1968EdmundBurkeSchoolMagazine Spring 2022
In friendship, Steve McManus Incoming Head of School
The story of Edmund Burke School is a rich and beautiful story, born out of the social and political upheaval of 1968. That story has been added to and deepened by the students, families, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees and alumni who have joined the community and become interwoven with the school’s story over the past 54 years. That story will now, understandably and sadly, include the pain and trauma of the violence and terror of April 22 and the enduring impact it will have on all of us. It has also become part of my story and, for better or worse, given shape to my transition and welcome as your next Head of School.
But we will also welcome new people into our community next year – me being one of them! – and invite them to share their stories, their identities, and their gifts. Each of us will help author the next chapter of this amazing school. And this moment in our school’s history can perhaps create space for new growth, a deepening love and commitment to each other and the school’s mission, and animate the school to action to ensure that it can be a model for peace, nonviolence, forgiveness, and for a renewed commitment to social justice and civic engagement- even in the face of unspeakabletragedy.
// 1 Dear Burke Community, Of all the lessons I learned from so many of you during my eight years as Head of School at Burke, I am most grateful for your displays of courage, resolve, and compassion during the challenging periods of the pandemic, and during the terrifying shooting that took place at Burke on April 22. These experiences have shaped my life because they revealed the depth of this community’s fortitude and resilience. Throughout this year, I have seen the character of faculty, staff, and students honed through hard experiences, and I have been inspired by the generosity of so many parents, trustees, and alumni in response to the needs of others. This indomitable spirit, your love and support, opened up windows to the heart. I appreciate the sacrifice so many of you made throughout my tenure, and I want to thank our faculty, staff, students, parents, trustees, alumni, and friends of our community for helping us navigate this school year under stressful and challenging circumstances. Your flexibility and perseverance, as well as your steady partnership, clarity of thought, and compassion for every student in our care has been Theseuplifting.are not newly realized qualities of our community; this is who the Edmund Burke School community has been since its founding in As1968.Ithink about all I gained from Burke, I am grateful for the blessing of warm, committed, passionate, caring, and loving students, faculty, staff, parents, and trustees. Thank you for all you have given me, and my family. I am eternally grateful. As the school community prepares for new leadership, I am excited about all that awaits the school under the headship of Steve McManus. I have abiding faith in the strength of the school’s mission and values, and I am encouraged by all Steve will do in tending to the heart of the school, with great care and attention. I wish you all well in your journey ahead. Peace be with you, my friends, Damian Jones Head of School 2014-2022 Dear Burke Community, Over the last several months, I have been listening to and gathering stories about Burke.
Hope is what will sustain our resolve and commitment going forward as we continue healing and reclaim our school and strengthen our connections, friendships, and love for this community. It is that hope and vision that drew me to Burke and what will be the guiding star for my leadership in the years to come.
I am immensely grateful to Damian for his leadership, generosity, and care for that vision and this community, and for helping me deepen my understanding of what makes Burke, Burke. I look forward to building on his legacy and, with all of your help, leading this resilient, joyful, and hopeful community into the future.
That hopeful future was what the founders believed in so deeply that they created a school– here on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest DC – as an intentional learning community to help bring that future into being. That hope is present and being lived out every day at Burke.
As law enforcement closed in on the shooter’s apartment, he took his own life. To date, the shooter has no known connection to our school. The Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation is ongoing. As we told our families the next day, everyone did everything right, and everything they could: teachers, staff, and administrators sheltered, cared for, and stayed with our students; our young people showed such courage and compassion, and even levity as the lockdown wore on; local and federal law enforcement were on-site within minutes; and our Van Ness neighbors opened their buildings and homes to us. We could not be more grateful to have the community we do. In the weeks since, our injured community members have been on a steady road to recovery. We have repaired the walls and columns around the drive aisle. We have installed temporary, opaque walls on the bridge and decorated the interior with lights and cards.
From Burke: Damian Jones, current Head of School
After ten days at home, students and teachers returned on an abridged schedule, easing back into the rhythms of school. By mid-May, we had returned to our usual hours; cancelled events were rescheduled and our hallways, stairwells, and rooms were full once more. Yet we will always exist on the other side of April 22. In ways unique to us, we will always carry the weight of those few, violent minutes, knowing that an explanation may never come.
Steve McManus, incoming Head of School
On Wednesday, May 4, hundreds of students, teachers, parents, neighbors, and friends gathered at Howard Field for a symbolic reopening ceremony following the shooting– before walking down Upton Street together and reentering the school buildings.
REGARDING APRIL 22
Imam Yahya Hendi Rev. Ebony Grisom With musical performances by Daniel Running (English) John Howard (Performing Arts, Chair) Liz Ringenberg (Performing Arts) Phillip Hough (Performing Arts / Athletics)
On Friday, April 22, just after classes ended for the day, a lone gunman opened fire from an adjacent apartment building, targeting the glass bridge between the middle and high school buildings and the drive aisle
From Georgetown: Rev. Gerard J. McGlone, S.J., Ph.D.
* Damian and Steve’s remarks and Sean’s poem from the Ceremony are printed on the following pages
(RE)OPENING CEREMONY
Sean Felix led the program, joined by fellow faculty and administrators from Burke, as well as special guests from Georgetown University.
Sean Felix, 6th Grade Core / MS Dean of Community
There may be no certainty, no rationale for what we endured that day. But in how this community responded, in the depths of compassion and the outpouring of help and the care all around us, that is where certainty lives. *The above piece was partially adapted from a letter sent to alumni, alumni families, and friends of the school on April 28.
Rabbi Rachel Gartner
Thebelow.entire campus went into lockdown, with students and adults sheltering in place late into the evening, before finally reuniting with their families at the Cleveland Park Library. Four members of our community were injured, and three were transported to nearby hospitals.
I want to welcome Police Chief Robert Contee, Commander Duncan Bedlion, and officers from the 2nd District. I want to extend to all of you my gratitude and thanks for the critical lifesaving work you did on behalf of our school community. I deeply appreciate your commitment to keeping our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors safe. I am grateful for all you did on April 22 for the entire Edmund Burke School community, as well as for me and my family, and for all that you will continue to do in the spirit of ensuring public safety. Thank you for helping us reclaim our school, our community, and our Mosthome.importantly, I want to recognize our students. Your courage and resilience; your love, care, and compassion for one another; your vision of a better future; your advocacy for a world that is more kind and caring and justice; and your boundless imagination is what inspires me and so many others. I hope that you find healing in the comfort and care of the adults surrounding you in this moment, adults who love you and who are here to keep you safe. I know that I speak for many, when I say that your parents, faculty, staff, and administrators are happiest when are we with you, because you, my young friends, you are the light, your hope, and you are all life affirming--each and every one of you. Thank you for returning to reclaim your school, your community, and your home.
I hope I can be for you a steadying presence, an anchor in this time of trauma, and a connection to our shared future as a community. Honoring and rebuilding a sense of community will be vital to our recov ery in the wake of the traumatic events that unfolded on April 22 at our Andschool.that sense of community at Burke is strong, inclusive, and centered on YOU students, your health, well-being, sense of safety and what you need to grow, thrive, and flourish. Those attributes certainly are evident here with us today and have been woven into every step and every decision in how the school has responded to this event, And that community has always been present, visible, and alive at ItBurke.wasthe thing that drew me to Burke, and it is the thing that will carry us forward into today, tomorrow, and the weeks and months ahead on our healing journey.
DAMIAN JONES | Head of School 2014-2022 Welcome my friends. It is wonderful to see so many students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of Edmund Burke School. I am deeply encouraged you are all here to join in this Ceremony. This show of community is an incredible display of our shared strength. I am personally grateful that so many of you are here to mark this moment for our school community as we rise from the tragic event of April 22 and take critical, life affirming steps towards hope and healing.
STEVE MCMANUS | Incoming Head of School
Good morning. I am honored to be with you today and participate in the beginning and tentative steps toward healing and recovery of our school community. I bring you greetings from Baltimore and from my Quaker community where we have a practice we turn to in moments of tragedy and loss of “holding people in the Light.” I have been holding you all in the Light these last few weeks. I may not have the right words to comfort you, to assure you, to provide you with the certainty that has been taken from you in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy but I am here, and I am standing with you and alongside you as we take steps toward hope and reclaiming our school and our community.
I want to recognize our faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, parents, and extended community members. All of you kept our students safe and in good care, and you have also provided critical support to one another. Your commitment to our school, your devotion to this com munity, your connection to one another is what has guided us through this difficult period. I am grateful for the promise of your support and ongoing assistance. You are what have kept us steady during such a tumultuous and tragic period. I am grateful you are all here to reclaim our school, our community, and our home.
FROMHEADHealingHealingHealingHealingOFSCHOOLREMARKSTHE(RE)OPENINGCEREMONY
SEAN FELIX, 6TH GRADE CORE / MS DEAN OF COMMUNITY
Crack A hard rain falls, turning sunlight into a prismatic shower. As time loses its axis, every step is imbued with history, every hole in the glass becomes a galaxy, every widened pupil a black echoing:hole— I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared. And I call back: Come to me. Come to me. Come to me. I will protect you. For the first time in a long life—thattimeever elusive concept is becausereal, you are real. The child is real. Every moment we are together is all of human history. Every step we take together along the floor, out the door, and into secluded darkness with others seeking shelter from the terrible storm. What we share in this dark moment is the clarity of tragedy. We are young. We are old. We are storytellers. We are builders and shapers of reality. We are beautiful. And we are terribly fragile. When we endure together, we share the fear and the pain and make this bearable, because we— are!we And damn it if this doesn’t hurt. I’ve greeted the morning with tears, and at night, in my dreams, bullets pierce the sky and children are stolen away. But I dare not lose this time, because this is how it all changes. We can’t push this away, bury it in the dust of statistics, or the narrative of mental illness, and rising crime or gun violence. This is not a culture war. This is a war on humanity, and the lines are clear— The craven, the greedy, and the weak are on the side of death! The strong, the generous, and the arebraveon the side of life, and there is nothing but life here!
“THERE IS NOTHING BUT LIFE HERE”
In the days, and even hours, after the shooting, our school experienced a profound outpouring of support from around the District. From our neighbors here in Van Ness who opened their doors amid the chaos to our peer schools who offered to send their own counselors to countless family and friends who volunteered time, expertise, and connections.
• Students and families (and even an Ultimate Frisbee team) from DC-area schools, including Barrie School, Georgetown Visitation, The Field School, Washington Latin PCS, and Washington Waldorf, sent kind letters, postcards, and meals.
• Our Upton Street neighbors at the Levine School of Music opened their doors to us.
• Lucy Kernan-Schloss, Ph.D. P’06, our longtime School Counselor (2005-2021) stepped right back in to support the school community and partner with current School Counselor Yvette Cuenco.
• Numerous counseling centers set aside time for our students, families, and faculty and staff, including the The Center For Family Well-Being and the Sibley Group.
• Michele Gay, founder of Safe and Sound Schools and mother of Josephine Grace, consulted with Burke’s School Counselor in the immediate aftermath.
• National Capital Therapy Dogs, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s wonderful dogs welcomed students during their first week back in the building and were positioned at either ends of the bridge; we even welcomed back Sean Grogan ‘75 and his dog Jethro (pictured page 14).
• Children’s National Hospital provided webinars specifically for Middle and High School families about supporting their children’s healing.
• Families, parents, grandparents, Trustees, and EBPA volunteers covered the school walls in colorful artwork, shared flowers, food, and myriad notes of support, and even lined the bridge with lights, to welcome students and teachers back.
• One Common Unity, a DC-based nonprofit “that breaks cycles of violence and builds compassionate, healthy communities,” provided training on processing trauma for our faculty and staff and met with students in each grade level.
• Scott Poland, Ed.D., a professor at a Nova Southeastern University, licensed psychologist, and internationally recognized expert on school safety and crisis prevention, met with our administrators, faculty and staff, and parent communities.
On Sunday, May 29, Ingrid Gruber ‘22 spoke with NPR’s Miles Parks on All Things Considered about the devastating shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and how her own, direct experience with gun violence informs her priorities for DC – and the nation. “There’s this thought where it’s like it’s always a possibility, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. And then, you know, it does. It did happen. And even though I wasn’t expecting it, it didn’t really surprise me. [...] And I did unfortunately know exactly what to do. And I don’t think any kid should be prepared for a situation like that. It’s an unwanted and unnecessary burden for kids, especially in the U.S. to have.” – Ingrid to Miles Parks www.npr.org/2022/05/29/1102015378/teens-react-to-uvalde-shooting
// 5Winter 2021 EVERYONE SHOWED UP.
• Counselors from our peer independent schools created space for Burke faculty and staff to connect and offered additional on-site counseling when students returned.
We have been grateful to partner with and receive support from:
STEVE MCMANUS Henry R. ‘28 for 3D Explorations “During his visit to Burke, Steve’s profound appreciation for both the Middle and High School experience became readily apparent in his interactions with faculty and students. Steve’s record of programmatic innovation, strong culture and community building across divisions, and strategic leadership all stood out.” Dawn Chism P’21 & P’24 & Peter Sheridan P’24 & P’26 Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
FAREWELLS & RETIREMENTS
12 \\ 1968 Edmund Burke School Magazine
“Amanda has worn many Burke hats during her tenure. While one may know her as the Library Director, teacher, grade dean, advisor, and club leader, I will remember her unapologetic fight against racism. One of the few SEED graduates at Burke, she committed many years to developing and leading AWARE – and she leaves Burke with the structure in place to continue this important work.”
AMANDA BOZARTH (LIBRARY DIRECTOR)
- Liz Paladino (Associate Director of Enrollment Management)
- Elizabeth Sislen (English Department Chair)
After more than two decades, serving as a faculty member, department chair, advisor, and coach, Daniel has made an indelible mark on Burke. His in-demand 12th grade electives have ranged from the Politics of Poetry to Existential Crisis in Literature to Supernatural Fiction. He has helmed the Student One Act Plays (“SOAP”), advised myriad clubs, and continued literary debates long after class. “Daniel’s gift, as a teacher and colleague, is to make it clear he has time to devote to you. For his students, this manifests in lengthy comments on essays and nuanced chats about a book’s themes; for colleagues, a willingness to mull over any idea, dilemma, or project idea (even when on the way to another obligation). Many sleek, projectbased learning traditions sprang from Daniel’s mind. Students will remember him walking into class with a bounce in his step, a heavily thumbed-through copy of the text in hand, and a clear, gleaming question to open before them. Daniel infused his teaching with his passion for theater, athletics, poetry, board games, and the inexhaustible questions of life. In his time here, Daniel has bridged the old guard and the new guard of English teaching. His contagious love for literature, combined with his care and kindness, will be among the best-remembered parts of his legacy.”
Best wishes to Lisa on her retirement this June. Not only was Lisa our long-serving Business Manager, overseeing payroll and benefits and bringing both know-how and levity to the 1st floor, she has coached swimming, driven the morning Burke bus, and been a steady hand through every Head of School transition. And she has guided nearly every current teacher and staff member through their first days on campus. “Lisa has served as the connective tissue in business office operations between each administrative change. We each possess a deep appreciation for all that Lisa has done for the community, so please join me in thanking her for so many years of dedicated service.”
- Damian Jones, past Head of School DANIEL RUNNING (HS ENGLISH) Burke Tenure: 2000-2022
Burke Tenure: 2006-2022
Congratulations to Amanda on her retirement this June. Along with running the Library, Amanda served as a 9th grade advisor and co-led the Alliance of White Anti-Racist Educators (AWARE). The Library won’t be the same without her warm welcome and encyclopedic knowledge – ranging from young adult literature to research methodology to media literacy. Her door was always open for those who needed a quiet study space and apt book recommendation.
LISA (BUSINESSHOKE OFFICE) Burke Tenure: 1996-2022
Head of School Damian R. Jones 2014-2022 Board of Trustees 2021-2022 Sharon Davis, President Susannah Baruch, Vice President Nick Keenan, Treasurer Ruta Puskorius, Secretary Damian Jones, Head of School Maureen Minard, Faculty Representative Brian GretchenEmilyDawnChrisCaitlinMcMasterCarrollOppenheimerVanArsdaleChismAlexanderLamberg Hadley Boyd John Jenkins Kira ThomaseniaStephenPeterMoniqueMartinLisaKristenSwenckiFranklinHallP.GriffinWillardSheridanWeisbrod“Tommie” Duncan Wendy Cividanes Burke Parent Association 2021-2022 Kyle Kenney, President Tiffany Rogers, Vice President Caitlin Oppenheimer, Treasurer Joe Fiorill, Events Chair Jeanne Black, Communications Chair Layout & Design by Jadéa Asante Additional photography by Linnea Farnsworth
4101 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008 SAVE THE DATES August 31 - All School Picnic for Current Families September 16-17 - Alumni Weekend & Reunion for ‘2 & ‘7 Classes October 7-8 - Homecoming Weekend for Students October 22 - Admissions Open House for Prospective Families November 4-5 & 11-12 - Fall Play Repertory November 11 - Grandparents & Grandfriends Day
