Drew, Miguel Melero Bowen and Natalia Gazo Carnicer 5. Board of Trustee Chair Susan Kessler 6. Daniel Klein and Alexia Klein-Renoux 7. Aileen Bruner 8. Christine Iacovone, Steven Knox, Jack Iacovone and Sarah Knox 9. Harley and Marie Lippman (Trustee) 10. Sidduk Badruddin, Niken Tanita, Mayling Chin-Chu and Steven Chu 11. Guest, Scott Hefler ’97 (Alumni Council member) 12. Elizabeth Elder and Beatrice Burckhardt 13. Vicki Match-Suna, Michelle Edelman and Susan Kutzner 14. Doug Naidus (Trustee), Tatiana Toler and Chancellor Stephen Spahn
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Winter 2013 | 19
Events | Reunion Day
Reunion Day | Events
Reunions - Welcome back! On Saturday, September 29, the Franklin Class of 1977 got together at the School for a class reunion. The sixteen alums came from near and far (Ronald Levy came all the way from Texas!) and were joined by one of their favorite teachers, Stanley Sterenberg. The afternoon began with basketball in the gym, followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Great Hall. Chancellor Spahn and Blake Spahn ’89 shared tales of former teachers and memories of Dr. Mo Spahn. The group was very happy to see each other and kept the
party going afterward at another bar. A special thank you to Erik Jacobs for organizing this wonderful day! While Franklin ’77s were celebrating at Dwight School, across town the Dwight Class of 1971 had their own get-together at the Hilton Hotel, organized by Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71. The small group had a lovely afternoon filled with food, drinks, and laughs as they perused their high school yearbook. Thank you to Paula for keeping the Dwight 1971 class momentum going year after year.
From left to right: Stanley Sterenberg, Chancellor Spahn, Franklin Class of 1977, and Blake Spahn ’89
20 | Dwight Today
On Saturday, October 13, many generations of Dwight, Franklin & Anglo-American alums celebrated Reunion Day with classmates and faculty. The afternoon began with a guided tour where graduates saw first-hand the amazing renovations to the School. Nobody could believe the transformation! Following the tour, alums were welcomed at Jacob’s Pickles (owned by Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02 (see page 62)) for a cocktail party. The oldest graduate in attendance, Peter Peyser ’39, brought a picture from his days as a student, while one of the youngest, Momoka Arai ’07, travelled all the way from Tokyo! Chancellor Spahn, Blake Spahn ’89 and Kirk Spahn ’95 welcomed everyone, including favorite teachers like Mr. Samuels
(who came with his son, William, on his shoulders), Mr. Sanders, and Hank Cadra. Nobody could get enough of the delicious food. Huge jars of pickles, chicken pickle n’ honey biscuits, and fried Oreos were some of the savory items on the menu. The biggest hit of the afternoon was the huge suckling pig that emerged from the kitchen mid-way through the party. What an entrance! When the party ended, many groups went off for their own class get-togethers. Nobody wanted the day to end. A special thank you to Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02 for providing such a wonderful venue for Reunion Day and to the Alumni Council for helping to organize the event.
1. Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02 checks on his famous pickles 2. Biscuits and honey, a Jacob’s Pickles specialty 3. David Ackers ’04, Alex Bilowitz ’03, Dhelon Raynold ’05, and Alex Calastri ’07 pose in front of the suckling pig 4. Carol Bretzfield Altaresco, Franklin ’67
Winter 2013 | 21
Events | Reunion Day
Reunion Day | Events
Reunion Day, September 29, 2012
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5 1. Alums enjoy the fried pickles 2. David Ackers ’04 and Alex Bilowitz ’03 3. It was a beautiful day for a reunion on the Upper West Side 4. Dhelon Raynold ’05 catches up with Mr. Samuels and his son Williams 5. Daniel Harkins ’47 and Marge Harkins 6. Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02 and Chancellor Spahn 7. Kirk Spahn ’95, Blake Spahn ’89, Peter Peyser ’39, Chancellor Spahn, Marguerite Peyser. and Jyotsna Vasisht Bean ’96 8. Nancy Gershman ’74, Reza Sarabakhash ’00, and Beth Greenwald ’73 9. Zach Rosenberg ’07, Momoka Arai ’07, Jessica Schottenstein ’07, Alex Calastri ’07, and Isabela Garcez ’07
22 | Dwight Today
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Events | Reunion Day
Reunion Day | Events
Reunion Day, September 29, 2012
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1. Todd Feltman ’91 and Ariel Hyatt ’89 2. Emily Thompson ’97 3. Peter Timmins ’90 and Dr. Ian Lustbader, Franklin ’74 4. Alumni reconnect at Jacob’s Pickles 5. Suzy Nachman Mercado ’82, Limor Schafman ’82, Ben Finkel ’82, Emily Maxtone-Graham ’82 6. Back Row: Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02, Lester Miller ’02, Guest, Phillip Hirsh ’02 Front Row: Adam Schaffer ’02, Segaal Schorr ’02, Laura Bauman Shalem ’02, Ioan Popa ’02 7. Kirk Spahn ’95, Perun Kovacevic ’10, Etienne Bernstein ’91, and Bill Lipson ’85 8. Members of the Franklin Class of ’67 pose for a group shot
24 | Dwight Today
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Commencement 2012 | Ceremony
Awards | Commencement 2012
“Class of 2012, you are the torchbearers of Dwight’s spark of genius credo. Remember to harness your passion through purposeful acts and to serve others. Remember to respect tradition but to embrace tomorrow. And above all, remember to have the courage to use and find your own path. My door remains always open to you as you open new doors in your journey.” —Chancellor Stephen H. Spahn
Congratulations to the Class of 2012
Valedictorian Shannon Eagles
The Henry L. Crehan Music Award Jee Hwan Noh
The Truman Capote IB Higher Level English Award Juliana Barrett
Salutatorian Andrea Ho
The North East Conference of Teachers of Foreign Language Awards IB French B SL: Alexandra McEvoy IB French B HL: Shannon Eagles IB Spanish B HL: Shannon Eagles IB Chinese A HL: Lei Wang
The Walter Lippman IB Theory of Knowledge Award Rodion Kaplounov
The Charles W. Myron CAS Award David Kahn The Seamus O’Hanlon Inspirational Leadership Award Sukrit Singh Puri The Radomir Kovacevic Award Jeffrey Samuel Needham The Stephen Potter McNally Leadership in Athletics Award George Domaille The Dr. M.C. Spahn Athletics Award Kristen Tsutsui
The Theodore R. Jones Mathematics Award Jorge Lugo
The Wadham College Award Amanda Farrell The Lamson Citizenship, Leadership & Scholarship Award Shannon Eagles
The Fiorello H. Laguardia Excellence in Social Studies Award Andrea Ho
The Roy Lichtenstein Art Award Javier Pérez Díaz The Hal Prince Theater Award Alexandra DaSilva
2012 Graduating Class
26 | Dwight Today
The Cliff Boro Science Award Chloe Wragg-Kerridge and Jorge Lugo
The ECIS Award for International Understanding Lei Wang
2012 Graduating Class
Class of 2012
Class of 2012
Blythe Emily Abramowitz +*
Charlotte Grotell
Alexandra McEvoy
Jonathan Abramowitz +
Adnan Hambaryan +
Rachael Alexis Miller +*
Andrew Abrams +
Acacia Handel +
Jeffrey Samuel Needham*
Ragad AlNaimi
Edith D. Hanly +
Sean Crispin Nelson +
Emily Armstrong +*
Zoe Hartman *
Connor Nicholas +*
Nicolas Ballinger
Lidia Henderson +
Jee Hwan Noh +
Juliana Barrett +*
Samantha Hess +
Lauren Ohman +
Srey Beaulac +
Andrea Ho +*
Javier Pérez Díaz
Zachary Binns +
Francesco Holmes+
Sawyer Petrick
Anna Boyadjian +*
Ryan Horton +*
Sukrit Singh Puri +*
Ian Burwasser +
Henry Hughes
Fallon Rosen +*
Stephanie Chu +
Ayyub Ibrahim +*
Louis Ruggiero +
Chloe Colberg +
Danielle Kahalon
Alexa Runsdorf +
Alexandra DaSilva *
David Kahn +*
Maggie Russell +
George Domaille +
Rodion Kaplounov +*
Emma Settlemyre
William Henry Carney Dunkley
Isaac Lertola
Tracy Siris
Shannon Eagles +*
Taylor Cohen Levy +
Olivia Soderini +
Amanda Farrell +*
Gabriel Lewent
Teddy Srour +
Christian Foley
Diamond Lopez
Kristen Tsutsui +*
Jeffrey Garber
Jorge Lugo +
Linden Wallner
Juan Andrés Gatto Bellora +
Aaron Magier +
Lei Wang +
Stephen Gordon +
Riyad Mamedyarov +
Ari Weinstein +
Ethan Greenberg +*
Arielle Mandelbaum +*
Chloe Wragg-Kerridge +
+ IB Diploma Recipients * National Honor Society
Winter 2013 | 27
Commencement 2012 | Photos
Class of 2012
28 | Dwight Today
Photos | Commencement 2012
Class of 2012
Winter 2013 | 29
A Dwight world-class education rests on three strong pillars: personalized learning, community, and global vision. While all three are integral to
life at Dwight day-in and day-out, it is our first pillar — personalized learning — that is so deeply rooted in Dwight’s 140-year-long history. We have traced our rich tradition of personalized learning back to the very first school in Dwight’s lineage and are proud to share it with you. Before taking a trip back in time, we invite you to read our community and global vision features, which spotlight where Dwight and our students are headed today.
Feature | Global Vision
Global Vision | Feature
global vision Dwight’s Got Seoul:
Opportunities Abound for Students with Our Newest Global Campus in South Korea
Dwight School Seoul
The possibilities and benefits of being part of a global educational network for students, regardless of where they live, are boundless.
With more than one campus in the Dwight global family of schools, students in New York can study drama in London, one of the world’s leading hubs for theater arts … environmental science on Vancouver Island, in a pristine rainforest … or computer technology in Seoul, home to the world’s fastest fiber-optic broadband Internet connections. They can spend a trimester or year abroad pursuing their passions. Or they can — and do — connect via Skype with their counterparts on any Dwight campus who are learning the same curriculum at the same time. The possibilities and benefits
of being part of a global educational network for students, regardless of where they live, are boundless. And with the opening of Dwight’s newest campus in Seoul, we look forward to opening many additional new doors to all. New Yorker Gabriel Frankel ’13, a Dwight student since kindergarten, shares, “Dwight’s commitment to a global vision has always been most impressive to me … In an ever-diversifying, global society where international relations are key, Dwight enables each student to grow and broaden his or her horizons.” The IB curriculum binds students together across all of The Dwight Schools
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Winter 2013 | 33
Feature | Global Vision
Global Vision | Feature
Impressions from Our Global Ambassadors: In Their Own Words … Gabriel Frankel ’13, Dwight School New York
Having been a student at Dwight since kindergarten, the chance to represent the School as a student ambassador at the opening of Dwight Seoul was an amazing opportunity. After visiting Dwight campuses in London and in Canada, Korea had to be next! Once there, I was unbelievably impressed by the School’s welcoming student and faculty body and its grand facilities. The students seem incredibly driven and the faculty couldn’t be more excited to teach there. And of course, Seoul is an awesome city with so many great things to take advantage of! Dwight’s commitment to a global vision has always been most impressive to me, whether it’s been building schools across the world to foster the incredibly rigorous and elite IB program, or having friends of multiple nationalities and ethnicities. In an ever-diversifying, global society where international relations are key, Dwight enables each student to grow and broaden his or her horizons. There are many elite private schools in New York City, but Dwight stands out among all of them for giving us the most well-rounded, open-minded education of all. Dwight’s unique focus on nurturing each child’s spark of genius has been a perfect fit for me, especially because of my journalism passions. I’m the founder of the school World Affairs Club, the editor of the school paper, developed a book of interviews with a group of New Yorkers in public service, and write for The Huffington Post, among others. And of course, because of the School’s global networking and commitment to building a better community, I’ve attended the Dwight Global Leaders Academy in Canada during the last two summers and a Global Issues Network Conference in Portugal a few years ago. I’m so glad that I’ll be able to graduate from Dwight, knowing that I have received a world-class education and knowledge of thirty-plus international cultures. Representing Dwight New York at the opening of Dwight Seoul was the perfect way to top off an excellent thirteen-year journey!
34 | Dwight Today
Dwight School New York student Gabriel Frankel ’13
Seoul Puts Dwight in the Spotlight Few countries value education more than South Korea. Its students rank top in the world in math, reading, and science; and families typically spend more than a third of their disposable income on private education. Additionally, South Korean students have longer and more rigorous academic schedules than most of their Asian neighbors — and typically double the workload of their European and North American counterparts. The new school embraces the same guiding educational principles and focus on personalized learning that set Dwight Schools apart in New York, London, and Canada.
When the Seoul Municipal Government in 2009 sought an educational institution to run a new school in the growing Digital
Media City (Seoul’s Silicon Valley), it was drawn to Dwight’s unique combination: A 140-yearold tradition as a leader paired with the School’s forward-looking philosophy. Adding to the attraction was Dwight’s commitment to the ideals of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and a forty-year track record of success in creating campuses abroad. While the Seoul school was envisioned primarily to serve the city’s international ex-pat community, the choice of Dwight over 120 applicants is reflective of shifting priorities in Korean education, according to local experts, such as Dr. Jong-Hyun Kim, Founder of Korea Digital Media High School. He said, “Korean students are incredibly good at passing tests, but what they really need to learn is how to lead, how to think independently, and how to work collaboratively with a diverse array of people. There’s a big movement in
Korean education to address this, which is why schools like Dwight are gaining traction.” After three years of extensive planning and building, Dwight School Seoul opened its doors to more than three hundred students last fall and, on September 25, celebrated its official launch with members of the community. The new school embraces the same guiding educational principles and focus on personalized learning that set Dwight Schools apart in New York, London, and Canada. Dwight School Seoul began with students from preschool through grade 10 (grades 11 and 12 will be added in 2013 and 2014, respectively) — and established Dwight’s first permanent campus in Asia.
Global Vision: Breaking Down Barriers For forty years, Dwight has led the way in international education. Before others envisioned schools without borders, Chancellor Stephen Spahn, together with one of his Oxford University mentors, Sir Maurice Bowra, Warden of Wadham College, established a campus in London. That was groundbreaking for 1972. And in the years that followed, Dwight’s global footprint has evolved organically to include a campus on Vancouver Island in Canada, a high school program in Beijing, and of course, the new campus in Seoul. Regardless of location, Dwight’s global vision remains the same today as it was four decades ago: to educate culturally sensitive
and flexible, open-minded global citizens who can make a difference in their own communities.
A peek into a music class
Chancellor Spahn underscored this point at the Seoul opening ceremony, “For three years, we dreamed of this day. And I can honestly say that the reality has exceeded our expectations. But there’s still much to be done. If there is one message that I will share with you today, it is that we can reside here in Seoul, in one of the most advanced technological communities in the world, yet we must also continue to work and learn from people from other nations, people with different cultures as well. We must be active citizens of a truly global community.” These words resonate on every Dwight campus, and are
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Feature | Global Vision
Impressions from Our Global Ambassadors: In Their Own Words … Daniel Cole ’13, Dwight School London
Traveling to Seoul for the opening to represent Dwight London was a life-changing experience
for me. You might think the main reason was the opportunity to see Asia for the first time. Certainly my time in Seoul was eye opening. Though I’ve lived in various parts of the world — Florida, Spain, and now London — the Korean culture was completely different from anything I had ever experienced before … from the food, dress, and how people behaved with us and with one another. By simply talking with students from Dwight Seoul, attempting to communicate with Korean taxi drivers, and meeting Buddhist monks, I learned so many new things and immersed myself in Korean culture. I also saw the extent to which Dwight is truly completing its global vision. The Seoul campus is undoubtedly impressive, from the quality and scale of the facilities available to Dwight students to its design as an incredible learning environment, including a rooftop garden and even a koi pond! But hands down the best part of the experience
was having the opportunity to share it with Gabriel and Roan. Working together on our ambas-
sador presentations, eating together, riding the subway together, (and even making a Korean gangnam-style dance video with the Dwight Seoul faculty!) really brought home to me the value of the Dwight global network. We will all stay friends for a long time to come.
36 | Dwight Today
Global Vision | Feature
brought to life through the IB curriculum, the “gold standard” in pre-university studies worldwide, which challenges all of our students to excel, regardless of what country they call home.
IB Education in a State-ofthe-Art Campus: A Snapshot Dwight School Seoul — the first model IB school in Korea — is setting the standards for others, thanks to Dwight’s expertise in international education and the role its senior team and faculty play as leaders on the IB world stage. The appeal of the IB, which promotes the development of wellrounded, thoughtful, and caring students, while also providing them with rigorous academic challenges, is growing globally, but especially in Asia. The IB curriculum is becoming a welcome, indeed desirable, alternative to the traditional system that rewards test scores above all else — often to the exclusion of well-rounded character development. Dwight is delivering the IB promise in what is one of the world’s most advanced and technologically sophisticated settings, Seoul’s Digital Media City. In line with its surroundings, Dwight School Seoul, a 220,000-square-foot campus, houses acoustic music rooms, cutting-edge computer and science labs, a performing arts center, an outdoor soccer field, and a rooftop garden. Funded entirely by the Seoul Municipal Government,
Dwight School is setting the standards for others, thanks to Dwight’s expertise in international education and the role its senior team and faculty play as leaders on the IB world stage.
Dwight School Seoul was designed in accordance with best practices for sustainability by the awardwinning D&B Design firm. “We’ve certainly been blessed with a beautiful school and tremendous facilities,” said Kevin Skeoch, Head of Dwight School Seoul, “but at the heart of every school are its teachers, its staff, and its families. We at Dwight Seoul have been incredibly fortunate to have created such an exceptional community in such a short period of time.”
Cutting the Ribbon Heads of School from Dwight’s New York, London, and Canada campuses joined Mr. Skeoch, along with the Spahn family, Korean government officials, and student ambassadors from every global campus to mark the special occasion. Also present were parents and representatives from some of the world’s largest companies with offices in Seoul, including Saudi Aramco, Sabic, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagon, 3M, Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Dow Chemical, Vietnam Airways, and Asiana Airlines. As part of the opening ceremony — and in true Asian style — the
School’s leadership team and VIP guests donned customary white gloves for the ribbon-cutting outdoors. The festivities then moved inside to the auditorium, where more than two hundred guests were entertained by student performances and speeches, and heard remarks by Chancellor Spahn; Mr. Skeoch; and IBO Asia Pacific Regional Director, Ian Chambers. “The last twelve months have been among the most instructive, sometimes frustrating, illuminating, a bit tiring — and especially rewarding — of my life,” shared Mr. Skeoch, who had hired and headed the administrators and faculty needed to create the backbone of the school. “None of us anticipated, when we resolved to build the first IB model school in Seoul, what it would entail. What we’ve built here isn’t just a fantastic school; we’ve also set the cornerstone in Asia for a new way of educating young people.”
Benefits for Students: Cross-Campus Collaboration According to Dianne Drew, Head of School for Dwight New York, Dwight Seoul enhances opportunities for Dwight students in New York — and at every Dwight location — to engage in new and meaningful cross-campus curricular collaborations, as well as to forge deeper peer-to-peer connections. “I’m delighted that each head of school is now developing learning units in the IB Primary
A proud moment: Cutting the ceremonial ribbon
Years, Middle Years, and Diploma programs to encompass student research across our global network of schools,” says Ms. Drew. She continues, “Our Seoul campus provides an incredibly valuable Asian perspective; and integrating educational programming across schools will really drive home Dwight’s global vision to the people who matter the most: our students.” Proposed projects include a cross-campus architecture unit for grade 5 (London Year 6), comparing skylines in New York, London, and Seoul; as well as math units contrasting mean, median, and average heights for grade 1 students on each campus. Already underway is an exchange among preschoolers in 3s classes in Seoul and New York, in which they ask
Dwight students — wherever in the world they live — connect with one another via technology
Winter 2013 | 37
Feature | Global Vision
Global Vision | Feature
Impressions from Our Global Ambassadors: In Their Own Words …
and what it represents — at every school and worldwide.”
Roan Nix ’13, Dwight School Canada
Daniel agreed. “Sharing these experiences with New York and Canada student ambassadors made my time in Seoul all the more meaningful and exciting. Representing Dwight London at the opening showed me the value of the diverse global community that the Dwight family of schools has formed and how lucky Dwight London and I are to be a part of it.”
I was honored to be part of the opening ceremony in Seoul, and I was reminded of how lucky I am to be a Dwight student — and to have opportunities to travel to other campuses, meet other Dwight students around the world like Gabriel and Daniel, and to share learning experiences with them. One of the things that stands out most about Dwight is that it encourages us to think about others and to make a difference in the world. I was raised in a family that also believes that you can change the world, and we have traveled to South East Asia several times in search of a local school to support. On one of our visits to Cambodia, we met Phang, a landmine victim who survived the Khmer Rouge. He was fortunate enough to have made it to a refugee camp, but he stepped on a landmine and lost his leg. Phang was very lucky to have the support of the United Nations in the refugee camp and was able to take an electronics course. Afterward, he wanted to give back and opened his own school, where he teaches other disabled landmine victims to repair TVs and radios so they can get jobs, support themselves, and contribute to society. When I saw the photo exhibit about landmine victims in Dwight School Seoul, it brought back lots of memories of my trips and lots of emotions. I have always wanted to do something to help fundraise for programs like Phang’s school and, thanks to the skills and confidence I gained by attending the Dwight Global Leaders Academy on my campus in Shawnigan Lake, I will be organizing fundraisers in my school and larger community to raise awareness and support for landmine victims. I can now take inspiration from Phang and turn it into something I can be proud of. Gabe and Daniel also participated in DGLA, and I was so happy to share the experience of being in Seoul with them.
38 | Dwight Today
Students shared their talents with guests
each other questions, share class photos, and connect while learning the same IB unit of inquiry. The Seoul opening itself proved to be an opportunity for crosscampus collaboration, as student ambassadors from each campus worked together on a presentation about Dwight’s unique “spark of genius” philosophy; the importance of our three pillars: personalized learning, community, and global vision; and what a Dwight education signified for them personally. They were Gabriel Frankel ’13, who represented our flagship school in New York; Daniel Cole ’13 of Dwight School London; and Roan Nix ’13 of Dwight School Canada. Gabriel, Daniel, and Roan were already well acquainted, having attended our Dwight Global
Leaders Academy (DGLA) on Vancouver Island last summer. An intensive two-week leadership program, DGLA attracts top students from around the world, and features the highly regarded leadership curriculum that equips them with the skills needed to become social entrepreneurs and to successfully launch their own public service projects. “For me, seeing the student ambassadors participate in the ceremony was the most inspirational part of the Seoul opening,” said Kirk Spahn, founder of the Institute for Civic Leadership, which supports DGLA scholarships. “These three students come from diverse backgrounds and have completely different interests, but they’ve become close friends because of their shared commitment to the Dwight philosophy
Gabriel added his perspective: “Dwight’s commitment to a global vision has always been most impressive to me … In an ever-diversifying, global society where international relations are key, Dwight enables each student to grow and broaden his or her horizons.”
An Inspiring Note Alongside academic excellence, the inaugural ceremony highlighted Dwight’s commitment to idealism and public service as essential, intrinsic elements in the education of young people. The program closed with a rousing rendition of “Waiting for the World to Change” performed by members of the Seoul student choir, school band, and PYP students. Guests were then invited to tour the campus and visit the Spahn Gallery, which was built at the request of Mr. Skeoch to honor the Chancellor’s dedication to education in the arts. The featured
exhibition by Toronto-based photographer V. Tony Hauser, entitled “Living with Landmines,” is a series of life-size portraits of Cambodian children who were either victims of landmine accidents or had lost a family member to one. The exhibit was chosen, according to Mr. Skeoch, because it embodies both community service and global vision through a personalized, human narrative. It struck a particular chord with Roan, who had travelled to Cambodia with family to support local schools and had met a landmine accident victim named Phang. “What inspired me most was that he didn’t give up when he lost his leg. He learned how to repair electronic devices and started a school that teaches the trade to other landmine victims. Phang found his ‘spark of genius’ and is using it to help others.”
Parting Gifts with Cultural Meaning
School London gave an engraved glass piece with the school crest and a special message to the Dwight Seoul community. They’re all proudly on display, reminding students, faculty, and visitors alike that The Dwight Schools are truly a global family. While grateful for the tokens, Mr. Skeoch believes that Dwight’s biggest gift has been the development of an educational philosophy that resonates — and enhances opportunities for students — all over the world. His parting words were, “Here at Dwight Seoul, we’ve only just begun. I truly believe anything we’ve done in the past will pale in comparison to what we can achieve going forward as a global family of schools.”
Dwight students Roan Nix ’13 of Canada (left) and Daniel Cole ’13 of London celebrate with Head of Dwight School Seoul Kevin Skeoch
Each student ambassador presented Mr. Skeoch with gifts from their respective campus. Our flagship New York school bestowed an artistic rendering of the Dwight crest created by Hannah Naify ’13 in conjunction with former Dwight artist-in-residence, Olimpia Ferrari. Dwight School Canada presented hand-carved tools created by the local First Nations population of Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, some of whom attend the school. And Dwight
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Feature | Community
community Dancing Across Borders:
Footing the Bill for Education in Indonesia One Step at a Time
Daniel Maren ’11 performs at a Dwight student dance showcase
For me, it was dance and my desire to build bridges between my experiences as a child and my ideas about how to make a difference in the world — that’s where I could find innovation.
Emblazoned over an archway in Dwight’s North Campus is the phrase: “Use your spark of genius to build a better world.” When students pass through this doorway — literally thousands of times a year, coming and going to class — they may no longer notice it. But the message it sends permeates the entire Dwight campus loud and clear, and some students like Daniel Maren ’11, take it to heart. In Daniel’s case, very close to heart.
“my dancing really exploded,” Daniel reports. Beginning in tenth grade, he danced two to three hours a day — and following soccer practice in the fall — he trained under a former Latvian champion at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio on West 72nd Street. Through hard work, Daniel elevated his competitive dancing game to the national level and even to one international contest, where he placed third.
Finding a Passion with a Purpose
Daniel came to Dwight specifically in pursuit of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and a school that backed the rigorous academic program with knowledgeable, talented faculty. His star shone brightly on the Dwight stage. Daniel performed in numerous musical and dance productions as well as in the annual Carnegie Hall recital, an experience that he believes would not have been possible at any other school.
Within Daniel’s heart and soul lies dance. “I consider myself a dance fanatic,” he says, noting that his favorite form is Latin Ballroom. Daniel discovered his “spark of genius” by chance; he had accompanied his mother to her dance lessons and while sitting on the sidelines, he was recruited to take part because there weren’t enough male partners. He was twelve at the time and living in Groton, CT. It didn’t take long before Daniel caught the dancing bug and began taking lessons as well. Clearly talented, Daniel began putting his prowess on the dance floor to the test by entering local competitions. A few years later, after moving to New York City to attend Dwight,
In the Spotlight at Dwight
Equally grateful for what Dwight offered him academically, Daniel reports that he was exposed to thinking about the world through his studies in a new way, with the belief that community service, an integral component in the IB program, was essential to becoming a well-balanced student. That
notion took hold when Daniel was in the eleventh grade and planning his IB CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) project: a long-term endeavor that spans eighteen months, 150 hours of community service, and a written reflection of lessons learned. Daniel’s project married his passion for dance with a purpose that could positively impact the lives of others. “Dwight challenges each student to look inside to see what we all have at our disposal in terms of our minds and bodies, as well as what drives us. For me, it was dance and my desire to build bridges between my experiences as a child and my ideas about how to make a difference in the world — that’s where I could find innovation. That’s where I created my own charity called Dance for Orphans. It enables dancers to financially ‘adopt’ orphans from Indonesia and provide them with the same educational opportunities that I’ve been lucky enough to have.” Why Indonesia in particular?
West Timor Beckons Daniel’s father was Indonesian and his family has deep roots there. From the age of two months to six years, Daniel lived in Jakarta. Though quite young at the time, he witnessed riots in the city during the Asian monetary crisis, which he never forgot. In 1998, the Marens were temporarily
Roslin’s school begins to take shape
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flew into New York City often, enabling Daniel to meet with him in person on numerous occasions. Named a CNN Hero in 2009 for his humanitarian efforts, Mr. Soehardi is more like an angel to the children of West Timor. The region had been flooded with refugees and survivors of genocide in East Timor, following its 1999 secession from Indonesia and before it became a U.N.-recognized independent nation three years later.
Chancellor Stephen Spahn visits the construction site with Daniel
evacuated and moved back to the U.S. the following year. Another strong memory from these early years was that of Indonesian street children, who were no older than Daniel at the time. They lined the curbs on jammed streets begging. He says, “These kids would approach the window of my car, strum their plastic guitars, and sing a tune with the hope that a few coins might drop into their palms.” This image was powerful for Daniel, whose father passed away just after his tenth birthday. “I had lost one
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parent, but most of those kids had neither. Was there a way to help them? And that’s when the idea for Dance for Orphans came to mind,” he explains. Daniel knew that taking on the large and complex problem of street children and the often-organized begging choreographed by adults would be difficult, so he turned his attention to those living in orphanages. Cognizant of the reputation many orphanages in the area have for utilizing donations to line the pockets of their owners, Daniel searched for
one that was reputable … for one that he could feel confident would dedicate funds to help children in the impoverished country. After visiting his family in Indonesia and traversing back and forth from New York on a few occasions, Daniel hadn’t found what he was looking for — until he was referred to Budi Soehardi. Mr. Soehardi, a commercial airline pilot, and his wife, Peggy, were different. They had started an orphanage by opening up their own home in West Timor in 2002. Luck would have it that Mr. Soehardi
In addition to children who had lost parents during the violence, orphanages were filled with abandoned children of single parents. “In fact, more than 90% of children in orphanages there have one parent to this day,” reports Daniel, who was touched by this alarming reality. He was being raised by his mother and, as it turns out, the same had been true for Mr. Soehardi, who also lost his father at a young age.
A Special Place Named Roslin The Soehardis, who have three children of their own, were drawn to the children left behind. With hearts big enough to care for all as surrogate parents, they began tending to four children. Their nurturing home haven has since grown into the Roslin Orphanage with 120 residents today. Located outside Kupang, the capital of West Timor, both the orphanage and its lively community of volunteers and teachers are expanding.
Excerpted from The Dwight Story: Touched by Angels by Chancellor Stephen Spahn
If you travel a thousand miles, read a thousand books, you can then unravel The Riddle of the Sphinx. On my way to the April 2012 International Baccalaureate Board meeting in Singapore, I stopped in South Korea for the opening ceremony of Dwight School Seoul. … After three days in Seoul, I flew to Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, to visit the school for homeless children being built by Daniel Maren ’11 before entering Stanford University. It has been a privilege for me to have been his mentor starting with his personal project in the tenth grade that resulted in our new student lounge. Walking out of the plane, I stepped on to a movie set of magical dimensions. Daniel’s motivation to found and raise the funds for the Roslin weJAYA School was the death of his father when he was a young boy. A journey across Indonesia to dozens of orphanages led him to the Roslin Orphanage (roslinorphanage.org), West Timor, founded and run by Budi and Peggy Soehardi. Budi, a Singapore airline captain who had flown the longest commercial flight today, is an innovative community builder. He and his wife, Peggy, built the orphanage, a guest house, a farm that grows bananas and avocados, and a water system that supplies the local town with free clean drinking water. What Van Gogh found in Tahiti, an island touched by angels, Daniel had discovered in West Timor — a dream world of 120 smiling children who will grow into future happy community building leaders. Budi has taught Daniel how to oversee the building of the school; how to plant a farm; how hard work and love can transform a plot of land into a paradise. Daniel has grown into a man by cultivating ideas of what counts most in life — to change the world with a humanitarian purpose and a pragmatic mind; to be a courageous leader who follows his dream. Daniel’s parting words to me at the Kupong airport, “I have learned more in my gap year than can ever be acquired at Stanford.” One short week has reinforced what I have always known — that we all have the capacity to be the heroes of our own story. Dwight’s spark of genius philosophy opens the hearts and minds of each student. Daniel has invited Dwight students to teach at his school. He has requested Dwight teachers to guide his faculty. How can we not accept his request? I have learned that if you travel a thousand miles, read a thousand books, you can unravel The Riddle of the Sphinx.
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Dancing with a Purpose The name of Daniel’s social enterprise, “Dance for Orphans,” is both descriptive and a call to action; literally, inviting people to dance for a cause. Through fundraising events, ranging from dance parties to professional competitions, Dance for Orphans made a first dent in the $40,000 campaign to build the Roslin School by gathering fifty friends to kick up their heels; they raised $1,000 within two short hours. That was in 2010. Two years later, all the funds were secured.
photo ????????? Music is an everyday part of life
With a policy that no orphan is eligible for adoption, Roslin is dedicated to ensuring that the children grow up together as part of a large and happy family. A joyful learning environment, Roslin puts a protective roof over their heads; and provides immunizations, nutritious meals, and allimportant education. It hasn’t been easy. The Soehardis started Roslin with their own money and have worked tirelessly to make it into a self-sustaining community that includes a guest house for visitors; the money made there helps to support the residents. With no agricultural background from which to draw, Mr. Soehardi began planting a rice farm that yielded enough to feed
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everyone within just a year. He developed an on-site water source for irrigation and also planted a banana farm. His resourcefulness is impressive. At Roslin, Daniel had found the ideal beneficiary for Dance for Orphans. He explains that most children in the region don’t begin school until they’re ten or eleven. And those who do rarely continue through to high school. Additionally, without a school nearby, many in the village, as well as Roslin residents, sorely need a kindergarten to smooth the way to primary school. “By building a kindergarten there, we help even more kids — we help the entire community,” Daniel declares.
When he launched Dance for Orphans, Daniel shares, “I was a teenager. I didn’t even have a college degree, but regardless, Dwight told me that I could do it. As a high school student, I could start to make a difference. My mentors encouraged me.” Those mentors included Chancellor Stephen Spahn, who served as Daniel’s tenth grade personal project advisor; as well as those who were part of the Institute for Civic Leadership (ICL). Daniel’s year-long ICL internship helped him to further hone his vision for Dance for Orphans. He says, “It’s amazing to think of all the tools I gained and how I’ve put them into practice: how to organize a team of people, how to speak in public, how to help motivate and inspire others … the list goes on and on. The experience gave me a platform to not only do something I love, but also to be successful.”
After graduating from Dwight, Daniel’s schooling in leadership took full flight during his gap year before attending Stanford University. He worked side-by-side with Mr. Soehardi at Roslin on their shared labor of love, where he learned much about building construction, management, and making innovative business decisions. The very first step was to dig the stony land, which was done all by hand — and sometimes through the night, as the extreme heat often precluded digging throughout the day. Significant progress was made over time, and the kindergarten and playground will be completed shortly to welcome twenty Roslin residents and approximately eighty village children into their first classroom (there will be ten classes in all). This is just the beginning; the vision for the school is to add another grade every two years. While Daniel is delighted to see that the kindergarten will soon open its doors, his greatest satisfaction is derived from recalling some of the smaller, everyday aspects of having lived at Roslin: waking to the sounds of children singing; learning their native dances; and in turn, teaching them salsa and modern moves, which captured their young imaginations.
A Visit Stateside During the winter of his gap year, Daniel travelled home to see his family and visited his alma mater
to share his progress. He met with Head of School Dianne Drew and Chancellor Spahn, who was planning a trip to Asia to attend an IB Board meeting in the spring. Mr. Spahn vowed to make a stop in Jakarta to visit Daniel at Roslin and to see for himself what great things were happening there. Well-acquainted with Daniel’s “spark of genius,” Mr. Spahn was delighted with what he discovered. Holding firm to the belief that “the best thing a school can do for children is to help them recognize their ‘spark of genius’ and help them turn their passion into their life’s mission,” he was duly impressed with how far Daniel’s commitment had taken him. Working alongside another mentor, Budi Soehardi, Daniel had gained an impressive amount of knowledge about building a school. Mr. Spahn also noticed that Daniel was thriving in other ways. “Much like Budi, who is charismatic and has the capacity to bring you into his universe of love and compassion, so too, is Daniel,” shares Mr. Spahn. “He has the very same qualities, which I could palpably feel. After witnessing first-hand how Daniel was making a real difference at Roslin, I’m more than confident that he will continue to put service to others high on his list of priorities throughout his life.”
organization into the fundraising arm of a larger entity aptly named weJAYA to combat extreme poverty in Indonesia. “Jaya” means “victorious,” and Daniel created weJAYA to encourage people worldwide to join in the fight. In addition to supporting education, weJAYA is gearing up to help thousands on the island by investing in communities and building sustainable systems through agricultural cooperatives. To learn more, visit wejaya.org. This is just the beginning for Daniel. Now a freshman at Stanford, he is enjoying the experience of being back in the classroom with his peers. Chemical engineering and computer science are two areas of interest, as Daniel has his eye on a career in either science or business. For such an enterprising young man — with a heart of gold and dancing feet — Daniel will surely be victorious in all he undertakes. Jaya.
Beyond Dance for Orphans Over the last year, Dance for Orphans evolved from a non-profit
Daniel with two of his mentors: Chancellor Stephen Spahn and Budi Soehardi, founder of Roslin Orphanage
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Feature | Personalized Learning
personalized learning A Dwight History Lesson:
140 Years of Igniting the “Spark of Genius” in Every Child
by Laurie Silbersweig
Eighteen hundred and seventy-two was a leap year. Perhaps it was providential that Dwight’s forefather school was founded that year, as Dwight has often been ahead of the curve with educational innovations that, no doubt, required a “leap of faith” at those moments in time. History has proven that such decisions helped to pave the way for others to follow suit. Manhattan Mosaic Tracing Dwight’s roots reveals that there were actually two ancestor schools that ultimately joined forces to become the Dwight we know today. These schools — The Sachs Collegiate Institute and The New York School of Languages — evolved over time, changed their names, broadened their student bodies, and crisscrossed the East and West Sides of Manhattan before converging in our permanent home at 18 West 89th Street. Each school, or piece in this mosaic, has its own story to tell. Together, they form our collective history. Join us on a journey down two paths to personalized learning that ran parallel for many years before overlapping. You will be introduced to the key players who shaped our past — leading educators of their day — and to the milestones achieved under their direction. You will also discover some rich details and little-known facts along the way.
Path One
The Sachs Collegiate Institute, Circa 1872 Dr. Julius Sachs was the first pioneer in Dwight’s lineage. He founded The Sachs School for Boys and its upper level extension, The Sachs Collegiate Institute, 140 years ago at 32nd Street and Broadway. Later, he opened The Sachs School for Girls in 1891. The Institute made its mark as an elite private school that readied many of its students to attend Harvard at the early age of sixteen. Julius Sachs, Headmaster 1872-1904
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Dr. Sachs, whose parents were German immigrants, followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a teacher. He attended Columbia, received his PhD from Germany’s Rostok University, spoke nine languages, and served as president of numerous national educational associations. Julius was not the only Sachs to succeed; his brothers also achieved great prominence and launched legacies that continue to this day. Samuel co-founded Goldman Sachs with his fatherin-law, Marcus Goldman; Henry joined the family’s prosperous
investment firm as a banker; and Bernard was the distinguished neurologist who identified the genetic disorder named in part for him: TaySachs disease. Dr. Julius Sachs, who also married a Goldman daughter, was highly respected for his old-world, Teutonic style. He was known for rigid discipline and his corps of teachers was equally strict. The Sachs curriculum emphasized the classics, German, and mathematics; and the Institute drew children of many leading New York families. Among those were students of German-Jewish descent with prominent last names such as Lehman, Goldman, Guggenheim, Meyer, Schiff, Sulzberger, and Loeb, after whom many an empire was built. The roster of early alumni who made names for themselves includes: Walter Lippmann, journalist, philosopher, and WWI advisor to President Woodrow Wilson; Percy, Jesse, and Herbert Straus, who inherited R.H. Macy & Co. and transformed it into Macy’s; Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and FDR New Deal advisor; Joseph Cullman, Jr., tobacco magnate; Dr. Hans Zissner, leading immunologist, who isolated typhus bacteria and developed a vaccine; Herbert Henry Lehman, who served as Governor of New
circa 1960
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Otto Koenig, 1904-32
Clifford Hall, 1932-49
David Berenberg, 1932-49
M.C. Spahn, 1950-76
Paul Beresford-Hill, 1976-90
York State, a U.S. Senator, and a partner in Lehman Brothers; and William Saks and Louis Gimbel, both of leading retailing families, who came together in business to achieve even greater heights. Following several moves uptown in as many years, The Sachs School for Boys relocated in 1882 to 38 West 59th Street and the girls’ school moved down the block to number 118. Lest we forget, many of the same prominent families named above entrusted their daughters’ education to Dr. Sachs and they, too, went on to attend the finest colleges. The girls’ school, however, was ultimately discontinued early in the new century, as the importance of instilling the German Gymnasium culture in daughters was deemed less of a priority. Dr. Sachs left his beloved Institute in 1904 to become Professor of Secondary Education at Columbia’s Teachers College. The boys’ school continued to thrive and relocated a few more times before finding its final footing at 18 West 89th Street in 1912. Sometime in the eight-year interim — the exact date remains elusive — The Sachs Collegiate Institute changed its name to The Franklin School, after Benjamin Franklin. This was likely undertaken to distance the school from its German roots amid the antiGerman climate surrounding W WI; Benjamin Franklin was as American as apple pie.
Franklin Emerges Upon Dr. Sachs’ departure, Dr. Otto Koenig, a Latin instructor who had been with the Institute since 1896, took the helm. A graduate of the University of Munich with a law degree, he continued many of the Sachs traditions, though he loosened some reins by dropping Greek and shifting Latin to an elective. After serving for nearly thirty years, Dr. Koenig was succeeded by two of his long-time faculty members, Clifford Hall and David Berenberg, who shared the headmaster role from 1932-49, when the former died. The duo oversaw the school through the Depression and WWII years, when the number of students waned. As a matter of interest, before co-directing Franklin, Mr. Berenberg ran unsuccessfully for office in New York State several times on the Socialist Party ticket before becoming discouraged by radical politics. During WWII, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. — a Sachs alum — encouraged all young Americans to participate in the “Schools at War” fundraising program. His message beginning, “War is costly, but freedom is priceless” was published in Franklin’s Student Council publication. Within a few short months, on the one-year anniversary of December 7th, “The Councilor” reported that “every Franklin student pledged his aid in a war bond and stamp drive to
as the “gold standard” and one of the most rigorous preuniversity courses of study in the world, was not well known at the time. Under the aegis of Dr. BeresfordHill, Franklin adopted the IB in 1980 and, in recognition, changed its name to The Anglo-American International School. It was a bold move and one that sets our school apart to this day.
help avenge Pearl Harbor and to contribute to the eventual defeat of the Axis.” Students were all-too aware that they could be called up after graduation, and those who wished to become officers were recruited for testing. The post-war era and a new decade ushered in a new headmaster, Dr. M.C. Spahn. In 1950, he opened up a world of greater opportunities for children of middle-class families; the school was no longer an exclusive training ground for the privileged. Helping to level the playing field, Dr. Spahn brought a different perspective that stemmed from his successful run as a top-tier athlete. A graduate of CCNY, where he was an AllAmerican basketball player, Dr. Spahn turned pro and became the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the American Basketball League before retiring from the game in 1942. He went on to earn a PhD in Education from NYU, and teach mathematics and coach at Franklin during the ’40s. He also funded scholarships during this time to help boost the size of the student body. During Dr. Spahn’s twenty-fiveyear tenure, Franklin flourished in a variety of other ways. In 1951, girls were accepted; in 1965, the brownstones at 17 and 19 West 88th Street were converted for use by the school; and there was a dramatic increase in enrollment
circa 1942
throughout the ’70s. Boasting one of the leading debate teams in the U.S., Franklin took particular pride in graduates who went on to become editors of the Chicago, Columbia, and Harvard Law Reviews. Dr. Arthur Neale, an Eton- and Cambridge-educated diplomat, served as Principal under Headmaster Spahn, helping to maintain a strong, traditional structure. But upon retirement, Dr. Spahn, who had been called “Coach,” handed the baton to Dr. Paul BeresfordHill, who led Franklin into its final period from 1976-90. Educated at Oxford, Dr. Beresford-Hill established the first school cricket team in the U.S. and brought the ideals of the International Baccalaureate (IB) to the curriculum. The IB, which today is recognized
We end our first and storied path with Anglo-American International School’s milestone year, 1980, to embark on our second path, which began a full century earlier.
Path Two
The New York School of Languages, circa 1880 The second thread in our historical tapestry leads us back to the founding of The New York School of Languages in 1880. Located at 15 West 43rd Street, it was a classical and English prep school
Franklin co-eds, circa 1958
William Goodin, 1990-93
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Arthur Willams, 1886/7-95
Emil E. Camerer, 1895-1926
Ernest Greenwood, 1927-46
Winton L. Miller, Jr., 1947-67
Stephen H. Spahn, 1967-2011
for boys under the direction of Henry C. Miller, a graduate of Williams, and instructor of Latin and German. Like The Sachs Collegiate Institute, The New York School of Languages designed its curriculum to secure admission to the best colleges. The first graduating classes — each containing only a handful of names — went on to attend Princeton, Williams, Columbia, Amherst, leading “Scientific Schools” (e.g., Stevens Institute and the Sheffield Scientific School), Harvard, and Yale.
Our Namesake Yale took on particular significance in 1888 when the School changed its name in honor of Yale’s President Timothy Dwight V. Early annual reports repeated the same explanation: “This was done, not with the view of becoming exclusively a Yale preparatory school, but since in recent years the number of our students fitting for Yale University has been steadily increasing, and many of the staunchest friends and patrons of the school are found among the Yale alumni, the change seemed an appropriate one. The Directors, therefore, deemed themselves fortunate in securing President Dwight’s consent to the use of his name.” A letter from Dr. Timothy Dwight testifies to his approval. He addressed it to another one of the school’s three co-directors, Arthur Williams, Esq. (a Yale graduate) on May 12, 1888:
Dianne Drew, 2011-present
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My Dear Sir, I take pleasure in commending the School of Languages over whose interests you and your associates preside, to the friends of this University and of sound education. The success which the School has already had in its works, as shown by the thorough preparation of the pupils who have come from it to our University, gives most hopeful promise for the future: and as you are now preparing, as I understand, to move forward with enlarged facilities and with matured plans for your coming work, I cannot doubt that those who enjoy the advantages of your institution will be well prepared for their subsequent studies and their college life. Yours very truly, Timothy Dwight Also known as Timothy Dwight, the Younger, Dr. Dwight was an ordained minister. He received his undergraduate and doctorate in theology degrees at Yale, and taught sacred literature there for over twenty-five years before assuming the presidency. His grandfather, Timothy Dwight IV, also served as Yale’s President in his day, but it was the grandson who
Dr. Timothy Dwight V, President of Yale University, in whose honor Dwight School was named
left an indelible impression on the institution. It was during his tenure (1886-99) that Yale evolved from a college into a university: new buildings were built, new faculty members were hired, the student body grew, and the endowment nearly doubled. Timothy Dwight also left an indelible impression on our School, which added more rigorous mathematics and the sciences to the curriculum so that young men were better prepared for college. And as the 1890 annual report attests, the stage had been set from the beginning for personalized learning, one of Dwight’s three pillars today: “The number of pupils in the school is limited, as the plan of instruction does not admit of large classes. In every department the pupils are under the immediate supervision of the principals, and the greatest care is taken in all departments to avoid mere routine work.”
A Burgeoning Dwight In 1895, Dwight came together with The New York Preparatory School. Founded six years earlier to ready students for Regents and college exams, The New York Preparatory School operated a division in Manhattan and another in Brooklyn. Upon joining forces with Dwight, the Manhattan division relocated to Dwight’s new 15 West 43rd Street location; Dwight retained its name as a third division; and together, they comprised the largest preparatory school in the U.S. All three fell under the
circa 1916
purview of Emil E. Camerer, a math and English instructor, who had earned MA and law degrees from NYU. He was a prominent fixture on the Manhattan private school scene for over thirty years before his early death at fifty-four. During Mr. Camerer’s tenure, Dwight’s prominence in athletics soared; newspapers of the day regularly announced record-breaking victories over local rivals. Student enrollment grew rapidly into the tens of thousands, which fueled the 1916 move by the Manhattan divisions to larger and more upscale quarters at 72 Park Avenue. Regardless of size or location, the school repeated the same mantra in its annual publications: “Small classes and informal personalized teaching have been features of Dwight School since it was established in 1880.”
Dwight saw further development in its next generation under teacher and Headmaster Ernest Greenwood, from 1927-46. Born in England, he attended CCNY and Columbia University, and was well known as the president of several school and headmaster associations. After almost twenty years at Dwight, Mr. Greenwood turned to public service and was elected to the House of Representatives in the early 1950s. He was succeeded by Winton L. Miller, Jr., a Lehigh graduate, who also dedicated two decades of service to Dwight, from 1947-67. It was during his term that Dwight moved in 1953 to 402 East 67th Street, where it remained for four decades. Headmaster Miller carved a path for partnerships with the community; developed service leaders as well as scholar-athletes;
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and created strong math and science programs, which included mechanical drawing. The latter prepared many a graduate to attend Annapolis, West Point, and the Air Force Academy. Despite these strong elements, enrollment dwindled to fewer than eighty boys in grades 9-12. It was at this juncture that Chancellor Stephen Spahn took the reins in 1967. Today, he has the distinction of being the longest-serving head of school in New York City. Under his watch, Dwight, which had stood fast to its educational traditions for almost a century, also kept a keen eye on the future.
A New Era Begins and the Spahn Family Legacy Continues Chancellor Spahn attended Franklin’s kindergarten while his father was headmaster there. They commuted together from Long Island, where the younger Spahn continued his education. He then went on to Dartmouth, where he, like his father, became an All-American basketball player. As a member of Dartmouth’s Tucker Foundation, Chancellor Spahn helped to abolish fraternity practices that excluded members based on color, creed, and religion. After graduation, Chancellor Spahn taught at Franklin; completed PhD coursework at Columbia, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and International Fellow; and spent a post-graduate year at Oxford.
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Personalized Learning | Feature
Upon returning to New York, he joined Dwight first as assistant headmaster for one year before becoming head of school. Among the first decisions Chancellor Spahn made in 1967 was to open Dwight up to girls (just as his father had done during his first year at Franklin). Another was to merge with The Bentley School in 1974, adding elementary school grades to further expand the Dwight community. Founded in 1914, Bentley had been housed on two sites: the lower school at 112 East 71st Street, which became Dwight’s home base for grades K-5; and the middle and high schools at 48 West 86th Street, which closed. Older Bentley students transferred to Dwight or Franklin. During the 1970s, Dwight Principal Edward Engle, a Williams grad known for his constitutional law class, worked alongside Chancellor Spahn. So did Constance Spahn as head of admissions for twenty years. Today, she serves as a Life Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History. It was Mrs. Spahn’s family who established The Dwight School Foundation in 1969 to fund scholarships, faculty professional development, and educational innovations. The early 1980s brought Dwight and Anglo-American’s elementary schools together, consolidating operations at Anglo’s West Side location. The two institutions had actually shared a great deal over
the previous decades: teachers and administrators moved from one school to the other. For example, Anglo-American’s headmaster from 1990-93 was William Goodin, former soccer coach and legendary history teacher at Dwight. The schools shared resources and, of course, both had deep Spahn family roots. We now come to the time when the two parallel paths in our history unite.
Joining Forces, circa 1993 Anglo-American and Dwight came even closer together in 1993. The catalysts were a declining student population at the former and the nearing end of a fifty-year lease for the latter. The timing created an ideal opportunity for two sister schools that shared the same philosophy — and so much more — to resolutely join forces. Dwight moved to 18 West 89th Street to take up permanent residence, and thanks to Dwight’s cash reserve, the North Campus at 291 Central Park West was added the same year. An era of modernization had begun. Chancellor Spahn guided the School into the new millennium with imagination. He expanded the community even further with the help of the next generation in the Spahn family, his sons and Dwight alums, Blake ’89 and Kirk ’95. Blake, who went to Columbia College and Business School,
as well as Oxford for his PhD in Comparative International Education, founded Dwight’s preschool in 2005 at 66th Street and Riverside Boulevard, which is home to today’s Early Childhood Division. Kirk followed in his father’s footsteps at Dartmouth before earning his Masters from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. In 2001, he helped to found the Institute for Civic Leadership to fund and educate student service leaders around the world charged with making a difference in their own communities. Dr. M.C. Spahn would, indeed, be proud.
Ahead of the Curve From his earliest days as head of school, Chancellor Spahn envisioned classes, schools, and communities without borders. He embraced the spirit of adventure and forged innovative partnerships. Dwight became the first independent school in the U.S. to break down international barriers when Chancellor Spahn established a campus abroad in London with his Oxford mentor, Sir Maurice Bowra, Warden of Wadham College. The year was 1972 and the proposition of crossing continents, which today is gaining great traction, was certainly ahead of its time. Since then, Dwight’s global footprint has grown to include additional campuses on Vancouver Island and in Seoul, along with a program in Beijing, offering all students a myriad of cross-cultural
and curricular exchange opportunities (see page 32). Today, as Chancellor Spahn focuses on Dwight’s global education initiatives, Dianne Drew serves as Head of Dwight School in New York. Born in Australia, Ms. Drew graduated from Monash University with a BA and a Post-Graduate Diploma of Education. She spent many years teaching English and consulting in Asia and Australia before taking on teaching and IB curriculum director roles here in the U.S., first at a public school in Manhattan and later at Dwight. An expert in international education and Vice President for the Guild of IB Schools of the Northeast, Ms. Drew spearheads pedagogical programs across The Dwight Schools on behalf of 2,000 students worldwide. Every school in our global network embraces the Dwight philosophy that no two students are alike. Each child has his or her own interests and talents. Dwight’s job is to find and ignite that unique “spark of genius” through personalized learning. When student interests are fueled, the potential for learning is vast. And when interests are ignited into passions, the possibilities are truly endless. Dwight has been dedicated to this noble purpose for 140 years.
Franklin Dance Committee, circa 1931
Dwight seniors, circa 1969
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Community News | Milestones
Milestones | Community News
Megan and Doug Wick
Weddings
Allison and Mark Foresi
Lyndsay and Eric Alden
Babies
Preschool 3s Teacher Megan Konieczny married Doug Wick on July 14, 2012, in Flossmoor, Illinois. They honeymooned in Nice and Paris, France.
Communications Director Rachael Bennett and her husband, Guy, welcomed Jagger Herbert Bear Bennett on February 20, 2012. Jagger weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz.
Preschool 3s Teacher Allison DiVito married Mark Foresi on May 19, 2012, in New York City. They honeymooned in South Africa and Mozambique.
Associate Head of Lower School Betsy Doss and her husband, Ray, welcomed Charles Michael Doss on January 13, 2012. Charlie weighed 7 lbs., 11 oz.
Preschool 4s Teacher Lyndsay Hoyem married Eric Alden on July 13, 2012, in Brooklyn, New York. They honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico.
Director of Quest and Special Studies Josh Kigel and his wife, Ann Tilley, welcomed Alice Elizabeth Kigel on April 2, 2012. Alice weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz.
Math and Quest Teacher Megan Shirk married Nate Mecham on July 7, 2012, in St. Louis, Missouri. They honeymooned in The South, visiting Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.
Math Teacher Monica Lundeen and her husband, Michael Smith, welcomed Milo Elijah Smith Lundeen on February 20, 2012. Milo weighed 6 lbs., 5 oz.
Head of the Physical Education and Health Department Frances Wilson married Romeo Alexander Sacripanti on August 4, 2012, in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. They honeymooned in South Africa and Mozambique.
Jagger Herbert Bear Bennett Charles Michael Doss
Alice Elizabeth Kigel Milo Elijah Smith Lundeen
Technology Teacher Daniella Ulmer and her husband, Seth Greenspan, welcomed William Brandon Greenspan on November 25, 2012. William weighed 6 lbs., 7 oz. William Brandon Greenspan
Admissions Director Alyson Waldman and her husband, Matthew, welcomed Archer Blake Waldman on February 29, 2012. Archer weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz.
Megan and Nate Mecham
Frances and Alex Sacripanti
Archer Blake Waldman
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Dwight Today | Library Dedication
Dwight Dedicates The Freston Family Library
Tom Freston (Gil ’08 and Andrew ’03) (second from right) celebrates the occasion with Kirk Spahn ’95, Constance Spahn, and Chancellor Stephen Spahn
At the end of the last academic year, Dwight’s Upper School library was named “The Freston Family Library” in honor of former Dwight parent Tom Freston (Gil ’08 and Andrew ’03). A small ceremony was held on June 6 to dedicate the space. The Frestons were early contributors to the Quad construction project, Dwight School Foundation spring benefits, and the Dare to Dream Conferences of the Institute for Civic Leadership. Chancellor Spahn thanked Mr. Freston for his generosity, which has now impacted thousands of Dwight students. Chancellor Spahn also acknowledged Mr. Freston’s dedication to his sons and his global philanthropy, including support of a school in Burma.
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Mr. Freston is currently a principal in Firefly3 LLC, a consulting and investment company, and was the former CEO and President of Viacom. He was also CEO of MTV Networks for eighteen years and in that role, he was a leading pioneer in the creation of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and other related networks. Mr. Freston is currently Board Chair of Bono’s anti-poverty advocacy ONE Campaign; and a consultant to Moby Media in Afghanistan and Vice Media in Brooklyn. He serves on the boards of Dreamworks Animation, Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, and The Asia Society. Mr. Freston was recently awarded the Paley Prize for Innovation and Excellence. Dwight School is delighted with the wonderful Freston Family legacy.
Dwight ECD Summer Day Camp Customized programs Small Wonder (ages 1-3) Early Childhool Division Camp (ages 3-5)
Dwight Summer Day Camp Customized programs Pee Wee Camp (ages 4*-5)* entering kindergarten 2013 Junior Camp (ages 6-8) • Senior Camp (ages 9-13)
• Small Wonder classes
• Sports and fitness
• Sports and fitness
• Creative and performing arts
• Creative and performing arts
• Special programs
• Fun in the sun
• Great facilities
• Team of ECD faculty and staff
• Day and overnight trips • Team of experts • Skill development
Register today at dwight.edu
Register today at dwightsummercamp.org
Alumni | Welcome Letter
Alumni Council | Alumni
Dear Fellow Alumni, This year, Dwight celebrates its 140th year in education and is well positioned for even greater achievements ahead. As the first school in the U.S. to offer the IB curriculum from preschool through twelfth grade, Dwight is among the top educational institutions in the world. Last year, a record thirty-six members of the class of 2012 graduated with the IB Diploma. Dwight’s faculty retention is higher than ever, and its teachers continue to use innovative approaches to ignite the “spark of genius” in every child. With the addition of the brownstone this year, Dwight has transformed its facilities, and more is to come. As you consider where to educate your children, you will be hard pressed to find a better place than your alma mater. Whether you graduated last year or sixty years ago, you are an important member of the Dwight community and all serve as ambassadors of the School. We look forward to keeping you connected with classmates and getting you more involved in the future.
ALUMNI COUNCIL 2012-13 Pictured below are the members of the 2012-13 Alumni Council. If you are interested in being involved with the Council, please contact Caroline Axelrod ’03, Director of Alumni Affairs, at caxelrod@dwight.edu.
Peter Timmins ’90, President
Jyotsna Vasisht Bean ’96, Vice President
Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71, President Emeritus
David Akers ’04
Etienne Bernstein ’91
Laura Giraldo ’00
Scott Hefler ’97
Christos Katsiaouni ’97
Dr. Ian Lustbader, Franklin ’74
Sibile Marcellus ’01
Blain Namm ’97
Fabiana Portolano ’97
Jessica Salzer ’05
Reza Sarbakhsh ’00
Greg Williamson ’97
Beyond Dwight, many graduates have recently volunteered in political campaigns, hurricane relief efforts, and other opportunities to make a difference. Your efforts and successes are the best reflection of Dwight today. We are enormously proud to see that two of our graduates, Ethan Silverman ’80 and Caroline Axelrod ’03, have joined the Dwight School Foundation Advancement Office to help build the Dwight community. Thank you for contributing to the success of our mission and the joys within our community. Happy 140th birthday to all of us. Sincerely,
Peter Timmins Alumni Council President See Reunion Day photos on pages 20!
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Alumni | Alumni Accolades
Alumni Accolades | Alumni
Paul Strauss, Anglo-American ’82
Dwight Eighth Grade Students Take on the United States Senate
From Anglo-American to the U.S. Senate Senator Paul Strauss (Anglo-American ’82) is currently serving his third term as a U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia. As a non-voting representative to the Senate, Strauss lobbies the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives on behalf of the citizens of the District of Columbia. “The ultimate challenge is trying to manage the expectations of hundreds of thousands of citizens who are able to vote for me in an election, but for whom I am not able to cast a vote on their behalf, when I go to the United States Senate.” While the Senator hopes to one day gain Statehood for the District of Columbia, he is still able to help many people in his position. “Certainly some of my favorite experiences have been attending my party’s national conventions as a Super-Delegate, (where I actually do have a vote), and working with Presidents Clinton and Obama during their respective elections and on issues important to the District of Columbia.” Senator Strauss has always had an inclination for politics. He began in elementary school, volunteering for a Congressman running for New York City Mayor in 1973. “As it turned out, the work involved in a political campaign [was] well within my third grade skill-set at the time. I was stuffing envelopes, putting up posters, etc., all with a youthful enthusiasm which set me apart from the other volunteers.” He continued to work on campaigns, including Governor Hugh Carey’s and even Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Campaign in 1976 (at twelve years old!). By the time Paul was a senior at Anglo-American, his work on the 1982 re-election campaign of Mayor Ed Koch landed him an internship in the Mayor’s Office, something which was unheard of for a high school student. “When I was offered the internship in the New York City Mayor’s office, the school Headmaster at the time, Mr. Paul Beresford-Hill worked with my teachers to make sure I could get to work on time.” A self-proclaimed troublemaker at AngloAmerican, Strauss was able to pursue his political
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aspirations with the help of his teachers and friends, many of whom he is still close with today. An important lesson he learned in high school came while running for the Head of the Student Government. “I lost narrowly by only several votes. Losing by so few votes taught me to always run hard, even when you are up in the polls.” It seems that lesson has served the three-time Senator well in his career. In addition to serving as Senator for the District of Columbia, Strauss founded the Law Offices of Paul Strauss and Associates, a civil litigation firm specializing in Real Estate, Business and Family Law. “Early on in my legal career, I performed legal work for children. In one case I will never forget, I was appointed a Medical Guardian ad-litem for a sick premature infant who needed a blood transfusion. The baby’s mother refused to consent to the procedure based on religious grounds. The attending neonatologist was convinced the baby would die without it. I had to prepare and argue in an emergency hearing on just a
few hours’ notice, where the stakes were literally life and death depending on how I did. Knowing that when I won that case I may have saved a human life, that was the most rewarding experience I have had as a lawyer.” In October, the Senator took time from his busy schedule to meet with eighth grade Dwight students in Washington D.C. Senator Strauss gave the students the following advice: “You are never too young to start exploring either profession [politics or the law]. You don’t have to be old enough to vote to volunteer on a political campaign, and even if you are too young to be a lawyer, you can try and do an internship in a law office.” The students learned so much from their time with the Senator and thought it was the highlight of the trip! Learn more about the eighth grade visit with Senator Paul Strauss in the side bar.
In October, the Dwight eighth grade class took a trip to the U.S. Senate with Anglo-American alumnus, Senator Paul Strauss ’82. The students got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet a United States Senator and hear first-hand about his political experience. Here is what two of the students had to say about meeting the Senator: Meeting Senator Strauss was both interesting and empowering. As a current student at Dwight, meeting a successful politician reminds you that with enough work, great things are to come. Meeting him was extremely interesting, as he not only told us about important issues, but about the complicated political system of Washington, DC. The fact that he started his career in politics so early is incredible as well. I greatly enjoyed meeting him and think it was a highlight of the trip. –Esme Thompson-Turcotte ’17 Senator Strauss talked to us about what made him become a politician. He told us about how even at a young age, he was able to be active in campaigning, and from that he was rewarded. This is very inspirational as it shows that no matter what, if you are interested in something you can just go and do it. – Luccas Eagles ’17 Dwight’s eighth grade class outside the Senator’s office
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Alumni | Alumni Accolades
Alumni Accolades | Alumni
Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71
Jacob Hadjigeorgis ’02
Jacob Knows His Pickles the restaurant business. But Jacob realized he couldn’t see himself being a lawyer and decided he needed a creative outlet, which came in the form of food. His first venture came in 2008 with a mac n’ cheese shop, MmMac n’ Cheese in Boston’s Quincy Market. During this time, Jacob experimented and mastered the art of mac n’ cheese and the restaurant is still a popular spot in Boston.
An inside view of Jacob’s Pickles
Jacob’s Hadjigeorgis ’02 is not your average restaurateur. Owner of the acclaimed foodie hotspot, Jacob’s Pickles, he has brought flavor and style to the Upper West Side. Jacob says he has always been curious — both in life and with food. As a kid he was curious about pickles (perhaps in response to his grandfather’s backyard garden), but he didn’t start experimenting with pickling until after college. At that point, he viewed it as a hobby, a cathartic, creative outlet. Coming from a “food family,” Jacob spent countless hours in his father’s restaurant and says he was always interested in cooking. A self-taught chef, he has never been afraid to try something new. While a student at Dwight, Jacob was VicePresident of the Student Council and a competitive fencer. He continued fencing at NYU, where he received his undergraduate degree. Jacob promised his mother he would go to law school after college — despite his “food family,” they did not want him to get into
While he is still involved with MmMac n’ Cheese, Jacob decided to come back to New York City and try opening a restaurant in his home town. With the guidance of his father and almost a year in preparation, he opened Jacob’s Pickles on December 14, 2011. The inspiration behind the restaurant is New American Craft, which is translated into the décor and dining experience. Focusing on all-American ingredients, Jacob uses regional American products and serves select American craft beers (many of which are not known in the U.S. market). Each item on the menu is decadent, hand-crafted, and deliberate with “little surprises in the food.” Jacob’s Pickles takes risks with comfort foods (think buttermilk fried chicken, mac n’ cheese, biscuits, and of course pickles), creating some of the most delicious and interesting foods you have ever had the pleasure of tasting.
Winner of the 2012 University of Vermont Distinguished Service Award On October 5, Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71 was honored by the University of Vermont Foundation and Alumni Association. She received a Distinguished Service Award for her work at the school which includes: starting UVM Rescue, opening up ROTC to women, serving on the Career Advisory Network, starting two regional alumni clubs, and years of alumni service. This is the second time Paula has been recognized by UVM for her dedication to the school. In 1980 she was the recipient of the UVM Outstanding Young Alumna Award. Paula earned two degrees from the University of Vermont: a Master of Education in Organization and Human Resources Development and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. She is currently the president of Cope & Associates, Inc., a management consulting and training firm based in Burlington, VT. Paula is a consultant, facilitator, and trainer specializing in management and organizational development, strategic planning, and project management. Over the past twenty years, she has presented professional papers nationally,
is a published author in health care, and has chaired several statewide conferences on the economics of child care, total quality management and volunteerism. She has been the project director for the Governor’s Commission on the Public’s Health Care Values and Priorities, a board member for Leadership Champlain and is a founding member of the American Society of Training and Development - Vermont Chapter. In 2003, Paula was one of six recipients worldwide to be named an Exemplar of Excellence by Hillel International Center. In 2004, she and her family received the YMCA’s Character in Action Award. In 2005, she was named Small Business Woman of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. With such a busy schedule, Paula still manages to find time for Dwight School. An active member of the Dwight Community, Paula is a member of the Dwight School Foundation Board of Trustees and the Alumni Council, where she served as President from 2008-2011. A big congratulations to Paula for all of her success!
In addition to running a successful restaurant, Jacob found a way to give back to Dwight. On October 13, Jacob hosted the Dwight School Reunion Day at Jacob’s Pickles. The event was a great success and no one could stop talking about the food! The Dwight community wishes Jacob great success and a very happy one-year anniversary to Jacob’s Pickles. Ted Madden (UVM Alumni Association President), Paula Oppenheim Cope, and UVM President Thomas Sullivan
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Alumni | Class Notes
Class Notes | Alumni
Share the latest news and a photo with your classmates for the next issue of Dwight Today. Send news to Caroline Axelrod, Director of Alumni Affairs, at caxelrod@dwight.edu. Dwight Class Notes William J.P. Klobus ‘58. William visited Dwight recently for a walk down memory lane. While he was here, he flipped through old yearbooks, recalling many fond memories like mixing up potions in the chemistry lab. He resides in Jackson Heights, New York, with his wife and six-year-old son, and plans to retire in a few years to their home in Colombia.
impressed with the evolution of Dwight’s vision of global education. Eric is looking forward to seeing classmates at his thirty-year reunion in 2013.
Cindy Senzon ’94.
Richard Frank ’58. “I will be going to Brunei, Kalimantan, Sabah and Komoto in February. My wife, who is clearly smarter and more sensible than I am, will remain in our home in San Francisco.”
Stacey (Rosenberg) Kurtz ’80. “We won the 2012 NASFT (National Association for Specialty Food Trade) GOLD sofi Award for Outstanding Condiment and the Silver sofi Award for Outstanding Preserve. The ceremony was in Washington, DC this summer at the Summer Fancy Food Show. My husband and I founded Fruit of the Land Inc. in 2003 to import, create, and distribute unique, awardwinning specialty food from Israel.”
Noah Carter ’81. Noah recently unearthed a handwritten list of college recommendations that Dr. Engel gave him during his senior year. Noah said he chose Vassar from that list and loved it. He even met his wife at Vassar, too!
Eric Chernik ’83. Eric is based in the Chicago area, working for AAR Corporation, an aviation supplies and logistics company. He is focused on strategy, process improvements and sourcing. He is married with two children: Hannah, age 12; and Graham, age 10. While travel and foreign cultures are an important part of Eric’s life, he is quite
64 | Dwight Today
They both say that meeting casts a special glow on their time at Dwight. You never know if that person in the hall will end up being the one you love! You can find Tim’s artwork at www.ocularjoyfoundation.comand Charlotte’s tutoring and editing services at www.scriptandtype.com.
Illysia (Schindler) Neumann-Loreck ’86. Illysia is a fashion stylist and writer. She started her blog www.madlychic.com to offer women tips and advice on fashion.
Tim Kent ’94. Attending an international school in New York City means that friends come and go, as families move and change shape. Tim, an artist, of Ocular Joy Foundation, always remembered that girl with the brown hair and knee-high boots, who seemed endlessly preoccupied, but she left Dwight and he went on painting after graduation. In 2008, however, reminiscing with Canadian DJ Mike Brace (attended in 1993) — another Dwight student who left the city — Tim found her in his yearbook and started searching for Charlotte Lucy Latham (attended 1991-95). In August of 2009, he found her on Facebook. She had no memory of him, but when they were reintroduced by Mike, she offered to buy him a drink if he was ever in New York. They both lived in Brooklyn, so they met a week later for a surprising fourhour conversation. She attended his show opening at a gallery in Brooklyn in September and accompanied him for his fifteen-year Dwight reunion. They spent Thanksgiving together but insisted they weren’t dating until the following year when everyone else knew what they were ignoring. In January 2012, they moved in together with her cat and his dog. Their Brooklyn loft includes his painting studio and her library. She still says she doesn’t remember him; he says she still has that something and wears boots year-round!
“My husband Henry and I welcomed our first child, Isabella Amanda DuJany, into the world on July 31, 2012. She was born at LI Jewish and weighed 8.3 pounds. We are doing great and loving our little girl. I am still working at Nationwide Insurance after eleven years.”
Alexander Dudelson ’96. Alexander Dudelson was recognized in the 2012 Super Lawyers list as a Rising Star in Estate & Trust Litigation. Vanessa Trump ’96. Vanessa caught up
with Chancellor Spahn at the Trump offices in midtown and snapped this picture in the lobby.
Greg Williamson ’97. Alumni Council member Greg Williamson married Katy Yulman on April 14 at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach, FL. Other Dwight graduates in attendance were Stephen Williamson ‘91, Jeffrey Rothenberg ‘91, Kirk Spahn ’95, and Austin Stark ’97. The couple celebrated their honeymoon in Italy in June.
Blain Namm ’97. Dwight Alumni Council founding member, Blain Namm started Columbia University’s Management Fellows Program in the School of Social Work this past fall. If you would like to contact him about his exciting new endeavor or about getting involved with Dwight’s alumni network as a class representative or potentially an alumni council member, contact him at blainnamm@aol.com.
Wade German ’03. Wade is currently in his second year of law school. Her interned in both a judge’s chambers and a major law firm this past summer. He expects to graduate with a JD from Hofstra Law School in May 2014. Samuel Davison ’08. “I’m still living in Boston after graduating Emerson College this past spring. I’ve been volunteering for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, canvassing around Emerson and the Boston area trying to get people to register to vote.” Evan Rabin ’08. Evan recently graduated cum laude from Brandeis University with a BA in Business and International Global Studies.
Anglo Class Notes Rena Humphreys Lyle ’85. Rena Humphreys Lyle ’85. “I have been living in Atlanta, GA, for the past twenty-seven years and loving it. I just celebrated my nineteenth anniversary with my husband, Hunter Lyle. We have one son, Harrison, who is 13. I have been lucky enough to locate some of my friends from high school through Facebook and recently saw Ernesto de Marzio ‘85 during our summer trip to France. We had dinner with Ernesto, his lovely wife, Olga, and their two children in Monaco. Just a month ago, I flew to California to see Natacha Castro Scrantz ‘84 and we took her two children to Disneyland. It was great to see everyone.”
Mark Wilson ’86. Mark and Anglo class-
mate Matthew Regan (attended 1984-85) stopped by Dwight last spring for a tour of the School. Matthew was in town for a mini Anglo 1986 reunion that Mark organized. About fifteen of their classmates came to the event held on the Upper West Side.
Franklin Class Notes Victor Schwartz ’58. Victor Schwartz ’58. On April 17, 2012, Dean Louis Bilionis of The University of Cincinnati College of Law announced that the College was establishing the Victor E. Schwartz Chair of Tort Law. Victor served as a professor of law and Dean of the College in the 1970s (the youngest law Dean in the United States at the time). Funding for the Chair will be used to attract professors who share Victor’s view that the subject should be taught in a fair and objective manner; the purpose being to teach students the subject, not to preach the professor’s personal ideology. Funding will also be used to promote written scholarship in the field of tort law that is practical, balanced and useful to judges. The idea for creating the Chair and its initial funding came from Victor’s former law students, who today include prominent lawyers, judges, and elected officials.
Alfred Scopp ’63. Alfred and his wife, who currently reside in the Silicon Valley area, visited Dwight in May for a tour of the School. Alfred had not been back since he graduated. After Franklin, he attended college at Cornell and received a Masters from Yale as well as a PhD from
Duke in psychology. While he is mostly retired now, he worked for a number of years at the Northern California Headache Clinic.
Randolph Swiller ’63. “One month ago my wife and I took a trip to the Canadian Rockies. The tour was excellent, the scenery breath-taking. We walked on a large glacier, viewed unbelievable mountains resembling The Mattahorn. There were beautiful turquoise lakes, streams, and wild animals: bears, wolves, elk and bison. There were mountain goats, and all kinds of birds. I would highly recommend it.” Robin Winter-Young ’67. Robin was so thrilled to see her classmates at the October 13, 2012 Reunion. “It brought back many, many memories, all great.” Stuart Friedman ’73. “In March I will be celebrating my 35th year as a Financial Advisor with AXA-Advisors in Irvine, California.”
Nancy Gershman ’74. “I’m back in New York City after twenty-three years in Chicago, where I founded my studio, Art for Your Sake. I’m on a mission to educate the mental health community about the therapeutic benefits of prescriptive visualizations of the past and the future (created via a digital photomontage). These preferred stories executed in Photoshop are commissioned for folks who are “stuck” (e.g., in grieving or with eating disorders). Prescriptive Art is defined as ‘meaning-laden artwork custom-created by trained artists with and for individuals through empathic listening, brainstorming, and consensus-building.’ A chapter on prescriptive photomontage now sits in Robert Neimeyer’s anthology, Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Practices for Counseling the Bereaved. My dream is to one day see prescriptive artists as credentialed professionals. I would love to hear from alums currently working in psychotherapy, utilizing personal photos in their treatment sessions! Contact me at na nc y@a r t for yoursake.com.”
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Dwight Today | In Memoriam
Where Are They Now? | Alumni
Below are the alumni from landmark years with whom we have lost contact. Please contact Jessica Gutierrez, Development Associate, at jgutierrez@dwight.edu or 212-724-6360 x230, if you know the whereabouts of anyone on this list. We appreciate your help!
In Memoriam
Jonathan L. Auerbach
We were deeply saddened that Jonathan Auerbach, who served as a Dwight School Foundation Trustee since 2009, passed away after a recent battle with lung cancer. His obituary as it appeared in the December 2, 2012 New York Times is reprinted below. We were fortunate to enjoy Jonathan’s worldly wisdom, down-to-earth personality, and passion for Dwight during his time with us. Jonathan L. Auerbach, beloved husband and father, international businessman and avid supporter of the arts, died November 29 in New York City. He was 70 years old. Jonathan is survived by his wife, Annie Luce, and his four children, Gabrielle, Jake, Nick and Sasha, his father Joseph Auerbach, and sister Hope Pym. He was a founder and managing director of Auerbach Grayson & Company, which provides international securities research, execution and settlement for U.S. institutions. The firm, which he started in 1993, was the capstone of a career in international securities trading and marketing that spanned more than 40 years. Jonathan was a graduate of Yale University. After his graduation from Yale he served in the U.S. Army. A multifaceted person with wide-ranging interests, Jonathan was involved in art, theater, film, environmental advocacy and vintage car road rallies.
Alexander Stone
Anglo ’83 In May this year he took part in the Trans-America Rally in his 1951 Chrysler New Yorker, navigated by his son Jake, and they drove over 4000 miles from New York City to Vancouver. He also competed in several motoring events and rallies outside of Trans-America including the Mount Washington ‘Climb to the Clouds’ and the New Jersey ‘Vintage Grand Prix.’ He served in leadership roles at the Shakespeare Globe Center in the United States and the Globe Center in London, which he helped found. He produced the acclaimed underground film “Vortex,” which was selected for the New York Film Festival and other major festivals, and appeared in the film Belladonna, which premiered at the Whitney Biennale. Jonathan was also committed to providing opportunities for young people. He combined this passion with his love of international business by establishing a number of internship programs that gave students the opportunity to participate in the development of capital markets in emerging countries. He also started a scholarship fund at his alma mater, Noble and Greenough School, in Dedham, MA, to provide assistance primarily for students from emerging markets. He also served as a trustee of the Dwight School. Jonathan had a deep affinity for Africa as a developing nation. His friendship with conservationist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai inspired him to support the Green Belt Movement with a reforestation project in the Machakos District of Kenya.
We are saddened by the loss of Alexander Stone (nee Aleksey Garber), Dwight Class of 2002 and Yale Class of 2006. Our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and classmates.
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Alessandra DeMeo Christine Friscia Natasha Jago Richard Tsu Benedetta Van Wood Sharon Zisman
Anglo ’88 PatrickComerford Alessanrdo Corrias Eric Drath Paolo Guglielmotti Yoktan Haddad Jasmine Jordan Halbreich Monica Maltagliati John Marrin Roberto Ricci Monica Rozzi Marco Sbardella Helene Schneider Tara Shafer Jessica Trupin Phillip Zea
Anglo ’93 Akara Allen Holder Melanie Dillett Mike Ferrone Alex Grinfeder George Hinov Saturo Kaiho Evan King Damon Kovelsky Wei Lin Robert Mackertich Sahlie Marie Endeshaw Christophe McKeon Warren Miles Joseph Nasahmeha Thomas Rausch Bryan S. Roth Susan Tilly Ethan Wantman Vanessa Weksler Maryanne Williams
Dwight ’58 Harold Bacon Hans Baumgartner Stephen Belden Kenneth Bernasconi Michael Bleier Peter Bordonaro Carlo Busso Anthony Capraro Jean-Michel Cayatte Gerald Cole Jerry Concors Michael Erdheim Clayton Farrar, Jr. Arthur Finkelstein Howard Glucksman Thomas Hart William Klobus Peter Klose Robert Lashaw Arnold Liebman Julian May Robert McLaughlin Lawrence Mirsky John Palmer Steven Pinckes David Rackmill Robert Reuben Stanley Rosen Mark Sands Joel Seeman Jeffrey Semel Carl Steiner Dudley Sutton Lawrence Tarricone Joseph Toto Frederick Vero Michael Zendan
Dwight ’63 Aristotle Dousmanis Nicholas Dousmanis Thomas Fontana Dan Friedman Michael Gales Joseph Gebbia
William Griffin James Hartsell Dene Hendrix Kenneth Hofer Gregory Johnson Daniel King Stanley Kurzweil Wayne Levitz Peter Linssen John Longshore, Jr. John Lynch Kevin Madden Michael Martorana Alfred McConnell Roderick McGrath Kenneth Mockridge Louis Morreale George Moss William Novotny John Oehrlein Donald O’Sullivan Eugene Price John Reddy William Schaffel Russell Schaller William Scheib George Selak Richard Stein Frederick Stella Anthony Sullivan Samuel Teitelbaum Bernard Walsh Bruce Williams James Williams Robert Zuckerman
Dwight ’68 Ronald Alfredson William Brewer Daniel Cardinale Leonard Competello Emilio Costoso John Crosson Bruce Fyfe William Green Leigh Hart
Clifford Henrotin Bernard Hron Mark Hunter Peter Krone Laurie Lees Paul Mangan Evan Marks Frank Martinez James Mason Harry Meilink Michael Migliore Bruce Padilla Jed Pierce Joshua Pierce Peter Ryan Lloyd Safran Francis van Zandt, Jr. Curtis Verra Ronald Wright
Dwight ’73 Thomas Giannasca Pamela Love Lila Mallin Rene McCall Elizabeth Pressel Stephen Sealy Gideon Sella William Sigel Andrew Tarshis Darcy Telaro Nicole Weaver
Dwight ’78 Thomas Adler
Dwight ’83 Robert Falcone Erik Naslund Kiki Silverstein Elinor Smith Selina Williams
Dwight ’88 Vanessa Anthony Lisa Bowen Jasmine Halbreich
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Alumni | Where Are They Now?
Missing alumni from a landmark year (a class celebrating a five (5), ten (10), fifteen (15), twenty (20), etc. year reunion) Stephanie Juster James Klosty Justin Meyer Jennifer Myers Adam Sanders Robert Siegel David Strong Jennifer Taylor Brad Tobin
Dwight ’93 Sabina Bernard de Beaumont Veruska Cardoso Jessica Erskine David Goldman Nicole Kaiser Vanessa Morrison Steven Rosenblum Lorena Sanford Xin Zhao
Dwight ’98 Ravit Bloch Anna Gironde Fuquan Lim Charlie Mok Rick Stern
Dwight ’03 Gregory Mortel Rony Rozen Mor Shamay
Franklin ’53 Ronald Carford Philippe Citron Gerald Delet Lewis Finemore Lewis Hochberg Robert Kabnich Saul Lederman Alan Lewis George Lindenbaum Arnold Messer John O’Leary Barry Sherman
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Warren Shore Leon Tarr Ferdinand Texidor Robert Zuckerman
Franklin ’58 Alan Bernstein Peter Cohen Paul Katz Thomas Mack
Franklin ’63 Miriam Abrin Susan Almansi Roy Bernstein Donald Bienenfeld Anne Brown Kathy Chandler Eli Cohen Evelyn Dallal Norman Godnick Leslie Harman Douglas Kahn Richard Kali Rosalind Kotler Leslie Kraus Jean Lambert Susan Lenley Harvey Lerner Seth Magot Joan Mokray Stephen Panigel Sanford Perlman Jane Pincus Carol Plohn Albert Reifer Judy Rosenberg Fred Saleh Robert Saleh Vikki Schoen Michael Silverman Connie Singer Penny Singer Leon Straus Bonnie Tobak
Marilyn Wechsler Terry Williams
Franklin ’68 Stephen Blum Sally Bruner Mark Buchalter Susan Halper Pamela Harwood Harry Hower III Jayne Israel Carol Lambert Roger Lapkin Carol Lehman Sherry Manasse William Meyers Donald Nyer Martin Perlmutter Martin Polack Erik Poulos Adrian Rothenberg David Ruby Felice Shapiro Richard Snyder Amy Sutow Elaine Traub Fields
Danny Kunstenaar Joe Lichtblau Janet Marinoff David Marks Nora Meade Alejandro Montes Glen Pence Marsha Riggs Carol Rowan Alan Singer Jamie Skydell David Terner Eve Tsopanakos David Wilkinson Debbie Wong Lisa Zito
Annual Fund 2012-13
We invite all Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American
graduates to come visit your alma mater!
Franklin ’78 Sharon Adderley Sandra Aizer Cheryl Blair Caleb Crawford Lisa Farber Robert Foley Tom Fountain Andrew Franco Kipp Friedman Julie Geibar Donna Grant Jon Grossman Jill Gusman Nica Himmelstein Janine Hitchens Ron Hoffman Kindall Hudgins
Thanks to the generosity of the Dwight community, The Dwight School Foundation has raised over $20 million since 2003 and transformed the School. We invite you to come see first-hand what we are doing to ignite “the spark of genius” in our future leaders. We also hope you will join the record number of alumni who have contributed to the Annual Fund. Please support The Dwight School Foundation’s 2012-13 Annual Fund by donating today at www.dwight.edu/givingtodwight or in the envelope provided. Every gift counts! For more information, please contact Ethan Silverman ’80, Director of Annual Giving, at 212.724.6360 x232 or esilverman@dwight.edu.
Phone: 212.724.6360 x230 Fax: 212.721.4513 Website: www.dwight.edu
Dwight is an IB World School
Parents of alumni: If your sons or daughters are no longer at home, please notify the Office of Alumni Affairs, caxelrod@dwight.edu, of their correct address.