Graland Today

TODAY

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2016

Survey Results Lead to Action

By James Foreman, Director of Diversity

This time last year, our community completed a comprehensive evaluation of our school culture as it relates to topics of diversity, inclusivity and multiculturalism. It has been seven years since the Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) was last administered to the Graland community, and the information gained from the most recent data allowed us to celebrate as well set goals to work toward in the future.

Thanks to tremendous participation from students, faculty/staff, parents, alumni and our Board of Trustees, continued on page 4

Authentic Relationships

How Communication, Understanding and Compassion Encourage an Inclusive School

By Gail Sonnesyn, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

The beauty of a family school such as Graland is that we have the opportunity to nurture not only students, but entire families. With the aim of growing an even more inclusive community, we must effectively communicate, respect one another and let compassion be a driving factor in how we operate, both on an individual basis as well as on an institutional level.

Sharing our Stories Individually, we desire for others to understand us and the path we’ve trekked without having to expose ourselves to vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. First we must face our own pasts, spend time reflecting on how our experiences have shaped us as human beings, and recognize the biases we hold due to our life journeys. Then when we hear others’ stories, we can better understand the lens through which we are listening.

▶ Inside this Issue:

continued on page 12

Master Teacher Page 5

Modern Classroom Page 6

Math 8 Borgen Gift 10 Golf 14

GOGRALAND

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Strategic Planning at Graland

“Learning more about my own

personality traits, and the traits of

my co-workers, helped me to think

about the role that our backgrounds, beliefs and tendencies play in our

teaching and work ethic each day.”

-Ali Manion, see story page 7

At Graland Country Day School it is our mission to: Achieve intellectual excellence, build strong character, enrich learning through the arts and athletics, and prepare our students to be engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders.

Ascende Omnem Montem GRALAND’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES Pursue Excellence Guide Critical Thinking Instill Integrity Inspire Leadership Promote Independence Stimulate Innovation Honor Individuality Cultivate Compassion Embrace Experiences Celebrate Perseverance Value Tradition Build Community

Graland Today is a monthly publication of Graland Country Day School Volume 4, Issue 3 Graland Today archives can be found at graland.org/News Send correspondence to: Associate Director of Communications Graland Country Day School 55 Clermont Street Denver, CO 80220 communications@graland.org graland.org

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A great school never sits still!

By Sarah Harvey, Trustee, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee

Exciting things are happening at Graland these days! But it’s not only the amazing new building taking shape in the middle of campus. There is important work being done in the boardroom as well. The 21-member strategic planning committee of the Board of Trustees has been hard at work for the past 18 months taking a deep look at the school administration’s work plan and the accomplishments completed toward fulfilling the objectives of the 2011-17 Strategic Plan. Significant hours were dedicated to gaining a full understanding of the work being done by the administration to achieve the initiatives of the plan.

The committee was pleased to report to the board in April 2015 that the tasks of the plan had nearly all been achieved and we were prepared to begin looking ahead to the next planning cycle--a full year ahead of schedule! This put time on our side and what we learned during our “deep dive” has put us in an excellent position to begin writing a timely and dynamic new strategic plan.

Moving Ahead So what goes into developing a strategic plan for a school like ours?

Information on best practices and trends in education, reviews of academic programming and curriculum, thoughtful discussion on the ways in which we can/should support our students and families, insights and feedback from our community, and survey data all play a role. In fact, the parent survey now underway and last year’s AIM survey are two primary ways in which we gain insight from families.

(Please participate in the survey! An alumni version is coming soon.)

Next Steps The strategic planning committee is currently working in small groups, each assigned to one of the five initiatives and an administrator, to build the strategic plan based on all the information we have collected. Once all sections are framed out and we have integrated what we learn from the surveys, we will come together to look at the plan as a whole to ensure it is aligned with the school’s mission statement and guiding principles. This step is the key to a successful strategic plan. We plan to share the plan with the Board in January 2017 for review and discussion and vote it into action in February, setting a new course toward fulfilling the school’s mission.

If you have something you’d like to share with the committee or have questions about Graland’s strategic planning process, we’d love to hear from you! All thoughts and ideas are welcomed. Please email me (sarah_harvey@comcast.net) with your comments or to set up a time to chat.

SARAH HARVEY joined Graland’s board of trustees in 2011 and her youngest child, Bryce, graduated in 2015. She has served various roles on the board, including secretary, and enjoys helping identify and communicate the vision for Graland’s future. She works for RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching) as the outreach director.

JOSH COBB PUBLISHED IN NATIONAL MAGAZINE The Winter 2016 issue of Independent School magazine features a thoughtful article by our own head of Middle School, Josh Cobb.

Congratulations to Josh on this recognition from the National Association of Independent Schools!

Here are some excerpts from Josh’s contribution, “Beyond Emoticons: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in the 21st Century.” Read the full article at nais.org/magazines-newsletters.

Why Emotional Intelligence Matters Since the turn of this century, educators have been trying to envision how best to prepare students for an unpredictable economy. As students enter the workforce, the current environment inspires both exhilaration and anxiety. In a recent Harvard Business Review interview, “The Great Decoupling,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee discuss a Second Machine Age in which robots begin to learn on their own and quickly

evolve to master many human capacities.

When asked if there will be any jobs for humans as this age continues, McAfee and Brynjolfsson discuss three areas in which humans are “far superior” to machines: creativity, dexterity, and interpersonal intelligence. This last category, McAfee describes as “emotion, interpersonal relations, caring, nurturing, coaching, motivating, leading, and so on.”

Though preparing students emotionally may be more difficult than teaching math formulas or even critical thinking, it is clearly essential for educators to engage in this work if they want students to thrive in their adult lives.

What about “Real” Learning?

The greatest challenge to this initiative is the bias against the so-called “soft” skills.

Some see an increased focus on socialemotional intelligence as too “touchy-feely” and a distraction to “real” learning. To stay committed to teaching traits such as selfawareness and empathy, it is important to see their connection to what others may see as more rigorous cognitive abilities.

Now that most educators have agreed on the essential higher-order thinking skills for this century — communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity — they need to appreciate the potent convergence of intellectual and social-emotional development. For example, creativity and critical thinking demand a level of empathy. Design thinking places empathy at the very center of innovation and problem solving.

When solving problems, inventors need a deep understanding of the needs of others. Those who use a design-thinking curriculum must take time to generate this level of empathy before brain-storming, ideation, and creation can begin.

We can’t know for sure what type of world our students will encounter in the next decades, but we can know that to survive in that world, they will need to have the emotional intelligence to be empathetic, resilient, and innovative. To foster these socialemotional competencies, we will need an intentional curriculum that goes beyond advisory to infuse lessons in socialemotional development throughout the entire school program.

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Survey Results Lead to Action

we now stand ready to grow even further. To organize the data, AIM results are reported back to us as Healthy scores, Priority concerns, and High Priority concerns.

HEALTHY SCORES SHOW GROWTH “Healthy” scores are issues on which our school is doing comparatively well but where programs and initiatives should be continued or expanded to provide support. Some of the healthy scores that help to display our growth over seven years are:

Morale • The school has a commitment to ethical values and character development.

• Teachers help and support each other.

• I feel proud of being associated with this school.

• School leaders are friendly and approachable.

• The interactions between faculty members are cooperative.

• The school has a caring community environment.

Inclusivity • School leaders treat all faculty members with respect.

• Adults who work at this school are responsive to the needs of others in the school community.

• The physical environment (grounds, buildings and layout) draws me into the school.

• Both boys and girls have an equal opportunity for success.

• Students respect others who perform at a high academic level.

Multiculturalism • In my opinion, diversity in the faculty, administration, and student body is important to excellence in the education provided by this school.

• In my opinion, socioeconomic diversity is an important element of an inclusive school climate.

• In my opinion, diversity in the curriculum is important to excellence in the education provided by this school.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT “Priority” concerns are issues not to be considered immediately critical but are in need of improvement and should be addressed in future plans. The “High Priority” concerns are issues that should be addressed as soon as possible. As we reviewed and analyzed the results from the AIM, there were action steps created to address both areas of concern, some for immediate response and some to be included in the next strategic plan.

Morale • N eed: For all community members to feel essential in matters of diversity, inclusion and equity

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ction: Development of a School Climate A Committee to include parents, faculty/staff,

alumni, and Board of Trustees to address and hear matters of diversity, inclusivity, and multiculturalism in all areas of community life

Inclusivity • Need: Addressing needs of dual working families Action: Expanding bus routes and “norming” our bus policy Action: Before care and Extended Day program • Need: Utilizing advisory and homeroom for student development and growth Action: An opportunity to address character development (issues of differences, hazing/bullying, race, religion, gender) • Need: Hiring and recruiting diverse faculty to reflect student body • Need: Developing a Board of Trustees that reflects the diversity of the student body

Multiculturalism • Need: Professional development to provide diversity, inclusivity, and multicultural education training Action: A 3-year requirement for all faculty/staff to be trained in areas of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and multicultural education • Need: English and History curriculum review and implementation Action: Using professional development and department meetings for faculty to determine what areas of their curricula can grow prior to any changes in curriculum Action: Utilizing more diverse and global topics to help with cultural awareness

• Need: Parent Education Network (PEN) speakers and Graland Inclusivity Forum and Taskforce (GIFT) forums to help educate the greater parent community regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity Action: Using these forums as opportunities to help the community understand diversity, as well as multicultural topics (socio-economic status, ability/disability, gender, sexual orientation) Our next important step is to form a School Climate Committee that will meet four times a year in an effort to address and hear matters of inclusion, equity and multicultural education with the goal of fostering a more inclusive community.

Graland’s next strategic plan will also allow us to create more action items to ensure growth in the Priority and High Priority concerns. Thank you for your support during this time of collecting, analyzing and addressing the inclusivity and multicultural needs of our community.

JAMES FOREMAN is the dean of Grades 5/6, the director of Middle School admissions, the director of diversity, cross country team coach and advisor to the Grades 5/6 Connections club, a student group focused on awareness and action. In 2013, students dedicated the yearbook to Mr. Foreman, a huge honor for faculty.

Master Teacher Honored in 2016 Master Teachers are faculty and staff who have served 20 or more years at Graland.

Jacqueline Purdy-Davis wanted to be a teacher as far back as she can remember. “I always loved little kids,” she shares. “I taught gymnastics as a teenager, and I always wanted to be a teacher.” Six hundred students and more than 20 years later, Jacqueline’s never regretted her career choice.

Hired by Graland in 1996 as a first grade teacher, she now works as a Lower School reading specialist where she still teaches kids and enjoys the variety each day brings. Being a reading specialist is part rocket science, she says, as she figures out why a student is struggling to read and implements the best strategies to help. No two students learn the same, and seeing students succeed is what motivates Jacqueline.

“Children need to be recognized as unique individuals and know that we understand how they learn,” she says. “I love seeing the light go on when a student ‘gets’ it.”

Her milestone, 20 years at Graland, puts her on par with dozens of teachers and staff members who achieved the same longevity and are honored on the “wall of fame” in the Georgia Nelson Building.

Jacqueline shares that Graland has allowed her to advance her career and grow as a learner; in particular, Graland helped her go back to school for a master’s degree from Regis University as she embarked on her career change. Numerous professional development opportunities over the years have allowed her to be on the cutting edge of researched-based practices, which in turn benefits Graland students.

“I loved teaching first grade,” she says. “It was challenging and rewarding.

Now, I really love being a reading specialist at Graland as this is my dream job. Graland is a place of joy for me and where my second family lives.”

Did you know? Jacqueline was born and raised in Canada and became a US citizen in 2009.

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Lower School News

Reimagining a Progressive, Modern Classroom

By Kai Johnson, Grade 4 Teacher

In recent years, educators have embraced the transformative potential of technology as research from psychologists and neuroscientists has revealed what proponents of progressive pedagogy have long emphasized. One of the foremost educators in the 20th century, John Dewey, described progressive schools as learning environments that nurture and cultivate individuality, encourage free activity, help children learn through experience and open up children to a dynamic, ever-changing world.

As we look ahead as a school community firmly rooted in this progressive tradition, yet eager to adapt to the explosion of digital innovation, a fundamental question emerges: How do schools and teachers square the most important aspects of learning – building, exploring, questioning, analyzing, thinking critically, innovating – with 21st century tools?

A Lesson in Learning Let me explain by offering an example from my days at a Montessori school in New York City. I asked my language arts students to compose a musical score

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for a scene in Harry Potter using the GarageBand app on the iPad. First, I modeled aspects of the app. As I began to demonstrate a few ways to “play” the various instruments, the students immediately lost interest in my explanation and began investigating the tool independently. I soon realized that simply giving students unstructured time to explore and tinker with the app helped them gain new insights into the potential of the app as well as connect to the book in interesting ways. Students took the activity far beyond what I had originally envisioned.

Their level of engagement and depth of thinking was incredible. The digital tool deepened their understanding of the literature because kids began carefully re-reading the book and their annotations to find the perfect moment that would highlight the right note of drama or terror or levity. Students recorded dialogue numerous times, which helped improve fluency, articulation and pace.

Ingenuity emerged immediately.

One group placed their iPad near the classroom door to record its swoosh and creak. Students worked collaboratively,

with focus and energy, motivated entirely by their own interests, passions and understandings rather than my external prodding.

Crucially, the audience for their work widened: their ideas were not meant for the teacher alone, but now their work could be easily shared with their peers and families. Students with different learning styles as well as English language learners benefit tremendously when their tool of communication is not just the written word, but voice and audio.

The GarageBand app itself differentiates musical abilities, and all students, with or without a music background, can compose their own soundtracks.

Teaching with Technology The lasting impression I have from this activity has little to do with the technology. Rather, it showed how students were intrinsically motivated to think more deeply about the text through multimedia. It revealed much about strengths and weaknesses as readers and communicators, as well as offered an outlet for creative expression and collaborative problem solving through small group work.

One of the most important questions for teachers is not necessarily what students

learn but how they learn. Tony Wagner is one of many education researchers who emphasizes the ongoing importance of investigation and inquiry in school.

Students learn most and best by actively constructing meaning each day: they question, interpret, confuse, connect, rethink and revise. Given carefully chosen tools, including online resources and digital technology, students will explore and hypothesize on their own, testing out theories and ideas as part of their own discovery process.

No invention changes the simple truth that teaching remains, in its essence, a relational art. Yet my experiences support a broader role for technology in the classroom. If teachers maintain a commitment to sound pedagogical principles and design activities that involve discussion, collaboration and critical thinking, students can build their own understanding through active work and engagement with real world issues.

KAI JOHNSON relocated from Manhattan in 2015 to be the newest lead teacher in Grade 4. Using his master’s degree in education and a strong background in teaching language arts, he enjoys integrating technology into his curriculum and allowing students to use digital resources to investigate and collaborate.

ECLC Teachers Take True Colors Assessment Thanks to the Cydney and Tom Marsico Family Foundation, Graland faculty in the Early Childhood Learning Center completed the True Colors Assessment.

This evaluation helps individuals recognize and understand personality types and how personalities impact the workplace. When several different personality types work together, the team is stronger due to diverse perspectives, communication styles and thought processes.

“Learning more about my own personality traits, and the traits of my coworkers, helped me to think about the role that our backgrounds, beliefs and tendencies play in our teaching and work ethic each day,” shares Ali Manion, pre-kindergarten teacher. “Being able to have a candid, fun conversation surrounding this helped us to not only develop a more cohesive and communicative team, it also prompted each of us to be more mindful and aware of our own personalities in the workplace.”

YOU’RE INVITED

“Math Night: The Power of Visual Models” Thursday, February 18 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Woodruff Multipurpose Room

“Social-Emotional Development of Young Children: Addressing Behaviors of Children at Home” FEATURING ROSEMARIE ALLEN, Professor, School of Education, Metro State University and owner at Consulting, Culturally Responsive Practices in Education

Wednesday, March 2 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Fries Family Theater

“Socio-Economic and Class Diversity: The Assumptions We Make” FEATURING GENE BATISTE III, Senior Consultant at Creative Catalysts

Monday, April 4 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Fries Family Theater

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Middle School News

Math Instructors Enhance Skills

By Jorge Chavez, Grade 8 Math

Recently fellow Graland teachers Nanette Newman, Nikki Spiers and I took a trip to Minnesota for a heavy dive into mathematics education. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) regional conference was held in Minneapolis, and while there, we also visited The Blake School. Blake is an independent school that has also adopted Math In Focus schoolwide, and, unbeknownst to us at the time, had recently and successfully adopted a skills-based system of grading, similar to what Rick Wormeli had advocated in his visit to Graland earlier this year (see page 9). Given the preceding setup, here are some things we learned from our visit to Minneapolis: Manipulatives help ALL learners bridge the gap between a procedural understanding of mathematics to a stronger, more complete understanding of a concept. Using manipulatives

(concrete objects used to teach math concepts) isn’t only for struggling learners; advanced students also benefit from tools that help make abstract ideas more concrete. Unfortunately, work with manipulatives is often seen as “play,” not “work,” and is among the first thing that teachers will forego in an attempt to cement understanding. According to NCTM, manipulatives, often in concert with inquiry-based activities, help to promote “productive struggle,” necessary to latch long term understanding to learned concepts.

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Minneapolis’ skyway system connecting 52 blocks (nearly five miles) of downtown makes it possible to live, eat, work and shop without ever going outside. Our hotel was about a

half-mile from the conference center. The skyway system was our main throughway, connecting pretty much every building in downtown Minneapolis. At one point I thought I ended up in St. Paul (which used to be named Pig’s Ear, after a tavern created by a French explorer), but I just walked outside of the skyway and took an Über back to my hotel. With the cold wind blowing down my back, I began to realize the benefits of such a skyway system.

Inquiry is at the heart of Singapore Math.

Led by Dr. Ban Har Yeap, the faculty at The Blake School was encouraged and given the freedom to use investigative anchor tasks to combine with Math in Focus (MIF) to more accurately model the way Singapore math is used. A really good activity can, and should, have multiple entry points for learners of all levels. While the Math in Focus textbook provides several activities, often times the best tasks come from outside of the text, but are expertly tied into the learning outcomes created by both NCTM through their Common Core (CC) standards as well as through the skills checklist from Math in Focus.

Through thoughtful combination, MIF and NCTM CC standards have the potential to truly strengthen students’ understanding of mathematics. Both the

Blake School and the NCTM presenters modeled effective lessons that promote such a marriage of styles. The constant theme appeared to be that exploration really is critical to long term learning.

The Juicy Lucy is an underrated burger.

Cheese inside the meat patty. Whaat? The only danger is a potentially burnt tongue, but the reward is well worth the risk.

The wild card: standards-based assessment and grading. As it turns out,

The Blake School uses standards-based assessment and grading, similar to what has been advocated by Wormeli during his visit to Graland. Making a change to such a system can be daunting, and potentially unsettling, but seeing it succeed in practice gives one hope, at least, to believe that it can work. The Blake School supplied us with sample materials and assessments, and their generosity will help further our discussions in upcoming months.

The next time you see Nikki, Nanette, or me, feel free to ask about our visit to the gopher state. There’s so much more to share, including the story of how I won not one, but two, graphing calculators!

JORGE CHAVEZ has taught Grade 8 math and algebra at Graland since 2009. He has a double degree from the University of Notre Dame in Spanish and computer applications, and received a master’s degree in mathematics instruction and curriculum from the University of Delaware. In addition to teaching math, Jorge is a Grade 8 advisor, Grade 8 girls’ basketball team coach and Gates program coach.

REMAKING THE GRADE

By Josh Cobb, Head of Middle School

Facing our Middle School faculty, education expert Rick Wormeli began his presentation on grading principles with a bold statement: “Teachers must be ethical. They cannot knowingly falsify a score or grade.” From that opening on, Wormeli captivated us by detailing the hidden ways educators undermine the integrity of the grading system.

What Not to Do Of course, few, if any, teachers knowingly falsify a grade; however, Wormeli purported that many teachers are unintentionally doing just that through various flawed practices. First he questioned the use of “norm-based” grading, which essentially pits student against student. The students who have the best assessment receive the highest grade; the lowest performer receives the lowest grade. Thomas Guskey, another grading expert, argues that, “Grades based on students’ standing among classmates tell us nothing about how well students have learned. In such a system, all students might have performed miserably, but some simply performed less miserably than others.”

Wormeli advocates for the use of standards to determine final grades. A standard clearly defines the learning objective. It outlines what a student should learn and be able to do with that learning.

If a student masters a learning standard, that learning is reported with the simple symbol: A. If they are proficient in that criteria, their learning is denoted with a B. Finally, if they are still developing that skill, they would see a C on their report card.

All other levels, aside from an incomplete, would no longer be necessary.

Separating Compliance from Learning A grading system that focuses completely on whether students master the material is more accurate because it doesn’t dilute the mark with measurements of other important elements, such as preparation or participation. In Graland’s current system, the effort grade provides feedback on those habits of learning, whereas the letter grade

communicates a student’s progress in the skills, concepts and knowledge of that specific discipline.

Wormeli states that by committing to this new form of grading, teachers commit to this premise: “We mark against standards, not the routes students take to achieve those standards.” Then, if this premise is accepted, many activities, including how many times you participate in class discussion or whether you have a perfect homework record, no longer impact the final mark. A student’s demonstration of mastery, or lack thereof, determines the grade, nothing else.

At first glance, this simplified grading system is difficult to accept. Those of us who have already been through school question the removal of obedience from the letter grade. However, Wormeli challenges us to remake the grade to accurately report each student’s academic learning and find other ways, like the effort grade, to provide feedback on student compliance.

Other Approaches to Avoid To Wormeli, incorporating non-academic factors is an immoral act—the practice knowingly falsifies the grade. As we reeled from that revelation, he then detailed the other common practices that erode the accuracy of the grade: • Penalizing students’ multiple attempts at mastery • Grading practice as students come to know concepts

• Group grades • Allowing extra credit • Recording zeroes on the 100.0 scale for work not done In Wormeli’s book, Fair Isn’t Always Equal, he thoroughly explains how these and other practices keep the grade from accurately representing student learning. They are not something easily changed overnight; each of them deserve consideration. If the purpose of grading is primarily, “to communicate information about student achievement,” as Guskey claims, then we must re-evaluate each of these methods.

Over the past year, the Middle School faculty has begun looking at how we can revise our grading system to emphasize learning. This process will continue over the following year as we decide on a grading purpose statement and review certain practices in light of that statement. A grading task force of parents and educators will join in this effort and research the approaches of other schools.

Though we may not satisfy a tough critic like Wormeli, we hope to improve the integrity of our grading system and genuinely present the intellectual growth of each student.

JOSH COBB holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, a master’s in English literature and a master’s in education from Columbia University in New York City. He loves the blend of progressive and traditional teaching methods at Graland, and how the faculty works to combine diverse strategies in order to best serve their students.

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Alumni News

BORGEN FELLOWSHIP BENEFITS FACULTY LEARNING The Borgen Family Foundation (Est. 1993), alumnus Jon-Erik Borgen ‘92 and his wife Brooke believe that investing in teachers is an investment in student success.

They’ve recently established the Borgen Faculty Fellow endowment to underwrite a portion of costs for teachers pursuing advanced degrees or other strategic growth opportunities.

Graland Today: How is this endowment the best use of your foundation’s funds?

Jon-Erik: The goal for the fellows program is to promote excellence and foster a community of engaged teachers. The powerful nature of Graland’s ASCEND capital campaign is that it elevates teacher excellence, strengthens our student community through increased financial aid, and offers unparalleled facilities for its students. These are mainstays that will continue to make Graland great for many generations to come; the professional development component is something that strongly resonates with our family foundation’s mission.

GT: What gave you the idea for this endowment?

Brooke: Jon-Erik and I both started our careers as fellows at El Pomar Foundation where we spent two years learning about philanthropy, fundraising, nonprofit management and leadership. Those experiences influenced how we think about our own philanthropic goals and how we can best direct resources to make a difference in the communities we love. We wanted to offer more funds for teachers pursuing advanced degrees because we know the value in lifelong learning. Giving teachers more opportunities to develop their skills is a gift that they will bring back to the classroom and to their peers for many years to come.

GT: When we invest in teachers, how do students directly benefit?

Brooke: Graland teachers are clearly so skilled at what they do; they work tirelessly to ensure our children succeed both in school and in their lives well beyond Graland. One of the best things we can do is retain and develop this type of talent. We hope the Borgen Faculty Fellows program will make teachers proud to grow their careers at Graland.

GT: What impact have the teachers at Graland had on you as an alumnus?

Jon-Erik: My teachers at Graland challenged me, motivated me, and allowed me to explore my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and think differently. I’ve taken the lessons I learned at Graland with me my whole life.

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The list of Graland faculty who made a lasting impression on me is long. Near the top is math teacher John Threlkeld.

He commanded a focused classroom, he was fair, and he made math interesting. Along with her encyclopedic knowledge, Mrs. Priest had an amazing ability to engrain in me the importance of honoring traditions and being held accountable for your work. Coach Romero was a great influence with his passion for coaching and pushing excellence. Mr. Kinney’s enthusiasm and love for biology made learning fun, and of course, Mr. Hickey – his students couldn’t help but be inspired and engaged in his classroom. There are so many others I could easily name. Back then and today, teaching excellence is the standard. The steadfast theme throughout Graland’s history is a faculty that cares and is invested in the community and the students.

Do you have an idea for an endowment at Graland? Our development team would love to hear it! Contact the development office by phone (303-399-8370) or email.

Graland in the Making

We invited alumni and former faculty (1927-1965) back to campus to recognize and celebrate the early years of Graland’s notable beginnings. Here’s to the past and to the future!

Ascende Omnem Montem What Will Your Legacy Be? Making a gift through your will is an easy way to make a substantial gift that will benefit future Graland students. Consider becoming a part of Graland’s Ascende Omnem Montem legacy society and leave a lasting impression on the lives that follow.

To learn more, contact the development office by phone (303-399-8370) or email jvolpe@graland.org.

Funding the Annual Fund This year you have heard a lot about ASCEND: A Campaign to Inspire Excellence. This is a big effort that allows

the school and our donors to make great things possible for the entire Graland community. Within the campaign is the annual fund, a crucial part of Graland’s budget every year. Our annual fund goal is $1 million dollars which helps offset our nearly $16 million operating budget. We are grateful to all our donors who make a gift toward the annual fund.

As of mid-January we were at 64 percent parent participation with a goal of 100 percent. Just think of what we can accomplish when everyone makes a gift, no matter the size. Are you in?

Thank You, Parent Volunteers!

Our team of parent volunteers worked overtime in 2015 to get the ASCEND campaign closer to its goals. On behalf of everyone in the Graland community, thank you to these women and men!

Sarah Albert Christy Anderson Amy Birner Erica Bissette Suzie Bomgaars Christina Caulkins Matt Cheroutes ’91 Amy Corrigan Tandy Dilworth Jill Dines Courtney Dorn ’91 Hughes Kelly Eisinger

Alison Fallon Courtney Ferer Shawn Fowler Amy Frankmore Stacia Freimuth Kim Fuller ’86 Jacoby Dianna Goldberg ’84 May Jennifer Person ’94 Barker Ashley Johnson ‘88 Rust Andrea Mahoney Lawrence Mandes Cherrelyn Napue

Courtney Pugh ’96 Boyle Selena Roth Julie Sachs Chris Sanchez ’87 Susan Bain-Schmidt Kate Shay Amy Turner Kara Vinton Rosie Wiedenmayer Merel Wilson Bob Young

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Authentic Relationships

Similarly, an institution must reflect on its history.

Conversations around accomplishments as well as challenges and failures help inform decisions about a school’s future and aid leaders in being responsive to the school community’s needs as well as the evolving social landscape. Honest reflection and communication are key components in impacting our future community, and surveys are one vehicle for illuminating important considerations. When constituent groups complete surveys in an honest, thoughtful manner, school leaders are better informed about areas of pride and concern within the community. Further, groups such as the School Climate Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee help interpret findings and inform decisions around school goals and strategies.

Two Minds are Better than One Individuals often seek out feedback and advice from trusted friends. Teachers turn to teammates and peers when planning lessons, struggling with behavior problems in the classroom, and developing strategies for balancing work and personal lives.

They recognize that hearing someone else’s input often takes them out of the immediate moment and gives them needed perspective. Sometimes this feedback is most beneficial when the confidante’s perspective doesn’t simply mirror their own.

Research has proven that effective teams are comprised of members with diverse perspectives and talents, just as school environments are richer when a variety of voices are present.

Having a diverse campus makes it easy for us to connect with people of varied background, beliefs, and ideas, a gift for any school environment. Respect grows if we genuinely listen to one another without judgment, setting our own agendas aside when needed.

Compassion is Key As obstacles are faced in life, compassion for others grows. Since we don’t all face similar stumbling blocks, honest sharing and open listening between individuals help us understand and have empathy for our fellow human beings, even when we haven’t had the exact same experiences. However, compassion cannot grow when we presume we know another’s story and make assumptions about them based on our limited experience.

Just as compassion in individuals grows as we experience personal challenges in life, an institution grows based on its past experiences too. Evolution happens as we take a sincere look at how to best support the members of our community. With inclusivity as a marker, Graland is committed to having many perspectives and ideas represented in our community.

We are at a fortunate time in history because technology allows us to learn about countless cultures and viewpoints at the click of a button. However, deeper understanding and compassion build when we engage in forthright and genuine conversations with one another, listen without judgment and open our hearts to the diverse stories that inform and enrich our understanding of the world both inside and outside of our gates.

How to Foster Inclusivity Early last summer, Graland’s Administrative Team engaged in targeted conversations around building a more inclusive campus.

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Our goals for the year were set: assessment, inclusivity and differentiation. It was agreed that inclusivity must start at the individual level.

As a result of these discussions, all faculty members are now required to participate in professional development focused on inclusivity/diversity within three years of being hired.

This training is above and beyond the ongoing professional development already occurring on campus. Additionally, essential summer 2015 reading books for faculty highlighted a variety of differences including gender identity, physical deformity, autism and cultural impact.

Students are participating in inclusivity training as well on a more informal level. Each day in classrooms, Graland’s Advisory and Responsive Classroom Programs help foster understanding and compassion. Through daily greetings, sharing and team building activities, classmates get a glimpse into their peers’ lives. Conversations are often instigated around spontaneously shared topics. Having this dedicated time each morning, across divisions, gives students a safe place to communicate thoughts, vignettes of their histories and hopes for their futures.

GAIL SONNESYN earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado. She joined the Graland faculty in 2004 as a Lower School teacher and recently served as assistant head of Lower School before working full-time in her current role. Gail’s twin daughters, Sara and Megan Hill, graduated from Graland in 2012 and are now applying for colleges.

GOING BY THE NUMBERS In addition to the diversity training requirement for faculty and staff, here are more ways Graland has dedicated funds and time to fostering an inclusive community in 2015-16.

87% of Lower School Faculty have had Responsive Classroom training

1 teacher attended the Gender Spectrum Symposium and returned to Graland to increase awareness about gender issues

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guest speakers on a variety of topics related to differences and differentiation

participants at Future of Diversity Symposium where they engaged in conversations about diversity and inclusivity in independent schools

5 attendees at People of Color Conference hosted by National Association of Independent Schools

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faculty and staff participating in Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED), an extracurricular, yearlong opportunity for faculty

96% of lead Middle School advisors have had Advisory Program Trainings

28 participants in Differentiation Cohorts to learn differentiation strategies that benefit all students

Graland Today

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2016 EAGLE INVITATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT FRIDAY, MAY 13 • 8:30 A.M. SHOTGUN START COMMONGROUND GOLF COURSE IN LOWRY Register online as an individual golfer or as a sponsor. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, visit graland.org/golf, download the brochure, or contact Rachel Brown or Tricia Youssi.

JUNIOR EAGLE INVITATIONAL

Thursday, May 12, 3:30-6:30 p.m. $30 per player CommonGround Golf Course, Lowry The cost of $30 per player includes: Entry fee for the 9-hole, par 3 tournament Food and drinks A goodie bag Range time Is your Graland student an aspiring Jordan Spieth or Stacy Lewis? If your answer is “yes,” then you need the Junior Eagle Invitational!

The 9-hole, par 3 golf tournament is open to all Graland students who are experienced players, know the general game of golf, can carry their own clubs and keep proper score, and are independent enough to navigate the par 3 course on their own with a playing partner (fellow Graland student). Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place players, as well as contests such as “closest to the pin” for boys and girls. The minimum number of players in the tournament is 18 and the maximum is 36. Watch for online registration, which will be available this spring!

GET READY TO HOP!

SPRING BOOK FAIR

Friday, February 26, 4:30-6 p.m., Fieldhouse This 50s-style event is for students in Preschool-Grade 4 only, accompanying adults and younger siblings.

Admission: $15/student in advance ($20 at the door), adults are free! Sock Hop tickets will be available online in mid-February.

Featuring: Same Great DJ Spinning Rocking Tunes Hula Hoop Contest Face Painting Photo Booth Diner Art Station (for the younger crowd)

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March 9-11, on campus!

Starts after school on Wednesday and continues during parent/student/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday.

Watch Graland Online for details!

Celebration of Cultures The Celebration of Cultures Family Dinner in January found Graland families sharing their recipes from all over the globe and close to home. Thanks to Sarah Alijani, Tatyana Chashnik and Dalia EL-Prince for their leadership and stellar event planning skills.

Two of the exceptional parent volunteers behind Graland’s new Celebration of Cultures dinner this year, Tatyana Chashnik and Dalia EL-Prince, have much in common. Aside from being moms, these women share a passion for Graland and its school community, are chairs of affinity groups and both have international roots.

UPCOMING GPA EVENTS FEBRUARY 2/4: PEN Book Club with Ronni 6-7:30, Graland Library 2/5: Graland Store Open 2:30-3:30 p.m.

2/19: Graland Store Open 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Tatyana Chashnik and Dalia EL-Prince

Russian-Born

World Traveler

Tatyana came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago as a college exchange student from the International University of Moscow to Southern Utah University.

During an orientation for international students at Middlebury College in Vermont, she met her husband Max Popov, also from Russia. She went on to graduate school in international studies at the University of Denver.

A Denver Realtor,Tatyana chairs Graland’s International Families Affinity Group. She stays connected to Denver’s Russian community and her children (Alina, Grade 7, and Mark Popov, Grade 1) attend Russian school each Saturday to develop their language skills. Her interest in other cultures inspired her to bring the Celebration of Cultures Dinner to Graland.

“Other schools have international celebrations,” says Tatyana. “I thought it would be great to do something at Graland, so I decided to step up. There are more people here than we know who bring international experiences and speak different languages.”

Dalia was born in Egypt but moved to New Jersey as an infant and lived there for the first eight years of her life. Her family moved to Saudi Arabia for the next eight, then back to Egypt.

She met her husband, Egyptian Rony Marwan, while he was a pediatric intern in London and she was working in Brussels, Belgium. Dalia launched her career with Proctor & Gamble’s Global Business Services, and it took her around the world.

“I fell in love with learning about all the cultures and countries,” says Dalia, who now works as the executive director of the Fetal Health Foundation.

Dalia chairs Graland’s New Families Affinity Group. She and her family moved to Denver in 2014 from Birmingham, Ala., where they were involved in international fairs and events.

These experiences led Dalia to reach out to Tatyana about hosting an international event at Graland. Her children are Julie (Grade 6), Adam (Grade 2) and Lila Marwan, age 2.

2/19: GPA General Meeting 8:15-9:15 a.m., Caulkins Boardroom 2/26: Lower School Sock Hop 4:30-6 p.m., Fieldhouse

MARCH 3/4: Graland Store Open 2:30-3:30 p.m.

3/9-11: Spring Book Fair 3/17: GPA General Meeting 8:15-9:15 a.m., Caulkins Boardroom 3/18: Graland Store Open 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Graland is rich with families from diverse international backgrounds. If you attended the Celebration of Cultures family dinner last month, then you got a taste of it - literally. If you are part of an international family at Graland, consider joining the International Families affinity group. Contact Tatyana Chashnik to learn more.

Graland Today

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NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID DENVER, CO PERMIT NO. 2006

Graland Country Day School 55 Clermont Street Denver, CO 80220 303.399.0390 graland.org

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Save the Dates FRIDAY, JUNE 3 3:10- 6 PM

Community Calendar

February 4

March 2

PEN Book Club with Ronni

Guest Speaker: SocialEmotional Development of Young Children (see page 7)

February 15-16

All ages are welcome to join in the fun of the Graland Carnival.

Bring your kids and be a kid again.

School Holiday (Presidents’ Day) o School for Students N (Professional Development Day)

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5-9 PM

February 18

Join us for a casual alumni gathering celebrating all alumni.

21 and older

ALUMNI REUNION MILESTONE YEARS FOR THE CLASSES OF:

Math Night (Grades K-8)

February 26 Lower School Sock Hop (see page 14)

1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006

March 3-4 Gates Invention Expo and Competition

March 9-11 Spring Book Fair

March 24-April 4 Spring Break

April 4 Guest Speaker: SocioEconomic and Class Diversity (see page 7)

STAY CONNECTED AND GOGRALAND!

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Join us on

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Update your contact information. graland.org/stayconnected

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Visit campus for a community event.

Please recycle this publication or view it online at graland.org in the news section.