2020-21 Curtis School Magazine & Annual Report

Magazine 2021

We Thrived

Contents 3

From the Head of School

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Perspectives: Jasmeen and Banmeet Anand

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Deepening Our Anti-Bias Work

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Sharing Our Cultures

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Our Amazing Parents Association

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Reinventing Admissions

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Pandemic Reflection Wall

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Lasting Lessons From Remote Learning

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Honoring Curtis Grandparents

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Library Is Thriving

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Sixth Grade In A Year Like No Other

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Zooming In On Debate

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AMC-8 High Scorers Celebrated

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Camp Curtis

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Student Voices

32

Retirements

34

In Memory of Headmaster Clay V. Stites

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Alumni Year In Review

Curtis School 15871 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 476-1251 Publications@CurtisSchool.org

On the Cover In spite of so many challenges posed by the pandemic, our community remained resilient and engaged. The faces of our students tell the story: "We didn't just survive the COVID-19 pandemic, we thrived."

Dear Curtis Community, Throughout the 2020-21 school year, I found myself thinking—and sometimes worrying—about what our students will say when they have “remember when” conversations about this time with college friends, future partners, or their own children or grandchildren. How will they talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning, the racial reckoning movement, the Capitol Insurrection, and the horrific acts of violence against a number of minority groups, particularly Black and African American, Asian American, and Jewish communities? How will all of this shape who they become as adults and how will the education and the learning environment they experienced as students at Curtis play a part?

I hope they will say they belonged to a community that celebrated the joys of childhood even on the hardest days of the year, whether through Spooky Spirit (Halloween) and Go Global campus drive-throughs, or random dance parties as an entire school on Zoom, or a nail-biting and entertaining Curtis Celebrates!

I hope they will remember that even in a pandemic, their school stayed committed to service to others and living a life of purpose; that even when we weren’t together on campus, student leaders and parent volunteers found ways for kids to give back to other kids and communities in need.

I hope they will say that the reason why they are upstanders against hate is because of the conversations in their anti-bias curriculum and the way in which they learned to appreciate and celebrate differences in their school community.

I hope they will recall the initial excitement and nervousness of getting out of their car, stepping onto campus, and seeing their friends in person for the first time in months.

I hope they will realize that they were part of a school that stayed true to its values: to educate in balance, improve always, roam freely, embrace diversity, cherish childhood and live with purpose.

I hope they will say, “I remember being part of a school community that cared so deeply and so compassionately about its members. And I had teachers who took us seriously, who cared about our thoughts and opinions, and who helped us develop sound minds and sound bodies governed by compassionate hearts.”

Planning for the 2020-21 school year seemed overwhelming as we had to recreate our educational program in an environment that we had never lived in or experienced before. Looking back on that time, while challenging, it was also invigorating and inspiring. We had no choice but to adapt and change, and we did. Curtis School didn’t just survive the COVID-19 pandemic, we thrived. It often takes a crisis for a community to show its greatest strength, which is its empathy and care for one another. Curtis did nothing less than that.

Warmly,

Dr. Meera Ratnesar Head of School

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Letter from the Head of School

Perspectives

Jasmeen and Banmeet Anand Understanding and celebrating the diverse backgrounds, cultures, life experiences, and affinities of all members of our community is essential to creating the best learning environment—one where people can bring their authentic selves each day and feel accepted and valued. Sharing our stories fosters the compassion and appreciation for others that we strive to nurture in our students and that strengthens our sense of shared purpose. We are grateful to the Anands for sharing some of their own story and contributing to our effort to tell the larger story of who we are as a community.

Tell us about yourself—your family background, growing up, and your education.

Jasmeen: I was born in the United Kingdom, London. My father migrated to London from India in the 1950s to find better opportunities. He was an entrepreneur and started various businesses. I am the youngest of three kids and the only girl. On a trip to sunny California in the early 1980s, my parents fell in love with the weather, and in 1985 we moved to California. I was five at the time, so California has always been home for me.

I grew up with a large Indian influence—since that’s what my parents knew—while adapting to this new American world. There were lots of home-cooked Indian meals and investigating new flavors and restaurants, Indian movies and old Western movies that my parents loved, and lots and lots of family time. At school, I often found that I was the only brownskinned girl in my class, and throughout my elementary and high school days in Newport Beach that was very true.

My parents started a luggage, gift and furniture business, which my brothers were a part of and helped grow. Business gave my family so many opportunities, but they always encouraged me to pursue education so I could also have an academic experience. I was the first among my family to graduate from college. So when I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business, it was a really proud moment for the family. I later went on to get my master’s degree in childhood education, changing directions from the family business.

Banmeet: Although I was born in Delhi, India, I grew up in Tehran, Iran. Dating back to the 1930s to1940s, my family moved to Iran to pursue various business opportunities dealing in dry fruits and automobile parts. I have the best memories of growing up in Iran. There was a close-knit group of Indian families there, and I attended a school run by the Indian community in Tehran, which engaged in lots of social activities focused on the Iranian and Indian culture. My days were filled with studies, sports, eating and biking around

our neighborhood. We later moved to Dubai, UAE, where I completed high school. My childhood was filled with being around people from diverse backgrounds.

From an early age, my parents instilled an emphasis on education. There was always a lot of competition to earn the highest grades in school, and I would constantly yearn to be the top student in our class. I was always drawn to the sciences and envisioned myself as a “scientist” growing up. After high school, I attended the College of Pharmacy in Delhi, India, for my undergraduate degree and then moved to the U.S. and earned a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from Kansas City. Go Chiefs!

What have been the strongest influences in your life?

Jasmeen: My parents and family. My father left Amritsar, India, for the U.K. by road in the 1950s to find better opportunities for himself and his family, since he lost his father at a young age. He lived in Gurudwaras (Sikh temples) for months before he was able to afford a place to live. He worked his way up from having a flower stall to having his own cash and carry. At the same time, my parents helped over 30 immigrant families settle in the U.K. They would provide housing, work, food, loans and lots of advice to these families.

My parents always emphasized working hard and encouraged any opportunity to help people who needed it the most.

We always lived together and continued to do so once my elder brothers got married. Our joint family consisted of my parents, my two brothers, their wives and kids, and me! It was very “un-American” but very “Indian.” Each member of my family influenced my life in so many ways. Of course, as in any family, we had our differences, but also a lot of fun and memories, all while learning valuable life lessons and influencing each other in positive ways.

Banmeet: My parents always instilled a strong focus on achievement and the importance of education as an opportunity to succeed in life. At the same time, my grandfather, with his dynamic nature and zest for life, taught me how to embrace life while going through its ups and downs. My brother, who is one year older, has always been and continues to be my adviser in all aspects of life: schooling, work, family and kids.

Tell us about your work life.

Jasmeen: I worked in my family’s business for four years before marrying Banmeet and moving to northern California. I decided

to move away from the business world and pursue my love for kids and education, so I got my teaching credentials and then followed up with a master’s in early childhood education. I taught for several years before we moved back to southern California. Currently, I am a full-time mom to our one and only child, Jeev, and loving every moment!

Banmeet: Since completing my Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences, I have worked as a scientist and executive at several biotech companies. My focus is on developing life-improving pharmaceutical therapies while significantly improving the lives of patients who are suffering from cancer and other ailments. My career is not just a job but an exciting opportunity to make a difference and to contribute to the future of medicine.

How did you two meet?

Banmeet & Jasmeen: Trip down memory lane! We had an arranged marriage, but it might be different than what you think when you hear those words! Jasmeen’s dad’s cousins were Banmeet’s parents’ best friends in Iran. Banmeet was working in San Francisco at Genentech when the “adults” suggested we meet up. So one fine day during the Christmas break in 2004, Banmeet drove down to southern California to “meet the parents” and Jasmeen. Jasmeen: My brothers “interviewed” (Banmeet’s word) him for a while before we escaped and had our first “date.” After that first meeting, we spoke on the phone regularly and started meeting more often. Banmeet knew from the early days that I was the one!

Right, Banmeet? He flew down most weekends to spend time with me, and we had a great time getting to know each other. Banmeet & Jasmeen: In all honesty, we bonded on a lot of similarities, and by June we decided to get married, and we did so in November 2005. So, we had an arranged/ love marriage with no family pressure but lots of support!

How would you describe your family values?

Banmeet & Jasmeen: Our family values are comprised of being kind, being happy and helping others. We want Jeev to see how much importance these simple values hold. We try to demonstrate them in our everyday life while highlighting them in life’s teachable moments. We hope that Jeev continues to grow into a strong and confident boy while also understanding how his actions and words can affect others around him. Along with that, we want Jeev to have love for and understanding of his culture, heritage and religion.

What are your hopes and dreams for your family?

We hope that Jeev is able to take advantage of all his opportunities and his abilities to fulfill his dreams and his ambitions. Right now, he tells us that he wants to be an allstar player on the Golden Gate Warriors team, and that he wants us on court watching all his games. While dreams keep changing, our dream is that our son will have a strong work ethic so that he will excel in whatever path he embarks on and make all his own dreams come true.

The Anand family (top to bottom): Jasmeen, Banmeet and Jeev '27.

What are the most distinguishing aspects of your experience at Curtis?

Jasmeen & Banmeet: Jeev is so happy and confident! On day one, at drop-off after several months on Zoom, he waves “bye, mom” and is ready to embark on a new adventure, wearing a mask. And just like that, his first time on campus at a brand-new school, he’s happy, excited and confident.

We cannot ask for anything more. The entire experience has been amazing, even though we are going through a pandemic. His teachers are his biggest cheerleaders. They understand him, and in return, Jeev feels a sense of security, where he can learn while making mistakes and he can stay true to himself and his personality. Every time we approach the campus, the sun is shining and Jeev is smiling. We look forward to hearing his stories about his friends, teachers, the occasional deer sighting and other adventures at Curtis.

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Deepening Our Anti-Bias Work and Fostering Belonging at Curtis

By Janet Lee, Director of Equity, Curriculum, and Instruction and Earleen Kennedy, School Counselor and Community Liaison for DEI

In the 2020-21 school year, Curtis created various spaces and opportunities for its community of faculty, staff, students, and parents to engage in conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These opportunities included anti-bias lessons and classroom discussions facilitated by teachers, an opt-in faculty and staff AntiBias Self Work Group, our Parents Group on Inclusivity meetings and book club, and a guest speakers series featuring Dr. Howard Stevenson and Dr. Terrence Roberts.

To ensure that we are creating a learning environment where children are comfortable being their true selves, see themselves reflected in the curriculum, and learn about people who are different from them, our Anti-Bias Task Force of faculty members worked hard on a curriculum audit. As part of our curriculum audit efforts, teachers used a guide to help select texts and materials. This guide included questions such as:

Thea Wolf, 2020-21 PGI facilitator, with the inaugural book club's selection, Caste.

• Who is the main character? Whose inner voice and lived experience are we invited to empathize with by the narrative?

• How does this text affect children’s self and social identities? Does it reinforce or counteract messages that teach children to feel inferior or superior because of their skin color, gender, family income, able-bodiedness, or type of family structure?

• Does this text have depictions or language that has the potential to traumatize students?

The Task Force then used Learning for Justice Standards, under the four domains of identity, diversity, justice, and action, to plan anti-bias lessons.

The standards are framed from the student’s perspective and broken down into developmentally appropriate terms for grade levels K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.

Examples include: • I can talk about interesting and healthy ways that some people who share my group identities live their lives. (Identity) • I want to know about other people and how our lives and experiences are the same and different.

(Diversity) • I know that life is easier for some people and harder for others and the reasons for that are not always fair. (Justice) • I care about those who are treated unfairly.

(Action) We continue to refine curriculum around learning outcomes that bolster our students’ ability to reflect on their identities, understand diverse perspectives, recognize stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and oppression, and identify ways to advocate for action and change.

As anti-bias work is both rewarding and energetically demanding, we wanted to cultivate healing spaces where we could gather to process together. This past year, faculty and staff members were invited to participate in a group facilitated by our School Counselor and Community Liaison for DEI and our Director of Equity, Curriculum, and Instruction with

In addition to the book club, PGI embarked on a journey of exploring identity and diversity within our community through storytelling. Many of our parents and guardians joined for a series of PGI meetings we called Sharing Our Stories.

Meetings began with guest speakers, who were members of our own Curtis community, openly giving voice to their lived experiences. Themes discussed during the series included: • Self-identifying immigrants • Multiracial, multicultural, and multiethnic identity • Family systems/structures Opportunities for self-reflection and group discussion are ways to explore identity in an effort to counter biases, challenge negative stereotypes, and replace misinformed thoughts and beliefs with affirming narratives. Following the speaker presentations, time was allotted for self-reflection and small group conversation using guided questions, such as: • I feel most comfortable when I am around people who….

Why? • What are some of the cultural or ethnic barriers your family has overcome? What is one tool you want to have in your family toolbox?

• How can parents, teachers, and staff (both individually and collectively) contribute towards strengthening a multicultural/multiracial community?

• Name one thing you want to change, one thing you want to accept, and one thing you want to increase.

The time together allowed us to draw closer as a community in understanding and acceptance as we recognized both our similarities and differences. The meetings highlighted the benefits of affirming spaces, further solidifying the importance of spaces to foster a sense of belonging and acceptance. By sharing parts of identity and opening ourselves to the lived experiences of others, we become better equipped to support each other and the development of our children.

Left: First graders presented their research projects about influential African Americans to their classmates.

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the goals of building reflective capacity, exploring issues of racial injustice, telling empowering stories, and examining culturally responsive educational practices.

We provided similar spaces for our parent community as well, in the form of our ongoing Parents Group on Inclusivity (PGI). PGI’s inaugural book club began this year and allowed this critical constituency to come together for thoughtful, enriching discussions reflecting on Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste. Led by trained facilitators Ryan Wiliams-Virden and Halston Sleets, the group gave parents the opportunity to be in community with each other as learners and dig into issues of race and identity.

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Deepening Our Anti-Bias Work and Fostering Belonging at Curtis Continued In addition to the PGI book club and meetings, we were honored to welcome Dr. Terrence Roberts during Black History Month and Dr. Howard Stevenson in April. Dr. Roberts is one of the first African American students to attend classes at the all-white Little Rock Central High School, a member of the group later known as the “Little Rock Nine.” After addressing our students in 2020, he tuned in remotely to Curtis in 2021 to talk with our adult community about the nonlinear pattern of resistance and resilience coupled with reactionary response when it comes to racism in our country’s history, and how as educators and parents, we must prepare ourselves and do our own work in order to support our kids in their development. Dr. Roberts advised us that everyone is, in their own way, in charge of the responsibility of repairing the world. Even though we know that it is not possible to fully repair the world, we still have to work towards it.

Dr. Stevenson, a nationally renowned clinical psychologist and researcher on negotiating racial conflicts, shared with our parent community the benefits of racial socialization and literacy.

He argued that the more we can be explicit and give young people skills to navigate racial encounters, the better prepared our students will be to deal with differences. He talked us through ways to scaffold difficult topics with children, being mindful that accuracy brings more dimension.

He also warned against avoiding racial conversations, because children are resourceful and will Dr. Terrence Roberts

Dr. Howard Stevenson

find answers and we would rather that process occur in a supported, controlled way.

From both Dr. Roberts’s and Dr. Stevenson’s presentations, we feel reassured that we are moving in the right direction as we diversify our outreach and education around DEI. Our balanced and thoughtful approach to anti-bias curriculum planning along with the purposeful spaces for faculty and parents to join in learning and reflecting all serve the goal of cultivating in our students sound minds and compassionate hearts.

Sharing Our Cultures 2

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Sharing Our

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3 ​​ Each year, the Parents Association enriches our children’s educational experience by planning and coordinating 6 multicultural celebrations. Last year, the PA liaised with families to create a series of wonderful videos of cultural celebrations and heritage month recognitions reflective of our current community. The videos included students and families speaking about their cultures and traditions and were shared on Zoom at our weekly flag assemblies. In a time when we could not be all together on campus, we learned more about each other and grew closer as a community.

We are so grateful to our families and the PA for facilitating this new, beautiful and moving video tradition that strengthens our bonds with one another.

Among the many families that contributed to videos celebrating our community’s rich diversity were the (1) Molina family (Hispanic Heritage Month); (2) Middleton family (Kwanzaa); (3) Paya family (Nowruz); (4) Owens family (Hanukkah); (5) Kono family (Lunar New Year); (6) Campbell family (Christmas); and (7) Ramesh family (Holi).

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Above and Beyond!

Our Amazing Curtis Parents Association Volunteers

Masked Cougar Contestant

Spooky Spirit Drive

By Monica Kirchner, Parents Association President 2020-21 With determination, resiliency, endless creativity and abundant love, our parent volunteers made the year one of connection, fun, and compassion in spite of our inability to be together on campus. When we couldn’t host our annual school fair, the fair team quickly pivoted and kept Cougar Pride alive with bright and fun Spirit Wear that we wore at our First Friday Flags all year. Cougar Wear, Practically New (Uniforms), and special merchandise collections operated on our new Parents Association online home, with contactless pickup at school. And our dedicated room parents kept the connections, friendships, and joy alive in our classrooms with parties and special activities.

In the fall, Book Spree inspired our students to fly “Up Up and Away” into the land of storytelling. A Spooky Spirit Drive car parade kept the Halloween parade tradition going and supported our longtime community service partner Big Sunday with a tremendously successful food drive. Party Book connected us through special virtual events all year and three drive-in movie nights! And, Winter Boutique helped us shop safely online for the holiday season.

In the spring, the Around the World: Curtis Goes Global car parade honored the diversity of our Curtis community and supported our service partner Go Campaign with a children's clothing and essential needs drive. Our International Lunch Committee inspired us to cook at home with a Go Global cookbook that collected international recipes from our Curtis community. We also honored our community’s diverse cultures at weekly flags by inviting families to share the cultural celebrations that they observe.

Finally, we celebrated in virtual style at our Curtis Celebrates! 2021 event, The Masked Cougar. Families, faculty, and staff gathered online to support Curtis and the Financial Aid Fund in an unforgettable evening of entertainment as we unveiled our four masked Cougar performers.

The willingness and resourcefulness of our parent body and the leadership of the Parents Association Executive Committee and committee members, working in partnership with the school, filled a difficult year with so much good for our school community and beyond.

A heartfelt congratulations and thank you to all of our parent volunteers!

Party Book Drive-In Fun

Go Global Car Parade

Go Campaign Service Drive

Spirit Wear Fridays

Book Spree Visit with Origami Yoda series author Tom Angleberger

Parent volunteers were amazing ambassadors for Curtis.

Zoom event presenters: Jared Savage ‘11, Sharoni Little, and Jaren Savage ‘11.

Dr. Ratnesar handed out cheery “Curtis” balloons to visitors.

Matilda the Cougar greeted visitors to campus.

“IF FAMILIES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TOUR IN PERSON OR SPEAK IN PERSON WITH PARENT VOLUNTEERS AT OPEN HOUSE OR ON TESTING DAYS, HOW CAN WE MAKE THEM ‘FEEL’ THE KIND OF COMMUNITY THAT CURTIS IS?”

By Mimi Petrie, Director of Admissions The 2020-21 school year was one of reinventing all that we do, from carpool procedures to recess supervision, teaching on Zoom to teaching in outdoor classrooms, and everything else necessary to keep our students engaged and excited about learning. It was no different for admissions. We had to reinvent every aspect of the admissions process to best present all that Curtis offers to prospective families.

We began our planning by eliminating our traditional maximum application cap of 200 for Developmental Kindergarten and Kindergarten and moving to a later, December 1st, application deadline. Our goal was to provide an opportunity to apply to Curtis to a broader range of families, not just to those who attend our regular feeder preschools and are likely aware of the previous, short application window. We then asked ourselves, “If families will not be able to tour in person or speak in person with parent volunteers at Open House or on testing days, how can we make them ‘feel’ the kind of community that Curtis is?” Every step of the admissions process was planned with that question in mind.

Instead of our usual two large Open House evenings in the fall, we hosted six sessions on Zoom. They provided an opportunity for our Head of School, Dr. Ratnesar, to speak about our Strategic Plan, for the the division heads to present information about our academic program, for the Parents Association leadership to share the many ways in which parents can be actively involved, and for our 6th graders to share their personal experiences and love for Curtis.

In December, we were excited to host a stimulating and informative presentation on Zoom, “The Curtis Community: Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Journey.” Our keynote speaker was former Curtis parent and member of the Board of Trustees Sharoni Little, who shared personal reflections about her journey as a parent at Curtis. Sharoni was joined by her two sons, Jared ‘11 and Jaren ‘11 Savage, who also shared some of their most meaningful experiences and deep appreciation for Curtis. In addition, our Parents Association was instrumental in hosting four roundtables on Zoom, providing prospective parents the opportunity to hear directly from current parents about their families’ experiences at Curtis.

We were excited in January to have a green light to host two campus drive-throughs that allowed applicant families to see our beautiful campus from their cars. They travelled our regular car-parade route through the Singleton Quad, being first greeted by our mascot, Matilda the Cougar, then pausing at designated locations to speak with parent volunteers, and finishing up by receiving a Curtis branded balloon and personal welcome from Dr. Ratnesar. In February, we were even more excited to schedule individual walking tours of the campus on three Saturdays. Our parent volunteers were wonderful ambassadors for Curtis and provided our prospective families with a true sense of who we are as a community.

Throughout the admissions process for applicants, all of my parent conversations were conducted on Zoom and the division heads joined me in meeting our 1st through 6th grade applicant families in group Zoom sessions. We were grateful to have former Curtis Kindergarten Teacher Lauren Nuccio conduct all of the DK and Kindergarten assessments on Zoom.

In reinventing the admissions process in a COVID-mediated world, we challenged ourselves to think differently about how we do things, and in doing so, discovered a number of ways of conducting admissions that will be beneficial to both Curtis and applicant families in the future as we strive to improve always. Despite the fact that most of the process was remote, we were able to effectively present all that Curtis offers for students and families and we are excited to be welcoming another wonderful group of new families to our Curtis community in 2021-22.

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Reinventing Admissions

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Our Pandemic Reflection Wall

By Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement

During the 2020-21 school year, we shared an unparalleled experience brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are forever changed, as is the world we live in. In commemoration of the courage, camaraderie, kindness, strength and resilience of our Curtis community, families, faculty and staff created tiles reflecting this shared journey.

Each Curtis family and alumni families from the Class of ’20, who were vital members of our school community during the initial months of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, received a package of materials, which included a tile, paints, paint brush and ‘how to paint’ guidelines.

For inspiration, families were asked to consider using words or images that reflected ways that we kept connected, gathered, and showed up for each other as a Curtis community. We thought about the technology we use, our health and safety protocols such as handwashing and mask-wearing, our traditions such as Flag, and our innovations including the campus drive-throughs and all of the virtual Cougar Connection activities that were a hallmark of our year together.

It was also an opportunity to illustrate the ways that the school and individual families supported essential workers and those most in need of food and comfort. Our talented art teachers Molly Simms and Autumn Brannon created a sample tile to jump-start the process.

One Saturday in March 2020, during our Curtis Goes Global DriveThrough (a magnificent invention of our endlessly creative and supportive PA volunteers), current families, employees, and the families who graduated during the pandemic in June 2020, were invited to pick up a package of materials. For those who couldn’t make that event, our friends in the security kiosk had a stash so people could swing by and pick one up.

We are so happy to share that we received hundreds of creatively decorated tiles from our community. We had a regular pick-up from Color Me Mine, who fired and glazed each one. Over the summer, art teacher Autumn Brannon once again rolled up her sleeves and brought her creative vision to the arrangement of the tiles. Thanks to the teamwork of so many, we were able to have the installation in place in time for the opening of the school year. The students were so excited to look for their family's tile and proud to be represented in this enduring tribute to our community's response to the pandemic.

With gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Meera Ratnesar and all whose ideas and can-do spirit made this work a reality.

MOMENTS IN HISTORY WHEN THE ENTIRE WORLD EXPERIENCES A PROFOUND AND LIFECHANGING EVENT. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS ONE OF THESE. AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO MEMORIALIZE THIS MOMENT IN TIME SO THAT CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS AND CURTIS FAMILIES WILL KNOW WHAT WE ARE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE MADE OF: RESILIENCY, FORTITUDE AND POSITIVITY.” –Dr. Meera Ratnesar, Head of School

In 2020-21, disconnected from each other, Curtis families and employees designed ceramic tiles to reflect the strength and resilience of our community and the challenges that we have faced together during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019.

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“THERE ARE FEW

“THE ‘CARE OVER CONTENT’ PHILOSOPHY WILL SURELY STAY WITH US IN THE FUTURE, AS WE HAVE SEEN HOW IT SUPPORTS AND AMPLIFIES CHILDREN’S LEARNING.”

By Ginger Healy, Director of Grades 3-5, Tessa McKeown, Director of Lower Elementary, and Ashley Ma, Director of 6th Grade and Secondary School Outplacement

The 2020-21 school year was the first time any of us began a school year remotely. As a team of educators, we quickly embraced the remote teaching model and researched best practices for remote teaching and learning in order to continue to deliver an optimal educational program for our students. The Responsive Classroom approach we use at Curtis emphasizes relationship building as a classroom community and recognizes that the student-teacher relationship, where trust is inherent in student learning, is foundational to a successful school year. Beginning a school year without physically being together required a full reimagining of the typical methods by which teachers build rapport in a classroom community. After the onset of the pandemic in spring 2020, the administration invested in extensive professional development over the summer to immerse themselves and our faculty in the most current research on remote learning.

Care Over Content

One of the philosophies that quickly became a mantra for Curtis teachers was “care over content.” Lori Cohen of Bright Morning Consulting facilitated workshops with all Curtis faculty and staff over the summer to explore best practices for creating a culture of trust in the classroom. Ms. Cohen asserted that the start of the school year, particularly a school year in which a classroom community cannot physically be together, should prioritize relationship building, establishing a foundation of trust, consistent routines and emotional safety over curricular content. These practices were particularly crucial during a school year that began remotely. Teachers focused on social-emotional learning and frequently checked-in one-on-one with their students throughout their day and as a group, beginning with morning and home base meetings. After a summer of professional learning and research, the Curtis faculty successfully launched a school year in which children bonded with their teachers and peers virtually, a challenge that we had never had to tackle before.

Upon reflection at the close of the 2020-21 school year, faculty shared that they valued how the “care over content” mentality impacted their students. Kindergarten Teacher Olivia Siegels shared, “The way that we aim to structure our day takes into account students’ development level and prioritizes trust. Students are more apt to engage in the content when they feel safe and have a strong relationship with you.” In prioritizing care over content, Curtis teachers established lasting relationships within their class communities that carried over into the winter and spring, when we were fortunate to bring our students back to campus for in-person learning.

The “care over content” philosophy will surely stay with us in the future, as we have seen how it supports and amplifies children’s learning.

Depth Over Breadth

In preparation for the 2020-2021 school year, we asked our faculty to reflect on what core skills and content were the most essential for students to master at every grade level in order to prepare them for their continued educational journey. Knowing that the format of our instruction would in some ways limit the types of activities, projects, and lessons that we normally facilitate in person with children, teachers understood that they would have to reimagine and prioritize key components of their curriculum. By pairing down the volume of content teachers delivered, they were able to dig deeper into what was most important in the curriculum. Emphasizing depth over breadth creates the learning conditions that foster critical thinking, robust discussion, meaningful connections, and rich comprehension. While letting go of “good old, stand-by” lessons from the past can feel like a loss, careful consideration and prioritization of curriculum helps children gain much more from their learning experiences.

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Lasting Lessons from Remote Learning

Lasting Lessons from Remote Learning Continued

Fourth graders were able to take a virtual, interactive field trip to the Sacramento History Museum when they could not have their overnight Sacramento class trip.

New Technology

The pandemic called for educators to fully reimagine their practices, including how they used technology in their teaching. Educational technology had to serve an entirely new purpose: the need to connect students to their teachers and peers. Teaching remotely required new methods to communicate with students, deliver instruction, demonstrate and share examples, distribute and collect assignments, and assess content and skills. Keeping these many factors in mind, a committee determined a combination of hardware and software that would provide the optimal learning experience for students, whether in remote, hybrid, or in-person learning environments. Fifth Grade Teacher Nicholas Plaska, who was instrumental in the process of piloting hardware and software, says: “The technology we integrated last year was a total game changer—personally, I would not have survived a year of pandemic-responsive teaching without it. Transitioning to a one-to-one iPad model [for students] allowed us to engage students both in person and while on Zoom, allowed opportunities to amplify student voices and ideas, and pushed innovation in curriculum in creative and exciting ways. The positive effects of these changes will be felt for a great many years.”

Faculty received iPad Pro tablets, which allowed them to instruct and model using various software in lieu of their classroom SMART boards. Each student was issued an individual iPad for the purpose of providing a consistent remote learning experience and streamlining the tech support process. In the spring, when students were able to return to campus, the technology implemented during the remote period in the fall continued to be—and is today—a crucial part of the Curtis learning experience.

Dominic Y. '22 read to his brother Rylen's 2nd grade class from home during Book Spree.

Thanks to the hard work of Curtis teachers and the support of the technology team, the technology needs of instruction during the pandemic were met and students thrived with the new technology at their fingertips. We are now a school with a 1-1 device to student ratio, and will continue to benefit from maximizing the usage of technology in the classroom.

Conclusion

While there was a need for teachers to shift in the way they taught, our priorities stayed true to the mission and values of our school. Teachers provided content but emphasized the care that was necessary in order for their students to learn and stay emotionally healthy. Fostering a deeper exploration into specific content prioritized key concepts. Technology for both teachers and students provided a consistent experience and promoted innovative ways to use new tools and programs. These positive outcomes from the past school year will have long-lasting implications for how we, as educators, examine our curriculum at every grade level and continue to strive to achieve our core values to “educate in balance” and “improve, always.”

Ms. Kolbe conducts Morning Meeting with her class on Zoom.

At Curtis, we recognize the important role grandparents play in their grandchildren’s lives. Our Head of School, Dr. Meera Ratnesar, who speaks often on this subject, reminds grandparents: “Your role as a storyteller, passing down your history to your grandchildren, is so significant to their growth. You provide our young people with context and perspective, so that they understand and appreciate those who have come before them and those who will come after us.

You inspire your grandchildren with the acts of heroism, resilience, and fortitude that people are capable of. Thank you for providing a legacy for our students and for helping to teach them how to weather life’s challenges and storms. They thrive and are better prepared for their futures because of the perspectives, resilience and optimism you share.”

Dr. Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer at Stanford University, addressed our parents and grandparents on the topic of “The Well-Balanced Student,”about parenting techniques and pedagogical strategies to increase student health and engagement with learning.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is one of the most beloved traditions in our school calendar. This past year, because of the pandemic, we were not able to host our students’ grandparents and special friends on campus. Instead, to keep the tradition alive and to stay connected, we hosted a virtual Grandparents and Special Friends Day in May, which allowed more grandparents than ever before to attend the event because it involved no travel.

In the morning, Dr. Ratnesar greeted our guests, who Zoomed in from all over the country and beyond, at a Welcome Assembly and shared personal reflections about the precious grandparentgrandchild relationship. Afterwards, grandparents attended our virtual Flag assembly along with parents at home and students in their classrooms. The highlight of the day was seeing grandparents Zoom into their grandchildren’s homerooms. Teachers planned their class’ time with grandparents in different ways. Students read notes they wrote or shared special projects or pictures they drew for grandparents. In some classes, grandparents visited with the whole group and played fun games with the children. The experience was a new one for all and was incredibly heartwarming.

Especially as we have not been able to have our grandparents on campus, we have endeavored to stay in closer touch through Grandparent CougarNotes e-newsletters and by including grandparents in virtual events. In the past year, in lieu of the tea at the Head of School’s home, donor grandparents were able to attend a lively Conversation with Dr. Ratnesar, moderated by Judy Codding, a former Curtis parent and grandparent, former Curtis trustee and noted educator. Grandparents were also invited to hear from Dr. Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, on “The Well-Balanced Student.” Dr. Pope spoke about ways students can learn to cope in today’s climate and how we can create healthier and more balanced home and school environments for children.

We so miss seeing our grandparents and special friends on campus and cannot wait to resume our in-person events with you. We welcome your interest and engagement with Curtis, are grateful for your support, and hope to see you all soon!

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Our Special Curtis Grandparents

Classes were held on the library terrace

Author visit with Jamie Sumner

“THIS YEAR WAS DIFFERENT IN SO MANY WAYS, EXCEPT IN THE WAYS THAT MATTERED.”

The annual Book Walk, a library favorite

Curbside book lending

Author visit with Alan Gratz Library mascot election candidates

By Amy Wiggins, School Librarian The Curtis School Library has always been a place where students can explore, create, discover and grow. As we faced the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the library never wavered and in fact became even more committed to its mission to develop a love of literature and build in our students a strong foundation in research skills. Far from surviving, we were able to thrive.

In the Lower Elementary, library classes were part of a new specialist rotation that allowed us to delve deeper into specific areas of literature such as story structure, genres, and book creators. We also focused on exploring stories and making connections, both of which students craved, and we saw how much joy storytime brought to them, even over Zoom.

In the Upper Elementary, the increased frequency of library and other specialist classes due to our revamped schedule in remote learning created the opportunity to complete intensive projects centered around creativity and expression, like the aptly named Creativity Project in 5th grade and The Fairy Tale Project in 4th grade. The more regular occurrence of classes also enabled us to pause and simply enjoy reading together.

A major silver lining this year was being able to meet with our 6th graders more regularly. We explored the art of short stories and how writers can have you on the edge of your seat in just a few pages. We created riveting book trailers as we explored the meaning of fair use. We looked at the news through a critical lens. It was a year of learning, fun, and preparing students for the academic adventures ahead.

Our commitment to promote reading did not stop after class time. When students were remote, we still circulated books to them through curbside pickup and had fun introducing them to new books through our Surprise Book Bag program. We drastically increased the volume of materials we offer online with new ebook, audiobook, and digital magazine programs. We also added a number of database subscriptions so that students are able to access reliable sources of information for research.

Our Author Visit program didn’t skip a beat either. In fact we hosted more authors than ever. Children’s book authors visited our classes virtually all through the year and included Jamie Sumner, Elliot Kalan, Lindsay Currie, Emily Jenkins, Jen Calonita, and Victoria Jamieson. With the partnership of local independent bookstores, we were able to host Alan Gratz and Jon Klassen as well.

While the Makerspace was closed this past year, the maker spirit stayed alive through STEAM classes for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, taught online by science teachers Mr. McInnes and Mr. Graffer and librarian Ms. Nguyen.

These classes preserved the hands-on learning that is integral to making, creating, and problem-solving.

The library has always endeavored to build community through literacy and provide a space for students to explore new ideas, find new ways to creatively express themselves, and discover something unexpected. This year was different in so many ways, except in the ways that mattered. Whether it was book club meetings on Zoom or a schoolwide library mascot election with mail-in voting via a Google form, or playing a rambunctious game of fairy tale charades, the library was and will continue to be a place where students thrive.

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The Library Didn’t Survive the Pandemic, It Thrived

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6th Grade in a Year Like No Other

By Ashley Ma, Director of 6th Grade and Secondary School Outplacement The 6th grade year is the capstone of a student’s experience at Curtis. It is a time for the students to continue to be actively involved at the school, become leaders and role models, and fully embrace all the events and moments that make their final year memorable and unique. In a year like no other, our students “showed up” in so many meaningful ways even though they could not be together in the first months of 2020-21.

Rising to the educational challenges of the pandemic, they modeled resiliency and flexibility whether remote or in person. They were eager to learn and connect with their teachers and peers. They became more adept at using technology, with classes and extracurriculars like debate and the Roots & Shoots service club conducted entirely on Zoom. Students took greater ownership of their own learning and grew in independence and confidence as they navigated the school day from home.

By mid-February, we were overjoyed to be able to bring our 6th graders back to campus for in-person learning. Seemingly overnight, we created a whole new Upper Campus on the upper field as the new home for 6th grade students and faculty. Students were excited to be back with classmates and quickly adapted to their new modular and outdoor learning spaces.

Thank you to 6th Grade Reps Ivy Bunnak, Kirsten Albrecht, Mindy Owens, and Zahara Ramji for helping to make an amazing year for our students.

One of the school’s priorities during this challenging year was to ensure that our 6th graders would be honored and celebrated, whether they were remote or on campus.

With the love and support of our deeply committed grade representatives and other Parents Association volunteers, 6th grade faculty and staff, and the school’s administration, we came together to spread joy and provide surprises throughout the school year. Along the way, among other treats, administrators delivered lawn signs and Valentine’s Day goodies to students’ homes, students enjoyed a virtual “Glow Party” on Zoom, and they were able to parade in their very own “Halloween Trot.” In the spring, our experiential learning partner, Fulcrum, facilitated a session on campus with elements of the traditional Southwest trip built in. It was a time for the students to reflect on their journey through Curtis and how they will continue to make an impact on others going forward.

Throughout the school year, school leadership and the Parents Association strongly encouraged community service. Many of our 6th grade students donated their time on a weekend and several no-school days to sort and bag clothing and essential supplies for charities serving communities in Los Angeles and at the US-Mexico border.

We are so grateful for our students’ compassionate hearts and service during this challenging year.

With graduation around the corner, we provided more opportunities for students to stay excited and connected through various activities, including Spirit Week and 6th Grade Superstars Day. One of the biggest highlights of the week was the on-campus Water Day. Each student received a personalized beach chair and enjoyed an afternoon of water activities. In June, we hosted a beautiful and heartwarming outdoor graduation ceremony and reception on the Singleton Quad, where the graduates were surrounded by friends and family.

We are extremely proud of our graduates. They remained positive, supported and cared for each other, and squeezed all the fun they could out of their year in spite of limitations. Navigating the challenges of the pandemic, our students built many personal and academic strengths to take with them to middle school, and we wish them all the best as they move on to their next adventures.

6th Grade Upper Campus

Class Sweatshirt Day Superstars Day

Lawn sign delivery Halloween Trot

Beach chair gift

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Zooming in on Debate

By D’vora Taus-Kahn, 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Debate Coach and Service Learning Mentor

It is a universal truth that the pandemic encouraged people all over the globe to consider new ways to approach the activities we had come to take for granted. Every business, including schools, had to rethink what was essential and how to creatively offer continuity. As an educator, this meant thinking about delivering content and developing skills in our students.

Zoom became a household term — a platform, a connection, a noun, a verb, and a ubiquitous lifeline that allowed us to blur the boundaries of home, school, and workplace. Zoom offered a chance to carry on with the activities that were most meaningful if we could adapt.

One activity about which I felt strongly was our debate program. Since the inception of Curtis’s debate team in 2004, I have been an ardent cheerleader of this academic sport and the myriad skills it develops. As president of the Golden West Debate League, I felt responsible not just for the Curtis students but for all the students in all the schools in our league, and when schools Chase Rudoy ‘21 (above) and shut down at the beginning of the pandemic in Haley Simon ‘21 (right page) the spring of 2020, we needed to figure out how practice with the team on Zoom. to mimic the experience of holding tournament rounds in multiple rooms where a volunteer judge weighed the merits of students’ arguments. Debate students in the 2019-20 school year had already done all their research and wanted a chance to debate, and all the coaches wanted a way to honor our students’ commitment and hard work, but Zoom was new to most of us and there was a learning curve as we discovered what was possible. Tournaments usually comprise four rounds over the course of a full day, but we were concerned about screen time and decided to hold one round per week across several weeks. It worked and let debaters maintain their enthusiasm and interact with others in a year that ended so unpredictably.

As teachers and coaches geared up for the past (2020-21) school year, everything was in flux and there were so many unknowns. Still, even though the year was going to look different from what we all had envisioned, I wanted to ensure that our debate program remained viable for our 6th graders.

Mrs. Amy Wiggins, the team’s co-mentor, and I met weekly with the team via Zoom. We helped debaters understand the topics and we oversaw rounds of practice debate. We helped them with research and structuring arguments, just as we would in any other year. We helped them develop outlines and use reasoning and evidence to support their assertions. The year in debate had its growing pains, but each of our tournaments ran better and more smoothly than the one before. The Golden West Debate League held regular tournaments in November, January, and March. The year was rounded out by our league championship in May, where one of our teams was undefeated through the regular rounds of debate and took second place for the tournament. We also had seven students — two teams plus an alternate — who competed in the MSPDP Regional Championship against students from other leagues in grades 6-8.

Throughout the year, we had students who won awards as individual speakers and for team performances.

More importantly though, debate continued to develop all the skills that make it such a rich experience: research, collaboration, listening, note taking, critical thinking, thinking on one’s feet, and even developing

The success of the debate team is due to the efforts of so many people, but we are always dependent on the support of our parents to ensure that our students' efforts bear fruit. Mrs. Wiggins and I appreciate all the time and work parents poured into this year and know how fortunate we are to have had such a committed group working with us during this unprecedented year.

It’s hard to know what the coming school year will look like. While so much remains unknown, some things I do know are that our community has been flexible and resilient. We have figured out ways to ensure our students continue to have opportunities for growth and learning.

Mrs. Wiggins and I look forward to welcoming new students to the team for what is sure to be another great year―our 19th!—of Curtis debate.

Our adaptable and hardworking 2020-21 Debate Team. Top row (l-r): Lia Bhatia, Ida Shelton, Quincy Reynolds, Justin Kirchner, Sebastian DePaulo, Michael Cohen; middle: Coach Amy Wiggins, Lila Owens, Grace Murphy, Mila Detmer, Niko Ma, Hailey Miller, Ben Mikail, Lyon Frank, Drew Fisher, Chloe Swidler, Coach D'vora Taus-Kahn; bottom: Kara Jazaeri, O.B. Mand, Sascha Kalischer-Stork, Chase Rudoy, Cameron Lasman, Haley Simon. Not pictured: Sebastian Caron, Dylan Martin, Noah Martin.

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friendships. A silver lining of this year was that due to the online format, we weren’t limited by numbers of classrooms in hosting schools, and we had more students than ever participating on the team. Debate is always a lot of work if it’s going to be done well, and that means giving up afternoons and weekends. The students who took it on at that level did consistently well at tournaments and also forged deep and lasting relationships as they bonded over shared sources, online practice sessions, and music playlists.

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AMC8 Top Scorers Celebrated In November 2020, Curtis students participated in the annual nationwide American Mathematics Competition 8. The AMC8, offered to students in 8th grade and below, is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to exercise students’ mathematical muscles and problemsolving skills.

Truman Kim

Collin Bunnak

Henry Winn

Leila Sarris

The 2020-21 year was the first time our students took this contest online and it was a new experience for all involved. Undeterred by the unknown, 74 of our 5th and 6th grade students entered the competition, and we are so proud of their willingness to challenge themselves.

After receiving the scores for our students, at flag on Zoom, our community applauded all participants and congratulated the top scorers at Curtis. These were: Niko Ma, Dylan Martin, Ben Mikail, and Ida Shelton, who received third place certificates; 5th graders Roselyn Chen and Leila Sarris and 6th graders Collin Bunnak, Ryan Olson, and Henry Winn in second place; and Truman Kim, top scorer at the school, who took first place. Congratulations to our hardworking and talented mathletes!

Many thanks to Terra Shirvanian, 6th grade math teacher and math curriculum coordinator, who continues to provide the unique AMC8 experience for our students.

Roselyn Chen

Ryan Olson

Benjamin Mikail

Niko Ma

Dylan Martin

Ida Shelton

CAMP CURTIS WAS A BLAST!

This past summer, we were so happy to offer a day camp experience for our students on our expansive and beautiful school campus. Every day, campers were able to participate in a wide variety of activities including science, art, sports, animation, and movie making. The children were also able to swim and splash around every day in our amazing Cougar pool. What a treat during this hot summer!

Each week of camp was themed and activities were planned around the theme. We had Wacky Water week, Crazy 4 Summer week, You’re a Star week, and The Magic of Stories week. We introduced numerous other surprises for the campers throughout the summer such as slip ’n slides, giant inflatable water slides, and of course shaved ice!

Camp Curtis provided campers with a month of smiles and laughter, togetherness, physical activity, and learning new skills, as well as a welcome return to a greater sense of normalcy for us all. Despite the ongoing pandemic environment, we were able to provide a fun, safe, and enjoyable summer experience for our students and we can’t wait to bring back Camp Curtis next summer.

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STUDENT VOICES Finding Purpose Beyond Ourselves: Sixth Grade Reflections Roots & Shoots is Curtis School’s voluntary community service group for students in grades 5 and 6. Despite the pandemic and our students being remote for much of the year, Roots & Shoots was a powerhouse in coordinating and supporting service activities for our community that benefited hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals and families in many different constituencies and dimensions.

Sixth grade students’ reflections on service activities from the 2020-21 school year demonstrate that Curtis compassionate hearts beat strongly.

OUR GRADUATES HAVE PURPOSE BEYOND THEMSELVES: THEY RECOGNIZE HOW THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS CAN BRING ABOUT CHANGE AND POSITIVITY, AND UNDERSTAND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE GREATER GOOD.

We are so grateful to our dedicated and hardworking Roots & Shoots faculty mentors Debbie Taus-Kahn and Debra Cohen and for our partnership with the Parents Association in facilitating service activities for our students. Ms. Taus-Kahn, Mrs. Cohen, and parent volunteers donated countless hours to planning these projects and to fulfilling Curtis’s Purpose of guiding students to recognize and embrace their responsibility to the greater good.

Blessings in a Backpack

By Lila Owens and Haley Simon

Community service has always been super important to us, and making Book Spree bookmarks for Blessings in a Backpack was a perfect way to get our Curtis community and Roots & Shoots students involved with such an amazing organization. Blessings in a Backpack helps mobilize communities across the country to provide food on the weekends for elementary school students who might otherwise go hungry. Roots & Shoots students created handmade, creative bookmarks. On the Parents Association website, they were priced as “free,” and there was an opportunity to donate an amount of the buyer’s choosing.

Even though Curtis students and parents didn't need to donate, they were extremely generous and all together we raised $188! We have learned so much from our experiences doing community service as part of Roots & Shoots. We have learned that giving back is extremely important, that we are so fortunate, and we can choose to do our part to share the opportunities we have with others.

Spooky Spirit Drive

By Chloe Swidler

The Spooky Spirit Drive was a big success. As part of our Halloween Car Parade, families were able to donate Thanksgiving and year-round food staples. At the end of the drive, the donation bins were overflowing. It was the most successful Big Sunday drive we have had. More families than ever need help getting food on their table due to the pandemic, and Curtis was able to make a difference. This year Roots & Shoots has made a difference in many people's lives. Being able to make a difference has been truly inspiring. We have made a difference in not only our Curtis community but the greater Los Angeles community. To be that person who stands up at flag assembly and educates people about the problems in the world and how they can help has made me feel part of a bigger mission. Whether you’re part of the Curtis community or not, this is your call to action to get out there and make a difference.

“By helping others, we are spreading kindness, compassion, and gratitude.”

Saint Joseph Center

By Lila Owens and Haley Simon

To give back to our local community, Roots & Shoots designed gift tags for the holiday boutique. We made the tags available as a free download, but encouraged donations that went to St. Joseph Center. The St. Joseph Center helps homeless and low-income families in Los Angeles, and their mission is “Hope through Empowerment.” Curtis has a long relationship with St. Joseph Center, and this year it was hard to be as active as we normally would—we usually bake pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving and 6th graders usually work in SJC’s food pantry or cafe. But we still found a way to help. Although the gift tags were free, our extremely generous community donated $300 that went straight to St. Joseph Center. Roots & Shoots is such a wonderful way to participate in community service while having fun.

Roots & Shoots is so important to us, since it does such amazing work with so many different organizations and empowers kids in 5th and 6th grades at Curtis to be involved with community service. By helping others, we are spreading kindness, compassion, and gratitude.

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One Warm Coat and More...

By Holt Kolodny

We have had so many incredible fundraisers in Roots & Shoots. In December 2020, we had three simultaneous holiday drives. The first drive was for One Warm Coat. Their mission is to provide free coats to people in need.

Since 1992, they have worked with volunteers to host nearly 39,000 coat drives and have given away more than 6.6 million coats across the United States. Curtis collected clean, gently-used warm coats and warm items such as mittens, hats, and socks. We also wrote positive notes to go in pockets of the coats for the people receiving them. Our community donated a humongous number of coats. It was so great to know that those in need would be warm this winter due to our support.

Second, we helped Operation Gratitude, which strives “to forge strong bonds between Americans and their Military and First Responder Heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide.” Curtis collected gently-used 8-inch plush toys that brought comfort to the troops and for troops to give to local children where they’re stationed. We donated over 300 plush toys, wrote 200 letters to deployed troops and first responders, and created 100 pieces of stationery for Operation Gratitude!

Last but not least, we had a drive for Soles4Good, which donates shoes to empower groups in underserved international communities, educates them in math and business fundamentals, and offers interest-free micro-financing to help them develop start-up shoe businesses that will provide sustainable income. Curtis alumni Ryan Pinsker ’17 and Wilson Federman ’18 are student ambassadors with Soles4Good and brought this organization to the attention of the Curtis community. Curtis collected gently-used shoes in all sizes. We donated ten extra-large 50 gallon trash bags full of shoes.

I’m so proud to be a member of Roots & Shoots, and feel we have been able to help our community in so many important ways. The pandemic has brought so many hardships to people. Roots & Shoots has made me realize that it’s important to think about the needs of others and how even small things can make a big difference in someone’s life. I’m thankful that Curtis School has such a strong community with a compassionate heart.

Los Angeles Mission

By Justin Kirchner

In the winter of 2019, Roots & Shoots collected toiletries to donate to the L.A. Mission. Though the progress of that project was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic, it did not stop us from completing our goal of helping the L.A. homeless. During this past 2020-21 school year, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders made kits out of the toiletries during their half-day service days on campus in December. Not only did we make the kits, but we included cards that we wrote with nice, supportive notes too. We successfully made over 200 kits that we donated to the L.A. Mission. Thank you to our Curtis families for all your support during this drive and all the other Roots & Shoots drives this year! It was great to know we helped people in this time of need.

GO Campaign

By Piper Federman and Quincy Reynolds The Go Campaign is a humanitarian organization that helps orphans and vulnerable children in the USA and throughout the world. This spring, we held a drive for GO Campaign to collect basic items needed by refugees at the US–Tijuana border. Sixth graders helped sort the many items collected, including diapers, suitcases, backpacks, duffel bags, shoes, toys, hand sanitizer, all types of clothing and more. The donations went to a store where refugees can shop for free and get the items they need to start their new lives. While the 6th grade was sorting, we had so much fun seeing all the generous donations, and we thank everyone who participated in this drive. We had a great time working with the Go Campaign, and helping these refugees at the border had a positive impact on us and hopefully on our Curtis community.

STUDENT VOICES Finding Purpose Beyond Ourselves: Sixth Grade Reflections

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Retirements Terri Morell Kindergarten Teacher

In June, we bid Terri Morell a fond farewell as she retired after 38 years teaching Kindergarten at Curtis. During her almost four decades at Curtis, Terri taught more than 800 children­—many of them brand-new to school—and shepherded as many families into our Curtis community, educating them about the programs, expectations, and learning experience for their child.

It is a rare gift to a school and truly exceptional that Terri taught only Kindergarten during all her time here. Often, teachers move around grade levels, but her singular commitment has been a great strength for our program both in terms of her educational expertise and her role as model and mentor not just to her colleagues but also to parents who are just beginning their journeys at Curtis. The Kindergarten experience is so formative in a child’s life, and Terri deftly nurtured the confidence and inspired the love for learning in young people that are so critical to preparing them to meet future learning challenges with joy, resiliency, and success.

In addition to her profound contributions as a teacher, Terri served on numerous task forces and on curriculum committees in almost every academic area. She was a longtime partner with admissions, administering assessments to hundreds of applicant students and welcoming new families to Curtis as a member of the Kindergarten team.

The Kindergarten year with Terri as their teacher is cherished by many hundreds of students and parents whose lives she touched. One of these is our own Admissions Director, Mimi Petrie, whose daughter Patricia ’94 and granddaughter Polly ’26 were both students of Terri. Mimi says, “That was incredibly special for our family.”

Terri has been a much valued colleague to her teaching team. Former fellow Kindergarten Teacher Deborah Seidner says, “Terri is the ultimate professional. She combines an incredible sense of humor, gobs of patience, and tremendous knowledge into one, which is why she is such an incredible ‘Leader of the Littles’ and an invaluable resource to her colleagues.” Recent Kindergarten team colleague Maribel Wallace shares, “Terri’s knowledge and expertise are an invaluable contribution to our team. [She is] a tireless professional, a helpful coworker, and a good friend.” Terri’s contributions as a mentor to new lead and associate teachers in her grade have been enormous, and she is justly proud of having mentored five associates who have been promoted to lead teachers at Curtis.

Head of School Dr. Meera Ratnesar notes, “In my observations and numerous conversations with Terri, she has reminded me that Kindergarten students should have and can meet high expectations. She treats each of her students with maturity and sophistication and always with the goal of developing their independence.

Terri reminds me that I’m her fifth head of Curtis School. It takes an immense amount of patience, flexibility, and a deep sense of loyalty to a school’s mission to teach under that many heads of school. But even more importantly, Terri has been a north star for all of the school’s transitions of leadership, and I know that I have looked to her to model for me the soul of Curtis.”

While we will miss seeing Terri around campus, we wish her joy, discovery, and fulfillment in the new adventures ahead for her.

In early March 2020, Dr. Linda Schaffer, our 4th and 5th grade science teacher, let us know that she planned to retire at the end of that school year.

Then the pandemic hit and changed the landscape of education for students for the foreseeable future.

At Curtis, the administrative leadership scrambled to evaluate options and reorganize our program for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year and the coming 2020-21 school year. In the midst of so much uncertainty, Dr. Schaffer generously agreed to defer her retirement for a year in order to provide stability and continuity in science education for Curtis students. We are so grateful to her for that, but we were not surprised by her decision, as Dr. Schaffer’s 11-year tenure at Curtis was marked by her unwavering dedication to and care for students.

Dr. Schaffer came to Curtis in 2010 as an Upper Elementary Science Teacher and the Science Coordinator for all grades. Over the course of her time at Curtis, she taught in all Upper Elementary grades, 3-6. Among her contributions as Science Coordinator, she introduced a new hands-on, inquiry-based science curriculum. She also reorganized the annual Science Expo from a 6th grade-only culminating project to an all Upper Elementary event that highlighted the science curriculum in the various grades through maker activities for visitors guided by grade-level “student experts.” The Science Expo became a much looked forward to evening for our families, with fun and educational interactive displays and demos.

One of Dr. Schaffer's many contributions to enhancing the science experience at Curtis was her integration of engineering and robotics into all grades she taught. Notably, she founded the school’s First LEGO League (FLL) robotics team, and, along with Janet Koiles (for the first year) and then co-coach Mark Gutierrez, coached our FLL Curtis Cougars team for a total of six years. Between coaching the team and teaching robotics as an after-school activity and in her regular science classes, Dr. Schaffer taught nine years of robotics to Curtis students!

Upper Elementary students have thrived in the FLL robotics program and our teams have been very competitive in area FLL tournaments. Many students who have participated have discovered a passion for robotics that they carry with them into middle school, high school, and beyond.

In addition to building the Curtis robotics program and coaching our team, Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Gutierrez gave Curtis the distinction of being an FLL practice tournament host. Our Curtis-hosted Cougar Cyberstorm tournaments have been enormously successful, bringing hundreds of elementary school children from all different areas of the city together to practice their missions, refine their technique, and celebrate their common interest in FLL Lego robotics.

In 2017, Dr. Schaffer was chosen to be a Curtis Educational Travel Fellow and received a grant that supported her travel through Alaska to look at changes in the ocean and marine organisms in the Kenai Peninsula and to study the Alpine Taiga biome in Denali National Park. As an outgrowth of her travel studies, Dr. Schaffer enriched the curriculum for her students by introducing a biome project that focused on characteristics of and global threats to biomes and was a favorite with students.

Dr. Schaffer cared deeply about her students. She nurtured their natural curiosity about the world and stimulated their desire to understand how things work. She encouraged them to ask questions, to build on what they knew, and to solve problems using scientific principles and hands-on experimentation.

A valued educator, colleague, and friend, Dr. Schaffer will be greatly missed by the Curtis community.

Speaking for us all, Dr. Ratnesar says, “We thank Dr. Schaffer for her years spent enriching our curriculum, her energy and enthusiasm for teaching, and her genuine dedication to her students. We wish her every happiness and success in her new pursuits.”

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Linda Schaffer Science Teacher

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In Memory of Headmaster Clay V. Stites (1943-2021)

Our community mourns the passing of beloved former Curtis Headmaster Clay V. Stites, who died peacefully and surrounded by his family on August 27, 2021.

Clay Stites came to Curtis after 15 years as head of Friends Academy in North Dartmouth and an earlier tenure as head of middle school at Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island. Headmaster of Curtis from 1992-1997, he brought with him his characteristic greeting of each student by name in the mornings and a wry sense of humor that is remembered by all who knew him. In addition to his administrative deftness that ensured a legacy of enriched and joyful learning for students, we owe many of our campus facilities and the school we have become to Clay’s leadership. He led the school through the 2000 Campaign that raised the funds to build the grade-level classroom buildings that we inhabit today, as well as the Kissick Pavilion, where so many treasured memories of athletic games, concerts, and community gatherings have been made. Clay was also instrumental in supporting and developing the academic curriculum to follow best practices and research in independent schools.

Mr. Stites touched the lives of so many Curtis students, faculty, staff and families with his humor, wisdom, and compassion.

Admissions Director Mimi Petrie, who was finishing her term as the Parents Association president when Clay became headmaster of Curtis, recalls, “From the very start, I was very impressed with his experience, knowledge, enthusiasm and vision for Curtis. Clay had wonderful people skills and genuinely enjoyed the relationships he had with those in the Curtis community.”

Facilities Director Jeff Albert says, “Clay gave me my first chance as an administrator many moons ago. … [H]e was like a big teddy bear because the children wanted to get close to him … they always found a way to sneak a hug around his legs.” Director of Grades 3-5 Ginger Healy remembers: “I was lucky enough to get to know Mr. Stites while he was Headmaster during my 2nd-6th grade years at Curtis. He was always friendly and greeted us all by name with a jovial sensibility each morning at the Circle. Now, as a Curtis administrator, I have a deeper appreciation of his kindness, steady leadership, and how he kept our school mission and values at the center.”

Another former student, Julia Richter, reflects: “He began the school's modernization while retaining the traditional values and warm character, preparing Curtis to enter a new phase as a leading school. As both an alum and now a Curtis parent, I am so pleased to see that this delicate but important balance remains, and consider

Dr. Ratnesar recalls meeting Clay during his final visit to Curtis in 2019: “We shared stories of leading this incredible community, and while decades separated our times at Curtis, we bonded over the challenges and joys of being a head of school. Throughout our conversation, Clay was a deep, empathetic listener and a speaker who infused his narrative with humor and profound wisdom.”

After retiring from headship in 1997, Clay worked for 24 years as an educational consultant and was one of the founding members of RG175, a firm that focuses on issues of school governance and leadership searches. Indeed, RG175 was the firm employed by the Curtis Board of Trustees for the search that brought Dr. Meera Ratnesar to Curtis as its new head of school in 2015.

Clay has left a lasting legacy in the independent school world and with all who knew him. Curtis is one of the fortunate schools that his leadership touched and transformed.

••••

Remembrances of a Good Man A personal reflection by Janna Wong Healy In 1992, when Clay Stites arrived on Curtis School’s Mulholland campus, he became the headmaster that Curtis needed at that important moment in the school’s long and storied history. I was fortunate to be a Curtis parent for 15 years, including during the Clay Stites era. And, as I was more involved in the Curtis Parents Association, I got to know him well and had the good fortune to observe him at work.

Clay was a kind, knowledgeable man, calm under pressure, with a wry sense of humor. Not only did he have immense expertise in the area of elementary

education, but he was a progressive thinker about ways to modernize it. Most importantly, he cared deeply about children, including those he would lead at Curtis.

In the 1990s-2000s, independent schools were becoming more competitive. Clay knew this and set about to make Curtis one of the top competitors in the elementary school arena in addition to one of the best feeder schools for L.A.-area independent middle schools. He did this carefully, by studying the surrounding schools, meeting with their leaders, and observing the kinds of classes the middle schools were teaching. He then set about critically thinking through Curtis’s own curriculum to make sure there was a strong correlation. For example, he noticed that middle schools prioritized lab work in the sciences, so he improved the science program at Curtis by adding laboratory experiences. He built up the arts programs to correspond to the excellence of the athletic program that Curtis has always held dear.

During his tenure, Clay dedicated himself to the development of the school’s physical plant so it matched its fabulous location. Under Clay, the temporary classroom bungalows were replaced by the wonderful and efficient permanent classrooms the students use today, each one centering around an area for teachers of the same grade to work collaboratively.

In addition, the school built a new computer lab and safe, age-appropriate play structures. Without Clay’s dedication and hard work, the campus would not have the stunning Kissick Family Pavilion, where so many wonderful school events have been held.

One more thing about Clay that I will always remember: he knew every child’s name by the first day of school so when he was in the Circle greeting them on day 1, he welcomed each one personally. This one special, caring attribute was incredibly important to the children and also to their parents, and spoke volumes about Clay’s dedication to his profession.

Clay made significant improvements to Curtis. But it was his strength of character, knowledge of education, kindness to all, and attention to the children that made him the special headmaster that Curtis should never forget.

Let’s remember that Clay took an excellent school and through his hard work and dedication managed to make it even better — the Curtis that we all know today. What a wonderful legacy left by a very special man. Thank you, Mr. Stites.

Curtis Magazine Fall 2021 | 35

it his legacy.” And, Athula Aturugirige, former longtime maintenance department supervisor, whose warm relationship with Clay has continued throughout the years, says, “It was a great privilege for me to work under his capable administration. … [H]e was an honest, kind and hardworking exemplary headmaster. …

[W]henever he came to L.A., he never forgot to visit us. The bonds and friendship he had with us remain imprinted in our hearts.”

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Alumni Year In Review What a year it's been in alumni relations! It was a year of firsts for Curtis, and the alumni program is no exception. While Curtis was unable to host any adults on campus for the majority of the 2020-21 school year, many programs designed to increase alumni engagement moved forward on Zoom. Outgoing leaders Darren Cohen ’88, president; Lloyd Bunnak ’85, vice president; and Patricia Petrie Weg ’94, secretary, worked with the school to adapt the alumni programs. We thank them for their contributions and leadership.

In the 2020-21 school year, the Alumni Council hosted virtual meetings and made them accessible to Curtis’s alumni community at large. The school increased the frequency of the alumni e-newsletter and hosted several Alumni Cougar Conversations, virtual events designed to inform alumni about what’s happening on campus today through the eyes of long-serving administrators and faculty, including “Coach” Jeff Albert, Coach Alex Chistolini, Debbie Taus-Kahn, and Debra Cohen. In March, Curtis Trustee Dr. Kevin Newman ’83 moderated a career panel with participation from Jai Bhavnani ’14, Amanda Glazer Kolodny ’85, Chris Holthouse ’05 and Sharoni Little, former trustee and parent of two Curtis alumni. While the panelists represented different industries, the Cougar spirit was palpable and the conversation was full of timeless and inspirational career guidance.

Honoring Our Newest Alumni

Touchpoints for the youngest alumni were refined in order to continue to build a strong sense of connection and alumni identity as our students graduate and matriculate to middle school. Curtis offered recent graduates an opportunity to be connected with a young Curtis alumnus to answer questions as they transition to their new schools. New this year and moving forward, each Curtis class will receive a Curtis pin personalized with their class year. Each year, a different member of the Alumni Council will present these pins and welcome the 6th graders into the alumni community.

“REMEMBER THE FRIENDSHIPS YOU MADE, REMEMBER YOUR

In spring 2021, Curtis was able to conservatively reopen to on-campus events for small groups of alumni. The Class of 2014 TAKE ALL OF THOSE WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF CURTIS AND DON’T was invited back for a reunion after their FORGET THAT IT ALL BEGAN RIGHT HERE! GO COUGARS!” high school send-off was deferred in 2020, and we were able to host Send-off for the Class of 2015. Devon Carmel ’15 and —Lloyd Bunnak ’85, Alumni Council vice president, from his address to the Class of 2021 as 6th graders received personalized beach chairs.

Kai Saken ’15, returned to speak about their journeys as student athletes from Curtis Cougars to incoming freshman in college at the adapted Sports Night for 6th grade only. At a graduation rehearsal in June, David Gross ’90, current parent and member of the Alumni Council, introduced the new pin tradition and presented pins to the Curtis Class of 2021.

TEACHERS THAT HAVE SUPPORTED YOU, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,

Our incoming Alumni Council Leadership team, President Jared Cohen ’88, Vice President Patricia Weg ’94, and Secretary Ashley Warne ’96, will serve a two-year term. As Vice President, Patricia Weg will oversee the Class Ambassador program. Curtis is grateful to have an Alumni Council team committed to increasing engagement and a vibrant social culture among our graduates.

“THE FRIENDS AND RELATIONSHIPS YOU'VE MADE HERE AT CURTIS ARE SPECIAL, AND IF YOU NURTURE THEM AS YOU MOVE FORWARD INTO THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER OF YOUR LIVES AND BEYOND, THEY WILL LAST A LIFETIME. THIS COMMUNITY IS A FAMILY THAT WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU WITH OPEN ARMS. REMEMBER TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER, BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO, GOOD THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN!”

—David Gross ’90, Alumni Council representative, from his address at the 2021 Graduation Rehearsal Pin Ceremony

Alumni Council Leadership We are thrilled to introduce you to our Alumni Council leadership for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.

A new class pin tradition was launched.

Jared Cohen ’88, President After graduating from Dartmouth, Jared worked in New York for four years in investment banking before returning to Los Angeles to earn an MBA at UCLA. Jared has been back in LA for close to 20 years working as a venture capital and private equity investor. In addition to serving on the Curtis Alumni Council for many years, he is also active in the Brentwood School Alumni Association.

Patricia Petrie Weg ’94, Vice President Patricia has worked as an insurance broker at Royal Oaks Insurance Services for over a decade. She is a past president of the Young Alumnae Council at Marlborough School. Patricia’s daughter, Polly, is in the 2nd grade at Curtis. Patricia’s passions include horseback riding, gardening, and cooking. ​​ Ashley Warne ’96, Secretary Ashley is new to the Curtis Alumni Council this year, and we are delighted that she is stepping into a leadership role. She has fond Curtis memories of hot lunch and an intense sports rivalry with John Thomas Dye School. Ashley is a financial advisor and registered principal with Raymond James. She owns a boutique wealth management practice serving families and small businesses. Ashley welcomed her son, Cooper, in March 2020.

Yes

By William

Stafford

It could ha ppen any ti me, tornad earthquak o, e, Armage ddon. It co Or sunshin u ld happen. e, love, salv ation.

It could, yo u know. Th at’s why w and look o e wake ut — no gu arantees in this life.

But some b onuses, lik e morning like right n , ow, like no on, like evenin g.

Dr. Ratnes ar shared this poem Class of 20 with alum 14 Reunio ni at the n and the Class of 20 15 Send-off .

Celebrating Our Alumni!

Legacy Breakfast The Legacy Breakfast in May was the first special event Curtis hosted on campus since March 2020. This annual event brings alumni and their current Curtis students together for breakfast at the Head’s Residence before a school day.

This year marked the final Legacy Breakfast for many who have been active in alumni affairs and whose “last child” graduated this year, including Aaron Broder ’80, Lloyd Bunnak ’85, Amanda Kolodny ’85, and DJ Prager ’87.

Sports Night Speakers Curtis’s tradition of bringing alumni student athletes back to address our families is always a highlight of Sports Night hosted by the athletic department. This year, Kai Saken ’15 and Devon Carmel ’15 gave powerful testimonies to the athletic foundation and the values they gained from their years at Curtis that prepared them for the challenges and opportunities presented to them in high school and beyond. Our alumni speakers enable current students to identify the value of what they are learning and practicing at Curtis every day.

Class of 2014 Reunion After many pandemic delays, this resilient Class of 2014 gathered and celebrated on campus in early June, when the majority were back from their first year in college. The group had a blast checking out old yearbooks, eating softserve ice cream with former teachers and coaches, and got in touch with their inner Cougar on the courts and play structures. We loved hearing the laughter and cheers when they watched their 6th grade class video!

Class of 2015 Send-Off The Class of 2015 was invited back to campus in June for the annual Senior Send-off of high school graduates. Alumni enjoyed savory and sweet snacks, including custom ice cream treats prepared upon request. The class was sent off with Curtis alumni beach blankets to enjoy their last summer in Los Angeles before heading off for their new chapters.

Plan or Join in Curtis Alumni Events If you have ideas for an event or would like to help organize one, please contact the Alumni Office.

Curtis Magazine Fall 2021 | 40

2021 Alumni Community Service Grant Winners The Curtis Alumni Community Service Grant Program has grown over the last two years. The Alumni Council was pleased to award two $500 grants in 2020 and again in 2021.

We are proud to announce the 2021 Alumni Community Service Award grant recipients, Jake Matlof and Aiden Sall, whose compassion, vision and efforts are changing people’s lives for the better.

Jake Matlof (Curtis ’18, Geffen Academy at UCLA ’24) Jake’s project organization is Books for the Better (books4thebetter. com), which collects and donates gently-used children’s and young adult books to low-income neighborhoods in partnership with non-profit organizations in South Los Angeles.

In his grant application, Jake wrote that “family and the Curtis School fed this passion with unlimited access to books,” but “not all kids are so lucky.” He explains, “As I became more aware of inequalities around us, I realized that I want to share my love [of books] with families who may not be able to afford books for their children. As part of my Bar Mitzvah project, I launched the drive by emailing friends and family. That first year, I received and donated over 1,600 books! When I first started delivering books, I handed a Spiderman book to a little boy who lit up when he saw it. It was a very heartwarming experience and drove my decision to make the drive annual to excite more kids about reading.”

Jake Matlof

This year alone, Books for the Better Book Drive collected approximately 3,700 books that will go to various organizations in South Los Angeles including One to One Outreach, Girls Club of Los Angeles, The Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center, and Community Build. The book drive has also donated to the L.A. prison system, El Nido Family Services, Miss Carol’s Daycare Center in Athens Park, Wise Readers to Leaders, and the community of Yaxunah in the state Yucatán, México.

The grant money will enable Jake to purchase boxes (as bags aren’t sturdy enough and don’t allow for organized and efficient delivery) and possibly a storage unit. Any surplus will be donated directly to One to One Outreach to help fund household goods and supplies for low-income families.

Aiden Sall (Curtis ’17, Notre Dame High School ’23) Aiden’s project organization is A Sense of Home (asenseofhome.org), an after-foster-care volunteer community that helps change the lives of foster youth who have aged out of the foster care system by creating homes for them in order to prevent homelessness. Thanks to A Sense of Home, more than 1,500 former foster youth and their children are in more than 600 fully-furnished homes and are truly safer today.

After donating hygiene kits to the organization, Aiden was inspired to do more and applying for the grant was the first step in his dream of building an entire home for a family, in partnership with other Curtis alumni families. Aiden writes, “Even during COVID, when many of us are somewhat sick of our homes, I can’t help but to think of all the ‘aged out’ foster kids who no longer have a home to protect them. This Curtis School Alumni Community Service Grant opportunity came at the optimal time for me to recognize the need and hopefully help with a solution.”

Aiden’s grant essay highlighted his deep compassion and desire to support the many foster kids who “no longer have a roof over their head, food on the table, or a family to be loved by” because “by law, these kids must be discharged from their foster care homes on their 18th birthday.”

Aiden Sall

The Alumni Council thanks all of the young alumni who participated in the grant process for giving so generously of themselves to so many worthy causes and for stewarding Curtis’s mission of a compassionate heart within the larger Los Angeles community.

Finalists Tessa Augsberger ’16 Global Youth Climate Database

Mission: “Connects members of the climate action movement, communicates the risks and science behind climate change, and teaches the public how to take action.”

Chad Bacon ’16 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

Kristina Megerdichian ’17 School on Wheels

Mission: “To tutor children experiencing homelessness in California between Kindergarten and Twelfth Grade.”

Sophia Yassinger ’17 Round Table

Mission: “Dedicated to finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases.”

Mission: “To create a space for teen cross-cultural and interracial dialogue, to build bridges, shifting from misinformation to mutual respect with teens from different backgrounds who all live in the same city.”

Lexi Eskovitz ’17 Masks By Lex for Save The Children

Mission: “To support (with 100% of proceeds from mask sales in Etsy shop) Save The Children, the first global movement for children’s rights.”

Class Ambassadors The Class Ambassador program is growing, with an increasing number of class years represented and the kickoff of the important data collection initiative. We hope you will respond when your class ambassador reaches out to confirm your contact information. In addition to receiving event invitations, the alumni electronic newsletter, and the Curtis Magazine, you won’t want to miss out on the huge celebration we are planning to mark Curtis’s 100-year anniversary in the 2024-25 school year.

Thank you to all of our current ambassadors!

1974 - Scott Brittingham 1977 - Anne-Marie Cordingly 1979 - Allan Schweitzer 1985 - Shana Levin Zarcufsky 1986 - Sandra Hucker 1988 - Jared Cohen 1988 - Jonathan Levine 1990 - Andrew Hunt 1994 - Julia Richter 1995 - Nicole Davidson 1996 - Max Mednik 2000 - Samantha Berry 2001 - Samantha Moray 2003 - Iman Nanji 2005 - Brian Harwitt

2005 - Chris Holthouse 2006 - Hallie Brookman 2008 - Julie Spinner 2011 - Jaren Savage 2012 - Jack Shane 2013 - Chase Brindley 2013 - Megan Chang 2013 - Antonio Pimentel 2014 - Reza Shamji 2014 - Katie Suchniak 2014 - Bianca Sjoenell 2014 - Jaya Nayar 2014 - Elton Sjoenell 2014 - Jack Dudley

2015 - Grace Gordon 2015 - Betsy Bass 2016 - Isabella Welsh 2016 - Sarah Mittleman 2016 - Georgie Weinstock 2017 - Angelita Chew 2017 - Kristina Megerdichian 2017 - Sophia Yassinger 2018 - Jake Matlof 2018 - Avery Degus 2018 - Lexi Eskovitz 2019 - Maya Harrison 2019 - Julia Nehorai 2020 - Addy Ma 2020 - Jojo Friedman

Volunteer!

We need Class Ambassadors for the class years 1970-2012. Ambassadors keep their former classmates connected with Curtis by sharing information of interest to alumni, including events, initiatives, and news.

It’s a great way to reconnect with former classmates while helping Curtis build our alumni network!

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Applauding All Grant Application Finalists

Jonathan Levine (’88) shares, “While the opportunities to physically be back on campus have been limited, my son (entering the 2nd grade this fall) was so happy to be back on campus this spring and it was so fun to be able to join him for the annual Legacy Breakfast.”

Jonathan is having fun representing his Curtis Class of ’88 as an alumni ambassador and he would love to hear from some old friends.

Alumni Class Notes 1950s Bill Sprague

1970s Anne-Marie Cordingly (’77) shares, “I am teaching Kindergarten part-time this fall and enjoy living in D.C. and Warrenton, Virginia. I am grateful for my education from Curtis School! I continue to keep in touch with Mary Glad Morton and Susannah Olch ’77.”

1980s

John Bingham

John Bingham (’57) shares, “Volume three of my Hangtown trilogy, Hangtown, The Dark Night, was released this year.

It is available online as an ebook or paperback. I'd love to hear from my classmates. I am retired, except for writing, living in San Diego, the father of six children and nine grandchildren.

I'm eager to hear about your life adventures.”

William (Bill) Sprague (’59) has retired in Texas, where he is enjoying “a better quality of life and no state income tax.”

He chats with Curtis classmates Willon Henderson ’59 and Clem Meyberg ’60.

Amanda Glazer Kolodny (’85) lives in West Los Angeles with her husband, Jeff, son, Holt Kolodny ’21, and their dog, Otis. Holt, who graduated from Curtis in June, is attending Windward School. Amanda writes, “We will miss Curtis and the wonderful community but plan to stay in touch as much as we can.”

Tanya (Svirsky) Berenson (Curtis graduation)

Amanda Glazer Kolodny and Holt

*Alumni are identified by their 6th Grade class year regardless which year they graduated or left Curtis.

Tanya (Berenson) Svirsky (’89) writes that she was an Olympic coach “heading the USA team to gold this past summer in Tokyo as a member of Team USA.” Tanya attended Curtis from K-8th grade, taking part in basketball, volleyball, and soccer for Curtis School and helping her teams win many titles. Tanya lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, Elie Seckbach, a Fox News reporter, and their newborn son, Ari.

Nicole Faeth (’90) Former Curtis parent Ms. Gilda Faeth of Palm Springs, California, announced the engagement of her daughter, Nicole (Nicky) Faeth, to Jonathan Allan Goldstein. Nicky, the daughter of the late Michael Faeth, is a public relations consultant with a master's degree in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. Her fiance, the son of Charles and Francine Goldstein of Beverly Hills, is an attorney licensed in California, Nevada, and Washington D.C., with a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School. The couple plans to be married in late 2021.

Nicole Faeth

Todd Cohen (’91) shares, “My wife, Danielle, and I are thrilled that our oldest son, Adam, is a Cougar starting Kindergarten this fall. Class of 2028!”

The Cole Family

Jeffrey Porter (’91) is the director of technical operations with LiveControl. io, “a startup seeking to democratize high-quality video production.” He is also freelancing as a technical director and lighting and sound designer for theater, “now that it is finally coming back again.” Jeffrey is proud to have served on the Curtis Alumni Council for more than ten years.

Christina (Barren) Dunlop (’93) and her husband, Jonathan, welcomed their second child, Rose Harper Dunlop, into the world on March 3, 2021. Christina shares that Rose’s big brother, Oliver, adores his little sister.

Christina (Barren) Dunlop

Max Mednik (’96) Max's son, Benji, is excited to be a Kindergartener at Curtis this fall. He's stayed busy this summer building large LEGO sets and going to camp. Meanwhile, Max stayed busy this summer building his latest startup company, Epsilon3, which creates operations and testing software for the space and robotics industries. His company was invited to be part of the Y Combinator batch this summer.

The Mednik Family

David Gross (’90) has been an agent in the television department at CAA for the last seven years. Prior to CAA, David was a network programming executive at the NBCUniversal and A&E networks. David and his wife, Anna, and daughters, Ariana (’25) and Alexa (’28), moved to Encino two years ago, and the family loves living close to Curtis and their friendships with Curtis families in the area. David enjoys being involved in the Curtis Alumni Council, reconnecting with fellow classmates and helping the alumni community grow.

Julia Richter ('94) writes, “I’m delighted that my son Tanner will start Kindergarten this year and continue the family Curtis Cougar tradition! It's been a joy to see how Curtis has retained the warm community feel and focus on a well-rounded education while modernizing and leading an important path forward for this generation and the next.”

Marshall (’96) and Jennifer Cole welcomed their third child, Margaux, to their family on March 12, 2020. Older brother James (’28) is in Kindergarten at Curtis, and sister Caroline hopes to become an official Cougar in 2022.

Curtis Magazine Fall 2021 | 43

1990s

Curtis Magazine Fall 2021 | 44

Emma Limor

Ryan Shuwarger (’97) tells us he has “been married for eight years to my wife Emily whom I met during my investment banking job in New York right out of college. We were cubicle neighbors and got to know each other during our never-ending hours of work. We now live in Los Angeles and have two children, Natalie (3 years old) and Rory (10 months old), and we are busier than ever. Despite being cooped up at home during the pandemic, Emily and I have really enjoyed the abundance of family time. I now work at Amazon Studios in Strategy for Original Movies, while Emily works at Disney in Strategy for ABC TV network.”

was also head of customer service at a children's vitamin startup called Hiya.

He says, “I traveled the world and am now at home focusing on perfecting my golf and poker games while continuing my passion for investing.” He says he is “still and will always be best friends with [Curtis classmates] Elton Sjoenell, Bianca Sjoenell, Jack Dudley, Landon Richardson, Joe Terenzio, and Jack Malins, and still [is] so close with so many Curtis friends like Connor O'Brien, Finn Gatins, Alec Davila, Tassilo, etc.” He adds, “One day I hope to come back and play everyone at Superstars Day and eat as much as I can during International Lunch Day.”

2000s Nicholas (Nick) Chuba (’04) received his first full composer credit on the Netflix documentary about the college admissions scandal, “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal,” which he scored along with Atticus Ross and Leopold Ross.

Nick wrote the music for the “Mortal Combat” trailer that came out in early 2021 as well as the trailer for “Joker” with his friend/writing partner Matt Cohen. He also scored a new miniseries called “Dr. Death” that recently came out on Peacock, with Atticus Ross and Leopold Ross. The soundtrack album was released in July.

Christina Tribull (’08) works at Ralph Lauren, in New York City, where she was recently promoted to manager of the Global Marketing team. Christina works on global campaigns across Ralph Lauren’s fragrance, eyewear, and watches and jewelry initiatives.

2010s Reza Shamji (’14) “Rainbow Reza” shares that his time at Curtis was “some of the best years of my life and I thank you, all the faculty and staff, my friends, for creating a foundation for me to be the person I am, as happiness stemmed from being a Cougar.” Reza took a gap year last year before beginning college this fall, as he wanted to have a traditional college experience. During the gap year, Reza worked on the Biden campaign and

Patrick DeMarco

Patrick DeMarco (’15) is attending Penn State University on a baseball scholarship. Patrick spent most of his summer at Penn State for baseball workouts and a few classes. He’s excited to start his college baseball career and hopes to play professionally after college.

Emma Limor (’15) graduated from Harvard-Westlake in 2021 and is attending Princeton University. She plans to major in Operations Research Financial Engineering (ORFE). After celebrating her graduation with a twelve-day vacation to Hawaii with family, she worked at HarvardWestlake, teaching debate to students, and also worked in the mountains of Colorado. In her free time, Emma

enjoyed hiking and kayaking in Colorado and spent her last week of summer fly-fishing in Montana. Emma is very excited for the next chapter in her life and living on the East Coast for the first time. She is grateful for her time at Curtis and thankful for the teachers she had, the education, Headmaster Smailes, and the friendships she made.

Alexandra “Ally” Lynch (’15) After two years of an exciting recruitment process, Ally was thrilled to commit to play Division 1 soccer at Clemson University. In high school, she was a member of the Harvard-Westlake Varsity Women’s Soccer team that won the CIF-SS Division 1 Championship and the CIF-State Regional Division 1 Championship. Ally will be

pursuing degrees in business and sports communications, while actively staying involved in community service projects involving food allergy research and advocacy.

Alumni, Did you welcome a baby into your life?

Let us know, so we can send you a special Curtis Cougar Pride onesie and plush cougar toy for your little one. Contact Alumni Relations Manager Alexis Shuster at ashuster@curtisschool.org.

Ally Lynch

Jasper Stratton (’15) was admitted to Northwestern and offered a preferred walk-on position on the football team. Jasper arrived at Northwestern in June to begin conditioning with the team and to take a summer school class. He is really enjoying Evanston and Chicago and is especially grateful for the opportunity Coach Fitz has given him.

Sarah Mittleman (’16) shares, “Since graduating from Curtis, my life has changed in so many unexpected ways. Even in elementary school, I knew I loved writing, which is why I joined the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle staff and wrote for the Opinion section. I'm actually co-editing the section this year with one of my closest friends from Curtis, Caroline Jacoby (’16). I also write a satirical column, ‘The Mittle-man on Campus,’ for the website, once every two weeks, which has been such an incredible experience. In other news, I plan to pursue my passion for arguing as a senior and will be a co-captain of the Harvard-Westlake Mock Trial team.

Thanks to my new attorney skills, I was able to convince my parents to adopt two Maltese puppies in May. I'm still close with so many Curtis friends, and I always look forward to catching up with them at the fair every year.”

Our Cougar swag collection is growing.

This year, we gifted our alumni legacy students a custom Curtis Legacy t-shirt, and presented our 6th graders with a 2021 class pin.

Curtis Magazine Fall 2021 | 46

Magazine & Annual Report 2020-21 Contributors Piper Federman ’21 Rob Friedman Ginger Healy ’97 Janna Wong Healy Earleen Kennedy Justin Kirchner ’21 Monica Kirchner Holt Kolodny ’21 Janet Lee Ashley Ma Justin McInnes Tessa McKeown Lila Owens ’21 Mimi Petrie Dr. Meera Ratnesar Quincy Reynolds ’21 Dan Rothbauer Chuck Sawyer Corinne Schulman Terra Shirvanian Alexis Shuster Haley Simon ’21 Chloe Swidler ’21 D'Vora Taus-Kahn Amy Wiggins Photography Jennifer Cansick Sharon Eshaghoff Matthew Fienup Elyse Frelinger Dede Haglund Matt Harris Jon Kirchner Monica Kirchner Lauder Photography Michel Lim Ashley Ma Moloshok Photography Karen Nguyen Matt Sayles Alexis Shuster Amy Wiggins Thea Wolf Design + Illustration SMOG Design, Inc. Jeri Heiden Ryan Corey Printing Colornet Press Curtis School 15871 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 publications@curtisschool.org

Curtis is committed to caring for the environment. This publication uses paper from responsible sources and soy-based inks.

Mission To develop, in every child, a sound mind in a sound body, governed by a compassionate heart.

Vision By pioneering programs that inspire engaged, healthy, and empathetic young learners to embrace the next phases of their education and lives with joy, confidence, and purpose, Curtis School sets the standard for elementary education in the Greater Los Angeles area and beyond.

Purpose Our graduates are dexterous learners: they have learned how to learn and are intellectually curious, agile, and inspired to be problem seekers as well as problem solvers.

Our graduates have healthy, sustainable habits of body and mind: they understand that the mind and body connect and take responsibility for living healthy lives.

Our graduates know and understand the impact of their own character on others: they are aware of their feelings, regulate their actions, and empathize with others.

Our graduates have purpose beyond themselves: they recognize how their contributions can bring about change and positivity, and understand their responsibility to the greater good.

Values Educate in balance Equal emphasis of academic, physical, social-emotional, and character education is the guiding principle that defines a Curtis education.

Improve, always The Curtis community has a growth mindset which is modeled by faculty and staff who dedicate themselves to the best practices in their craft.

Roam freely Curtis children have space to learn and play on their campus and feel safe and secure.

Embrace diversity Children learn best, and flourish most, when they encounter perspectives, people, backgrounds, and experiences other than their own. Diversity, equity, and inclusion speak to our highest ideals for a just society.

Cherish childhood Childhood is brief and precious, a time of limitless potential and essential development. It is also a time to be savored for its own wonders, as it will not come again. A Curtis education honors these truths.

Live with purpose In all we do, a Curtis education strives to provide students with the skills, tools, and sense of purpose they need to be good people.

@curtisschoolalumni

@curtisalumni

www.facebook.com/curtisalumni

Annual Report 2020-2021

Contents 4

Letter From the Board Chair

5

Board of Trustees Report

10

School Finances 2020-2021

12

Parents Association Report

16

Curtis Celebrates!

18

Sixth Grade Class of 2021

20

Class of 2015 College Matriculation

22

Curtis Fund Leadership

24

Report on Philanthropy

35

Ways to Give & Legacy Society

36

Milestones of Service

Curtis School 15871 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 476-1251 Publications@CurtisSchool.org

On the Cover Students were happy to be back on campus and resumed their customary recess play activity without skipping a beat.

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 3

“Childhood is brief and precious ... a time to be savored for its own wonders, as it will not come again.”

Skeletons, mermaids, unicorns and other fabulous incarnations enlivened campus when the Developmental Kindergarten students had their very own Halloween Parade. In mid-October, DK was the first grade able to return to in-person learning.

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 4

Letter from the Chair of the Board of Trustees Dear Curtis Community, On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank all Curtis families, past and current, as well as our amazing faculty and staff for the strong philanthropic and emotional support that made both the 2020-21 Curtis Fund and school year a great success. In addition, I want to thank the Parents Association for the countless ways it has helped create a supportive and inviting community during a very challenging year. The Parents Association, under the leadership of outgoing President Monica Kirchner and in partnership with the administration, was remarkable in its commitment to help sustain the Curtis spirit. Given a year of multiple challenges, they turned each one into opportunities for Curtis to shine. Thank you, Monica, for your leadership and friendship. They say it takes a community, and I’m proud to say ours has rallied and stayed strong and supportive to provide our students with the best experience and most robust education possible.

The Friedman Family (l-r): Jolie ’20, Rob, Brooke ‘18 and Shari.

At the end of the school year, we bid farewell to four long-standing trustees, Sharoni Little, Shadi Daneshrad, Alex Nehorai and Priscilla Sands, who dedicated incredible amounts of time and effort to Curtis. Sharoni served for 12 years and brought her educational expertise, grace, and her collaborative and strategic spirit to this board. She was a respected thought leader, a founding member of the DEI Committee, and a co-chair of the Committee on Trustees.

Shadi Daneshrad served on the Curtis board for six years. During her tenure, she stayed incredibly active, both leading and serving on the Advancement Committee, the Committee on Trustees, as well as the Building & Grounds Committee. Alex Nehorai served on the Curtis Board for six years. During his tenure, Alex served as Executive Committee Treasurer and a valued leader of the Building & Grounds Committee and the Finance Committee. His input on all manner of decisions was integral to the board. Priscilla Sands served on the Curtis board for five years.

She was an invaluable voice to the board and Meera. We thank Sharoni, Shadi, Alex and Priscilla for their dedication to Curtis School! We know they will always have Curtis in their thoughts.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new board members for the 2021-22 school year: Ryan Boccuzzi, Dr. Dana Coleman, Elizabeth English, Leslie Vermut, and Thea Andrews Wolf. We are fortunate to add the talents and range of experience of these individuals to our board. I encourage you to read about them in the pages that follow.

As I reflect on the past year, I couldn’t be prouder of how Curtis has distinguished itself in delivering on all things for our kids. Under Dr. Ratnesar’s leadership, our students have had a best-in-class education—starting in a virtual environment and transitioning to in-person—with thoughtful, adaptive pedagogy, expanded resources and technological support, and always with the health and safety of our students and faculty given priority in every decision during this pandemic.

It is my honor and privilege to serve as Board Chair and to work alongside Dr. Ratnesar and our extraordinarily dedicated and thoughtful board. I am forever thankful for all that this amazing school has meant to me and my family.

Go Cougars!

Rob Friedman Chair, Board of Trustees

Board Of Trustees 2020-2021 Rob Friedman, Chair Tracy Minker ’88, First Vice Chair Allan Schweitzer ’79, Second Vice Chair Steve Chang, Treasurer Vanessa Keith Garcia, Secretary Erikson Albrecht Kavitha Bhatia Dilip Bhavnani Shadi Daneshrad Sharoni D. Little Jim Miller ’90 Alex Nehorai Kevin Newman ’83 Priscilla Sands Craig Varnen Jon Wimbish Rachel Yang

2021-2022 Rob Friedman, Chair Vanessa Keith Garcia, First Vice Chair Tracy Minker ’88, Second Vice Chair Steve Chang, Treasurer Dilip Bhavnani, Secretary Erikson Albrecht Ryan Boccuzzi Kavitha Bhatia Dana Coleman Elizabeth English Jim Miller ’90 Kevin Newman ’83 Allan Schweitzer ’79 Craig Varnen Leslie Vermut Jon Wimbish Thea Wolf Rachel Yang

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 6

Welcome To Our New Trustees We are excited to welcome five new trustees to the board this year. Our trustees contribute valuable expertise and experience in education, non-profits, finance, administration and more to their roles on the board. We are so grateful for the willingness of these new trustees and all of our board members to serve Curtis School.

RYAN BOCCUZZI

DANA COLEMAN

Ryan Boccuzzi is an educator with more than 15 years’ experience in independent schools. He is currently the Upper School Director at Brentwood School, a position he has held since 2015.

Dana Coleman is a lifelong educator whose passion for teaching began when she was a teacher for special needs high school students. A native Angeleno, she has a particular interest in supporting the students of Los Angeles and has done so as a teacher, special education coordinator, and principal in public schools.

Ryan grew up in Connecticut and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Colby College. He immediately transitioned from student to teacher after college, starting his educational career by teaching physics, coaching soccer, and working in the residential program at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. His time at Worcester was his first real exposure to independent schools, and in his first year of teaching, Ryan knew this was the career path for him. He returned to graduate school with administrative aspirations, earning a Master of Arts degree in private school leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

After completing his master’s, Ryan joined Rolling Hills Prep and Renaissance Schools in San Pedro, where he taught physics and served as dean of students before being named the director of middle and upper school. Ryan then transitioned to Brentwood School to become Upper School Director but still remains involved in the classroom through the 9th grade ethics seminar he teaches.

Ryan and his wife, Elsa, live in Los Angeles and take any opportunity they can to explore the outdoors, whether hiking near the city or backpacking around the world.

Edgar, their yellow lab/basset hound mutt eagerly joins in the fun whenever he is allowed.

Currently, Dana is a consultant to local independent schools, sharing her knowledge and research about the schooling experiences of marginalized communities as they navigate independent schools. She is also an affiliate faculty and program administrator in the Department of Educational Leadership at Loyola Marymount University and serves as a board member of the LMU Doctoral Association. Dr. Coleman is a frequent collaborator with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing as a program reviewer, is a former Bias Committee member, and collaborates on staterequired credentialing assessments.

Previously, Dana served on the board of directors for Common Ground, Westside HIV Community Center, and as an advisory board member for Venice Family Clinic. She is a current member of the parent board at her son’s school.

Dr. Coleman holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from Loyola Marymount University.

Dana and her husband, Ché, are the proud parents of middle schooler Ché Thomas. When not watching their son play baseball, they enjoy international travel and live concerts, and they have two very spoiled dogs.

Elizabeth English is the Head of School at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles.

She has served as an educational leader in both independent and public schools across the country for over 30 years, with a focus on building ethical school culture and excellence in teaching and learning through research. She holds a B.A. in English from Skidmore College, an M.A.T. from Tufts University, and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

Under Elizabeth’s leadership, Archer has become known for its ambitious and engaging curriculum as well as its inclusive and joyful ethos. Notable accomplishments include establishing multiple university research partnerships to inform teaching and learning; building a powerful and collaborative professional community among teachers; introducing an integrated STEM program that has resulted in more than a third of Archer graduates majoring in the STEM fields in college; and furthering nationally recognized programs in dance, theater, and student journalism.

Ms. English began her career as an English teacher at the Emma Willard School in New York, one of the oldest girls’ schools in the country and since then has been a passionate and devoted advocate for girls’ schools everywhere.

LESLIE VERMUT Leslie Vermut brings to the Board of Trustees extensive experience in financial investment in the private sector as well as working with non-profits. She is also an academic who taught at the university level. Ms. Vermut is the founder of and adviser to Weinberger Asset Management, Inc., an independent, private wealth management firm that specializes in investment management and financial and retirement planning. Prior to starting Weinberger Asset Management, Leslie was a securities analyst and portfolio manager at TIAA-CREF, an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Business, and a consultant to the hedge fund Victoria Partners.

Ms. Vermut joined the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Board of Directors in 2003 and currently is in her second term as vice-chair of the board. She is also

vice-chair of the board’s Executive Committee and Executive Personnel Committee and co-vice-chair of the Investment Committee. In addition, she is a member of the Cedars-Sinai Health System Board of Directors, Nominating & Governance Committee, and board representative on the Medical Executive Committee. Prior to serving as vice-chair of CedarsSinai's Board of Directors, Leslie was secretary of the board for two years.

Leslie’s philanthropic efforts also include her past service to the Brentwood Homeowner’s Board, where she was treasurer for over 20 years. She is a current member of the Council of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

Ms. Vermut received her B.S. from New York University, her M.B.A. from City University of New York, and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma National Honorary Society.

Leslie and her husband, Tom Weinberger, are the proud grandparents of Miri Weinberger (’28), and her little sister Brie.

THEA ANDREWS WOLF Thea Andrews Wolf is a veteran television news journalist who has worked as a producer, national correspondent, and anchor for networks in the United States and Canada, including ESPN, ABC, CBS, and CTV. An active volunteer in the Parents Association, Thea has held several roles within the PA and served three terms on the Executive Committee. She led the Parents Group on Inclusivity (PGI) for two years, spearheading parent education initiatives and organizing forums for parents and faculty to support the school’s ongoing work in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Passionate about causes dedicated to helping at-risk women and children, Thea serves on the Executive Board of Visionary Women, a non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing the status of women by funding high-impact initiatives for women and girls.

Thea holds a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree from Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada. She and her husband, Jay, are the proud parents of sons Tucker (’24) and Jack (Curtis ’20, Brentwood School ’26).

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 7

ELIZABETH ENGLISH

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 8

Board Committees 2020-2021 Executive Committee Rob Friedman, Chair Tracy Minker ’88, First Vice-Chair Allan Schweitzer ’79, Second Vice-Chair Steve Chang, Treasurer Vanessa Keith Garcia, Secretary Advancement Committee Dilip Bhavnani, Chair Jim Miller ’90, Chair Kirsten Albrecht Curtis Estes Shane Fermelia ’84 Rob Friedman, Ex officio Elana Gimbel, Curtis Fund Participation Chair Monica Johnson, Curtis Fund Participation Chair Tracy Minker ’88 Sean Olson Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Chuck Sawyer, Director of Curtis Fund Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement Allan Schweitzer ’79 Lauren Stewart Thea Wolf Rachel Yang Audit Committee Craig Varnen, Chair Rob Friedman, Ex officio Sarah Wetzstein Rachel Yang Buildings & Grounds Committee Alex Nehorai, Chair Allan Schweitzer ’79, Chair Jeff Albert, Director of Facilities Erikson Albrecht Steve Chang Shadi Daneshrad Rob Friedman, Ex officio Harshith Ramesh Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Dan Rothbauer, Chief Operating & Financial Officer Brad Schwartz Jon Wimbish Rachel Yang

Committee on Trustees Dilip Bhavnani, Chair Vanessa Keith Garcia, Chair Kavitha Bhatia Shadi Daneshrad Rob Friedman, Ex officio Sharoni Little Jim Miller ’90 Tracy Minker ’88 Allan Schweitzer ’79 Craig Varnen Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Erikson Albrecht, Chair Sharoni Little, Chair Rob Friedman, Ex officio Earleen Kennedy, School Psychologist & Community Liaison for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Janet Lee, Director of Equity, Curriculum & Instruction Aaron McGruder Tracy Minker ’88 Kevin Newman ’83 Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Thea Wolf David Yang Finance Committee Steve Chang, Chair Allan Schweitzer ’79, Chair Kate Fox, Director of Accounting Rob Friedman, Ex officio Ann Kono Alex Nehorai Kevin Newman ’83 Harshith Ramesh Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Dan Rothbauer, Chief Operating & Financial Officer Noah Shore

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 9

Strategic Alignment Committee Kavitha Bhatia, Chair Kevin Newman ’83, Chair Erikson Albrecht Rob Friedman, Ex officio Ginger Healy ’97, Director of Grades 3-5 Karoline Hilu Louis Hsieh Vanessa Keith Garcia Janet Lee, Director of Equity, Curriculum & Instruction Ashley Ma, Director of 6th Grade & Secondary School Outplacement Aaron McGruder Tessa McKeown, Director of Lower Elementary Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Pricilla Sands Karla Sayles Jon Wimbish Master Planning Sub-Committee (Buildings & Grounds) Rob Friedman, Ex officio Jerry Neuman Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Dan Rothbauer, Chief Operating & Financial Officer Karla Sayles Allan Schweitzer ’79 Craig Varnen

School Finances Operating Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021

0.4%

Net Parents Association Fundraising

OPERATING INCOME Tuition, Fees & Other

$16,081,000

87.5%

Investment Income1

$20,000

0.1%

Total Operating Income

0.1%

5.5%

Investment Income

Restricted/Draw

6.5%

$16,101,000

Unrestricted Gifts

GIFTS, CONTRIBUTIONS & DRAWS Unrestricted2

$1,200,000

6.5%

Restricted Funds/Endowment Draw

$1,010,000

5.5%

$75,000

0.4%

Net Parents Association Fundraising Total Contributions Total Revenue

87.5%

Tuition, Fees & Other

$2,285,000 OPERATING INCOME, GIFTS & CONTRIBUTIONS

$18,386,000

OPERATING EXPENSE3 Salaries, Benefits & Educational Programs Facilities Non-Recurring COVID-19 Expenditures4

General Administration Financial Aid Total Expenditures

10.6%

Financial Aid

$13,100,000

66.8%

$1,810,000

9.2%

$927,000

4.7%

$1,697,000

8.7%

$2,075,000

10.6%

8.7%

General Administration 4.7%

Non-Recurring

9.2%

Facilities

66.8%

Salaries, Benefits & Educational Programs

$19,609,000 OPERATING EXPENSE

Financial figures in this report reflect the Board-approved 2020-21 school year revised budget.

Net deficit is due to COVID-related expenses not covered by the Annual Fund.

Investment Income plan reflects bank interest only estimate. Curtis School’s operating budget does not include investment fund (endowment) growth or interest estimates.

2 Unrestricted Gifts reflects Annual Fund goal.

3 Operating Expense includes fixed-asset purchases and excludes depreciation. Facilities includes planned PPRSM funding. Financial Aid includes tuition remission.

4 Expeditures for facilities and technology upgrades, supplies, personnel, rentals, and other expenses related to operating the school in accordance with COVID-19 mitigation guidelines, in remote, hybrid and in-person environments.

1

As of 6/30/2021

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 11

To provide the physical distancing needed to protect the health of our students and teachers, the Kissick Pavilion was completely transformed for the 2020-21 school year, with partitions that created two large classrooms for Developmental Kindergarten.

Top left: PA Executive Committee members Courtney Mack, Asst. Treasurer Sue Tran, Lisa Condren, Kristin Campbell, Mindy Owens, Monica Kirchner, Advancement Director Corinne Schulman, Philippe Mayer, Sharon Eshaghoff, Heather Bath, Katherine Meyer, Makala Williams-Singleton (not pictured: Alana Kagan).

Right and bottom: Practically New and Cougar Wear volunteers distributed items curbside. Other parent volunteers guided service projects, decorated the 6th grade modular classrooms, and handed out treat buckets at our Spooky Spirit Drive.

Dear Curtis Community, As I reflect on this past school year, I remain in awe of how we came together as a community to persevere through a year of unknowns. We saw no boundaries or limitations; instead, we embraced the challenge of each day with hope and opportunity. I have never been prouder to be a member of this Curtis community.

I witnessed firsthand the commitment and dedication shown by every teacher, staff member, administrator, trustee, and fellow parent and guardian. It was inspiring. And in moments of struggle, virtual hugs helped us endure.

My goal as your Parents Association president was simple: to keep the heartbeat of Curtis strong. With an The Kirchner Family (l-r): Monica, Justin ‘21, Milena ‘23 and Jon. incredible team of parent volunteers, along with strong faculty, staff, and administrator partnership, we accomplished this goal and then some. While nothing started or finished as usual, almost every Parents Association community tradition was honored and celebrated in some way.

We planned the year one month at a time, never looking too far ahead, but always seeking moments of togetherness. Some of the innovative highlights included the car parades that our volunteers created to be extraordinary experiences, the drive-in movie party book evenings, our extensive community service projects that reflected our huge Cougar hearts, and of course our first-ever virtual Curtis Celebrates! event with students guessing which Curtis faculty or staff member was Turkey, Minion, Smoothie, or Darth!

When I imagined what representing Curtis as the Parents Association president would be like, I never imagined the challenge and emotion that this past year brought. But today, writing this letter, I also never imagined the feelings of pride and accomplishment that resulted. The spirit of being a Curtis Cougar has made us stronger than ever. It was the abundance of little things that we did together that made our hearts so BIG this year.

Thank you for your partnership to make a difference in the lives of our children, families, employees, community, city, and school.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Monica Kirchner Parents Association President, 2020-21

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 13

A Year of Determination and Spirit

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 14

Parents Association 2020-2021 Our Parents Association was stronger than ever through this past pandemic year. The Parents Association was determined to keep our community engaged and our families connected with the school and one another. They reinvented, with endless energy, nearly every event and activity that they traditionally provide for our school and demonstrated once again that one of Curtis's greatest assets is our parent and guardian force. We couldn’t be prouder of the strength, determination, and commitment of our parents. Their hard work, creativity, and devotion helped make a challenging year for our school community one filled with moments of laughter, caring, and Cougar spirit.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

2ND VP COMMITTEES – ADMISSIONS LIAISON

Monica Kirchner, President Lisa Condren, 1st Vice President – Communications Sharon Eshaghoff, 2nd Vice President – Admissions Liaison Katherine Meyer, 3rd Vice President – Fundraising Courtney Mack, 4th Vice President – Community Alana Kagan, 5th Vice President – Enrichment Mindy Owens, 5th Vice President – Enrichment Philippe Mayer, Treasurer Kristin Campbell, Recording Secretary Makala Williams-Singleton, Corresponding Secretary Heather Bath, Immediate Past President Sue Tran, Assistant Treasurer

1ST VP COMMITTEES – COMMUNICATIONS

Grade Representatives Meredith Rettinger-Silver, Developmental Kindergarten Sanaz Tavakoli, Kindergarten Patricia Weg, 1st Grade Rakhee Alston, 2nd Grade Sharon Eshaghoff, 3rd Grade Elsie Mendoza, 4th Grade Randie Kleinman, 5th Grade Kirsten Albrecht, 6th Grade Ivy Bunnak, 6th Grade Mindy Owens, 6th Grade Zahara Ramji, 6th Grade

New Parent Liaisons Khalief Dantzler Lara Dolecek Matt Harrigan John Peters Meg Resnikoff Daniela Sheahan Orly Tabibi Patricia Weg

Lost & Found Melissa Albrecht Rachel Kirenga Practically New Uniforms Kelly Decker Sherri Martin Gail Middleton

3RD VP COMMITTEES – FUNDRAISING Boutique Sharon Eshaghoff Stacey Fish Sherli Mikail Cougar Wear Clare Apelian Carolyn Huang Danyel Lau Michele McGruder Daniela Sheahan Renee Yang Curtis Celebrates! 2021 Seda Bayrak Yasmine Maghami Amanda Miller Amita Ramesh Jenny Smiley Lauren Stewart Fundraising Marketing and Website Manager Kristin Campbell

STANDING COMMITTEES

Fundraising Members-at-Large Alli Katz Mindy Owens

Table Captains Sapna Abrol Seda Bayrak Galit Donnelly Beverly Galashan Jaya Hathaway Carolyn Huang Seema Kamal Rachel Kirenga Lisa Neman Zaheeda Rahemtulla Foujan Sakai Karla Sayles Jiwon Song Tracee Williams Tiffany Yeargin

Party Book Katie Gebhard Schackne Naomi Gloege Nathalie Grohe Karla Sayles 4TH VP COMMITTEES – COMMUNITY Book Spree Amy Chidiac Jen Hilton Randie Kleinman Elsie Mendoza Carlye Morgan Zaheeda Rahemtulla 5TH VP COMMITTEES – ENRICHMENT Buds Melody Jazaeri Yasmine Maghami Rayna Marz Betsy Miller Curtis Cares Community Service Sapna Abrol James Degus Ashita Shah Bohra Salimah Shamji Families Helping Families Karen Frankel Eryn Kilstein June Lee Casondra Ruga Go Global Sapna Abrol Melissa Bretz Amorette Brooms Ashley Josephson Yasmine Maghami Erin Novak Christine Zenjiryan Seedlings Nathalie Grohe Natalie Javaheri Danyel Lau Yasmine Maghami Rayna Marz Kathy Simonian

Go Global Car Parade Creative Efforts Kathy Simonian

Go Global International Cookbook Stacey Fish Meredith Rettinger-Silver Dianna Sternberg Historian Susan Lynch PA Members-at-Large David Hilton Nancy Meidel PA Past Presidents Heather Bath Susan Lynch Spooky Spirit Drive Stacey Fish Alana Kagan Carrie Scotti Kathy Simonian Jenny Smiley Dianna Sternberg Treasury Committee Kristi Estes, Chair Ines Cho Rachel Kirenga Sheila Lawrence Julie Quinn NOMINATING COMMITTEE Heather Bath, Chair Lisa Condren Kristi Estes Stacey Fish Karen Frankel

Nathalie Grohe Zaheeda Rahemtulla Marla Raminfar Makala Williams-Singleton Thea Wolf ROOM PARENTS Tracy Akselrud Melissa Barshop Lisa Beaubaire Kristin Campbell Janet Choi Jenny Cole Lisa Daley Leena Fakhri Sarina Fierro Stacey Fish Sandra Fox Karen Frankel Katie Gebhard Schackne Jean Getson Jaclyn Golditch Nathalie Grohe Jen Hilton Cassie Holmes Carolyn Huang Rose Hubbard Ariane Klein Ann Kono Kathy Laxer June Lee Courtney Mack Nicole Manuel Sherri Martin Rayna Marz Max Mednik Nancy Meidel Betsy Miller Tracy Minker Sheila Nazarian Jill Peters Navoda Portley Amita Ramesh Meg Resnikoff Casondra Ruga Karla Sayles Jenny Smiley Lauren Stewart Seema Stewart Kiera Strain April Topp Rosemary van Vlijmen Yelena Vayner Melanie Wayne Tracee Williams Renee Yang Erin Yari Tiffany Yeargin Shana Zarcufsky

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 15

Curtis Spirit 2020-21 Annabelle Apley Courtney Glickman Weiss Gillian Heckendorf Carrie Scotti

The Parents Association hosted its annual spring fundraiser, Curtis Celebrates!, as a first-ever virtual event designed for the whole family.

The Masked Cougar kept us guessing for weeks about who was behind the Minion, Darth, Turkey, and Smoothie costumes. The night was filled with excitement and anticipation to find out who would be the winning performer as our families gathered around their screens. Thank you to the PA for creating this heartwarming event that kept us laughing, rooting, and sharing the evening as one big Curtis family.

Event Sponsors Seda & Aykut Bayrak Bhavnani Family Uri & Stacy ’83 Blackman Kimberly & Casey Borman Elizabeth & Geoffrey Braiman Tina & Glenn Caron Shirley Che & Vincent Chen Jenny & Alex Cole The Cutler Family Stephen Daly & Lisa Hamilton Daly Christine & Oliver De La Hoz Lindsy Forbess & Mauricio de la Lama Paulette & Audney DePaulo Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff Bob & Michelle Etebar Kirsten Albrecht & Marc Evans Michael & Heather Ezer The Fakhri Family Angela & Daniel Feiner Louis & Shane ’84 Fermelia The Fish Family Haley & Adam Fisher John & Sandra Fox Kris & Beverly Galashan Jill & Brian Glennon Cameron & Naomi Gloege David ’90 & Anna Gross Vanessa Montes-Gubin & Morgan ’91 Gubin Jacqueline & Daniel Harman Jaya & Jordan Hathaway

Cara Sands & James Heckenberg The Heckendorf Family Jennifer & David Hillman Jennifer & David Hilton Dr. Cassie and Mr. Rob Holmes The Hubbard Family Lina & Jeffrey Jasper Nadia & Joshua Javaheri Yizhou Sun & Ning Jiang Monica & Cory Johnson Ciara Castro & Gabriel Johnson Brooke & Barry Josephson Alana & Matthew Kagan Alli & Austin Katz Earleen Kennedy Moe & Brandy Keshavarzi Jin Sun Lee & Eugene Kim Mr. & Mrs. Jon Kirchner Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee Jonathan ’88 and Britt Levine Dr. Yasmine Fattahi Maghami & Mr. Steve Maghami Jacquelyn & Anthony Marciano Johann and Elsie Lai Mendoza Andrew & Katherine Meyer Gail & Windell Middleton Andrew & Amanda Miller Rebecca Mall & John Miller Samantha & Jason Milner Desiree & Kiarash Neman

The Novak Family Golnaz & Mark Paya The Daws-Pecano Family Jill & John Peters Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan Raiman Harshith & Amita Ramesh The Ramji Family The Rudoy Family The Sayles Family The Schumer Family The Silver Family The Smiley Family Dianna & Justin Sternberg Orly & Carlo Tabibi Dr. Terence Tao & Mrs. Laura Kim The Torres Family Chelsea & Mark Vahradian Ali & Alex Weinberger Roee & Melissa Wiczyk The Wineburgh Family Eric & Elizabeth Witt Thea & Jay Wolf Rainie Ye & Aaron Yang David & Renee Yang Erin & Shawn Yari Laura & Mo Zahrawi

Financial Aid Fund Donors The Akselrud Family The Apley Family Misha & Navin Assomull Steven VanDeBogart & Melissa Barshop ’92 The Bath-Reynolds Family The Bhavnani Family Elizabeth & Geoffrey Braiman Kimberly & Daniel Branscome The Campbell Family Jennifer Cansick Steve & Julia Chang Dr. Lara Dolecek & Dr. Tyson Condie Khalief & Henry Dantzler Christine & Oliver De La Hoz Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff The Esmaili Family The Ewald Family Karen & Scott Faulhaber Gina & Jeff Favre Louis & Shane ’84 Fermelia Aidan & Jackie Foley Missy & Jimmy Fox John & Sandra Fox David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson Shari & Rob Friedman Scott Friedman & Catherine Gopaulsingh Kris & Beverly Galashan Cameron & Naomi Gloege Todd & Jaclyn Golditch David ’90 & Anna Gross Dede & Tom Haglund Jacqueline & Daniel Harman Mara & Steve Hawn Ginger Healy ’97 Jennifer & David Hilton Dr. Cassie & Mr. Rob Holmes Danny & Carolyn Huang The Hubbard Family (Rose ’99) Nadia & Joshua Javaheri Monica & Cory Johnson Alli & Austin Katz Jin Sun Lee & Eugene Kim Mr. & Mrs. Jon Kirchner Alan & Randie Kleinman Michele & Daniel Lasman

Danyel & Chris Lau The Lawrence/Frazier Family Jonathan ’88 and Britt Levine Heidi & Brandon Liebman Wendy Luan & Benjamin Lu The Ma Family Tom & Ashley Ma Dr. & Mrs. William Mack Dr. Yasmine Fattahi Maghami & Mr. Steve Maghami Michael & Erin Mand Jacquelyn & Anthony Marciano The Martin Family Rayna & Brandon Marz The Mayer Grohe Family Nicole & Travlin McCormack Michelle & Aaron McGruder Elisabeth & Justin McInnes Tessa & Joseph McKeown Samantha & Jason Milner Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker The Molina Family Mr. John Morris Candice & Daniel Naysan Atoosa & Alex Nehorai The Novak Family Navoda & Calvin Portley Sol & Stephanie Poursalimi Dr. Marcella & Mr. David Press Dr. Meera Ratnesar & Mr. John Querio Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan Raiman Harshith & Amita Ramesh Arash & Marla Raminfar The Rivera Family Sara & Grant Ross Daniel Rothbauer The Rudoy Family Dr. Priscilla Sands Polly & Michael Sarris Ms. Kyoko Sasaki The Sayles Family Corinne Schulman Brad Schwartz & Karen Weiss Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer The Seib Family Matthew & Daniela Sheahan The Silver Family The Singleton-Williams Family The Smiley Family Seema & de Winter Stewart Frank Stork & Katrin Kalischer-Stork Dr. Terence Tao & Mrs. Laura Kim The Topp Family The Torres Family Chelsea & Mark Vahradian Craig & Ashley Varnen Ali & Alex Weinberger Sarah & Mark Wetzstein Roee & Melissa Wiczyk Mr. Don Ho & Dr. Rachel Yang David & Renee Yang

Drs. Christopher & Nelly Zahiri Laura & Mo Zahrawi Shana ’85 & Matthew Zarcufsky Christine & Armen Zenjiryan

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 17

We are grateful for the generosity of all who responded during the event to a special request for direct support for the Curtis Financial Aid Fund. These gifts help ensure the school’s ability to offer admission and provide continuing support to students who would otherwise not be able to attend Curtis.

Congratulations! Sixth Grade Class Of 2021

Secondary School Placement

The Archer School For Girls

1

Berkeley Hall School

2

Brentwood School

18

The Buckley School

1

Campbell Hall

5

Curtis teachers, administrators, and staff maintain

Century Community Charter School

1

a close partnership with our students and

Chaminade College Preparatory

2

Corpus Christi School

1

support our graduating families during middle

Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences

2

school outplacement. While the process was a bit

Geffen Academy at UCLA

1

Gilmour Academy (Ohio)

1

Harvard-Westlake School

17

be admitted to some of the most highly regarded

Marlborough School

3

secondary schools in Los Angeles and beyond.

Oaks Christian School

2

Old Mission School (San Luis Obispo)

1

Viewpoint School

1

Windward School

7

families. These relationships, and knowing our students as individuals, are instrumental as we

different this year, with changes to the admissions procedures and the ability of students to tour and interview at schools, our students continued to

We congratulate the Class of 2021 and wish our graduates every success as they begin their new educational journeys.

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 19

Sixth Grade Class Of 2021 Sixth Grade Awards

ACADEMIC AWARD

CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Recognizes the student who has continually displayed outstanding effort and achievement in all subject areas of academic work. Faculty selection.

Recognizes the student who has continually contributed to the betterment of Curtis School and the student body. Faculty selection.

Sebastian DePaulo Ida Shelton

THREE-RULE AWARD Recognizes the student who exemplifies the school motto of kindness, honesty, and respect for oneself and others.

Faculty selection.

Sebastian Caron Rebecca Stoll

Kara Jazaeri Justin Kirchner

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARD The 6th grade students were asked to reflect on their time at Curtis and to identify two students who, through their actions, consistently inspired peers to become better people. Selected by the 6th grade class.

Charlotte Joe Chase Rudoy

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 20

Matriculation Of The Curtis Alumni High School Graduates Of 2021

Sixth Grade Class Of 2015 Congratulations to our alumni who graduated from high school in 2021. Given how quickly the world changed this spring, we realize that they were unable to enjoy many of the rites of passage of the end of their senior year.

We are proud of their hard work, adaptability, and resilience. The members of this class will matriculate to some of the finest and most esteemed colleges and universities in the United States, and abroad. We are confident that each of these remarkable young people will continue to pursue their education and passions with enthusiasm and purpose, and will use their knowledge, talents, and compassionate hearts to make our world a better place.

Jennifer Barger • University of North Carolina,

Julian Kay • The American University of Paris

Chapel Hill

Jagger Lambert • New York University

Betsy Bass • University of Virginia

Addison Levey • Santa Clara University

Adam Blackman • University of Michigan

Aidan Levine • University of Miami

Rebecca Boyle • University of Southern California

Emma Limor • Princeton University

Paul Brindley, III • University of Texas, Austin

Alexandra Lynch • Clemson University

Francesca Cappello • University of Southern California

Jacqueline Maatta • Santa Monica College

Devon Carmel • University of Miami - Rosenstiel

Sebastian Mayer • Tulane University

School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

Astrid McQuaide • Bard College

Derek Cayton • University of Pennsylvania

Drew Mickelson • University of Miami

Alexandra Chavez • University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jackson Muller • Santa Clara University

Zachary Chayet • Tulane University

Jade Neuman • University of Miami

Lauren Cho • University of California, Berkeley

Sophie Nicoll • University of California, Los Angeles

Olivia Clark • King's College London

Tanner Nott • University of Colorado, Boulder

Madeleine Codding • Dartmouth College

Daniel Novikov • University of Southern California -

Molly Cole • Southern Methodist University

Thornton School of Music

Louise Cutter • Carnegie Mellon University -

Kai Saken • University of Wisconsin, Madison

School of Drama

Joel Sanchez • Knox College

Bennett Daneshrad • University of Michigan

Katherine Schwartz • Tulane University

Patrick DeMarco • Penn State University

Asher Schwartz • Washington University in St. Louis

Alexandra Du Manoir • New York University -

Ava Shore • University of Colorado, Boulder

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

Rafael Singer • Boston College

Jacob Engelberg • Washington University in St. Louis

Emma Sklar • University of Michigan

Phoebe Eskovitz • New York University -

India Spencer • Colby College

Tisch School of the Arts

Jasper Stratton • Northwestern University

Michael Fourticq, III • Villanova University -

Ryan Suchniak • DePaul University

Villanova School of Business

Liam Sullivan • George Washington University

Samuel Geiger • Colorado State University

Jacob Suomi • University of Utah

Alexandra Gillespie • Colby College

Alex Thibiant • University of Colorado, Boulder

Violet Goldstone • University of Southern California

Jackson Treiger • Stanford University

Grace Gordon • Tulane University

Jessica Tuchin • Brown University

Phoebe Greenspan • Washington University

Parker van Dyk • Loyola Marymount University

in St. Louis

Reece Vandeweghe '14 • University of Chicago

Andrew Gussman • University of Miami

Jake Verny • University of Arizona

Peyton Hansen • Southern Methodist University

Connor Webster • Tufts University

Jackson Harris • University of Miami

Isabella Whitney • Barnard College of

Ryan Iken • University of Indiana

Columbia University

Hannah Joe • Wesleyan University

Lael Williams • Emory University

Rosemary Jones • Gap Year followed by

Reagan Wortmann • United States Air Force Academy

cosmetology school

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 21

Matthew Arredondo • Occidental College

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 22

Curtis Fund Leadership The success of our annual fundraising depends in large part on the sustained and thoughtful effort of a number of individuals. Members of the board of trustees, school administrators, and parent volunteers collectively devote hundreds of hours to helping Curtis meet its fundraising goals, contributing to planning and advising, and serving as liaisons within our community. We are deeply grateful to the following, who worked with exceptional purpose, vision, and energy to ensure the success of the 2020-21 Curtis Fund campaign.

Leadership Gifts Committee

Curtis Fund Grade Ambassadors

Dilip Bhavnani, Chair Jim Miller ’90, Chair

Developmental Kindergarten Michelle Etebar Syldy Nida Dianna Sternberg

Kirsten Albrecht Curtis Estes Shane Fermelia ’84 Rob Friedman, Ex officio Tracy Minker ’88 Sean Olson Dr. Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Chuck Sawyer, Director of Curtis Fund Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement Allan Schweitzer ’79 Lauren Stewart Thea Wolf Rachel Yang

Curtis Fund Participation Chairs Elana Gimbel Monica Johnson

Kindergarten Carolyn Huang Rebecca Mall Rayna Marz First Grade Seda Bayrak Stacey Fish Jason Hild Rebecca Hild Jonathan Levine ’88 David Press Laura Zahrawi Second Grade Jana Augsberger Sonja Harrigan Charles Hsieh Third Grade Karen Frankel Meredith Rettinger-Silver Jenny Smiley Jeffrey Weiss ’89

Fourth Grade Melissa Bretz Yasmine Maghami Golnaz Saedi-Paya Fifth Grade Sharon Eshaghoff Allison Katz Nancy Meidel Daniela Sheahan Chelsea Vahradian Sixth Grade Shelly Detmer Erin Mand Gary Sayble Kiera Strain

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 24

Report On Philanthropy

We are deeply grateful for the critical support provided by our donors in 2020-21 as our school faced many unexpected costs and daunting challenges resulting from the ongoing COVID pandemic. The generosity of so many was instrumental to our ability to continue to provide the exceptional educational experience that is a hallmark of Curtis, both remotely and in-person, and enabled the school to make the investments in facilities and personnel that were essential to creating a healthy and safe campus environment for all.

We gratefully acknowledge these donors who increased their gift to Curtis in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Curtis Fund

The Curtis Fund is vital to the school’s financial strength. Gifts to the Curtis Fund provide support for nearly every area of school operations, including educational programs, salaries and benefits, financial aid for students, and maintenance and improvement of the campus and facilities.

Importantly, gifts to the Curtis Fund also enable the school to take advantage of new opportunities in all areas of programming and operations.

FOUNDERS CIRCLE ($50,000+)

Curtis Parents Association The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation ^ Louis & Fenfang Hsieh Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer Alex von Furstenberg & Alison Kay ^

BENEFACTOR CIRCLE ($25,000-$49,999)

The Ahmanson Foundation Kirsten Albrecht & Marc Evans Tiffany & Bennett Koo Thea & Jay Wolf

HEAD OF SCHOOL CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999) Anonymous (2) Bank of America Foundation Drs. Sunny & Kavitha Bhatia Bhavnani Family ^ Tina & Glenn Caron Steve & Julia Chang Howard & Lada Cheng Roy & Janet Choi ^ Jenny & Alex Cole ^ Niki & Terence Cole ^ The Daws-Pecano Family Allison & John de Neufville Shelly & Mark Detmer Mr. Michael Dreyer

Rachel & John Edwards Curtis & Kristi Estes Bob & Michelle Etebar ^ Michael & Heather Ezer The Fakhri Family ^ Louis & Shane ’84 Fermelia ^ Haley & Adam Fisher Katelyn Rader Fisher ’96 ^ Shari & Rob Friedman Kris & Beverly Galashan ^ Jill & Brian Glennon Jaya & Jordan Hathaway Mr. Don Ho & Dr. Rachel Yang Kissick Family Foundation Alan & Randie Kleinman Danyel & Chris Lau ^ Kathy & Kevin Laxer ^ Susan & Ryan Lynch Glenn & Debra Martin Nancy & Greg Meidel Kirstin & Carl Meyer Jim Miller ’90 & Betsy Miller ^ Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker Mr. John Morris Ann & Greg Myer Sheila & Page Nazarian Nevada Community Foundation Rachel & Ryan Ogulnick ^ Holly & Sean Olson Dr. Meera Ratnesar & Mr. John Querio

Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla ^ Harshith & Amita Ramesh ^ Raymond James Jennifer Danto Shore Noah Shore Jiwon & Steven Song The Tomsic Family Craig & Ashley Varnen ^ The Walt Disney Company Foundation Haley ’99 & Adam Weidenbaum ^ Leslie Vermut & Tom Weinberger Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden David & Renee Yang ^

COUGAR CIRCLE ($5,000-$9,999)

Anonymous (2) AF Double Eagle American Endowment Foundation ^ Vinod & Nirmila Assomull Amy & Adam Bass Seda & Aykut Bayrak ^ Kristin & Aaron Bendikson Linda Guerrero & Brett Berkowitz The Boeing Company ^ William Lazarus & Brian Bumbery The Charlotte Friedman Foundation

Lauren Noecker & Christian Robert Dylan & Casondra Ruga ^ Drs. Jisun & Monica C. Ryoo Brad Schwartz & Karen Weiss Matthew & Daniela Sheahan ^ Debra Shuwarger ’87 ^ Mr. & Mrs. Robert Shuwarger ^ Ryan Shuwarger ’97 ^ The Siklos Family Kathryn & Eddy Simonian Brian & Lauren Stewart The Sugimoto Family Uneek Roee & Melissa Wiczyk Eric & Elizabeth Witt ^ Michele Wyman ’89 ^ Rainie Ye & Aaron Yang Erin & Shawn Yari

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE ($3,000-$4,999)

The Abrol Family ^ AIG Alex Albert & Alexandra Goodyear Dina & Daniel Aspen The Bath-Reynolds Family The Beker Family Mr. Arun Bohra & Ms. Ashita Shah Shirley Che & Vincent Chen Susie & Timothy Cheng DaeJin Cho & SaeHae Lee Jared Cohen ’88 Dr. Jeffrey & Rachel Cohen Dr. Lara Dolecek & Dr. Tyson Condie Paulette & Audney DePaulo Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff The Esmaili Family ^ The Federman Family ^ Betty Goldie Ellie & Ron Goldie Jacqueline & Daniel Harman Rebecca & Jason Hild Karoline & Joseph Hilu ^ The Jazaeri Family Alli & Austin Katz Kilstein Family Jin Sun Lee & Eugene Kim Young & Jackie Kim ^ Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein ^ Anna & Mark Kreymer Macy & Daniel Lai The Larson-Seehorn Family ^ Dr. & Mrs. William Mack

Dr. Yasmine Fattahi Maghami & Mr. Steve Maghami Michael & Erin Mand Merrill Lynch Carlye and Michael Morgan Atoosa & Alex Nehorai Desiree & Kiarash Neman Lisa & David Neman ^ Simin & Isaac Neman Netflix Cleveland O’Neal & Maisha Pajardo-O'Neal Arash & Marla Raminfar Sara & Grant Ross Charlene & Victor Sands The Sharma Family The Silver Family Jim & Stephanie Sokolove Dianna & Justin Sternberg ^ Todd Swidler & Sarah Mlynowski Dr. Terence Tao & Mrs. Laura Kim The Topp Family Chelsea & Mark Vahradian Melissa Barshop ’92 & Steven VanDeBogart ^ Brian & Suzanne Watson Ali & Alex Weinberger Sarah & Mark Wetzstein The Wineburgh Family ^ Jennifer Yen & David Bell

ASSOCIATES ($1,500-$2,999)

Himanshu Agrawal & Audrey Anhood The Alston Family ^ Floriana & William Anhood The Azarbal Family Samantha Billett Rosenblum ’97 Uri & Stacy ’83 Blackman Kimberly & Casey Borman Jeri & Ken Braiman Melissa Bretz ^ The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation ^ Dr. Lawrence & Jane Z. Cohen Barbara & Jonathan Cole Marshall ’96 & Jennifer Cole ^ Mr. & Mrs. Colin Condren Stephen Daly & Lisa Hamilton Daly ^ Sabrina & Adam Daneshgar The Daneshrad Family Christine & Oliver De La Hoz

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 25

Carla & Antonio Cue ^ Tom & Mary Alice Davidov Design I, Inc. Mr. & Ms. Gavin & Galit Donnelly Angela & Daniel Feiner ^ Aidan & Jackie Foley John & Sandra Fox Eli & Karen Frankel Diane Friedman Elana & Jon Gimbel Todd & Jaclyn Golditch ^ Good Old Lew Foundation ^ Cara Sands & James Heckenberg Dr. Cassie and Mr. Rob Holmes ^ Mr. Huiqing Hu & Dr. Fan Dong Lina & Jeffrey Jasper Natalie & Benjamin Javaheri The Jay and Rose Philips Family Foundation/Levin and Zarcufsky Families Vinod & Jayashree Jivrajka ^ Ms. Ciara Castro & Mr. Gabriel Johnson Monica & Cory Johnson ^ Ashley & David Josephson Brooke & Barry Josephson Alana & Matthew Kagan Moe & Brandy Keshavarzi David & Jennie Kim Mr. & Mrs. Jon Kirchner ^ Sean & Ann Kono ^ Mark & Nicole Manuel Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation Rayna & Brandon Marz Natasha & Tim McCaffrey ^ The McFerran Family Johann and Elsie Lai Mendoza ^ Andrew & Katherine Meyer Andrew & Amanda Miller ^ Samantha & Jason Milner Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc. ^ Ellie & Amir Mossanen National Christian Foundation Robert & Syldy Nida ^ Northwestern Mutual Foundation The Novak Family Mindy & Mark Owens Jill & John Peters ^ Sol & Stephanie Poursalimi The Resnikoff Family Laura & Michael Richter

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 26

Curtis Fund Marvin & Patti Demoff Earl B. Gilmore Foundation Greg & Jessie Ezor Karen & Scott Faulhaber The Fish Family Fortress Investment Group, LLC ^ Joann & Terry Gloege ^ David ’90 & Anna Gross ^ Nicole Davidson Guadiana ’95 ^ Laurie & Chris Harbert & Family ^ Lylle Breier & Andrew Henderson Jennifer & David Hillman ^ Jennifer & David Hilton ^ Diane & Henry Hilty Katie & Phil Holthouse Dr. Susanna Tran & Mr. Charles Hsieh ^ Danny & Carolyn Huang ^ Stacy & Jeffrey Jacobsen Nadia & Joshua Javaheri Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles Yizhou Sun & Ning Jiang Michael Joe & Jenny Cohen Joshua J. Fine Jewelry Kris & Robert Joyce Christopher Keyser & Susan Sprung Amanda ’85 & Jeff Kolodny Joyce & Ryan Komori Ruth J. Lavine

The Lawrence/Frazier Family Jung & Ted Lee ^ Heidi & Brandon Liebman Wendy Luan & Benjamin Lu The Lugash Family Mark & Esther Magna Dr. & Mrs. Jay Mall Jacquelyn & Anthony Marciano ^ Nicole & Travlin McCormack Michelle & Aaron McGruder ^ Suzanne & Max ’96 Mednik ^ Carolin & Kia Michel Microsoft Corporation Joan & Wayne Miller Rebecca Mall & John Miller ^ MUFG Union Bank Candice & Daniel Naysan Kevin Newman ’83 & Amy Weimer ^ The Palumbo Family ^ Golnaz & Mark Paya ^ Laura & Evan Pozarny Dr. Marcella & Mr. David Press Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan Raiman Isaac Sakhai & Foujan Neman Sakhai Polly & Michael Sarris ^ Gary & Susan Sayble Corinne Schulman The Shamji Family The Slootweg Family The Smiley Family Steven L. Soboroff ^ Mr. Brent Tasugi ’93 The Tuchin Family ^ Annie Wald-Shipp Weingart Foundation ^ Courtney & Jeffrey ’89 Weiss ^ Jane & Tien T. Yang Drs. Christopher & Nelly Zahiri Laura & Mo Zahrawi

FRIENDS (TO $1,499)

Anonymous (7) ^ Gillian & Jeffrey Albert Revs. Janet & William Albrecht Brianda & Esteban Alvarado AmazonSmile Foundation Jasmeen & Banmeet Anand Clare & Stephen Apelian ^ The Apley Family Misha & Navin Assomull ^ The Augsberger Family

Sarah Ballas ’03 Christina Banks The Regan ’09 Banvard Family Hratch Bardekjian Mr. & Mrs. David G. Barela Drew Beckmeyer Jordan Bender ’02 Gail & Neil Berlant Adam Blackman ’15 Jennifer Weiss & Jay Blecker Martha Blumenthal ^ Jason Bohle ’88 & Jennifer Rundell Laura Bomes ’03 Stephen & Barbara Bomes Brian Border ’85 Kathryn Brady Elizabeth & Geoffrey Braiman Autumn L. Brannon Kimberly & Daniel Branscome ^ Jeff & Mary Bretz ^ Buch Family Connor Bunnak ’18 Lloyd ’85 & Ivy Bunnak Nop & Ock Bunnak The Campbell Family Marion & William Campbell ^ Trina Capka Devon Carmel ’15 Jill ’85 & David Carmel Sydney Carmel ’17 Mr. & Mrs. Barry Cayton Derek Cayton ’15 The Chan/Gatins Family Margaret Lee & Donald Chang Megan Chang ’13 Mark & Christine Chapman L. Ashton Chase Jr. ’72 Alexandra Chavez ’15 Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Chistolini Mr. & Mrs. Danny Chu Dan Chuba & Katherine Holmes-Chuba Sue Chung Jordan & Carly Church The Cody Family Drs. Danielle & Todd ’91 Cohen Debra & Andrew Cohen Alexandra Conrad Anne-Marie Cordingly ’77 Devon & Sean Corrigan Karen Bell & Robert Cox Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Coyne Jr. ^ Sandra & George Creznic

Morgan Gubin ’91 & Vanessa Montes-Gubin ^ Nancy & William Gubin ^ Andrew Gussman ’15 Deena & David Gussman Mark Gutierrez Dede & Tom Haglund Victoria Haglund ’09 Jim & Nini Halkett Steve Hall Samy Harbert ’07 Alexandra Harper Sonja & Matthew Harrigan Ben Harris ^ Mara & Steve Hawn Ginger Healy ’97 Jack William Healy ’04 Janna & Neil Healy ^ The Heckendorf Family Mr. & Mrs. Jose Henriquez ^ Matias Henriquez ^ Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Henry Mr. & Mrs. Eladio Hernandez ^ Jennifer Hicks Soo Hong Mr. & Mrs. Con Howe Mr. Chris Hruby The Hubbard Family (Rose ’99) Sandra Hucker ’86 Ms. Karen Ivy Todd ’93 & Arielle Jackson Allison ’83 & Mark Jacoby Catherine & Cuong James The Kapsos/Fernandez Family Nancy & Richard Katz Elizabeth Kaufman ’98 The Kay Family Ana & Bill Kenah Earleen Kennedy Rose & Alex Kirenga Mr. & Mrs. Howard Kreshek (Emily ’80) Janie Kreshek ’12 Katie Kreshek ’10 Daniel Kromolowski ’99 Mr. & Mrs. Jerzy Kromolowski Jagger Lambert ’15 Scott & Alexandra Lambert James & Lilas Lane ^ Michele & Daniel Lasman London Laxer ’20 Janet Lee Jongmin Lee & Lee Chu

Tim & Bernadette Leiweke Donielle Lemone-Bulmer ^ Katherine Lenis Carole & Arthur Levine Jonathan ’88 & Britt Levine Mr. & Mrs. Michel Lim

Sharoni D. Little Sara Klevens & Joseph Loewenbein Dara Burdette Looney ’89 Erika & Arturo Lopez Mr. & Mrs. John Low Sally Loyd Orell Lumpkin & Amorette Brooms Patrick Lynch The Ma Family Tom & Ashley Ma ^ Deena & Bill Mack Hripsime Margaryan Claudia & Hugo Marquez Chris Matthews The Mayer Grohe Family Ms. Raylene Mayer The Mazursky Family Foundation Linda McCormack ^ Sandra McGarry Elisabeth & Justin McInnes ^ Katherine McKenna Tessa McKeown The McKnight Family Mr. & Mrs. Mark Mickelson ^

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 27

The Cutler Family ^ The Cutter Family Louise Cutter ’15 Bennett Daneshrad ’15 Khalief & Henry Dantzler Lindsy Forbess & Mauricio de la Lama Kevin ’89 & Jennifer Demoff Dr. Ramani Durvasula Pamela Eisenstein Patricia & Ramon Escolin Gideon Evans ’19 Janet Farrant Gina & Jeff Favre Gregory Favre Angela Favreau ^ Judie Fenton ^ Francisco Fernandez Sarina & Angelo Fierro ^ Kevin Figueroa Karly Fontaine The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Michael Fourticq ’15 Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq Fox Corporation Kate Fox Missy & Jimmy Fox Mr. Samuel Fox & Ms. Gail Ellis Coco Francini ’98 Nanette Francini David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson Kelly & Adam ’89 Gafni Jennifer & Robert ’84 Galperson Jeffery Garcia & Vanessa Keith Garcia Alison L. Gardner Terra Geisler David & Jean Getson Gerald Giamportone & Teresa Beaudet Mr. & Mrs. Barry Glazer Cameron & Naomi Gloege Richard & Laura Gold Grace Gordon ’15 Jennifer Gordon The Gordon Family Eric Graffer Mrs. Annie Grimes Allison Gross ’00 Caroline Gross ’02 Dr. & Mrs. Robert Gross Daniela Guardia

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Curtis Fund Gail & Windell Middleton Andy Miller ’65 Marie & Michael Millman Kiyoe & Nori Minakami Carol & Richard Minker Ethan Minker ’20 Rachel Miriam The Molina Family Mrs. Patty Molinari & Mr. Charles Molinari Max Moray ’04 Kathy & Michael Moray Samantha Moray ’01 Sandra Naftzger Joe Navarro Jonathan Nehorai ’16 ^ Julia Nehorai ’19 ^ Lauren Nehorai ’14 ^ Karen Nguyen Linda & Vincent Nicoletta Mrs. Susan Nihiser ^ Jennifer Noble & Erin Creznic ^ Ms. Tracy North Northern Trust Charitable Giving Program Mark & Kasey Nott Tanner Nott ’15 Daniel Novikov ’15 Dmitri & Eugenia Novikov Claudia & Jerry Nussbaum Rachel Kirenga-Nyarwaya & Zuba Nyarwaya Karen Ochoa ^ Ava Park ’19 David & Tayler Park Deepti & Pank Patel Greg Patterson Katherine Patterson Angela Pennington ’87 ^ Mimi & Don Petrie Nicholas Plaska Navoda & Calvin Portley ^ Michele & Lance Pozarny The Quinn-Wollaeger Family Georgina Sanchez & Jonathan Quinones ^ The Reiner Family Ms. Charlotte Reynolds Sarah Richardson Julia Richter ’94 ^ The Rivera Family ^ The Ro Family Gale Robitshek Lauren & Bradley Ross

Daniel Rothbauer The Rudoy Family ^ Mr. Kent Russell ’75 Shohreh Saedi Margaret Saferstein The Rio Saken Family Ms. Kyoko Sasaki ^ Eric & Kimberly Sassower Chuck Sawyer The Sayles Family ^ Deborah & Thomas Sayles Valerie Sayles The Schackne Family ^ Dr. Linda Schaffer The Schumer Family Alice & Bill Schumer Asher Schwartz ’15 ^ Christine Burton Schwartz & Donald Schwartz Levi Schwartz ’20 Noa Schwartz ’12 Wendy & Ron Schwartz & Family Deborah Seidner ^ Adam & Kathy Shane Karin Sheldon Jay & Katherine Shelton ^ Robert D. Shipp Stacy Shirk ’03 ^ Terra Shirvanian The Shore Family Ava Shore ’15 Alexis & Stephen Shuster Mary Sidell Olivia Siegels-Bitetti Molly Simms The Simon Family The Singleton-Williams Family Bianca Sjoenell ’14 Elton Sjoenell ’14 Pelle & Pauline Sjoenell Shelby Slayton ^ Susan & Michael Smith Loren Sobul Ms. Susan Sobul ’93 David Solomon & Carla Kettner-Solomon Mrs. Christine Sorfazian Elizabeth Sosson-Rahi Bill Sprague ’59 Natalie Srabian Jennifer & Robert Sternberg Seema & de Winter Stewart Frank Stork & Katrin Kalischer-Stork

Blair & Kiera Strain Susana Suchowiecky Kristen Sullivan Liam Sullivan ’15 Colleen McGuinness & Blake Sweeney Orly & Carlo Tabibi Pina Tararo Mr. & Mrs. Kinji M. Tasugi Ms. D'vora Taus-Kahn Sanaz & Shawn Tavakoli Jackie Taylor The Tehranchi Family Richard Tenser Alex Thibiant ’15 Michele & Patrick Thibiant The Torres Family Brian & Laurey Treiger Jackson Treiger ’15 Jessica Tuchin ’15 The Tuchin Family Wilbert Umana ^ Susan Unger ^ The van Vlijmen Family Norm & Lorraine Varnen Effie Wallen Ashley Warne ’96 Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg Eli Weinbach ’17 Julie & Dan Weinbach Mirabelle Weinbach ’14 Madge Weiss Candace & Barry Weisz Mr. & Mrs. Griffin ’87 Whitney Vicki & Bill Whitney Amy Wiggins Ashley Williams Clarence Williams & Paulette Guyton-Williams ^ Joel & Veronica Williams ^ Leronda Williams Maritza Williams Quinton Williams Jon Wimbish & Amanda Angle Kimball Winans ’10 & Family Adele Wineburgh McDowell & Charles Winn Mr. & Mrs. Michael P.A. Winn ^ Ms. Susan Woolley Xperi Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Zalevsky Christine & Armen Zenjiryan Cliff Zimmerman ’03 Lucie & Doug Zimmerman

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 29

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 30

Directed Gifts We are grateful to the following donors, whose contributions to a variety of funds and initiatives strengthen our students’ educational experience and enrich the entire Curtis community.

Above & Beyond Financial Aid Fund* Special thanks to these donors who have generously pledged $100,000 or more above and beyond their Curtis Fund gift.

Peter Benudiz & Jennifer Lewis The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Alex von Furstenberg & Alison Kay Thea & Jay Wolf *To participate in this campaign, please contact Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement.

Alumni Financial Aid Fund

Anonymous Adam Blackman ’15 Uri & Stacy ’83 Blackman Devon Carmel ’15 Jill ’85 & David Carmel Mr. & Mrs. Barry Cayton Derek Cayton ’15 Alexandra Chavez ’15 The Cutter Family Louise Cutter ’15 The Daneshrad Family Bennett Daneshrad ’15 Michael Fourticq ’15 Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq The Gordon Family Grace Gordon ’15 Andrew Gussman ’15 Deena & David Gussman Jagger Lambert ’15 Scott & Alexandra Lambert Mark & Kasey Nott

Tanner Nott ’15 Daniel Novikov ’15 Dmitri & Eugenia Novikov The Shore Family Ava Shore ’15 Kristen Sullivan Liam Sullivan ’15 Alex Thibiant ’15 Michele & Patrick Thibiant Brian & Laurey Treiger Jackson Treiger ’15 The Tuchin Family Jessica Tuchin ’15

Honorary & Memorial Gifts Gift in Honor of All Teachers, Administrators, and Staff at Curtis

The Heckendorf Family

Gift in Honor of Sean ’26 & Gigi ’27 Berumen Janna & Neil Healy

Alumni Council Community Service Grant

Gift in Honor of Debra Cohen

Jill ’85 & David Carmel Amanda ’85 & Jeff Kolodny Suzanne & Max ’96 Mednik Ashley Warne ’96 Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg Shana ’85 & Matthew Zarcufsky

Gift in Honor of Harper Austen Evans ’21

Curtis Financial Aid Fund The Ahmanson Foundation Gail & Neil Berlant Mr. Arun Bohra & Ms. Ashita Shah Curtis Parents Association Larissa & Scott Klein Steven L. Soboroff Weingart Foundation Jon Wimbish & Amanda Angle

Nancy & Greg Meidel

Revs. Janet & William Albrecht

Gift in Honor of the Faculty of the Covid School Year

The Bath-Reynolds Family

Gift in Honor of the Larson-Seehorn Family

The Larson-Seehorn Family

Gift in Honor of Walker Katz ’22 & Presley Katz ’23 Laura & Richard Gold

Gift in Honor of Walker Katz ’22 & Presley Katz ’23

Tot Lot Initiative

Alli & Austin Katz

Alan & Randie Kleinman Harshith & Amita Ramesh

Gift in Honor of Walker Katz ’22 & Presley Katz ’23

Library Curtis Parents Association

Nancy & Richard Katz

Gift in Honor of Dane ’22, Minka ’23 & Rhett ’25 Mendoza and Hazel ’24, Leo ’25 & Phoebe ’27 Huang Macy & Daniel Lai

Gift in Memory of Willard Badham L. Ashton Chase Jr. ’72

Gift in Memory of Jerry O. Larson

The Larson-Seehorn Family

Gift in Memory of Roland "Moe" Richardson

Sarah Richardson

Gift in Honor of Lola ’27 & Levi ’27 Miller Dr. and Mrs. Jay Mall

Gift in Honor of Ainsley ’24 & Ethan ’20 Minker

Carol & Richard Minker

Gift in Honor of Terri Morell

The Rio Saken Family

Gift in Honor of Mark Nott Kirsten Albrecht & Marc Evans

Gift in Honor of Neza ’27 & Shami ’24 Nyarwaya Rose & Alex Kirenga

Gift in Honor of Jared ’11 & Jaren ’11 Savage

Sharoni D. Little

Gift in Honor of Isaiah ’24 & Jolie ’21 Singleton Paulette Guyton-Williams & Clarence Williams

Gift in Honor of Noa ’26 & Ayla ’28 Sternberg Jennifer & Robert Sternberg

Gift in Honor of Maribel Wallace & Karly Fontaine Rebecca Mall & John Miller

Gift in Honor of Samuel A. Wineburgh

Adele Wineburgh

Curtis Annual Report 2020-21 | 32

Donors By Constituency

c

We gratefully acknowledge these donors for their record of sustained giving to the Annual Fund for five or more consecutive years.

Alumni Sarah Ballas ’03 c Regan Banvard ’09 Steven VanDeBogart & Melissa Barshop ’92 c Jordan Bender ’02 c Adam Blackman ’15 c Stacy ’83 & Uri Blackman Jason Bohle ’88 & Jennifer Rundell Laura Bomes ’03 Brian Border ’85 Connor Bunnak ’18 Lloyd ’85 & Ivy Bunnak c Devon Carmel ’15 c Jill ’85 & David Carmel Sydney Carmel ’17 Derek Cayton ’15 c Megan Chang ’13 L. Ashton Chase Jr. ’72 Alexandra Chavez ’15 c Jared Cohen ’88 c Drs. Danielle & Todd ’91 Cohen Marshall ’96 & Jennifer Cole Anne-Marie Cordingly ’77 c Louise Cutter ’15 c Bennett Daneshrad ’15 c Nicole Davidson Guadiana ’95 Kevin ’89 & Jennifer Demoff c Gideon Evans ’19 Shane ’84 & Louis Fermelia c Katelyn Rader Fisher ’96 Michael Fourticq ’15 c Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq c Coco Francini ’98 Kelly & Adam ’89 Gafni c Jennifer & Robert ’84 Galperson c Grace Gordon ’15 c Allison Gross ’00 Caroline Gross ’02 David ’90 & Anna Gross Vanessa Montes-Gubin & Morgan ’91 Gubin Andrew Gussman ’15 c Victoria Haglund ’09

Samy Harbert ’07 Ginger Healy ’97 c Jack William Healy ’04 c The Hubbard Family (Rose ’99) Sandra Hucker ’86 Todd ’93 & Arielle Jackson c Allison ’83 & Mark Jacoby Elizabeth Kaufman ’98 Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein c Amanda ’85 & Jeff Kolodny c Mr. & Mrs. Howard Kreshek (Emily ’80) Janie Kreshek ’12 c Katie Kreshek ’10 c Daniel Kromolowski ’99 c Jagger Lambert ’15 c London Laxer ’20 Jason Levin ’89 c Matthew Levin ’93 c Jonathan ’88 & Britt Levine c Dara Burdette Looney ’89 Suzanne & Max ’96 Mednik c Alexandra Meyer ’19 Max Meyer ’20 Andy Miller ’65 Jim Miller ’90 & Betsy Miller c Ethan Minker ’20 Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker c Max Moray ’04 Samantha Moray ’01 Sandra Naftzger ’72 Jonathan Nehorai ’16 Julia Nehorai ’19 Lauren Nehorai ’14 Kevin Newman ’83 & Amy Weimer Tanner Nott ’15 c Daniel Novikov ’15 c Ava Park ’19 Angela Pennington ’87 c Julia Richter ’94 Samantha Billett Rosenblum ’97 c Mr. Kent Russell ’75 c The Sayles Family (Matt ’94) Asher Schwartz ’15 Levi Schwartz ’20 Noa Schwartz ’12 Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer c Stacy Shirk ’03 Ava Shore ’15 c Debra Shuwarger ’87

Ryan Shuwarger ’97 Bianca Sjoenell ’14 Elton Sjoenell ’14 Ms. Susan Sobul ’93 Bill Sprague ’59 Liam Sullivan ’15 c Mr. Brent Tasugi ’93 Alex Thibiant ’15 c Jackson Treiger ’15 c Jessica Tuchin ’15 c Ashley Warne ’96 Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg Haley ’99 & Adam Weidenbaum Eli Weinbach ’17 Mirabelle Weinbach ’14 Courtney & Jeffrey ’89 Weiss Mr. & Mrs. Griffin ’87 Whitney c Michele Wyman ’89 Shana Levin Zarcufsky ’85 c Cliff Zimmerman ’03

Parents of Alumni Anonymous (2) c Alex Albert & Alexandra Goodyear c Gillian & Jeffrey Albert c The Regan ’09 Banvard Family Mr. & Mrs. David G. Barela Gail & Neil Berlant Stephen & Barbara Bomes The Buch Family Nop & Ock Bunnak Jill ’85 & David Carmel c Mr. & Mrs. Barry Cayton c The Chan/Gatins Family c Margaret Lee & Donald Chang c Mark & Christine Chapman Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Chistolini c Katherine Holmes-Chuba & Dan Chuba c The Cody Family Debra & Andrew Cohen c Dr. Lawrence & Jane Z. Cohen Barbara & Jonathan Cole Karen Bell & Robert Cox Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Coyne Jr. The Cutter Family c The Daneshrad Family c Kevin ’89 & Jennifer Demoff c Marvin & Patti Demoff c

The Reiner Family c Ms. Charlotte Reynolds The Rio Saken Family c Margaret Saferstein Ms. Kyoko Sasaki c Deborah & Thomas Sayles Valerie Sayles Wendy & Ron Schwartz & Family c Adam & Kathy Shane Robert D. Shipp c The Shore Family c Mr. & Mrs. Robert Shuwarger Mary Sidell c Pelle & Pauline Sjoenell c Steven L. Soboroff Loren Sobul c David Solomon & Carla Kettner-Solomon Kristen Sullivan c Mr. & Mrs. Kinji M. Tasugi D’vora Taus-Kahn c Michele & Patrick Thibiant c Brian & Laurey Treiger c The Tuchin Family c Annie Wald-Shipp Julie & Dan Weinbach c Vicki & Bill Whitney Jon Wimbish & Amanda Angle c Kimball Winans ’10 & Family Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Zalevsky Lucie & Doug Zimmerman c

Grandparents Revs. Janet & William Albrecht Floriana & William Anhood Vinod & Nirmila Assomull c Martha Blumenthal Jeri & Ken Braiman Jeff & Mary Bretz c Nop & Ock Bunnak Marion & William Campbell Susie & Timothy Cheng Barbara & Jonathan Cole Niki & Terence Cole Sandra & George Creznic Janet Farrant Gregory Favre Judie Fenton Diane Friedman Gerald Giamportone & Teresa Beaudet c Mr. & Mrs. Barry Glazer Joann & Terry Gloege c

Richard & Laura Gold c Nancy & William Gubin Janna & Neil Healy c Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Henry Vinod & Jayashree Jivrajka Nancy & Richard Katz c Rose & Alex Kirenga Macy & Daniel Lai Ruth J. Lavine Carole & Arthur Levine Deena & Bill Mack c Dr. & Mrs. Jay Mall Linda McCormack Joan & Wayne Miller Kiyoe & Nori Minakami Carol & Richard Minker c Ann & Greg Myer c Simin & Isaac Neman Claudia & Jerry Nussbaum Mimi & Don Petrie c Michele & Lance Pozarny Sarah Richardson c Drs. Jisun & Monica C. Ryoo c Shohreh Saedi Charlene & Victor Sands Deborah & Thomas Sayles Valerie Sayles Alice & Bill Schumer Christine Burton Schwartz & Donald Schwartz Karin Sheldon Jay & Katherine Shelton c Robert D. Shipp c Susan & Michael Smith Jim & Stephanie Sokolove Jennifer & Robert Sternberg Richard Tenser c Norm & Lorraine Varnen Annie Wald-Shipp Effie Wallen Leslie Vermut & Tom Weinberger Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden Candace & Barry Weisz Paulette Guyton-Williams & Clarence Williams Adele Wineburgh Mr. & Mrs. Michael P.A. Winn c Jane & Tien T. Yang c

Employees Gillian & Jeffrey Albert c Sarah Ballas ’03 c

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Mr. Michael Dreyer Ramani Durvasula c Rachel & John Edwards c Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq c Mr. Samuel Fox & Ms. Gail Ellis Nanette Francini Diane Friedman Shari & Rob Friedman c Jeffery Garcia & Vanessa Keith Garcia c Alison L. Gardner Terra Geisler c Mr. & Mrs. Barry Glazer Joann & Terry Gloege c Betty Goldie Ellie & Ron Goldie The Gordon Family c Dr. & Mrs. Robert Gross Nancy & William Gubin Deena & David Gussman c Dede & Tom Haglund c Jim & Nini Halkett Laurie & Chris Harbert c Janna & Neil Healy c Diane & Henry Hilty c Mr. Don Ho & Dr. Rachel Yang c Katie & Phil Holthouse Mr. & Mrs. Con Howe Ms. Karen Ivy c Allison ’83 & Mark Jacoby Ana & Bill Kenah Christopher Keyser & Susan Sprung Kissick Family Foundation Larissa & Scott Klein Mr. & Mrs. Howard Kreshek (Emily ’80) c Mr. & Mrs. Jerzy Kromolowski Scott & Alexandra Lambert c Tim & Bernadette Leiweke Carole & Arthur Levine Sharoni D. Little The McKnight Family Kirstin & Carl Meyer c Mr. & Mrs. Mark Mickelson Andy Miller ’65 Marie & Michael Millman c Kathy & Michael Moray Ann & Greg Myer c Atoosa & Alex Nehorai c Mark & Kasey Nott c Dmitri & Eugenia Novikov c David & Tayler Park Mimi & Don Petrie c

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Christina Banks Hratch Bardekjian c Drew Beckmeyer c Kathryn Brady c Autumn L. Brannon c Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Chistolini c Mr. & Mrs. Danny Chu c Sue Chung Debra & Andrew Cohen c Khalief & Henry Dantzler Patricia & Ramon Escolin Gina & Jeff Favre c Angela Favreau Francisco Fernandez Kevin Figueroa Karly Fontaine Kate Fox c David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson c Terra Geisler c Jennifer Gordon c Eric Graffer Mrs. Annie Grimes c Daniela Guardia Mark Gutierrez c Dede & Tom Haglund c Steve Hall c Alexandra Harper Ginger Healy ’97 c Mr. & Mrs. Jose Henriquez c Matias Henriquez Mr. & Mrs. Eladio Hernandez c Soo Hong Mr. Chris Hruby c The Hubbard Family (Rose ’99) Ms. Karen Ivy c Earleen Kennedy Janet Lee Donielle Lemone-Bulmer Katherine Lenis Mr. & Mrs. Michel Lim Sally Loyd c Patrick Lynch Ashley Ma Hripsime Margaryan Ms. Raylene Mayer c Sandra McGarry Elisabeth & Justin McInnes Katherine McKenna c Tessa McKeown Mrs. Patty Molinari & Mr. Charles Molinari c Joe Navarro Karen Nguyen c Mrs. Susan Nihiser c Ms. Tracy North c

Karen Ochoa Greg Patterson c Katherine Patterson Mimi & Don Petrie c Nicholas Plaska Dr. Meera Ratnesar & Mr. John Querio c Gale Robitshek c Daniel Rothbauer c The Rio Saken Family c Ms. Kyoko Sasaki c Chuck Sawyer c Dr. Linda Schaffer c Corinne Schulman c Deborah Seidner c Terra Shirvanian Alexis & Stephen Shuster Olivia Siegels-Bitetti Molly Simms c Shelby Slayton c Loren Sobul c Mrs. Christine Sorfazian c Elizabeth Sosson-Rahi Natalie Srabian Susana Suchowiecky Pina Tararo Ms. D'vora Taus-Kahn c Jackie Taylor Wilbert Umana Amy Wiggins c Ashley Williams c Leronda Williams c Maritza Williams Ms. Susan Woolley c

Foundations, Corporations & Family Funds Anonymous c AF Double Eagle The Ahmanson Foundation c AIG AmazonSmile Foundation American Endowment Foundation The Bank of America Foundation c The Boeing Company c The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation CESE The Charlotte Friedman Foundation Curtis Parents Association c The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Design I, Inc.

Earl B. Gilmore Foundation c Fortress Investment Group, LLC The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Fox Corporation Good Old Lew Foundation The Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation of California c Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles Joshua J. Fine Jewelry Kissick Family Foundation Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation The Mazursky Family Foundation Merrill Lynch Microsoft Corporation Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc. MUFG Union Bank National Christian Foundation National Philanthropic Trust Netflix Network for Good Nevada Community Foundation Northern Trust Charitable Giving Program c Northwestern Mutual Foundation c Raymer Capital Raymond James Uneek Vanguard Charitable The Walt Disney Company Foundation c Weingart Foundation Xperi

Matching Gifts AIG The Bank of America Foundation c The Boeing Company c The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Fortress Investment Group, LLC Microsoft Corporation Morgan Stanley Netflix Northwestern Mutual Foundation c The Walt Disney Company Foundation c Xperi

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Ways to Give Thank you for your investment in Curtis.

With our gratitude, please consider different options to make a contribution. You may make a one-time gift or a recurring gift (pledge) that gives you the option to spread payment over the year. Your employer may match your gift, doubling its impact. We welcome gifts of appreciated securities, or you may wish to include Curtis in your estate plan. Please visit the school website at www. curtisschool.org/support-curtis/ways-togive for details and giving forms. If you have questions or need additional help, please call the Advancement Office at (310) 889-3740.

Legacy Society Remembering Curtis in your estate plan is a meaningful way to ensure Curtis School’s ability to continue to fulfill its educational mission into the future. Please let the Advancement Office know if you have included or are thinking about including Curtis in your estate plan. We would like to recognize your generosity and your participation in the Legacy Society.

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Celebrating Milestones of Service The Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff celebrated 12 long-serving employees whose dedication and contributions to our school have enriched the lives of so many students and families. We are deeply grateful for the work they do to sustain an equitable, inclusive, and joyful learning environment that enables all students to reach their highest potential.

35 Years Jeffrey Albert

30 Years Terra Geisler

25 Years Mimi Petrie

25 Years Rio Saken

20 Years Hratch Bardekjian

20 Years Danny Chu

15 Years Maribel Wallace

10 Years Dede Haglund

5 Years Kristen Dang

5 Years Karen Nguyen

5 Years Corinne Schulman

5 Years Shelby Slayton

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Annual Report 2020-21 The Annual Report gratefully acknowledges gifts received in the fiscal year July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the listings and other information in this publication. If, however, an error or omission has been made, please accept our apology and contact Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement, at cschulman@curtisschool.org.