THE MAGAZINE OF BENCHMARK SCHOOL | WINTER 2020
Authentic Arts Integration Failing Forward
Benchmark Magazine | Winter 2020
CONTENTS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Benjamin B. Rogers ’95, Chair Mark J. Thorburn, Vice Chair Adam W. Watson, Treasurer Wendi Chase, Secretary Charles J. Bramley W. Gregory Coleman Betsy Cunicelli, Ph.D. Anthony DeMichele Nicholas Kemp, Jr. Leroy Nunery II, Ed.D. Andrew B. Rogers ’93 Charles E. Ryan James Viner Kristin Yerger, BPA Representative
Arts Integration 3
Louisa Hanshew, Ex-Officio Irene W. Gaskins, Ed.D., Head & Trustee Emerita Howard R. Marcus, Trustee Emeritus Ralph L. Wales, Interim Head of School •••• Editor Alyce Callison, Director of Marketing & Communications Design Megan Craven
Why I Teach 11
Alumnus Profile 17
A Message from the Interim Head of School.....................2
Contributors Eleanor Gensemer, Head of Middle School Wayne Reichart, Physical Education Teacher
Arts Integration...........................................................................3
••••
Space for Music............................................................................5
ON THE COVER Arts integration—an instructional approach where the visual and performing arts are included across the curriculum—is an important articulation of our larger focus on innovation in instruction.
BENCHMARK SCHOOL 2107 N. Providence Rd., Media, PA 19063 610-565-3741 • benchmarkschool.org Benchmark School is accredited by Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, which is a member in good standing of the National Association of Independent Schools’ Commission on Accreditation. Benchmark School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender and sexuality diversity, age, or against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability, in its admissions and financial program, in the administration of its educational program, or in its employment policies. Benchmark School is a tax-exempt organization as provided by IRS regulations and is registered as a charitable organization within the State of Pennsylvania. The official registration and financial information for Benchmark School may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
An Open Door to Artistic Collaboration...............................7 Failing Forward............................................................................9 Why I Teach: Melissa Savage...................................................11 Campus Snapshots....................................................................13 Alumnus Profile: Alex Krenz '03............................................17 Alumni Updates..........................................................................19 Why I Give: Jennifer & Samir Mehta...................................20 Give to Benchmark, Gain Tax Credits.................................22 Facebook.com/BenchmarkSchool
Twitter.com/BenchmarkSchool
YouTube.com/BenchmarkSchool
Instagram.com/Benchmark.School
A MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL
CALLING UPON OUR ROOTS As Educational Innovators By Ralph L. Wales
As I make my way home each evening—a journey down a path to the residence for the Head of School—a warm sign glows in the middle of our campus. It adorns the entryway to an emerging center of our school’s work and reads: Benchmark School Innovation Lab. We are still learning our way into the opportunity afforded by this unique space that emerged at the start of school a little over a year ago. As is the case with any change, it is a step-wise process when new architecture attaches to wellestablished, successful patterns of teaching practice. This fall we have reveled in the ways in which a new space triggers a pioneer’s spirit. We have plunged into that mix. Our youngest have spilled out Legos on the lab’s spacious tables and imagined, planned, and built inventive homes and our middle schoolers have turned social studies class into team-building exercises in creating visual representations of historical events. It’s been a joy and inspiration for me to witness our faculty create opportunities for our children’s minds, hands, and hearts to be simultaneously engaged. A new space is nurturing a new and relevant pedagogy. The truth is that in most cases our country’s educational practices continue to rest on the foundation of an industrial
society—an outdated stimulus for a school’s purpose. Once, the capacity to educate young people to effectively replicate the patterns of success defined educational excellence. Now we live in a world where quite the opposite is true. It’s process, not product, that matters now. Even more so, it’s the capacity to think on your feet, to see today’s failure as an exciting discovery and not a cause for despair, that now are the sought-after skills and natures that are required. Benchmark has always worked to erode the misguided perception that we are here to remediate a child’s ways of learning. Our message has been and still is that we are here to advance a child’s unique ways of thinking, combining their innate talents with the lessons that develop the courage and determination to experiment with confidence and joy. We have always honored the power of our children’s imaginations. We take pride in our readiness as educators to be innovators rather than preservers of patterned pedagogy. We step boldly now into the truth that educational excellence is not found in learning a set of siloed subjects. Rather, it is an integrated experience where math meets literature in the library and science is as easily found in the art studio as it is applied in a science lab. This is the recipe for the times we live in. As we step into the second half of our school’s first century, we once again call on our capacity to lead the way. It is the moment that we have been waiting for: the time when Benchmark’s commitment to children with learning differences comes into contact with the world’s demand that education prepares children to learn differently. That glow of the sign in our backyard is our 21st century version of Benchmark’s long-held purpose and mission.
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FEATURE
ARTS INTEGRATION Accessible, Active, and Authentic By Eleanor W. Gensemer, Ed.D. Picture a group of our youngest Benchmark students energetically singing a song about key words during their morning meeting to help them understand the importance of looking for patterns in our language. The song, written by music teacher Laurie Veacock, helps the students remember the key words and the process of using key words to decode words they don’t know. Putting the process to music enables the students to make the connection to the language-based learning in their Word Detectives lessons. Research has shown improvements in phonological processing, spelling, and reading skills when music is integrated with word learning in dyslexic children. Picture, too, a group of students studying and observing the life cycle of a butterfly, from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly as they actually watch the process unfold with monarch butterflies. They then create paper mache representations of the various stages of development in their art classes. Under the direction of art teacher Joan Fox, students are able to demonstrate with this hands-on activity their understanding of the process of the life cycle of a butterfly, meeting science goals and art goals at the same time. The effect of learning in the arts has been shown to increase academic learning for students with learning differences.
Arts Integration: A Slice of the Innovation Pie These are just two examples of the exciting work that is being done this year as part of our focus on arts integration.
Benchmark School is committed to providing innovative instructional opportunities to our bright students who learn differently. Arts integration is an important articulation of our larger focus on innovation in instruction. “This is an exciting time. We have the opportunity to take strategy instruction, which has been successful throughout Benchmark’s history, and layer in music across the school in subjects like social studies and language arts. This fall, I have already seen some of our more reserved students become more open, creative, and curious,” says music teacher Laurie Veacock. The goals of arts integration are also closely linked to the designthinking model that is practiced in classrooms and in the Innovation Labs.
What is Arts Integration? Arts integration is an instructional approach where the visual and performing arts are included across the curriculum in three equally important ways. 1. Students are taught the skills and organizational frameworks of the art and music subjects as curriculum in regularly scheduled classes. 2. The arts are used to enhance the curriculum in other subjects. In this case, the curricular focus is on the other subjects and the arts are used as a complement to that instruction and provide students with a variety of ways to express their understanding. 3. The arts are integrated with instruction in another curricular area and the students learn to connect the arts with other curricular areas to achieve objectives in both subjects. Arts integration is defined by the Kennedy Center as “an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form.” This approach provides opportunities for students to make their understanding visible through the products they create. It is a natural way to differentiate instruction for learners with different needs and provides an authentic context for problem-solving and creative thinking. (Duma & Silverstein, 2019)
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FEATURE
Why Arts Integration? The goals of arts integration are closely aligned to our mission to provide our bright students who learn differently with the tools and strategies to learn, think, and problem-solve. Our strategic plan recognizes the importance of providing our students with multiple ways to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts taught, and to explore learning through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) as well as through traditional language-based opportunities. According to Linda Crawford, in her book Lively Learning: Using the Arts to Teach the K-8 Curriculum, the goals of an arts integration approach to teaching and learning are designed to: “make content more accessible to students; encourage joyful, active learning; help students make and express personal connections to content; help students understand and express abstract concepts; stimulate higher-level thinking; and build community and help students develop collaborative work skills.” (Crawford, 2004)
Arts integration also enables students to build executive function skills that are challenging for many students with learning differences: skills such as observation, planning, exploration, persistence, creative expression, collaboration, and reflection. These goals align with our mission to help students who learn differently develop the confidence, strategies, and knowledge to become lifelong learners, thinkers, and problem-solvers. Students across the school are benefiting from the opportunity to explore art and music in various ways, and to use art and music as vehicles for demonstrating their understanding of concepts taught in other content areas. From the youngest students learning about decoding through singing, to our middle school students studying the play as a form of literature in preparation for our musical production, we are seeing the results in students’ engagement, their creativity, and problem-solving approaches to learning.
Good for Our Kids Research has demonstrated that arts integration provides teachers with deeper insights into how and why students learn. Arts integration has also been found to improve student learning in other subject areas across the curriculum. In an educational environment where many schools are cutting funding for the arts, we have chosen to embrace arts integration for our Benchmark students who learn differently. Arts integration is a way to “support academics [for students with learning differences] by helping them capitalize on their strengths in other areas such as creativity, while addressing areas in which they struggle and allowing them to demonstrate knowledge in ways other than reading and writing.” (Koch & Thompson, 2017)
Learn More Here are some interesting resources for anyone who is interested in exploring arts integration in more depth. Duma, Amy L. and Silverstein, Lynne B. “Arts Integration: A Creative Pathway for Teaching,” Educational Leadership, December 2018/January 2019. Koch, Katherine A. and Clevon Thompson, Janna. “Laughter Filled the Classroom: Outcomes of Professional Development in Arts Integration for Elementary Teachers in Inclusion Settings,” Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 22, no. 2, 2017. Laying a Foundation: Defining Arts Integration. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2010. Crawford, Linda. Lively Learning: Using the Arts to Teach the K-8 Curriculum. Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc., 2004. Habib, Michael, et al. “Music and Dyslexia: A New Musical Training Method to Improve Reading and Related Disorders,” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 7, article 26, January 2016.
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FEATURE
SPACE FOR MUSIC Laurie Veacock Builds Musical Connections “Everything’s changing,” music teacher Laurie Veacock declares, and she would know. After teaching language arts (as well as music part-time) at Benchmark for more than 20 years, her role is different now. For the first time, Benchmark has a dedicated full-time music teacher, and our students are reaping the benefits. Laurie understands that reading music in the traditional way is very difficult for our kids: it’s a new language, it requires eye-hand coordination, and you have to be able to read. To help make music as accessible as possible, Laurie is becoming Orff-certified at the University of the Arts. (Orff is an interactive musical instruction method that includes stories, songs, and movement, rather than simply learning musical notes.) Laurie is intentionally creating avenues for musical integration with other subject areas. Benchmark’s arts integration intentions are based on the Kennedy Center’s arts
integration model. Teaching music using this model follows three pathways: 1. Teaching music as curriculum (i.e., traditional music class), 2. Using music to enhance curriculum (where the goal is enhancing knowledge of the other subject, such as social studies) and 3. Fully integrating music with curriculum (a more equal balance where the other subject and music share the focus, with both musical goals and goals for the other subject area as well). To help illustrate these three pathways for arts integration, here are some examples of instructional activities Laurie has led this year: 1. Music as curriculum: Learning to play the ukulele 2. Music to enhance curriculum: Learning about tango and the harps of Paraguay to enhance a lesson on South America
Music teacher Laurie Veacock sings "The Key Word Song" with our younger students.
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3. Fully integrating music with curriculum: Writing a rap, using a framework derived from language arts and having to rhyme (musical goal) Laurie stresses that each of the three pathways of musical integration are valuable; the goal is not to prize one pathway above another. Laurie also creates songs to meet classroom needs. For our youngest learners in Karen Berry’s class, Laurie wrote a song about how key words “unlock” other words to reinforce literacy concepts. She wrote a song for kids who were having trouble recalling the order of the months. She wrote a song about friendship when some kids were struggling with kindness. She collaborated with students to write songs called “This Old Ghost” and “Pass the Pumpkin.” In fact, Laurie has written so many songs for our students that she’s planning to compile a Benchmark songbook. The middle school musical—a longstanding Benchmark tradition—represents another channel for arts integration. Participation in the musical requires the students to know how to read a score, how to sing, how to read a script (which is covered in language arts class), and how to be on stage. The application of these skills together creates a powerful and lasting learning experience. With the additional time and focus now allocated to musical education, Laurie has had many middle schoolers who are interested in music coming into the music room on their own, to play the piano, to sing, and to learn more about playing the ukulele. She’s thrilled to be making real connections with interested students, and she’s equally thrilled that she can support them. “There’s space for those moments now, now that we have a dedicated music program,” Laurie says.
Laurie’s big goal for the present moment is to make collaboration with other teachers the norm, where music becomes a natural piece of what’s happening in the classrooms. Laurie says, “I work with exceptional teachers at Benchmark. I am being welcomed into lower school and middle school classrooms to guide students to look at people, places, and history through a musical lens. It is a joy to watch the kids make new discoveries. Seeing kids get excited about music and making connections is about as good as it gets.”
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FEATURE
AN OPEN DOOR TO ARTISTIC COLLABORATION Learning Made Visible with Joan Fox In Joan Fox’s first year teaching art at Benchmark, she’s worked to make herself approachable to our faculty and students. Joan explains, “Everything begins with the relationship. I’m intentionally working to be visible and curious about what's going on in other classes, and what the kids are up to. It’s easy to be isolated over here in the art room, and I’m trying to avoid that.” From that openness to relationship-building, integrating art with other curricula has followed naturally. Joan says, “For me, I’m not a big believer in compartmentalized education. Learning happens everywhere and should be intertwined.” Joan spoke about the ways that the arts are woven into learning at Benchmark. Weekly art classes give students an opportunity to gain working knowledge of techniques and concepts. Integration work can either enhance an existing unit or be the catalyst that initiates a new path of study. Through conversations and openness to exploration, Joan has embarked on several integrative projects with other classroom teachers. Joan has developed a great fondness for working with Zeffie Spirokostas’s class of young learners. “They’re so hands-on, and amazing artistic thinkers,” she says. With Zeffie, they read a book called Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, and that inspired the students to make collages like those they saw in the book. They collected natural objects outside—leaves, twigs,
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acorns—and made 3D collages. To turn their collages into a book, they took photos of their 3D creations, and working with Joan, made a large hardcover book. The photos of their art will go on one side of page, and their words will go on the other. “This is just like a real book,” one of the students said excitedly to Joan when he saw it. “This is a real book!” Joan laughed. Joan notes another educational benefit of art explorations: working on these creative projects has allowed Zeffie to observe her students in a different way, and has given Zeffie new insights into their strengths and talents. In another project, Melinda Rahm approached Joan about developing a visual, hands-on project as an extension to their social studies unit on colonial America. Melinda was interested in exploring three communities present at that time—the European colonists, the native people, and the enslaved Africans—through the medium of textiles. From this prompt, Melinda and Joan grew this project into having the students create a natural dye with acorns (gathered on our campus) and dyeing cotton cloth. From this cloth, they would make napkins, embellished with beadwork and embroidery. Each part of the process—the dye, the cloth, the beads, and the embroidery—refers to and represents each of those three communities. This project is still in the planning stage, and Joan wants to leave space for it to evolve “as the kids get their hands on it. I want to let it unfold.” With this and all projects, Joan likes to start small and allow them to grow bigger, as the kids’ interests lead them in new creative directions.
FEATURE
Joan also sees tremendous value in engagement in the arts for our students. “Visual art allows learning to become visible.” She draws a comparison with writing: “When kids are writing essays, they’re all in their heads, inside their little moment. But in the art room, you might notice a color that someone else just mixed, and that inspires you to something else. The energy and the visibility in the room itself brings about learning.” Joan is eager to continue growing relationships with faculty and keeping an open door for collaboration, which she sees as one of the greatest ways to promote learning. She says, “A true collaboration is one where the end result is not something that any one individual could have envisioned at the start of the process. The learning experience has so many unexpected pathways that keep it fresh and exciting.”
Joan Fox promotes openness and experimentation as a pathway to learning.
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FEATURE
FAILING FORWARD Never Give Up Middle school teacher Beth Melfi wants your child to fail. A lot. But don’t worry: her ultimate goal is for kids to be successful. Beth knows that failure is a scary concept, for kids and adults. Our students struggle already—Beth wants them to understand why, and be strategic. She wants to break the stigma of failure, and reframe it as a natural part of any endeavor. Beth says, “Being successful is a repeated journey of failure, over and over again. The difference is in how you
complete a difficult maze, and she listened closely as the students said “It’s so hard!” and “I’ll never get out of here!” as they attempted to solve the puzzle. When they were done, Beth asked, “What happened when you got to a dead end?” Many reported that they had reversed out and took another route. Beth drove her symbolic point home: if you stand still when you hit a wall, it’s failure. If you plan other options, it’s failing forward. In her seventh grade science class, Beth began the year with a single prompt: Can you create a bubble inside a bubble? She provided just the materials and the task, and through observation, hypothesis, planning, and multiple experiments, they learned just what it takes to make that happen. In addition to driving hands-on scientific inquiry, the students also quickly learned about the necessity of failing over and over again to succeed. Beth understands that creating a safe space is essential if students are going to fail forward productively. The process of helping students to believe that they are truly in a space where they can feel free to make mistakes takes time, and
Beth Melfi encourages her students to learn from failure. look at the failure.” Beth encourages her students to “lean into the failure.” It’s saying to yourself, “Okay, here’s how I failed. Here’s how I’ll do it next time.” This year, Beth started her middle school classes with the theme of failure. In language arts, she had her students
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trust. Beth recalls, “At the beginning of the year, students were not open to talking about what went well, what didn’t. They weren’t comfortable yet. Now, it’s night and day, because they feel safe. They aren’t trying to lie to you. They’re not faking. There’s so much honesty.” Beth says, “The kids who really make progress are those who know that they’re in a safe place where they’re free to take
risks. I say, ‘Just try it, and see what happens.’ Every year, I see kids pull amazing things out of their reading and writing because they feel safe.” Failure is a part of life, and part of the support we need to give middle schoolers is understanding that we can’t do things for them. They need to learn how to do certain things, and have the space to mess up. Beth says, “It’s like crashing into metaphorical walls to figure out where the boundaries are. Think about our innovation space—it’s literally trial and error all of the time. It’s a new focus for Benchmark. Why wouldn’t you want academics to mirror that?” Beth hopes that her students will carry with them the essential message of failing forward: failure is only failure if you stop and give up.
BENCHMARK PARENTS REFLECT The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed Early in the school year, Benchmark parents and teachers gathered to discuss the book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, by Jessica Lahey. The book explores how parents and teachers need to give their children space to gain resiliency. Parent Latoya Watson reflected, "As a parent of a kid with a learning difference, I struggle when she struggles. Reading this book, and coming together with other parents to discuss it, made me realize that I'm not alone in this. We all share this commonality, and we're going to fail our way to success."
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FACULTY PROFILE
WHY I TEACH Melissa Savage: Creating the Comfort Zone Melissa Savage likes to joke that her classroom has a revolving door—and she likes it that way. “Kids are always coming in. I love it. It’s great for building relationships—kids come in and are comfortable enough to sit down and share with you.” For Melissa, building strong and sincere relationships with students is the key to success, for her as a teacher, and for her students as learners. Melissa is in her fifth year at Benchmark. She spent her first four years in the math department, teaching two lower school classes and two middle school classes. She’s still teaching one 7th grade math class, and this is her first year teaching language arts. Melissa appreciates that this shift to language arts allow her more time to build deeper relationships with her students. “I have them for an extended amount of time [almost two hours per day] and it allows me to get to know them on a whole different level.” Melissa loves teaching middle schoolers. She explains, “I’ve always gravitated toward middle schoolers; it’s such an interesting time in their lives. There’s the happy, joyous child within them, and they’re also figuring out all of these adult things.” In addition to the classes she teaches, Melissa leads a mentor group, which has been a tremendous window into the growth process that our students undergo in the middle school years. “It’s mind-boggling to watch them grow from sixth grade through eighth grade. They change so much. You see them at the end, when they’re ready to graduate, and they feel so successful and able to move Melissa with Brian Hanway '18 and along. It’s really touching.” Nick Pante '18 at the semi-formal. On the 6th grade trip to Refreshing Mountain.
Melissa has always wanted to be a teacher. “I didn’t know what I was going to do if I wasn’t going to teach,” she laughs. Before Benchmark, Melissa subbed for a while, and then worked as an aide in a special education classroom for non-verbal kids in Upper Merion. That experience awakened her passion for working with kids who learn differently. “I went back to school for special education certification, and I’m working towards a master’s degree in the social and emotional wellness side of education. It’s such a big part of the curriculum at Benchmark—it all ties in.” When Melissa compares her experience in the public school realm with her time at Benchmark, she says, “It’s 100% different. Part of what drew me to Benchmark and keeps me here is that there’s a real opportunity to build relationships with kids here. Elsewhere, there’s such an intensive curricular focus, and there are so many kids. The small community here creates an environment where teachers can get to know each and every child as an individual. Kids can take risks, and know that it’s safe to fail.” This relationship-building is pivotal to Melissa’s teaching success: “When you’re sincere, kids sense it. Building a welcoming environment is the basis of getting down to what strategies you can use to help students feel more successful.”
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FACULTY PROFILE
Melissa's students bought her a corgi-themed bookmark in honor of her corgi, Baloo.
TELL US ABOUT
YOURSELF Where did you go to college and what did you study? I studied elementary education at Kutztown University. After being in the field for a few years, I decided to go back to Arcadia for my Special Education certification. I plan to continue working towards my master’s in special education focusing on social, emotional, and behavioral learning. What is your favorite memory from your school years? Similar to what Teri Watkins does, in fourth grade our science class hatched chicks. It was one of my favorite days and brought so much joy to our class. What was your favorite thing to study when you were in school, and why? I loved building the bridge between language arts and social studies, studying historical fiction focused
Melissa with 6th grade girls at recess.
around WWII. I found the time period interesting and was instantly drawn to the feelings of the characters during that tragic time. Tell us about the teacher who most influenced you when you were a student. The teacher who influenced me most was my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Ryan. Although he was my science teacher, he was the first to acknowledge my difficulty with reading comprehension. He met with me twice a week to build my comprehension and also encouraged me and was the first teacher who made me feel confident as a learner. What is your favorite book? I enjoy reading YA fiction so I can recommend books to my students. My most recent favorite (because it changes constantly) is The Insignificant Life of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling.
What is your favorite inspirational quote? “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” What are your hobbies? Reading, playing outside with my corgi, and taking as many trips to Disney World as possible! Tell us an interesting/surprising fact about yourself. I was a figure skater as a child. Although stepping on the ice now, my muscle memory has failed me, taking part in a competitive sport taught me both grit and perseverance. Tell us about your family. I live with my husband Chris and our 7-year-old corgi, Baloo. I am a very family-oriented person and still spend a lot of time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew.
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1: In November, lower schoolers participated in “Drums Alive,” a rhythm and movement program. This activity is a great example of arts integration: the rhythm of drumming provides structure, which can be soothing to kids with ADHD, and there’s also some research suggesting that rhythm training helps people with dyslexia hear syllables in words. • 2: Our Interim Head Mr. Wales has empowered the fifth grade to become stewards of our flag, raising and lowering it daily. At the end of the year, this group will train our next fifth grade class to carry on the tradition. • 3: The Wiffenpoofs, the world's oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group from Yale, entertained our Benchmark community, and kindly remained after the performance to answer questions. • 4: Alex Templeton's seventh graders extended their learning about the Civil War by going hands-on in our Innovation Lab. The students studied the economic factors that contributed to the conflict, and engaged in artifact design to tell a historical story in a compelling way. • 5: Six lower school classes visited the Media Theater to see the play “Matilda” in October. • 6: The Berry and Spirokostas classes visited our neighbor, Tyler Arboretum, to engage in seasonal nature explorations. After the students returned to Benchmark, they collected leaves and other natural objects on campus for a collaborative art project.
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7: Many family members and special friends attended Breakfast Buddies in November. Thank you for visiting our campus! • 8: Theresa Scott's class dissected owl pellets as part of their celebration of reading the book Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George. Students were amazed and intrigued by the tiny bones they found inside the pellets. • 9: On Veterans Day, we honored our Army veterans Teri Watkins and David Thorpe. Ms. Watkins and Mr. Thorpe spoke about their roles in the military and answered lots of thoughtful questions from our fourth graders. • 10: Halloween is serious fun at Benchmark! Check out the creative costumes on our lower school teachers, as well as our students. • 11: To kick off the school year, families gathered on the playground for the BPA Ice Cream Social.
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ALUMNUS PROFILE
ALEX KRENZ '03 From Opera to the ICU Alex Krenz is proof that your career path can take you in unexpected directions. Now a nurse working in a cardiac ICU, Alex began his professional life as an opera singer. And it all began at Benchmark School. When Alex came to Benchmark, he had just finished 5th grade at public school. “I was almost failing out,” Alex says. “Coming from a public school, those of us with some kind of learning difficulty or impairment would leave our class, and go off into some kind of tutoring session. Language arts and things of that ilk were very difficult for me. My parents were at their wits’ end, and didn’t know what to do to help me be successful. They basically said [to Benchmark], ‘You do whatever you want with him. We’ll try anything.’” It took a period of transition before Alex was able to sort out exactly what barriers were preventing him from being successful. He explains, “When I came, I was reading at a second or third grade reading level. I credit Dr. Gensemer. She created a tailored plan for my learning style, and worked with me to find out how I could function within the realm of academia. Reading long-form text was never going to work for me. She showed me that that was fine, and that I’m better with learning by hearing, and said, ‘Let’s dial that up to 1,000.’ With books on tape, and readers, it turned the entire corner for me academically. It was a total game-changer. For the first time, I wasn’t fatigued, and school was something I could enjoy. She turned around my whole view on academics, and showed me that I can do well.” Not only did Alex do well at Benchmark, he carried his academic success into high school. Alex attended Sanford School in Delaware, and at first they didn’t quite grasp how academically talented he was. Alex recalls, “Given my background as someone with a learning difference, they placed me into their basic courses, and it was very clear to my teachers within two to three months that they needed to
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The greatest thing Benchmark taught me is the idea of being a creative thinker. Thinking doesn’t have to be linear. —Alex Krenz '03
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move me up. They placed me in Honors courses to get me on track for AP classes. They were very impressed with how Benchmark prepared me for high school. In fact, a buddy of mine from Benchmark, a year younger, followed me to Sanford, and they automatically put him in Honors classes. The teachers at Sanford realized, ‘Benchmark School obviously knows how to prepare their students.’ I graduated as salutatorian, and my buddy who was the year behind me was among the top five in his class as well.” Alex attended Benchmark at a significant moment in the school’s theatrical history. The A. Palmer West Performing Arts Center opened in his 8th grade year. Alex says, “We did Fiddler on the Roof, and it was one of my top-tier Benchmark moments. We got to christen the new stage, and we had sets, a scrim, and lighting—it was all so big and grand and new. And the theatricality of it all for us as middle schoolers was so funny—we couldn’t grow beards, and we were trimming wig hair and spirit gumming it to our faces.” From performing the lead in the middle school musical, Alex went on to even loftier dramatic heights. Alex attended Westminster Choir College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance as well as the University of Oklahoma where he received a master’s degree focusing on opera. Alex moved to New York City, got representation, and traveled the country as a professional opera singer. Alex says, “You won’t know if you enjoy the lifestyle or not until you’re
ALUMNUS PROFILE
in it. You have to live it. I loved the performing aspect, but being on the road all of the time, and the inconsistency of it—it was hard. It was not necessarily the lifestyle I wanted to lead.” While Alex was coming to terms with the realization that a career in opera might not be what he wanted long-term, his father developed heart problems, and went into the cardiac ICU at the University of Pennsylvania. Alex recalls, “I spent every day there at his bedside. I knew nothing about medicine, other than vocal anatomy. The nurses were so nice. They would sit down and teach me about the procedures my dad was going to go through. I was their little mascot during this period, and I was saying to one of them that I was transitioning out of performing and into something else. They suggested nursing, and sold me on the idea. I got an accelerated degree in nursing at West Chester University, and I’m now at ChristianaCare, Delaware’s only Level 1 trauma center. I’m in the cardiac ICU, working with the sickest of the sick patients, on the medical and surgical side. I manage recovery when patients are right out of the operating room, and it’s my job to stabilize them. I love nursing. It’s a tremendous career.” The arts are still very much a part of Alex’s life. Not only does he still perform, he applies the skills he developed at Benchmark and in the arts to his nursing. Alex cites the value of knowing how to work as a member of a team, how to manage different personalities, and how to deal with criticism and take it constructively. He notes, “Benchmark teaches this really well—how to be receptive to criticism and not let it be destructive to you. Benchmark’s attitude is: ‘Let’s work in it. Let’s get your strengths up as best we can, and work on your weaknesses.’ The greatest thing Benchmark taught me is the idea of being a creative thinker. Thinking doesn’t have to be linear.”
HOUSE COMMUNITIES Home for All When students enter into Benchmark, they are placed into one of three House Communities (Green House of Learners, Blue House of Thinkers, or Orange House of Problem Solvers). House Communities create connections between grades and across ages. A great benefit of House Communities is that they give our students the opportunity to work collaboratively, to strengthen bonds, and provide an even more trusting and caring environment for our children to succeed and to take risks. This past fall, we celebrated several House Community events. Here, students are celebrating our first-ever “Dress-Up in House Color Day.”
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ALUMNI UPDATES
CLASS NOTES outside of Benchmark. They met through community soccer, and Sarah came to Benchmark two years after Laura. They’ve never lost connection with each other, and have been best friends ever since then. Sarah, who lives outside Athens, Georgia, is a teacher and part-time medical trainer.
A Benchmark Bride Laura Carrington '04 Benchmark connections are strong within Laura Carrington’s wedding party! Laura, who is one of two Benchmark alumni who have returned to Benchmark as teachers (the other is Mary Katherine Ortale '08), will be getting married in October 2020. Laura’s wedding party will include three Benchmark grads: Sarah Nutter '04, Macauley Kistler '05, and Ian Weigand '05. Laura’s friendship with Sarah began
Macauley lives in Boulder, Colorado now, working for a luxury vacation rental organization. Back when they performed in Bye, Bye Birdie at Benchmark, Laura played Macauley’s mother. Laura and Macauley enjoyed the happy experience of staying connected after they graduated, and when they meet in person, they pick up right where they left off. Ian was working with Sarah at Church Farm School when Laura and Ian reconnected, and clicked immediately as friends, and Laura was delighted when her fiance Tyler hit it off with Ian as well. They hang out weekly, and Ian is in the process of getting a degree in nursing at Immaculata University.
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David Gaunt After leaving Benchmark School, David attended William Penn Charter School and Lehigh University. He’s working as the VP of Business Development at AlphaSense. He’s been married for five years to Kristie Hoban Gaunt, and they enjoy traveling and staying active with their two-year-old son, Nolan. David says, “Benchmark had the single largest impact on my life from an educational and developmental standpoint. I developed the most effective learning style for me, and that's what Benchmark excels in.”
Laney O'Shea When we last heard from Laney, she was newly engaged in politics and looking for work in Washington, D.C. Laney shares that she has achieved that goal, as she just started a position as a Campaign Finance Assistant for Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton's re-election campaign.
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In the Summer 2019 issue, we misspelled 8th grade graduate Sofia Juarez’s name. Our apologies, Sofia!
'13 Alexa R.C. Green Alexa completed the Disney College Program in the spring of 2019, and studied abroad in Martinique in the summer that same year. She’s back at Xavier University of Louisiana, and is now an RA. Check out the vlog of Alexa’s Disney experiences at “Alexa and the Vlog” on YouTube. When she thinks about the effect Benchmark had on her life, Alexa says, “My time at Benchmark helped me to become more confident and not ashamed of my learning difference.”
'15 Tommy Flynn Tommy attended Great Valley High School after graduating from Benchmark, and is now studying Criminal Justice at West Chester University. He’s also working as an Emergency Medical Technician.
KEEP YOUR NEWS COMING! We love to hear about your academic achievements, what school teams or clubs you are involved in, if you are engaged or married, if you’ve had a baby, changed jobs, or any news you’d like to share! Submit your news and photos via the "Alumni" section of our website, or send your news to marketing@benchmarkschool.org.
GIVING
WHY I GIVE Jennifer & Samir Mehta Jennifer and Samir Mehta live across the river in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Benchmark is not exactly their neighborhood school. But when Jennifer was beginning to visit schools to support her daughter Norah’s dyslexia, she encountered a woman at another school who essentially said, “If you’re going to come all the way from New Jersey, why not go to Benchmark?” Jennifer says, “When I did come to visit Benchmark, something felt right. It reminded me of Norah’s Montessori preschool. It felt nurturing and welcoming, not institutional, like some other schools I visited.” Since Norah began at Benchmark in third grade several years ago, she has made great strides in her academic abilities. Beyond classroom skills, Jennifer and Samir appreciate that Benchmark is a place where Norah feels comfortable and safe. Jennifer says, “Everyone we—and Norah—have come into contact with here sees Norah for who she is. They see her strengths. Her weaknesses never overshadow who she is, and what her strengths are.” Samir adds, “The structure fits
The Mehta Family her needs. She recognizes that it’s a good fit. Her peer group is really important too. In public school, she was seen as different. There are no labels here.” Jennifer and Samir, who have contributed to professional development in support of the Innovation Lab, feel strongly about the importance of giving to a school like Benchmark. Samir says, “Giving to Benchmark helps to put the students’ needs at the forefront. The fiscal part of running a school is hard. Educating students is expensive. For students who learn differently, you can’t apply the same format for all of them. You need resources, and you don’t want the budget to be the primary driver of what students can have. If we can help with that, we want to do it.”
Norah Mehta
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Giving to Benchmark helps to put students' needs at the forefront.
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—Samir Mehta
Jennifer recalls the difficulties they all experienced before their family found Benchmark. “When Norah was still in public school, there was so much stress of trying to know what to do, of trying to get the school to know what they had to do—it was a stressor for the whole family. Finding Benchmark, getting her here, was the biggest relief. I could go back to my role as mother, not full-time advocate. This is why we give—we wish we could give more. Not everyone can make it work to be here, and we want to make it so more kids can be here. It’s really invaluable.”
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UPDATES
INNOVATION LAB AWARD 2019 Innovation by Design Awards Finalist In September, our Innovation Lab was named as a finalist in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for 2019 in the Learning category. The remarkable design of Benchmark School’s Innovation Lab is the work of two world-renowned architects, Bill and Chris Sharples ‘77 of SHoP Architects, who were diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, and are Benchmark alumni. “Benchmark taught us that we all have our own unique way of learning. The school gave us the tools to grow and build our confidence to do things we thought impossible,” said Chris Sharples. Interim Head of School Ralph Wales says, “The Innovation Lab is a space, a physical home, that allows the wider concept of innovative thinking to flourish. From this foundation, we will further a comprehensive culture of innovation that will permeate every corner of the school.” Innovation by Design is the only competition to honor creative work at the intersection of design, business, and innovation. The awards recognize people, teams, and companies solving problems through design. Along with Benchmark School, Fast Company recognized an influential and diverse group of 483 leaders in fashion, architecture, graphic design, data visualization, social good, user experience, mobility, and more.
GREAT SEASON ON THE FIELD By Wayne Reichart The 2019 soccer season at Benchmark was a tremendous success. The Varsity ended the season with an 8-1 record outscoring the opposition by a 32-9 margin. The JV team ended the season with a 6-3 record and outscored the opposition by a 24-14 margin. The teams were led by outstanding goal-tending with Charlie Noble for the Varsity and Nicole Semerjian for the JV team. Both teams were tremendously fun to coach and gave our faithful fan base a season filled with quality soccer and thoroughly enjoyable games to watch.
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GIVING
GIVE TO BENCHMARK, GAIN TAX CREDITS Redirect Your PA Business Taxes to Benchmark It’s true! You can redirect your Pennsylvania business taxes (and in some cases personal taxes) to Benchmark and provide much-needed tuition assistance to our students. Through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, businesses in Pennsylvania can receive up to a 90% tax credit (with a two-year commitment) by giving to Benchmark School's scholarship program. It’s important to note that this is a dollar-for-dollar credit—not just a reduction in taxes. For example, a business that pledges a $100,000 donation for two consecutive years would receive a $90,000 credit each year, lowering those Pennsylvania tax bills by $90,000. Since the inception of these programs in 2001, more than $3.3 million of tuition assistance has been distributed to Benchmark families. To our students who are able to receive a life-changing Benchmark education because of this assistance, these funds are invaluable. More information on both programs—including details on the application process—can be found by visiting newpa.com and typing either “EITC” or “OSTC” in the search box. Businesses who are already enrolled in the program can reapply beginning May 15. (This includes businesses who have completed their two-year commitment and wish to reapply
or those in the middle of their two-year commitment.) Businesses that are new to the program can apply beginning on July 1. Tax credits for both programs are awarded on a first-come, firstserved basis. EITC dollars have fewer restrictions on the students who can receive them and for that reason, EITC credits are quickly claimed, usually on July 1. While contributions from EITC and OSTC are both greatly needed and highly valued, contributions from EITC allow Benchmark to have the most flexibility in awarding tuition assistance to our students. For that reason, we would greatly appreciate our EITC/OSTC partners to apply on May 15 or July 1 to try to secure EITC dollars. While these programs were designed for Pennsylvania businesses to contribute scholarship dollars, in some instances, individuals are able to participate by working with a Special Purpose Entity (SPE). Benchmark has received EITC and OSTC dollars via several SPEs, including Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (blocs.org), the Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (pennsylvaniaeitc. org), and Jewish Scholarship, LLC (jsllc.org). Individuals interested in pursuing this option often need to have a minimum PA tax liability that varies depending on the SPE. Individuals can contact one of these organizations or their accountant to see if they are eligible to participate. For more information on EITC and OSTC, and how your tax dollars can provide a Benchmark education to a bright student who learns differently, please contact Louisa Hanshew at louisahanshew@benchmarkschool.org or 610-565-3741, ext. 150.
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Plan Now for Summer! Winter is a great time to be looking ahead to the warm summer months! Plan now to register your child for Benchmark Camp. This transformational program includes our internationally recognized language arts program, executive function skills instruction, design thinking activities, as well as art, science, swimming, and sports.
WILMINGTON, DE PERMIT #751