ECFS Reporter Magazine Winter 2021

ECFS Reporter Ethical Culture Fieldston School Magazine Winter 2021

We must pause for joy and even allow it to catch us by surprise.

Dear ECFS community, Yesterday was a glorious autumn day and easily one of the happiest and proudest ones in my career. In every division of our School, we had students, faculty, and staff on-site in our classrooms, offices, and common spaces and on our fields. Seeing them interacting live and in person in all of these settings was a delight, and so was hearing voices carry through classroom windows and doorways as students and teachers engaged with one another.

For a moment at midday, as I stood in my office window at Fieldston and looked out over the Quad at our kids and my colleagues coming and going or stopping to sit and talk or work for a bit, I realized that I was feeling joyful, deeply joyful, in a way I have not felt in months.

I owe this moment of grace to my colleagues, to our children, and to all of our parents, caregivers, and trustees. To get to this juncture, the effort and sacrifice from so many have been monumental, and so have the patience and fortitude. These past seven months have been simultaneously surreal and relentlessly trying, and we surely know uncertainty remains, as does the inevitability of hiccups, heartache, and pivots as the days and months unfold, but we also know that we absolutely can do this together. And we must pause for joy and even allow it to catch us by surprise.

With love and admiration,

—Excerpted from a message by Jessica Bagby, Head of School, on October 7, 2020

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In This Issue

The Class of 2020 Finds Community at Graduation

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From Online to In Person: The Incredible Journey to Reopen ECFS’s Campuses

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At Ethical Culture, Schoolwork Is Play

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Teaching the 2020 Election to Our Youngest Learners at Fieldston Lower

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Meet Jon Alschuler, Interim Fieldston Middle Principal

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Prioritizing Health and Wellness at Fieldston Middle

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Jameel Freeman Prepares Students for Life After ECFS

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Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into the Sciences at Fieldston Upper

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Professional Development as an Act of Care for the ECFS Community

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Alumni Q&A: Jennie Werts ’03 Sam Ravetz ’11

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Class Notes

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2020 Commencement

The Class of 2020 Finds Community at Graduation Author Julia Sonenshein

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he world as you know it has broken open,” keynote speaker Khary Lazarre-White ’91 told 2020’s graduating seniors. “It’s been a great revealing. My question today is: What will your role be?”

Lazarre-White looked out at the seniors sitting six feet apart in their blue caps and gowns. Indeed, the pandemic, the nation’s ongoing reckoning with systemic racism, and the consequences of climate change had converged to make a world that looked starkly different from when the Class of 2020 started their final year at ECFS. As of August 5, 2020 — the date of Graduation — the United States had recorded 4.7 million cases of COVID-19, 145 days had elapsed without charges against Breonna Taylor’s murderers, and Hurricane Isaias had ravaged the Caribbean and East Coast.

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The graduating seniors were ready to meet the moment. They elected both student speakers and a faculty member, who spoke to their collective roles in this changing world and encouraged the graduates to use their ethical lens in all aspects of their lives.

In the midst of a period that has been marked by seriousness and introspection, Graduation offered countless moments of joy. It was, in many ways, a typical ECFS experience: understanding, meeting, and celebrating the responsibility we have to each other.

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hen the pandemic closed ECFS campuses in March, faculty and staff went into overdrive to maintain a sense of community, even as everyone checked in from home. Graduation was nonnegotiable: As Head of School Jessica Bagby told the seniors when our campuses closed in March, “I can promise you that the Class of 2020 will be celebrated and your accomplishments will be honored as your high school careers come to an end. Of this you can be certain.”

Representatives from the Class of 2020, who were included in the planning process from the start, pushed for an on-campus ceremony, albeit one with ample safety precautions.

The Advancement Office and the Upper School administrative team — which jointly oversee the planning of Graduation — got to work. An August date was selected; in addition, to acknowledge

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The world as you know it has broken open.

It’s been a great revealing.

My question today is: What will your role be?

— Khary Lazarre-White ’91

the original Commencement day of June 11, seniors received a gift box with their diploma, cap, and tassel, and a letter from Bagby and Fieldston Upper Principal Nigel Furlonge.

Sarah Wendt, Chief Philanthropy Officer, says the team hit one roadblock after another in the course of planning, but they were resolute in their goal of giving seniors an in-person ceremony. First, there was the matter of physical distancing, which meant setting up chairs six feet apart and — based on state guidelines — making the difficult decision not to allow families and faculty on campus. (Instead, the ceremony was live-streamed, and hundreds of faculty and family members tuned in.) When rain threatened the event, the Advancement team ordered tents. When hurricane winds blew too strongly for the tents, they went back to the drawing board.

“True to ECFS’s enduring strength, neither plague nor storm could derail the day,” says Nancy Oti, Director of Special Events, who worked tirelessly to plan the event. On August 5, the seniors gathered on the beloved Quad for a strikingly beautiful day.

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agby welcomed, as she put it, the “indomitable and resilient Class of 2020” to the ceremony. “Class of 2020, you have certainly experienced — too young — too much of what isn’t in your power, in my view,” she said. “And yet, I suspect, the sweet irony is that this

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We can use the knowledge we’ve absorbed all these years — the statistics, history, and stories — to reflect, learn, unlearn, and share with others.

— Jahnavi K. ’20

reality makes you uniquely primed and suited to act on what is within your power. And that is plenty.”

Per tradition, the graduates elected three student speakers to represent them at the ceremony. Each spoke to the unique moment and their individual and collective roles — and threw in some clever one-liners to boot. (As Lucas S. ’20 said, “Our hopes of a couple pandemic days turned into endless pandemic weeks and pandemic months. All we wanted was to be back in the classroom — believe it or not.”) Between a Kanye West and Drake reference, Lucas added, “If we, the Fieldston Class of 2020, aren’t going to make the world a better place, then who will?”

Matthew B. ’20 spoke to the experience of this year’s graduates — one markedly different than expected. “I’m proud to be a part of the Class of 2020 because though we didn’t get to slack off all quarter as we feel we deserved, we learned something far more important. To expect the unexpected and to anticipate change, whether positive or negative,” he said. “We are strong, and we are stronger as a unit. I have great faith in the Class of 2020.”

Jahnavi K. ’20 outlined concrete steps for her classmates as they left ECFS. “We can use the knowledge we’ve absorbed all these years — the statistics, history, and stories — to reflect, learn, unlearn,

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and share with others. We can employ the communication skills we’ve honed from countless presentations, meetings, sports teams, and ensembles. We can tap into the empathy we’ve developed by interacting with and reading books about so many different people and engaging in community service, wielding it as a powerful instrument for growth and, ultimately, change,” she said.

The graduates also chose a faculty speaker, Dr. Alwin Jones, Fieldston Upper English Teacher and incoming English Department Chair. Jones delivered remarks by video in his trademark electrifying style, even invoking a stuffed unicorn as a prop. With help from Kendrick Lamar, Langston Hughes, Ethics and Performing Arts Teacher Dhari Noel, Audre Lorde, Stevie Wonder, and Saul Williams, Jones spoke to the ways in which the graduates stood up and showed up through protest, engagement, and leadership in this moment when “both pandemics have come for our breaths at the same time.” He implored his audience to ask themselves: “How and when and why will I continue to show up?

How will I use the examples, the training, the practice, the ethics, my experiences, my mistakes to speak up for people who need us to lend to them the privilege of our voices and resources — to lock arms with the beautiful unicorns who are sometimes too beautiful for the limited imagination of the present but still courageous enough to imagine a more colorful world, the Black unicorns who have put their bodies on the line to found Black Lives Matter — and continue to be a part of

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what the late John Lewis called the good trouble chorus for those who continue to teach you and the children of tomorrow, born and unborn, how to draw and play with unicorns in a more colorful world?”

Lazarre-White — a social entrepreneur, novelist, educator, activist, attorney, and co-founder of nationally renowned nonprofit The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (Bro/Sis) — gave an address that did more than inspire: It invited and compelled the graduates to engage and struggle with the issues facing their world, and it conveyed the urgent need for their participation. “I do not speak to you as leaders of tomorrow,” he said. “It’s your time now — today. Young people have been at the forefront of every movement for social change in this country, whether you talk of the women’s movement, or the Black Power Movement, or the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, the LGBTQ movement for equality — there’s always been young people at the forefront. We need your passion now. We need your conviction now. We need your action now.”

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n so many ways, Graduation is truly about a new beginning,” says Yasmine Fillmore ’99, Director of Alumni Relations. “It’s an official welcome into the alumni family. I couldn’t imagine this rite of passage without my best Fieldston friends by my side, and I’m thrilled we were able to offer a similar sense of togetherness for the Class of 2020.”

After Graduation, each graduate received a Welcome to Fieldston Alumni gift package, including a silver Class of 2020 frame, a Fieldston pennant, and a thumb drive with a video montage of welcome messages from alumni.

Seniors may not have been able to toss their hats to the sky in our COVID-19 world, but they had the rare experience of being with their community again as they moved into their new roles as Fieldston alumni.

The graduates waved at each other, mimed hugs from a distance, and grinned so wide that one could tell — even through their masks — that they were cracking smiles. They whooped and cheered during speeches and when their classmates received their diplomas. They came home to ECFS — to their community — and joined the ranks of Fieldston Eagles, an alumni group spanning the globe.

As Matthew put it in his remarks, “It’s those small moments of togetherness that to me define the Fieldston experience.” Amid a period of strife and uncertainty, the Class of 2020 came together to celebrate each other, to prioritize their community, and to find joy.

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Back to School

From Online to In Person: The Incredible Journey to Reopen ECFS’s Campuses Author Kevin Ko-wen Chen

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n March 10, 2020, when COVID-19 warnings from public health authorities forced ECFS to close its campuses, many in the school community were uncertain what the future would bring. A four-day closure in the week leading up to Spring Recess soon evolved into a semester of fully remote learning as New York went into lockdown and school buildings throughout the city remained shuttered.

However, thanks to a concerted collaborative effort between all constituencies, ECFS transitioned from building the framework for fully remote learning in the spring to welcoming students back to campus in the fall — and all while staying true to its mission of providing an ethical, progressive education. Here’s a look at what happened to reopen the School.

Opposite page: Aidan G. ’23, “A Dichotomous Duet of Stride and Stroke,” oil on canvas, 2020

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f you’d asked anyone a year ago, the idea of moving ECFS to a fully remote learning environment would be unfathomable. As Director of Technology Jeannie Crowley explains, migrating an organization’s systems online — especially at an institution as complex as a Pre-K–12th Grade school — is a process that normally takes years. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crowley and her team only had Spring Recess: a grand total of two weeks.

Thankfully, ECFS wasn’t starting from scratch. “In a lot of ways, we were really lucky as a school,” says Crowley. “We had a lot of things already in place. Our systems are all already hosted externally. Most of our faculty already have their own laptops.” The technology best practices that Crowley’s team has built over the years gave the School a comfortable position to start with.

Still, what remained was a monumental task. Teachers and students needed to learn how to use a dizzying array of new tools and technology.

The rapidly evolving pandemic necessitated a dedicated microsite that could be updated in real time. To ensure that every student and faculty member had access to a device for remote learning, the Technology team shipped over 300 Chromebooks. With schools across the city scrambling to gather supplies for their own populations, bulk orders were out of the question, and Crowley had to track down laptops and other accessories piecemeal.

The logistical hurdles of moving ECFS online proved to be just one challenge; from a pedagogical angle, the School was facing some serious questions. For years, teachers, administrators, and technology specialists had cautioned against over-reliance on technology. They had also advocated a differentiated approach to teaching that would accommodate various learning styles among students. Could a virtual mode of education coexist with the School’s philosophy?

The answer, it turned out, was to trust the faculty at ECFS to do what they do best: design a progressive curriculum. Across all grade levels, entire units — many of which had been developed over months and years — were shelved or reimagined wholesale as teachers devised new lesson plans that could work in an online environment. Access to a wood shop or specialized gym equipment might not be possible, for example, but students were more than capable of building three-dimensional structures from cardboard and paper, or of doing a cardiovascular workout in their living rooms. Small-group breakouts and one-on-one check-ins were built into daily and weekly schedules to ensure the student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions that are critical to student growth remained. And where screen time was unavoidable,

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teachers would communicate expectations clearly so that students could engage responsibly with technology.

By the time they entered Summer Recess, students and faculty had finished a semester of remote learning unprecedented in the 142-year history of the School.

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he successful close of the spring semester offered a moment of respite before bringing on another daunting task: reopening campuses safely in the fall.

From the outset, ECFS’s top priority was to figure out how it could return students and teachers to the classroom while protecting their health and well-being. No matter how sophisticated remote learning technology would become in the coming months, the School knew that in-person learning would offer a better experience.

Preparations for the following academic year began even as the spring semester was proceeding. “We really spent March, April, and even May understanding from local public health officials what the status of the virus transmission was in the area,” explains Kyle Wilkie-Glass, Chief Operating Officer & Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives. “It was a herculean effort across all the School’s constituencies to see where we would go.”

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It was a herculean effort across all the School’s constituencies to see where we would go.

— Kyle Wilkie-Glass, Chief Operating Officer & Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives

In May, the School assembled a COVID-19 Pandemic Response Task Force to map out how the ensuing academic year might look under three possible scenarios: operating as normal, operating with modifications, and operating while fully remote. Its work culminated in a comprehensive reopening plan covering everything from daily pre-arrival questionnaires to health and safety training, physical distancing, and mandatory mask-wearing to disinfection and air filtration.

Two subgroups of the task force focused on how to refine a partially or fully remote education for students from Pre-K to 12th Grade. To ensure an equitable learning environment, whether on-campus or off, the subgroups recommended a hyflex model whereby students and teachers could actively participate in classes remotely via Google Meet while their classmates or proctors met in person.

They also recommended that schedules balance synchronous and asynchronous learning to reduce screen time and allow for more student and faculty interaction, and that teachers implement more diverse methods of academic feedback and assessment. Prioritizing the social-emotional well-being of students was paramount, so the model for the new academic year would include more structured student orientations, a focus on welcoming new students and families, longer transition times between classes, and regular support periods for both social and academic check-ins.

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Planning for a reopening months in the future — even as pandemic conditions shifted daily — carried a hefty degree of uncertainty, but the task force drew on the latest research, their collective years of experience, and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the New York State Department of Health to inform their decisions. Their efforts paid off. “We had to make some pretty big assumptions about where we would be landing with governmental guidance and what the guidelines would allow,” says Wilkie-Glass. “When we saw the New York guidance come out in midJuly, we looked back, and we saw that many of our adjustments were on target.”

With reopening now a certainty, the gears were set in motion. Since January 2020, the ECFS Facilities team — led by Joe Piselli, Director of Facilities; Odalys Alcivar, Assistant Director of Facilities for Ethical Culture; and Robert Lundgren, Assistant Director of Facilities for Fieldston — had been monitoring the pandemic and adjusting the School’s sanitation practices to use Environmental Protection Agencycertified cleaners against COVID-19. Implementing the new sweeping infrastructural changes demanded by health and pedagogical imperatives would require months of rigorous, methodical work. To reduce room occupancy to meet physical distancing guidelines, the Facilities Department moved thousands of chairs and desks from classrooms into storage areas. Approximately 1,500 partitions were

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assembled by hand and placed on student desks. Air filters were installed in every classroom, office, and communal space across campus and upgraded to the highest-level MERV standard, and physical distancing decals were applied to stairwells, hallways, and outdoor walkways to remind students and faculty to remain six feet apart. As with the process of acquiring new technology in the spring, procuring the right equipment — including outdoor tents, contactless thermometers, and tens of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment — in a moment of scarcity proved tremendously difficult. But the team did what it needed to do to ensure the School could reopen.

“The magnitude of the work we’ve done to accomplish a CDCappropriate teaching and learning environment, including all the tents that we had on the fields and all the isolation and all the distancing — it’s just been an unbelievable amount of work that we’ve performed,” says Piselli.

Alcivar notes that the hundreds of hours spent determining how to reopen campus allowed the Facilities team to participate in conversations about ECFS’s mission and demonstrate their commitment to its values. “Having our School really focused on what’s important — what are the needs and how do we take care of each other — has been really uplifting,” she says. “Figuring out how

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we make the School safe for the students first and foremost has been a really good place for centering conversations and for really understanding each other’s beliefs and thought processes.”

In the weeks leading up to the fall, the many support teams at ECFS worked behind the scenes to meet any unexpected problems head-on. When the School’s contract with its former bus provider ended, ECFS found another, Selby Transportation Corp., whose rigorous attention to hygiene and customer service was met with glowing reviews. A shipment of video cameras due for late August was back-ordered, leading to a heroic rush at the eleventh hour to source replacements from a vendor in Houston, in time for teachers returning to campus to test out their equipment.

The green light from public health authorities to hold school in person came, and ECFS was ready. “It wasn’t a scramble at that point because we’d been organizing all summer,” says Lundgren.

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ince September, following a phase-in schedule, ECFS has reopened its campuses, welcoming all families who wish for their students to return to campus. Though the School is a bit less bustling than usual, the hallways still resonate with the sounds of discussions and laughter.

Having our School really focused on what’s important — what are the needs and how do we take care of each other — has been really uplifting.

— Odalys Alcivar, Assistant Director of Facilities for Ethical Culture

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Keeping the campuses open requires constant vigilance. As Director of Campus Services Teddy O’Rourke explains, “We’re looking at guidance from the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Department of Education, the CDC, New York City. We’re constantly poring over the information and trying to see what applies to ECFS, and how we can make adjustments to the program that comply with the guidelines. That’s a constant process. It’s happening almost on a daily basis.”

Among the regular parts of life at ECFS now is on-campus COVID-19 testing, a program spearheaded by Liz English, Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer. In lieu of the more commonly used nasopharyngeal swab, which is difficult to administer on young students, the School has partnered with EverPoint Health to use a test that only requires a 2mL saliva sample, which scales well to large populations and offers rapid turnaround of results. ECFS has run more than 4,000 tests since the start of the academic year.

With expanded nurses’ offices, extensive contact tracing training for nurses and Operations Department staff, and a robust notification system for families, the School has also developed contingency plans should a student or faculty member fall ill.

To ensure the sanitation of the School, the Facilities Department continues to use a healthcare-grade bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal cleaner to deep-clean all facilities, including high-touch surfaces, throughout the day. In addition, individual classrooms are stocked with sanitation supplies and personal protective equipment, including alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer, face masks, and disposable gloves, and signage indicating both physical distancing and personal hygiene requirements is posted prominently at all campus entrances. At night, all spaces are sanitized with electrostatic sprayers, a precautionary step that goes above and beyond public health requirements.

Some of the most innovative learning experiences have emerged as the faculty take full advantage of abundant outdoor space available on or near both campuses. At Ethical Culture, teachers use Central Park for activities as diverse as PE and science and story time.

On the Fieldston campus, tents on both activity fields create ventilated spaces that can accommodate both small groups at lunch and grade-wide orientations. Even where classes remain virtual, creativity abounds. Fieldston Upper’s Theatre Department has hosted a series of plays performed entirely online, blurring the lines between theatre and film and bringing ECFS’s performing arts to the bleeding edge. This year’s Open School Nights — the marquee curricular

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nights that bring families on campus to experience a condensed version of their students’ school day — were conducted online, to resounding success.

For all the changes that have occurred at ECFS, the faculty, staff, and administration are just doing the work they’ve always excelled in. “We open the doors and turn on the lights in the morning and shut the doors and turn off the lights at night,” says Piselli. “The maintenance of the buildings and the operations still go on in the middle of taking all the COVID-19 requests that go on all day long.”

As Crowley explains, every effort made boils down to a desire to provide the best possible education for students. “All of this is in service of being able to preserve this comfort zone for kids, where they feel like, ‘I’m just coming to school.’”

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Inside the Classroom

At Ethical Culture, Schoolwork Is Play Author Kevin Ko-wen Chen

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n many days, the biggest decision an Ethical Culture Kindergartener must face is whether to start with the wooden blocks or the coloring kit.

As one of the School’s ten tenets of progressive education, playfulness has always been a subject of serious consideration.

Faculty and administrators regularly lead curricular planning sessions that center on incorporating fun and games into students’ daily experiences. Even the nomenclature is indicative: In Kindergarten, “work time” is playtime, a dedicated period of the day when students can piece together jigsaw puzzles, doodle illustrations, or build miniature cities.

Play has always been one of the hallmarks of an ECFS education — and in the COVID-19 era, it remains as vital as ever.

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he pandemic has complicated how play is implemented while simulta­neously underscoring its significance. “Working at Ethical Culture, it always felt like second nature,” says Komal Pasha, Kindergarten Teacher. “Now it’s something that we have to make an effort to be part of our day and consciously prioritize while thinking about the safety and health of every child.”

As student schedules have morphed to accommodate spread-out groups and longer transition times, it would be easy to forgo play, but the Kindergarten team has worked hard to preserve its place in the school day. Part of that effort has involved demonstrating how play can be safely done: At the start of the academic year, Kindergarten teachers devoted plenty of time to modeling how to interact with friends while maintaining a distance of six feet. According to Pasha, “Our struggle has been implementing all of these protocols but really trying hard not to feel as if students are restricted from expressing themselves in a way that they would in a regular world.”

In practice, ensuring students can play freely requires constant sanitation of their physical space. Toys — while essential to refining a five-year-old’s fine-motor skills — are also a potential breeding ground for disease. As Kindergarten Teacher Betty Russell explains, when they’re not actively engaged in promoting a productive learning environment, teachers are working constantly behind the scenes to

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clean every handheld item before passing it on from one child to the next — and they’re doing it inconspicuously so that no student ever feels like they are carrying a germ. “All the kids should know is ‘I needed yarn, and the teachers handed me yarn,’” says Russell.

As Kindergarteners scamper along the classroom floor, there’s a degree of abnormality that is unavoidable; after all, children were never meant to sit an arm’s length away or wear masks at all times.

But, wherever possible, the faculty have designed their spaces to hew as closely as possible to pre-COVID-19 times. “I don’t want their childhood to be devoured with worry about a pandemic,” says Russell.

“I want them to be thinking about puzzles and friends and building a costume and pompoms. That’s what their world should be filled with.”

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hen Felix Adler founded the Workingman’s School in 1878, he insisted that students interact regularly with the outdoors.

The entire top floor of the School would serve as an open-air area where students could play and breathe in fresh oxygen. Subsequent considerations resulted in a rooftop playground and the enclosed space that we now recognize as Ethical Culture’s sixth-floor cafeteria and gym, but the School never strayed far from Adler’s guiding ethos.

Now, due to the physical distancing guidelines mandated by the pandemic, Ethical Culture has come full circle, with Central Park

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serving as both the primary setting and inspiration for many classes’ daily playtime. “A lot of the exploration that would happen in the room just can’t happen now — the park is where it happens,” Pasha notes.

“The silver lining is that the kids get to explore other interests that they otherwise wouldn’t have realized they’re into.” For example, Pasha’s students have discovered a fascination with insects and worms, a preoccupation that might not have manifested itself when student learning happened primarily indoors.

One area where outdoor play particularly shines is physical education.

In a testament to how seamlessly fun and games are blended into the curriculum, the line between “play” and “exercise” is blurred; a typical session sees children frolicking across the field, dribbling balls, running sprints, and otherwise engaged in all manner of full-body movement. For PE Teacher Gay Hemphill, “play” isn’t even the right word to encompass the breadth of what the PE Department aims to accomplish: “It’s being active — all those things that we do to engage some kind of physical movement with kids.”

As with indoor play, outdoor physical education faces limitations due to the ongoing pandemic. For one, teachers are no longer able to employ the full array of sports equipment they normally have access to. Instead, they focus on a few choice items that can be easily sanitized — pool noodles have become a favorite — and the versatility of the human body.

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Talking to one another, listening and reading social cues, perspective-taking, thinking outside the box, working collabo­ratively and cooperatively — these all start in play, to some degree.

— Andrea Udoff, Ethical Culture Psychologist

A game of kickball becomes touch-free (and much less susceptible to viral spread) when students must trap the ball with their torsos and feet instead of picking it up with their hands. A game of “sculptor, sculpture, clay” — in which students listen to verbal cues to contort their bodies in various positions — requires no physical contact at all.

At the end of the day, the best way to keep students physically active is to lean into the games that keep them jumping with excitement time after time. “I find myself really tuning in and taking more cues,” says PE Teacher Karen Strock.

“What this year has taught us is that our curriculum is very vast,” adds PE Teacher Kelton Cumberbatch. “If you find an activity that the kids are really enjoying that is working, you do that more.”

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lay keeps students mentally engaged and physically active — and, as Ethical Culture Psychologist Andrea Udoff and Ethical Culture Guidance Counselor Margot Tenenbaum attest, it’s crucial to their social-emotional growth, too.

“Play is very connected to many aspects of development,” Udoff explains. “Talking to one another, listening and reading social cues, perspective-taking, thinking outside the box, working collaboratively and cooperatively — these all start in play, to some degree.”

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With the stakes of play comparatively low, students can experience firsthand the rewards and repercussions of different forms of social interaction. Need to wait your turn to use the crayons? That becomes an early practice in self-discipline. Inadvertently get too physical with a classmate and make them cry? That becomes a primer in learning to establish and respect boundaries. As students progress to Fieldston Middle and Fieldston Upper and their powers and responsibilities increase proportionally, these early childhood lessons may very well be the difference between a student who thrives in the school environment and one who needs additional support.

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Not only does play act as a sandbox for interpersonal relationships, but it also serves as an introduction to independence. For many students, school is the first extended experience away from families and caregivers. With that autonomy comes a newfound agency to decide for themselves what they want to do and who they want to be.

“They get to make a choice. They get to look around and say, ‘I feel like running,’” says Tenenbaum. “They get to work in the imagination corner, where they pretend to be a different gender or be a parent. It’s important for kids not to have prescriptive roles.”

In a year when social interactions have been heavily curbed and many extracurricular activities have been canceled or relegated to online forums, the community that school provides is more crucial than ever. For some students, school has become the only opportunity to interact with others of the same age. “Kids need a chance to be together — just the sheer beauty of being able to leave your house and go somewhere else,” Tenenbaum explains.

And seeing just how actively ECFS students play with one another, it’s not difficult to see why they love coming to school. As Udoff says, “They are happy to be back, and they are happy in large part because they get to see their friends.”

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Inside the Classroom

Teaching the 2020 Election to Our Youngest Learners Author Julia Sonenshein

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ello, hello! I’m so happy to see you all! It’s like we’re all together!” 2nd Grade Teacher Monique Astengo-Rosen grins on camera. Her 2nd Grade class waves back at her, and Astengo-Rosen announces that today’s class — the Wednesday after Election Day, during which ballots are still being counted across the country — will be a general discussion of elections and voting.

First, she sets some community norms. The conversation will not be about which candidate is better or worse, she says. “I know that there are a lot of emotions about this election, and sometimes those emotions are very strong in us, and that’s okay. What’s important is what we do with those feelings inside of us.” The class nods along as she continues. “I want to be sure that our conversation is respectful.

We’re going to listen to others. This is a listening discussion.”

Opposite page: Nina K. ’21, “Division and Unity in Political Parties,” marker on paper, 2020

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She reminds the students of the first class rule: that they “insist on kindness.” One other request: that students keep the conversation to themselves instead of sharing their classmates’ opinions with friends.

It’s a way to create a moment of trust — a feeling that’s critical to discussions about the election in any Fieldston Lower classroom.

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hat’s an election?” Astengo-Rosen asks. Leo B. ’31 is the first to raise his hand.

“An election is a time when you vote for something. If two people want salad and three people want spaghetti, you take a vote. That’s an election.”

Eva M. ’31 adds her take: “Thank you for sharing that, Leo. I think that an election is a special day when you get to make your voice be heard.”

Astengo-Rosen continues with questions: What is voting? What is a ballot? Why does someone need an absentee ballot? The students pipe up with their answers, thanking each other for sharing their viewpoints.

The conversation ranges: Students volunteer more examples of voting in their daily lives, discuss the higher rates of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic, and deliberate different methods of voting. (“Hands raised

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I know that there are a lot of emotions about this election, and sometimes those emotions are very strong in us, and that’s okay.

— Monique Astengo-Rosen, Fieldston Lower 2nd Grade Teacher

and eyes closed” and “writing your answer on a piece of paper and putting it in a bowl with other answers” are popular methods.)

Once they’ve dispensed with how to vote, the students tackle a thornier topic: winning and losing. 2nd Grade Teacher Sydney Beres ’14 poses a hypothetical scenario concerning a poll of favorite ice cream flavors: “What if chocolate wins and you really wanted vanilla? How might you feel?” The students chime in with emotions: sad, mad, frustrated. “And how would you feel if what you voted for wins?” she asks. The answer is a uniform “happy” from the 2nd Graders.

They turn this over, the idea that they might come out of an election feeling negative — or that their friends may have different reactions.

“People in your classroom and the world have different opinions,” Beres says. “How do we act as a community if that happens?”

The students have answers. Milani P. ’31 says, “Not cheering. Don’t do anything to make the people feel sad that their vote didn’t win.”

London B. ’31 adds: “You can just say ‘yay’ in your head and give your hand a little high-five.”

Cora S. ’31 has a plan for consoling upset classmates: “Say, ‘Maybe next time your vote will win.’”

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t Fieldston Lower, the faculty approach an election cycle as they do any extracurricular event: by meeting the students where they are. “We always try to take an inquiry approach,” says Fieldston Lower Principal Joe McCauley, “and we want the students’ questions to guide their learning and understanding of the topic.”

This starts with an open-ended conversation in which students share what they know and voice their points of confusion. Teachers correct misinformation and host follow-up conversations based on student questions.

Teachers also aim to strike a calm and neutral tone — even when the topic is challenging or emotional for many adults. “Children often mirror the various emotions that surround them, and it is important to be mindful of what we say, what we share, and how we process in front of our children because they are often tuning in even when we least expect them to be,” says Dr. Simira Freeman, Fieldston Lower School Psychologist. While they may have strong personal beliefs, teachers focus on letting their students develop and express their own opinions. It was common in classes this fall to hold elections on nonpolitical issues: schoolwide issues, for example, or opinion polls about favorite animals or colors.

We lean into fraught conversations: an upsetting news event, or a racial injustice, or a school shooting.

Whatever it is, our students will bring it up, and we’ll have those conversations.

— Joe McCauley, Fieldston Lower Principal

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The faculty at Fieldston Lower are honest with the students, opting to present the world in an age-appropriate manner without sugarcoating it. “We know the students are aware of what’s going on around them,” McCauley says, reiterating the need to let students lead the conversation. The students are used to grappling with difficult concepts. “We lean into fraught conversations: an upsetting news event, or a racial injustice, or a school shooting. Whatever it is, our students will bring it up, and we’ll have those conversations.”

In keeping with ECFS’s whole-child approach to education, the faculty at Fieldston Lower keep in mind the social-emotional component of teaching the election cycle. Reactions range widely based on age and level of exposure to the political climate.

“Oftentimes, not fully understanding and having inaccurate information can be a source of anxiety for children,” Freeman says.

“Leading up to the elections, the faculty at Fieldston Lower were very thoughtful about how they explained the process and the role of voting and elections in our country.”

Demystifying sometimes-opaque processes quells tension and satiates a thirst for understanding. “Children are always eager to learn about the social systems around them,” Freeman says.

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n Dani Cardia’s 5th Grade class, an overview of the United States’ electoral processes quickly evolves into a critical unpacking of the country’s history.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s a presidential election this week. Did anyone know that?” Cardia asks. Hands shoot up in the classroom and on screens; everyone is keyed in to what’s going on.

In keeping with the spirit of inquiry, Cardia asks if anyone knows what the Electoral College is.

“Each state gets electoral votes based on how many people they have,” Madelyn A. ’28 says. “California has the most people, so it gets 55 votes. You need 270 votes.”

Good so far. “Most states have a winner-take-all approach,” continues Cardia. “Do you know the exceptions?”

“There’s Maine and Nebraska,” Matias K. ’28 says. “I think that’s a better way, and they should do that in all states.”

And here’s where the conversation progresses to another level of complexity. “Does anyone know what institution that this country

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was founded on led to this system?” Cardia asks. “It’s an important part of our history, and an upsetting part of our history.”

In the Google Meet’s chat window, the students make a guess: slavery.

Cardia explains how the Electoral College was in fact enacted to uphold the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the United States against their will. When she gets to the Threefifths Compromise, the students are outraged.

“PaRdOn mE?!” Olivia S. ’28 puts in the chat. “3/5?!”

“WRONG! JUST WRONG,” types Phoebe H. ’28.

As a follow-up to their discussion, Cardia has her 5th Graders play an online game that allows them to demonstrate their understanding by both answering factual questions and sharing their opinions anonymously. At the end of the game, the students must indicate to what extent they agree or disagree with a final question: “I believe the Electoral College is the fairest way to elect a president.”

It’s an opportunity for students to take in new information and synthesize it with their own values to form opinions. The class doesn’t shy away from nuance, and the students fall all over the spectrum, with a strong concentration in the middle.

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aura Stewart, 5th Grade Teacher, runs a morning group for remote students. She starts with a morning poll: What’s our favorite new Google feature? Which is better: apple juice or orange juice? For all the adult-centered stress children may be aware of, kids are still kids who are concerned with homework, seeing friends, and their favorite flavor of juice.

But their lessons in equity provide a lens for their experiences. Take, for example, a morning poll in the weeks leading up to the election.

Noticing that one student was eating string cheese during their meeting, a student suggested a poll of how the children eat string cheese: by pulling off strings or taking bites. Students pushed back: What if you don’t eat string cheese either way? What if you’re lactose-intolerant? “So, the question became: ‘How do we word the poll so that everyone can be reflected?’” Stewart says.

The students understand that voting should include everyone and recognize that this is painfully not the case. In areas where they have power, they are committed to doing better and forging a more inclusive path forward.

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ieldston Lower’s approach to teaching the election — like all newsworthy events — is one that focuses on creating upstanders, not bystanders: students who will take an active role in their communities. From the basic knowledge of what a ballot is in students’ younger years to discussions of inequity in voting as students get older, Fieldston Lower students wrestle with some of the biggest issues of our time. Their education makes clear in ageappropriate ways the ideals and injustices of the American electoral system, and the students are energized to work toward a more just world — one that lives up to their values and ideals.

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Faculty and Staff Q&A

Meet Jon Alschuler, Interim Fieldston Middle Principal

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on Alschuler, Interim Fieldston Middle Principal, never could have imagined beginning his tenure in this new role during such a tumultuous time for the world at large. However, his career prior to his arrival at ECFS and during his time at the School has certainly prepared him for this moment, as he has been a leader in independent schools in various roles at both the middle and high school levels.

“Equanimity, authenticity, and integrity distinguish his interactions with adults and students alike,” wrote Jessica Bagby, Head of School, in her announcement of Alschuler’s appointment. “Because Jon is caring, discerning, and thoughtful in every conversation and endeavor, he has earned trust and confidence across school constituencies.”

Alschuler takes over for Chia-Chee Chiu, who left the School in July 2020 to join the St. John’s School in Houston, Texas.

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Alschuler wrote: “I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to work with Chia-Chee Chiu during my first two years at Fieldston Middle School. Her leadership has been both steady and visionary, and I am confident we will be able to continue the work she has started without missing a beat, thanks to the leadership structures she has put in place and the incredible team of teachers and administrators she has assembled here.”

Here, Alschuler reflects on the year ahead.

What are you looking forward to this year?

I am definitely looking forward to seeing students in person for the first time since March, and I was happy to see so many of them this past week at orientation. I yearn for the moment, hopefully this year, when I can see whole grades gathered in our agora spaces again. It is so easy to take those moments for granted — until they are not possible.

What is special to you about middle school students and being a middle school educator?

Middle school is a time period of enormous growth for students — intellectually, socially, and emotionally. It can also be a very tumultuous time for kids. Being a stabilizing presence in students’ lives while they try to balance so many competing factors is something I really enjoy.

What do you see as an opportunity for this upcoming year?

The pandemic may force us to interact in more structured and deliberate ways, and it is my hope that this will lead all of us to listen more deeply to one another. Some have asked me how we plan to build connections between students who are new to the school as 6th Graders, and I truly hope that group actually becomes closer — less cliquey — than middle school kids can sometimes be as a result of having to speak and listen to one another more deliberately.

Do you have a favorite spot on campus?

I love walking across the upper field in the morning on my way into school — I walk to school and often enter through the back gate. It gives me a sense of the size and scope of the campus before anyone is really there, with the sun coming up.

What was your favorite TV show or book that you enjoyed over the summer?

My kids, who are 10 and 13, watched all eight seasons of The Office this summer, and I really enjoyed watching that again with them when I could. The two books that I enjoyed the most were Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, and There, There, a novel by Tommy Orange.

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Health and Wellness

Prioritizing Health and Wellness at Fieldston Middle Author Robin Becker

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he past many months have been unprecedented in what people around the world have had to endure — both collectively and as individuals. Between the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism and a tumultuous presidential election, there have been myriad reasons to experience stress and feelings of uncertainty. It has never been more important to be attuned to one’s emotional health and well-being, as members of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School community take care of themselves and their families.

Middle school students are already living through one of the most important — and oftentimes challenging — developmental stages of their lives. They are transforming from young children into young adults, a change that can be as thrilling as it is frightening. “In the age range of ten or eleven years old to thirteen or fourteen years old, there is so much going on biologically, identity-wise, cognitively, and emotionally,” says Kylah Arias, Fieldston Middle Psychologist. “Students are figuring out who they are.”

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Faculty and staff at ECFS are acutely aware of the social and emotional needs of their students, even without the extenuating circumstances of the past year. During a time of increased tumult in the world at large, faculty and staff at Fieldston Middle have created space — both in person and remotely — for students to feel safe, comfortable, and able to thrive.

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e were not trying to pretend that everything is okay — we were talking about it and calling it out,” says Bree Aitoro, Fieldston Middle Counselor. Her team prepared for the 2020–2021 academic year by first acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead, then making a plan for how to tackle them head-on.

Before the start of classes, the Counseling team provided faculty members with specific signs or signals to look for in students (certain behaviors or changes in behaviors) in both in-person and remote settings — for example, instances in which students suddenly stopped using the camera feature during remote classes and were also seeing a significant decline in academic performance. Faculty knew to notify the Counseling team right away if they noticed any of these behaviors so that the students could receive the care and attention they needed.

The schedule created for the hyflex model — which involves students attending school both in person and remotely — was also designed to bolster the health and wellness of students. “The schedule was

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built keeping in mind that we’re all going through this trauma and it’s happening in real time,” says Arias. The schedule provided students with more time for lunch and study halls, giving them space to process and unwind, often away from screens.

The flexible schedule also provides the Counseling team with more access to students on a regular basis. In past years, the team could check in spontaneously with students who walked by their office. This year, those moments needed to be more intentional. Without that access, the team made it a priority to reach out to students sporadically to invite them to schedule optional meetings during their free time.

“It’s important to give them opportunities to talk about how they’re feeling. They’re not always able to do these things on their own yet, so having extra support in place to help them gain these skills is really helpful,” explains Arias.

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ne of the biggest challenges of entering the hyflex model was maintaining a sense of community — and providing moments of joy — while students were both at home and on campus.

“Something that was on our radar this year is the lack of social time that kids have and how that’s affecting them,” says Aitoro. “We’re conscious of how difficult it is, especially for students who may be new to the School, to form connections, especially in the hyflex model. Students are not able to get to know each other the way they used to.”

In response, the Fieldston Middle Counseling team worked with the Grade Deans to hold a series of events throughout the year — remotely and in person — in which the only priorities were for students to have fun and relax.

Community Time, hosted by 6th Grade Dean Savi Tuber, gathered students every Friday for time together outside of the classroom for activities and discussions, often following themes such as “friendship.”

The Counseling team also worked with 7th Grade Dean Elizabeth Flores to organize an “Old New and New New Lunch” for students — a special gathering for students who joined ECFS the previous year as 6th Graders and students who joined ECFS this year as 7th Graders. Around Halloween, students gathered online and played a game in which they guessed one another’s costumes, each student staying off camera and giving clues as to who or what they were dressed as before the grand reveal. At a time when making new friends is both especially challenging and incredibly important, events such as these provide an invaluable opportunity for students.

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Another space where students could unwind and have fun together was clubs, which take place weekly during lunch. “Clubs give students the opportunity to socialize with students whom they might not know from other parts of their day, with whom they have a shared interest,” says Arias. “It’s a unique part of their day.”

Clubs began to meet virtually in November, and over 75 students from across 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade signed up for one of nine options.

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tudents are, of course, not the only ones affected by the current circumstances.

The adults in their lives are also struggling through these unprecedented times. “The support networks that would normally be there for our students are also vulnerable right now,” says Aitoro. “Not only are students experiencing their own anxiety and stress about what’s happening, but their parents — who would normally be that rock or strength for them — are also sometimes not capable of that right now. The same thing goes for faculty members — we’re all working in crisis mode.”

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We’re conscious of how difficult it is, especially for students who may be new to the School, to form connections...

Students are not able to get to know each other the way they used to.

— Bree Aitoro, Fieldston Middle Counselor

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Ethical Culture Fieldston School

When the COVID-19 pandemic first forced the closure of the School’s campuses in March 2020, the Fieldston Middle Counseling team was quick to offer additional support to parents and guardians. The team held weekly virtual meetings during which parents and guardians could share support, reassurance, and ideas for how to take care of themselves and their children. “It was validating for parents to hear from other parents that they were feeling the same way,” says Aitoro.

“It’s one thing to think, ‘I’m sure other people are going through this,’ but it’s another to hear them speak about their shared experiences.

It was really emotional for them.”

During the 2020–2021 academic year, the Counseling team has maintained steady communication with parents and guardians through emails, videos, and recurring virtual events.

ECFS faculty and staff have guided their classes through the challenges of this year with incredible strength and perseverance, often setting aside their own needs to support those of their students. To help support faculty and staff, KC Cohen, Fieldston Upper and Middle Director of Health and Wellness, hosted weekly lunch meetings. During these meetings, Cohen and her team shared resources and educational tools for supporting students as well as themselves. Guided meditations, yoga, and mindfulness sessions were also offered throughout the year.

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How can you support yourself and your family?

As we collectively navigate these unprecedented times, here are a few tips from the Fieldston Middle Counseling team for ways to support the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of yourself and your family.

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Acknowledge your feelings.

In order to care for others, we have to first acknowledge the emotional toll this experience has taken on all of us. Everyone processes things differently, but it’s safe to say that we have each experienced moments of feeling okay and others of feeling scared, disappointed, angry, frustrated, anxious, or overwhelmed. With the tremendous stress of working from home and managing household and childcare responsibilities, it is common to be unaware of how you are feeling.

It is important to slow down and check in with yourself about how you are doing emotionally. Taking the time to feel your feelings — no matter what they are — is important and necessary.

Try your best to accept your feelings without any judgment.

Distinguish between productive and unproductive worries.

Spending time weighing pros and cons and problem-solving can be a productive and essential component of decision-making. However, ruminating about your decision once it’s made or about things that are not within your control can be distressing and generally unhelpful.

Distinguishing between productive versus unproductive worries is a good way to curb the frequency and intensity of your worrying.

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Experience gratitude.

Notice the things you are thankful for each day — both small and big — and regularly reflect on and feel grateful for each of these things. Consider writing a gratitude list to reflect on and remember the small things that you appreciate during this unprecedented time.

Open up to someone.

Talking about your feelings is a great way to process them. Feelings can be confusing, and it’s important to get them out in healthy ways so they don’t stay bottled up and find their own ways of getting out. Talk to a family member or a trusted friend when you have a problem or something is bothering you. The ECFS Counseling team is available to both students and parents and guardians — please reach out at any time.

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Help someone else.

Helping others has been shown to reduce stress and improve your mental health. It also just makes you feel good. This can be as simple as offering to help a family member with a chore or reaching out to a friend to ask how they’ve been.

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Reflect and disconnect.

Put away your computer, phone, tablet, or TV, and take some time each day to rest, relax, and reflect — disconnected. Consider writing your thoughts in a journal; it may be nice to go back and read your reflections at a later time.

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Practice self-compassion.

To practice self-compassion, it is helpful to think of giving yourself the same kindness and care you would offer a close relative or friend. Try not to hold yourself to impossible or unattainable standards. Give yourself a break when needed and refrain from blame and unnecessary judgment. We are all just trying to be the best parent, guardian, partner, or friend we can.

Practice self-care.

Self-care is any activity we deliberately do in order to take care of our own mental, emotional, and physical health. One of the most common myths about self-care is that it is synonymous with selfindulgence — and it is therefore often relegated to the bottom of our to-do lists. For parents and guardians to be the best versions of themselves — and for them to be able to care for their children most effectively — they need to make sure that their own needs are being met.

Practicing self-care also provides a healthy model for your families.

Here are some important areas of self-care to focus on:

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING

Your body releases mood-improving chemicals when you exercise.

Look for ways to incorporate physical activity into your family’s daily schedule each day. Go for a walk together or while you call a friend to catch up. There are also many free or subscription online yoga and exercise classes to join if you prefer more high-intensity activities.

GET SOME SLEEP

The amount of sleep you get greatly impacts your mood. Make sure you and your family go to bed at a regular time each night, and make it a goal for everyone to get nine to twelve hours of sleep as often as possible.

BE MINDFUL

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the world around you and focusing on what you are experiencing. Throughout your day, remind yourself to be fully present and focus on the now.

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CONFRONT STRESS HEAD-ON

Stress can take a serious toll on your and your family’s mental health.

To feel more empowered and less overwhelmed, make a list of things that bring you stress and come up with a plan for coping with each of them.

EAT FOODS THAT NOURISH AND COMFORT YOU

Food fuels your body’s health, including your brain’s. Be mindful about your family’s food choices and nutrition, but don’t be afraid to eat comforting foods during this time.

FOCUS ON YOU

Have you been wanting to learn how to do something new or return to an old hobby? Now is a great time to do that. Focusing on yourself is a productive way to look after your mental health. Praise yourself for getting out of your comfort zone and any small accomplishment that comes along the way.

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Faculty and Staff Q&A

Jameel Freeman Prepares Students for Life After ECFS

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aking over the office that prepares seniors for life after high school is no easy task — and especially so in the midst of a global pandemic. But ECFS’s new Director of College Counseling, Jameel Freeman, who brings two decades of experience in college admissions and college counseling, is ready for the endeavor. Since assuming the role in July 2020, he has worked tirelessly to ensure his team continues to help make the college application process as rewarding for students as possible.

In his announcement of Freeman’s appointment, Fieldston Upper Principal Nigel Furlonge wrote, “As a college counselor, Jameel has a firm understanding of varying types of undergraduate institutions and guidance for college searches, essay writing, interviewing, financial aid applications, and athletic recruitment — all directed toward the goal of meeting each student wherever they may be in their educational journey and life.”

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

“I am enthusiastic about continuing our objective of helping students and their families effectively and thoroughly understand the complex and evolving landscape that has defined college admissions for quite some time,” Freeman wrote. “I want our students to continue to use our office as a trusted resource for navigating their individual educational paths and be assured that we are here to support them at every step of this very important developmental and transitional stage in their lives.”

Here, Freeman shares some thoughts about his work.

What do you think distinguishes ECFS’s approach to college counseling?

The ECFS college process is an educational and experiential journey of self-reflection, personal responsibility, empowerment, and ethics. While our students are frequently admitted to highly selective colleges and universities, our process is centered on individual fit — not the “best” institution one can get into. We view our College Counseling program as an academic department that challenges students to think about who they are and what institutions will cultivate their critical-thinking skills and develop their cultural competence.

What is your favorite part about working with students and families?

Being able to witness a student’s academic, social, and emotional growth over such a brief period of time is exciting. I see some students enter the college process skeptical and apprehensive. To see these same students graduate as confident and empowered individuals is such a joy to watch as a counselor. If there is a successful parental partnership, many times you feel as if you are part of a student’s family — celebrating milestones and forming lasting bonds over the years.

How has your office adapted to meet the new demands of remote learning and the COVID-19 pandemic?

The best part of our jobs is our interactions with students, so we definitely miss the interpersonal communication. However, we are still able to meet frequently with students and complete all essential tasks regarding the college process. We can easily create college lists, edit essays, conduct mock interviews, and work on financial aid applications remotely. And even though we are remote, I still try to find ways to connect with students in any fun and engaging ways possible. Whether it’s having a conversation about Netflix shows, telling one of my many jokes (borrowed from my six-year-old), or informally chatting with parents and siblings walking around in the back­ ground, I think it’s important to try to establish any sense of “normal” that I can.

If you could start over and have another career, what would it be, and why?

That’s a tough question! I would say an actor. I was very involved with theatre in high school, but I did not continue with the performing arts in college. I’ve always regretted not maintaining that commitment. If that didn’t work out, there’s always my dream job as an ESPN SportsCenter anchor!

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Inside the Classroom

Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into the Sciences at Fieldston Upper Author Robin Becker

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t’s a Wednesday in early December 2020, and Fieldston Upper students in Advanced Topics in Biology are discussing forest fires, climate change, and genocide — and the connections between all three. The previous day, students read an article outlining how for centuries Indigenous peoples used controlled burning of forests to prevent widespread fires, until the practice was outlawed by white colonizers. Scientists today now understand this to be a critical tool for avoiding the kinds of uncontrollable, devastating fires that have terrorized the western United States and elsewhere in recent years.

Lucas S. ’21 raises his hand. “We think that our way of science is the best because it’s the way we’ve been brought up,” he says. “Just because our technology has advanced this way, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way we can live in terms of our comfort and the happiness of the world itself.”

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Paul Church, Chair of the Fieldston Upper Science Department, nods his head in agreement. “We’ve been educated in a very Western, white-centric perspective,” he says.

For the past several years, the Fieldston Upper Science Department has been interested in decentering whiteness in its curriculum, but the effort was, according to faculty members, peripheral to the other topics being taught in class. Then, in the spring of 2019, the Students of Color Matter demonstration and the resulting set of goals shared across school constituencies shone a spotlight on the necessity of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work throughout various departments at Fieldston Upper. The Science Department reexamined its role in fostering an inclusive, culturally responsive school and considered how to move DEI work to the forefront of classrooms and labs.

“We took a hard look to see if we were doing enough,” says Katherine Kartheiser ’11, Fieldston Upper Science Teacher. “We’ve always done something — you could point to certain projects — but the conclusion that we all came to was the work so far was insufficient.”

“There was no coordination, and it didn’t go far enough or cover enough ground,” notes Jonathan Lambert, Fieldston Upper Science Teacher. There was a collective decision in the department to take DEI work to the next level by reimagining the curriculum entirely.

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Natasha F. ’21, “Blackboard Focus,” fine point ink pens and collaged with paper, 2020

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The first step for the Science Department was to apply for a Venture Grant through the School, which would provide the faculty with the funds needed to build a new curriculum for the 2020–2021 academic year. The department applied for two grants in the spring of 2020: one for DEI work and the other to bolster climate change topics in the curriculum. Only three faculty members can be named on a Venture Grant, so Kartheiser, Lambert, and Anne Kloimwieder, Fieldston Upper Science Teacher, took on the task — though the initiative remained fully department-wide.

Over the summer of 2020, the Science Department worked closely with Russell Marsh, Fieldston Upper Diversity Coordinator, and Arhm Wild, Fieldston Middle and Upper Diversity Coordinator, to plan and build new DEI-centric curriculum. Marsh and Wild reviewed lesson plans, articles, and assignments put forth by Kartheiser, Lambert, and Kloimwieder, and offered them support, suggestions, and helpful resources for creating a successful new program.

The reimagined curriculum would feature three main aspects: a unit entirely focused on DEI in science to begin the year, consistent and intentional DEI content in each successive unit, and an ongoing effort among faculty to be culturally responsive and anti-racist educators.

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eachers introduced the new curriculum to Fieldston Upper in the fall of 2020 with a unit on DEI in science. Every class in every grade level began

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the year with the same unit, adapted from a college-level physics course, that asked students to consider whether diversity is relevant to science.

Students evaluated how one’s lived experiences affect their perspective and therefore how they approach scientific inquiry and discovery.

“With multiple sets of data to look at, it became clear for students that pieces of identity and lived experiences of the scientists themselves impact the whole field of science,” says Kartheiser.

Using quantitative data, students performed a study on representation by race at the bachelor’s degree level, PhD level, and tenured professor level within the fields of biology, chemistry, and physics in America.

These numbers were then compared with the overall breakdown of race in the United States using census data. Digging deeper, students questioned the census data itself, which is more likely to exclude people of color and immigrants.

Through this study, students took away a new understanding of the subjectivity inherent in science, a field normally considered strictly objective.

“We often look at science and math as this single truth,” Charlotte B. ’21 says. “The way we choose to present data is subjective; the story we choose to tell and how we choose to tell it are subjective. The DEI unit gave us this critical eye in not just accepting what we see as absolute fact. Science and our understanding of the world will change depending on how we identify.”

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Continuing to decenter whiteness in the Science Department is an ongoing effort. We can’t ask our students to do things that we ourselves are not doing.

— Katherine Kartheiser ’11, Fieldston Upper Science Teacher

By acknowledging the subjectivity inherent in science, Fieldston Upper students also understood the value of a diversity of voices and perspectives. As Denika K. ’21 reflects, “Your cultural background, your identity, and your personal experiences will always influence what you choose to study, what you choose to discover in a certain area. If you don’t have these individuals participating and shaping what we know to be science, you leave out a very important part of our society. The scientific field is pushed in only one direction.”

The DEI unit introduced students to an approach to science grounded in empathy. It also provided them with the resources and vocabulary necessary to continue digging deeper into the issues of representation and inclusion in the sciences.

“The value in having this conversation about DEI is it allows us to think about how other people are impacted in the field of science,” says Olivia P. ’21. “If everyone had an equal opportunity to become successful in the field, then we would be able to have advancements and discoveries as a whole. When there are people or groups of people who are underrepresented in science, everyone misses out.”

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aculty in the Science Department were acutely aware that, in the fall of 2020, they were meeting students in the context of many possible traumas and anxieties related to the work being done in this new unit. The world was still reeling from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — which

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disproportionately affects people of color — and many members of the ECFS community had taken part in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in New York City over the spring and summer. For 9th Graders, this unit was their introduction to science at Fieldston Upper and their first time meeting their teachers and many of their classmates. While there was apprehension about beginning the year this way, as it could be especially difficult for some students depending on how they identify, the faculty concluded that the need for a DEI-centered science curriculum was more critical than ever before.

“There was no more important time to do this unit than during the double pandemic of COVID-19 and systemic racism,” notes Kartheiser. “Inaction is action.”

With academics beginning the year in a fully remote setting before transitioning to in-person learning later in the fall, this added another potential challenge for the department. However, the results were overwhelmingly positive.

Across the department, faculty found the remote learning environment to be an excellent vehicle for productive and honest conversations.

“Everyone sees everyone’s face close-up. That’s added, in general, to richer discussions,” explains Church. The virtual format — and constantly looking at each other’s faces — also increased students’ awareness of the racial makeup of their own classrooms and raised questions as to why certain classes, such as the intensive levels of science, often include fewer students

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of color. Those questions tie into the ongoing DEI work in the department, which includes promoting the diversity of students and faculty.

When the School returns to fully in-person learning after the pandemic, Church plans to use these experiences to inform the structure of his classes: He will place the desks in a circle more often to encourage students to see each other as they speak, and he will utilize more small-group discussions.

F

ollowing the introductory unit, students entered the rest of the academic year with the knowledge and vocabulary needed to approach every following unit with a DEI lens. When studying photosynthesis, students now ask not only who made the initial discovery, but also who was left out of the conversation or excluded from the research.

“It isn’t just about doing the DEI unit to learn about the importance of diversity in science,” explains Thomas G. ’21. “It’s a different way of approaching the whole year, a different layer of all that we do. What’s the point of doing anything else if we’re not thinking about this?”

Kartheiser, Lambert, and Kloimwieder continue to hold biweekly meetings with Marsh and Wild to report on how the DEI work is going and to plan for the future of their department. One task they now face is how to level up the content from this year for students moving up next year. “We’re looking at the DEI work the same way as we look at our science curriculum, mapping the work over the course of the academic year and the tenure of a student’s time in the Fieldston Upper Science Department,” says Kloimwieder. Next year, the introductory unit will need to be updated for students in 10th through 12th Grade, as they will have already experienced it.

The Science Department is also actively seeing what steps can be taken to create more diversity in its classrooms and labs, particularly in the advanced courses. “Continuing to decenter whiteness in the Science Department is an ongoing effort.” says Kartheiser. “We can’t ask our students to do things that we ourselves are not doing.”

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y bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion work into science classrooms and labs, the Fieldston Upper Science faculty have introduced students to new ways of viewing the past and exciting opportunities for a brighter future, one that celebrates a diverse array of perspectives.

“In the context of my Fieldston education, English and History classes have been where we talk about some of the social issues going on in the world,” says Mira G. ’21. “But now science is no longer removed from that. It brings us into all the inequalities and teaches us ways we can combat them going forward.”

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Program Spotlight

Professional Development as an Act of Care for the ECFS Community Author Julia Sonenshein

I

n the waning days of summer 2020, the Ethical Culture Fieldston School faculty and staff returned early to school — checking in from computer screens across the New York City metropolitan area and beyond. Typically not back on campus before Labor Day, the faculty and staff were responding to an unprecedented spring and summer that would drastically change the entire ECFS experience. Our colleagues gathered for a week of professional development (PD) — a cornerstone of ECFS’s approach to continuous learning.

Professional development can take myriad forms: books, articles, institutes, workshops, experiences, or conversations. PD takes place continually at ECFS, with faculty and staff regularly participating in various learning opportunities both collectively and individually. These efforts, says Assistant Head of School for Ethical Education and Social Impact Liz Fernández, can serve to improve skills that people across the institution use in all

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

facets of their roles, whether in the classroom, coaching, advising, making decisions, participating in committee meetings, or supporting students and families. “This year in particular, we shifted to a tailor-made design approach for PD and away from the idea that one size fits all,” Fernández says.

The ECFS approach to professional development is both of the moment and forward-thinking: Fernández describes a responsive program that exists as a multiyear plan. “We ask ourselves, ‘Where do we want to be institutionally in the next year? In three years? In the next five years?’”

Fernández says. “And then we work backward.”

In addition to taking advantage of individual PD opportunities, the faculty as a whole meet at designated periods throughout the school year. 2020’s latesummer PD programming aimed to respond to the “trauma experiences that people were collectively having — our students, our families, and our colleagues,” Fernández says, referencing the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism. The session also addressed the nuances of providing feedback and assessing students, given the partly-remote, uncertain year.

The programming also focused on technology in a way that “refreshed, enhanced, and elevated the skills that our colleagues already had,” she says.

At the end of each summer, the School hosts the Progressive Teaching Institute (PTI), a three-day event that welcomes new faculty to ECFS and showcases the work of returning faculty, with a goal of demonstrating

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The challenges of the moment have really encouraged and demanded all of us to reimagine what teaching, what learning, and what leading look like.

— Liz Fernández, Assistant Head of School for Ethical Education and Social Impact

leadership and providing mentorship in progressive teaching. In workshops like one that explored a model lesson plan for decentering whiteness in curricula, faculty and staff discussed what PTI Director Arhm Choi Wild, who also serves as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator at both Fieldston Middle and Fieldston Upper, calls “an everyday toolkit” for equitable education.

In the fall, PD continued with sessions built on the summer’s work, furthering the School’s long-term goals of imbuing anti-racism and antibias into all aspects of our student’s education — what Head of School Jessica Bagby calls “an act of care” for our community.

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lanning the 2020–2021 academic year’s PD programming took into consideration the School’s needs specific to the unique moment.

Fernández engaged the assistant principals of academic and student life across the School’s four divisions, asking them to report what they’d heard from their colleagues and in their COVID-19 Pandemic Response Task Force meetings, which the School had instituted at the end of the previous academic year. In conversations with the Ethics and Technology team, Fernández synthesized that data with feedback from students, families, faculty, and staff, creating a series of offerings that were responsive to the needs of the community.

Planning also took into account a massive logistical hurdle: PD had to be reimagined for a remote setting (and indeed, when the PTI portion was planned, it had originally been intended as an in-person event). “As a member of the planning committee and citizen of what feels like a nation under siege experiencing competing pandemics, my skills, patience, and creativity were certainly tested,” says Aria Gee, Fieldston Middle and Fieldston Upper Ethics Teacher, who served on the PTI planning

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

committee with Kathy Andrade, Assistant Director of Human Resources; Karen Drohan, Fieldston Upper History Teacher; Mica McGriggs, Fieldston Middle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator; Cristina Ross, Ethical Culture Language and Ethics Teacher; and Ingrid Sabogal, Fieldston Middle Ethics and Technology Coordinator. The School’s Technology team — which Fernández calls “spectacular” — took on the monumental task of creating an all-online set of programming in the late summer and fall.

In the planning of PD, Fernández says the goal was especially to “center the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in a range of areas: restorative practice work, direct curriculum impact, conflict mediation and resolution, addressing self-care, and more.”

The late-summer programming entailed almost 40 workshops and keynote presentations based on developmental stages, broken down by topics based on the data Fernández and her team had gleaned. Topics included creating meaningful and sustainable feedback structures in a remote setting, hybrid teaching that addresses the whole child, traumainformed liberatory education, assessment and grading practices, and maintaining connection through a computer screen.

In October, faculty and staff met again. At Fieldston Lower and Ethical Culture, the sessions responded to feedback on the summer’s PD: a request for more trauma-informed teaching and time to do divisional work in small groups. At Fieldston Middle and Fieldston Upper, departments came together to work through complex issues such as revising curriculum or pedagogical approaches.

And before Fall Recess, faculty and staff met for their last collective PD experience of 2020. Over two days, colleagues embarked on a series of workshops and conversations developing anti-racist and anti-bias strategies.

One overwhelmingly popular option (which indeed required a waitlist, since participation was capped at 65 participants) was the Courageous Conversation Protocol workshop, hosted by the Pacific Education Group.

The award-winning protocol engages deep and nuanced interracial dialogue, helping institutions like ECFS address bias and racial disparities. The School aims to train all of its employees in the protocol over the next few years.

For the rest of the faculty and staff, those PD days offered fifteen workshops that featured a DEI-related, anti-bias, anti-racist training experience. The School engaged former colleagues, former parents, and experts from various industries to lead workshops and discussions, including workshops titled “Lessons from the Black@ Movement,” “Harnessing My Power as an Educator to Respond Effectively to Post-Election Issues,” and “Saving Ourselves: Self-Care for People of Color in Independent Schools.”

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For the faculty and staff, the 2020 PD provided ample enhancement to their already impressive skill sets. “I feel like I am walking away from this week not only feeling like I made a few connections, but also knowing that I have concrete skills and ideas I can take with me into the year,” said one teacher. “Interesting, informative, and useful,” said another. “I loved that BIPOC facilitators were strongly featured and centered. I loved that there were affinity spaces. I loved that the day was not too full,” added one more.

The learning continues: Sessions were recorded and resources made available to our faculty and staff, who can catch up on offerings that they missed or want to revisit to deepen and affirm their skill development. In this way, the year’s PD programming becomes a living resource that our colleagues can come back to over time, strengthening their skill sets and responding to the community’s changing needs.

T

he challenges of the moment have really encouraged and demanded all of us to reimagine what teaching, what learning, and what leading look like,” Fernández says. Professional development programming is key to that reimagining — bringing faculty and staff together in fellowship to grow as educators and respond to an ever-changing list of needs.

And while PD looks different than in years past, the School responded by emphasizing and indeed increasing the amount of PD, recognizing how critical this opportunity was for our faculty and staff. In keeping with the ECFS ethos, the School approached the challenges of the year head-on.

As Fernández puts it, “This was a radical year. There was radical change, and this was a radical learning experience.”

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Share with us

Share your gifts At ECFS, we value all gifts of time, talent, and treasure.

• If you are interested in volunteering or getting more involved, please email us at advancement@ecfs.org.

• If you would like to make a gift in support of our School that will directly impact our students, visit www.ecfs.org/en/support-ecfs or mail your personal contribution to Ethical Culture Fieldston School P.O. Box 28552 New York, NY 10087-8552

Share the love We want to know what inspires you to be a part of the ECFS community, stay involved, and give back to ECFS. Email your stories to advancement@ecfs.org.

Share updates Alumni, we want to hear from you. Please send us news about your professional and personal milestones. Email us at alumni@ecfs.org.

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Alumni Q&A

Jennie Werts ’03

From left to right: Jessy Arisohn ’03, Samantha Miller Kagan ’03, Jennie Werts ’03, Samantha Dareff ’03, and Essie Haimes ’03

J

ennie Werts ’03 is a proud member of the 14-Year Club at Fieldston. Based in Greenport, New York, Werts is the chef and co-owner of two restaurants — Ellen’s on Front and Jennie’s at Drossos — where she partners with her brother, Andrew Werts ’99.

What was your favorite food at the dining hall?

I have fond memories of the special salads they’d make for the salad bar, as well as pizza day. Breakfast in the mornings — either a Western omelet or a bacon, egg, and cheese made fresh — was also a treat.

What’s a class or teacher you’ll never forget?

I still keep in touch with Beth Winik, who was my math teacher throughout Upper School, as well as David Schwartz, my English teacher. I had some learning disabilities when I was younger, and they both understood them and really helped me learn and grow.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Where was your favorite place to hang out on campus?

Probably the cafeteria — specifically in the morning before class started. Maybe that’s where I started my love of food?

What ECFS memory makes you laugh?

One day when I was in the Middle School, I walked down a hallway banging on lockers with my drumsticks. Mr. Howard came out of his classroom and asked me to come inside and take a seat. The classroom was full of Upper Schoolers — it was absolutely mortifying.

But I did learn to not play the drums on lockers anymore. Funny now… definitely not at the time.

When you meet another Fieldston alum, what’s the first thing you talk about? How can you tell that someone’s a Fieldston alum?

There is definitely a camaraderie and commonality that just exists between us. When you meet someone who went to Fieldston, you feel this close­ness to them, even if you’ve never met them before. We usually end up talking about teachers who worked at Fieldston for a long time, such as Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Aune, etc.

What’s been the biggest surprise of your career?

A lot of the societal movements we’ve seen over the past few years have certainly had some effect on the restaurant industry, but it’s still a tough business and often quite male-dominated. Stories of abuse and mistreatment continue to pop up all the time, which is both surprising and, unfortunately, not. My brother and I have worked hard to build a safe, friendly work environment, and I look forward to the day when this is commonplace throughout the industry.

What causes are you passionate about?

We’re a pretty close-knit community out here on the North Fork of Long Island, and, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve really rallied together. Our restaurant has worked with Community Action Southold Town to feed local, low-income families over the past year, and we’ve also donated meals to first responders. Additionally, we are a sponsor of Greenport High School’s girls basketball team!

What are you reading/watching/listening to?

I’m currently watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix and, of course, The Bachelorette. I find the lead character in The Queen’s Gambit to be so interesting and layered, while the “characters” on The Bachelorette are not — but very entertaining nonetheless. I’m pretty burnt out after getting out of the kitchen, and sometimes The Bachelorette is just what I need to relax. We also listen to a lot of Taylor Swift at the restaurant. I actually have a life-size cutout in the kitchen that I got from my staff for my birthday.

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Alumni Q&A

Sam Ravetz ’11

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am Ravetz ’11 spent his high school years at Fieldston, where he was a proud member of the Varsity Basketball Team and the Community Service Advisory Board. Always open to new experiences, Ravetz has volunteered at a penguin sanctuary in South Africa, taught English in Spain on a Fulbright Scholarship, and worked at the 2016 Rio Olympics at the USA House — to name a few. Today, he’s based in Brooklyn, New York, and Fieldston still plays a large part in his life — he’s the Young Alumni Chair for the Fieldston Alumni Network Leadership Committee. He serves as Senior Giving Manager at Bombas and recently founded Save Our Democracy!, a platform for volunteering in elections around the country.

What was your favorite food at the dining hall?

An early-morning oily bacon, egg, and cheese — the favorite Class of 2011 meal from Chef Queen Liz.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

When you meet another Fieldston alum, what’s the first thing you talk about? How can you tell that someone’s a Fieldston alum?

You ask who their Form Dean was. Then you narrow your conversation to teachers and most certainly check in on the folks who may be in their year.

I often find that we Fieldston alumni are much better listeners than most folks. Because we’re built to be interested in the things and people around us, we often appreciate hearing more from someone else besides ourselves!

What causes are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about helping make everyone’s voice heard. My hope is that Save Our Democracy! helps equip folks — in typical Fieldston fashion — with the tools to play a positive role in their communities. Our organization seeks to make a difference in the 2020 election and beyond, providing a platform that matches people’s passions, time availability, and method of engagement to ensure they find a personalized opportunity to help save our democracy, through initiatives like letter writing, phone banking, and more.

Who’s a teacher you’ll never forget?

Maura Furfey (who still teaches Spanish today) introduced me to the idea of a gap year, and I never looked back. Thanks to Ms. Furfey’s care and confidence in her students, I chose to take a year off school at a time when few friends did. Spending so much time far away from both my home and comfort zone has helped shape the person I’ve become. Fieldston as a whole pushes us to think outside our natural four walls, fostering an interest in the “other,” and Ms. Furfey handed me the keys to engage that curiosity.

Where was your favorite place to hang out on campus?

The 400s corridor. That passageway was one of the most-frequented spots at Fieldston, and as an expert people-watcher, it allowed me to easily catch the pulse of the School.

What’s been the biggest surprise of your career?

I’ve been delightfully surprised by how far a liberal arts degree can take you.

When I entered the job market, I suffered from imposter syndrome because I didn’t have a technical skill. After a few years, I learned that soft skills are highly coveted, too. In an age of such accessible information, folks who are able to think critically are more useful than ever.

How did you adjust to college?

I found a “Fieldston on steroids” in Occidental College, except with Los Angeles’ 300 days of sun. Knowing that I was over 3,000 miles away from New York but among peers who shared similar values as my fellow Eagles, I felt right at home.

Did you ever fail a test?

Oh, yes. In Mr. Howard’s class. Multiple times.

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Class Notes

Class Notes Class Notes are your chance to share your personal news and to keep up with what's going on with your fellow alumni.

2018 Olivia Belluck writes: I am a current junior at Colorado College. I am majoring in film and media studies and minoring in psychoanalysis.

This year, I co-directed the short narrative film “Sleepwalkers,” which won the J.H. Edmondson Film Outreach Award. I also codirected a short documentary on modern falconry in Colorado titled “Birds In Their Hands” that was featured in the 2020 University of Idaho Fish & Wildlife Film Festival.

In addition to my studies, I am working part time as the Head of Video Editing at the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, where I use my editing skills to create video content that raises awareness for mesothelioma research.

Olivia Belluck

2012 Serena Kerrigan created the first-ever Instagram reality show, “Let’s F*cking Date,” at the start of lockdown during quarantine.

What started as a way for a single 26-year-old New York City native to connect and entertain her followers who were also isolated at home immediately became the “TODAY” show’s “Quarantine’s

new must-watch.” Every Wednesday at 8:30pm ET on IG Live, Serena goes on a brand-new blind date while thousands of her followers watch and weigh in. Part of the fun is witnessing Serena deal with the jitters and challenges of any first date (which are amplified by having thousands of viewers follow along and comment nonstop in real time). The show has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, and Elle, and on Bustle and “TODAY.”

Serena Kerrigan

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

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2007

2003

Carola Beeney graduated from New York University School of Law in May, and is working as an appellate public defender at the Center for Appellate Litigation. She and her husband, Benjamin Simoné, welcomed a daughter, Noa, in November 2019.

Sarah Lederman writes: It’s been a thrilling year!

We welcomed our second daughter, Isabel Sloane Rosenberg, right at the peak of COVID-19 in early April, and I recently launched my design business, Sarah Lederman Interiors, after six years as a senior designer at Tom Scheerer Inc.

2005 Kim Deveaux and her husband, Eric Caban, welcomed their son, Parker Joe Caban, on December 22, 2019.

2000 Sam Chermayeff has released a publication entitled “Creatures,” published

by Apartamento.

1999

Danielle Clealand accepted a new position as associate professor of Latino studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She received two grants this year from the Russell Sage Foundation to study Blackness within Latino communities in the U.S.

Ariel “Rel” Schulman has been directing films with Dalton grad Henry Joost since 2007. Their latest movie, “Project Power,” starring Jamie Foxx, premiered on Netflix this past summer and was #1 worldwide for 16 days. Rel is happily living in Brooklyn Heights.

Danielle Clealand

2004

Vanessa Fine

Ethan Abeles is living his best life from his “home office,” aka the basement, here in Seattle while working as director of Game Developer Relations for Microsoft. Somehow, despite that, he manages to be married to a wonderful wife, Professor Nora Kenworthy, and has the privilege to be the father of an outrageously outspoken, absolutely wonderful and Elsa-obsessed almost 4-year-old, Josephine.

1996

Perri Goldstein visited with Kim Deveaux and Kim’s son, Parker

Vanessa Fine is living in Marina Del Rey, California, and is an agent for hair and makeup artists at Forward Artists. During quarantine, Vanessa also became a certified dating coach, and is now coaching clients in addition to her full-time job.

Ariel “Rel” Schulman on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, ID

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Class Notes

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1994

Edgar Abrams writes: I have transitioned into a new career as a Realtor with RE/ MAX. I service Riverdale and other areas in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester.

Kas Stolzman is pleased to announce that he just completed the first live in-person jury trial in New York City post-pandemic!

Kore Nissenson Glied writes: My husband, Allen, our children, Kyle and Asher, our two guinea pigs (Nutella and Snickerdoodle) and I moved into a new apartment in August on the Upper West Side. Kyle, who is almost 11, started 6th grade at Booker T. Washington, and Asher, who is 7, is in 2nd grade at PS87. We have all been managing during this very tough time. Allen has been working at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx throughout this challenging time, including a period working in the ICU, and is now chief of the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Division there. I have been lucky to work remotely as a psychologist. We have all had to adjust to the new normal.

Diana Rubin writes: We have all been managing through the COVID-19 pandemic, with the kids (two sons, ages 7 and 9) feeling lucky to be able to go into school (albeit only two days per week), and we are managing to work (I’m an attorney) from home (Irvington, NY) and supervise remote learning. Needless to say, we are looking forward to 2021, and we wish everyone good health!

Rich Kleiman has moved his organization, Thirty Five Ventures, to new offices in New York City and has also launched a new podcast, “The Boardroom: Out of Office.” He is excited to have both daughters at ECFS. Jessica Schram Beatus writes: Through my work at Discovery Inc., I’ve created an initiative called Turn Up! Fight Hunger — a partnership between our 19 U.S. networks and No Kid Hungry to solve childhood hunger in the U.S. Before the pandemic, one in seven in the U.S. faced hunger.

Due to the pandemic, one in four kids now lives with hunger daily. We have been able to raise funds equaling over 522 million meals this year. Anyone who wants to join the fight can text “Hungry” to 707070.

After selling Adestra PLC to Upland Software (Nasdaq: UPLD) in an all-cash transaction and taking some time off to spend more time with his family, Matt McGowan accepted an offer to join Snapchat as a director and general manager.

Iyla Natalie Alhadeff was born to Andrea Wagner and Seth Alhadeff on Election Day! Something good to close out 2020!

Mark Connelly writes: We’ve escaped the worst of COVID-19 here in Sydney, Australia. Had Mom out here for nine months doing the same. Kate’s just turned 9 — a creative bookworm who’s playing the bassoon, of all things. Jack just turned 7 — plays lots of sports (better than I ever did), including Australian Rules Football.

I just started a new agency called Populares, helping corporations have positive

Jeff Greenberg continues to help lead Firefly Health, the virtual primary care start-up he co-founded a few years ago. His wife, Rachel, and their three kids are all doing well, all things considered.

Chotsani Sackey writes: I am still living in the Bronx with my 16-month-old “sonshine,” Jelani!

Chotsani Sackey and son, Jelani

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

social impact, as well as political consulting.

COVID-19 lockdowns mostly shut down the film business for a lot of 2020, but with new safety measures in place, Daryl Freimark hopes to be back on set soon!

Margot Schulman lives and works in upstate New York. She is the author of Choose Love: A Simple Path to Healthy, Joyful Relationships, a workshop facilitator and a relationship coach. She is the founder of Choose Love Revolution, a global support network made to strengthen, connect and support women over 40 to turn fear into fierce love — for themselves, their families and their personal purpose.

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Madison Avenue (85th Street). After delaying plans to open on April 21, 2020, due to the pandemic, they were finally able to open on September 2, 2020. This market is over three times the size of their original market.

Butterfield Market, 1150 Madison Avenue at 85th Street

Elisabeth RosenstockSiller is living in Vienna, Austria, where she is working as the Political Counsellor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In this capacity, she is working on Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia/Azerbaijan and other European security issues. Prior to assuming this function, she served as the Deputy Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq, from July 2019 to

2020. She is married with two sons; the eldest is a high school senior and the younger one is a freshman.

1992 Douglas Williamson writes: After many years of absence, I’m moving back to New York City from Berlin while still keeping my position as a managing partner at the Collective Leadership Institute where I facilitate international multi-stakeholder collaboration initiatives for sustainable development.

I’ve also co-authored a book, Leading Transformative Change Collectively, to be published by Routledge in November. Looking forward to reconnecting with the Fieldston community!

Joel (aka Joby) Levin is a technology teacher at the Stephen Gaynor School in Manhattan. He works there with Caroline Sugg ’13. He also sends his kids to Uptown Stories, a writing program started by Kate Reuther ’92.

Margot Schulman

1993 Joelle Obsatz and her brother, Evan Obsatz ’97, are excited to announce the opening of their second Butterfield Market at 1150

Elisabeth Rosenstock-Siller hosting a reception for female entrepreneurs in Erbil, Iraq, in August 2019

Joby Levin and Caroline Sugg ’13 are both teachers at the Stephen Gaynor School

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1991 Erik Egol and wife Jen moved back from California last year and settled in Sandy Hook, CT. Erik is teaching drum lessons online full time and looking forward to the return of live music, while Jen runs a pet care company serving the Newtown, CT, area.

Class Notes

years in the field of taxation, Nicole attended Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem and Cincinnati. Nicole recently enjoyed reconnecting with Fieldston classmates via Zoom. One of her congregants in Sydney happens to be a Fieldston grad!

1990 Beth Richman writes: I’m living in Portland, OR, enjoying my social work private practice with my partner, 11-year-old and two dogs.

We are all working toward a more politically progressive future for our country.

Beth Richman’s son and dogs

1989 Nicole Kauffman Roberts is now the Senior Rabbi at the North Shore Temple Emanuel, a Reform Jewish congregation in Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband, David Roberts. Both were formerly CPAs living in Nashville, TN, after graduating from Vanderbilt University and Belmont University. After nine

1988 Jenny Lefcourt writes: I am celebrating the 20th year of owning and operating an organic, natural wine import company called Jenny & Francois Selections. My husband, James Robinson, is a photographer, and our daughter Zoe is in 3rd Grade at Fieldston Lower!

Rabbi Nicole Kauffman Roberts at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, just prior to her 2012 ordination

Marianne Schnall is a widely published journalist writing and doing high-profile interviews for a variety of media outlets, including Forbes, CNN and HuffPost, and has published four books. She runs the media and event platform What Will It Take Movements and is the host of the podcast “ShiftMakers” and the video interview series “The Shift.”

Marianne Schnall

Jenny Lefcourt, Jimmy and Zoe in Maine

Allison Gilbert Weintraub writes: At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was humbled and deeply honored to be asked to join the Global COVID-19 Relief Coalition. And I just launched my first e-series!

Because we’re all facing remarkable challenges right now (whether planning a loved one’s virtual memorial, coping with grief and anxiety, or struggling with how to organize and digitize all those family photos cluttering our homes), I developed

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

a four-part video course packed with actionable solutions for feeling better and more in control right now. I’d also love to hear from you!

Go, Eagles!!!! Xoxoxo

1987 Life in the Boston suburbs goes well for Daniel Schacht. He is grateful to be working as a psycho­ therapist seeing many couples dealing with the challenges of COVID-19.

Yoga, music and a daily dose of laughter when possible are help­ing him through these stressful times.

1986 This past May, Steven Chasin marked 30 years as a paramedic with the Washington, DC, Fire and EMS Department and is looking forward to retiring after a few more years.

Jon Schapiro writes: In 2012, I put a big band together, Schapiro17. We’ve performed in Manhattan and

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Brooklyn since then, and this past April released our first recording, “New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60” (Summit Records). It’s been a privilege and an honor to be surrounded by 17 supremely talented musicians for close to a decade now. We are looking forward to our second release, also out on Summit, next spring.

1985 Erica Dubno is a criminal and civil rights lawyer in New York City. She teaches continuing legal education classes on Supreme Court practice, constitutional issues, and legal writing. When she isn’t in a court of law, she is on the basketball court coaching Special Olympics.

Erica Dubno at the Supreme Court

1984 Mark Forte passed away in July. In memoriam, more than 50 classmates came together via Zoom for a celebration of life service in September. He will be deeply missed.

“New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60” (Summit)

Sam Braverman writes: Still practicing criminal defense, now almost 30 years. I enjoy “legal tourism,” practicing law in different places, and have appeared in 40 different state counties, 15 federal districts and 10 appellate courts, and before the United States Supreme Court. Still married, now almost 30 years, and together we have traveled to all 50 states and more than 30 countries. Glad that my kids have the same travel bug. I still see the same five people who were my close friends at school, but I also have great memories of the people and ideas that I met at ECFS.

Sam Braverman: a lot more wrinkles and gray hairs, but still smiling

Chris Tejirian writes: I am currently serving at our consulate in Osaka, Japan, and we are living nearby in Hyogo Prefecture. Junko and 12-year-old twins Helen and Noah are doing well.

The kids recently started at (yet another) new school.

As I write this in October,

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day-to-day life in Japan is okay, but the chance of more infections (and resulting restrictions) looms as we progress into winter.

International travel is nearly impossible, and hearing from friends infected with COVID-19 in the U.S. and, especially, worrying about family members is distressing. Best wishes to all.

Paul Schiff Berman is the Walter S. Cox Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School. His most recent book, The Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism, was published in September 2020 by Oxford University Press.

Paul Schiff Berman

1983 Joan Morgan writes: I am now Dr. Joan Morgan after receiving my PhD in American studies this year.

I’ve now joined the NYU staff as the Program Director for the Center for Black Visual Culture. I’m also the

Class Notes

proud parent of a Chapman University senior, my son Sule Murray, who is a film major at the university’s Dodge. I miss life without masks and my Fieldston classmates.

Joan Morgan

1982 Bill Teichner was named Managing Partner of Frontier Capital Manage­ ment Company, the Bostonbased investment firm, where he has worked since 1992 after graduating from and being employed by Harvard Business School.

Debby Strauss writes: I moved to Los Angeles and am now in my second year as Lower School Director at Brentwood School.

1981 Shawn Rubel writes: Zoom, breakout rooms, jamboard, cat deleting my lesson, 30 minutes with my students per day (each class), “talking head” staff meetings, all part of fully remote teaching but

honestly not as bad as it could be.

Robert Godosky writes: It has just settled in that I have no children at Fieldston anymore. Sons Jake Godosky ’15 and Josh Godosky ’18 are long gone. That ends the streak of brothers that started with me and David Godosky ’84. All played football with two of the best coaches/ teachers/role models, Jim Cross and Gus Ornstein ’94. I miss Saturdays watching more than playing.

1980 Composer Alex Shapiro, best known for her electroacoustic works for large ensembles, released a 2020 album on innova Recordings titled ARCANA, comprising 80 minutes of her complete solo piano works recorded by New York pianist Adam Marks. She is the author of the chapter “Reaching Out, and Bringing Women In” for the 2020 GIA Publications book The Horizon Leans Forward...

Stories of Courage, Strength, and Triumph of Underrepresented Communities in the Wind Band Field. Alex continues to serve on the board of directors of ASCAP as the sole symphonic and concert writer member, and on the aoards of the ASCAP Foundation and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

1979 The Class of 1979 mourns the loss of Robert “Bobby” Vermann. Bobby died on February 20, 2020. Bobby is fondly remembered by his classmates. He is survived by his sister, Debbie Vermann Baggett ’76, and his daughter, Kate Vermann ’07. His mother, Lois Kasper Vermann ’55, was also a Fieldston grad.

He will be missed.

Beth Grupp writes: I have really enjoyed connecting

by Zoom with some old classmates. I have found it especially wonderful to feel the support we all have for each other around this crazy political season and the very real threats we are facing to our civil society and our very democracy. It feels good to know that a lot of us are standing up and speaking out. For my day job, I’m working with a bunch of nonprofits including Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote campaign, a civil rights group in Mississippi, and

(back row L to R) Karen Sarachik, Cheryl Packwood, Tamar (Ethel) Katz, (front row L to R) Carla Zackson, Eve Niedergang, Beth Grupp

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anti-monopoly groups in DC trying to take down Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

Sending love to all.

1978 Liz Bradley bought a campervan to facilitate COVID-19 time travel. Whoever thought a kid from the Bronx would own a Winnebago?

Liz Bradley and RVG

(Elizabeth) Cecily Miller writes: I’m happily living in Cambridge, MA, working on community-based art projects in public spaces.

My life centers around arts and activism. I just finished a wonderful AIR project with fiber artist Michelle Lougee that highlights the impact of single-use plastic on the environment. I also

(Elizabeth) Cecily Miller on the right pictured with her collaborator, artist Michelle Lougee (photo courtesy Asia Kepka)

worked (on the organizing committee) to create an international HONK!United virtual festival, including activist brass band music and stories from seven continents!

Edson Scudder rejoined the Global Technology and Operations group at Bank of America as a product manager for the Enterprise Data Indexing Engine (EDIE) tool. The EDIE tool leverages AI and natural language processing to enable more efficient and proactive management of regulatory risk.

Lisa Dabek is still based in Seattle at the Woodland Park Zoo and directs the community-based Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program in Papua New Guinea. A book celebrating over 30 years of tree kangaroo research and community conservation is

Lisa Dabek with a wild Matschie’s tree kangaroo in Papua New Guinea.

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being published by Elsevier in November 2020. Since the pandemic started, she has been staying close to home between Seattle and Lopez Island with her fiancé, Bruce Ellestad. She sends greetings to all friends near and far!

Bill Beres writes: Somehow I have managed to dodge COVID-19 despite having a blended family with as many as five teenagers, plus an entourage, in our home in Westport, CT. Rex, our rescue puppy, arrived in May. The Class of ’78 turns 60! I was able to celebrate with Mitch Hauser and Dana Robin. I dined with Dr. Cliff Levy and Nalda Levy in NH in July. My son Ryan Beres ’09 was married to Grace Oakley in a small COVID19-absent ceremony in Sagaponack, NY in October.

Ryan Beres ’09 and his wife, Grace Oakley

Class Notes

1977 Amanda Barad Morgan writes: My business, Morgan Training and Coaching, which specializes in executive training and coaching, has pivoted very quickly to be virtual, although we all miss the live human connection. Kyra, 20, is attending Oberlin College and my son, Devon, is at Hun School of Princeton and hoping for a basketball season. I keep in touch with my classmates primarily through Facebook.

1976 Andrew Weissmann published his new book, Where Law Ends: Inside The Mueller Investigation, with Random House.

1975 Jennifer Schwamm Willis writes: The best part of the past few years was the arrival of our first grandchild, Sawyer Willis, born on April 18, 2018, to our oldest son,

Jennifer Schwamm Willis’ son Harper and his son, Sawyer

Harper, and his partner, Sarah. Nothing more wonderful! Still teaching yoga and doing ceramics up here in Maine, although we travel down to New York City frequently to visit our grown sons as well as my parents — still both living — and siblings, and the many friends we left behind when we headed north.

John Rau was recently elected to the West Tisbury (Martha’s Vineyard), MA, Parks and Recreation Commission. He also serves on the town’s zoning board of appeals and Community Preservation Committee.

Rachel Christmas Derrick writes: Still in touch with my best friends from Fieldston, one of whom survived COVID-19, along with her mother. My husband got more officiating work with the NFL; I was promoted to Assistant VP and Managing Editor of a financial services

Rachel Christmas Derrick celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

nonprofit; our daughter graduated magna cum laude from Yale and is now in an Oxford master’s program; our son, a junior at Wesleyan, was accepted into a special three-year Columbia pre-med program; and my mother, still living on her own, turned 96.

Angela Flemister Henry writes: I’m safely ensconced at home in the Hudson Valley, but regularly in touch with classmates Billy Nessen, Ann Berger Valente, Jessica Wechsler Waters and Laura Wolff as well as friends Ruth Acker ’68, Joe and Nancy Amiel ’55 and ’58, Ruth Colp-Haber ’77, and Mary Ellen Weisl Rudolph ’57. My GOTV work included a portrayal of Sojourner Truth commemorating the 19th Amendment and I look forward to seeing the documentary I narrated, “A Sculpted Life,” which will air on PBS after this plague is over. I’d love to hear from you!

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Society, served on the U.S. EPA Region II Youth Advisory Board, and became the youngest person to receive a U.S. Federal Research/ Demonstration Grant from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Meg Allyn Krilov writes: I retired from my practice as a rehabilitation medicine physician at Montefiore Medical Center in November 2019. My husband and I had planned to spend two months living in Paris, but the pandemic upended that idea. We are sheltering in place in Riverdale and I am reading, playing piano and listening to as little political news as possible. Our children are all well and working — most from home. We have three grandsons and are expecting a granddaughter in November.

FaceTime is a great invention, as we play chess with our 6-year-old grandson and sing and play guitar with our 5- and 3-year-old grandsons.

1972 Lili Levi writes: After a stint at Paul, Weiss and the law department at CBS ages ago, I moved to Miami (in 1987) to be a law professor at the University of Miami School of Law. Although I never thought I’d be an academic administrator, I’m now also having a grand time as Vice Dean for Intellectual Life. I teach media law, business associations,and copyright. My scholarship focuses on media (press rights) and communications law, with some work in copyright. My husband Ralph is a lawyer and former engineer with interests in AI; my daughter just started her freshman year at Wheaton College. Haven’t kept in touch with Fieldston folks, but the past six months have made me think I should try to reconnect with old friends.

Best wishes for the holidays!

1973 Roger Davis has published a new monograph series on human transformation potential, activism, racial justice, climate change and environmental justice in his duties with the Ikologiks Institute for Global Studies (a research think tank). Some may recall that when Roger attended Fieldston he was the founder of the Bronx Environmental

Roger Davis, U.S. EPA Youth Advisory Board.

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Dr. John Markowitz has written a book describing the use of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), a brief, evidence-based treatment for anxiety, depression, and PTSD that focuses on emotional reactions to life events as treatment for the upheavals and social strains of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1971 Gary Rediker writes: After four decades developing supermarkets and shopping centers, I retired in September 2019. Plans for extensive travel have been sidelined by the pandemic, but I have fortunately been able to spend my days on the golf course and enjoy the many special times we have with our three grandchildren.

I got to play a round of golf with Alan Scheuer in Palm Beach at the end of last year

Class Notes

and saw Glenn Fuerth at my retirement party that turned into an impromptu wedding where my wife, Phyllis, and I renewed our vows. I’m looking forward to a safe return to normal and wish everyone well.

1970 Larry Kutner has been combining his work as a public health consultant with teaching sailing on San Francisco Bay. In March 2020, he graduated from the Mariner Training Program at the Chapman School of Seamanship in Florida; he holds a Coast Guard 100Ton Master license. He also serves on the board of directors of the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City, CA, where he occasionally crews on its research vessel.

1969

1968 Katrin Belenky Peck writes: Before COVID-19, I had two lovely “catch up” lunches in West Palm Beach, FL, one with Dale Kahr Moses and Jayne Dworman Greenwald, and the other with my husband Sam Peck, Jayne, and her husband, Leslie. I am now semi-retired and focused on fundraising and “friendraising” in earnest on three Vassar College committees. Sam and I have lived near the beach in Vero Beach, FL, with our two dogs since 2017. We have been quarantining since March 1, 2020. Prior to March 2020, we visited New York City often and I saw Betsy Ottenberg Cherkasky and Rosemary Frank Schmelkin regularly as I have over the years.

Love to all of 1968. Stay safe.

Ronn Sussberg is semiretired and self-employed.

He is a Council Member/ Advisor GLG and owner of both Psychic Readings By Ronn LLC and Satin Doll LLC.

Gary Rediker and Alan Scheuer at the Breakers in Palm Beach, New Year’s 2020

Ronn Sussberg

Katrin Belenky Peck at the 2018 Tony Awards with hubby Samuel Peck, Sam’s son Justin Peck and Justin’s wife, Patricia Delgado

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Rick Strong writes: Moved back to my native Riverdale last year, so now walking distance from ECFS again.

Working (remote for now) at CUIMC as a software engineer for the pathology department, practicing string and electric basses, sharing limited online performances, and preparing for when we can play together live in public for other human beings again.

Ruth Acker writes: My heart goes out to everyone who suffered a loss in 2020. We’ve been incredibly lucky to ride out the pandemic in Florida.

Condo living has allowed us to keep up with friends in the ocean and swimming pool (in a socially distanced, responsible way when rules allowed). Our grandson was born on June 1. Although the family lives less than an hour away, it was months until we saw our kids and grandchildren in person. Now we get together once a week. It’s a total delight to see them again. Love from Ruth Acker.

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1967 Ken Schwartz writes: A year ago the wife of the bass player in Sugar Ray rescued Skipper from the mean streets of Costa Mesa.

She wrote on Next Door: “Doesn’t like dogs, doesn’t really like kids, moves kinda’ slow”...WE’LL TAKE HIM! All pics too adorable, but I chose this one because he’s got the yearbook stare goin’ on. Best to all!

and Zoom. I balance out all that work with two walks a day, plus my husband and I continue to do social dancing despite the pandemic. Our wonderful teachers have been providing live-streamed classes in Lindy Hop and Jazz, which we do several times a week in our kitchen!

Lois Candee Scarlata writes: My husband, Franklin, and I are spending time in the little town up in the hills of southern France where we’ve been coming for 30 years. It’s a nice change of pace from city living.

Skipper

Barbara Kahn Stewart writes: I have been teaching English as a second language courses all online since March. It’s a ton of work and so much less personal, but we are able to do a lot with technology Lois Candee Scarlata’s husband in front of the boucherie

Ruth Acker’s little pumpkins

Barbara Kahn Stewart and her husband, Burr, doing the Charleston in their kitchen

Cathy Rodgers writes: I’ve been teaching online courses for CUNY for more than five years. I believed online would become important and there were wonderful resources on the web to use. Six months ago, as others scrambled to move online, I found myself pretty valuable. My move

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to NC provided the nature I was craving (deer outside my office window), a relaxed environment, lots of places to meet socially distanced, and great friends. In late February, just before everything shut down, I attended my son’s second wedding, which has been great for him and the kids.

Cathy Rodgers’ son’s wedding: Eliana 14, David 46 (Yikes!), Charlie 13

The husband of Joan Beranbaum P’06, Justice John Stackhouse, passed away on February 28. He loved being a Fieldston parent especially because of the ethical values that ECFS instilled in their son.

Class Notes

The Art of Violence. It is a crime novel set in the New York City art world — a gold mine of ambition, money, and high emotion.

Sheryl Moore Johnson is a contributing author of a newly published work titled Shaking Off the Dust; Personal Narratives of Triumph. Written by a group of seven African American women, the book deals with overcoming trials and heartache with insight into how to heal.

Margaret Goldin Lincoln is proud to have been selected to serve a four-year term on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Educator Advisory Council and honored to have been invited to an Education Leaders Reception at the governor’s residence!

SJ Rozan, aka Shira Rosan, had her 16th book come out December 1, 2020: Margaret Goldin Lincoln with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

The Art of Violence by SJ Rozan aka Shira Rosan

Patricia Stein Wrightson writes: My husband, Jim, and I bought a small home in central Virginia three

years ago as a weekend getaway from life in DC. After a severe stroke made it impossible for Jim to navigate life in the city, we became full-time residents of rural VA. We board two horses and live in the valley of mountains on three sides of us. Just a half-hour from Charlottesville, we have the best of both worlds. I’m a country girl now — even canning my own dill pickles.

Patricia Stein Wrightson’s front porch

1966 Steven Pike writes: After our very-well-attended 50th class reunion, mini-reunions with classmates living in southeast Florida, and Facebook connections staying in touch, there are lots of friendships that remain strong. Hopefully, we’ll be able to celebrate our upcoming 55th reunion, since we are now those old alums that we remember seeing on the quad every June and not believing that anyone that old would be coming back to visit.

Robert Fagenson writes: Life does go on. After losing Margaret almost four years

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

ago and my brother Toby Fagenson ’63 this year, it’s time to reflect on what I have to be thankful for. Two great daughters, Stephanie Fagenson ’94 and Jennifer Fagenson ’96, both Fieldston alums. Two incredible grandkids, Sophie ’28, age 10, and Miles, age 2.

A wonderful “significant other,” Linda, whom I have known for 43 years and who was one of Margaret’s good friends. Two terrific toy poodles, Smokey and Bandit.

A busload of incredible friends dating back to 1st Grade at Ethical Culture — yes, Laura and Jill and others.

Life has certainly dealt me some unexpected twists and turns, but one constant always remains: There’s no friends like old friends, and all of you help fill my life with vivid memories that are the very fabric of my life. Stay well. Stay safe. Hug the ones you love and don’t be strangers. If you are able to be in the Palm Beach area during the winter months, please contact Steven Pike to join one of our mini-Southern-reunions.

Steven Pike

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Peter Kinoy writes: I am editing a feature documentary on immigration and the fight for democracy called BORDERLANDS, as well as heading up media making and training for the New York State Poor People’s Campaign, and living collectively in a three-generational house in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Forward together.

Ken Spinka writes: Both of my parents have recently passed; centenarians prior to the pandemic and some of our alumni ladies might remember my mother, Val, who taught girls’ physical education at Fieldston. I have five children and six grandchildren. My youngest son, Erik, who started at Princeton last year, is a world-class rower and started setting world records while still in high school.

Princeton started scouting my son when he was just a junior in high school for their Tiger Heavy Crew Team.

He represented the U.S. in Mexico for the CanAmMex Regatta during the summer of 2018 and in Japan for the Nationals Regatta during the summer of 2019. This summer, he will represent the U.S. at the Nationals Regatta in the Czech Republic. These are rowing competitions on an international level, like the Olympic teams that work out at the Princeton Boathouse and the California Training Center, which will be his next

Regatta in France during the summer of 2024. I don’t know if we ever had a Fieldston family that had an Olympic athlete.

They were racing in Japan and had the sixth-fastest boat in the world. He’s several inches taller than I am and gets great grades majoring in economics.

I’m so proud of him.

Ken Spinka’s son Erik at the Junior World Championships in 2019

Meni Rosensaft is Associate Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the World Jewish Congress. He continues to teach about the law of genocide at the law schools of Columbia and Cornell universities. A collection of his poetry, Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen, will be published by Kelsay Books in April 2021.

Jamie Delson writes: I meant to post this earlier, but the pandemic’s restrictions on visiting with friends has resulted in a novel approach to our regular Fieldston poker game, which continues its tradition begun back in 1962, when I first entered the second form. Ira Resnick, Charlie Baum, and Lee Stern ’69,

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along with other friends, have been playing cards in a regular monthly game for nearly five decades. The evil COVID-19 thought to put an end to this activity, but thanks to the “Poker Now” website, we play not once a month but once a week.

We are joined by graduates of NYU Film School, which Chas, Ira, and I attended, as well as other family members and friends. It’s a great way to stay in touch and we are keeping track of the wins and losses in a spreadsheet, so once the emergency is over, we can settle up.

Steve Pike writes: I am happily enjoying retirement in Boynton Beach (Palm Beach County), FL. Thanks to Zoom and FaceTime, I continue my volunteer work as a guardian ad litem through the Palm Beach courts, as a mentor through Jewish Family Service and serving on the volunteer committee at Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County as well as my weekly highlight, my virtual visit with the kids and grandsons, ages 7 and 4. For the first time since Mr. Held’s and Ms. Kipke’s art class, I took up painting, inspired by my mother’s last surviving friend, who recently passed away at the age of 104.

My obvious signature is Picasso. COVID-19 keeps me close to home except my convertible top-down rides to nowhere with Donna

Class Notes

Summer every afternoon.

To my classmates and all alums, be well, be safe!

1965 Paula Fenton writes: My sister, Joan Fenton ’69, and I lost our mother, Janet Fenton ’43, née Munk, who passed away on June 16 at her home in New York City.

Robin Wells passed away on May 31, 2020, after a brave battle with progressive supranuclear palsy.

Robin earned her PhD in experimental psychology from New York University in 1983. She then went on to lead a successful career as a human factors engineer.

She was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Labs, and received three patents for her work there. The institutions she worked for included Fund for the City of New York, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and Columbia University. She will be remembered lovingly by her husband, Tory Higgins, and her daughter, Kayla Higgins.

Doug Lyons writes: Still working as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in New York City. We have two grandsons.

Claudia Gorbman writes: I am a professor emerita of film studies, first taught at Indiana U and then U of

Washington. Pam, my partner of 29 years, and I finally got to marry in 2012. We left Seattle in 2019 and now live near the water in the town of Poulsbo and have a small place in the woods too. I’m a walker, environmentalist, gardener, mushroom hunter, community volunteer, and music and film lover. Also translator (from French); translating a long book on film music has helped structure my days during the pandemic, as have walks with our little dog Henry and socially distanced friends.

Fond memories of Fieldston and lifelong pals from those two formative years.

Claudia Gorbman

Brian Harvey was awarded the National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) Educational Technology Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who made a significant impact on the field of educational technology over the course of a lifetime. This award was given for work on Logo

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

in the 1980s and Snap! currently; both are programming languages for learners.

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years ago. Now, at 73, a new adventure awaits. We’re hoping to fill it with travel in 2021. I might even find time to write my book. Wishing you all abundant health.

I would normally be spending a couple of months every year in France, but of course not this year. I’m very grateful for my good health even at this age.

Nicholas Meyer writes: My next Sherlock Holmes novel, The Return of the Pharaoh, will be published next year by Minotaur Press.

The paperback version of The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols will go on sale this November.

Brian Harvey with the 2020 NTLS Educational Leadership Award

1964 Christine Michaels writes: After 30 years living my passion, I retired at the end of August from my career as a psychotherapist. The challenge of COVID-19 was a partial catalyst, but the major impetus was an unexpected new love in my life. My husband died seven

Christine Michaels: My last day of work!

Michael Shaw writes: I received a PhD in 1996 in language, literacy and learning from Fordham University.

I was a classroom teacher — grades 1–5 — in New York City and then became a reading/writing specialist.

I then became a professor of literacy education at St. Thomas Aquinas College and was appointed as the Director of Graduation Program. I received the St. Thomas Aquinas College Board of Trustees Award for Excellence. I presented at 74 national conferences.

I received 13 grants. I published 26 journal articles. I created graphic images of the Cycle of Failure and the Cycle of Success.

Randy Brook writes: Still living in rural North Central Washington — full time for over 10 years. It’s a great place to live and play in the outdoors, year-round.

Randy Brook with his wife, Melanie Rowland, winter in the Methow Valley

1962 Susan Fitch writes: Sad to report that my brother, Tom Fitch ’60, passed away this spring. His family misses him.

1960 Peter Rutkoff writes: I’d sure love to say hello and thank you to several teachers who changed my life, especially Ed Pearlstein and Ruth Ritterband, but it was a very long time ago.

Peter Rutkoff

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Hal Freedman writes: My wife and I serve on the board of several nonprofit organizations. We have received awards in 2020 for our work in the community: 2020 MUSE Award as Patrons of the Arts for both of us, and I received the Good Neighbor cash award for one of my organizations from the Pinellas Realtor Organization. Our main involvement at the moment is helping some of our organizations create virtual events, both for fundraising and for fulfilling their mission in the community. We also have sponsored events for several arts and community service organizations.

Finally, we, and our mask collection, were the subject of a two-page spread in the Dupont Registry Tampa Bay.

Hal Freedman and his wife

The Class of 1960’s class representative Hal Freedman reports: Our class members are closing in on 80 years old. Several of us have used the pandemic

Class Notes

1960 class trip

year to remember past events, including many at ECFS. For example, the senior class trip to DC. Note the “twins” (Harold Juran and Jim Lubetkin) bookending the group at the top, making a formal photo a little less so.

Peter Rutkoff writes: Here are some of us on February 1, 1960, on a core picket line in Harlem at the 125th Street Woolworth’s. This was the day of the first North Carolina sit-in that helped launch the post-Montgomery phase of the civil rights movement. We were organized at Fieldston during an assembly and met at

Woolworth’s the next day.

I’m proud that my career as a civil rights activist has its roots in our shared past and I’m proud that my participation in a BLM demonstration here in Ohio two weeks ago claims this as a legacy that extends back 60 years. We are at a crossroads of racial reckoning here in America and I urge you to choose how and where to participate. Not every organization will fit your needs, but no matter how you feel about a given group, like BLM, please take your stand and let your world and community know why you care about racial justice.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Ira Hammerman writes: Remember our class play “Of Thee I Sing.” I still remember most of the script. It seems very relevant to today’s news: A president involved with a beauty contest in Atlantic City. Threatened with impeachment. And escapes impeachment when his wife Mary gets pregnant.

And I believe my parents named me “Ira” in honor of Ira Gershwin, whom my father said he knew.

Abram Epstein, who has made a career out of writing novels and academic studies on the life of the “historical Jesus,” now challenges the portrait of Jews as “pressing for the death of Christ” (quoting Vatican II in the edict “Nostra Aetate”). His treatise, in softcover, to be released November 30, is titled Responsio Iudaeorum Nostrae Aetatis — The Case Against the Gospels’ False Accusation of the Jews.

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Julie Adams Strandberg writes: I am actually one of the privileged ones who is finding this a time to catch up on reading; to spend time with my immediate family; to clean out my cellar for better feng shui; to text and email “deep thoughts,” jokes, and trivia with family and new and old friends; to learn new things like teaching my 32 students through Zoom while also helping them stay connected as a community; to imagine how what I do as an artist will serve us all on the other side. One of the courses I am teaching at Brown University is called Artists and Scientists as Partners (ASaP) and we are specifically looking at brain research and programs for people with neurological disorders. We are focusing on music and dance for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) (and other movement challenges) and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD.) We call the class for people with PD (and other movement challenges) DAPpers (Dance for All People). The elderly and college-aged students are reported to be among the loneliest in our culture — so our students and the DAPpers are staying in contact via Zoom, Google Hangouts and Skype. They are even dancing together.

Of course they cannot touch either — a big component of

the actual class — but they are addressing isolation. In terms of sharing sad news: Having known some of you for over 72 years and many of you for at least 64, I would not suddenly feel like I couldn’t reach out to you at a moment of tragedy. Moving forward, we might also share what some of us are doing to care for others and how we might, as a team, find ways to be of service — which is in our collective DNA. At this time of quarantine we need artists more than ever, so I would encourage us to continue to share books, films, TV shows, vis­ual arts, etc., through which we are finding con­nec­tion, pleasure and solace.

Richie Reichbart writes: Curious Stories of Diverse Places, my new book of short stories and poems, has been published by IPBooks. It is now available at Amazon Prime and IPBooks. It is nice to put out some fiction, but it is close to home too: “In Martin’s House” stems from my adventures as a civil rights worker in Georgia, and there are two stories that stem from my work with the Navajo and other Native Americans: “Ya-ta-hey, John Yazzie;” and the historically tinged “The Power of Berry Soup,” which among other things recounts a court case of Native Americans for which I was the attorney.

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David Kann writes: My fourth chapbook of poetry, The Creation Project, has been accepted for publication by Finishing Line Press. Should be out early next year.

1959 Barbara Gerson Joye and husband Reid Jenkins have moved to a condo in a senior independent living community, where they are members of the Progressive Club. They join others holding signs three mornings a week on a nearby road, proclaiming “Black Lives Matter!” and “Vote for Change!”

Barbara also continues to be active in the Metro Atlanta chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and is enjoying a simpler lifestyle and developing new skills in an art class, in spite of the pandemic.

1958 David R. Zukerman writes: My website, Lonely Pamphleteer Review, reached one million circulation on September 25. It was established in December 2003, and is growing even stronger. Visits from the Fieldston community are definitely welcome. Site inspired by common good sentiments expressed in Federalist No. 57.

Class Notes

1956 Tay Weinman writes: I’ve been a California resident ever since the Air Force sent me here in 1965 and long before it started to burn up. Still practicing ophthalmology and will until I get it right. Before the pandemic would see best friend from Fieldston, Arthur Roberts (née Pincus), from time to time. Got a Facebook hit from my 1955 New Year’s Eve date, Gail Emerson ’57.

1955 Susan Page, the wife of Carl P. Leubsdorf, took time out from her day job as Washington Bureau Chief for USA TODAY to moderate the October 7 vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris. A few days later, it earned her a spot on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” where she was portrayed

by Kate McKinnon. She’s also completing a biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Carl, mostly retired, is nearing the 40th anniversary writing his weekly column for The Dallas Morning News and the Tribune News Service.

The Class of 1955’s class recorder, Lois Ullman Berkowitz, reports: The class of ’55 continues to be as involved and productive

as ever. Given the fact that most of us are now around the age of 83, we have an amazing number of accomplishments to report. We still have close to 50 names on our listserv, and we continue to stay in touch with each other. Undaunted by technology, we have now run two meetings on Zoom, each with about 20 participants, and we’ve had many fascinating discussions online, with topics ranging from personal landmarks to who’s who in old photos, from Ethical to COVID-19 to Fieldston history to the presidential debates. Several of us are still working, and many have been recognized in their fields. Here’s a summary of news from the past several months: In a fall highlight, a documentary about the fascinating work of Dorothy (Dotsy) Otnow Lewis was shown on HBO on November 18. Alex Gibney’s film “Crazy, Not Insane” outlines the career of Dotsy, a forensic psychiatrist, who became famous for her controversial work with serial killers. The film was chosen for the South by Southwest Film Festival this past March, but the festival was canceled due to COVID19. Subsequently, it was shown at the Venice Film Festival in September and then featured on HBO.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Adele Logan Alexander was featured in an August New York Times article about the history of AfricanAmerican suffragists.

Adele’s grandmother, Adella Hunt Logan, an early suffragist, was the subject of Adele’s well-received book, Princess of the Hither Isles: A Black Suffragist’s Story from the Jim Crow South, published by Yale University Press in 2019. Yale recently asked her to write a companion book about her aunt, Dr. Myra Adele Logan, a New York physician who was the first woman in the world to perform surgery on a human heart.

Another recently published author was Mickie Schimmel Winkler, whose book, Politics, Police and Other Antics, was published

by Austin Macauley in October 2020. Mickie’s book features 54 illustrated satiric anecdotes, which earned her billing as “an irreverent writer!”

Our famed prolific poet, Alicia Suskin Ostriker, recently published her newest book, The Volcano and After: Selected and New Poems, 2002–2019.

It contains poems from six previous books and about 50 pages of recent work. A collection of essays about her poetry, Everywoman Her Own Theology, appeared in 2018. At this point, Alicia

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has published seven books of criticism and scholarship plus 18 volumes of poetry.

At this writing, John Meyer, who has long had an interest in Judy Garland, was planning to release some private recordings that he made of Judy back in 1968.

The double-disc CD is titled “Judy: Final Notes.”

Paul Kessel was winding up his outstanding career in candid street photography. Paul has been in 85 exhibitions worldwide and has won numerous awards working at his pastime nonstop for eight years. He also was excited to announce that he had just become a grandfather for the first time.

Elizabeth (Liz/Tish) Rosen Reiniger reported from Canada that she was finally starting to play chamber music with friends again. She usually plays percussion in a community band and orchestra, but their music making was severely impacted by COVID-19.

William (Bill) Cramer, Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, continues with his federally funded research, in which he studies the structure and function of the proteins on the surfaces of plant and bacterial cells.

Robert (Rob) Socolow, Professor Emeritus at Princeton, had an essay published in the fall 2020 issue of Daedalus, the quarterly journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The entire issue was devoted to professional involvement in climate change, one of Rob’s major research interests.

Classmate Tamara (Tammy) Livingston Weintraub has taken advantage of the varied talents of our classmates, inviting them to speak to the Gotham Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee (a group that raises funds for Brandeis University).

Nan Askin Cooper spoke about her archaeological excavations in Central Park, Joe Amiel shared how he added Spanish citizenship to his American citizenship in tribute to his Spanish ancestors, and Adele Logan Alexander discussed her book. Switching over to Zoom format, Rob Socolow discussed climate change, Carl Leubsdorf spoke about his 60 years as a journalist, and Steve Jervis was scheduled to speak about mountain climbing.

Others have also offered to speak. Tammy commented, “Fieldston ’55 is a treasure chest of people who have lived interesting lives, and I am grateful to all for helping me.”

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We were saddened at the loss of two classmates, Peter Wolff, who died in April, and Dr. Harvey Klein, who died in August. Peter was editor of the Intowner newspaper in Washington, DC, for many years. Harvey was well-known for his 50-year internal medicine practice at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where he instructed and mentored generations of medical residents.

Class Notes

emphasizing some positive things in this unusual, difficult time. As I am writing, I am up late here on the West Coast following the election returns, which hopefully will be resolved soon for this election that has demanded so much attention lately, along with this distressing administration in DC. I hope everybody is staying well and look forward to things getting better in the coming year.

1954 Stephen Fisher writes: My wife Susan and I are fortunate to have a nice place to shelter in place during this COVID-19 epidemic in Berkeley, CA. My family lived in Sunnyside, Queens, when I was going to Fieldston. I managed to recapture some of the features of Sunnyside here in Berkeley, where we have lived over 50 years now, plus I had two years of my psychiatric training residency here, in Berkeley, where we lived after we met in San Francisco. Berkeley, like Sunnyside, is a progressive community and has the Bay Bridge and BART, like the Queensboro Bridge and the subway close by, connecting to the city. It even has the Oakland Athletics, like the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the next town close by. In addition, Berkeley has some pretty scenery with the hills and the bay here. So I am

Stephen Fisher and his wife, Susan, in their backyard garden, Berkeley, June 2020

Don Slotkin writes: I went to Fieldston in the 6th and 7th Grade. Mrs. Whalen taught me how to do crossword puzzles. I would have been class of ’54, but we moved to Michigan.

1953 Betty Rollin writes: I thought I’d say hello just because I’m so old (85 on January 3, 2021). I have ended my reporting career at both NBC and PBS and no longer write books. My best sellers were First, You Cry and Last Wish. The latter is about helping my mother

die. I am still involved in the Physician Aid-in-Dying movement. (Aid in dying is still unavailable in New York state.) My husband is now under hospice care, which is excellent.

1952 Margery Kramer Druss writes: After my children went off to college, I taught ESL for about 20 years at Touro College. Now, I still do some volunteer ESL work.

My two children went to the ECFS schools from Pre-K through high school. They tell me they appreciate having gone to a school where they had caring teachers and where they were encouraged to participate in lively class discussions.

George Litton writes: I’m happy to report that we older alumni have climbed onto the cyber bandwagon — previously the domain of youngsters. In August 2020, we began holding periodic Zoom virtual class cocktail party reunions hosted by classmate Mimi Roskin Berger. The 14 participants in our most recent November Zoom party were Ann Neuberger Aceves, Bob Alpern, Eve Wagner Barnett, Mimi Roskin Berger, Naomi Meisels Epstein, Roger Gutwillig, Ann Wasserman Kiggen, Ricky Lane, George Litton, Ann Ross Loeb,

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Ellen Miller Rosenau, Susanne Magnus Rubel, Ellen Deitsch Stern, and Cora Rubin Weiss. Roger Gutwillig has created and manages a Fieldston ’52 Facebook page. Should any classmates wish to join us in our next Zoom cocktail party or wish instructions on how to view our Facebook page, please contact me.

At our age good news is not easy to produce, but Neuy did so with flying colors.

Ann Neuberger Aceves participated in the 2019 National Senior Olympics held this year in Albuquerque, NM. She swam in six events, medaling in all of them and earning three gold medals in the backstroke events, breaking a national record in the 200-yard back (while also winning a silver and two bronze in freestyle). Ann was surrounded by children and friends, including Allan Shedlin ’59, who came to cheer her on at the West Mesa Aquatic Center. It was

Ann Neuberger Aceves

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Ann’s 15th consecutive Nationals and was her best yet. She sends warmest good wishes to all! Brava, Ann! Bob Alpern reported the sad news of the passing on April 29 of classmate Frank Fisher, his friend since 2nd Grade. Frank was a distinguished MIT economist and important Zionist progressive. Bob reminisced about a musical he and Frank wrote together, a “J. Robert Frank Production” with an F’52 cast and F’52 audience at Hudson Guild Farm.

Eve Wagner Barnett reported from Virginia that she and her husband Larry moved from their beautiful view home to a more sensible location nearer to UVA and hospitals in Charlottesville, which they seem to be needing now and then. Larry has partially retired and Eve stays busy with the Boys and Girls Club of Albermarle, Olli classes, and book and garden clubs.

Families are well and life remains good. She extends an invitation to visit Charlottesville, “the new place to be,’’ and has room for guests. Eve has a new address and phone number available through the alumni office.

After teaching a group of international students in dance therapy at the 92Y in June, Mimi Roskin Berger

again taught for three weeks at Les Grands Ballets Canadien in Montreal, where she trained 24 students in dance therapy.

The students have PhDs or masters in other disciplines such as psychology or social work. In the spring, Mimi gave a special dance therapy training workshop to the teaching artists staff at Lincoln Center.

Lois Epstein Fenton is fine and happy to know so many F’52 classmates are, too.

Her grandkids are all grown and doing well. She hopes to visit New York soon with her grandson, who wants to see the Big Apple, and she promises to get in touch when plans are finalized.

Lois sends love to all.

Richie Roth came to New York on July 23 accompanied by his granddaughter, Emily Roth, to participate in a memorial for his late wife, Alene, organized by daughter Robyn Roth Moise ’74, at the Central Park bench bearing a plaque in Alene’s memory in the 85th Street playground where Robyn and her late brother, Richard Lee ’78, used to play.

Twenty-two close friends and family stood by the bench as Robyn reminisced about shared good times, then scattered some of Alene’s ashes in nearby plantings.

Due to adverse weather reports, the bench-side

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memorial was done in two sessions. The first, attended by those with umbrellas, preceded a delightful brunch at Barney Greengrass; the second, after the brunch, was under sunny skies. It was terrific to see Richie!

Class Notes

renowned Angel Camp Vineyard produces prizewinning Pinot Noir.

(Enjoying wine regrettably is not a Senior Olympics event or your class recorder would try out.)

Cora Rubin Weiss’s political activism was recognized by her Wisconsin alma mater. Cora is an Honorary Patron of the Committee on Teaching About the UN and is engaged in planning for its 2020 Annual Conference, the 75th Anniversary of the UN, titled “War No More.”

Cora and husband Peter hosted the May F’52 Lunch Bunch, which included first-time LunchBunchers Richard Friedberg, Judy Greenhill Speyer and husband, Jack, and Ellen Deitsch Stern.

Gilda Gellin Zalaznick enjoyed a visit to Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, where her son Brian’s

George Litton notes that travel has become a bit of a hassle, but he and Alessandra spent two fascinating weeks in Russia.

George used to do business in Russia, but hasn’t been back in 30 years. He couldn’t recognize Moscow — in better shape than New York. Spotless streets. No crumbling buildings. Plenty of first-class hotels, shops, and restaurants. George traveled to cheer the Yale Russian Chorus, a singing group he co-founded 66 years ago, on its first Russia concert tour after a 15-year hiatus. Spectacular success; no anti-American feelings despite sanctions. The Wall Street Journal dubbed the chorus “Diplomats of Song.”

George considers himself very lucky to be Class Scribe staying in touch with F’52 class­-mates. Old friends become more precious every passing year.

Yale Russian Chorus

1951

Gilda Gellin Zalaznick in Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, with her son, Brian.

Michael Blumenfeld writes: Have been fondly remembering “Keyball” — touch football, using as a football a key ring a bit lighter than one. Invented

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

by our class and played on the Quad (where ballplaying was prohibited) by a group of us during lunch break almost every day.

Administration flummoxed.

No rule to forbid it. Regards to all surviving players (and other surviving classmates).

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fueled by deep, deep friendships. She is survived by her daughter, Valerie Colville Nierenberg ’77, and her granddaughter, Amelia Nierenberg ’14.

Dan Isaacson writes: After retiring from a 25-year stint as a math and computer teacher in January, I’m piloting an online course called Pre-Geometry 101. Course description: “Strengthen your skills needed to approach your Geometry course, improve your confidence entering the course, get better grades.” These skills (arithmetic facts and fraction skills) are ones which geometry teachers unanimously agree are sadly lacking in their new students. I’m looking for students (anywhere in the U.S.).

Robert Schlesinger writes: I am retired from medicine, the Air Force and the Army, commuting back and forth between upstate New York and Florida, “God’s Waiting Room,” as it were!

1950 David Lagunoff died on August 3, 2020, in Sweden, where he lived. He graduated from Fieldston in 1950 and was captain of the football team for the winning season 1948–49. He was married for more than 50 years to Susan Powers Lagunoff, who died in 2010.

1948 Lois Isabel Goldman Colville

Lois Isabel Goldman Colville died at home in her sleep on June 13, 2020.

She attended Bard College before marrying Barney Colville in 1952. As an entrepreneur, she ran a successful needlepoint school and worked as a bookkeeper.

As an avid traveler, she made friends wherever she went. In her vibrancy, in her stubbornness and in her laughter, she’s left us with a road map for a life simmering with ideas and

home was practice: reading newspapers and novels, watching films, and Rachel.

So I have evolved from teaching French and Latin to lawyering to leisure.

1949 Sadly, we report that our classmate Bart Saunders passed away in September.

His wife, Linda, shared that he loved Fieldston and always enjoyed returning to campus and New York City for class reunions.

Ruth Biederman Jonas writes: After 35 years as a solo immigration lawyer, I just retired. Sheltering at

Richard (Anderson “Andy”) Falk writes: After 40 years on the faculty at Princeton University, I retired but continued to teach at various universities in the U.S. and Europe, and have currently a part-time appointment at Queen Mary University London as Chair of Global Law. I have finished a memoir that will be published in 2021 under the title Public Intellectual: Life of a Citizen Pilgrim. I live in Santa Barbara normally, but during the pandemic I am

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living with my Turkish wife in the village of Yalikavak on the Bodrum Peninsula.

1943 Paul Richard Meyer died on May 1. He was very proud of his association with Fieldston and the New York Ethical Culture Society; Algernon Black was a close family friend.

Paul Richard Meyer

Janet Munk Fenton died peacefully at her home in Manhattan on June 16, 2020, at the age of 94.

After one year at Syracuse University, she married Robert Fenton in 1946, and they were devoted to each other for 58 years until his death. A longtime member of Congregation Rodeph Sholom, the New York Society Library, numerous theaters, museums, and weekly bridge games, Janet was elegant and kind.

She will be deeply missed by family, friends, and the

Class Notes

countless New Yorkers she met in her long life on the island that was her only home. She is survived by her loving daughters Paula Fenton ’65 and Joan Fenton ’69, her grandson Max Fenton and his wife Nicole, her greatgranddaughter Eva, her step-grandson Ephraim Tabackman and family, and step-granddaughter Noa Summerfield and family.

Two books by 93-year-old Michael Wertheimer (Swarthmore College BA, Johns Hopkins MA, and Harvard PhD), professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado, Boulder, were published in 2020: the sixth edition of A Brief History of Psychology, the first edition of which was published in 1970, and an autobiography, Facets of an Academic’s Life: A Memoir.

He and his wife moved to an independent Boulder retirement community in 2011 and enjoy frequent interactions not only with friends but also with their huge progeny: three children, three children-in-law, eight grandchildren, five grandchildren-in-law, and thirteen great-grandchildren.

1942 Walt Glickenhaus writes: This year, I reach my 96th birthday. I’m in good

physical and mental shape.

However, I have just decided to give up my car and playing golf. My wife, Hedy, is also in reasonably good shape. I’m sorry about Jimmy whom I recall as a charming host when we all were at your “farm” for a class gathering in Canada. Jim Berman’s son Chris calls me every May 10, which is their joint birthday, and we toast Jim together. Also, we see my brother-in-law, Sam Florman, and his family, all of whom went to Fieldston, as did our two sons.

Jackie Kraunz Wilner writes: I’m sorry to hear our numbers are decreasing. I am saying hello to all of my classmates.

Sam Florman writes: Nice to check in with the alums — with my wife, Judy. We’re in the same Central Park West apartment we occupied on January 20, 1961, the day of Kennedy’s inauguration.

I’ve retired after a lifetime of erecting buildings and writing books and articles about engineering. Judy earned a graduate degree in education while doing the major part of handling the household, then worked as a nursery school teacher, followed by 10 years overseeing the Ethical Culture Midtown School Admissions Department. We’ve been blessed with two sons, two daughters-in-law, five

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

granddaughters and, to date, two great-grandsons. We count our blessings.

When we, the Class of 1942, appeared in the ECFS Reporter in the spring of 2017, it was noted that we were marking the 75th anniversary of “graduating into a world of war.” Now, as we just swept by September 2, 2020, the nation was celebrating the 75th anniversary of the end of that war, known as World War II. I was especially sensitive to this day, since shortly before the signing of surrender papers in Tokyo, the ship I was on docked in the Philippines. Its original objective had been the invasion of Japan. We were saved by the explosion, within the past month, of two atomic bombs. Instead of attacking Japan, my trip to the Pacific saw me supervising construction work with Japanese military troops as provided for in the surrender agreement.

Several ECF classmates, sent to Europe, were engaged in combat. As best I can recount: of the 45 boys in our class, 39 served, 20–25 overseas. Two were wounded, two briefly imprisoned, but happily all survived. And practically zero have cared to talk about the military experience.

One other statistic that I can’t seem to forget: the

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number of years in which members of the Florman family have been students at ECFS. My sister Jeanne Florman (married Benenson, then Lewisohn) entered 4th grade of Midtown in 1928, graduated 1937; I entered Midtown in 1933, graduated 1942; sons David and Jonathan, and David’s wife Cynthia (Frisch) graduated in the 1970s; David and Cynthia’s daughters, Julia and Rachel, graduated 2016 and 2017, respectively. (Jonathan moved with his wife to Boston and they gave us three Boston granddaughters and two great-grandsons.) Well, let’s see. From 1928 to 2017. Ninety years.

Shucks. I thought that it had to be a century. Well, a grand time for all.

Roger Michaels, Barbara Rothschild Michaels’ husband, writes: Barbara was very glad to hear from ECFS. Her energy is limited, so I will undertake a response.

We are both physically in good shape. Able to go out for walks. Barbara’s short-term memory is not so great, but otherwise she can remember things that happened ages ago. I have wet macular degeneration, which takes me into the city a couple of times every six to eight weeks. Two kids live nearby and are in touch all the time. Alan, who lives in Columbus, keeps us busy,

on the phone or FaceTime.

He is driving here Saturday to spend a day with us. Does not want to get with crowds at the airport. Stay in touch.

Connie Altman Sussman writes: I am still able to manage what needs to be done.

I drive (not on icy roads), get to Pilates, shop, cook, pay bills, etc. No social life, no friends left here. Happy note: I am a great-grandmother — a 3-month-old grandson.

I am in (my) studio some and there is great satisfaction in knowing that my paintings are in homes and loved. I have memories of Walter White and Algernon, Ethics class. In gym, I thought I would play basketball...but my dear pal Norma Marks and I ended up playing badminton. So many memories. And then, the war…. P.S. Most important, my constant companion: my 3-year-old golden retriever.

The Class of 1942’s class recorder, Elaine Slater, reports: Our gentle classmate, Nancy Sloane, died September 21. I didn’t know her well at Fieldston, but after reuniting at our 50th reunion, she and I became close friends. She lived in West Palm Beach with her partner and together they adopted any stray animal that wandered to their house, sewed costumes for their local playhouse, and never missed a local

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council meeting to keep their elected officials honest.

Nancy will be missed.

Herbert Oppenheim writes: Bless you for keeping us in contact. Yes, I am still going, barely. Before COVID19 I was reasonably busy with the Art Student League and the AIA. Now it is all by Zooming, but my Zooming ability is limited to my three caring daughters. One big exception. Marion Kaplan Needelman and I talk lovingly on the phone every day! I also have two pieces of wood at home that I carve a bit each week.

Elaine Wechsler Slater writes: I am still mobile but alas, my husband, Jimmy, is in a wheelchair.

Nevertheless, I feel so lucky he is still with me after 76 years of marriage. We never went out that much before the pandemic struck, but now in this alternate universe we go nowhere.

I spend my days at the computer, listening to news podcasts, playing solitaire or writing a bit. In the evenings, we watch Netflix or Apple films. I also do jigsaw puzzles and play a bit of piano (very badly) to keep my brain functioning. I send warmest regards to all my classmates reading this.

Belle Krasne Ribicoff writes: Still here, still raising orchids and now hibiscus

Class Notes

and begonias — just about any plant that will enhance my house and my life.

Otherwise, trying to keep up appearances and stay well. Also trying to get over our hapless and hopeless president. Turned 96 last month. As a doctor friend of mine described his condition many years ago: still sitting up and taking nourishment.

That, in itself, is remarkable!

1939 Alice Kahn Ladas joined the staff of the Alexander Lowen Foundation to work online with clients worldwide. A video about her life’s work to help women use their bodies as they wish is in the making. She lives in her home at the Commons, a multigenerational cohousing community in Santa Fe, NM, where she is learning about consensus decision making from the younger generation.

1937 Marie Turbow Lampard, beloved wife of Professor Eric E. Lampard and mother to Sophie Lampard Dennis ’86, died November 30, 2020, at a nursing home in Brattleboro, VT, at the age of 101 years.

Marie was born in New York City to Sophie Levene Turbow and Leo Turbow, both natives of Russia, in 1919. She graduated from

Fieldston in 1937, having started at Ethical Culture in Kindergarten. Marie knew founder Felix Adler, and was a pupil of Algernon Black, an early teacher and later leader of the society. She continued to visit Mr. Black at his office at the society for decades, introducing Sophie to him when she was a student there. When her daughter Sophie was born, she was given a naming ceremony at the Society.

Marie discussed her time at the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools as among her most happy and character-developing years. She remained lifelong friends with several people from her year.

She espoused the Ethical Culture philosophy all her life and modeled it for her daughter. Marie went on to earn degrees from Barnard College in Art History and Columbia Teachers College.

Marie worked at WNYC radio for a time, and taught art for much of her career, occasionally substituting at Ethical Culture while Sophie was a student, and focused on Russian art in the latter part of her career.

Notably she published, as senior editor, in 2001: Sergei Konenkov, 1874-1971: A Russian Sculptor and His Times (Rutgers University Press and Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum: New Brunswick, NJ). As lifelong New Yorkers, Marie and Eric never missed a Fieldston

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

reunion and they attended many Founders’ Days and society events. Marie is survived by her husband Eric of 69 years, daughter Sophie and her husband Dan, of VT, and three grandchildren: Eric Dennis of VT, Marie Dennis of RI, and Dr. Coral Kent-Dennis of IN.

Marie Turbow Lampard

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ECFS Reporter If you have any questions about this issue of the magazine, please contact communications@ecfs.org.

Administrative Council 2020–2021 Jessica L. Bagby Head of School Jon Alschuler Interim Principal, Fieldston Middle Lauren Coulston Director of Communications Rob Cousins Principal, Ethical Culture Jeannie Crowley Director of Technology Liz Fernández Assistant Head of School for Ethical Education and Social Impact Nigel Furlonge Principal, Fieldston Upper Charles Guerrero ’89 Director of Admissions, Financial Aid, and Institutional Research Chris Harper Chief Financial Officer & Director of Human Resources Joe McCauley Principal, Fieldston Lower Gus Ornstein ’94 Director of Athletics Sarah Wendt Chief Philanthropy Officer Kyle Wilkie-Glass Chief Operating Officer & Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives

Here’s where you’ll find more stories: ecfs.org/en/news @ecfs1878 @ecfs1878

Board of Trustees 2020–2021 Jessica L. Bagby Ex-officio William Baker Society Representative Susan Sarnoff Bram ’81 Advancement Co-Chair Margot Bridger Eunu Chun Rosalind Clay Carter DEI & Education Co-Chair Kenneth Glassman Vice-Chair, Audit & Risk Management Co-Chair Andrew Holm ’01 Treasurer, Finance Chair Hazel Hunt Faculty Representative Tal Kaissar Compensation Chair Nick Kaplan ’88 Fieldston Alumni Network (FAN) Chair Jesse Klausz Faculty Representative Meghan Mackay Vice-Chair, DEI & Education Co-Chair

Kathleen O’Connell Society Representative Stan Parker Miriam Paterson Faculty Representative Jonathan M. Rozoff Governance Chair Bree Sheahan P+T Chair Liz Singer Society President Kim Smith Spacek ’91 Board Chair, Investment Chair Emily Tisch Sussman ’00 Margot Tenenbaum Faculty Representative Krishna Veeraraghavan Secretary, Audit & Risk Management Co-Chair Rielly Vlassis Stephanie Wagner Advancement Co-Chair Jeff Walker Executive Committee Advisor

Contributor: Chris Taggart, photographer

33 Central Park West New York, NY 10023 ecfs.org

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

ECFS Reporter Winter 2021