Curtis School Magazine & Annual Report 2022-23

Magazine 2023

OUR — FUTURE — ENVISIONED

Contents 3

From the Head of School

4

Perspectives

7

Our Future Envisioned

14

Learning Beyond the Classroom

18

Educational Travel Fellowship

22

Faculty Transitions

25

In Memory of José “Pepe” Jimenez

26

Cultural Celebrations

28

Student Voices

29

6th Grade Class of 2023

30

Awards & Grants

32

Matriculation of the Class of 2017

34

Alumni Year in Review

36

Class Notes

39

Senior Send-Off

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

On the Cover

@CurtisCougars

As part of the 2nd Grade science curriculum, students use MAGNA-TILES® to explore engineering skills while building a zoo for their animal friends.

linkedin.com/company/curtisschool/

Dr. Ratnesar and the 6th Graders made a splash on the last day of the school year, jumping into the Cougar pool in their school uniforms—a new Curtis ritual!

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Cultivating Our Future Dear Curtis Community, I recently listened to Professor Laura McBain, director of community and implementation at the K12 Lab, a program of the Stanford d.school, speak about the future of education. She called on educators to shift their focus from preparing young people for the future to supporting them to shape the future. Professor McBain argues that education needs to allow students to explore multiplicity across disciplines and to cultivate in young people the agency to identify and influence the challenges of tomorrow.

In listening to McBain’s lecture, I couldn’t help but think that this is what Curtis has already been doing. Five years ago, our extended Curtis community embarked on a journey to envision the future for our students and our school. We posed three core questions to our various constituency groups. We asked, “What must we do • • •

to ensure the intellectual fitness of young minds?” to ensure the physical wellness of young bodies?” to inspire compassion and empathy in young hearts?”

This process and the in-depth conversations that we had as we envisioned our future resulted in a more succinct mission statement, statements of vision and purpose, and an articulated set of values. It also gave us a roadmap for the future that is anchored in four fundamental learning outcomes: intellectual literacy, human literacy, wellness literacy, and cultural literacy.

Over the past few years, in spite of the intervening Covid-19 pandemic, we have implemented and completed a number of initiatives that grew out of our Envision Our Future strategic plan. Others, aligned with our value to “improve always,” will always be ongoing.

In this year’s magazine, I am proud to share with you how far we have come in realizing the vision we articulated for our students and school community. Most importantly, in all that we have initiated and accomplished, we have stayed steadfast in our commitment to “always begin with the child” and to live out our mission of developing sound minds, sound bodies, and compassionate hearts.

As we near our centennial, in 2025, we are inspired by so many who have helped build and shape the school Curtis is today. We continue to be inspired by all of you whose belief in our mission and support of Curtis enable us to provide a best-in-class education for young people that empowers them to envision and shape the future.

Dr. Meera Ratnesar Head of School

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PERSPECTIVES

Adapt, Improvise & Overcome: Telling our Story

BY RANDIE AND ALAN KLEINMAN

Stories shared by members of the Curtis community foster the compassion and appreciation of others that we strive to nurture in our students, strengthening our sense of shared purpose. We are grateful to the Kleinmans for sharing some of their stories and contributing to our effort to tell the larger story of who we are as a community.

Please tell us about your educational journey, where you grew up, a bit about your family background, and what shapes your life choices today.

Randie: “My mother was born in the liberation camps in Munich, Germany, and came to the United States when she was about one year old.

My father is from Hancock Park. My older sister and I grew up with two working parents. My mother was an art teacher, an interior designer, and now, a real estate developer. My father, a physician like his father, is now almost retired.

A true Angeleno, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I attended USC School of Architecture and went on to pursue a career in design.

With the influence of my family’s background in real estate and outdoor living in sunny California, I ended up developing a career in landscape architecture. I now design residential landscapes and gardens.”

Alan: “My parents were born in Russia, in what today is known as Ukraine, as kids of Holocaust survivors. They grew up in a small village with humble beginnings. They both migrated to the U.S. in the 1970s. My father came to the U.S. a few days after I was born. I have a younger sister, Pamela, and the two of us grew up with my parents in the San Fernando Valley. My father is an entrepreneur who began his career as a plumber and opened up his own plumbing business.

My mom spent most of her working career alongside my dad, managing the administrative side of the business and concurrently was a real estate agent.

Randie’s grandparents, Margaret and Joseph Wolf

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My parents were big advocates of education and the importance of learning each day. Their dream was that their children’s lives would be better than their own experience, and they believed that education was the foundation of that change. We moved a number of times during my early years, and I ultimately attended five different schools during K-6 until my parents settled in Encino. The constant change forced me to learn to become comfortable in unfamiliar environments, make new friends, and focus on school.

I attended UCSD and obtained degrees in biochemistry and economics. I later earned an MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

My first real job was a dream come true. I worked as a healthcare venture capitalist investing in early-stage companies. This allowed me to think big and realize that anything is possible if you work hard and persevere. I am now an entrepreneur and have been involved in technology startups and, more recently, real estate.”

What have been your strongest influences in your life?

Randie: “My grandfather, Joseph Wolf.

A survivor of WWII, the Holocaust, and concentration camps, my grandfather embodies the true lesson of ‘Adapt, Improvise and Overcome.’ A rabbinical student at 17 years old, my grandfather was imprisoned in Auschwitz, from which he was later liberated and came directly to Los Angeles via a military boat in 1949, just one year after my mother was born.

In a new country with his wife, daughter and my grandmother’s aunt, who housed them, he made a life for himself and his family. Although he spoke more than eight languages, English was not one of them. Being in a completely new place, he adapted. He was a strong mathematician with skills in architectural design, so he took a job at a local firm and

The Kleinman family (l-r): Dr. Lad Rubaum, Rosalie Rubaum, Randie Rubaum Kleinman, Ryder ’25 Kleinman, Avery ’22 Kleinman, Alan Kleinman, Luba Kleinman, Ilya Kleinman

“ M any family values are passed on from previous generations, but it is important that each family defines their own.” got paid about 25 cents per hour. He learned new skills and set his mind on real estate development. He took on several other jobs in order to provide for his family until he could afford to jump into his life’s career with both feet. He improvised. He saved enough money to buy a small home, have another child and eventually buy a piece of real estate and build.

One success led to another, and he eventually had people working at his company and was helping to shape and change their lives. It took years of hardship and tireless work, but he overcame. To say he was an influence in my life is an understatement. I literally am who I am today because of him.”

Describe your work and the skill sets you bring this profession.

Alan: “Currently, I concentrate on real estate development with a specific focus on multifamily workforce housing. In my professional journey, I have found that to be successful it is important to find a strong value proposition within a market segment. In addition to strategy, the key ingredients to success are hard work, building a great team, and forging new relationships.”

How would you describe your family values?

Alan: “Many family values are passed on from previous generations, but it is important that each family defines their own. These are values important to us: • Always be honest with yourself and others; • Treat others how you would like to be treated; • Think big and never give up, as everything is possible; • Help those in need; • Be an active contributor to society.”

What are your hopes and dreams for yourselves and your family?

Randie: “They are very simple: we want to raise good people. Our hope is that our children will learn from the example that we have set for them to be family-oriented, philanthropic, hardworking, honest individuals. While we would like to protect our kids from hardship, we also want to raise children who are strong and have the resilience to conquer it.”

What do you find to be the most distinguishing characteristics of your experience at Curtis?

Alan: “Curtis has provided us with an extended family, in which I have seen my kids blossom into young adults. The amazing curriculum allows kids to learn, explore, question, and play.

It has shaped them into well-balanced people who have built a strong foundation to succeed in what lies ahead.”

What do you hope Curtis students carry with them as citizens of the world?

Alan and Randie: “Our hope is that Curtis students will carry out the valuable lessons that they are taught each day. A valuable lesson that was brought up recently at Friday flag was ‘Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.’ Our world is constantly changing. Today, more than ever, we hope that Curtis children will see the world as a whole and contribute to it. We hope that they will navigate their way through life’s victories and losses, lift and guide those around them, and, above all, continue to be compassionate human beings.”

The Kleinmans (l-r) Avery ’22 Kleinman, Randie Rubaum Kleinman, Ryder ’25 Kleinman, Alan Kleinman

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OUR FUTURE ENVISIONED Our Strategic Plan commits us to move with agility in response to opportunities and to set the standard for elementary education in the Greater Los Angeles area and beyond. We do it to realize our Vision of inspiring engaged, healthy, and empathetic young learners to embrace the next phases of their education and lives with joy, confidence, and purpose.

INTELLECTUAL LITERACY

Our students will have the ability and agility to see and make meaning out of information in both a reflective and innovative way.

HUMAN LITERACY

Our students will have the ability to understand their own emotions, listen to others and empathize with their emotions, and express emotions productively in order to understand and connect with other human beings.

WELLNESS LITERACY

Our students will develop the ability to be aware of, and have the skills to make choices that lead to, healthy mental and physical well-being.

CULTURAL LITERACY

Our students will develop the ability to communicate across cultures and boundaries in order to interact fluidly among people of different social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

CULTURAL LITERACY

Anti-bias curriculum: Evidence of Learning

BY ALEXANDRA BAEURLE, UPPER ELEMENTARY LEAD TEACHER; JANET LEE, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY, CURRICULUM, AND INSTRUCTION; AMELIA ZALDIVAR, LOWER ELEMENTARY LEAD TEACHER

Curtis School’s Anti-Bias Workshop aligns with our Envision Our Future Strategic Plan’s focus on Cultural Literacy. We define this literacy as the ability to communicate across cultures and boundaries in order to interact fluidly among people of different social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

Our anti-bias framework teaches self-reflection, acknowledges discomfort as part of growth, and encourages respect for all identities. The workshop exposes students to various perspectives and experiences, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental values. This approach fosters a comprehensive understanding of cultural literacy and prepares students to navigate a diverse world with empathy and openmindedness.

From DK to 6th Grade, all students participate in anti-bias learning. We invite you to learn more about the updated and newly added units for the 2022-23 school year.

LOWER ELEMENTARY DIVERSITY IN SKIN COLOR Developmental Kindergarten students engaged in an activity celebrating diversity in skin color.

They listened to the book The Skin I Live In, highlighting the beauty of different skin tones.

They then matched their own skin tones by mixing paint colors and named their unique shades. These personalized paints were used for various art projects throughout the year, promoting ongoing appreciation for diversity and individuality.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MONTH During Indigenous Peoples Month, each 2nd Grade class focused on indigenous tribes in the Los Angeles area, such as the Tataviam, Chumash, and Tongva. They explored both the contemporary and historical contributions of these tribes, including the use of local resources for building dwellings. In collaboration with their art curriculum, students crafted dioramas representing indigenous tribes’ ancestral homes and encapsulated their knowledge in written summaries.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH In February, 1st Graders engaged in group biography projects. They focused on notable Black figures like Barack Obama, Ruby Bridges, and George Washington Carver. Starting with research through various mediums, including books, webpages, videos, and encyclopedia articles, they developed group posters and delivered presentations to peers from different classrooms. This allowed them to encounter a total of 12 diverse biographical presentations, contributing to their understanding of important Black Americans while developing essential research, collaboration, and presentation skills.

DK students blended paint to match their own skin color.

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UPPER ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS In a comprehensive social studies unit, 4th Grade students explored the history of Japanese Internment Camps. A thought-provoking activity within the unit was “The Art of Gaman,” where students were given the opportunity to create art using minimal supplies and natural resources from the outdoors. This activity aimed to mirror the circumstances faced by children in the internment camps, who had limited access to resources such as scissors or art supplies.

PRIDE MONTH In preparation for Pride Month, 5th Grade students studied the LGBTQ+ community’s rich history, tracing its roots from the Roman Empire to the present day. They explored the dynamic relationship between public policy and societal transformation and the reciprocal influence individuals have on policy development. Through creating a detailed timeline, students highlighted moments of oppression and reform within the LGBTQ+ movement. This multifaceted project involved not only written documentation but also artistic images, with students crafting impactful visual representations of their understanding and interpretation of these historical events.

2nd Graders constructed models of indigenous tribes’ dwellings.

ABOVE: 4th Graders explore The Art of Gaman at the Japanese American National Museum.

OPPOSITE PAGE: 1st Grade biography project for Black History Month

5th Graders created a timeline of important moments in LGBTQ+ history.

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WELLNESS LITERACY

Teaching, Learning, Students, and Sprouts

BY FRANCESCA GERBINO, 6TH GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER

“Ok, but which one grows the fastest?” asked one 6th Grader, pointing to an array of seed packets. “Like, will I get to eat it before school ends?” As a teacher, I hate to disappoint students, but those tomatoes just aren’t going to grow, flower, and fruit all in the last month of school. These questions were just a couple of many that showed me how excited the students were to explore in the geodesic dome. They organized themselves into small groups and chose from a selection of vegetable seeds. They planted pretty much one of everything offered, from eggplant and tomatoes to arugula and cabbage. Some students were nervous that they were going to “plant it wrong,” while others needed to be reminded to leave the soil in the planter alone long enough for the seeds to sprout.

6th Graders aren’t the only ones who see the potential in the school’s new geodesic dome. The science department has been brainstorming different ways to use this versatile new space and to implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Science and Engineering practices. Imagine students walking into the dome, notebooks in hand. One set of students heads to the data collection station with clipboards containing temperature and humidity data from the last four months. A

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second group of students begins taking measurements of the current plants, recording the height of the main stems and any change in the number of leaves since their last visit. Yet another group heads to a special planter that they set up to compare the growth of plants that reproduce using fruits to those that reproduce using spores, given specific conditions.

It’s truly amazing what students are able to do when given a real-world, ongoing project space. Our youngest students will start out by making observations and asking questions. As they continue to learn, they will design and implement investigations, collect and analyze data, engage in evidence-based argument, practice mathematical thinking, and share their results as upper elementary scientists.

The dome’s introduction lays the groundwork for future generations of Curtis students to discover how satisfying it is to eat food that they’ve cared for from seed and appreciate beautiful flowers they’ve nurtured through their development. Most importantly, the geodesic dome provides one more setting where students can practice being a scientist in a personal and meaningful way, which is something that I can’t wait to support for years to come.

ABOVE: A geodesic dome greenhouse, installed on the campus in 2023, will enhance the science curriculum and promote our Wellness Literacy.

BELOW: Enthusiastic students were excited to plant a variety of vegetable seeds in the new geodesic dome.

INTELECTUAL LITERACY

Teaching Teammates

BY KELLY CHAMP AND DOMINIQUE REYNOLDS, 2ND GRADE CO-LEAD TEACHERS

If you were to ask our students, “What is the best thing about having two co-teachers in your classroom?” they’d probably say, “They’re fun!”

Although the overused word “fun” is one we’ve definitely thrown into “word jail” since the start of the school year, the sentiment remains the same. In our 2nd Grade classroom, we prioritize play, laughter, and creativity in daily learning. We have learned that joy and curiosity help strengthen our students’ ability to solve problems, take risks, and sustain an active interest in their learning, and those elements have become our guideposts in teaching.

We believe that our students benefit from our collaborative teaching model, because we value teamwork and communication above all else.

We are both former student-athletes who grew up playing basketball for various teams. We feel that our shared background in basketball and team sports in general has enabled us to be excellent teammates as teachers.

We share similar beliefs about teaching and learning and have a great deal of trust in each other. The life lessons and values of basketball have taught us to be cooperative, flexible, and ready to change the game plan when necessary. We constantly reflect on the things that worked or didn’t work and why; what aspects of our lessons need to be tweaked and what can stay as is; and how to continue to progress from where we currently stand. At the end of most lessons, or whenever we try something new, we ask each other, “How do you think it went?” and share whatever we can do differently to support our students’ success.

Having taught together for two years now, we enjoy the co-lead teaching model because we can share the teaching responsibilities and play to each other’s strengths. We both have found success with station teaching, a method that involves students rotating between multiple learning stations for differentiated instruction or tasks. In addition to this, we have had positive results with parallel teaching. This approach involves dividing the class in half and delivering the same lesson simultaneously in smaller groups. Although we have differing teaching preferences, they complement each other well. Kelly is partial to collaborative team-teaching, in which both teachers instruct at the same time, focusing on one specific lesson and instructing and supporting the students as a group. Dominique, on the other hand, favors alternative teaching, in which one teacher teaches to the whole class while the other teaches the same lesson to four or five students, enhancing support to and providing differentiation within a smaller group. Throughout each day, we use a variety of teaching methods to support our students’ needs, and we continuously reevaluate what works to best enhance the learning experience.

When people compare team-teaching to marriage, they are correct, and we feel really lucky to be in a co-lead partnership that meshes so well. Our partnership works because we both believe in fostering a safe, inclusive, and caring classroom community. We approach each day with an open

ABOVE: Dominique Reynolds assists a student with an assignment.

BELOW: Kelly Champ engages in parallel teaching, working with individuals and small groups, while her co-lead teacher teaches the same lesson to another group of students.

mind, positive attitude, and high expectations for all of our students, and we encourage perseverance and hard work in our classroom each day. We present students with multiple perspectives, and most importantly, we support one another and make our students’ journey in 2nd Grade a joyful, memorable, fun (there really is no better substitute for this word or feeling!), and exciting one.

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CULTURAL LITERACY

Rethinkinging Overnight Trips

BY STACY COLWELL, SCIENCE TEACHER; GINA FAVRE, 5TH GRADE TEACHER & D’VORA TAUS-KAHN, 6TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER

Commuting to and from a Los Angeles school can feel like an all-day trip, but moving beyond our busy city helps our teachers develop a wellrounded education for the students at Curtis School. Experiential trips are a fundamental part of our educational program and allow us to foster students’ character in a manner consistent with the school’s mission, values, and purpose.

Our outdoor education program offers authentic, firsthand learning experiences. Our students can take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it directly to their lived experiences. This connection and deeply rooted relevance to in-class learning helps us build a greater and more comprehensive conceptualization of educational topics and allows us to touch each child’s learning in concrete ways.

“ REAL-WORLD LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM CONTRIBUTES TO UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF LEARNERS.”

R. JUCKER AND VAN AU*

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In 2021-22, while trips were still on hold, a committee of teachers and administrators met to review Curtis’s experiential learning program.

A goal in our school’s current strategic plan, Envision Our Future, directs us to evaluate and potentially reimagine our current experiential education program to ensure that we are providing experiences that are age-appropriate and aligned with our vision, mission, values, and purpose.

This group studied the research, contacted other independent schools, and developed a philosophy statement to guide its work.

Essential questions and learning outcomes were then developed with all of this in mind.

With the philosophy and outcomes created, the next step was to plan the trips. Using the expertise of outside educators and our experienced staff, three locations were chosen and overnight trips developed for our students in 4th, 5th, and 6th Grades.

Our 4th Graders traveled to the mountains of Idyllwild to experience snow and a variety of science-related activities at Astrocamp. This two-night trip helped our younger learners

HUMAN LITERACY

The Curtis Journey: Traditions and Rituals develop resilience and gain independence, all while shooting off rockets, testing wind speed, and star-gazing on a cold night.

BY DR. MEERA RATNESAR, HEAD OF SCHOOL

Ready for an adventure that many of them had never experienced, our 5th Graders learned to set up a tent, work together as a group, and develop their sensory skills in the middle of the Joshua Tree National Park. Rock climbing, a sunset hike, and seeing a desert tortoise in its natural habitat were just some of the highlights of this trip.

Finally, our 6th Graders were able to return to the Southwest for the first time since 2019. Students enjoyed a week-long trip through Arizona, reinforcing lessons about earth science and experiencing awe-inspiring land formations. The group took a jeep tour through the red rocks of Sedona, witnessed the other-worldly beauty of Antelope Canyon, enjoyed the tranquility of a river float down the Colorado, and took in the majesty of sunset at the Grand Canyon. This 6th Grade culminating trip was an opportunity for the class of 2023 to bond with peers — cementing old friendships and forging new ones — as they created life-long memories to cherish.

The students finished out this school year back in the classroom but kept with them new real-world connections to their learning that will last a lifetime. * Jucker, R., & Au, J. van. High-quality outdoor learning: Evidencebased education outside the classroom for children, teachers and Society. (Springer, 2022)

FACING PAGE: 4th Graders test wind speed at Astro Camp.

LEFT: During the Southwest Trip, 6th Graders take in the view from the Ooh Aah Point on the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon.

RIGHT: Success at Joshua Tree Retreat: 5th Graders celebrate tent setup!

Neza N. ‘27, alongside Dr. Ratnesar, leads Flag, a tradition that strengthens community.

The DK Moving Up Ceremony is a new ritual that marks an educational milestone.

One of the unique and rich features of an independent school is its calendar of traditions and rituals. While often used interchangeably, these terms have separate meanings and practices. Since its founding, Curtis has created a number of traditions—some unique and others shared generally by independent schools—that have been observed through generations of students, families, teachers, and administrations.

Flag, Sports Night (formerly known as Dads Day), and the Curtis Fair exemplify some of our long-standing traditions—annual events that are passed down from one generation to the next. Traditions are deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness and identity; they create a commonality of experience through time and help form bridges between the school’s past, present, and future.

Inspired by our Envision Our Future strategic plan, we have added several rituals to the Curtis calendar in recent years. Unlike traditions, rituals serve as markers for significant life transitions and are often include symbolic actions, words, or gestures (such as the handing of a diploma). Rituals are typically carried out with a clear sense of purpose. They often signify the entrusting of responsibility and observed with marked reverence.

While 6th Grade graduation has always been a significant annual ritual for our community, we have added others to punctuate a momentous point in our students’ lives. Beginning in June 2023, we now celebrate our Developmental Kindergarten students with a Moving Up Ceremony—a signal that our youngest class has completed its first year at Curtis and is ready to begin Kindergarten and an academic journey through the elementary years. The 6th Grade Final Walk, another ritual we added, sees our graduating class take a final walk around the campus, cheered on by students and faculty as they pass by all the classrooms they have moved through on their journey from DK to 6th Grade. We add traditions and rituals thoughtfully, ensuring that they are consistent with the school’s mission and values. These new rituals celebrate our students’ achievements at both ends of their Curtis journey and inspire them to embrace the next phases of their education and lives with joy, confidence, and purpose.

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CULTURAL LITERACY

Learning Beyond The Classroom Field trips provide an opportunity to enrich a student’s learning experience, promote social-emotional development, and empower them academically. Providing a learning environment outside the classroom allows students to learn collaboratively with their peers, explore new places, and develop their problem-solving skills, trust, and empathy. Field trips can also ignite a student’s interest in learning, which is crucial for young learners to feel a true and lasting connection to their education.

DK students visited the California Science Center. Aligned with their science curriculum on animals and habitats, the trip offered hands-on learning and an IMAX presentation of “Under the Sea.” This experience deepened their understanding of the subjects studied in class, enhancing their connection with real-world science and exploration.

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Curtis 1st Grade students experienced an eagerly anticipated visit to the Grammy Museum. Prior to the trip, they were exposed to diverse music genres by famous musicians of the past and present. Collaborating across disciplines, students learned about the evolution of sound quality and crafted personalized album art for their ‘backstage passes.’ During the museum excursion, an interactive tour showcased exhibits of famous artifacts and iconic Grammy Award moments.

During a music production workshop at the Clive Davis Theater, students used cuttingedge technology to create original beats, guided by an educational coordinator.

This immersive experience cultivated an understanding of music as both expressive and essential to cultural identity.

During their trip to the California Science Center, 2nd Grade students actively participated in educational activities aligned with their social studies and science curriculums. They acquired insights into Mayan history and architecture while also enhancing their comprehension of diverse ecosystems.

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At the Autry Museum, 3rd Grade students engaged in the enriching Tongva Experience. This exhibit allowed them to explore the resourcefulness of the Tongva people and their ability to adapt to different environments. By examining natural resources and human artifacts from various environments, the students gained a deeper understanding of how the Tongva used survival techniques to thrive in challenging environments.

During their field trip to the International Printing Museum, 5th Grade students had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of the printing press.

They delved into the evolution of printing presses and how they functioned over time. Meeting a portrayer of Benjamin Franklin and engaging in a Second Continental Congress assembly added to the immersive experience. This hands-on experience allowed them to understand better the social studies curriculum they had been studying throughout the year.

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The 6th Grade students had an incredible experience at Theatricum Botanicum, where they were transported back to the Elizabethan era and had the privilege of meeting Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare. They spent the day participating in various theatrical workshops, followed by a viewing of the timeless classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The 4th Grade students had a memorable trip to Olivas Adobe, where they delved into the history of the Olivas family, who established the ranch house in the mid-1800s.

Engaging in hands-on activities like corn-grinding and tortilla-making, they even attempted bull-roping.

The students discovered that Mr. Olivas played a crucial role by introducing cattle to provide fresh food for gold miners.

As part of their social studies curriculum, the 6th Grade students had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Tolerance. Led by a docent, they were able to interact with exhibits that explored the impact of prejudice and discrimination throughout history and into the present day.

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TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP

Explore, Research, and Connect The Educational Travel Fellowship Program offers our teachers a unique opportunity to engage in fieldwork, conduct research, and collaborate with educators and organizations anywhere in the world. These experiences enrich our learning community by creating new perspectives, promoting cross-cultural competency, and fostering global thinking in our classrooms.

Ms. Lemone and her daughter on the Cape Town waterfront, with Table Mountain behind.

The Lemone-Bulmer family on safari with their Honeyguide tour leader.

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South Africa

Exploring South Africa

BY DONIELLE LEMONE, UPPER ELEMENTARY LEAD TEACHER

I was fortunate to travel to South Africa with a grant from the Curtis Educational Travel Fellowship program to explore environmental stewardship and wildlife conservation. I began my journey in Cape Town, which the World Economic Forum considers to be one of the greenest cities in Africa. The climates of Cape Town and California have similar benefits and challenges, including warm weather and droughts. Curtis’s 3rd Grade social studies curriculum teaches how California meets its citizens’ water needs, and I wanted to learn more about Cape Town’s environmental sustainability efforts. In Cape Town, I saw many water conservation efforts, which I can bring back to my students to discuss how water is a global issue.

In 3rd Grade, we also learn how the climates and natural resources of California’s different regions affected the lives of Indigenous Californians. In South Africa, I visited a San heritage center and learned how the San people used natural resources for their daily needs. I will share this knowledge, so students can compare and contrast the San with how California’s Indigenous tribes used natural resources.

In our 3rd Grade anti-bias curriculum, we learn about nonviolent activists who fought discrimination, including Nelson Mandela. I visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated during apartheid. The tour was led by a former prisoner, who shared his experiences. I also went on a walking tour in Cape Town to learn about the history of apartheid. The U.S. has a similar history of racial segregation and discrimination, and I will weave this information into our anti-bias curriculum.

In 3rd Grade, we read The One and Only Ivan, which describes the effects of poaching. I went on safari with Honeyguide, stayed at the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate, and visited an Endangered Species Center, which helped me learn about efforts to protect the animals in the area. These experiences, as well as seeing seals and penguins in the wild and in a rehabilitation center, were magical. Kids love to learn about animals, and teaching them about the importance of protecting animals and their habitats also helps foster compassionate hearts.

I was also able to visit two schools on my trip. Southern Cross, in Hoedspruit, focuses on teaching students about the natural environment. Students go on bush walks in the nature reserve where the campus is located to learn about the native plants and animals.

I was inspired by their community-building system called “family groups,” where 7th Grade students lead a mixed-age group of students in team-building activities and social skills lessons.

In Cape Town, I visited Beaumont Primary School, which is part of an international cohort of Eco-Schools. I learned about the Eco-Schools program and how it teaches students to care for their environment and be problem-solvers and citizens who help their community. I met with a 3rd Grade teacher at Beaumont and am hoping our classes can collaborate!

This experience was inspiring and educational, and I am excited to share it with my students!

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Indonesia

Lessons from Bali

BY PINA TARARO, LOWER ELEMENTARY LEAD TEACHER

As the sun-kissed shores of Bali welcomed the warmth of summer, I embarked on an extraordinary adventure in a world brimming with vibrant colors and unique traditions. My journey to this enchanting island, made possible by the Curtis Educational Travel Fellowship Program, not only introduced me to the beauty of Balinese culture but also provided me with invaluable insights that I plan to integrate into lessons for Curtis students.

As I immersed myself in the local customs and interacted with the warm-hearted Balinese people, I was inspired by the opportunity to bring these cultural gems into my classroom.

The delicate balance between tradition and modernity I observed became a compelling narrative to share with my young students to foster a greater understanding of and appreciation for diverse cultures. I am excited to transport my students to Bali through stories, images, and interactive activities.

One of the highlights of my trip was an excursion to the world-renowned Green School Bali. Nestled amidst lush greenery and surrounded by bamboo structures, this innovative institution is dedicated to sustainability and holistic education. Students there eagerly take on projects such as designing eco-friendly inventions and crafting recycled art. These endeavors cultivate students’ curiosity and empower them to devise innovative solutions for the challenges

our planet faces. I plan to create a similarly nurturing environment within our new geodesic dome greenhouse at Curtis. This space will provide an interactive learning environment where students can engage with nature, witness the wonders of plant growth, and learn about sustainability. This endeavor that aligns with the spirit of the Green School will offer our students more opportunities for hands-on learning and deepen their sense of responsibility towards the environment.

During the last leg of my journey, I had the privilege of attending a life-changing yoga teacher-training in Ubud, known as the heart of Bali. Each day was a harmonious blend of ancient yogic teachings, meditation, mindfulness, and physical practice. Returning to Curtis, I am excited to integrate yoga into the learning environment. Imagine students starting their morning with gentle stretches and mindfulness exercises, setting a positive tone for the day ahead. By incorporating short mindfulness breaks throughout the day, we can help them manage stress, enhance focus, and develop emotional resilience.

My time in Bali has enriched my perspective and will allow me to bring a world of knowledge and inspiration back to our school community. As I eagerly prepare to share these teachings with the Curtis community, I am filled with a sense of purpose and excitement.

Observing the delicate balance between tradition and modernity is a compelling narrative I will share with my students to foster a greater understanding of and appreciation for diverse cultures.

20 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

The stunning view from the Indonesian coast.

BELOW: Small offering baskets, called canang sari, surround flower petals for the opening ceremony of yoga teacher training.

Learning the art of traditional Balinese food.

Locals making their way through Ubud, the “heart of Bali.”

FACULTY TRANSITIONS

Retirements Alex Chistolini

Alex Chistolini, Curtis School’s Director of Physical Education since 2006 and Athletics Director for the past three years, retired in December 2022, after 35 years of dedicated service to the school community. Her leadership as a teacher and director, the profound care she showed her students, and her ability to inspire them and instill values that will serve them for a lifetime have left an indelible imprint on thousands of Curtis students.

optional, pre-holiday run, transformed into the popular Grade K-3 tradition, promoting fitness and collaboration with the science department to teach health awareness.

Arriving in 1987, Alex welcomed Curtis’s first female athletes in competitive sports. She says, “I loved building the foundation for their participation in sports and setting the tone of our program for the school and the entire league.”

While the athletics program has continued to evolve over the years, one guiding principle has remained constant: “Our mindset was to always put the students first and always have time for fun,” she says.

Superstars Day, an event Alex orchestrated for two decades, stands as a joyful highlight. Her “baby,” as she fondly refers to it, is a day of inter-grade competition that has fostered exuberant memories for generations of Curtis students.

Among her notable contributions is the creation of the DK PE Show, a cherished tradition showcasing the Developmental Kindergartners’ athletic skills. The Turkey Trot, initially an

Alex’s partnership with Coach Rio Saken in coaching the swim team propelled it from extracurricular to a prominent fall sport. She treasured this co-ed 4th-6th Grade team’s unity and development.

Alex’s gift of making each child feel like a champion remains the cornerstone of the Curtis athletics program. Her legacy is celebrated by colleagues who admire her warmth, loyalty, and friendship. Head of School Dr. Ratnesar adds, “For all of us who have had the great privilege of being in Alex’s presence, whether in class, at carpool, or just walking around the campus, we know that her positivity and love

Annie Grimes

The end of the school year marked a big change for Curtis with the retirement of one of the school’s longest-serving and well-loved teachers, Annie Grimes. Annie came to Curtis in 1999 inspired by the opportunity to create a vibrant, child-centered music program full of movement and instrumental exploration.

As the sole lower elementary music teacher for her first 11 years here, Annie designed a curriculum guided by California and national music education standards and based on Orff Schulwerk, a method that combines song, movement, drama, and speech and taps into children’s love of play. Collaborating with Lower Elementary Music Teacher Anita Carbajal and, for the past seven years, co-lead Music Teacher Katie McKenna, the program she developed provided nurturing performaing arts experiences for generations of Curtis students.

“ Retirement isn’t in my mindset. I’m not done teaching and learning.”

22 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Year after year, Annie has poured her amazing artistic vision into the student performances that have created precious, lasting memories for our families and given children an opportunity to shine in front of our community. Beyond teaching, Annie contributed to the Goals for Learning in the

Meet the New Director of Lower Elementary We are delighted to introduce to our community Haruka Mori, who steps into the role of Director of Lower Elementary.

for children and all things Curtis is infectious.” Her influence resonates deeply with both students and parents, creating an unbreakable bond with Curtis.

As she embarks on retirement, Alex reflects on her journey.

“Being in one place for 36 years sounds crazy, but it honestly flew by,” she muses. While we miss her on campus daily, her promise to participate in Superstars Day remains firm—slicing watermelons and cheering on cheering on the DK’ers as they battle the faculty in the tug-of-war.

Performing Arts, was a faculty advisor on the Ahmanson Arts Complex renovation, and lent her talents to countless Fair Send-offs and PA Appreciation Breakfast skits, and performed at Curtis Celebrates! 2021, The Masked Singer.

Katie McKenna says of Annie, “Watching her teach is watching a master of their craft and someone who is authentically passionate about what they do.” Dr. Meera Ratnesar reflects, “The poise and confidence of our 6th Graders begins in DK with Annie and the Spooktacular. She draws from every child, even the shyest, musical talent, performance confidence, and joy.”

In turn, Annie says she learned so much from her co-teachers through the years, including Lindsay Parker, Chris Bultman, Anita Carbajal, and Katie McKenna, and she is grateful for the supportive working partnership she has had with Curtis colleagues, especially in the art and music departments.

About the future, Annie says, “The word retirement isn’t in my mindset. I’m not done teaching and learning.” She will continue to give private piano lessons and pick up her fiddle and a few good books, and we look forward to seeing her back on campus as a substitute teacher from time to time.

Haruka Mori is passionate about collaborating with educators and families to provide the finest educational experiences to early childhood and lower elementary students. Her commitment lies in fostering critical thinking, empathy, boundless imagination, calculated risk-taking, and peer collaboration within a nurturing atmosphere that encourages transformative learning and lays the groundwork for a lifetime of learning.

Ms. Mori was the Director of Lower School (Nursery 3s - 3rd Grade) and a teacher at Far Brook School in New Jersey for eight years.

Before that, she served as the Community Life and Diversity Co-Director and Advisory Coordinator at the Allen-Stevenson School in New York City for nine years.

Ms. Mori is currently an executive doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania in Educational Leadership. She earned the Independent School Fellow Scholarship and conducted a nationwide survey on the evolution of inclusive admission practices post-pandemic, in collaboration with Penn and the National Association of Independent Schools. Her research findings will be shared at a national conference. She holds an M.S. in general elementary education from Bank Street College of Education and a B.S. in educational theater with a minor in visual arts from New York University.

Ms. Mori and her husband, William Menard, along with their sons, Kellen ’27 and Stokely ’31, are thrilled to be a part of the Curtis community.

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 23

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Pepe at an all-school ice cream social, enjoyed taking part in Curtis School life. The Jimenez family, (l-r) José, Rose, Pepe, and Paul, has always been close-knit. Pepe was a loving grandfather who adored Caleb ’25. Proud father Pepe at Dads Day 2000 with José ’99 (standing), and Paul ’01 and Rose ’99 (seated).

In Memory of

José “Pepe” Jimenez 1951 - 2023

We were heartbroken in January to learn that José Jimenez, a beloved member of the Curtis family, had passed away unexpectedly. Pepe, as we so fondly knew him, served our community with great dedication and abiding love for 31 years, retiring in 2018.

Pepe arrived at Curtis in 1987 during the early years of development of the Mulholland campus. Director of Facilities Jeff Albert remembers him from the start as “very young and very hard-working.” Pepe quickly became part of a close-knit maintenance team family that together helped create the campus we know today with its stunning grounds and facilities. While members of that team changed over time, Jeff notes that “Pepe was always able to get along with everyone and always had a good time doing it.” Maintenance Team members Eladio Hernandez and Manny Henriquez, who worked with Pepe for many years, remember him as a “team player who was always ready to pitch in” and who was eager to help on any project. Skipping forward, Dr. Ratnesar recalls his kindness: “I had the honor of working with Pepe during the first few years of my headship at Curtis. He was incredibly kind and helpful as I learned my way around the school and the Head’s house.”

Pepe lightheartedly threw his energy into anything that needed to be done. But he also had some special skills that were particularly useful on a campus such as ours. Pepe was the point person for wildlife and was called on whenever a rattlesnake needed to be relocated or other animal wrangled. Among personal talents and interests he shared with Curtis, Pepe was an avid gardener. Eladio and Manny recall that Pepe planted and tended the rambling cactus garden that grows behind the playground and also planted many trees on campus. In downtime, Pepe loved to sing and play guitar and would serenade the faculty and staff at end-of-the year gatherings. He grew some of the hottest peppers and liked sharing his homemade salsas with his colleagues to see who could handle the heat. Pepe’s power hitting and deftness in the field kept the facultystaff team competitive in softball games against the parents, a tradition in earlier times.

A loving father of three children, José ’99, Rose (Hubbard) ’99, and Paul ’01, all of whom attended Curtis, “Pepe,” says Jeff, “was an incredible dad who adored his children and was so proud of them.” Dr. Ratnesar says, “Pepe, above all else, was a loving father and grandfather. What I will remember most about him was the pride he had when his grandson Caleb (’25, Rose’s son) started as a Curtis student and he attended his first Curtis Grandparents Day. The smile on Pepe’s face that day was something I will never forget.”

We all will remember Pepe for his big beautiful smile, great laugh, good-natured sense of humor, and love for Curtis children. We were blessed by his presence at Curtis for many years and are forever grateful for his dedication to our school and community.

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 25

Cultural Celebrations Curtis believes that students learn best and flourish most when they encounter perspectives, people, backgrounds, and experiences other than their own. This year, our Parents Association organized multicultural celebrations to enhance the educational journey of our students and celebrate the rich array of cultures, experiences, and traditions of our diverse community. We’re grateful to all the families who contributed to creating these joyful experiences.

26 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 27

STUDENT VOICES

Beyond the Net

BY ISAAC FUJIKAWA, CLASS OF 2023

Sports and I have never been friends. When I first started at Curtis as a 5th Grader, I had been looking forward to many things, including academics, friends, teachers, and new experiences. However, one thing I had been dreading was sports. In fact, I had rarely ever touched a ball before. Little did I know how beneficial sports would turn out to be for me.

It was our first basketball game of the year, and I had no idea what I was doing nor what to expect. I remember all of the confusing sounds blaring from the speaker above me as I sloppily dribbled, hoping not to get called out by the coach. I heard instructions being directed my way, screams from my teammates, and the noise of the ball slapping against the ground. All of these sounds overlapped, so I ended up hearing only buzzing from everyone. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. It was an out-of-body experience.

As uncomfortable as these experiences may have been for me, playing sports has taught me many things: how to be a part of a team, to gracefully accept defeat, and to push through activities I may not be naturally talented at. Playing sports also taught me to collaborate with others. While my teammates’ personalities may be different, we have to set these differences aside to achieve a common goal. All of these things I have picked up along the way through playing sports will be essential tools that I will take with me as I go on to middle school and beyond.

The Steady Heartbeat of Curtis School

BY REESE FUJIKAWA, CLASS OF 2023

As I taped the box shut, stuffed to the brim with candy, I pictured the child tearing the tape off, sitting up in their hospital bed with excitement, and wondered how joyful would the beautiful smile stretched across their face be? Would that smile then become a wistful stare out the window when they realized that there are people out there—students even—who acknowledged and cared about them?

That picture—and knowing how many people in need there are in Los Angeles, let alone the entire world—gave me the desire to join Roots & Shoots, a communityservice organization here at Curtis. It was this that motivated me to bring my all each Thursday when we would gather for our weekly meeting. And at the end of so many of those meetings, I would walk away knowing we helped do something wonderful, a warm sensation buzzing in my heart. Maybe my uniform would be splattered with pumpkin bread batter that we used to bake for people in shelters. Maybe my arms would be tired from stuffing boxes full of canned Thanksgiving goods to provide a holiday meal for a family in need, and Halloween candy for children in hospitals, or jackets and socks for the unhoused. Maybe my hands would be sore from crafting and writing Valentine’s Day cards to brighten sick children’s days, making dog toys for no-kill shelters, or creating bracelets for Operation Gratitude. But the warmth in my heart made this tiredness and mess all worth it.

I’ve always seen Roots & Shoots as the steady heartbeat of Curtis School’s community, and I’m certain I always will.

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6th Grade class of 2023

Secondary School Outplacement

Albuquerque Academy

1

The Archer School for Girls

3

The Blake School

1

Brentwood School

14

and families to navigate the process of middle school outplacement

Campbell Hall

4

together. At Curtis, we take the time to know each student and

Chaminade College Preparatory

2

Crossroads School

1

beyond. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2023

Harvard-Westlake School

25

and wish them continued success in their academic journeys.

Marlborough School

3

Oaks Christian School

1

Riverdale Country School

1

Viewpoint School

1

Windward School

7

Curtis teachers, administrators, and staff work alongside students

are proud to see our graduates highly regarded by the admissions offices of prestigious secondary schools in Los Angeles and

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 29

AWARDS & GRANTS

Sixth Grade Awards ACADEMIC AWARD Members of the Faculty vote upon this award to recognize the students who have continually displayed outstanding effort and achievement in all subject areas of academic work.

Layla Bhatia Kasra Maghami

CONTRIBUTION AWARD Members of the Faculty vote upon this award to recognize the students who have continually contributed of themselves to the betterment of Curtis School and its student body.

Griffin Frazier Milena Kirchner THREE-RULE AWARD Members of the Faculty vote upon this award and present it to the 6th Graders who exemplify the school motto of kindness, honesty, and respect for yourself and others.

Elsie Church Tyler Gloege

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARD The 6th Grade students were asked to reflect on their time at Curtis and to identify two peer students who consistently inspired them through their actions to become better people themselves.

Roxi Azarbal Tyler Gloege

30 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Community Service Grant News Congratulations to the recipients of the 2023 Alumni Council Community Service Grant.

The Curtis Alumni Community Service Grant is a competitive annual grant designed to assist Curtis alums’ summer community service projects in Grades 7-12. This year’s program application was extended to include Curtis School’s graduating Class of 2023, resulting in a record number of applications.

The Alumni Council is grateful to all the young alums who actively participated in the grant application process for giving so generously of themselves to so many worthy causes and for stewarding Curtis’s mission of a compassionate heart within the Los Angeles community and beyond.

2023 COMMUNITY GRANT RECIPIENTS NOA BLACKMAN (Curtis ’19, Harvard-Westlake ’25) founded “Different Together” to promote inclusivity and understanding, raising funds and awareness for Beit Issie Shapiro’s U.S. presence.

Living with Gaucher Disease has highlighted the fragility of health for Noa. Through bake sales and profiles, she aims to humanize disabilities, with plans to expand and use the funds awarded for materials and outreach.

BROOKE FRIEDMAN (Curtis ’18, Brentwood ’24) and her sister, Jolie ’20, founded SheStyles a few years ago. They organize pop-up shops with donated new and gently used clothing, offering underserved youth a genuine shopping experience. Rather than receiving clothes from bags or bins, recipients can choose from clothing racks and shelves styled by volunteers.

Especially in challenging times, feeling a true sense of belonging is crucial. Clothing that boosts confidence can make a real difference in helping young people feel amazing.

FROM L-R: Alumni Council Representative Allison Jacoby ’83, Brooke Friedman ’18, Avery Gough ’18 , Noa Blackman ’19, Leah Miller ’23, Alumni Council Representative Jill Carmel ’85. Missing: Campbell Klein ’18

AVERY GOUGH (Curtis ’18, Marlborough ’24) aims to establish a partnership between Food Forward and Curtis School, organizing “Backyard Gleans.” Avery will develop a school program modeled after Food Forward’s template, collaborating with the community service coordinator and PA liaison. These family-friendly outdoor events promote education and engagement, offering a unique opportunity for Curtis students, including younger ones, to participate.

THANK YOU to these generous donors for supporting this program.

Darren ’88 & Michelle Cohen The Jacoby Family The Zarcufsky Family

CAMPBELL KLEIN (Curtis ’18, Brentwood ’24) is enthusiastic about organizing a chess tournament for veterans at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs, complete with prizes, refreshments, and music. With many veterans enjoying chess and competition, this event holds great appeal. Conversations with veterans reveal a strong desire to engage in such a tournament, making it an ideal opportunity to create a meaningful and enjoyable experience.

LEAH MILLER (Curtis ’23, Brentwood ’29) will use her grant award to establish a camp for children experiencing homelessness at OC Rescue Mission. Her camp proposal has been approved by OC Rescue Mission. Having volunteered there previously and organized drives for kids’ items, she is eager to make summers special for children.

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

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 31

Sixth Grade Class Of 2017 Congratulations to our alumni who graduated from high school in 2023. We are confident that each of these remarkable individuals will continue to pursue their educations with passion and purpose and will use their knowledge, talents, and compassionate hearts to bring about change and positivity with an understanding of their responsibility to the greater good.

Matriculation of the Curtis Alumni High School Graduates of 2023 TYLER ALDAVE

University of Michigan

CHLOE ALTMAN

University of Wisconsin-Madison

JADEN ANSELMO Brown University

ANDREW ARKOW Harvard University

DARCY BASS

Southern Methodist University

BRONSON BOYLE

University of Southern California

LILLIE BUSH

The American University of Paris

ALEXANDER CAPLAN

RYANN CASTANON-HILL California College of the Arts, San Francisco

MATTHEW CHANG Pomona College

ANGELITA CHEW

University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

CATHERINE CHO

Georgetown University

FALLON DERN Vassar College

EMMA DUDLEY

University of Colorado, Boulder

ZACHARY DULBERG

JORDAN ESTES

University of California, Los Angeles

COCO FOURTICQ

University of San Diego

FALLON GARCIA DePaul University

JACOB GLAZER

University of Pennsylvania

JACK GOETZ

Southern Methodist University

GEORGIA GREEN McGill University

NICHOLAS GUAGLIANO Syracuse University

University of Southern California

Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

SAMANTHA HO

SYDNEY CARMEL

SAMANTHA ENG

KATIE HOPMANS

Boston College

32 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Tufts University

Brown University Tufts University

NICOLE HOPMANS

AARON MIKAIL

GRACE SUOMI

NELEH KAY

EMMA MILLER

DANIEL TAN-GOLDHAMMER

ADDISON KLEIN

HARRISON PENNELL

JOSHUA TAN-GOLDHAMMER

SOPHIE LITTMAN

CLAIRE ROBICHAUD

DELARA TEHRANCHI

DANIELLE LYNCH

AIDEN SALL

BO WATTS

THOMAS MADISON

JADE SCHWEITZER

ELI WEINBACH

NATALIE MCKNIGHT

CAMPBELL SCOTCH

JOEL WILLIAMS

KRISTINA MEGERDICHIAN

ZOE SHAPIRO

SOPHIA YASSINGER

VIVYANNAH MEHTA

CHRISTOPHER SPENCER

Univeristy of Texas, Austin Brown University University of Colorado, Boulder Tufts University

Clemson University

University of Arizona (Spring 2024) University of Richmond Tufts University

University of Miami

Washington University Northwestern University Tulane University

Southern Methodist University University of Colorado, Boulder Washington University University of Chicago

University College Dublin

University of California, Santa Cruz Boston University

New York University Stanford University

University of Texas, Austin Georgetown University Tulane University Duke University

Howard University

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 33

LEGACY BREAKFAST

Alumni year in review With the dynamic leadership of the Alumni Council and its officers, President Jared Cohen ’88, Vice President Patricia Weg ’94, and Secretary Ashley Warne ’96, Curtis School’s alumni program flourished, hosting a series of successful events that fostered community engagement. One noteworthy addition to the calendar of events is Pre-Fair, which has generated enthusiasm and excitement among attendees.

ALUMNI COUNCIL 2022-23 Jill Carmel ’85 Darren Cohen ’88 Jared Cohen ’88 Marshall Cole ’96 Cass Girard-Brownstein ’86 David Gross ’90 Kat Haydarzadeh ’88 Allison Jacoby ’83 Cat Krantz Benner ’85 Margaux Lushing ’96 Max Mednik ’96 Mimi Paley ’00 Jeff Porter ’91 Ashley Warne ’96 Patricia Weg ’94 Shana Zarcufsky ’85

Alumni and their current Curtis students gathered for breakfast at the Head’s residence before the school day. The Legacy Breakfast honors the continuity of Curtis in the lives of these families.

PIN CEREMONY Patricia Weg ’94, the keynote speaker, congratulated and cheered on our graduating class.

Interested in joining the Alumni Council?

Email mmalone@curtisschool.org to learn more.

COUGAR CONVERSATIONS Curtis alumni entrepreneurs came together on Zoom to discuss innovation, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to build a successful business from the ground up.

Arya Alexander ’01 34 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Haley Rader Weidenbaum ’99

Max Mednik ’96

BEYOND CURTIS During our annual Beyond Curtis event, 6th Graders wrote letters to themselves that will be given back to them when they return for their Senior Send-off in 6 years. Alumni Maniya Arnold Brownlee ’20, Saira Rahemtulla ’22, Justin Kirchner ’21 (l-r in the photo) and Tyler Yeargin ’22 (not pictured) spoke to the graduating class about what to expect beyond Curtis. This year, we also hosted a parent panel, which was moderated by Dr. Ratnesar.

PRE-FAIR

SPORTS NIGHT SPEAKERS

In its inaugural year, adult

Curtis’s tradition of bringing

alumni gathered on the steps

alumni student-athletes back to

of the library the night before

address our families is always a

Curtis Fair for a behind-the-

highlight of Sports Night, hosted

scenes look at what it takes to

by the athletics department.

put on such an amazing event.

This year, Emma Dudley ’17 spoke about what it means to be a good teammate on and off the court.

ALUMNI AT CURTIS CARES DAY For the first time, Curtis alumni were invited to participate in Curtis Cares Day, an all-school service day where families come together to strengthen the community outside of Curtis.

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 35

Alumni Class Notes

1990s Todd Cohen ’91 and his wife Danielle, and their two boys, Adam and Jack, are off on an epic journey as they make a big move to the south of France! Bon voyage!

Samantha (Allan) Chapin

Nick Melvoin

1970s Lisa Niver ’79 alum and former Curtis DK-3rd Grade science teacher says, “Thank you so much to my Curtis school friends, teachers and my science students and their parents who always came to class for your ongoing support for me and my writing! It has been quite a rollercoaster ride!

My book, Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless After Fifty, published on September 19, 2023 from Post Hill Press and Simon and Schuster. More info at lisaniver.com/braveish. Take small steps to make your Brave-ish dreams come TRUE!”

1980s Heidi Aranson-Marchette ’86 says, “I am a silent partner in Casa Bella Extended Care. I am married to Josh Marchette and have a son named Rieland. I am currently PTA President at TREE Academy. I loved my time at Curtis. Go Cougars!”

36 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Samantha (Allan) Chapin ’93 writes, “I am living in Sonoma, CA with my husband, Tim, and am soon to be an empty nester!

Sydney is a senior in high school and will be heading off to Wheaton College in Massachusetts this fall to major in film and creative writing. My son, Austin, is living in AZ and is finishing his math degree to possibly become a high school math teacher. And for me, I started a small business in 2020, “Valley Girl Granola.” I am at our local farmers market and stores around Sonoma. I still keep in touch with many of my friends from Curtis School. My best friend is still Sue Sobul and I cherish my time spent as a Cougar! Hi to Coach Albert, Ms. Ivy, and Ms. Sobul, who I know are still there. :)” Nick Melvoin ’98 says, “As I just booked flights for my college 15th year reunion, it’s hard to believe it’s been 25 since graduating from Curtis! There are days when it only feels like yesterday, but that could be because the school had such a lasting impact on me, from my career choices to my close circle of friends. It’s been a busy and exciting last year for me. I got married in July (a Jewish wedding in Oslo, naturally, and see the accompanying picture with fellow Curtis alum, my brother Charlie ’99), and was reelected to the Los

Angeles Unified School Board in June. I’m living in the greater Hancock Park area and always enjoy running into fellow alums on the street, on the soccer field, or as new parents looking for good school options for their kids! I’ve also just launched a campaign for Congress to succeed Adam Schiff, so if you live anywhere from MidWilshire to Hancock Park to West Hollywood to Hollywood to Silver Lake to Echo Park to Glendale to Burbank, you’ll see me on your ballot in March! Check out www. nickmelvoin.com to learn more.”

2000s Alex Hofbauer ’00 shares, “After getting married in October, my new wife and I moved to Oklahoma City in January for her new attending surgeon role at OU Hospital. I am working for Booz Allen Hamilton in their OKC office while still supporting the Los Angeles team.”

Alex Hofbauer

Samantha Moray ’01 recently married Miami native Lanny Grossman this past November after meeting on an app only 18 months earlier. Their wedding weekend kicked off with a welcome

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

Samantha Moray

dinner at the iconic Canter’s Deli. where they completely rebranded the space as Grossmans with customized signage, condiments, menus and even crayons. The fantasy wedding took place at The Beverly Hills Hotel in the iconic Crystal Ballroom. The couple walked down the aisle to a live gospel choir after which guests snacked on lobster tacos and wagyu meatballs before dancing the night away on a custom green and white striped dance floor paying homage to the BHH entrance. After an unforgettable night, the couple is now cooking a future Cougar, expecting their first baby in November 2023.

Ryder and Elliott has a 2 month old named Hazel. Although parenthood caught them off guard, they both feel so blessed to have such an amazing feeling of becoming a parent. Ashleigh graduated from art school with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising and Design. She owns her own resale baby store, “Hazel and Ry”, and still finds time to work with children with disabilites. Elliott is attending film school at the Los Angeles Film School, he is presently a photographer and runs his own studio, No Better Photography.

He’s been a photographer for the last 7 years, he says it’s always been his passion to capture people and make their photos worth, “A 1000 words!” I have to say, he is a pretty amazing photographer and people love shooting with him because you can see his passion behind the lens and how much he enjoys shooting pictures of his clients! They both often speak of Curtis School to their new friends and they say, “It was the best times of their lives!”

Alexandra Shveda

Alexandra Shveda ’09 currently lives in NYC and works as a Senior Negotiator, Video Partnerships at Initiative. In her free time she likes to volunteer with Newtown Creek Alliance, Billion Oyster Project, and her neighborhood community garden. She was thrilled to visit Spain and Ecuador this past year, where she hiked the Caminito del Rey and the Cotopaxi refugio.

She is so happy to still hold Emma Graham and Alyx Tauber— fellow 2009 grads —as dear friends in NYC!

2010s Vienna Ray Webb ’13 graduated from USC in the spring and shares, I have started a nonprofit organization called Stellify, that supports autistic individuals on the spectrum. We focus on independent living skills, physical well being, and job training.

Kelsey Rose Weber Thomas ’03 After spending two years in NYC, Kelsey recently relocated to Nashville with her husband and welcomed their first son, Foster James, in August 2022. “Can’t wait to raise a future Cougar!,” she says.

Roman Holthouse

Kelsey Rose Weber Thomas

Elliot ’09 and Ashleigh ’05 Hampton former Curtis Coach Kizzie Hampton tells us that both her children became parents within three months of each other!

Ashleigh has a 5 month old named

Roman Holthouse ’09 shares, “After a two-year stint in wealth management and estate planning following my graduation from USC (2019), I recently switched gears and joined WhiteHawk Capital, a private credit fund located in West LA. WhiteHawk provides financial solutions to private and public companies across a variety of industries. I am currently an associate there and look forward to a long career at the company!

Outside of work, I enjoy watching and attending LA Kings games.”

CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023 37

Jack Davis Kern ’18 spent the summer studying Japanese and has been studying through the community college system now for four years. He is now fluent in speaking the language.

Chloe Saadat

Brayden Hagle ’16 says, “I couldn’t be more excited to share my commitment to Stanford University to continue my athletic and academic career. This opportunity is a culmination of all of the hard work I have put in up to this point in my life as well as all of the incredible investment members of my community have put into making me the person I am today. Undoubtably one of the most formative and supporting communities I have been in up to this point in my life is Curtis.

To this day, many of my closest relationships are the ones that I formed during my time here. It was at Curtis that the groundwork for excelling as a student-athlete at the next level was laid. My teachers and peers encouraged me to dream big and work hard, something that will continue to push me forward in life. As I strive to reach even bigger goals, I’m positive Curtis will continue to play an important role in my future success. Go Cougars! Go Card!”

Submit a Class note Alumni@CurtisSchool.org curtisschool.org/ submitaclassnote

38 CURTIS MAGAZINE 2023

Jack Davis Kern

2020s Londyn T. Collin ’20 writes, “I am a freshman and an honors student at Chaminade College Preparatory.

I play Lacrosse and I am the founder of The Hope Brigade, a non-profit charity that aids the mental health of teen cancer patients at City of Hope. We deliver curated boxes full of cool gifts in efforts to brighten the mood of teenagers going through treatment and who are having rough days at the hospital. Learn more and support by visiting our website www.thehopebrigade.org.”

Londyn T. Collin

Chloe Saadat ’20 shares, “Recently, I have been lucky enough to qualify for the swim finals. I swim for Brentwood and will participate in the relay, backstroke, and freestyle events.

Though I am nervous, I am excited to see how I do!”

Dani Frank

Dani Frank ’21 shares, “I’m doing my first ever music concert at my school for friends and family soon.

It is also going to be the first time I’ve sung in front of an audience since I was little.”

Class of 2017

Senior Send-off Our annual Send-off of Curtis alumni who are graduating from high school offers a chance to reconnect with teachers and classmates before heading off to college. We had a huge turnout of students (and their parents) anxious to be back at Curtis.

Alumni enjoyed hugs, photos, the 6th Grade video, and reliving memories of their childhood days on campus!

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.

Magazine & Annual Report 2022-23 Editor Dede Haglund Contributors Dede Haglund Brian Hollis Melissa Malone Hilary Manners Sandra McGarry Corinne Schulman Photography Curtis School Faculty Issac Castro Dede Haglund Lauder Photography Michel Lim Moloshok Photography Design Kera Saenz de Maturana Printing Colornet Press Director of Communications Hilary Manners Head of School Dr. Meera Ratnesar Curtis School 15871 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 publications@curtisschool.org

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 students have space to learn and play on their campus and feel safe and secure.

Embrace diversity Students 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.

Curtis is committed to caring for the environment.

This publication uses paper from responsible sources and soy-based inks.

Annual Report 2022-2023

Contents 3

From the Chair of the Board of Trustees

4

Board of Trustees Committees

6

Welcome New Board Members

9

School Finances

10

From the Parents Association President

12

Parents Association Committees

14

Curtis Fair

16

Curtis Celebrates!

18

Think Forward Campaign

21

Curtis Fund Leadership

22

Report on Philanthropy

36

Celebrating Milestones of Service

15871 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 476-1251 Publications@CurtisSchool.org @curtis.school @CurtisCougars linkedin.com/company/curtisschool/

Board of Trustees 2022-23

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

2023-24

Craig Varnen, Chair Tracy Minker ’88, First Vice Chair Dilip Bhavnani, Second Vice Chair Steve Chang, Treasurer Harshith Ramesh, Secretary Erikson Albrecht Kavitha Bhatia Ryan Boccuzzi Lee Chu Marshall Cole ’96 Dana Coleman Casey Federman Rob Friedman Nicholas Matus Kevin Newman ’83 Harshith Ramesh Karla Diaz Sayles Leslie Vermut Jon Wimbish Thea Wolf Rachel Yang

FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

looking forward Dear Curtis Community, On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank all Curtis families, past and present, as well as our amazing faculty and staff, for the strong support that made the 2022-23 Curtis Fund and school year a great success. In addition, I want to thank the Parents Association, under the leadership of President Jen Hilton, for the countless ways it has helped create a supportive and inviting community. Thank you, Jen, for your leadership and friendship.

At the end of the school year, we bid farewell and thank you to three board members who have been invaluable to us: Elizabeth English, Jim Miller ’90, and Allan Schweitzer ’79. As Head of Archer School, a local secondary independent school, Elizabeth English offered an important perspective to our board. Jim Miller provided special expertise and support for many years. Allan Schweitzer, who I succeeded as board chair, brought exceptional leadership and financial stewardship. These The Friedman Family (l-r): Jolie ’20, Rob, Brooke ’18, and Shari. devoted trustees, who have been so generous with their time for so many years, will be sorely missed. I know that Jim and Allan, whose last children graduated this year, will always count Curtis as their home.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new board members for the 2023-24 school year: Lee Chu, Marshall Cole ’96, Casey Federman, and Nick Matus, all of whom are current parents in our community. Each one has already demonstrated their expertise and commitment to our school by serving as parent members of board committees, including the Building and Grounds, Finance, and Audit Committees. Their collective insight has already proved invaluable, and I’m confident our Board of Trustees will be strengthened by their talents. I encourage you to read about them in the pages that follow.

We will also welcome a new board chair, Craig Varnen. I have the utmost confidence in Craig, who, as a longtime board member, has served Curtis with distinction. And I'm excited to see his stewardship of its future.

I've come to the end of my three-year tenure as board chair, and though I will be staying on the board for one additional year, I want to thank you all for your support and strength throughout the pandemic and beyond. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were all negotiating the obstacles of hybrid learning and working, but it's worth taking a moment to acknowledge how far we've come.

As I reflect on the past year, I couldn‘t be prouder of finally securing the City’s approval to build the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center we’ve all fought so hard for and have been eagerly anticipating for many years.

It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your board chair and to work alongside Dr. Ratnesar and our extraordinarily dedicated and thoughtful board and administration. 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

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 3

2022-23

Board of Trustees Committees EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Rob Friedman, Chair Craig Varnen, First Vice Chair Tracy Minker ’88, Second Vice Chair Allan Schweitzer ’79, Treasurer Thea Wolf, Secretary

ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE

Rob Friedman, Ex Officio Dilip Bhavnani, Co-Chair Thea Wolf, Co-Chair Jim Miller ’90 Tracy Minker ’88 Leslie Vermut Rachel Yang Kimberly Borman, Non-Trustee Member Jaya Hathaway, Non-Trustee Member Monica Johnson, Non-Trustee Member Monica Kirchner, Non-Trustee Member Rebecca Mall, Non-Trustee Member Jeff Reynolds, Non-Trustee Member Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Rob Friedman, Ex Officio Dilip Bhavnani, Co-Chair Rachel Yang, Co-Chair Craig Varnen Marshall Cole ’96, Non-Trustee Member John Peters, Non-Trustee Member Sarah Wetzstein, Non-Trustee Member Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Brian Hollis, Chief Financial Officer Kate Fox, Director of Accounting

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS COMMITTEE Rob Friedman, Ex Officio Harshith Ramesh, Chair Erikson Albrecht Steve Chang Karla Diaz Sayles Allan Schweitzer ’79 Jon Wimbish Casey Federman, Non-Trustee Member David Schwartzman, Non-Trustee Member Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Sarah Tinsley, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Albert, Director of Facilities

4 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES Rob Friedman, Ex officio Dilip Bhavnani, Co-Chair Karla Diaz Sayles, Co-Chair Kavitha Bhatia Dana Coleman Tracy Minker ’88 Craig Varnen

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION COMMITTEE

Rob Friedman, Ex Officio Erikson Albrecht, Co-Chair Dana Coleman, Co-Chair Ryan Boccuzzi Kevin Newman ’83 Karla Diaz Sayles Thea Wolf Jordan Church, Non-Trustee Member David Hilton, Non-Trustee Member Sherri Martin, Non-Trustee Member Iva Shah, Non-Trustee Member David Yang, Non-Trustee Member Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Sarah Tinsley, Chief Operating Officer Janet Lee, Director of Equity, Curriculum & Instruction Earleen Kennedy, School Counselor & Community Liaison for DEI

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Rob Friedman, Ex Officio Steve Chang, Chair Kevin Newman ’83 Harshith Ramesh Allan Schweitzer ’79 Leslie Vermut Howard Cheng, Non-Trustee Member Lee Chu, Non-Trustee Member Chris Lau, Non-Trustee Member Nick Matus, Non-Trustee Member Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Brian Hollis, Chief Financial Officer Kate Fox, Director of Accounting

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 5

LEE CHU

MARSHALL COLE ’96

CASEY FEDERMAN

NICHOLAS MATUS

6 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Welcome New Board Members We are excited and honored to introduce four outstanding individuals joining our Board of Trustees for the 2023-24 year. Their exceptional skills and diverse backgrounds will further enhance our already impressive board, and we express our sincere gratitude for their commitment to serving our community.

LEE CHU

Lee Chu is a dedicated Curtis parent and has been a valuable member of the board’s Finance Committee.

Lee is a Partner and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at The Capital Group, one of the world’s largest investment management organizations (with over $2.2 trillion in assets under management). She also holds the position of Research Director. Over the course of her career, she has been an advocate for women in investment management and a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the asset management industry.

Prior to joining Capital, she spent time in South Korea on a Fulbright Scholarship, awarded by the U.S. Department of State. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University.

Lee and her husband, Jongmin, are proud parents of three children, Iris ’28, Astrid and Amias, both of whom are at Bel Air Preschool.

MARSHALL COLE ’96

Marshall Cole is an engaged Curtis alum and current parent.

He recently moderated a Cougar Conversations Alumni Panel and served on the Audit Committee.

Marshall is a highly skilled trial attorney and Managing Partner at Nemecek & Cole. He is known for handling complex and high-profile cases with success. He is recognized as a problem solver, resolving cases efficiently and obtaining favorable verdicts at trial. Marshall has been repeatedly named by the Daily Journal as one of California’s top professional liability attorneys and is a sought-after speaker at legal seminars throughout the country.

Marshall holds a B.S. in Political Science and a J.D. from the University of San Diego.

Marshall and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of Curtis students James ’28 and Caroline ’30, and Margaux (The Sherman Oaks Nursery School).

CASEY FEDERMAN

Casey Federman is a longtime Curtis parent, who has already been serving on the board’s Buildings and Ground Committee.

Casey is Vice Chairman and a Senior Partner at Irongate, a real estate development and investment firm based in Los Angeles. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate and real estate transactions. Prior to Irongate, Casey was an investment banker and corporate attorney.

Casey attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his JD/MBA from the University of Southern California.

Casey and his wife, Dana, are proud parents of four children, including Bodie ’29, as well as three Curtis alumni, Piper ’21, JT ’18, and Wilson ’18, and two Goldadors, Finn and Stanley.

NICHOLAS MATUS

Nicholas Matus brings extensive experience in real estate, development, finance, and corporate strategy to the board and his role serving on the Finance Committee and the CLIC Task Force.

Nicholas is the Co-President and Chief Operating Officer of Benedict Canyon Equities, where he is responsible for developing and implementing corporate and investment strategies, as well as managing real estate funds and portfolios.

With an impressive 18-year track record in the real estate investment industry, Nicholas is an expert in multifamily investment, asset management, and risk mitigation. Prior to his current role, he served as the Vice President of Global Assets, Real Estate Americas at J.P. Morgan. Besides his professional pursuits, Nicholas is an active participant in the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Chrysalis, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and is a member of the National Multi-housing Council.

Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, with a concentration on finance and real estate.

He and his wife, Amanda, are proud parents of two Curtis Cougars, Chase ’29 and Sam ’30.

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 7

8 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

School Finances OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2022 - JUNE 30, 2023

1.0%

Restricted/Draw

OPERATING INCOME

1.4%

Tuition, Fees & Other

$18,240,064

89.2%

Investment Income1

$15,000

0.1%

Total Operating Income

Net Parents Association Fundraising

0.1%

Investment Income

8.3%

Unrestricted Gifts

$18,255,064

GIFTS, CONTRIBUTIONS & DRAWS Unrestricted2

$1,700,000

8.3%

Restricted Funds/Endowment Draw

$210,000

1.0%

Net Parents Association Fundraising

$275,000

1.4%

Total Contributions Total Revenue

89.2%

Tuition, Fees & Other

$2,185,000 OPERATING INCOME, GIFTS & CONTRIBUTIONS

$20,440,064

OPERATING EXPENSE3

10.1%

Salaries, Benefits & Educational Programs

$14,005,727

69.1%

Facilities

$1,961,900

9.7%

General Administration

$2,055,656

10.1%

Financial Access Program Total Expenditures Surplus (Deficit)

$2,250,000

11.1%

$20,273,283 $166,781

General Administration

9.7%

Facilities

11.1%

Financial Access

69.1%

Salaries, Benefits & Educational Programs

OPERATING EXPENSE Financial figures in this report reflect the Board-approved 2022-23 school year revised budget and exclude CLIC Project expenses.

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

1

2

Unrestricted Gifts reflects Annual Fund goal.

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

3

As of 6/30/2023

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 9

FROM THE PARENTS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Celebrating our Community Dear Curtis Community, As I reflect on the year that just passed, I’m struck with the sense that this was a year of celebration.

I close out this year by celebrating all of you who contributed to making this year exceptional! Curtis is a community that is always moving forward, and this essential, remarkable quality is what inspired my two goals for the year as PA President.

My first goal was not only to have a year filled with all of Curtis’s varied special events and traditions but also to add positive updates where possible. It’s a balance to enhance our much anticipated annual events while keeping them rooted in our Curtis traditions so that the soul of them is everything we know and love. We held our first cashless Fair, adjusted Curtis Celebrates! so we could accommodate a record number of our community on this special evening, held a hugely successful Book Spree, made room for more cultures to be represented at International Lunch Day, and more!

My second but no less important goal was to have each member of our community feel seen and valued. I was less noticeably vocal about this, because I believe this aspiration is most effectively communicated through actions. We varied program times to allow families with all types of schedules to participate as often as possible. Our children took part in several community service events such as Buds, Seedlings, Roots and Shoots, Families Helping Families, and Curtis Cares Day. These activities enabled them to contribute to the wider community and help their fellow Curtis students.

We celebrated our community and the world’s diversity on International Lunch Day. And new this year, we invited families to share their holidays, traditions, and other aspects of their cultures with the entire school at monthly lunchtime Cultural Celebrations. This year was truly a celebration of every member of our community.

From the moment my family joined the Curtis community, I knew our school was extraordinary.

And as I completed my year serving as your PA President, I was overwhelmed by how special Curtis truly is. The thoughtful Board of Trustees, the excellent faculty, administration, and staff, the opportunities for our children to discover their interests and passions, the wide-open campus and the joyful children that get to roam it—and you—are what make Curtis the exceptional school it is. Thank you for giving me the privilege of guiding you through this year. I have been honored and humbled to fill the role of your PA President.

With gratitude,

Jennifer Hilton Parents Association President, 2022-23

The Hilton Family (l-r): Brad Hilton ‘25, David Hilton, Mackenzie Hilton ‘22, Jennifer Hilton, Andrew Hilton ‘20

10 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

PA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2022-23 (l-r): 1st VP-Communications, Zaheeda Rahemtulla; Immediate PastPresident, Katherine Meyer; 2nd VP-Admissions Liaison, Amita Ramesh; Assistant Treasurer, Christine De La Hoz; Treasurer, Sue Tran; Marketing & Website Manager, Kristin Campbell; President, Jennifer Hilton; Recording Secretary, Katie Gebhard; 4th VP-Community, Danyel Lau; 5th VP-Enrichment, Stacey Fish; 3rd VP-Fundraising, Sharon Eshaghoff 1B IG SUNDAY The Klein and Schackne families participate in Big Sunday day of service off campus.

2C URTIS FAIR SEND-OFF 2022 Curtis Fair Chairs, Stacey Fish, Carolyn Huang, Marla Raminfar and Jenny Smiley perform a skit during the student send-off assembly.

3P A HOLIDAY GIVING PA Treasurer, Sue Tran and President, Jennifer Hilton peform elf duties as part of PA Holiday Giving program for faculty and staff.

4B OOK SPREE Book Spree volunteers help guide students on a wide variety of choice books.

5C URTIS CELEBRATES! Parent volunteer Hannah Yang creates decor for Curtis Celebrates!

6C URTIS CARES Curtis Cares Day volunteers Courtney Mack, Karla Sayles, Ali Weinberger, Stacey Fish, Katie Gebhard

2

5

1

3

4

6

2022-23

Parents Association Committees Curtis is incredibly fortunate to have a robust community of families who consistently contribute to our school through the Parents Association. Their selfless dedication and generosity of time, talent, and resources to enhance the learning environment and overall experience for our students, families, faculty, and staff. We are deeply grateful to these committed volunteers for partnering with us to ensure that Curtis remains an extraordinary place.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

2ND VP COMMITTEES – ADMISSIONS LIAISON

Jen Hilton, President Zaheeda Rahemtulla, 1st Vice President – Communications Amita Ramesh, 2nd Vice President – Admissions Liaison Sharon Eshaghoff, 3rd Vice President – Fundraising Danyel Lau, 4th Vice President – Community Stacey Fish, 5th Vice President – Enrichment Sue Tran, Treasurer Katie Gebhard, Recording Secretary Jenny Smiley, Corresponding Secretary Katherine Meyer, Past President

New Parent Liaisons Jaya Hathaway, Developmental Kindergarten Dianna Mannheim, Developmental Kindergarten Alexis Alban, Kindergarten Erin Creznic, Kindergarten Stacey Fish, Kindergarten Joyce Komori, Kindergarten Elina Wineburgh, Kindergarten Lee Chu, 1st Grade Lisa Goh, 1st Grade Diana Pickett, 1st Grade Iva Shah, 1st Grade Hannah Yang, 1st Grade Elina Wineburgh, 2nd Grade Karoline Hilu, 3rd Grade Danielle Molina, 3rd Grade Christine Zenjiryan, 3rd Grade Rakhee Alston, 4th Grade Heather Bath, 5th Grade Carolyn Huang, 5th Grade Gail Middleton, 5th Grade

1ST VP COMMITTEES - COMMUNICATIONS Grade Representatives Jaya Hathaway, Developmental Kindergarten Leena Fakhri, Kindergarten Courtney Mack, 1st Grade Sanaz Tavakoli, 2nd Grade Annabelle Apley, 3rd Grade Sherri Martin, 4th Grade Michelle Etebar, 5th Grade Kristin Campbell, 6th Grade Alli Katz, 6th Grade Monica Kirchner, 6th Grade Elsie Mendoza, 6th Grade Lost & Found Beverly Galashan Samantha Milner Meredith Rettinger Daniela Sheahan Practically New Uniforms Meghann Altman Dana Federman Rachel Kirenga Danielle Molina

12 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

3RD VP COMMITTEES FUNDRAISING

5TH VP COMMITTEES ENRICHMENT

Assistant Treasurer Christine De La Hoz

Buds (Grades 3-4) Julia Chang Randie Kleinman Yasmine Maghami Maisha Pajardo-O’Neal Amy Siegel Christine Zenjiryan

Boutique Annabelle Apley Leena Fakhri Stacey Fish Yasmine Maghami Candice Naysan Yelena Vayner Cougar Wear Christine De La Hoz Wendy Luan Hannah Yang Curtis Celebrates! 2023 Sapna Abrol Courtney Fennimore Lisa Neman Nilou Raiman Jennifer Yen Curtis Fair 2022 Stacey Fish Carolyn Huang Marla Raminfar Jenny Smiley Fundraising, Website & Marketing Manager Kristin Campbell Fundraising Members-at-Large Alli Katz Monica Kirchner Party Book Amy Kestenbaum Ariane Klein Amy Siegel Orly Tabibi Christine Zenjiryan 4TH VP COMMITTEES COMMUNITY Book Spree Beverly Galashan Michelle McGruder Zaheeda Rahemtulla Salimah Shamji Renee Yang

Cultural Celebrations Alexis Alban Rachel Kirenga Dianna Mannheim Elsie Mendoza Iva Shah Renee Yang Curtis Cares Community Service Day Seda Bayrak Julia Chang Danielle Dito Rayna Marz Golnaz Paya Jill Peters Meredith Rettinger Families Helping Families Danielle Dito Katie Gebhard Courtney Mack Karla Diaz Sayles Ali Weinberger Seedlings (Grades DK-2) Clare Apelian Jennifer Cole Sabrina Daneshgar Beverly Galashan Jackie Harman Michelle McGruder Candice Naysan STANDING COMMITTEES Admission Tours Alexis Alban Meghann Altman Annabelle Apley Daniel Branscome Lee Chu Dana Federman Jaya Hathaway Alli Katz Dianna Mannheim Sherri Martin Michelle McGruder Jason Milner John Peters Meredith Rettinger Iva Shah Julie Torres Hannah Yang Shana Zarcufsky

Curtis Celebrates!

Samantha Milner, Auction Orly Tabibi, Auction Yasmine Maghami, Design & Decor Hannah Yang, Design & Decor Meghann Altman, Tickets Iva Shah, Wine Cellar Historian Dana Federman Hot Lunch Sharon Broukhim Michelle Brubaker Hila Farasat Jaya Hathaway Jennie Kwon Cara Rich ​​International Lunch Day Julia Chang Rachel Kirenga Jin Sun Lee Maisha Pajardo-O’Neal Iva Shah Christine Zenjiryan Library Chairs Daniel Branscome Kelly Gafni PA Members-at-Large Rebecca Mall Seema Stewart PA Past Presidents Heather Bath Monica Kirchner Katherine Meyer Treasury Committee Ali Weinberger, Chair Lisa Goh Stephanie Lee-Felker Syldy Nida Mili Patel John Peters NOMINATING COMMITTEE Katherine Meyer, Chair Kimberly Borman Kristin Campbell Karen Frankel Carolyn Huang Alli Katz Monica Kirchner Michelle McGruder Orly Tabibi Sue Tran

ROOM PARENTS Developmental Kindergarten Jennifer Cole Julia Richter Kindergarten Alexis Alban Carly Church Jennie Kwon Britt Levine Sue Tran Laura Zahrawi 1st Grade Lisa Beaubaire Lee Chu Nadia Javaheri Stephanie Lee-Felker Mili Patel Hannah Yang 2nd Grade Kelly Gafni Natalie Javaheri Rayna Marz Jill Peters Lauren Ross Elina Wineburgh 3rd Grade Stacy Cohanim Galit Donnelly Jaclyn Golditch Karoline Hilu Eunice Ma Yasmine Maghami Danielle Molina April Topp 4th Grade Clare Apelian Randie Kleinman Michelle McGruder Gail Middleton Amanda Miller Desiree Neman Laura Schumer Shana Zarcufsky 5th Grade Alexis Arinsburg Heather Bath Courtney Fennimore Karen Frankel Beverly Galashan Roya Ghafouri Ann Kono Thea Wolf

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 13

The California Dreamin’ 2022 Curtis Fair was a sun-soaked extravaganza with rides, games, prizes, and mouthwatering treats! Beyond the fun, this cherished Curtis tradition is a reflection of the collaborative spirit that defines our Curtis community. Thank you to all the families and friends of the school who generously sponsored the unforgettable California Dreamin’ 2022 Curtis Fair! Your support shines as brightly as the California sun!

Curtis Fair Event Sponsors The Alban Family The Bass Family The Beizai Family The Beker Family Brielle, Chuck, & Oliver Block The Borman Family The Braiman Family The Branscome Family The Brubaker Family The Bumbery-Lazarus Family The Burchett Family The Buss Family Samantha Cheng Benjamin Cho & Sofia Lee The Choi Family The Copeland Family The Daneshgar Family The Jack Degus/Bretz Family The de Neufville Family The Dolecek-Condie Family Larry, Prachi, & Beatrice Dumas The Eldridge Family

14 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

The Ellenbogen Family The Eshaghoff Family The Etebar Family The Ewald Family The Ezer Family The Ezor Family The Fakhri Family The Faulhaber Family The Feiner Family The Fennimore Family The Fish Family The Fox Family The Golditch Family The Gross Family Hardy Hao's Family The Heckenberg Family The Hilton Family Louis & Faye Hsieh The Hu/Dong Family The Jasper Family Luke & Theo Johnson The Kahm Family The Katz Family The Keshavarzi Family The Kestenbaum Family Drs. Eugene Kim & Jin Sun Lee The Kirchner Family The Kolbrenner Family The Koo Family The Kreymer Family The Lasman Family The Lawrence/Frazier Family Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee Matthew & Alex Lee The Lenga Family The Luan/Lu Family The Mall-Miller Family The Manuel Family

The McGruder Family The Meyer Family The Middleton Family Hadley & Chase Miller The Milner Family The Naysan Family Lisa & David Neman The Nida Family The Novak Family The Ogulnick Family The Panguluri Family The Peters Family The Poursalimi Family The Press Family The Rahemtulla Family The Raiman Family Milan & Misha Ramesh The Richards Family The Robert Family The Rogers Family The Rupp Family The Schwarztman Family The Shaftal Family The Sharma Family The Siegel Family The Silver Family James & Charlotte Simon The Smiley Family The Sternberg Family Thomas J. Swan III The Tafreshi Family The Tao Family The Toure Family The Vargas-Seay Family Alex von Furstenberg & Alison Kay The Wineburgh Family Rylen Yang & Family The Zarcufsky Family

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 15

Curtis Celebrates! 2023 Reach for the Stars, on March 4, was an evening of magic and joy thanks to the commitment and effort of our devoted Parents Association. Together, we reached for the stars and discovered new heights of togetherness and support.

EVENT SPONSORS

The success of Curtis Celebrates! 2023 Reach for the Stars is owed to the thoughtful support of these family and corporate sponsors: Anonymous The Abrol Family The Alston Family Robyn & Stanley Atwater Linda Guerrero & Brett Berkowitz Amanda & Felix Bernshteyn Beverly Hills Chiropractic Clinic Brielle & Charles Block The Bumbery-Lazarus Family Steve & Julia Chang The Copeland Family Devon & Sean Corrigan Lisa Hamilton Daly & Stephen Daly The Dantzler Family Christine & Oliver De La Hoz Marisol Delahoussaye The Dudum Family Larry, Prachi, & Beatrice Dumas The Eldridge Family Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff The Esmaili Family Bob & Michelle Etebar The Ewald Family The Fakhri Family The Farasat Family Tom & Courtney Fennimore

16 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Louis Fermelia & Shane McCoy Fermelia Karen & Eli Frankel The Galashan Family Chloe & Jonathan Gray Jacqueline & Daniel Harman The Hill Family Jennifer & David Hillman The Hilton Family Carolyn & Danny Huang Lina & Jeff Jasper The Jackson Johnson Family Sheree Johnson Alli & Austin Katz Earleen Kennedy Moe & Brandy Keshavarzi David & Jennie Kim Monica & Jon Kirchner The Kolbrenner Family Min Seok Kwon & Nami Kim Ted & Jung Lee Dellicia Jones & Brian Magee The Martin Family Aaron & Michelle McGruder Katherine & Andrew Meyer The Middleton Family Jason & Samantha Milner

The Lisa & David Neman Family The Novak Family The Nyarwaya Family The Paya Family Amy & JB Perrette Jill & John Peters The Portley Famiy The Poursalimi Family Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla Jonathan & Nilou Raiman Harshith & Amita Ramesh Marla & Arash Raminfar The Rogers Family The Rupp Family The Sakhai Family The Sanders Family The Sayles Family The Silver Family Satara, Seema, & de Winter Stewart The Tang Family The Tanner Family The Toure Family The Watson Family The Williams Family Thea & Jay Wolf Jennifer Yen & David Bell

TEXT-TO-GIVE DONORS

Thank you to all the generous donors who contributed during the event to make a Curtis School education more accessible for all students.

Anonymous (2) The Abrol Family The Alston Family Meghann & Howard Altman The Apley Family The Begland Family The Beker Family Brielle & Charles Block Kimberly & Casey Borman The Braiman Family The Bumbery-Lazarus Family The Campbell Family Jennifer Cansick DaeJin Cho & SaeHae Lee Stacy & Ted Cohanim Drs. Todd & Danielle Cohen The Cole Family Ché & Dana Coleman Stacy Colwell Dr. Lara Dolecek & Dr. Tyson Condie The Crowe Family Lisa Hamilton Daly & Stephen Daly The Daneshgar Family Christine & Oliver De La Hoz The Donnelly Family The Dudum Family Larry, Prachi, & Beatrice Dumas The Eldridge Family Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff The Esmaili Family Bob & Michelle Etebar The Fakhri Family The Farasat Family The Felker Family Tom & Courtney Fennimore Louis Fermelia & Shane McCoy Fermelia The Fish Family John & Sandra Fox Karen & Eli Frankel Sheila Lawrence & Breen Frazier Rob & Shari Friedman The Fujikawa-Kwon Family The Galashan Family Chloe & Jonathan Gray The Gross Family The Gubin Family Jordan & Jaya Hathaway Ginger Healy Cara & James Heckenberg The Heckendorf Family Jennifer & David Hillman The Hilton Family The Ho Family Dr. Cassie & Mr. Robert Holmes Dr. Susanna Tran & Mr. Charles Hsieh Carolyn & Danny Huang Drs. Julie Kim & Samuel Im Nadia & Josh Javaheri

Natalie & Benjamin Javaheri The Jazaeri Family The Jiang Family Sheree Johnson The Jones Family The Josephson Family The Kahm Family Monica & Jon Kirchner Joyce & Ryan Komori Sean & Ann Kono The Kreymer Family Min Seok Kwon & Nami Kim Danyel & Chris Lau Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee The Sofia Lee Family Ted & Jung Lee Tom & Ashley Ma Mr. Steve & Dr. Yasmine Maghami The Mall-Miller Family Melissa Malone & Leo Vela Hilary Manners & Eric Solton The Marciano Family The Martin Family Brandon & Rayna Marz The McInnes Family The McKeown Family Vicent Mendieta The Mendoza Family Katherine & Andrew Meyer Jason & Samantha Milner Tracy & Scott Minker The Molina Family The Lisa & David Neman Family The Novak Family Mili Patel & Srinivas Panguluri David & Tayler Park The Paul Family The Paya Family Amy & JB Perrette Mimi & Don Petrie The Poursalimi Family Meera Ratnesar & John Querio Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla Jonathan & Nilou Raiman Harshith & Amita Ramesh Marla & Arash Raminfar The Resnikoff Family The Rich Family Fredricka & Brian Richards The Rogers Family Lauren & Bradley Ross Lawrence Rozenberg & Regina Rudyak The Rupp Family The Sakhai Family The Sayles Family The Schackne Family Corinne & Jory Schulman Elizabeth & David Schwartzman

Samantha & Jonathan Seltzer Alexander & Casey Shaftal Iva & Vishal Shah Dr. Nirav & Mrs. Anuja Shah The Shin Family The Silver Family The Slootweg Family The Smiley Family Dianna Mannheim & Justin Sternberg The Tabibi Family The Tang Family The Tanner Family The Tao Family The Tomsic Family Sean & April Topp Jorge Velazquez The Watson Family Patricia & Adam Weg The Weidenbaum Family The Weinstein Family The Wineburgh Family Hannah & Eric Yang Yo Fun & Huai Man Yen Jennifer Yen & David Bell The Zarcufsky Family Armen & Christine Zenjiryan

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 17

Think Forward Campaign To amplify our legacy of thinking forward about elementary education, we’ve embarked on a multi-phased initiative that begins with the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center: a hub for collaborative excellence—co-designed by Curtis teachers—where teaching and learning will intertwine between the scientific, artistic, and physical.

Curtis School is grateful to the volunteer campaign cabinet members for their partnership and guidance, as well as to the following donors for their early and generous commitments to our Think Forward campaign.

CABINET MEMBERS

DONORS

Dilip Bhavnani Kimberly Borman Brian Bumbery Shane Fermelia ’84* Courtney Fennimore Stacey Fish Rob Friedman Monica Kirchner Randie Kleinman Ann Kono Rebecca Mall Andrew Meyer Katherine Meyer Tracy Minker ’88 Mili Patel Amita Ramesh Monica Ryoo* Allan Schweitzer ’79 Iva Shah** Leslie F. Vermut Thea Wolf Rachel Yang

The Bhavnani Family Foundation Brielle & Charles Block Ryan Boccuzzi Ashita Shah & Arun Bohra Kimberly & Casey Borman The Bumbery-Lazarus Family Ché & Dana Coleman Tom & Courtney Fennimore The Fish Family Rob & Shari Friedman Family The Kirchner Family, in honor of Justin ’21 & Milena ’23 Kirchner Sean & Ann Kono Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee The Mall-Miller Family C&R Newman Family Foundation, in honor of Kevin Newman ’83 The Panguluri Patel Family Sol & Stephanie Poursalimi Amita & Harshith Ramesh Allan (’79) & Lily Schweitzer The Tang Family Education Foundation The Varnen Family Leslie Vermut & Tom Weinberger The Wimbish Family Thea & Jay Wolf Jennifer Yen & Jaehee Yen

*Past members who served in 2022-23 **New member in 2023-24

Curtis School gratefully acknowledges donors who pledged or contributed to the Think Forward campaign between November 1, 2022, and September 8, 2023.

PARTNER WITH US Thinkforward.curtisschool.org thinkforward@curtisschool.org

18 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Because everything at Curtis begins with the child, the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center has been given a child-friendly nickname: CLIC!

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 19

20 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

2022-23

Curtis Fund Leadership Thank you to the Curtis community for your remarkable generosity during the 2022-23 Curtis Fund campaign. Because of the collective efforts of parents, grandparents, alums, faculty, staff, and foundations, we surpassed our goal of $1.8 million to continue the essential work of our school. Heartfelt gratitude to the Advancement Committee, Grade Level Curtis Fund Ambassadors, and the Advancement Staff for their exceptional purpose, vision, and energy, which helped us achieve this success.

Advancement Committee

Curtis Fund Grade Ambassadors

Dilip Bhavnani, Co-Chair Thea Wolf, Co-Chair

Chair Monica Kirchner

Kimberly Borman Rob Friedman, Ex officio Jaya Hathaway Monica Johnson Monica Kirchner Rebecca Mall Jim Miller ’90 Tracy Minker ’88 Meera Ratnesar, Head of School Jeff Reynolds Corinne Schulman, Director of Advancement Leslie Vermut Rachel Yang

Developmental Kindergarten Marshall Cole ’96 Julia Richter

ADVANCEMENT OFFICE SUPPORT Sandra McGarry, Advancement Manager

Kindergarten Beverly Galashan Laura Zahrawi 1st Grade Jaya Hathaway Hannah Yang 2nd Grade Kathy Laxer Rebecca Mall 3rd Grade Sarah Ellenbogen Monica Johnson 4th Grade Amanda Miller Yelena Vayner 5th Grade Roya Ghafouri Meg Resnikoff 6th Grade Alli Katz Monica Kirchner

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 21

Report On Philanthropy We are deeply grateful for the financial support provided by our school community in 2022-23. The generosity of our donors enables the school to provide the joyful and exceptional experience for students that is the hallmark of a Curtis education.

We give special thanks to these donors who

increased their gift to Curtis School in 2022-23



made a gift to the Financial Access Program in 2022-23



pledged $100,000 or more to the Financial Access Program ‘Above and Beyond’ their Curtis Fund gift

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 access 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 as they may arise.

VISIONARY CIRCLE ($100,000+)

The Curtis Parents Association  The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation  Alex von Furstenberg & Alison Kay  Windsong Trust 

FOUNDER CIRCLE ($50,000-$99,999)

The Ahmanson Foundation Louis & Fenfang Hsieh Tiffany & Bennett Koo Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer Thea & Jay Wolf 

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



Brielle & Charles Block Julie Jang & Jack Choi Tom & Courtney Fennimore The Galashan Family Drs. Julie Kim & Samuel Im The Otis Booth Foundation Drs. Ninna & Bharat Patel Thomas J. Swan III Leslie Vermut & Tom Weinberger

22 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

PARTNER CIRCLE ($15,000-$24,999)

The Bhatia Family The Bhavnani Family Foundation Michelle & Jay Brubaker The Bumbery-Lazarus Family The Buss Family Howard & Lada Cheng Coby Cares Foundation Dr. Lawrence & Jane Z. Cohen Jenny & Alex Cole The Dudum Family The Eldridge Family Rob & Shari Friedman Jordan & Jaya Hathaway Huiqing Hu & Dr. Fan Dong Jessica Kavanaugh Ryan Kavanaugh ’87 Min Seok Kwon & Nami Kim Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee Jason & Samantha Milner Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker Ann & Greg Myer The Poursalimi Family Prime A Investments LLC Meera Ratnesar & John Querio Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla Harshith & Amita Ramesh Elizabeth & David Schwartzman Marcia & Robert Shuwarger The Tomsic Family The Toure Family

HEAD OF SCHOOL CIRCLE ($10,000-$14,999)

Martin & Alison Arzac Amy & Adam Bass Linda Guerrero & Brett Berkowitz The Blencowe Family Ashita Shah & Arun Bohra Kimberly & Casey Borman The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Steve & Julia Chang Devon & Sean Corrigan Allison & John de Neufville Disney Cybergrants Michael Dreyer The Esmaili Family Bob & Michelle Etebar Heather & Michael Ezer The Fakhri Family Louis Fermelia & Shane McCoy Fermelia ’84 Karen & Eli Frankel Todd & Jaclyn Golditch Chloe & Jonathan Gray Benjamin & Lindsay Herman Dr. Rachel Yang & Mr. Don Ho Dr. Cassie & Mr. Robert Holmes HP, Inc. Monica & Cory Johnson Randie & Alan Kleinman The Kolbrenner Family Sean & Ann Kono

Erin Estrada & Ron Laffitte Danyel & Chris Lau Amanda & Nicholas Matus The Mendoza Family The John G. Morris Family Robert & Syldy Nida Amy & JB Perrette Amina & Aziz Rahimtoola The Resnikoff Family Richard Rey & Lindsey Gordon Rey The Ross Family Roxiticus Foundation The Ruga Family Satara, Seema, & de Winter Stewart The Tang Family The Tanner Family William & Joanna Tu Craig & Ashley Varnen Eric & Julie Yamin Jennifer Yen & David Bell

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

Anonymous The Abrol Family Meghann & Howard Altman The Anhood-Agrawal Family Apple, Inc. Vinod & Nimmi Assomull The Bayrak Family The Beker Family The Boeing Company The Burroughs Family The Cha Family The Crowe Family The Donnelly Family The Edmonds Family

Expedia Group Jessie & Greg Ezor Katelyn Rader Fisher ’96 & Jason Zone Fisher John & Sandra Fox The Fujikawa-Kwon Family The Glennon Family Yanka Burgos & Brad Gluckstein Jacqueline & Daniel Harman Cara & James Heckenberg The Hilu Family Lina & Jeff Jasper Natalie & Benjamin Javaheri The Jazaeri Family Dr. Vinod & Jayashree Jivrajka Gabriel Johnson & Ciara Castro Moe & Brandy Keshavarzi Amy & Mark Kestenbaum Drs. Jin Sun Lee & Eugene Kim Monica & Jon Kirchner Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein Holly R. Lake Ted & Jung Lee The Lugash Family Mr. Steve & Dr. Yasmine Maghami The Mall-Miller Family Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation Brandon & Rayna Marz Mendelson Foundation Katherine & Andrew Meyer Amanda & Andrew Miller Jim ’90 & Betsy Miller Sheila & Page Nazarian The Noecker Robert Family The Novak Family Mili Patel & Srinivas Panguluri

David & Tayler Park Jill & John Peters Anne & Stephen Rader Marla & Arash Raminfar The Rasouli Family Lawrence Rozenberg & Regina Rudyak The Schackne Family Brad Schwartz & Karen Weiss Samantha & Jonathan Seltzer Anthony & Lee Shaw Jennifer Shore Noah Shore Amy & Adam Siegel Kathy & Eddy Simonian Jiwon & Steven Song Nicholas & Alison Temple Melissa Barshop ’92 & Steven VanDeBogart The Vargas-Seay Family The Watson Family Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden Sarah & Mark Wetzstein The Wineburgh Family Renee & David Yang The John & Jaehee Yen Family

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

AIG Robyn & Stanley Atwater The Azarbal Family The Begland Family Jared Cohen ’88 The Cole Family (Marshall '96) Dr. Lara Dolecek & Dr. Tyson Condie The Daneshgar Family Patti & Marvin Demoff

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 23

Curtis Fund Larry, Prachi, & Beatrice Dumas The Ellenbogen Family Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff The Federman Family Angela & Daniel Feiner The Felker Family The Fish Family Elizabeth Goldstein ’95 & Christopher Franjola The Gross Family (David ’90) The Gubin Family (Morgan ’91) The Hardy Hao Family Laurie & Chris Harbert & Family Nadia & Josh Javaheri The Josephson Family The Kahm Family Alli & Austin Katz Mr. & Mrs. Yong Ku Kim The Klein Family The Kreymer Family The Sofia Lee Family William & Courtney Mack The McCaffrey Family Carl & Kirstin Meyer Carolin & Kia Michel Carlye & Michael Morgan Jonathan & Jenni Nassos Desiree & Kiarash Neman The Lisa & David Neman Family Cleveland O’Neal III & Maisha Pajardo-O’Neal The Palumbo Family The Paul Family The Paya Family Dr. Christos Photopoulos & Dr. Alexandra Stavrakis Rajendra & Queelan Ratnesar The Rich Family Fredricka & Brian Richards The Richter Family ( Julia ’94)

24 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

The Rupp Family Iva & Vishal Shah The Silver Family The Simon Family The Snow Family Dianna Mannheim & Justin Sternberg Sarah Mlynowski & Todd Swidler Sean & April Topp Ali & Alex Weinberger Dorie Weiss & Ryan Weinstein The Weiss Family ( Jeff ’89) Hannah & Eric Yang Mo & Laura Zahrawi Armen & Christine Zenjiryan

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

Anonymous Floriana & William Anhood Cynthia & Olivia ’20 Atterberry The Beaubaire Family The Beizai Family Samantha Billett Rosenblum ’97 Ryan Boccuzzi The Braiman Family Melissa Bretz The Burchett Family The Campbell Family Judy & Richard Codding Barbara & Jon Cole The Dantzler Family Christine & Oliver De La Hoz Earl B. Gilmore Foundation Rachel & John Edwards Epic Games The Farasat Family Michelle T. Vannoy & Steven Foonberg Sheila Lawrence & Breen Frazier The Friedman, Barshop, & VanDeBogart Families Cody & Jeffrey Fuhrman

Robert & Susan Fuhrman The Gafni Family (Adam ’89) The Gimbel Family Joann & Terry Gloege Naomi & Cameron Gloege Jennifer & David Hillman Diane & Henry Hilty Dr. Susanna Tran & Mr. Charles Hsieh The Ho Family Katie & Phil Holthouse Carolyn & Danny Huang The Jiang Family Ashley & David Josephson Joyce & Ryan Komori The Luan/Lu Family Susan & Jay Mall The Marciano Family Travlin & Nicole McCormack Deepak Mehta Joan & Wayne Miller Candice & Daniel Naysan Linda & Vincent Nicoletta Deepti & Pank Patel The Pozarny Family Lauren & Bradley Ross Drs. Monica & Jisun Ryoo Peggy Saferstein The Sakhai Family Charlene & Victor Sands The Sarris Preventza Family The Sayles Family (Matt ’94) The Seib Family Alexander & Casey Shaftal The Shamji Family Sarah & Andrew Shulkind The Slootweg Family The Smiley Family James & Stephanie Sokolove The Tafreshi Family The Tao Family

Brent Tasugi ’93 WarnerMedia The Weidenbaum Family (Haley ’99) The Weinstein Family (Allie ’96) Jane J. & Tien T. Yang

FRIENDS (TO $1,499)

Anonymous (9) The Alban Family Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Albert Revs. Janet & William Albrecht The Alston Family AmazonSmile Foundation The Apelian Family The Apley Family Alexis & Eric Arinsburg Misha & Navin Assomull The Augsberger Family Alexandra Baeurle Sarah ’03 & Billy Ballas Navy & Rachael Banvard Michael & Nancy Basofin Drew Beckmeyer Jordan Bender ’02 Aaron & Kristin Bendikson Gail & Neil Berlant Amanda & Felix Bernshteyn The Biscotti Family Adam Blackman ’15  Stacy ’83 & Uri Blackman  Jennifer Weiss & Jay Blecker The Bohle Family ( Jason ’88) Brian Border ’85 Autumn Brannon The Branscome Family Jeff Bretz Janet Brief Marion & William Campbell Jennifer Cansick Trina Capka Devon Carmel ’15  Jill ’85 & David Carmel  Mr. & Mrs. Barry Cayton  Derek Cayton ’15  Kelly Champ Margaret Lee & Donald Chang Alexandra Chavez ’15 Alex Chistolini Danny Chu Dan Chuba & Katherine Holmes-Chuba Sue Chung Darren ’88 & Michelle Cohen Debra & Andrew Cohen

Drs. Todd ’91 & Danielle Cohen Joan & Kenneth Cohn Ché & Dana Coleman Stacy Colwell Kendal Copeland Anne-Marie Cordingly ’77 Joseph Coyne Sandy & George Creznic The Cutter Family  Louise Cutter ’15  Bennett Daneshrad ’15  Talia Daneshrad ’13 The Daneshrad Family  The de la Lama Family Marisol Delahoussaye Denise Dito Danielle Drake The Dueñas Family Ramani Durvasula Charles Eglee & Ninkey Dalton Gideon Evans ’19 Harper Evans ’21 Janet Farrant The Faulhaber Family Gregory Favre Jeff & Gina Favre The Favreau Family The Feiz Family Kevin Figueroa Michael Fourticq ’15  Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq  Fox Corporation Samuel Fox Coco Francini ’98 David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson Caswell Friedman ’18 Jaxx Friedman ’21 Catherine Gopaulsingh & Scott Friedman The Gabel Family Savannah Gallardo Jennifer & Robert ’84 Galperson Teri Garcia Alison Gardner The Gatins Family Samy ’07 & Ben Gelfand Andrew Gindy ’01 Thomas & Rosemary Glennon Rick & Laura Gold The Goldberg Family The Gontier Family Grace Gordon ’15  The Gordon Family  Annie Grimes

Marjorie & Robert Gross Samantha Moray Grossman ’01 Daniela Guardia William & Nancy Gubin Jayshree & Shailendra Gupta Andrew Gussman ’15  Deena & David Gussman  Mark Gutierrez Dede & Tom Haglund James L. Halkett Jack Healy ’04 Janna & Neil Healy Linda Heckendorf Manny Henriquez Eladio Hernandez The Hietala Family The Hill Family Andrew Hilton ’20 Makenzie Hilton ’22 The Hilton Family Charles Hinkin Maya Hinkin ’12 Shanti Hinkin ’16 Brian Hollis Christopher Holthouse ’05 Soo Hong Kathryn Welch Howe & Con Howe Chris Hruby Karen Ivy The James Family Art & Mel Johnson The Jackson Johnson family The Jones Family Caroline Gross Kahane ’02 Nancy & Richard Katz Walker Katz ’22 Elizabeth Kaufman ’98 Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Foundation Laurie & Paul Kelson KPMG Gives c/o Bergen County United Way

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 25

Curtis Fund Emily (Loze) Kreshek ’80 & Howard Kreshek Janie Kreshek ’12 Katie Kreshek ’10 Daniel Kromolowski ’99 Jerzy Kromolowski & Mary Olson-Kromolowski Barbara Lake Jagger Lambert ’15  Scott & Alexandra Lambert  The Lasman Family Donielle Lemone-Bulmer Katie Lenis Carole & Arthur Levine Jonathan ’88 & Britt Levine Emma Limor ’15 Jack Limor ’18 Sharoni D. Little Dara ’89 & Butler Looney The Low Family The Ma Family Tom & Ashley Ma Deena & Bill Mack Merle Madden Kristen Magner Melissa Malone & Leo Vela Hilary Manners & Eric Solton Ripsi Margaryan The Martin Family Sandra McGarry Aaron & Michelle McGruder The McInnes Family Katherine McKenna The McKeown Family The McKnight Family The Mednik Family (Max ’96) The Middleton Family Andy ’65 & Suzy Miller Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence & Rita Miller Marie & Michael Millman Carol & Richard Minker The Molina Family Barbara Moran Kathy & Michael Moray Max Moray ’04 Sandra Naftzger ’72 Joe Navarro Jonathan Nehorai ’16 Julia Nehorai ’19 Lauren Nehorai ’14 Kevin Newman ’83 & Amy Weimer Susan Nihiser The Noble-Creznic Family Mark & Kasey Nott 

26 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Tanner Nott ’15  Daniel Novikov ’15  Dmitri & Eugenia Novikov  The Nyarwaya Family Karen Ochoa Sara Okolie Kimberly Parker Greg Patterson Katherine Patterson Sally Daws & Julia Pecano Angela Pennington ’87 Mimi & Don Petrie Pioneer Broach Company Pioneer Precision Parts, LLC Nicholas Plaska The Portley Famiy Sherry Poverstein Drs. Michele & Lance Pozarny The Press Family Don & Maureen Querio Jonathan & Nilou Raiman Tim Rancont The Reiner Family Sarah H. Richardson Tobin & Elizabeth Richter The Ro Family Gale Robitshek Brendan Rose ’11 Ethan Rose ’16 Justin Rose ’11 Stephen & Meli Rose The Rudoy Family Kent ’75 & Christine Russell The Sanders Family Kyoko Sasaki Corinne & Jory Schulman The Schumer Family Asher Schwartz ’15 Levi Schwartz ’20 Noa Schwartz ’12 Wendy & Ron Schwartz Deborah Seidner Melany Shaftal Dr. Nirav & Mrs. Anuja Shah Reza Shamji ’14 Zain Shamji ’12 The Shane Family Karin P. Sheldon Jay & Katherine Shelton The Shin Family Robert D. Shipp Stacy Shirk ’03 Terra Shirvanian Ava Shore ’15 

The Shore Family  Mary Sidell Olivia Siegels-Bitetti Molly & Justin Simms SiriusXM Loren Sobul Susan Sobul ’93 Sony Pictures Entertainment Dr. Lois May Sprague ’60 William “Willie” Sprague ’59 Natalie Srabian Jennifer & Robert Sternberg Kristen Sullivan  Liam Sullivan ’15  The Tabibi Family Kathy & Kinji Tasugi Jackie Taylor Alex Thibiant ’15  Michele & Patrick Thibiant  The Torres Family Brian & Laurey Treiger  Jackson Treiger ’15  The Tribull Family Meryl & Michael Tuchin  Wilbert Umana Chelsea & Mark Vahradian James Vahradian ’22 Wes Vahradian ’20 The van Vlijmen Family Norm & Lorraine Varnen Effie Wallen Ashley Warne ’96 & Jeffrey Schild Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg Eli Weinbach ’17 Mirabelle Weinbach ’14 Camille Weinstein ’18 Charlotte & Art Weiss Candace & Barry Weisz Griffin ’87 & Dana Whitney Vicki & Bill Whitney Ashley Williams The Williams Family The Wimbish Family  Adele C. Wineburgh Lorri Seibert Woodacre Xperi Camy Zahiri ’20 Chloe Zahiri ’22 Cyrus Zahiri ’20 The Zahiri Family Jay & Idyth Zimbler Cliff Zimmerman ’03 Douglas & Lucie Zimmerman

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 27

Honorary & Memorial Gifts GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Revs. Janet & William Albrecht

Samuel Fox

Susan & Jay Mall

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN MEMORY OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

The Anhood-Agrawal Family

Nicholas Plaska

Carol & Richard Minker

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Floriana & William Anhood

Satara, Seema & de Winter Stewart

Brunetta M. O’Neal, Cleveland O’Neal Jr., & Joseph C. Pajardo

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Cleveland O’Neal III & Maisha Pajardo-O’Neal

Jack Healy ’04

Alli & Austin Katz

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN MEMORY OF

Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee

Janna & Neil Healy

Hannah & Eric Yang

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN MEMORY OF

Sarah & Andrew Shulkind

Anonymous

Mr. & Mrs. Yong Ku Kim

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Eric & Julie Yamin

The Gimbel Family

Barbara Lake

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

The Ross Family

Merle Madden

GIFT IN HONOR OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Janet Brief

Quinn Albrecht ’24

Karina Anhood-Agrawal ’27

Karina Anhood-Agrawal ’27

Sean ’26 & Gigi ’27 Berumen

Sean ’26 & Gigi ’27 Berumen

Alex Chistolini

Coach Chistolini

Curtis Administration, Faculty, & Staff

Audrey Fox ’02

Pepe Jimenez

Asha Kamal

Walker ’22 & Presley ’23 Katz

Dr. Hie-Joon Kim

Yi S. Kim

Holland Joyce Lake ’30

Holland J. Lake ’30

Janna & Neil Healy

Levi ’27 & Lola ’27 Miller

Ainsley Minker ’24

Meera Ratnesar

Meera Ratnesar

Meera Ratnesar

Grayson ’25 & Olivia ’28 Ross

Penny Beth Shaftal ’30

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Gina Favre

Reese ’29, Harrison ’26, Jonathan ’88, & Allison ’83 Levine

Eric & Julie Yamin

Carole & Arthur Levine

Ann Chon ’23 & Wint Hahn ’25 Shelton

GIFT IN MEMORY OF

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Drs. Monica & Jisun Ryoo

Gregory Favre

Joan & Kenneth Cohn

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Violet Favre’s Beadaddy

Chase ’29 & Sam ’30 Matus

SPECIAL RECOGNITION We recognize the Schweitzer Family, with heartfelt gratitude, for their generous gift that made our new Geodesic Dome greenhouse possible. This gift was made in honor of Suzanne Zaret Schweitzer.

28 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

GIFT IN HONOR OF

Henry ’24 & Edward ’28 VanDeBogart The Friedman, Barshop, & VanDeBogart Families GIFT IN HONOR OF

Miri Weinberger ’28 Candace & Barry Weisz GIFT IN HONOR OF

Meyer ’27 & Adler ’29 Wineburgh Adele C. Wineburgh

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 29

30 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Donors By Constituency c We gratefully acknowledge these donors for their record of sustained giving to the Curtis Fund for five or more consecutive years.

CURRENT FAMILIES

Anonymous (5) c The Abrol Family c The Alban Family The Alston Family c Meghann & Howard Altman The Anhood-Agrawal Family The Apelian Family c The Apley Family c Alexis & Eric Arinsburg Martin & Alison Arzac Misha & Navin Assomull c Robyn & Stanley Atwater The Augsberger Family c The Azarbal Family c Amy & Adam Bass The Bayrak Family The Beaubaire Family The Begland Family The Beizai Family The Beker Family c Linda Guerrero & Brett Berkowitz Amanda & Felix Bernshteyn The Bhatia Family c The Bhavnani Family Foundation c The Biscotti Family Jennifer Weiss & Jay Blecker c The Blencowe Family Brielle & Charles Block The Bohle Family ( Jason ’88) Ashita Shah & Arun Bohra Kimberly & Casey Borman The Braiman Family The Branscome Family c Melissa Bretz c Michelle & Jay Brubaker The Bumbery-Lazarus Family The Burchett Family The Buss Family The Campbell Family c Steve & Julia Chang c Howard & Lada Cheng Julie Jang & Jack Choi Drs. Todd ’91 & Danielle Cohen The Cole Family (Marshall ’96) Jenny & Alex Cole c Dr. Lara Dolecek & Dr. Tyson Condie Devon & Sean Corrigan The Crowe Family The Daneshgar Family The Dantzler Family

Christine & Oliver De La Hoz The de la Lama Family Allison & John de Neufville Marisol Delahoussaye The Donnelly Family The Dudum Family The Dueñas Family Larry, Prachi, & Beatrice Dumas The Edmonds Family The Eldridge Family The Ellenbogen Family Sharon & Chad Eshaghoff c The Esmaili Family c Bob & Michelle Etebar c Heather & Michael Ezer c Jessie & Greg Ezor c The Fakhri Family c The Farasat Family The Faulhaber Family Jeff & Gina Favre c The Favreau Family c The Federman Family c Angela & Daniel Feiner The Feiz Family The Felker Family Tom & Courtney Fennimore Louis Fermelia & Shane McCoy Fermelia ’84 c The Fish Family c Michelle T. Vannoy & Steven Foonberg John & Sandra Fox c Karen & Eli Frankel c Sheila Lawrence & Breen Frazier c Cody & Jeffrey Fuhrman The Fujikawa-Kwon Family The Gabel Family The Gafni Family (Adam ’89) c The Galashan Family c The Gimbel Family The Glennon Family c Naomi & Cameron Gloege c Yanka Burgos & Brad Gluckstein The Goldberg Family Todd & Jaclyn Golditch c The Gontier Family Chloe & Jonathan Gray The Gross Family (David ’90) c The Gubin Family (Morgan ’91) c The Hardy Hao Family Jacqueline & Daniel Harman

Jordan & Jaya Hathaway Cara & James Heckenberg Benjamin & Lindsay Herman The Hietala Family The Hill Family Jennifer & David Hillman c The Hilton Family c The Hilu Family c The Ho Family Dr. Cassie & Mr. Robert Holmes c Dr. Susanna Tran & Mr. Charles Hsieh Louis & Fenfang Hsieh Huiqing Hu & Dr. Fan Dong c Carolyn & Danny Huang c Drs. Julie Kim & Samuel Im The James Family Lina & Jeff Jasper Nadia & Josh Javaheri Natalie & Benjamin Javaheri The Jazaeri Family c The Jiang Family Monica & Cory Johnson c Gabriel Johnson & Ciara Castro The Jackson Johnson family The Jones Family The Josephson Family Ashley & David Josephson c The Kahm Family Alli & Austin Katz c Jessica Kavanaugh Ryan Kavanaugh ’87 Moe & Brandy Keshavarzi Amy & Mark Kestenbaum Drs. Jin Sun Lee & Eugene Kim Monica & Jon Kirchner c The Klein Family Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein c Randie & Alan Kleinman c The Kolbrenner Family Joyce & Ryan Komori Sean & Ann Kono c Tiffany & Bennett Koo The Kreymer Family Min Seok Kwon & Nami Kim Erin Estrada & Ron Laffitte Holly R. Lake The Lasman Family c Danyel & Chris Lau c Lee Chu & Jongmin Lee The Sofia Lee Family Ted & Jung Lee

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 31

Donors By Constituency Jonathan ’88 & Britt Levine c The Luan/Lu Family The Ma Family c William & Courtney Mack c Mr. Steve & Dr. Yasmine Maghami c The Mall-Miller Family The Marciano Family c The Martin Family Brandon & Rayna Marz c Amanda & Nicholas Matus The McCaffrey Family Travlin & Nicole McCormack c Aaron & Michelle McGruder c The McInnes Family c The McKeown Family The Mednik Family (Max ’96) c Deepak Mehta The Mendoza Family c Katherine & Andrew Meyer c Carolin & Kia Michel The Middleton Family c Amanda & Andrew Miller c Jim ’90 & Betsy Miller c Jason & Samantha Milner c Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker c The Molina Family Carlye & Michael Morgan c The John G. Morris Family Jonathan & Jenni Nassos Candice & Daniel Naysan Sheila & Page Nazarian c Desiree & Kiarash Neman c The Lisa & David Neman Family c Linda & Vincent Nicoletta Robert & Syldy Nida c The Noble-Creznic Family c The Noecker Robert Family The Novak Family c The Nyarwaya Family c Cleveland O’Neal III & Maisha Pajardo-O’Neal c The Palumbo Family c Mili Patel & Srinivas Panguluri David & Tayler Park c Deepti & Pank Patel The Paul Family The Paya Family c Amy & JB Perrette Jill & John Peters Dr. Christos Photopoulos & Dr. Alexandra Stavrakis The Portley Famiy c The Poursalimi Family c The Pozarny Family

32 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

The Press Family c Meera Ratnesar & John Querio c Zaheeda & Nav Rahemtulla c Amina & Aziz Rahimtoola Jonathan & Nilou Raiman Harshith & Amita Ramesh c Marla & Arash Raminfar The Rasouli Family The Resnikoff Family c Richard Rey & Lindsey Gordon Rey The Rich Family Fredricka & Brian Richards The Richter Family ( Julia ’94) c Lauren & Bradley Ross The Ross Family c Lawrence Rozenberg & Regina Rudyak The Rudoy Family c The Ruga Family c The Rupp Family The Sakhai Family The Sanders Family The Sarris Preventza Family c The Sayles Family (Matt ’94) c The Schackne Family c The Schumer Family c Brad Schwartz & Karen Weiss c Elizabeth & David Schwartzman Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer c The Seib Family Samantha & Jonathan Seltzer Alexander & Casey Shaftal Iva & Vishal Shah Dr. Nirav & Mrs. Anuja Shah The Shamji Family c The Shin Family Jennifer Shore c Noah Shore c Sarah & Andrew Shulkind Amy & Adam Siegel The Silver Family Molly & Justin Simms c The Simon Family Kathy & Eddy Simonian c The Slootweg Family c The Smiley Family c The Snow Family Dianna Mannheim & Justin Sternberg Satara, Seema, & de Winter Stewart Thomas J. Swan III Sarah Mlynowski & Todd Swidler The Tabibi Family

The Tang Family The Tanner Family The Tao Family Nicholas & Alison Temple The Tomsic Family Sean & April Topp c The Torres Family c The Toure Family William & Joanna Tu Melissa Barshop ’92 & Steven VanDeBogart c The van Vlijmen Family The Vargas-Seay Family Craig & Ashley Varnen c Alex von Furstenberg & Alison Kay c The Watson Family c Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg The Weidenbaum Family (Haley ’99) c Ali & Alex Weinberger Dorie Weiss & Ryan Weinstein The Weinstein Family (Allie ’96) The Weiss Family ( Jeff ’89) c Sarah & Mark Wetzstein c The Williams Family The Wineburgh Family Thea & Jay Wolf c Eric & Julie Yamin Hannah & Eric Yang Renee & David Yang c Jennifer Yen & David Bell The John & Jaehee Yen Family Mo & Laura Zahrawi Armen & Christine Zenjiryan

ALUMNI

Anonymous c Sarah ’03 & Billy Ballas c Melissa Barshop ’92 & Steven VanDeBogart c Jordan Bender ’02 c Samantha Billett Rosenblum ’97 c Adam Blackman ’15 c Stacy ’83 & Uri Blackman c The Bohle Family ( Jason ’88) Brian Border ’85 Devon Carmel ’15 c Jill ’85 & David Carmel c Derek Cayton ’15 c Alexandra Chavez ’15 c Darren ’88 & Michelle Cohen Jared Cohen ’88 c Drs. Todd ’91 & Danielle Cohen The Cole Family (Marshall ’96) Anne-Marie Cordingly ’77 c

Louise Cutter ’15 c Bennett Daneshrad ’15 c Talia Daneshrad ’13 Gideon Evans ’19 Harper Evans ’21 Louis Fermelia & Shane McCoy Fermelia ’84 c Katelyn Rader Fisher ’96 & Jason Zone Fisher Michael Fourticq ’15 c Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq c Coco Francini ’98 Caswell Friedman ’18 Jaxx Friedman ’21 The Gafni Family (Adam ’89) c Jennifer & Robert ’84 Galperson c Samy ’07 & Ben Gelfand Andrew Gindy ’01 Elizabeth Goldstein ’95 & Christopher Franjola Grace Gordon ’15 c The Gross Family (David ’90) c Samantha Moray Grossman ’01 The Gubin Family (Morgan ’91) c Andrew Gussman ’15 c Jack Healy ’04 c Andrew Hilton ’20 Makenzie Hilton ’22 Maya Hinkin ’12 Shanti Hinkin ’16 Christopher Holthouse ’05 Caroline Gross Kahane ’02 c Walker Katz ’22 Elizabeth Kaufman ’98 c Ryan Kavanaugh ’87 Matthew ’91 & Ariane Klein c Emily (Loze) Kreshek ’80 & Howard Kreshek c Janie Kreshek ’12 c Katie Kreshek ’10 c Daniel Kromolowski ’99 c Jagger Lambert ’15 c Jonathan ’88 & Britt Levine c Emma Limor ’15 Jack Limor ’18 Dara ’89 & Butler Looney The Mednik Family (Max ’96) c Andy ’65 & Suzy Miller Jim ’90 & Betsy Miller c Tracy ’88 & Scott Minker c Max Moray ’04 c Sandra Naftzger ’72 Jonathan Nehorai ’16 c Julia Nehorai ’19

Lauren Nehorai ’14 c Kevin Newman ’83 & Amy Weimer c Tanner Nott ’15 c Daniel Novikov ’15 c Angela Pennington ’87 c The Richter Family ( Julia ’94) c Brendan Rose ’11 Ethan Rose ’16 Justin Rose ’11 Kent ’75 & Christine Russell c The Sayles Family (Matt ’94) c Asher Schwartz ’15 Levi Schwartz ’20 Noa Schwartz ’12 Allan ’79 & Lily Schweitzer c Reza Shamji ’14 Zain Shamji ’12 Stacy Shirk ’03 Ava Shore ’15 c Susan Sobul ’93 Dr. Lois May Sprague ’60 William “Willie” Sprague ’59 Liam Sullivan ’15 c Brent Tasugi ’93 Alex Thibiant ’15 c Jackson Treiger ’15 c James Vahradian ’22 Wes Vahradian ’20 Ashley Warne ’96 & Jeffrey Schild Patricia ’94 & Adam Weg The Weidenbaum Family (Haley ’99) c Eli Weinbach ’17 Mirabelle Weinbach ’14 The Weinstein Family (Allie ’96) The Weiss Family ( Jeff ’89) c Griffin ’87 & Dana Whitney c Camy Zahiri ’20 Chloe Zahiri ’22 Cyrus Zahiri ’20 Cliff Zimmerman ’03 c

PARENTS OF ALUMNI

Anonymous c Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Albert c Cynthia & Olivia ’20 Atterberry Navy & Rachael Banvard Aaron & Kristin Bendikson c Gail & Neil Berlant c Stacy ’83 & Uri Blackman c The Burroughs Family Jill ’85 & David Carmel c Mr. & Mrs. Barry Cayton c The Cha Family Margaret Lee & Donald Chang c

Alex Chistolini c Judy & Richard Codding Darren ’88 & Michelle Cohen Debra & Andrew Cohen c Dr. Lawrence & Jane Z. Cohen c Barbara & Jon Cole Joseph Coyne The Cutter Family c The Daneshrad Family c Patti & Marvin Demoff Michael Dreyer c Ramani Durvasula c Rachel & John Edwards c Charles Eglee & Ninkey Dalton Mike ’82 & Teresa Fourticq c Samuel Fox David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson c The Friedman, Barshop, & VanDeBogart Families Rob & Shari Friedman c Scott Friedman & Catherine Gopaulsingh Alison Gardner The Gatins Family c Joann & Terry Gloege c The Gordon Family c Marjorie & Robert Gross c William & Nancy Gubin Deena & David Gussman c Dede & Tom Haglund c James L. Halkett c Laurie & Chris Harbert & Family c Janna & Neil Healy c Diane & Henry Hilty c Charles Hinkin Dr. Rachel Yang & Mr. Don Ho c Dan Chuba & Katherine Holmes-Chuba c Katie & Phil Holthouse c Kathryn Welch Howe & Con Howe c Karen Ivy c Laurie & Paul Kelson Larissa & Scott Klein Emily (Loze) Kreshek ’80 & Howard Kreshek c Jerzy Kromolowski & Mary Olson-Kromolowski c Scott & Alexandra Lambert c Carole & Arthur Levine Sharoni D. Little The Low Family c Tom & Ashley Ma c The McKnight Family c Carl & Kirstin Meyer c

CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023 33

Donors By Constituency Andy ’65 & Suzy Miller Marie & Michael Millman Kathy & Michael Moray c Ann & Greg Myer c Mark & Kasey Nott c Dmitri & Eugenia Novikov c Sally Daws & Julia Pecano c Mimi & Don Petrie c Anne & Stephen Rader Samantha Rankine-Wilson The Reiner Family c The Ro Family c Stephen & Meli Rose Peggy Saferstein Kyoko Sasaki c Wendy & Ron Schwartz The Shane Family Anthony & Lee Shaw Robert D. Shipp The Shore Family c Marcia & Robert Shuwarger c Mary Sidell c Loren Sobul c Jiwon & Steven Song c Kristen Sullivan c The Tafreshi Family Kathy & Kinji Tasugi c Michele & Patrick Thibiant c Brian & Laurey Treiger c The Tribull Family Meryl & Michael Tuchin c Chelsea & Mark Vahradian c Deborah Siegel & Craig Weinstein Vicki & Bill Whitney The Wimbish Family c The Zahiri Family c Douglas & Lucie Zimmerman c

GRANDPARENTS

Anonymous Revs. Janet & William Albrecht Floriana & William Anhood Vinod & Nimmi Assomull c Michael & Nancy Basofin Jeff Bretz c Janet Brief Marion & William Campbell Dr. Lawrence & Jane Z. Cohen c Joan & Kenneth Cohn Barbara & Jon Cole Sandy & George Creznic Denise Dito Janet Farrant c

34 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

Gregory Favre The Friedman, Barshop, VanDeBogart Families Robert & Susan Fuhrman Thomas & Rosemary Glennon Joann & Terry Gloege c Rick & Laura Gold c William & Nancy Gubin Jayshree & Shailendra Gupta Janna & Neil Healy c Linda Heckendorf Dr. Vinod & Jayashree Jivrajka Art & Mel Johnson Nancy & Richard Katz c Mr. & Mrs. Yong Ku Kim Barbara Lake Carole & Arthur Levine The Lugash Family Deena & Bill Mack c Susan & Jay Mall Joan & Wayne Miller Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence & Rita Miller Carol & Richard Minker c Barbara Moran Ann & Greg Myer c Drs. Ninna & Bharat Patel Mimi & Don Petrie c Sherry Poverstein Drs. Michele & Lance Pozarny Don & Maureen Querio Anne & Stephen Rader Rajendra & Queelan Ratnesar Sarah H. Richardson c Tobin & Elizabeth Richter Drs. Monica & Jisun Ryoo c Charlene & Victor Sands Melany Shaftal Karin P. Sheldon Jay & Katherine Shelton Robert D. Shipp James & Stephanie Sokolove Jennifer & Robert Sternberg Norm & Lorraine Varnen c Effie Wallen Leslie Vermut & Tom Weinberger Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden c Charlotte & Art Weiss Candace & Barry Weisz Adele C. Wineburgh Lorri Seibert Woodacre Jane J. & Tien T. Yang c Jay & Idyth Zimbler

EMPLOYEES

Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Albert c Alexandra Baeurle Sarah ’03 & Billy Ballas c Drew Beckmeyer c Autumn Brannon c Jennifer Cansick Kelly Champ Alex Chistolini c Danny Chu Sue Chung c Debra & Andrew Cohen c Stacy Colwell Kendal Copeland The Dantzler Family Danielle Drake Jeff & Gina Favre c The Favreau Family c Kevin Figueroa David E. Frank & Susan Dickinson c Savannah Gallardo Teri Garcia The Goldberg Family Annie Grimes c Daniela Guardia Mark Gutierrez c Dede & Tom Haglund c Manny Henriquez c Eladio Hernandez c Brian Hollis Soo Hong Chris Hruby c Karen Ivy c The Jones Family Donielle Lemone-Bulmer c Katie Lenis Tom & Ashley Ma c Kristen Magner Melissa Malone & Leo Vela Hilary Manners & Eric Solton Ripsi Margaryan Sandra McGarry c The McInnes Family c Katherine McKenna c The McKeown Family Joe Navarro Karen Ochoa Sara Okolie Kimberly Parker Greg Patterson c Katherine Patterson

Mimi & Don Petrie c Nicholas Plaska Tim Rancont Meera Ratnesar & John Querio c Gale Robitshek c Kyoko Sasaki c Corinne & Jory Schulman c Deborah Seidner c The Shin Family Terra Shirvanian c Olivia Siegels-Bitetti c Molly & Justin Simms c Loren Sobul c Natalie Srabian Jackie Taylor Wilbert Umana c Ashley Williams c

FOUNDATIONS & CORPORATIONS

Anonymous (4) c The Ahmanson Foundation c AIG c AmazonSmile Foundation American Endowment Foundation c Apple, Inc. Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund The Bank of America Foundation c The Benevity Community Impact Fund c The Blackbaud Giving Fund The Boeing Company c California Community Foundation The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Charities Aid Foundation of America Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP Coby Cares Foundation Curtis Parents Association c D. E. Shaw Group The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation c Disney Cybergrants Earl B. Gilmore Foundation c Epic Games Expedia Group Fidelity Charitable Gift c The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Fox Corporation Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund HP, Inc. Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Foundation KPMG Gives c/o Bergen County United Way Leonard Hill Charitable Trust Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation Mendelson Foundation Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc. c Northern Trust Charitable Giving Program Northwestern Mutual Foundation c The Otis Booth Foundation Pioneer Broach Company Pioneer Precision Parts, LLC Prime A Investments LLC Roxiticus Foundation Rupp Family Trust Schwab Charitable Fund c SiriusXM Smile Dental Services Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment Spike, Inc. Hollywood Body Jewelry The Strategist Company, LLC Uneek Vanguard Charitable WarnerMedia Watson Family Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Westside Realty Group Inc dba Beverly Glen Realty Windsong Trust Xperi c *Some employers match gifts made by our donors, doubling their impact.

This list includes organizations that made matching gifts to the Curtis Fund in 2022-23.

Ways to Give Giving to the Curtis Fund is the best way to show your confidence in, and support of, this beloved school and our students.

Online: www.curtisschool.org/give Check: Made payable to Curtis School Send to: Curtis School Advancement Office 15871 Mulholland Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90049 Matching Gift: Your employer may match your gift, doubling its impact.

Please check with your employer about their matching gift policy.

Stock: To make a gift of appreciated securities, visit www.curtisschool.org/ support for more information and a Stock Transfer letter.

LEGACY SOCIETY Remembering Curtis in your estate plan is a meaningful way to ensure the school’s ability to continue to fulfill its mission into the future. Planned gifts honor the lasting impact that Curtis has in the lives of our alumni, families, and friends. Please let the Advancement Office know if you have included or are considering including Curtis School in your estate plan. To learn more, please visit www.curtisschool.org/legacy.

For more information about supporting Curtis School, please contact the Advancement Office at advancement@curtisschool.org or (310) 889-3740.

Celebrating Milestones of Service The Board of Trustees, along with the faculty and staff, celebrated 13 long-serving employees for their many contributions to our school, students, and families. We are grateful for their dedication to ​inspiring engaged, healthy, and empathetic young learners to embrace the next phases of their education.

25 YEARS Neatha Coventry Eladio Hernandez 20 YEARS Michel Lim

15 YEARS David Frank 10 YEARS Sarah Ballas ’03 Karen Ochoa Kyoko Sasaki

5 YEARS Francesca Gerbino Donielle Lemone Katherine Lenis Justin McInnes Nicholas Plaska Olivia Siegels

Top row (l-r): Michel Lim, Francesca Gerbino, Sarah Ballas, Nicholas Plaska, Donielle Lemone, Karen Ochoa Bottom row (l-r): Katherine Lenis, Justin McInnes, David Frank, Neatha Coventry, Eladio Hernandez, Olivia Siegels, Kyoko Sasaki

36 CURTIS ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023

ANNUAL REPORT 2022-23

The Annual Report gratefully acknowledges gifts received in the fiscal year July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. 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.