Select News Magazine Fall 2019

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Select news FRIENDS SELECT SCHOOL Fall 2019

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CELEBRATING Our Commitment to the City

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Selectnews Friends Select School 17th & Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.561.5900 fax 215.864.2979 friends-select.org

Editorial Team Editor Zack Pelta-Heller, Communication Specialist Design Tina Dougherty, Associate Director Marketing, Creative and Visual Communication Feature Photography Connor Augustine ’14, Tina Dougherty, Ashley Ryan ’19, Amit Gabai Writers Casey Beck, Megan Gill Carusona, Mike Primo Selectnews Select News is the magazine of Friends Select School. It is published by the marketing department twice a year and distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the school.

Fall 2019 Volume 30 Number 1

About Friends Select The mission of Friends Select School is to provide a challenging, college– preparatory academic program to its diverse, coed student population, from pre–kindergarten to 12th grade. The school offers a full complement of athletic, art, and community service options. Its unique identity includes an intentional, sequential emphasis on research, writing, and oral presentations and a commitment to interactive learning in a city wide classroom.

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FALCON NOTES

SELECT TALK

5 PROSPECTIVE BUILDING PLANS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP

14 SPECIAL SECTION Spring Fair Returns to Friends Select

16 FROM THE ARCHIVIST’S CLOSET

STUDENT ACTIVISTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

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PHOTOS FROM SPRING FAIRS PAST AND PRESENT

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Members of the Friends Select community believe in the Quaker values of respect for all, simplicity, the peaceful resolution of conflict, and a constant search for truth. We work to achieve a balance between the needs of individuals and the community in an atmosphere of cooperation and concern for the betterment of all. We value the rich diversity of our urban setting and the opportunities and challenges it provides for the education of our students.

STUDENTS ENGINEERING PARKLETS FOR PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITIES

Under the caring oversight of dedicated faculty and staff, Friends Select students gain the knowledge, skills, and character that will help them to live full lives.

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IN MEMORIAM

33 A LASTING FRIENDSHIP CREATES $1 MILLION ENDOWMENT FUND

34 25 ALUMNI AND TEACHING AWARDS, AND ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME AWARDS CEREMONY

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ADMINISTRATOR MIKE NOONAN RETIRES

COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES FOR THE CLASS OF 2019

27 COMMUNITY NOTES

YOUNG ALUMS REFLECT ON STAYING IN THE CITY FOR COLLEGE

AUCTION 2019 CLASS NOTES

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FRIENDS SELECT HONORS MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. WITH TEACH-IN

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28 BENEFACTORS SOCIETY

OUT AND ABOUT

35 UPPER SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER JIM BRUBAKER RETIRES

36 PLANNED GIVING

38 USING YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO SUPPORT FRIENDS SELECT

Michael Gary Speaks

Why We’re

CELEBRATING

This year marks the 50th anniversary of our decision as a school to remain in Center City. Celebrating our commitment to stay in the city is very important to me. My predecessors deserve a tremendous amount of credit for their decision. They had a tough choice to make—remain in the city during a very turbulent time in Philadelphia’s history, or move out to the suburbs for more space. Fortunately for all of us, the leaders at Friends Select School made the right choice. I tip my hat to them for recognizing the strengths and value of a city classroom. They remained true to our mission as a Quaker school, and true to Philadelphia as well.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of our decision as a school to remain in Center City.

Celebrating our commitment to stay in the city is very important to me.”

I, like many of our families, was attracted to Friends Select because of its city location. Our wonderful families are also committed to the city and living sustainably—as demonstrated by all of our commuters who walk, bicycle, and take public transportation. Most importantly, Friends Select families are excited to raise their children in this world-class city. Teachers and staff appreciate all that we offer and the energy that buzzes throughout the halls.

As an educator, I made it clear when I took on the job that making teaching tangible is a hallmark of my beliefs and, given our location, we should be the best at doing that. This is embedded throughout our strategic plan, Advance Friends Select. We are continuously deepening and expanding our partnerships, and really allowing the city to be our classroom. We have also hired a director of city curriculum and a director of equity and inclusion.

Both of these directors are instrumental in helping strengthen and celebrate our sense of community.

When I was trying to think of a unique way to bring together Friends Select families and alumni in order to celebrate this special anniversary, I learned that we used to host the Spring Fair years ago. I was so excited to bring it back. My colleagues and I thought it would be the perfect way to honor our commitment to stay in the city. We thank you for helping us celebrate this remarkable place and community.

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s we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Friends Select’s decision to stay in Center City Philadelphia, this issue of Select News focuses on the many ways in which our community continues to build upon its commitments to the city. Read about our inaugural Select Talk program that was held during Alumni Weekend (page 4), which brought together alumni who have become renowned community leaders to discuss issues of gentrification and development. Meanwhile, an article on Friends Select’s prospective building plans (page 5) looks at how the school is re-envisioning its own use of space, a key component of Advance Friends Select. And learn more about an upper school STEAM initiative to engineer parklets for Philadelphia neighborhoods (page 8), which involved students and faculty working with Community Development Corporations and city planners to improve public spaces.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the decision to stay in Center City Philadelphia means considering how Friends Select’s students and faculty are using Quaker values to have an impact on our city. Stories about student activism (page 6) and the school’s first ever Martin Luther King Teach-In (page 7) highlight continued commitments to student agency and social justice issues at a local level. In addition to a list of college acceptances for the class of 2019 (page 10) comes a story of several recent alumni choosing to remain in Philadelphia for college (page 11).

And an article on student athletes playing sports on historic city facilities (page 13) reflects how our community continues to utilize the city.

There was perhaps no greater way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our commitment to the city than with the return of the Spring Fair (page 14) during Alumni Weekend. In the special Spring Fair section, read about the history of this beloved event at Friends Select and see photos from Springs Fairs past and present, as well as a story from archivist Dick Hoffman (page 16) on the decision Friend’s Select’s leadership made a half century ago to stay in Center City.

For more on how Friends Select is using the city as a classroom, explore our new interactive campus map: friends-select.org/campus

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In This Issue

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Q&A

SELECT TALK

Friends Select’s Inaugural Select Talk Tackles Gentrification and Community Development

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uring Alumni Weekend last May, Friends Select held its first Select Talk in the Blauvelt Theatre. This annual program draws upon the vast experiences of the school’s alumni and parent community in education, business, science, technology, and the arts to discuss and explore topics of a local, national, and global importance.

The first Select Talk focused on gentrification, and whether redevelopment can be approached from a thoughtful place in order to positively impact new and old neighbors. The panel discussion was comprised of members of the Friends Select community, including Eric Blumenfeld ’81, Kyle Shenandoah* ’04, and John Chin '83, and moderator Cathryn Coate, a former board member.

Eric Blumenfeld ’81 has been committed to the redevelopment of the North Broad Street corridor in Philadelphia. His recent projects include the renovations of the Divine Lorraine Hotel and the Metropolitan Opera House. Kyle Shenandoah ’04 has been a community leader, organizer, and innovator in Grays Ferry. As the vice president of the Grays Ferry Civic Association, he has been instrumental in the rise of revitalization and urban reinvestment in South Philadelphia. And John Chin ’83 (P’15, ’18) is the executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, protect, and promote Chinatown

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We are saddened by the sudden loss of Kyle Shenandoah, who passed away in August. Read more about Kyle’s life and legacy on page 32.

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Select Talk panelists John Chin ’83, Kyle Shenandoah ’04, Eric Blumenfeld ’81, and moderator and former board member Cathryn Coate. as a viable, ethnic, residential, and business community. John is also a former chair of Friends Select’s board of trustees.

Below are highlights from the Select Talk panel discussion, which have been edited for length and clarity.

How has Friends Select influenced your work?

ERIC: I am a real estate developer. I grew up at Park Towne Place right down the street. So I’ve had the opportunity to see Friends Select grow and our city grow. It was for me, an amazing experience to grow up in a Quaker environment. And to be able to walk into a room and really be a good listener and try and gain consensus is a wonderful art.

Growing up in the Friends Select environment, it becomes part of you. That’s something I feel strongly about.

I’ve had the great honor of developing North Broad Street for the last 15 years, but also on South Broad Street, Queen Village, South Jersey, and the suburbs. It

started with 640 North Broad, which was a half-a-million square foot building that I purchased based on being able to get a historic tax credit. And if any of you have been involved with historic tax credits there’s a couple of different ways to do that: either the building is architecturally significant, which it was not, or something significant happens there.

I spent three or four sessions with the historic folks trying to convince them that the building was architecturally significant. I kept losing. Then I hired a historian and found that in 1947 there was an outbreak of Diphtheria in Nome, Alaska, and the antiserum for Diphtheria was made at 640 North Broad. They flew the antiserum to this town, but the plane went down about 100 miles away. They had to take it via dog sled for the last 100 miles. It was great because they saved everybody. And they commemorate that every year with a sled dog race called the Iditarod. So after losing three straight hearings, they looked at each other and wanted to fail me. But I got that through, and it started my career on North Broad Street.

KYLE: The 49 is a bus route that just came out earlier this year. We haven’t had a new SEPTA route in Philly in quite a long time. It was definitely a long process. It connects 33rd and Dauphin down to Fairmount to 30th Street in University City, and then down to South Philly as well, to Grays Ferry, my neighborhood. That’s a huge development because for a long time, Grays Ferry was very disconnected from the job hub, the hospitable hub up in University City; it was disconnected from 30th Street Station.

For my entire childhood and part of my adulthood too, I remember no way of getting into University City unless you had a car. So that SEPTA route really transformed the whole neighborhood.

I’m very happy and proud because it was a lengthy process—a lot of conversations with the community, a lot of back and forth with SEPTA, and asset mapping, finding out who the key stakeholders are, who the community movers are. And I’m really proud of that; it was something I was envisioning on paper, and then became something that actually happened. I look at it as an optimistic tale of responsible urban development because there are ways to revitalize a neighborhood without always building houses.

One thing this school has taught me by far, which has affected my career path, is leadership through listening. In my experiences working with the community, listening is probably the most important piece. Listening is such an important part of everything, and this school being Quaker, listening is an important piece.

Whether it’s listening at Meeting for Worship and sitting in silence, listening to other people’s thoughts uninterrupted, or a classroom environment of the back and forth between a teacher and a student—listening is really important for anything to do with leadership and urban development. It’s just something that will always carry you no matter where you go.

JOHN: Friends Select instilled in me this skill set where you can listen and learn a lot more when you listen than if you talk.

But it also taught me that everyone’s opinion matters. Whether you agree or disagree, you can learn from every single person, based on their perspective, what they say, and how they approach things.

I was born and raised in Chinatown.

And fortunately, for me, I had the great opportunity to go to school here, beginning in third grade. It was a wonderful experience attending school here and continuing on. What I really think is

Prospective Building Plans Continue to Develop

important about this connection between Chinatown and Friends Select is that I was born and raised in a community that is an immigrant community, for the most part. There’s 35,000 Chinese-Americans living in the Philadelphia area. In Chinatown, there are about 5,200 people, of which the majority are people of color—not just Chinese, but Hispanic and African-American. We are a gateway for new immigrants, and we have some challenges in our community.

The challenges are poverty. The poverty rate in Chinatown is 32%, versus the city which is about 26%. And 68% of Chinese-Americans in Philadelphia are immigrants; 61% are English proficient.

This is the community that I grew up in, and walking seven blocks to Friends Select School opened me up to a whole new world outside of Chinatown. Which gave me a perspective in this universe and understanding, that there’s so much more beyond our own communities. And the more we engage and communicate with folks from different worlds, the more we can learn about how to improve our community, our city, and our world.

And I think that that’s the most important lesson that Friends Select has given to me.

(Continued on page 32)

The 50th anniversary of Friends Select’s commitment to staying in Center City coincides with the implementation of our strategic plan, Advance Friends Select. Just as the city has seen major developments in recent years, from the construction of new skyscrapers to a focus on sustainability in urban planning, Friends Select has continued to make substantial renovations as we re-envision our building.

The recent remodeling of the Blauvelt Theatre, for example, has been beneficial for students, families, faculty, and staff. Improvements include a larger stage area, new seating and better sight lines and balcony views, and an advanced sound and lighting system. Since its opening in early 2018, this state-of-the-art facility has held renowned speakers, concerts, film (Continued on page 32)

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STUDENT ACTIVISTS

Making a Difference F riends Select has a long history of student activism that has helped pave the way for positive change in the community. Chris Singler, upper school director, said, “I am in awe of the work our students do—how much they care; how much they know; and how much they want to make Friends Select a diverse community where all students see themselves in the program, and where our graduates go into the world as critical and aware citizens, ready to make a difference.”

Charity concert to benefit the Children's Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia, the first-ever Martin Luther King Teach-In, and a voter registration drive that recived a Governor’s Civic Engagement Award.

They also re-launched The Falcon as a student-run, online news platform.

Toni Graves Williamson, director of equity and inclusion, worked with upper school students to organize the Martin Luther King Teach-In. She said, “What I appreciate most about empowering our I am in awe of the work In the late 1960s, students students in this way is our students do—how used The Falcon, the how they took ownership much they care; how school newspaper, to of the event.” It was a day much they know; and voice their concerns that will hopefully how much they want to about a variety of social become a tradition at make Friends Select a and political issues, Friends Select. Marina diverse community including civil rights Garagozza ’20 said, “We where all students see injustices, military conreally wanted to stress the themselves in the proflicts, and poverty. The importance of understandgram, and where our Cauldron, the school liting MLK as a revolutiongraduates go into the erary magazine, published ary and activist rather world as critical and anti-Vietnam War poems than celebrating him aware citizens, ready to and articles. Students also through service.” make a difference. participated in local sit-ins and protests frequently.

Beyond these efforts, students have continued to Currently at Friends help bring about major Select, students are as changes in school policy engaged as ever with and practice. Upper social justice issues. During this past school students helped introduce recent school year, students and faculty held a program changes, including the developCoat Day drive, a canned food drive for ment of an African-American history Philabundance, an upper school Arts for elective, as well as student-run program-

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Clockwise from top left: Friends Select first-time voters reminding you to get out the vote on Election Day; lower school students helping to sort collected items for a Philabundance drive; and upper school students protesting during a youth climate strike outside City Hall. ming on Puerto Rico and modern-day Africa.

Students Nyeema Caldwell ’20, Amaia Collins ’18, and Sofia Rodriguez-Burno ’20 were passionate about wanting to add an African-American history course.

When they approached Chris Singler about it, he met with the trio and helped sort out the details. After many meetings, it was offered this year for the first time as an elective. The class was so popular it had a waiting list. Chris said, “The students want us to keep exploring what a required course looks like. We are taking this under consideration as we do an inventory of our pre-K-12 curricula through the lenses of anti-bias work and cultural competency.”

Meanwhile, Sophia Becker ’20 and Sophie Gilbert ’20 created a group called the Student Committee on Extracurricular Education (SCECE).

Sophia and Sophie hope SCECE will give students the opportunity to have more input in school programming. After collecting feedback from their classmates, they discovered that students were interested in learning more about Puerto Rico and modern-day Africa.

(Continued on page 38)

Friends Select Honors Martin Luther King, Jr. with Teach-In Upper school students arranged the first-ever Martin Luther King Teach-In to honor the civil rights leader’s legacy on the Friday before the holiday. The idea originally came from former middle school faculty member Jonathan Ogle last year. Toni Graves Williamson, director of equity and inclusion, helped students bring the idea to life. Students were responsible for identifying goals, making phone calls, and planning the schedule.

J. Jondhi Harrell, executive director of The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), delivered the keynote address to middle and upper school students in the Race Street Meetinghouse. TCRC assists returning citizens in the transition from incarceration to society by providing job training, housing assistance, counseling services, legal aid, and referrals. Jondhi discussed the “It was impacttime he served in various prisons, how he learned about ful to have local Quaker beliefs by working in leaders share the Friends Center (describing how they were himself as a “Rastafarian taking the Quaker”), and the advocacy he legacy of King now does on behalf of the into their organization. He also advised students of the need to register everyday work, to vote, and discussed other but probably meaningful ways they can make what was most a difference.

impactful was

the student-led Students then met with representatives from organizations process of including Community Legal putting the day Services, the Poor People’s together.”

Campaign, Let’s Circle Up, Quaker Voluntary Services, WePac, and more to continue discussing issues of racial and socioeconomic justice. The day continued as students heard from faculty members, alumni, and Aaron Smith, a Temple University professor of Africology and African-American studies who is known as “the rapping professor.” Students also created a civil rights-themed online trivia game in which all advisories participated.

From the top: Bridget Warleá, a Temple student who works with Steppingstone Scholars; Darien Headen ’11, an assistant principal of operations at Mastery Charter School Shoemaker Campus; and Bevin Gwiazdowski ’99 (left), a clinical research coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and Tori Gillis, a research assistant at CHOP.

“The teach-in was better than any of us on the planning committee could have imagined,” Toni said. “It was impactful to have local leaders share how they were taking the legacy of King into their everyday work, but probably what was most impactful was the student-led process of putting the day together.”

Fall2019 7

Students Engineering Parklets for Philadelphia Communities

By Mike Primo, Middle and Upper School STEAM Program Director “Are you saying that we're going to actually pitch our parklet design to the people who will be using it?”

That was a question from one of my engineering students, and an understandable one.

My entire class of 15 upper schoolers had just received the following challenge: “How can we, as parklet designers and engineers, design a parklet that meets the needs of a specific community that doesn't currently have one?”

“How can we, as parklet designers and engineers, design a parklet that meets the needs of a specific community that doesn't currently have one?”

Parklets are public spaces for pedestrians that are permanently or seasonally installed in parking spaces. They connect seamlessly with sidewalks, and typically provide seating, shade, and other design elements that speak to the culture and needs of the specific neighborhood where they are located. When designed and placed thoughtfully, parklets encourage pedestrian traffic and can play a role in re-energizing commercial corridors. Even more fundamentally, they can help to stitch together communities that have been frayed by car-centric urban design patterns.

There are several parklets in Philadelphia, but many communities simply can’t afford them because of their substantial design and building costs. That's why my co-teacher Heidi Hutchison and I charged our students with providing high quality, volunteer parklet design services to two of those communities: Parkside and Mt. Airy.

Yet when we told our students that the culminating “deliverable” of the project would be a presentation of their final parklet designs, they initially found it hard to grasp that their audience would be the actual, real-life clients for those designs—the directors of the Community Development Corporations from both neighborhoods. If that wasn’t enough pressure, we invited several other interested parties, including the transportation planner from Philadelphia’s Streets Department, two of the city's district planners, and Friends Select’s upper school director and head of school.

I guess it felt real—real enough for several students to ask me a few times, just to be sure: “Is this real?” I explained that they were going to do this job in the same way a professional design firm would: by applying a formal design process to the problem, and collaborating with their client to arrive at a design solution that meets their needs.

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“And … are they going to actually build the parklets we design?!”

“That,” I said, “depends on a lot of things outside of our direct control. But these clients do actually want parklets, and you are in a position to provide a large chunk of the solution to that problem.”

With that, they broke up into four teams and set to work. Over a two-month period, they researched the histories and cultures of Parkside and Mt. Airy. They met with folks who already had parklets, and set up interviews with the district planners and Community Development Corporation representatives. They read through the 100-page, 15-year District Plans for those regions of the city.

Finally, and critically, they visited the neighborhoods to walk around, chat with locals, and experience the spaces and communities personally.

Along the way, they sharpened up their professional email writing skills and learned how to plan and conduct empathy interviews, productively brainstorm as a group, create Scrum boards to schedule and track their tasks, create 3D models of their designs on their computers, and even figure out how to calculate

the lumber sizes and spacing necessary to build a platform that could support 100 lbs./square foot—all while taking turns serving as the project manager for their team and doing their best to keep everyone unblocked and focused on the work to be done.

The scope of the project was daunting.

Each client had specific needs that the parklet had to meet, in addition to the city's own guidelines and requirements for legality and safety. Satisfying so many design goals within the project's tight constraints was challenging, particularly when the students had to make those difficult choices collaboratively and under time pressure. And of course, countless things went wrong: interview subjects went on vacation, our class periods got preempted or cancelled for various reasons, video calls wouldn't connect, teammates were absent due to illness, and so on. Over and over, the students suffered unexpected setbacks as time marched them toward the date of the final presentation. It was, in short, everything you expect from a big project in the real world.

In spite of everything, the engineering class rose to meet the challenge. On the day of the final presentation, the clients

and other guests gathered and chatted over coffee and donuts while the students frantically put the final touches on their materials. When the time came for them to pitch their designs, each team laid out a feast of ideas and illustrations, and then guided their audience through it all with clarity and poise.

They fielded questions, gratefully accepted feedback and suggestions, and sent each client home with posters and pamphlets summarizing what they had just seen. There was a palpable sense of excitement mixed with the students' obvious relief to be on the other side of it at last. I think the reality of the whole thing was finally hitting home: they had delivered a real product to a real client using little more than their own skills and hard work, and the client was pleased.

One of the CDC reps pulled me aside afterwards to ask me if I could email him the students' presentation materials. He wanted to put their designs in front of his community on social media, to start soliciting feedback and building up some excitement for moving forward on creating a parklet for his neighborhood. I told him the parklet designers would probably be happy to send him the materials.

Clockwise from top: A 3D pre-visualization of the “Mirror World” parklet that one student team designed for Mt. Airy’s Germantown Avenue corridor; the “Dragon Park” student team presenting their final parklet design to clients from Mt. Airy, as well as to Philadelphia’s district planners and members of the Streets Department; students designing innovative wallets for each other as part of a preparatory Design Thinking process exercise; and students gathering data about a possible parklet site in the Parkside neighborhood.

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College Acceptances for the Class of 2019 Albright College (3) American University (4) Arcadia University (4) Arizona State University Bard College (3) Bates College Belmont University Boston College Boston University (3) Bryn Mawr College Clark University Colby College Connecticut College DePaul University (3) Dickinson College (2) Drexel University (9) Emory University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall College (4) George Washington University (4) Goucher College (4) Grinnell College Haverford College (3) Indiana University-Bloomington Ithaca College Kenyon College (2) La Salle University (2) Lafayette College Lawrence University Lebanon Valley College Loyola University Maryland 10 Selectnews

Loyola University New Orleans Macalester College Manhattan College McDaniel College Millersville University of PA (2) Mills College Morehouse College Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College Neumann University The New School Eugene Lang College (2) New York University (3) Northeastern University Oberlin College (3) Occidental College Pace University Pennsylvania State University (8) Pitzer College Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2) Rider University Rochester Institute of Technology Rollins College Rowan University (2) St. Joseph’s University (3) Sarah Lawrence College Skidmore College (2) Smith College (3)

St. John’s College St. John’s University St. Olaf College (2) State University of New York Potsdam Syracuse University (2) Temple University (8) Trinity University University of Advancing Technology University of Alabama University of California-Santa Barbara U. of Colorado-Boulder University of Delaware University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign University of Miami University of Michigan (2) University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania (6) University of Pittsburgh (5) University of Rochester University of Toronto University of Wisconsin-Madison Wagner College Washington & Jefferson College Wesleyan University West Chester University of PA Widener University (2) Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)

Young Alums Reflect on Staying in the

City for College Philip is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics (MEAM) at the University of Pennsylvania. He said, “I think Philly is a great place for young people because it is reasonably affordable, very relaxed, and there are lots of fun things to do. Being across the river from my family, I really do feel like I am in my own place and I have never felt too close to home.”

Olivia, who attends Temple University, also enjoys being close to family. She said, “I am very close with my family and knew that being near them was something that was important to me.

Secondly, I think this city is filled with possibilities. When we did our senior internships, I began to see how much this city has to offer.”

Olivia added, “I’ve come to realize that when you are in a city, there is culture all around you and being surrounded by people who are from different backgrounds is something that is very valuable. When

When Friends Select alums Olivia Chiaravalli ’18, Grant Pavol ’18, and Philip Sieg ‘18 were making their final college decisions, a couple of important factors came into play. In addition to attending schools that would allow them to follow their academic and extracurricular passions, they wanted to stay in Philadelphia, the city they grew up in and continue to love.

you are in the city, you are witness to real world problems and I believe that when you are met with those problems face to face, you are inspired to learn about them and become more aware of your own privilege.”

For Grant, a musician and student at the University of Pennsylvania, staying in Philadelphia was about loving Penn and his strong desire to stay closely connected to the city’s music scene. He said, “I didn’t want to leave all of my collaborators and connections behind. Plus, I just love living in the city in general. There's always something to do and things to see.”

The city often provides the best classroom. Philip noted, “As an engineer, the best parts of classes are applications of what you are learning.

Cities provide perfect opportunities for teachers to show and take students to places where what they are learning is being applied in interesting and unique ways.”

All three alums credit their Friends Select experiences with helping to prepare them to continue taking advantage of city-based educational opportunities. “The fact that Friends Select is so directly in the heart of the city means that I really got to know and love Philly on a deeper level,” said Grant.

“Friends Select prepared me to seek out people around me who do what I am interested in and learn from them,” Philip said. “Sometimes you need to see things in action and being done in a professional setting to truly understand them.”

Olivia wholeheartedly agrees with her former classmates. She said, “Attending Friends Select was an eye-opening experience that I never fully realized until I left.

It taught me how to interact with people who are different from me, and how to celebrate and learn from those differences rather than try to overlook them. It has made me aware of the injustices around us and motivated me to learn more about them.”

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FALCON notes

NEW The athletics department was thrilled to welcome two accomplished coaches to the staff this past year.

Arilson Champam is the head aquatics coach and director, and former Major League Baseball player Brook Hart is the department’s baseball coach. Both Arilson and Brook bring many years of experience and enthusiasm to their new roles.

Arilson has been coaching for over 28 years and has spent a decade as an aquatics director. He holds a Bachelor's degree in physical education and completed postgraduate work in the physiology of exercise, with a focus on swimming specialization theory and methods of swimming.

He also holds numerous certifications in swimming, including the American Swimming Coaches Certification (ASCA) Level 5.

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BASEBALL and SWIM Coaches Join Friends Select Arilson’s extensive experience includes coaching and developing Olympic finalists, Pan American Games medalists, as well as South American record holders.

Athletes training under Arilson have gone on to compete at the highest levels of swimming through Division I, II, and III universities. He has also coached National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) all-Americans, state record holders, numerous Olympic trial qualifiers, as well as swimmers on national and Olympic teams. Additionally, Arilson served as the head coach for the Brazilian national team, as well as the national team of the Bahamas.

Baseball coach Brook Hart played baseball for the Colorado Rockies from 2011-2014. Prior to his professional career, he played both baseball and football at Yale University. He was recruited to Yale to play football, where he was the team’s quarterback.

Brook joined the baseball team as a pitcher his junior year. He had a 2.23 ERA his senior year and won Honorable Mention All-Ivy in 2011.

During his time with the Rockies, he was awarded “Pitcher of the Week.” Brook attended State College Area High School, where he excelled in football, baseball, and basketball.

Athletics director Bill Klose is excited about having Arilson and Brook on our coaching staff. “They are both dedicated coaches who will work diligently with our student athletes to help them develop their skills and self-confidence,” he said.

Friends Select has a longstanding tradition of utilizing all that Philadelphia has to offer as a classroom. That practice extends to the athletics department, which uses the city’s celebrated fields and other sports venues. Just as Friends Select students are able to take advantage of the educational and cultural opportunities that arise from the school’s location on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, student athletes are immersed in the city’s rich sports history during practices and games at facilities such as the Vesper Boat Club, Philadelphia Racquet Club, and Fairmount Park.

Playing Sports on Celebrated City Facilities

The upper school crew team uses the famed Vesper Boat Club on Philadelphia’s iconic Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River.

Though it was founded in 1865 as a men’s club, Vesper organized the first women’s team in 1970. In addition, Vesper’s members—both male and female—have regularly won national and international rowing competitions, including the Olympics.

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Friends Select’s middle and upper school squash teams practice at the Philadelphia Racquet Club. The club was founded in 1882 at 923 Walnut Street, but was relocated when the current clubhouse was built in 1907. The club also housed the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame for a brief period.

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Fairmount Park hosts various Friends Select teams. Middle and upper school baseball and softball teams play on the Dairy Fields, while the soccer team uses Edgely Fields. With over 2,000 acres, Fairmount Park is also home to historic mansions, concert venues, and museums. It was even the site of the nation’s first official World’s Fair— the 1876 Centennial Exposition, which attracted approximately 10 million people.

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Whether on the courts, the Schuylkill River, or athletic fields, the city of Philadelphia remains an integral presence in the lives of Friends Select student athletes.

Friends Select School

• Fall2019 13

SPRING FAIR returns to

FRIENDS SELECT

14 Selectnews

riends Select welcomed back the beloved Spring Fair this year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the school’s decision to stay in Center City Philadelphia. The event coincided with Alumni Weekend. Hundreds of students and their families, alumni, faculty, and staff gathered to celebrate the occasion.

This year’s event featured food trucks, a dunk tank, fun activities, and games for both kids and adults. Archivist Dick Hoffman gave a special lecture on Friends Select in the 1960s, which included members from the class of 1969 who gave their perspectives. The junior class raised money for prom by selling tickets for face painting, tiedyeing, and button making. Julia Greenberger ’02, director of alumni relations, said, “The Spring Fair offers an opportunity for alumni to come back to Friends Select with their families and be part of an event many remember so fondly when they were students, all while celebrating their alma mater.”

The Spring Fair has a long history at Friends Select, dating back to 1951. The Parent Association used to organize the fair as a fundraiser. The event was advertised throughout the city and attracted the general public.

Buttons were sold to every person seeking entry. Food, books, clothes, and other items were available for purchase. Parents staffed booths with games, and there were a variety of rides.

In the 1970s, the Parent Association decided to switch to a school auction in order to raise money. Some upper school students were upset about the potential end of their favorite event and, with the help of faculty, decided to take on the responsibilities of putting on the fair. The fair remained a popular annual event until the 1990s, when it became too difficult to arrange on a regular basis.

This year, students, alumni, teachers, and staff were excited to connect with each other and commemorate Friends Select’s commitment to staying in Center City. The Spring Fair was an integral part of a full weekend of programs that included the Alumni and Teaching Awards and Athletic Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, as well as Select Talk, a new program that draws upon the experience and expertise of our Friends Select alumni and parent community. The hope is that the Spring Fair will once again become a yearly tradition. “It is a lovely way to bring the whole community together to honor our special school,” Julia said.

Fall2019 15

From the Archivist’s Closet:

The History of Friends Select’s Decision to Stay In December 1966, Richard Wood, who was the secretary of Friends Select’s board of trustees, attended a speech given by vice president Hubert Humphrey to the assembly of the National Council of Churches in Miami, Florida. The vice president was a longtime advocate of civil rights and urban development, and he spoke about making the inner city an interesting and inviting place to live.

Former headmaster Larry Blauvelt (left) with Robin Joan Bernstein, president of the class of 1967 and current board member, at the Friends Select cornerstone-laying ceremony in September 1968.

The vice president’s speech was so moving that Richard subsequently wrote him a letter, detailing Friends Select’s desire to stay in Center City Philadelphia. He wrote, “This school is now... the only independent academic school (kindergarten through 12th grade) in central Philadelphia. We are determined to stay in this location if we possibly can. It is accessible from all parts of Philadelphia and the suburbs... it is in the midst of a vigorous program of urban renewal.”

Richard soon received a reply from the vice president, which read, “Your purpose is most salutary and I commend you for it.”

16 Selectnews

In the 1960s, some schools in Center City moved out to the suburbs to build bigger campuses. The challenges of remaining in Philadelphia during such a turbulent time were vast and overwhelming for many school administrators. However, the leadership at Friends Select realized the importance and impact of choosing to stay. Friends Select had always enjoyed a unique relationship with the neighborhood and was focused on maintaining that connection.

For instance, Friends Select was involved with the Friends Neighborhood Guild in the mid-1960s. There was also a program called the Summer Neighborhood Education Program (SNEP), which helped educate local minority families. And for several years, Friends Select had a program that brought in a few high school graduates from elsewhere in the city and provided them with an extra year of school. Distinguished alumni from this program include Marquette Cannon-Babb, (Continued on page 32)

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24 Selectnews6

Alumni and Teaching Awards and Athletic Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony

Left to right: Kyra Stetler ’17, Tammy Mayo, Herb Kerns, Kusi Hornberger ’98, Sydney Leffler ’15, Grace Finkbiner ’12, Eric Blumenfeld ’81, and Alan Greenberger P’02.

At this year’s Alumni and Teaching Awards and Athletic Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, Friends Select honored: Eric Blumenfeld '81 (Distinguished Alumni Award) Herb Kerns (Distinguished Teaching Award) Tammy Mayo (Meritorious Service Award) Grace Finkbiner '12 (Athletic Hall of Fame)

Left to right: Kate Feske-Kirby ’13, Cate MacQueen ’12, Bill Klose, Sydney Leffler ’15, Emily Payne ’14, and Antonia DePace ’13.

Left to right: Grace Finkbiner ’12 and Ed Smiley, Eric Blumenfeld ’81 and Steve Lawrence ’81, and Herb Kerns with his children Ellie, Mike, and James.

Fall2019 25

Administrator

Mike Noonan Retires after Four Decades

M

ike Noonan, director of finance, retired after devoting 41 years of his career to Friends Select School. The school has been the center not only of his life, but his family’s as well; Mike’s wife Pat taught math at Friends Select for many years and served as dean of students, and all three of their children attended Friends Select. “I am very grateful to this school for what it gave me and my family over these many years,” Mike said.

While finishing up his Master’s degree at Drexel University, Mike was hired in 1978 as Friends Select’s business manager.

He said, “The job was appealing not only for the great things that I had heard about the school through Pat (the people, the working environment, and the mission of the school), but also because it sounded like it had many elements of providing support to dedicated people delivering a meaningful and impactful product—the education of young people along with opportunities for taking the job to the next level in support of operating the school.”

Clockwise (left to right): Former heads of school Richard Mandel, Rose Hagan, and Stephanie Judson; former teachers Gaynelle Lewis-Fleming and Charlotte Alston; Jane Ashcom, Bob Harnwell, Dick Hoffman, Ann Kearney, and Shelly Barnathan; the Noonan family: Tom, Mike, Pat, Patricia, John, and Bree Noonan.

26 Selectnews

Over the years, Mike has been involved with human resources, admissions, finance, insurance, and more. In his early days, he even chaperoned student dances and camping trips. In addition to being director of finance, Mike has spent recent years managing the maintenance supervisor, dealing with physical plant issues and improvements, overseeing changes around the building, working with architects and the property committee, and covering building emergencies. “Being able to put on all of those various hats helped to make the job interesting and different each day,” said Mike.

While Mike is excited about retirement, he acknowledged that he will miss many aspects of his life at Friends Select. “I will miss working with my business office team—Pat Liczbinski, Nancy Rafferty, and Penny Razler. They are terrific people. We had fun and always got a lot of work done.” Mike will also have to adjust to quieter days. He said, “I am going to miss the activity of the place, the day in and day out vibrancy of the hallways.”

(Continued on page 38)

Communitynotes

New Laser Cutter Fuels Imagination in STEAM Lab

L

ower school STEAM librarian Allison Frick is passionate about enhancing and encouraging positive experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

She worked with local software engineering company Bentley Systems to help bring a laser cutter to the STEAM lab. Thanks to the company’s generous contribution, the STEAM lab now houses a professional, industrial-grade laser cutter. This technology uses a laser to cut materials and allows students to learn the engineering cycle of design. “I strongly believe that this is the best tool to use with kids,” Allison said. “They love watching it in action.”

Students have been using the laser cutter to work on a variety of projects all year. For a second grade project on neighborhoods, students designed cutouts of buildings, homes, apartments, and fire stations to build their own neighborhood. Fourth graders used photo-editing software to create

colonial silhouettes. Middle school students built Viking boats after visiting the Vikings exhibition at the Franklin Institute. The LEGO league replaced their traditional trophy with glow-in-the-dark medallions for every student participant. Upper school students made a water clock during InterSession.

Allison said, “The laser cutter is a huge time saver that really lets students focus on their designs.”

The addition of the laser cutter is helping not only to enhance lessons in the STEAM lab but also to cut down on waste. “We are wasting so much less because now we only use what we need,” Allison said.

Allison is optimistic and excited about the laser cutter’s potential in the lab. “I’ve been using this tool for around six years now,” she said, “and we are still learning about all of the things that this machine is capable of, and all of the ways we can incorporate it into the STEAM program at Friends Select.”

Students creating with build-it disks, which were designed and cut on the laser cutter using sustainable materials.

Fall2019 27

Benefactors Society Reception

The Benefactors Society, Friends Select’s leadership giving circle, gathered on May 1, 2019, for a reception at the newly restored Metropolitan Opera House on North Broad Street, developed by Friends Select's own Eric Blumenfeld ’81 and designed by Sam Olshin ’78.

Liddy Lindsay P’07 and Suzanne Root ’54.

Eric Blumenfeld ’81 and Michael Gary.

Left to right: Sue Green P’22, Nina Pritzker-Cohen ’85 P’21, Carl Sheingold, and Janice Madden P’00 ’03.

Elinor Haider and Matt Lee P’23 ’25 ’29.

Left to right: Jeff Abrams P’15 ’16, Michael Gary, Bob Keppel P’15, and Ed Pappas P’30.

28 Selectnews

Desiree Harmon P’19 and Natalie Valentine-Adams P’25 ’30.

Auction 2019 The Parent Association Annual Auction, held at the Logan Hotel on March 15, 2019, raised over $100,000 for the Friends Select Fund. Current and former parents, alumni, and faculty raised a glass and a paddle in honor of our students, with a special call for support around building our city curriculum. Upper school students from the development club staffed the event, learning countless lessons on philanthropy, merchandising, and customer service.

Special thanks to the auction committee and auction co-chairs Ashley Dickinson P’31 and Alexis Pappas P’30.

Class Notes 1951 Dolores Mastrangelo I am now a full-time Florida resident after being a snowbird for 22 years. My daughter, Rev. Robin Fehnel, has joined me in the warm weather. She and her husband have moved to St. Petersburg, so we all had a warm Christmas for a change.

1952 John Graham Attended Friends Select for 7th - 10th grades, where history and art greatly influenced my architectural career on the eastern shore. Museums, historic houses, and sculptures keep me occupied, as do my five children and seven grandchildren.

1953 Mary Lou Stephano Quiet (but healthy!) year; the event was my grandson Justin's wedding.

Left to right: Carolyn and Dave Becker P’28, Ashley and John Dickinson P’31, and Anita and Stanley Bailey.

1954 Eleanor Pitman Brady Eleanor Pitman and Hubert Dale Brady were married under the care of 4th and Arch Street Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends on June 4, 1958, so 2018 was 60 years! We are thankful.

1955 Ann Tarshish Krupnick Taking classes at OLLI (Temple University), working at a Holocaust archive, and doing yoga. Looking forward to joining classmates for our annual lunch in the spring.

Left to right: Alexis Pappas P’30, Kelly Meade P’27, ’30, and Mia and Sean Mandel P’30.

1958 Peter Price Just finished serving 10 years as chairman of Reporters Without Borders to now assume the chairmanship of Parsons Paris where I reside half the year.

1965 Christine Normart Hoenstine I attended Friends Select for only two years, 7th and 8th grade, but have never forgotten my classmates and teachers.

Thank you all who continue to make FSS an inspiring and beautiful place!

Left to right: Lisa Froid (former parent), Vivian Hionas P’22, Christine Piven P’22, ’25, Stacey Alston P’22, Aly Kessler P’23, ’25, and Lisa Di Cicco P’23, ’25.

1969 Sam Mamet After 40 years with the Colorado Municipal League, most recently as executive director, I retired in March of this year. I will be staying active on state Fall2019 29

level public policy issues within Colorado.

1974 Paul Libiszowski I am retiring in France from working in international development for most of my career. I started out in the Peace Corps, went into banking and then into international development. I have lived in Niger, Chad, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, New York City twice, Geneva and France twice. Most of my work has been in public health systems, where I have either been a financial manager or systems design for public health systems in various countries.

1975 Lee Mitchell-Brown I continue to work in a rural hospital.

2019 will mark 40 years in nursing for me. I am certified wound nurse. We enjoy our half-acre garden with ponds.

Living in coastal redwoods with amazing quality of daily life. The simple gifts of nature all around us.

1981 Jane Myers Dagmi I became editor-in-chief of Designers Today, a trade magazine serving the interior design industry, in January 2018. I also bought a house in High Point, North Carolina, with my beau, and will be moving there sometime in the summer, once my “baby” gets settled into college.

In August, my sister Jody Myers (class of ’79) got married. It was the most joyous wedding ever!

Fred Robinson I recently received a Doctor of Science degree in Information Systems and Communications from Robert Morris University. My published dissertation title is “Jingle Fallacy Influences on Systems Acquisition: Communications Breakdown?”

1985 Daphne Peaslee Hello class of ’85! I have just bought a townhome in Raleigh, North Carolina.

You are welcome to come visit! I relocated here two years ago after graduating nursing school. My first nursing job has been with Duke University Hospital.

1987 Rachel Sherman I teach sociology at the New School in New York City. My book, Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence, is out in May in paperback. Zahavah Levine ’86 and I were delighted to run into Julia Greenberger ’02 at a recent bat mitzvah, where we took the opportunity to celebrate this mini-FSS reunion in the photo booth.

2002 Jennifer Mattioni Over a year ago I opened my first restaurant, Q House, in Denver, Colorado. It’s been an exciting adventure! In December, my partners and I were awarded Restaurant of the Year by Eater Denver, and most recently we were nominated for Best New Restaurant by The James Beard Foundation. Come by if you are in Denver!

2005 Jack Cotter Ruby Marie Cotter was born April 5, 2018, which officially makes Bob Cotter a grandfather!

2000 Clara Waloff Parker Last November my husband and I welcomed our first child, Aviva Zoë Parker.

Jamie Smith Art I graduated from Hofstra University in 2005 and moved to Long Island, where I met my husband. We’ve been married for 8 years and have a 4-year-old and 2year-old twins. I own a party decor company called Feather Centerpieces. We recently bought our second home in Oyster Bay, New York, which sits on 30 Selectnews

land that contains the actual location of the historic Council Rock, the meeting ground of the Religion Society of Friends.

In Memoriam

2007 James Bernard Last September James Bernard married Brittany Prescott. Brittany wanted to surprise James and honor the special bond he had with his closest friends and fellow alumni by arranging to have an FSS banner there to take a picture with it.

2005 Allie Hauptman I am part of the team behind Rowhouse Grocery, a new corner store in South Philadelphia bringing affordable produce and staples to the Point Breeze community. We’re really excited to be able to offer healthy options to neighbors who haven’t had easy access to produce and food like ours.

2010 Jackson Hyland-Lipski I am now the visual content director for Women’s March Global, an organization I helped start that facilitates local women’s rights organizing around the world. I also have just been selected as a Fulbright Scholar! The project I have decided to create is a documentary exploring the treatment and experiences of Muslim women in Austria. I will be moving to Vienna for the first four months of 2020 to make the film and am prepping and fundraising until then.

2012 Alina Drufovka I completed a hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2017. I’m a local artist and currently have an exhibit at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.

2013 Spencer Yaffe After working in various EMS systems in Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey, I am now a Juris Doctorate candidate at the University of Baltimore. While there,

I am working with community legal services to help low-income and immigrant communities have equal access to civil courts.

2016 Emily Augenbraun As a current junior at Bryn Mawr College, I just finished studying abroad for a semester in Lima, Perú, through an IFSA-Butler program. While in Lima, I attended classes at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

Additionally, I was able to be fully immersed in Spanish language and culture through my homestay with a Peruvian family in the Miraflores district of Lima.

2018 Liz Seibert I took a leave from the University of Pennsylvania after being scouted as a high fashion model in New York and internationally. I participated in my first New York Fashion Week, where I was cast in six shows! I’ll be heading to Asia next and in September I’ll be participating in fashion month, doing all the fashion weeks around the world (New York, Paris, London, Milan). I’m thankful to FSS for giving me the knowledge and wisdom to be successful in this industry.

It’s a different path then I planned, but I feel prepared for the battles I’ll face.

From Friends Select’s permanent collection, a 1988 art purchase award by Alexis Shein Murray ’88.

Benjamin Alexander ’44 Ruth Bernhardt ’42 Adele Block ’33 Master Larry Butler Tr. Penny Colgan-Davis Carolyn Dino Gagne ’78 Barbara Feldman Klein ’46 J. Wilson Ferguson ’51 David Fishman ’64 Phillips Fox ’85 David Frederick Cadbury, Former Trustee Peggy Gartner McKee ’43 Norma Golder Brunswick ’50 Katherine Hankins ’45 Judd Harner ’83 Lydia Haviland ’52 Joan Hosking Jensen ’47 Marilyn Huzzard Benson ’51 Tr. Philip Jones Calvin Kaiser ’42 Margaret Leeper Tillett ’34 John Maeder ’72 Sandra Grace McLaughlin ’14 Rober McNair ’65 Wayne Parker ’69 Eleanor Pitman Brady ’54 Mary Robinson ’31 John Sayen ’70 Alexis Shein Murray ’88 Kyle Shenandoah ’04 Norman Silverman ’57 Rolf Sternberg ’48 Anna Weber Hughes ’33 Stephen Wells ’55 Betty Jane Wetherill Moore ’44 Fall2019 31

Kyle Shenandoah ’04

Select Talk Q&A (Continued from page 5) How do you define gentrification?

ERIC: Every time I hear that word, I’m taken aback because I don’t think that everybody in the world understands how offensive that word can be. To a large segment of our population, it means they’re getting kicked out. I am very leery of that word. We as a society have to rise together. If we can’t do well by being good and helping the entire community, then we fail. So that’s my view of that term, which I don’t like.

We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Kyle Shenandoah ’04, who was a lifer at Friends Select, having started in 1990.

Kyle was an accomplished community leader, organizer, and innovator in Grays Ferry. He served as the vice president of the Grays Ferry Civic Association, and was instrumental in the rise of revitalization and urban reinvestment in South Philadelphia. In this work, Kyle maintained a threepronged approach toward reducing poverty through the advocacy of accessible housing, responsible urban development, and equitable transit. To ensure proper communication to the community and representation from his neighbors, Kyle co-founded the TaskerMorris Neighbors Association, where he regularly organized community meetings with developers and community leaders. One of his crowning achievements was his successful advocacy of the SEPTA 49 route. He also recently gave a TEDx talk in Philadelphia and was nominated as a finalist for the 2019 Philadelphia Social Innovations Awards in Public Policy & Systems Change.

Kyle was also actively involved in the Friends Select community. He spoke at our 9th grade convocation, as well as our Day of Inclusivity, Intersectionality, Community, and Equity. He was also a panelist at our inaugural Select Talk that was held during Alumni Weekend, and he recently became a member of our national alumni board. His presence in our community will be profoundly missed.

Please join us in holding Kyle’s family and friends in the Light.

32 Selectnews

KYLE: I always thought of gentrification as the process of reinvesting in the community for the purposes of middle class or upper class residence. It comes across as overwhelmingly negative, but this is why you’ll hear me use terms like revitalization and not the “g” word as much. It’s because it has a negative connotation; it suggests development is only for one side and one party. And I look at it as, development can be a two-way conversation. I know, because we’ve had success with it.

JOHN: Gentrification describes a state of change. Change is inevitable, right? Change is going to happen. It’s redevelopment, it’s the elimination of blight, and unfortunately, it’s also the displacement of residents in lowincome families. It’s also the white-washing of culture and neighborhood identity. And so I think the conversation needs to change.

There’s a group of people who are putting the conversation in a certain context, and I think we need to change that context. We need to talk about what we’re going to do about it.

What are we going to do about gentrification?

At the end of the day, those residents who want to choose to remain in the neighborhoods where they have lived, should have that option and choice. So it’s on ourselves and the city policymakers to make that happen.

For the full Select Talk podcast, visit friends-select.org/selecttalk.

Prospective Building Plans (Continued from page 5) screenings, Wellness Program events, and all-community productions like Our Town.

Following the successful completion of the theatre renovation, the Use of Space committee has been developing a comprehensive master plan for a potential redesign of Friends Select’s main building. The committee has been working with James Bradberry Architects to create a collaborative learning environment that is more vibrant and accessible. Plans also include returning upper school art and history classes from 1700 Arch Street to the main building. Together, the theatre and proposed renovation will serve to unite the community while raising the school’s visibility in the city.

Further details and images about potential plans are available in Advance Friends Select (friends-select.org/advance).

From the Archivist’s Closet (Continued from page 16) who is now a well-known professor of pharmacy at Temple University.

During this era, there were numerous discussions and negotiations between then headmaster Larry Blauvelt, members of Friends Select’s board of trustees, the City Redevelopment Authority, and the City Planning Commission about keeping Friends Select in Center City. The building was in dire need of expensive renovations and the administration wanted to unite all students in one building.

Larry came up with a plan to create an office building and lease it in order to pay the mortgage on the school.

Penn Salt leased the building from Friends Select. In 1995, Reliance Insurance bought the building and the land under it.

During the new building’s construction from 1967-69, the school rented space at the Central YMCA, which was at Broad and Arch Streets, now home to the Le Meridien Hotel. Each day, some of the makeshift classrooms had to be set up in the morning and put away in the afternoon, so the YMCA could use those spaces at night. Students were not permitted to take the elevators because they were reserved for YMCA residents; both students and many faculty would walk three or four flights of stairs everyday.

Construction wasn’t without its challenges, as weather delays and labor strikes pushed progress back. Finally, on the day after Christmas in 1968, the upper school, which was then comprised of grades 7-12, began to move into the second floor.

Eventually, the rest of the school moved in, and the entire student body was united under one roof.

In the 50 years since the decision was made to remain committed to Center City Philadelphia, Friends Select has remained in the city and of the city.

Partnerships with local institutions have grown and expanded. New programs and initiatives to benefit the neighborhood and surrounding communities continue to evolve.

Thanksgiving Classic The Thanksgiving Classic basketball game with Friends Select upper school basketball team and alumni.

Left to right: Elyssa Chernock ’98, Samantha Chipetz ’98, Alysia Maltepes ’98, and Krissy Cox Santiago ’98 with their families.

A Lasting Friendship Creates $1 Million Endowment Fund for Friends Select

I

n the spring of 2018, Herb Siegel ’46 honored his friend and classmate Andy Lucine ’46 with a generous challenge to the Friends Select School community: Herb would match, dollarfor-dollar, $500,000 in donations to support need-based scholarships for Friends Select students. By the end of the calendar year, the community delivered: a total of $508,305 in gifts was raised by alumni, parents, former faculty, and trustees to establish The Andy Lucine ’46 Scholarship Fund, a $1 million endowed fund to support students.

Michael Gary, head of school, shared, “This challenge match reminded people of the important role Friends Select plays in educating Philadelphia’s children, particularly those whose families need financial support to attend. I believe this gift will inspire others to be generous and support the school’s endowment to ensure that Friends Select’s tradition of educating our city’s students will continue for generations.”

Herb’s generosity was inspired by his lasting friendship with Andy. As many current students and decades of alumni can relate, the bond between Herb and Andy was solidified by their shared Friends Select experience. The two met as classmates but their relationship blossomed as teammates on the baseball diamond, with Herb catching and Andy pitching.

As middle school students, the pair shared press in an article published in an April 1940 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer,

highlighting Friends Select’s unfortunate season opener loss to Germantown Friends at Belmont Plateau. The article stated, “In the game Pitcher Lucine simply couldn’t find the plate, and he willingly changed places with catcher Siegel on the mound. But Siegel’s arm refused to do his bidding and Germantown Friends youngsters shrewdly advised their batters to just stand there and ‘not swing.’” The story’s comedic spin may have overshadowed Friends Select’s loss, however; as the two teams faced-off, Friends’ Central’s team was waiting on a Main Line baseball field for what they thought was their game with Friends Select, due to a scheduling mishap.

As a student, Andy was at the top of his class and was the recipient of the J. Henry Bartlett Honor Scholarship, an award given to a junior student each year. And, though grades weren’t ranked then in the same way they are currently, Andy’s report marks would be recognized at the honors level by today’s Friends Select standards. His performances as a student-athlete on the basketball, baseball, and soccer teams were remarkable, and he was inducted into the Friends Select School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Andy was also president of his senior class and a member of The Cauldron literary and arts journal. He served on the dance committee, and participated in drama and operetta. After graduating from Friends Select, Andy attended Haverford College, where he continued his storied soccer career, and he went on to a success(Continued on page 38) Fall2019 33

OUT AND ABOUT 1969 Reunion Front row (left to right): Randl Bye, Gene Kerrick, Trixie Beller Heck, and Bob Harnwell.

Second row (left to right): Leslie Vacarelli, Sam Mamet, Nina Shreve, Kathy DeansShaub, John Farmakis, and Rick Conrad.

Back row (left to right): George Burdick, Elaine Spyker, John Smarkola, Judy Becker Rubin, Chidambarum Krishnan, Fran Stier, Dick Hoffman, Michael Gary, and Allen Massiah.

1988 Reunion Front row (left to right): Megan Wiston, Leslie Nabors Olah, Alyson Fischer Schwartz, Jenny Rosen, Julie Friedman Abbe, Magen Kauffman, Mike Harris, and Sarah Douglis.

Back row (left to right): Kenny Litzenberger, Jesse Townley, Step Nagy, Greg Kramer, Spouse of Jen Riggan, Jen Riggan, Alison Pryor, Aisha O’Connor, Maria Buck, Paul Freedman, Danielle Locks, Jennifer Brunn, and Dano Weisbord.

Happy Hour for Tr. Abbi Smith and Tr. Wendy Buckingham Front row (left to right): Lacey Boland ’99, Julia Judson-Rea ’00, Tr. Kendall Cameron, Tr. Jenn Gorzelany Weinheimer, Leah Kellar ’07, Tr. Abbi Smith, Cate MacQueen ’12, Cara Fiordimundo ’12, Emma Horst-Martz ’14, Alicia Rosen ’09, Emily Trask-Young ’09, and Julia Greenberger ’02.

Back row (left to right): Arman Dezfuli-Arjomandi ’11, Dorsche Pinsky Krevitz ’02, Kate Dannenberg ’11, Ed Bavaria ’12, Davon Wanza ’14, Cassian LeJeune ’14, Atticus Tsai-McCarthy ’12, Mya Flood ’14, Ben Behrend ’12, August Dichter ’15, Connor Augustine ’14, Tr. Wendy Buckingham, and Ivana Vasic-Lalovic ’09.

34 Selectnews

Longstanding Upper School Science Teacher Jim Brubaker Retires

2003 Reunion Front row: Max Trauss, Allison Homer.

Back row (left to right): Julian Kimble, Khaliel Walker, Leah Gelb, Sarina Chernock, Jenna Pilkington, Laura Hricko, Andrea Horbinski, Aileene Halligan Cantiello, Rachel Lerro, Victor Siu, Daniel Samai, and Daniel Miller.

1973 Reunion Seated (left to right): Wife of Michael McNulty, Thom Proctor, Maria Marfuggi, Nat Rosenblatt, and David Ostwald.

Standing (left to right): Neil Hamburg, Ruth Williams, Debbie Cohen, Michael McNulty, Genessa Proctor, Max Berger, Cinda Gussin, Lloyd Brodsky, Kruskal Hewitt, Jo White, Ann Homer, and Dick Hoffman.

1992 Reunion Left to right: Lara Nalbandian, Karla Zarate-Ramirez, Marilyn Primiano, Naeemah Patterson ’93, Abby Thomas Zimmerman, Dana Marinucci Touloumis, Danielle Randall, Holly Jo MacMoran, and Dan Fishman.

Upper school science teacher Jim Brubaker retired after 38 years at Friends Select School.

Over the years, he taught Physics, Advanced Topics in Physics, Computer Science, Advanced Computer Science, Electronics, Astronomy and Robotics. In addition to teaching, he also served as upper school scheduler for 33 years; science department chair for 15 years; and director of technology for 20 years.

In 1980, Jim was teaching at a school in Fox Chase and earning his Master’s degree when a friend at Germantown Friends School told him about an available teaching position at Friends Select. He came to visit and was taken with the vibrancy at the school.

“Students were sitting on the floor in the hallway and relaxed in classes, but at the same time what they were learning and doing was very sophisticated and rigorous. It turned out to be an incredibly wonderful fit for me,” Jim said.

As an educator with a passion for technology, Jim’s roles as scheduler and director of technology were a natural fit. As new technology became available, he eagerly incorporated the latest equipment into his laboratories, creating a robust learning experience for students. “As the technology changed, it opened up new opportunities for doing experiments,” he said.

Jim acknowledges that the most gratifying part of teaching has definitely been the students. He utilizes the Socratic method and asks questions in order to lead the class to an understanding instead of just telling them facts. “Having a conversation with a class is rewarding,” Jim said. “There were so many times that I would come to the end of the class and feel so energized by the energy of the students and the conversations we were having around all of these abstract ideas. To come to the end of my career as a teacher (Continued on page 38) Fall2019 35

OUT AND ABOUT

Wedding of Deb Greenstein Simmons '05 and Blake Simmons Left to Right: Jess MacQueen ’05, Lauren Turlik Cosgrove ’05, Jack Cotter ’05, Lily Bailey ’05, Deb Greenstein Simmons, Seth Rickards ’04, and Niki Jameson Andorko ’05.

1948 Get Together Donald Kutteroff (right) and Harris Shirakawa (left) met at the Greenbrier in West Virginia to celebrate 71 years at Friends Select. It was a mini Class Reunion of 1948. Their classmate, Dick Cutler, was unable to attend.

Alumni Metalsmithing Class with Tr. Lynda Left to right: Gaby Jordan ’76 and family, Tr. Lynda Greenwade, Rob Einhorn ’81, Jona Deleo ’02, Emily Payne ’14, and Hannah Taylor.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

J

ohn Rothberg’s three upper school years at Friends Select School were influential. The class of 1967 alumnus said, “The impact of my Friends Select education is significant—much more so than any other educational experience I had—and my time as a student is what has tied me to the school ever since.” He added, “I’ve carried the learning and values I gained at Friends Select throughout my lifetime, both in my personal life and in my career. In retrospect, the older I got, the more important they became.”

John has supported the school with gifts to the Friends Select Fund since he graduated, but recently was able to make a significant promise to the school by committing to a planned gift. He said, “As I began estate planning, I realized I was able to make a larger gift to the school than I ever could on a year-byyear basis.”

A planned gift is an investment in Friends Select and a significant way to support its future. Through planned giv-

36 Selectnews

ing, donors can combine philanthropic goals with estate planning objectives, and simultaneously secure financial benefits. Planned gifts—including bequest intentions, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, life insurance, and other forms of deferred giving—can be beneficial by granting charitable deductions, generating income, converting low-yielding assets into a higher income stream, and decreasing capital gains and estate taxes.

Highlighting the importance of a planned giving program, John said, “There are two main methods for the school to garner financial support: either those with the ability during their lifetime to make a leadership gift—which is not financially feasible for many—or donors make a larger gift as part of their estate plan.

The planned giving program truly protects the legacy of Friends Select School, and allows donors to do something for the school that they can’t do in their lifetime, yet will have a meaningful impact after they are no longer here.”

The Price Wetzel Legacy Society, Friends Select School’s planned giving society, acknowledges members of the Friends Select community who include the school in their estate plans or who have created a planned gift for the benefit of Friends Select. Its title recognizes Julia H. Wetzel ’27 and Peter O. Price ’58, both of whom chose to support Friends Select School with generous gifts through their estates. The education they received from Friends Select and their enduring connection to the school served as their motivation to give back, and their gifts are symbols of their confidence in and commitment to the future of Friends Select.

If you are interested in learning more about planned giving and becoming a member of the Price Wetzel Legacy Society, contact Christine Jefferson, director of development and alumni relations, at 215.561.5900, extension 3141, or at chrisj@friends-select.org.

1965 Meetup In May, three grads from the FSS class of 1965 met at their University of Pennsylvania 50th reunion dinner.

Left to right: Katherine Stein Sachs, Barry Zitin, and Letty Orlofsky Piper.

Washington, D.C. Reunion Front: Holly Jo MacMoran ’92.

Second row (left to right): Lloyd Brodsky ’73, Steve Lawrence ’81, Susan ’81 and Rodney Sampson ’81, Judy Fisher ’67, Benji Serinksy ’02, Marilyn Primiano ’92, Kelly Wu ’17, Danielle Randall ’92, Julia Greenberger ’02, and Trina and Michael Gary.

Back row (left to right): Christine Jefferson, Kusi Hornberger ’98, Tr. Herb Kerns, Peter Jaffe ’80, Chuya Lane ’93, Elijah Waterman ’91, and Tali Mazzola ’95.

2002 Reunion Left to right: Brian Weiss, Maya O’Donnell-Shah, Jona Deleo, Julia Greenberger, Mindy Paul, Alissa Nowak, Dorsche Pinsky Krevitz, Adam Sheppard, and Karim Ahmed.

1989 Reunion Front row (left to right): Leah Olivieri, Sharli Polanco, Alison Davis-Bayne, Eric Pasternack, Meredith Tips-McLaine, Justine Winkler, Kimberly Enders, Amanda Richards, and Ted Koziara.

Back row (left to right): Daniel Traub, Chris McDaniel, Dave Caro, Jamal Parker, Karen Young, Howard Weiner, Ingrid Lakey, La Vonda Williams, Seth Shapiro.

1974 Reunion Front row (left to right): Sam Sarowitz, Kittura Dior, Sonia Turanski, Sumi Tonooka, and Bill Scott.

Second row (left to right): Rick Hunt, Doris Pritchett, Barbara Rosoff, Marjorie Adis, Paul Libiszowski, Ken Oerkvitz, Dan Scheffey, Vincent Hughes.

Back row (left to right): Carl Alford, Louisa Miller, Yesim Tuna, Tressa Cathcart Silberberg, Tim DuBon, Mark Amarotico, and Kruskal Hewitt.

Florida Reunion Left to right: Larry and Cindy Wanerman ’74, Tom and Genessa Proctor ’73, John Rothberg ’67, Julia Greenberger ’02, and Michael and Trina Gary.

Fall2019 37

Student Activists (Continued from page 6) They organized assemblies on both topics that featured prominent speakers including Raquel Salas Rivera, Philadelphia’s poet laureate. Heidi Hutchison, former director of city curriculum, said, “Their personalized learning experience has had a profound impact on the entire upper school, and has utilized the city of Philadelphia to make learning that much more meaningful.”

It has been an important year for student activism and engagement at Friends Select. Students have continued to inspire their classmates, faculty, and community, keeping this proud tradition alive.

Endowment Fund (Continued from page 33) ful career in medicine, as a general surgeon in California. All the while, Andy remained loyal to Friends Select, attending regional reunions in San Francisco, in addition to supporting the school.

“I am happy to be able to honor fellow classmate Andy Lucine and give future students the opportunity for a great education,” said classmate Aerhnout “Doc” Viele ’46. “Friends Select School was an important part of our lives and gave us a good foundation for our careers.”

Andy was well-rounded, ambitious, respected by both teachers and peers, a true leader, intelligent, and talented.

And if you walked through the halls of Friends Select today, you would find that students still embody these qualities. Many of these students— more than 30% of the total student body—rely on Friends Select’s longstanding mission to provide financial aid assistance to students and families in need. For the 2018-19 academic year, Friends Select awarded more than $3.7 million in need-based scholarships. The financial aid program is also supported by income generated from the school’s endowment—an investment fund of contributions that grows on an annual basis.

The challenge match grant established

by Herb in memory of Andy, who passed away in 2015, not only honors their friendship but also helps sustain Friends Select’s financial aid program

38 Selectnews

and provides lasting security for the future as part of the school’s endowment fund. The completed challenge match grant to support The Andy Lucine ’46 Scholarship Fund totals more than $1 million.

Using Your Tax Dollars to Support Friends Select

Mike Noonan (Continued from page 26) Mike is keeping his retirement plans fluid, but they will definitely include spending time with his family and traveling internationally with Pat. He’s also looking forward to reading more and tackling some major house projects. He intends to help his children, a screenwriter and a playwright, with their research, and would love to tag along with his son, a sports agent, on a basketball-scouting mission. He also eagerly awaits grandchildren one day.

After such a long and successful career, Mike remains thankful for the experience. He said, “I certainly am glad that I got connected to such a wonderful and rewarding place that gave me more than what I could ever put in. Friends Select will always be a part of my life.”

In recognition of Mike’s vital role in administering Friends Select’s financial aid program, The Mike and Pat Noonan Student Assistance Fund will be created to help students cover the school costs not included by tuition, such as trips, computers, textbooks, tutoring and more. Visit friendsselect.org/noonan to contribute to this endowed fund.

Jim Brubaker (Continued from page 35) and to still enjoy that as much as I always have is really great.”

In the true spirit of Friends Select, Jim remains committed to being a lifelong learner. Jim recently took a few classes and read 60 books over the past year. Jim’s retirement plans include continuing his ceramics career, world travel with his wife Sue, and spending time at their Lancaster farm.

Individuals or businesses paying a minimum of $3,500 in Pennsylvania state taxes can reallocate 100% of those tax dollars to support financial aid for Friends Select students. The Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund currently has approved tax credits available to qualified individuals and businesses for 2019 from Special Purpose Entities (SPEs).

In Pennsylvania, SPEs are used to aggregate contributions from individuals interested in the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) or Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, which were previously open only to corporate donors. With the formation of organizations like the Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund, it is now possible for individuals to contribute. For the 2018-19 school year, Friends Select allocated $3.7 million to its financial aid program. And in 2018, more than $320,000 was raised through Pennsylvania state tax dollars.

Tax credits for 2019 are still available. To participate, individuals or businesses must sign a joinder to reserve their credits and submit a check by late December for a minimum of $3,500.

After 2019, taxes are filed with the K-1 form (PA 1123) that will be provided ahead of tax season, participants will receive a credit for 90% of their contribution. In addition, the remaining 10% of the contribution qualifies as a federal charitable donation, if deductions are itemized at the time of tax filing.

Josh Piven ’89 and his wife, Christine, current upper school parents, donate to Friends Select through the Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund. Josh said, “There really is no downside to supporting the school through SPEs. Your Pennsylvania tax dollars go directly to the school’s financial aid program, the process is quick and easy, and your gift allows the school to invest more of its budget dollars in other worthy programs.”

For more information on contributing to Friends Select with your PA state tax dollars, contact Mallory Burgan, director of development services, at malloryb@friends-select.org or 215.561.5900, extension 3131. Additionally, contact your tax specialist or Jeff Wilson at the Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (jeffwilsonsales@gmail.com or 814.283.4338) or visit friends-select.org/taxes.

HURRY, tax still tax are still there are there availablee credits availabl credits for 2019!

Receive a

320,000 raised from individuals in the 2018-19 school year

Call us to reserve yours today

tax credit on your PA state taxes

Individuals or businesses can participate starting at

3,500

$

32%

of students receive tuition assistance

U se Su Yo pp ur or T t F ax rie D nd olla s S rs el to ec t

$

90%

Over

For questions or more information, contact Mallory Burgan, director of development services, at malloryb@friends-select.org or 215-561-5900 x3131, or Christine Jefferson, director of development and alumni relations, at chrisj@friends-select.org or 215-561-5900 x3141.

Visit friends-select.org/taxes.

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Friends Schools League Softball Champions!

Friends Select’s Varsity softball team after winning the Friends Schools League Championship against Shipley School, their third championship in the last four years.