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MS Teacher Runs for CT Lieutenant Governor Ebony Murphy-Root doesn’t just teach civics, she lives it! The Middle School humanities teacher is running for lieutenant governor of Connecticut with Jonathan Pelto, who threw in his hat for the governor’s race. The running mates, who declared their candidacy on June 6, are challenging the Democratic incumbent, Governor Daniel P. Malloy, and six Republicans, as thirdparty candidates under the newly formed Education and Democracy Party. Jon Pelto, a communications strategist and former five-term Democratic state legislator in Connecticut, is described as the most vocal critic of Malloy’s administration. He frequently criticizes the governor as the most “anti-teacher, anti-public education, pro–charter school Democratic governor in the nation.” Diane Ravitch, an educational policy analyst and professor of education at New York University, agrees, calling Malloy “one of the worst governors in the nation” on issues related to education. Ebony shares her running mate’s outrage at the treatment teachers have received at the hands of Malloy, and hopes that, at the very least, the message that the two are sending might generate some positive change. Ebony says that, among their demands, they are asking that a State Education Commission include teachers and former teachers; that the Common Core be looked at more carefully by a committee that includes teachers and former teachers (not just business leaders); and that education be comprehensive—not tailored just to a specific test outcome. Ebony—whom Jon Pelto lauds for her “breadth of experience”—was raised and educated in Connecticut, where she also taught in a progressive independent school, a public magnet school and a community college before coming to Calhoun in 2013 as a Middle School humanities teacher. But even while pursuing her career in education, Ebony has always been involved in progressive politics and has been, as she puts it, “dabbling for a while.” In 2012, she attended the Women’s Campaign School at Yale, an international leadership boot camp for women interested in public affairs. More recently, she’s been helping organize the 2014 National Organization for Women New York City Activist Alliance for emerging female leaders. Ebony has also served on the boards of the Hartford Friends and Enemies
Getting ready for her grassroots of Wallace Stevens and The Cove campaign for lieutenant governor Center for Grieving Children. of Connecticut, Ebony Murphy-Root Ebony and her running mate enlisted some of her fifth and sixth need to collect 7,500 signatures grade students! (from Connecticut residents only) by August 6 in order to appear on the ballot. And while they’re collecting names, they’ll be speaking to lots of groups and fundraising in preparation for the November election. But Ebony has every intention of being in the classroom this fall, where she hopes to bring some real-life politics into her fifth and sixth grade humanities classes. “This will be the perfect opportunity to show democracy and civic engagement in action,” she says. “Last fall we started the year with discussions about the mayoral race and the civic process. Maybe this year, I can have the students do some speechwriting or persuasive writing, and talk about how to tailor a message to different audiences!” Asked what she would do if she does win in November, Ebony is taken aback for just a moment. Third-party candidacies, we all know, are tough. But she smiles and says, “Well, I guess I’ll have a lot of Middle School humanities students visiting the governor’s mansion!”
Lisa Bianchi Named New College Counselor; Sarah Tarrant Leaves for Deerfield After an extensive search involving a team of faculty, administrators and students, Calhoun has hired Lisa Bianchi as Calhoun’s new Director of College Counseling, replacing Sarah Tarrant, who has accepted a position at Deerfield Academy, in western Massachusetts. Pointing to her extensive experience in both college admissions and independent school college counseling, US Director Lorenzo Krakowsky observes that Lisa is “wonderfully prepared to guide Calhoun’s Upper School students through the college
The Calhoun Chronicle
process.” She comes to Calhoun from Trinity School, where she served for six years as associate director of college counseling. Prior to her position at Trinity, she was a member of Columbia University’s admissions team and, before that worked in New York University’s undergraduate admissions department. She graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and the Green Key Society, and won the Ehrlich Prize in the Dramatic Arts.
Lisa will be assisted in the college counseling office by Jarrad Nunes, who joined Calhoun last year as Associate Director of College Counseling, and by Victoria Eatman, Senior Administrative Assistant. The Calhoun community will miss Sarah, who began at Calhoun in 2001 as an Upper School English teacher and was named Director of College Counseling in 2005. In her new post at Deerfield Academy, an independent boarding school, Sarah will be part of a team of college counselors and will also be able to
(Left) Lisa Bianchi, new Director of College Counseling; (Right) Sarah Tarrant leaves Calhoun after 13 years.
resume one of her passions— playing and coaching water polo. She, her husband, David Madden, and their son, Austin (three years old), say they are looking forward to rural family life!