Eliot School Biennial Report 2019 - 2020

The heart of the school lives

in you.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020

times

extraordinary When our schoolhouse closed, we learned that the Eliot School was greater than just a building.

We learned that our strength and perseverance

lived in the hearts and minds of you—our students, teachers, donors, and staff. You brought the spirit and the values of the Eliot School into your homes, your communities, and online. You were determined to sustain the vitality, creativity, and the good that we do in our communities through arts education—and we are grateful. Thanks to you, we are turning a corner on the uncertainty of the past and working step by step toward a truly vibrant season of new beginnings.

Abigail Norman Executive Director

“ We will continue to support our teachers, listen to our students, and do all we can do to fulfill our mission: inspiring lifelong learning in craft and creativity for all.”

leadership

extraordinary

partnerships

a story of

by Abigail Norman

The Eliot School’s partnerships with Boston Public Schools date back to 1874.

Fast forward 150 years, the year before COVID, we taught more than 2,146 children in classrooms around Boston, as well as 15 young people recruited from those classrooms into our intensive Teen Bridge program.

proud of our team, our artists, and our young people for the energy and the creativity with which they embraced all the technology and all the challenges.

When we work with a school, we develop long-term, multi-year relationships with principals, teachers, and students, teaching art and woodworking along with their other scheduled classes, all year long. We are embedded in those schools as part of the fabric of what they offer their children—our children. So, when COVID hit, our teachers worked with BPS developing our online classrooms and assembling art kits for children to use at home.

During normal times, we typically partner with a dozen or more public schools and up to twenty other sites each year— Boston Public Libraries, Boston Centers for Youth and Families. When in-person learning was suspended, our communitybased partners suspended their after-school programs. Yet we managed to teach some 1,300 BPS students in this pandemic year.

Our entire team mobilized with incredible speed. Our teachers taught from their living rooms, with their families and pets in the house. Teen Bridge moved instantly online. Our Artist-in-Residence program went instantly online, and I am incredibly

What did we lose?

The pandemic completely shut down our in-person classes. A bank loan and federal relief funds allowed us to keep paying teachers and staff through June. In July, I sent an email furloughing 80 faculty members. That was one of the harshest days in my entire working life.

PANDEMIC

School Year 2018 – 19 11 Staff 8 Full-time

3 Part-time

School Year 2020 – 21 120 Teachers

• Executive Director • Development Officer • 2 Program Directors • Program Coordinator • Program/Development Asst.

• Registrar • Assistant Registrar • Facilities Coordinator • Shop Assistant

3 Full-time 117 Part-time

10 Staff

8 Teachers

9 Full-time

2 Full-time

1 Part-time

6 Part-time All others on furlough

The heart of the school lives in…

isit our YouTube channel V to watch more of these stories in greater depth.

Program Director, woodworker

Alison Croney Moses

Alison

contemplates art education in light of emerging societal challenges. Through professional development and curriculum, can we create classrooms that affirm our students?

Jen

pg. 4

pg. 6

Carol Price shares her

family’s heritage of sewing and repairing with her students as well as her community. When the pandemic started, she used her creative skills to make masks for others.

Carol

pg. 8

Milliner, teacher, and citizen mask-maker, Denise Wallace-Spriggs faced the challenge of teaching and the disappointment of losing creative opportunities during COVID. How does she sustain her creative practice?

Denise

pg. 10 Jasmanie Gonzalez took

Jazz

an unconventional route to woodworking after taking a class at the Eliot School.

He never imagined returning to his old high school to teach woodworking in English and Spanish.

Geoff

pg. 12 The first class of Teen Bridge graduates reflects how learning the creative practice of making art over the years has changed them, their thinking, and their outlook for the future.

pg. 16

Jen Turpin is a teaching artist at Boston Green Academy. She took her classroom online, prepared art kits for her students to take home, and helped them process difficult times and emotions though art.

Teen Bridge

What would you do to support a creative space that you love? Geoffrey Chasin, a donor and student talks about what the woodshop means to him, and why he gave toward the installation of a clean air system.

pg. 14 Board Chair Melony Swasey and Board Member Dana Rashti discuss the challenges of governance amidst the confluence of the pandemic and the social upheaval that rocked the country nationally and locally.

pg. 18

The Board

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The vision of affirming classrooms lives

in Alison.

I am a woodworker and have been Program Director at the Eliot School for eight years.

I started as an Eliot School woodworking teacher in the Boston Public Schools and saw first-hand some of the classroom challenges that all teachers experience.

We recognized that our students and teachers have a variety of identities, and that all young people engage in their learning differently. All of our kids had social/ emotional needs that we wanted to be able to meet. So the Eliot School held workshops about classroom management, culturally responsive curriculum, and trauma-informed teaching practices.

Cedar Pod Peeking 2016, Cedar wood, milk paint, 7” x 7” x 7”

Still, we wanted to think of professional development as an arc and support our teachers further. Executive Director Abigail Norman and I just committed one day to invest in a deep-dive professional development series.

We focused the first year on racial justice, with intensive workshops available to everyone: BPS teachers, teaching artists, charter school

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 5

teachers. We had a great turnout and response, which told us people needed this. The next year we focused on social/emotional learning. And then the pandemic hit.

People were getting sick, dying. Young people no longer had the support in school or at home that they used to. Racial injustice was bubbling up in the society as a whole. Art teachers were saying our classrooms could be a space for young people to process this experience.

Quickly, we planned a four-week series called SPEAC, Supporting the Processing of Experiences through the Arts during COVID. We collaborated with two partners also doing

great work, Open Door Arts and Wheelock Family Theater. About 70 teachers completed the series. We talked about implicit bias, the history of education through the lens of race, and disability. We dove into the social/emotional needs of students and teachers, and strategies to celebrate and affirm their identities.

The feedback was amazing. One teacher said, “I wish I had gotten this before when I was in school learning to be an art teacher.”

There was a lot of personal growth. Pretty quickly, the teachers built trust and community, and tapped into the vulnerability needed to truly reenvision what teaching art can be.

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The heart of the school lives

in Jen.

The best part of working in Boston Public Schools is being part of that larger community

(such interconnectedness yet separate individual personalities for each school) and being able to help youth development in the city that I love and have lived in for so long. I’ve worked for Eliot School at Boston Green Academy for three years.

When the pandemic started, like many people watching the news for updates from the mayor, we were expecting that in two or three weeks, we’d be back. Then the mayor said seven weeks, eight weeks. My first thought was, if I’m feeling a little anxious about this, how are my youth feeling? Some students were terrified. Some students were thinking of summer vacation.

Jen Turpin’s virtual classroom backdrop with works of artivism helped students feel “heard” and welcome.

For myself, art was a way to process complex emotions. Knowing that my students wouldn’t necessarily be able to engage with their communities in the same way or be with each other, I wanted to make sure they had

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 7

access to creative materials in their homes.

I created art kits, so everybody got a bag with a sewing needle, thread, fabric, felts. Some got crayons, watercolors, washable markers, paper.

That way, even if they weren’t going to come to online classes, they had familiar materials to work with.

With the murder of George Floyd, we paused all of our planned online art challenges to talk about what the students were feeling.

They brought up Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and they mentioned that their voices aren’t always heard, and if they are heard they’re not respected or listened to.

So we gave the option: Do you want to work on this art project to help emotionally, or do you want to do a piece of artivism, where your voices could be seen?

8 |

The heritage to sew and repair lives

in Carol.

My dad taught me how to sew. My dad was a tailor in the United States Army and served for 23 years.

He came from a family where everybody sewed. His mother made beautiful quilts.

His sisters did wedding dresses. My grandmother thought it was important that even the guys should know how to sew and be able to repair their own clothing.

Everybody should be able to sew a button back on. My favorite part of sewing is coming up with the concept of how I want something to look, and then as I’m sewing, it evolves into something else. I’ve been working at the Eliot School since 2004. I love teaching, particularly when someone comes in my classroom who doesn’t know how to sew. People come to my classroom with a desire to learn and leave with the ability to sew. That’s rewarding to me. Through the classes I’ve met different people from all walks of life. Some people that were my students ended up being friends.

There is such a caring community. When the A small selection of the many vibrant fabrics Carol collects at home for sewing.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 9

schoolhouse closed there was definitely a sense of sadness, just to be cut off from what you enjoy. I miss teaching.

It absolutely does help to be creative during this pandemic because it allows you to focus on something other than all the negativity that’s going on in the world. I was happy to make masks for others, to help other people and still be creative. Some people were looking at this pandemic like it was a time of doom, which it was. It was a sad time, but like they say, “crisis creates opportunity.” It gave me that opportunity to use my skills to help others.

My phone was ringing off the hook for the masks. I gave masks to strangers I met on the street, to people in my neighborhood.

One lady I gave a mask to actually started crying. She just thought it was so beautiful.

Our interview with Carol Price happened to take place around the two-year anniversary of the passing of her son Kendric Price.

A beloved son, basketball player, coach, and youth mentor, Kendric was murdered in 2019. We are grateful to Carol for granting the interview.

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The mastery of materials lives

in Denise.

I am a milliner. I make hats. I am also a theatrical craftsperson, which means I make costumes.

I do fabric dyeing, fabric modification, silkscreening, making armor, and things like that. I love teaching at the Eliot because of the curiosity of the students.

I always say to people who take a workshop with me that I’m going to learn more than you learn, and I have 30 years of experience doing this. I am always meeting another person’s idea, and then helping with that idea—and I learn a ton in the process.

I really love teaching those classes, and I miss it. I miss being with people.

My specialty is to try and mind meld with my students, figure out what they’re trying to make, and then help them have success making that hat. There are a million and a half hats that you could possibly make, but I want to know what hat you want to make. I help students learn skills along the way that they can use to make more things.

In her studio, we see a corner of Denise’s worktable with some tools and materials for making hats.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 11

I tell my students that you don’t really learn things if you do it perfectly right the first time.

All the learning happens in the mistakes. When you make a mistake, you see, “Oh that’s not what I wanted!” That’s when you really learn to manipulate materials. Really, what I’m teaching is how to manipulate materials and processes.

I’m sure everyone was in a different place when the schoolhouse closed. Workshops and intensives, we had to cancel them. Nobody felt safe, and it was absolutely the right thing to do. The Eliot School was kind enough to honor our contracts for those first classes that got canceled. That was really generous.

During COVID when people were making masks, it suddenly became relevant to have sewing skills.

Suddenly craft was at the forefront. Sewing, this skill that maybe people thought was old-fashioned and outdated and not very useful anymore and just something you did to please yourself—it suddenly became one of the most important things that we could be doing. People started emailing me from all over the country, “What are you doing about masks?” People were dragging their sewing machines out of hiding to make hundreds and thousands of masks. It was really interesting to be involved with a worldwide group of people who were sewing masks, whether you knew them or not.

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The heart to give back lives

in Jazz.

I never thought I’d be teaching woodworking. I was working at a hospital, just got promoted to a lab.

Around the same time, I was taking the Basic Box class at the Eliot. Somehow, making the box made me think of the lab, and how I didn’t want to be in that cubicle—not with my desire to interact with people. I left that job and started working at the Eliot School as a shop assistant, which gradually grew into teaching. I realized that was my calling.

There I was going back to teach at my old high school, English High. To be honest, graduating high school was not an easy path for me, so going back to teach felt like patching up old scars and giving back. I was able to teach kids from a similar background, who may have had a learning disability or just didn’t understand the language. I learned woodworking all over again in Spanish to speak with most of my Latino students. Bouncing back and forth from English to Spanish to communicate with students was rewarding. I had kids from all over South America, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

We created things in the class that brought out their inner artist, their inner woodworker. It felt great to show students that with just the proper techniques, they could believe in themselves and make things. The sky’s the limit.

When the coronavirus came, I thought I was going to be out of a job. You can’t teach woodworking online. Fortunately, Abigail, our Director told us to start renovating. While the schoolhouse was closed there was an opportunity to do upgrades. Though I had fears of getting sick, I was relieved that I was able to keep a full-time job and learn a lot of skills in the process.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 13

I had an amazing boss, Andrew Riiska. He’s a woodworker and a person who’s been in the trades since he was about 11 years old.

I learned so much from him about patience and how maintaining good tools and equipment is crucial to woodworking. “A bad carpenter blames his tools,” Andrew would say.

Fortunately, I was surrounded by other teachers in a similar crisis, all sharing ideas and supporting each other. I learned quickly how to start teaching digital art fabrication online. The community made it easier to adapt to online teaching, to branch out and learn other new skills.

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The heart of the woodshop lives

in Geoff.

I live nearby in Brookline. I found out about the Eliot School pretty much when we moved in, and I’ve been coming here about 12 years.

The physical space is such a beautiful space to work in. It’s well lit with high ceilings, and it has a ton of hand tools and machine tools. I live in a condo.

I do not have studio space at home, so it’s really important to find a shop like this shared space for woodworking.

The real draw—the teachers and coaches are extraordinary. Many of them are retired woodworkers or real artists who know a phenomenal amount about woodworking and love to share. There are guys in their 70s and 80s that come by and want to share what they know, and they know a lot. I go to the open shop on Saturdays. There are always a ton of different people at different skill levels from North Bennet Street School graduates to rank beginners. There is always such a nice camaraderie, sharing information, just joking around. My time there is really quite special.

As COVID-19 got worse, we didn’t know how long it would last. Woodworking was very hard to do at home. It was frustrating. When I talked to Executive Director Abigail Norman, she told me about the problems with the airflow, how we needed all these extra plans and filters. We got into a conversation about what it would cost, and I decided to give money to the school to help fund this.

It was Abigail’s idea to launch a drive for clean air, a mini fundraiser. She asked me to talk to a gathering of people from the woodworking community about why I was giving money and why the school was important. We thought that some other people would also like to contribute.

I was certain they missed it as much as I did.

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We raised enough money to put in the whole air exchange, the HEPA filters, and ionizers. I think it’s going to exchange the air every ten minutes.

For the woodworkers and for everybody, it will be a safe place to work. Am I looking forward to coming back and seeing my friends again? Yes. The shop will reopen better than it ever was.

Hopefully, it won’t lose the community feel, the camaraderie, the expertise—everything that makes it so special.

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The hearts of future artists live

in Teen Bridge.

Anita: A valuable lesson I’ve learned is that it’s okay to try, and if you don’t get it, you just keep working on it.

I have so many areas in art that I feel like I’m lacking, but through Teen Bridge I’ve been able to learn, especially from the teachers. And even though it doesn’t go the way I like—sometimes I hate some of the work I make—I still try to improve and make it better.

Vlad: My Teen Bridge experience was awesome.

Honestly, when I first started, I was very antisocial. I didn’t know much about art or mediums.

But now I feel like I’ve gained a lot of people skills, communication skills, and art skills.

Grace: I think for me, practicing art has really

changed how I look at the world. I don’t see just shapes and colors anymore. You really kind of break things down. It gives you a more creative outlook in general. It helps with problemsolving, and it just really widens your view overall. You are able to remove yourself from the logic piece, and you can be creative and have fun and loosen up a little bit. That’s been a pretty big change for me.

Isaac: I plan to become an artist, professionally.

I hope to make a stable career out of it in my adult life. I have a lot of memories about this program, and they’re all great. I think my favorite ones have to be the summer Artist-in-Residence programs that I participated in. Those were really fun, especially being able to present our work at the end of it, and have it in galleries. That was really cool.

Pictured left to right: Isaac, Anita, Grace, and Vlad

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 17

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The heart of the school lives

in the Board.

Dana: When COVID hit, it occurred to me what a loss it was going to be for our community, because there was so much emotional stress during COVID. Even before the pandemic, the School was such an important part of people’s

lives, giving them a creative outlet to balance their lives and feel fulfilled. The fact that this outlet wouldn’t be available to people for a period of time felt like a real loss for the community at large.

Melony: As an individual and as a trustee,

I was really concerned about the emotional wellbeing of the staff. We had really big decisions to make, urgently, and we didn’t know how those decisions would land in people’s personal lives and work lives. We had to consider what was happening for Abigail, the Executive Director. There were so many pressures on her at that time, and I would say that she weathered that storm so elegantly.

I actually don’t know how she did it emotionally and psychologically, but she just dialed in. She did have our support, but she was really at the forefront of the big decisions, day in and day out.

Dana: One of our challenges was that we had

six new trustees, more than ever before in one period of time. They barely had a chance to assimilate, understand the school, or identify with its mission. We tried to overcome that through remote retreats and a lot of interaction to bring everybody into a common vision of the school. In retrospect, I would say it’s important to always have new blood coming to the board, but every board should think about its board tenure and planning of succession in a way that is well paced and allows for constant renewal and continuity in the process.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 19

Melony: I have just been so proud of the School during this time. You know, the entire staff is always working furiously behind the scenes to pull off all kinds of remarkable things. But with protections stripped back, with things exposed and laid bare, we witnessed how much they actually do—including that, during this time, we were awarded funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. So we were getting recognition on the national level, regional level, the state level, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Melony: As a board, during this time, we got to practice how to talk more explicitly about

the importance of equity. I think a lot of people come to the conversation feeling it’s a good thing, but not quite understanding how to enact it and embody it. This is something we are learning by doing. This moment invited us to understand how critical it is for the School—because of our programming, because of our funding, because of the way the community receives us—how important it is for us to actually name and claim and be proud of thinking about equity and justice.

As an individual board member, I’m proud of that. This is a learning process for us, and I feel hopeful about the direction we’re moving in.

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donors & supporters thank you to our Many thanks to the following organizations and individuals who generously supported the Eliot School with a donation of $100 or more, from January 2019 through December 2020.

Funders Aetna Foundation Andrew B. Young Foundation Anonymous Foundation Baltimore Community Foundation 916 Foundation Fund Barr Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative Boston Cultural Council* The Boston Foundation: Remmer-Fox Family Foundation Shawkemo Family Fund Sands Family Fund BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors** Cabot Family Charitable Trust C. F. Adams Charitable Trust City of Boston COVID-19 Fund Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston David V. N. Taylor Foundation Deborah M. Noonan Memorial Fund The Episode Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Fritze Family Fund Hoppin Family Fund Jockers Family Foundation Joe Kalt & Judy Gans Foundation Lawrence Madoff Family Charitable Fund Linde Family Foundation Martha & Paul Rizzoli Family Foundation Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association

Massachusetts Cultural Council* Massachusetts Cultural Council Cultural Facilities Fund Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism McCoy Family Fund of Essex County Community Foundation MENTOR Charitable Fund Mott Philanthropic LLC Murray Family Foundation New England Grassroots Environment Fund New World Foundation September 20th Fund Patricia C. Remmer Charitable Trust The Plymouth Rock Foundation Rhode Island Community Foundation Robert & Susan Mayer Charitable Foundation Schwab Charitable Fund Tauck Family Foundation

Corporations & Businesses Adjective Art & Framing Inc. Amazon Smile Anonymous Arborway Auto Service Center Benevity Blanchard’s Liquors Bloom Architecture Boing JP’s Toy Shop, LLC Boxed.com

Brendan Behan Pub Burns Design Burns Tools Center & Spring Acupuncture Centre Cuts Corporation City Bench City Feed and Supply Claremont Consulting Counterpoint LLC Decorator’s Workroom East Boston Savings Bank Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation Eastern Mass Guild of Woodworkers, Inc. Ellen & Janis Real Estate Team F. L. Putnam Investment Management Co. Fiore’s Bakery Fire Opal Flour Bakery & Cafe FoMu Fresh Hair Google Matching Gifts GSA Solutions Hannah Street Consulting Hanover Insurance Group Harvest Co-op Market Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Il Panino Cafe & Grill Isobar Italian Pizza & Subs Jamaica Plain Arts Council Jamaica Plain Historical Society Jameson & Thompson

Picture Framers JMKP Inc. Johnson Paint JP Licks JP Taekwando Kevin Cradock Builders, Inc. Madden Planning Group Mann-Rodgers & Commonwealth Funeral & Cremation Services Mario’s Pizzeria Merck Foundation Milky Way/Bella Luna Murdock Mailing Muskat Studios NE Moves/Constance Cervone & Janet Deegan New Leaf Flores Nike-Converse Paint Bar Payne Bouchier Fine Builders Polar Beverages Real Deal Robiar Massage Therapy Rustic Spirits Margarita Sam Adams Brewery Stan Hatoff’s Gas Station Taylor House Bed & Breakfast Temple Israel The Makery Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty—Good Boston Living Vinndio Salon Women in Development of Greater Boston

* Funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and by the Boston Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. ** Funded in part by Boston Public Schools (BPS) Arts Expansion, a multi-year effort focused on access, equity and quality arts learning for BPS students. The BPS Arts Expansion Fund, managed by EdVestors, is supported by the Barr Foundation, The Boston Foundation, Katie and Paul Buttenwieser, Klarman Family Foundation, Linde Family Foundation, and other foundations and individuals.

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 21

Donors $25,000+ Abigail Norman Anonymous

$10,000 – $24,999 Elizabeth Barringer & John Clark Anne & Sean Gavin Cristina Rosa Nelson Rebecca Norman Dana Rashti Nerine & Eric Warasta Jerry Wheelock & Elizabeth Wood

$5,000 – $9,999 Sue & Rob Bushman Susan Mars Bonnie McBride Mary & David Smoyer

$1000 – $4,999 Paula & Russ Antonevich Jim & JoAnne Blakey William Buffett Drs. Marikim & Bruce Bunnell Eric Campbell & Agnes Farkas Caleb Carvalho Neema Chaiban Katherine Chaurette & Martin Thomson Ann Coles Kathy & Bob Cunha Joanna & Zander Damp Marion Davis Deirdre & Jamie Day Sarah Delaney Betsy Disharoon Catherine Dooley Bonnie Duncan & Dan Milstein Gail English & Andrew Haines John-Paul Ferguson Charlie & Judy Fox Karen Haas & Greg Heins Bruce Haggarty & Deb Rivkin Hylton & Mimi Jolliffe Barbara Krakow Douglas Lemle & Micaela Wilson Ken Lindgren Alice Lorch & Matt Lesniak Sandy Madden & Ed Forte George & Stefania Mallett Pam & Stuart Mathews Caroline & Alan McCoy

Karen Smith McGarity Colleen McKiernan Norman Meltz Maureen & David Moses Steven Muller Nicole & Terry Murray Margaret Norman Christine Olsen & Robert Small Vicki & Dan Paret Nicole & Geoff Parsons Frank & Margaret Pettorossi Nina Reis & Jeff York Martha & Paul Rizzoli Antoinette Russell & Louis Bailey Jodi Schmidt & Peter Smith Dr. Brian Shaughnessy Joy Silverstein John Skibo Melony Swasey David Taylor Elizabeth Wolffe & Philip Gregory Henry Yager Priscilla Yang & Nathanael Gray Ari Zimmet

$500 – $999 Cathy Abbott Henry & Tish Allen Mark Allyn Sarah Babb Scarlet & Sam Batchelor Donald Buchholtz Anne Buckley Robin Colby & Jared Alperin Bart Dahlstrom & Richard Webster Susan & William Elsbree Don Eunson & G. Douglas Evans Peter & Andrea Enzinger and family Jascha Franklin-Hodge & Kevin Derrick Sarah Freeman Caroline & Ralph Gakenheimer Elizabeth & Simon Griffiths Sherry & Daniel Horn Robert E. Johnson Christine Johnston Marsha Kaminsky & Aaron Krakow Robert King Amanda & Michael Lapham Katina Leodas Sherilyn & David Levy Ellen Lidington Toni Loiacano & Matthew Williams Andrew Marquis Carole Mathieson & John Iappini Lida Maxwell & Japonica Saracino Catherine Mosgofian Julia Mullen Natalie Olsen & Andrew Hall Mimi Pichey

Rebeca Plank Amelie Ratliff Elizabeth & Wilson Rickerson Cate & Michael Rioles Charles Sandler Christine Schaffer Brooke Scibelli & Dyllan Nguyen Sheara & Jeffrey Seigal Joanne Shaughnessy Howard Shrobe & Anne McHugh Jonah Spector Paul Spinale Jan Spitz & Steve Truslow Joe Stanewick Madelyn & Harold Thomas Robert & Naomi Tuchmann Janet Veasey & Bob Binney Meredith & Mark Wallace Jessica Welch & Jamie Maguire Jae Williams

$100 – $499 Rania & Jean Abouhamad Donna & Bob Alger Marsha & Tom Alperin Barbara Altman Robert Amelio Mary Ames Mary Louise Amrhein & Gerard Greene Judith Anderson Emily Anesta & Alexander Bourgeois Nancy Angney Richard Angus Anonymous Roberta Apfel & Bennett Simon Cindy Arias & Josiah Oberholtzer Milicent Armstrong Barbara Attianese & Alan Meyers Seeta Badrinath & Jeff Dvorin Lewis Baer in honor of Joy Silverstein Myrna Balk & Ramon Greenberg Alison Balster Elaine Barlas Caroline Barnes Elissa Barr Ros Barron in memory of Harris Barron Seymour Beckford Erin Bennett Michael Bentinck-Smith Karen Bergstrand Barbara & Carl Berke Eric Berke Barbara & Alan Berns Oren Bernstein Carla Bettano & Laurie Glassman Lisa Bevilaqua Robert Bienkowski

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Kate Billman-Golemme Sarah Bishins Wendy Bliss Derek Bloom & Lauren Becker Phyllis Bluhm & Moishe Werbe Viki Bok & Dick Jones Archer Book Travis Book Terry Boutelle & Jim Zigmont Alex Bowers & James Liu Helen Braun Josh Briggs Alexander Brodsky Deborah & David Brooks Laura Soul Brown Susan Hardy Brown Priya Budde & Ryan Croteau Alice Bukhman Holly & Daniel Burnes Helen Burnham & George Jacobs Frank Burns & Joanne Zitek Sue & Frank Cabezas Carlos Caicedo Caitlin Callahan & James Norris Jean Capizzi & Micah Sachs Constance Cervone & Janet Deegan Geoffrey Chasin Sally Cheek & Linda Lesyna Alicia Chick Alain Chinca Anne Cody & Ben Forman Amy Coe & Carol Rohl Stephanie & David Cohen Cornell Coley BJ Comerford Marjorie Connelly & Peter Bigham Katie Connolly & Sander Cohan Cynthia & Dean Conway Kristine Cortese & David Warner Leslie Coughlan Renita Croney Powell & Rhys Powell Donna & James W. Currie, Jr. Ethan d’Ablemont Burnes Maxine Dalton Kate Dare-Winters Margaret Darling in memory of Kendrick Price Phillip Davis Thomas R. Davis Yvonne & Mack Day in honor of Deirdre Day Eliza Deissler Premal Desai Bea Dhebar Larry DiCara Ira Dobrow Darlene Donovan Tracy Donsky & Gideon Gourley James & Wendy Dorsey Conny Doty Alan Drabkin Paul Drolet

Johanna Dwyer Jerel Dye Ellen Dyer Joshua Eagle John Earley Susan Emmerson Gayle & Michael Epp Jane Epstein Jennifer Erbe Leggett Abigail Erdmann Carol McCarthy & David Eure Stephen Evans Sandra & Chet Fenton in honor of Jim Thompson Fabio J. Fernandez & Christine Dunn Tracey, John & Kate Fiasconaro Matt Files Laura Fischman Molly & Will Foley Martha Fowlkes & Frank Egloff Sam Franklin Andrew Franklin Janet Free Mary French Craig Friedland Ronne Friedman Mary Fries Thomas Fry Delong Jennifer & Will Fulton Hannah Gagnon Helen Galarneau Brian Gallagher Linda Garbus Carol & Steve Garfield Paula Georges & Dick Clapp Joanna Gervais Lorna Gibson John Gioia Anne Giovanoni Robert Gittens Michael Gleason & Mary Ann Sullivan Andrew Golden Jasmanie Gonzalez Kristina Goransson Nancy Gorman Verseckes Laurie Gould Kristin & Tom Griffin Marni Grossman Marah Gubar Mark Gudema Joanne Guzzi Maya & Giora Hadar Aaron Schmidt Deborah & Eric Hall Elisa Hamilton & Bill Unsworth Korie Handwerger Sheila & David Hanson Steven Harriman Brad & Nicole Harris Anne Harvey Lars Hasselblad Torres

Charlotte & Kurt Hemr Carrie Alyea & Peter Herman Hans Hesselein Sharon Hessney Devin Hill Maggie Hill Kathleen Hirsch & Mark Morrow Ann Bevan Hollos Clare Horkan & Kenneth Christopher Lisa Houck Andrea Howard Jennifer Hughes Nancy Huntley & Davin Gummerns Abby Hykin & Gordon Hanlon Dorothy Jacobson Marnie Jain Ashwini Jambhekar Cydcharise & Gareth Jeyes Coleman Johnson Cynthia Johnson & John Wortham Jennifer Johnston Brenda Jones Karen Jones & Bob Medas Rosemary Jones Beth Jordan & Chris Possinger Cecilia Joseph Tammy & Jody Kalt Thomas Kane & Susan Richey Shira & Michaela Karman Jeffrey Katz Janet & Charles Kawada Edward M. Keane Barrie Keller & Steven Kaufman Melissa Kelley Kat Kennedy Christine Keochekian Janice & Robert Kerwin Adelaide Ketchum Thomas Keydel & James Lipsky Maureen Khung Elaine Kiley Theresa Kim Kathryn King Alan Kissack Christopher Knight Gregory Kohs Laura & Christopher Kollett Jennifer Koonz Stanley Kramer Andee Krasner & Clark Freifeld Jean & Jordan Krasnow William Krier & Robert Sharrett Ron Kulich & Marianne Gibbons Beth & David Labbe Helen Lang David Lapin Honor Lassalle Paula Lazar Ashley Lazonick Harding Rita Lee

BIENNIAL REPORT 2019 – 2020 | 23

Carol Levin Susan Levin Roselle Levy Erica Lockwell Elena & Ron Loukas D. Mara Lowenstein & Martin Schmaltz Wanda & Mark Luettgen Mitchell Lunsford Bridget Lynch & James Stark Virginia Lyons de Neufville Bligh Macdonald Beth & Kevin Mahar Matthew Maher Maureen Maher Judith & John Mahoney Kris Manjapra & Saugato Datta Jane Mansfield Jean Maras McIntyre Adam Mark Elizabeth Marks Erin & Rob Martin Marilyn Mase & Rick Dunfey Kimberly Mason & Jeff Seo Susan & Robert Mayer Michele & Chuck McAfee Robert McKee Larry & Patti McKenna Leah & Ian McMillan Pat McSweeney Sarah Poulter & Craig Metzer Anthony J. Meyer Margaret Minor Wood Farzana Mohamed & Paul Levy Clifton Monteith Martha Moor Marleen Moore Jane Morgenstern Marilyn Morrissey Anna Moshner Mary Murphy & James Buggie Patrick Murray Fifile Nguyen Titilayo Ngwenya Lira Nikolovska Olivia Niles Lucy Nims-LaFleche & Paul LaFleche Laura Northrop Melanie Northrop Tracy O’Brien & Michele Waters Robert Russell O’Haver Trudi Olivetti John O’Loughlin Erika Pabo & Eric Wehrenberg-Klee Roger Pachter & Lynn Susman Violette Paragas Krina Patel Tiffany Patterson Su-Ping Pearson Meghan Perdue & Nick Lavallee Jay Perreault in honor of Prof. Joe Stanewick

Patricia Pirone & Orson Moon Kathy Plimpton Susan Porter Carla Powdermaker Alicia Powell & Marvin Wang Vivian Pratt Ann-Marie & Fred Pucillo Sue & Bernard Pucker Bridget Quinn & Brian Jones Leslie Quinn Laura Raisty Amy Rands Thaddeus Razdow James Rebitzer Sarah & Tom Reed Michael Reiskind John Riley Kathryn Riley Wendy Rist Fran Rivkin & Amy Macdonald Daniel Roche Katrina Rogachevsky Janice Rogovin & Leo Newhouse Tom Rose & Susan Scully-Rose Femke & Slug Rosenbaum Ana Rosenblum Jennifer Rosinski-Croteau & Scott Croteau Elizabeth Ross Thomas Rourk Peter Rowe Sarah Rubenstein Jared Rubinstein Lois Russell Ann Ryan Mitch Ryerson & Alice Wolf Steven Sackmann Anthony Sammarco Gail Sarno Tony Schwensen Peter Shapiro Laurie Sutherland Karen Sebastian Vicky Seelen David Segal Jo Seibel Eliot Sennett Jill Shiel Sara Shinn Susan Siebert & Bart Mitchell Annie Silverman Ellen Simons Arlene Snyder & Paul Rabin Leo Sorokin Lucille & Richard Spagnuolo Teresa Spillane Corinne & Matthew Spinale JoAnne Steeves Jaclyn Stiles Trout Kaye Stroshine Alicia Svenson

Marilu Swett & Carl Spector Rebecca Szetela Lisa Talayco & Bruce Graubart Megan & James Talkington Patricia Thomas Margaret Thompson Lynn Tibbets & Robin Benton Christy Timon & Abram Faber Christina Tinglof & Michael Zahniser Frank Tipton & Jonathan Krasner Paul Tomkavage Peg Tuitt Sarah Turner Cynthia Upchurch Karen Victor Sebastien Vigneau Maria Vitagliano Wilma & Panagiotis Voukydis Denise Wallace-Spriggs & Marshall Spriggs Debra Wallbridge Jane & Paul Walsh Brad Warren Lynn Waskelis & Tim Newell Rosalind Water Barbara Watkins Alice Watson & Alastair Bell Kingsley Weihe Andi & Eric Weil Emma Weiler & Corey Steinman Rebecca Weintraub & Adam Klauber Mark Wheeler Carl Whitaker Heidi Whitman & Bob Mathews Barbara & John Wicker Hugh Wilburn & Michael Rogan Katherine Pharibe Wise Bob Wolcott Annie Wong & Wayne Chin Carrie & David Worn W. Katherine Yih & John D. Spence, Jr. Ellen Zellner Janine Zieg & Eric Frank Linda & Jerrold Zindler Rachel Zolacha & Kevin Berry

A Final Word In preparing this list, every effort was made to assure that gifts received in 2019 and 2020 were listed accurately. We extend apologies to anyone whose name was inadvertently omitted or misspelled. Please contact Titi Ngwenya, Director of Development & Communications with any inquiries at tngwenya@eliotschool.org or call 617.553.9206.

board, advisors & staff Board of Trustees 2021 Melony Swasey Chair Unlimited Sotheby’s International Real Estate Eric Warasta Treasurer Moody Lynn & Lieberson, LLC Karen Smith McGarity Secretary Marion Davis Jamie Day Edward Forte Karen Haas Farzana Mohamed Fifile Nguyen Jae Williams

Board of Trustees 2019 & 2020 Bridgit Brown Neema Chaiban, Goulston & Storrs, LLC Joanna Damp Jamie Day Marion Davis Emily Fannon Accenture Edward Forte Forte Architecture + Design Karen Haas Museum of Fine Arts Boston Aaron Krakow Krakow & Souris, LLC Bonnie McBride Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center (retired) Farzana Mohamed Fifile Nguyen Dana Rashti AllWays Health Partners Martha Rizzoli Citigroup (retired) Karen Smith McGarity Melony Swasey Unlimited Sotheby’s International Real Estate Melvin Tutiven East Boston Savings Bank Eric Warasta Moody Lynn & Lieberson, LLC Jessica Welch Lowell, Blake & Associates Jae Williams Emerson College

Advisory Council 2019 & 2020

Henry Allen Discount Foundation (retired) Robert Amelio Emerson College (retired) Drew Bagdasarian DRB Associates Enerio “Tony” Barros Special Assistant to Mayor Martin J. Walsh Lori Smith Britton Community Resource Consulting Raquel Cardoso Rafael Hernández K–8 School/ Boston Public Schools Cornell Coley Coley Communications Katie Connolly Milton Academy Deirdre Day Smartbear James Dorsey IHC Global Insight Lee Englert Steppingstone Foundation Fabio Fernandez Artist, Educator, Private Dealer Nicole Fernandez Julio Fuentes Curtis Henderson Boston Neighborhood Network (retired) William Henderson Henderson Elementary School (retired) Devin Hill JP Morgan Securities Andrea Howard West End House Alex Jacobson Jameson & Thompson Picture Framers Janet Kawada Massachusetts College of Art & Design (retired) Jordan Krasnow Goulston & Storrs, PC Paul Levy Toni Loiacano CannonDesign James Maguire Merck Family Fund Kris Manjapra Dept. of Studies in Race, Colonialism & Diaspora, Tufts University George Mallett Artists for Humanity (retired) Michelle Millar Fisher Museum of Fine Arts Boston Nicole Murray Titilayo Ngwenya Fuller Craft Museum Meredith Olson Wallace Brigham Health/Brigham & Women’s Hospital Leslie Reid

Madison Park Development Corporation Michael Reiskind Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council /Jamaica Pond Association Molly Rubenstein MIT D-Lab Antoinette Russell Eaton Vance Investment Counsel Mitch Ryerson Ryerson Design Paul Spinale Islington Capital Partners Jan Spitz Norman B. Leventhal Map Center (retired) Sandra Storey Jamaica Plain & Mission Hill Gazettes (retired) Robert Tuchmann Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LP (retired) Thomas Welch Thomas F. Welch Associates

Board Emeriti 2019 & 2020 Bob Cunha Braulio Felipe Dept. of Property & Construction Management, City of Boston Charles Fox Charles Fox Architect David Hodes Friedman Dept. of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (emeritus) Curdina Hill Clearways to Freedom John Iappini Marathon Associates Carolyn Ingles Shattuck Hospital (retired) Ramón Martin Brigham & Women’s Hospital Marilyn Mase Wentworth Institute of Technology/Independent Artist Kevin Moloney Barron & Stadfeld, PC (retired) Terry Murray Eliot Street Capital Margaret Patterson Asri Onur Sergici Hancock Whitney Bank Terry Power The Power Company Joy Silverstein Fresh Hair Salon Mary Smoyer Boston Public Schools (retired)

Staff 2019 & 2020 Administration Abigail Norman Executive Director Alicia Chick Development Officer Iris LaPaix Development & Communications Assistant Tanya Nixon-Silberg Team Assistant

School & Community Partnerships Alison Croney Moses Program Director Verónica Ramírez Martell Program Coordinator Taylor Dean Assistant Program Coordinator Charlotte Huffman Teen Arts & Professional Development Coordinator Camila Bohan Insaurralde Youth Program Assistant Amber Torres Youth Program Coordinator Jennifer Turpin Professional Development Coordinator Nalitza Valentín Teen Arts Specialist Julissa Zavala Teen Arts Specialist Ian Haines Team Assistant

In-House Program Claudia Fiks Program Director Ian Haines Summer Program Coordinator Dyllan Nguyen Special Projects/Summer Program Coordinator Angie Arriaga Millet Registrar/Office Manager Julia Cseko Assistant Registrar Brooke Scibelli Special Projects

Facilities Andrew Riiska Facilities Coordinator Jasmanie Gonzalez Shop Assistant Tam Willey Custodian

finances Statement of Financial Position FY20

Statement of Activities & Changes in Net Assets FY20

Assets

Revenue & Support

Cash Accounts Receivable Investments Prepaid Expenses Total Current Assets Property & Equipment* Less Accumulated Depreciation Total Property & Equipment

$238,075 $16,538 $1,710,893 $13,880 $1,979,386 $773,787 $(380,334) $393,453

Total Assets

Tuition Contracts Grants Donations Miscellaneous Income Donations In-Kind Operating Revenue Net Assets Released from Restrictions

$2,372,839

Net Revenue & Support

Liabilities & Net Assets

$1,516,141

Expenses

Accounts Payable Sub-lease Deposits Accrued Expenses Current portion of long-term debt Total Current Liabilities Long-Term Debt Net Assets Without donor restrictions With donor restrictions Total Net Assets

$7,672 $2,700 $37,955 $6,595 $54,922 $196,097

Programs General/Administration Fundraising Total Expenses Change in Net Assets, Operations Net Investment Return Change in Net Assets, Operations Net Assets, Beginning of Year

$1,585,209 $536,611 $2,121,820

Total Liabilities & Net Assets

Fundraising

General/ Administration

Scholarship 20% Programs 76%

Grants 34%

FY19 and FY20 Philanthropic Support

General 68%

Our Investment Reserve comprises a board-designated General Reserve and three smaller funds: Donations Grants

FY 19

Capital Maintenance 3%

9%

15%

Contracts 21%

FY20 Reserves As of 6/30/20 Capital

9%

Tuition 20%

$2,121,820

*Our building and land are fully depreciated and do not appear on our Balance Sheet.

FY20 Operating Expense

Donations In-Kind 3%

$1,232,413 $240,002 $155,144 $1,627,559 $111,418 $78,729 $(32,689) $2,154,509

Net Assets End of Year

$2,372,839

FY20 Operating Revenue

Donations 22%

$303,290 $314,700 $520,100 $326,580 $1,179 $50,292 $1,516,141 $—

• The Capital Maintenance Fund stores cash for repairs anticipated through a Systems Replacement Plan.

• The Scholarship Fund contributes 5% of its assets each year to cover tuition for students from lowincome households.

FY 20

• The Capital Fund accumulates resources for an eventual capital campaign. $–

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

lifelong learning Classes & Workshops

Teen Bridge

Artists-in-Residence

People of all ages and walks of life took classes in studios at our Eliot Street schoolhouse, Jamaica Plain Annex, and satellite facilities.

In 2019, our menu of classes included 260 unique workshops, classes, and summer intensives including woodworking and furniture, fiber arts, sewing and fashion, visual arts, photography, mixed media, and other crafts.

A select group of dedicated teens from our School & Community Partnerships participated in a year-round program outside of school time, with art instruction, mentorship, job training, and summer employment. They developed their skills during Saturday classes, and explored art opportunities, met with professional artists, visit ed the MFA, Stonybrook Fine Arts, and other city resources.

During the summer, the teens worked as Art Teachers’ Aides and as interns with our Artist-inResidence. Teens progressively helped to recruit, lead, and mentor each year’s new participants.

Each year, a Boston-based artist engages across our programs to create public artwork on a resonant theme. Second-year Teen Bridge participants support the artist as interns during an intensive process of collaborative design, art making and community engagement. In 2019, L’Merchie Frazier worked with our teens and in collaboration with children’s social justice group Wee The People to create New Urban Monuments: Stand Up Inside Yourself, which rethinks public monuments to embody community values. In 2020, Carolyn Shadid Lewis, a multimedia artist and filmmaker, worked with our teens to create InterGeneration, conversations between teens and their elders, storytelling through audio recordings and hand-made, stop-motion animation.

Summer Program for Children Seven sessions of week-long art enrichment classes included hands-on learning in woodworking, animation, robotics and Legos, visual art, sewing and fiber arts, photography, and inventions.

School & Community Partnerships We believe all young people have the right to great art education and opportunities. Through our School & Community Partnerships, we brought art instruction to young people where they study, play, and live. Our partners included Boston Centers for Youth & Families, Boston Public Library branches, Boys & Girls Clubs, and community centers at low-income housing developments. In 2019, our sites were located throughout the city, including Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, and South Boston. As the needs of Boston communities evolved, so did our partnerships. Our students reflected the demographics of our partners: 58% live in low-income households; 31% speak a first language other than English, and 20% have special needs.

Weekly Art Class in Boston Schools: Before COVID, we provided classes at as many as 15 public and charter schools during the school day. Our curriculum supported literacy and STEM and aligns with Common Core, serving a broad range of learners. Our many multi-year partnerships provided the continuity to build high quality, sequential education for children in grades K–12.

+1000 Art Kits

3,951 ~1,415

Students in 2018 – 2019

Students in 2020 – 2021

Eliot School assembled over 1,000 art kits and got them to students in the Boston Public Schools during the COVID-19 crisis, so they could continue to create for online classes, for themselves, and their own well-being.

In 2018 – 19, we taught 3,951 students. In 2020 – 21, despite having to furlough teachers and close the schoolhouse, we taught about 1,415 students in this pandemic year.

Space Expansion Project As far back as 2005, the board and staff recognized the need for improved and expanded space, with handicapped access as top priority.

A community engagement began with a needs assessment in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, architects researched onsite expansion, and development consultants researched off-site and hybrid options. COVID-19 interrupted that momentum. In 2020, we put this work on hold for a later time.

Now we have the opportunity to plan for rebuilding better than we were before. It will take us a couple of years, as people gradually feel safe returning to close quarters indoors. We will have a brand new clean air system and safety protocols.

We will work on increased racial equity across all programs and a radically welcoming environment.

PO BOX 300351, Boston MA 02130 617.524.3313 | info@eliotschool.org eliotschool.org