Hackley Review Winter 2016-17

HACKLEY H A C K L E Y R E V I E W W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 1 7

Saturday, May 20, 2017 6:30 PM

Hyatt Regency Greenwich 1800 East Putnam Avenue Old Greenwich, CT

Reception, Dinner, Silent and Live Auctions Formal Invitations to be mailed Spring 2017 To learn more visit www.hackleyschool.org/ legacygala

H A C K L E Y R E V I E W W I N T E R 2 0 16 -17

Contents 2 From the Headmaster

4 Convocation 2016 Hackley School launched its 118th academic year with the installation of Michael C. Wirtz as Hackley’s 12th Headmaster.

Hackley challenges students to grow in character, scholarship and accomplishment, to offer unreserved effort, and to learn from the varying perspectives and backgrounds in our community and the world.

12 Hackley in Education: Spreading Beauty and Light Inspired by their own Hackley teachers, Hackley Alumni have gone on to “spread beauty and light” through diverse roles in education.

By Suzy Akin and Diane Rapp

34 Hackley Drama Hackley’s Middle and Upper School drama program encourages students to grow as artists and as thoughtful, intentional human beings.

By Amanda Esteves-Kraus and Suzy Akin

40 Alumni Day 2016 Hundreds of alumni and friends returned to the Hilltop on a spectacular fall day.

Suzy Akin Editor

By Haleh Tavakol ’84

Chris Taggart and Dana Maxon Primary Photography Alphabetica Design On the cover: Madeleine Ayala Lopez ’97 with her Hackley fourth grade class. Photo by Suzy Akin.

© Copyright 2016 Hackley School. All rights reserved.

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from the headmaster

Every teacher has a unique story about how he or she wound up pursuing a career in education. I find that most teachers were inspired to work with students based on positive examples from their own schooling.

My desire to teach started out in exactly this way: I wanted to be like Mr. Goebel. As my 8th grade physical science teacher, Jim Goebel was arguably one of the most influential teachers I ever had. With a quiet voice and unassuming nature, he revealed scientific principles and discoveries in ways that were exciting and relevant. Most important, he demonstrated that he valued each of his students, taking the time and effort needed to get to know each of us. Our contributions— whether related to class or school policy—were important to Mr. Goebel. He saw his students not as gangly adolescents, but rather as the scholars and people we were growing to be.

I have never forgotten what I learned from him and the ways he helped me grow as a learner. His example led me to want to be that person for others. Such is the power of education and excellent teachers.

Over the last few months, numerous Hackley alumni and faculty have shared personal stories about the influence of educators in their own lives. Alumni speak glowingly of teachers who changed their lives by pushing them to reach farther than they thought possible, who offered encouragement, or who opened new worlds by sharing a passion. There is a strong sense of gratitude for having had the chance to attend Hackley, valuing the learning that happened in and out of the classroom. Similarly, Hackley faculty members tell stories of support, encouragement, and inspiration from their own teachers, feeling drawn to the classroom as the most

natural way to repay an incalculable debt of gratitude.

Together, as students and teachers, we are all a part of a continuum of education.

In the pages that follow, you will read stories of inspiration and reflection on the value of education and especially, of a Hackley education. The school’s enduring commitment to “challenge students to grow in character, scholarship, and accomplishment” and the ways in which that happens on the Hilltop have shaped and continue to shape the lives of generations of Hackley students. I observe powerful examples of this work happening daily on campus, whether in a Lower School music recital, a Middle School science class, on the boarding corridor, or in a varsity-level competition. Throughout various settings and programs, Hackley students and faculty forge meaningful and healthy relationships that stand at the core of our community. In possibly the most powerful endorsement of those experiences, many Hackley alumni have found meaning and purpose in the classroom as teachers themselves and are spreading beauty and light beyond the Hilltop.

Learning happens in many places and in many ways at Hackley. Amongst the school’s many strengths, I was drawn to the Hilltop by the diversity of opportunities the school provides for growth and development in academic, athletic, and artistic realms. For many alumni and students, some of the most formative moments of their Hackley experience

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came through athletic participation. Hackley continues to believe in the importance of sport as a way to teach valuable lessons in teamwork, resilience, and leadership, while also promoting a lifelong sense of physical health. The school’s emerging wellness offerings, seen most tangibly in the construction of the Walter C. Johnson Center for Health and Wellness, promote student, faculty, and staff physical and mental wellbeing. We look forward to opening this first-class facility in the winter of 2017-2018, all while continuing to develop meaningful and enduring wellness programming and curricula.

While athletic participation is often presented in contrast to artistic expression at many schools, Hackley positions both programs as integral to our educational program, as you will see in an article about our theater program. At Hackley, students engaged in the performing arts are learning the same skills of teamwork, resilience, and leadership as those participating in team sports. Throughout the fall, I have been impressed by the number of students I have seen engaged seriously in both arts and athletics. In the glow of the stage lights, actors and musicians are provided a venue for self-expression and personal exploration. The work and preparation that went on behind closed doors is now open to the world to see; it is game day. Similarly, teachers and directors, like good coaches, help student artists reach places they did not know were possible. Throughout all of these experiences, students develop confidence, pride, and appreciation for creative endeavor and leave Hackley having formed memories that will be with them for a lifetime.

Education is one of the most powerful forces for change in our world, on both an individual and institutional level. At the center stand the powerful relationships between students and their teachers. Whether the transformative teaching experiences come in the classroom, the basketball court, or the theater, today’s Hackley students and teachers are contributing to the long arc of learning on the Hilltop and “Going Forth and Spreading Beauty and Light.”

2016–2017 Board of Trustees

Hackley Parents’ Association

Officers

Officers

John C. Canoni ’86, President Sy Sternberg, Vice President Susan L. Wagner, Treasurer

Lisa Torell, Executive Vice President

John R. Torell IV ’80, Secretary

Pallavi Shah, Administrative Vice President

David A. Berry ’96 MD, PhD

Maggie Walker, Upper School Vice President

Christopher P. Bogart Roger G. Brooks Thomas A. Caputo ’65 * H. Rodgin Cohen Maria A. Docters Dawn N. Fitzpatrick Jason J. Hogg ’89 Linda Holden-Bryant Keith R. Kroeger ’54

Michelle Dhanda, Middle School Vice President Chitra Dhakad, Lower School Vice President Debbie Linnett, Secretary Torrie Pizzolato, Treasurer Erica Napach, Assistant Treasurer

Kaveh Khosrowshahi ’85

Leadership Team

Michael H. Lowry

Michael C. Wirtz, Headmaster

Timothy D. Matlack ’70

Philip J. Variano, Assistant Headmaster

Diane D. Rapp Harvinder S. Sandhu, M.D. Jumaane Saunders ’96* Sarah Unger ’03* Pamela Gallin Yablon, M.D.

Steven D. Bileca, Assistant Headmaster Peter McAndrew, Director of Finance

*Alumni Trustee

Anne Ewing Burns, Director of Lower School

Honorary Trustees

M. Cyndy Jean, Director of Middle School

Herbert A. Allen ’58 John T. Cooney ’76 Jack M. Ferraro H’63 Berkeley D. Johnson, Jr. ’48 Advisory Trustees James L. Abernathy ’59 John J. Beni ’51 Robert R. Grusky ’75 Koichi Itoh ’59 Michael G. Kimelman ’56 Jonathan P. Nelson ’64 Conrad A. Roberts ’68 Lawrence D. Stewart ’68 Hackley Alumni Association, Inc.

Officers Christie Philbrick-Wheaton Galvin ’00, President Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87, Vice President

Michael C. Wirtz headmaster

Priya Krishna, President

Daniel E. Rifkin ’89, Treasurer

Andrew M. King, Director of Upper School Christopher T. McColl, Director of Admissions John P. Gannon, Director of Development Hackley School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, religion, gender identity, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship or athletic and other school-administered programs.

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On Tuesday, September 6th, Hackley School launched its 118th academic year.

On Wednesday, September 7th, during our annual Convocation, Hackley’s K-12 community came together to formally recognize the installation of Hackley’s 12th Headmaster, Michael C. Wirtz.

Convocation 2016

ALEXANDRA MEYER ’17

Community Council President

Right now, for all of us, big or small, change is at the forefront of our minds; there’s a ton of construction on campus, (which I am sure all of you have come across already) a new headmaster joining us this year, a new grade to begin, and new friendships forming or old ones being rekindled.

As a member of the senior class, I know that my classmates are all especially thinking about and preparing for the changes that our last year at Hackley will bring, but an even bigger change that is to come next year, when we must all leave the Hilltop.

This year, I challenge all of you to accept these changes coming into your life, and to work with them as you look towards the future. Consider the legacy that you and your classmates want to leave behind, and make sure that you work every day to meet those goals while you are a student here.

Hackley already has a very special community filled with caring and motivated people which I’ve personally seen every single day these past three years—it’s really extraordinary.

To keep our awesome community thriving, the best thing I’d say to do is remember our school’s mantra: “Enter here to be and find a friend.” It can sometimes be easy to forget this statement, or forget to live in the moment and be kind to others at times—especially in the hustle and bustle always going on at Hackley—but every day we must remember to uphold the ideals of integrity, achievement, and respect that we pride ourselves with as students of Hackley and members of its community.

So, in light of all the change occurring this year on the Hilltop, I urge you to consider the things that you want to change to improve as individuals and to make our community a better and stronger place. Whether it be giving yourself a small goal to say hi to people more often in the hallway, or a greater gesture like sitting with someone who is all alone at lunch, any act of kindness is appreciated. Remember that each year is a new leaf, and yours starts now; change yourself into someone who you are proud to be and “put your all” into the community and every activity you partake in so that you are proud to be representing the Hackley community.

I wish you all the best of luck this year, and I am confident that it is going to be a great one. I can’t wait to get to know all of you better—I am honored to be the president of such an exceptional community of people.

Thank you.

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convocation 2016

JOHN C. CANONI ’86, P ’20

President, Hackley Board of Trustees

Good Morning, everyone. This is my first Convocation. Hackley did not have this tradition when I was here. I don’t think the entire school got together for anything. Thirty-four years ago when I started as a 9th grader, where we are now, this was a parking lot.

Back then, we did not have the facilities for a school-wide gathering. We expressed our school spirit and Hackley pride in other ways. But today is Convocation, today’s Hackley is fortunate to celebrate together, and I am happy to be here to celebrate with you. Indeed, the word convocation essentially means gathering the community to celebrate together.

So let us come together and celebrate the opening of our 118th year at Hackley. We have many things to celebrate on the Hilltop, but let’s focus on what makes Hackley special and unique. Hackley is not just another school.

Yes, we educate students to reach their full potential, to grow and learn in a nurturing environment. Other schools do that, perhaps almost as well. Of course Hackley does better than those schools on the athletic fields, middle school debate tournaments, quality of lower school playgrounds, and in theater performances and art shows. What makes Hackley truly different, truly unique, is our culture. That culture is in everything we do, everything we learn, everything that makes up the Hackley experience. Hackley values, Hackley character is a part of the teaching from kindergarten through 12th grade.

And when you graduate, you carry it with you as alumni. I am here to remind you that although you leave the Hilltop at graduation, the Hackley culture stays with you and you stay a part of the Hackley community forever.

Today we celebrate what links us—students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents—a love of this place, the common ethos,

the shared character and values that make us a community.

At Convocation, we celebrate a new school year, filled with promise, hope and excitement. But this year, we also celebrate the start of Hackley’s next era of leadership under Michael Wirtz, our Headmaster. When the Board of Trustees selected Mr. Wirtz, we did so because he demonstrated that he shared our values, he understood Hackley’s culture and he had a vision for an even better Hackley built on the strong foundation of our past 117 years.

Today I officially welcome Mr. Wirtz to the Hackley community, and we welcome his wife and family too—Hilary, Charlie and Frances. In technical terms, this is his installation as the 12th Headmaster of Hackley School.

Installation may seem like a strange word for this ceremony.

I don’t mean to suggest that Mr. Wirtz is a part or a software program. Another definition of install refers to a ceremony where someone is put in an important job. That is what we are doing here. There is no more important job at Hackley than Headmaster, the person who will lead us educationally, morally and culturally. But really, it’s a community-wide housewarming party, and we want the Wirtz family to make the Hilltop their home. Mike, please allow me to formally welcome you to Hackley. On behalf of the Board and the entire community, we look forward to your leadership, and to working closely together to preserve our culture and our values while taking Hackley to the next level.

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Michael C. Wirtz comes to Hackley from St. Mark’s School, a 9-12 day and boarding school in Southbor­ough, MA, where he had served as Assistant Head of School/Dean of Faculty since 2010. At St. Mark’s, Mr. Wirtz led the schools’s initiative to build its STEM education program, along with the program, curriculum and facility development inherent to its success, and led a team of faculty to direct architects to design a world-class teaching and learning space.

Mr. Wirtz began his teaching career at The Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, AL, after spending two years working as a scientist with Pfizer, Inc. He joined the faculty at Concord Academy, Concord, MA in 2001 as Lead Chemistry Teacher, and served as Science Department Chair.

Mr. Wirtz earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, summa cum laude, at Ohio University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Lambda of Ohio. He earned his Ed. M. in Policy, Planning, and Administration at Boston University.

An avid golfer and lover of the ocean, Mr. Wirtz joins the Hackley community with his wife, Hilary, and their two children.

convocation 2016

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MICHAEL C. WIRTZ

Headmaster, P ’29

Thank you Alex and Mr. Canoni for those kind words. It is an honor and a privilege to join the Hackley community and I am looking forward to working with both of you this year!

I also want to thank all the students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and trustees who have warmly welcomed me and my family to Hackley. I know that we are joining more than a school, we are joining a community. That is a difference with distinction, and we feel incredibly fortunate to be here with all of you.

I am only nine weeks into my tenure as Hackley’s head, yet it would be hard to miss the importance of community here on the Hilltop. During this transition, I have often asked students and adults, “What makes Hackley a special place?”

The responses always touch on the idea of community, illuminated by stories of support, encouragement, friendship, and acceptance. Not all—or even many—independent schools share these attributes. Today, I want to talk about us: a collection of individuals who are united as a community.

I was reminded of this idea recently after reading an important work of fiction: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. This story may be familiar to many of you here today, particularly our Lower School students and parents. For those of you who don’t know it, Gerald the Giraffe was known to be a bit clumsy, yet he was eager to participate in the community-wide dance with all the other animals. Unfortunately, their response to him was anything but encouraging and accepting: “ Hey, look at clumsy Gerald,” the animals all sneered. “ Giraffes can’t dance, you silly fool! Oh, Gerald, you’re so weird.”

As you would expect, Gerald felt terrible about himself and retreated from the dance floor embarrassed and alone. A cricket observed Gerald and offered the following encouragement:

“ Listen to the swaying grass and listen to the trees. ‘ To me the sweetest music is those branches in the breeze. “ So, imagine that the lovely moon is playing just for you— everything makes music if you really want it to.”

Setting aside his humiliation, Gerald slowly began to sway, finding that he could dance. His movement gave way to joyful, uninhibited dancing. The other animals came upon Gerald and were impressed by what they saw: “It’s a miracle! We must be in a dream.

“Gerald’s the best dancer that we’ve ever, ever seen!”

The story ends with Gerald explaining how he learned to dance: Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon and stars above.

“We all can dance,” he said, “when we find music that we love.”

“We all can dance when we find music that we love.”

Gerald discovered he was able to dance because he was willing to try. He stretched himself in a new way. He took a risk! Not only did Gerald learn to dance, he discovered an inner strength and resolve, laying the groundwork for a potential friendship with the cricket.

As learners, each of us needs a place to try new things and Hackley is that very place. I want each of you to be like Gerald: find music that you love and dance to it. Quite literally, this may be the music that you make as part of an ensemble or for Coffeehouse. Or it might be the metaphorical music and

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convocation 2016

dance that comes as you participate in Young Round Square, write for The Dial, compete on an athletic team, participate in debate, and develop as a thinker, writer, scientist, and artist.

Each of you will have the chance to try something new this year and I hope you make the most of those opportunities as they come along.

As I have come to know Hackley over the last year, I see this community as a place that attracts and honors those who, like the cricket, offer kindness, inclusion, and support to those around them. The cricket recognized Gerald’s vulnerability as he tried something new, and the cricket acted as I believe members of our community would have done, a fictional example of “Enter here to be and find a friend.”

In one moment or another this year, each of us will do something we have never done before. We will be Gerald! Each of us will also bear witness to these daily acts of courage and growth as our friends and classmates try and try again. We

will be the cricket! Hackley values personal character, and the ways in which our daily interactions influence the feel of the school. Over the last few days, you have welcomed new classmates and renewed friendships with those you have known throughout your time on the Hilltop. You are each directly contributing to that which we value so highly at Hackley: our sense of community. As we open the 2016-17 school year, I encourage you to find the music that you love and dance… and then support those around you to do the same. Community does not come from the buildings, the fields, or the air we breathe here. It comes from each of us.

I am truly excited to be here at Hackley, and I wish each of you a wonderful school year!

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Whose Service is Perfect Freedom: Hackley alumni go on to spread beauty and light in communities beyond the Hilltop

e Photo of King Chapel by Bob Price ‘32. Alumni teacher photos by Suzy Akin.

F E AT U R E

edu

By Suzy Akin

hackley in education:

Spreading Beauty and Light In October 2016, Hackley invited the alumni community to respond to a

brief survey: “Are you, or have you been, involved in the field of education?

Tell us about your role.”

Over 100 alumni spanning 65 years—from Alden Vaughan ’46, Columbia University Professor emeritus, to Peter Niemcyzk ’11, a new history teacher and coach—responded within the space of a few days.

thousands of students, rippling outward across generations.

As Shirley Choy Zaragoza ’74 commented, “Fostering leadership in this field is an essential part of realizing a better future for us all.”

Hackley alumni are engaged in education across an amazing range of pursuits, and they are eager and ready to talk about their work with a passion and focus that, it turns out, is very much a Hackley thing. So many pursued work in education because the education they received at Hackley meant that much to them.

The extraordinary response has provided substance for several stories we hope to share in the future, beginning close to home, with K-12 educators working now in schools and neighborhoods right near where it all started: Hackley.

We talk a great deal about how much we appreciate Hackley teachers—and it’s important, too, to recognize that part of their legacy has been the generations of students who became teachers themselves, shaping the lives of thousands upon

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Claudia Palermo Abate ’83 art educator, westlake high school, thornwood, new york

In looking back at her career in the arts, Claudia Abate admits that teaching was not where she was initially headed. Working with Carolyn Mayer (who taught ceramics at Hackley from 1970 to 1990) as a Hackley student, she discovered a deep love for ceramics and decided to pursue that passion at Skidmore College.

“However,” she recalls, “when I came home from college as a sophomore and told my father I was going to throw pots for living, he strongly encouraged me to take an education class.” She added education classes to her schedule, did some student teaching in the Saratoga Springs City School District, and spent a month at Hackley with Carolyn Mayer before pursuing her Masters degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also studied Ceramics and Art Education.

Claudia was hired to teach at Westlake High School immediately upon graduating from Teachers College, 29 years ago, and she has been there ever since. Across those 29 years, the definition of “Art Education” has evolved rapidly, and Claudia has stayed on the leading edge of the field. She has been an

integral part of the growth of the Westlake Art department, has received innumerable grants and awards, has students who have been recognized locally and nationally, and has seen hundreds of students pursue the arts in college and professionally. She can rightly count among her successes many students who are now currently working in the arts and in communications in News, Film and Photography.

Westlake High School has an enrollment of 500-600 students and makes a significant commitment to its art program.

Claudia says. “Not only do we support a full program of study which includes foundation Studio Art, 21st Century Design Class (infused with STEAM concepts), Fashion, Craft and Design, courses in 3 Dimensional Design (including Sculpture and Ceramics), Photography (Darkroom and Digital), Printmaking, Graphic Design, Film and Broadcast, as well as Drawing and Painting, Pre-AP and AP Art Courses. We have four fully scheduled art teachers at the High School and a history of artistic ability and support for the Arts (both Visual and Performing) that has existed within this community since I began here.”

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The biggest surprise, though I should have known, is just how difficult it is to be a teacher. Today’s students do not hesitate to challenge you, and you are constantly being judged. As the late and beloved Arthur Naething once said, being a teacher is very much like being an actor. You are there, center stage, the spotlight shinning on you. And you better be prepared and ready not just to transmit knowledge, but also a passion for your subject. In other words, to transmit emotions, just like an actor.”

Eduardo Cue ’69

Add to that the numerous clubs and activities she has advised, her coaching and mentoring of 9th grade students, and the support she provides to students who go out on internships in the spring of their senior year, and it’s safe to say that Claudia never stops learning, and never stops moving.

Hackley had clear influence on the kind of teacher she has become. She notes, “In preparing for anything I do professionally, I always reflect on the things I learned while at Hackley—how to listen closely, how to be articulate, to take copious notes, and to prepare not only for meetings but classes I am preparing to teach. There are faculty I had at Hackley who left an indelible impression on me as educators—Carolyn Mayer, John Van Leer, Anne Craston, Walter Schneller, Dave Allison to name a few—who had a passion for learning, for teaching and for the students in their classes.” She learned from teachers who had high expectations, she says, and they had an impact on the kind of student, lifelong learner and teacher she became. “I am passionate about what I teach, I set high standards for my students, and the relationships I form with my students are those that often last for many years after they graduate,” Claudia reflects. “I have had graduates come back and speak with my classes about what they are doing in their current profession whether it be Graphic Design, Broadcast news or filmmaking. In fact I met a former student at the Pleasantville diner just yesterday to catch up!”

While she introduced a ceramics program at Westlake, she hasn’t taught that course for many years. Instead, she took the opportunity to explore another creative passion, returning to Teachers College in the late 90’s to earn her Ed.M. in Instructional Technology and Media. Her district supported her efforts, and continues to support the use of the computer as a tool in the Arts. She observes, “I now teach in a classroom filled with Macintosh computers, Video Cameras, Digital SLR’s, a Teleprompter and Smartboard.”

In addition to traditional arts curricula she has developed curricula in Graphic Design, Digital Imaging, Digital Photography, Media and Video as well as working with the Music, all of which run in her classroom. She has also served as the Curriculum leader for the Arts Department 6-12, working the Music department as well as Visual Arts on curricula.

While it seems a long artistic journey from the earthy, organic art that first inspired her to the diverse, technology-driven curricula she teaches now, she hasn’t lost her original passion. “Although I am busy in the ‘Media Lab’ during the day, at night I still explore my first love,” she reports. “I have a studio in my home, equipped with a wheel and a kiln where I still get to play in clay!”

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Sprea Brendan Buschman ’98

english teacher, ardsley high school, ardsley, new york

The drive from Hackley to Ardsley High School, where Brendan Buschman ’98 teaches, is pretty short—just about 15 minutes down a winding two-lane stretch of 9A. The buildings lack Hackley’s stately elegance, but there’s easy parking right out front and Brendan greeted me just through the locked security door and helped me sign in at the desk. The halls were wide, quiet and tidy and we walked to his classroom to talk during his 40 minute free period. We caught up as we walked—I had known him first as an 11th grader, and as we traded updates, we found that his two sons are just the age my two sons were, back when we first met on the Hilltop, 20 years ago.

“Hackley was awesome,” he recalls, as he asked about favorite teachers, pleased to know that some—Mrs. Siviglia, Mrs. Clingen, Coach Gillard—were still on the faculty. He appreciates the strong foundations of education he received at Hackley. “I had some of the ‘Greats’ among Hackley teachers,” he reports. Walter Schneller’s “Holocaust” seminar was, he recalls, “amazing,” and he took three years of science with Randy McNaughton.

Perhaps inevitably, our conversation turned to the ways in which the Hackley environment he so enjoyed compares to the public school in which he is now deeply invested. “Hackley creates an idealistic environment that fosters curiosity.”

At Hackley, he recalls, “I didn’t feel social development was ever at odds with intellectual development. You could go

many ways socially and academically and still feel you belonged.” Hackley made room for “the good weird,” he recalls, and was a comfortable home for the athletes and artists and poets and academic stars.

Brendan is deeply protective of the Hackley ethos that shaped him so significantly. “I know how much Hackley costs now, and how good a job Walter [Johnson] did” in building Hackley’s strength in so many areas, “and I was afraid it was becoming a place where success was more important than curiosity. I worried that would change.” Learning that Hackley is, if anything, more clear in its commitment to those values than ever before, and that every Lower School students knows that we “Enter here to be and find a friend,” he smiled.

We talked about the observation Walter Schneller offered years ago, that a school’s mission can be, at any time, up for grabs, depending on the agendas and priorities driving its current community. Hackley has worked hard to maintain the core identity familiar to alumni across generations, even as this commitment seems increasingly counter-cultural in the New York metropolitan milieu in which Hackley is situated. “Success,” therefore, has a nuanced definition at Hackley—achievement matters, yet curiosity, community and character are more important.

Ardsley High School, Brendan observes, has a strong peer culture that can sometimes overemphasize success. It’s a high performing public school, where, he notes, “you may

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Welcome to English, where we read and write and talk about reading and writing.

ading And, just as important, we learn how to become interesting people.

Brendan Buschman, on his Ardsley High School web page

feel left out here if you’re not trying for top colleges.” Still, there’s a strong sense of social egalitarianism. “It’s not the traditional ‘jocks rule the roost’ environment,” he notes.

In his AP English Language and Composition classes, he says, “I have kids who tell me they love to read and explore almost anything, and others who confess they don’t like to read, but take the course because it looks good on the transcript.” While respecting the economic pressures that can drive kids to craft the perfect resume, Brendan “wants kids to be curious, rather than arguing about whether they score an 82 or an 83. After all,” he reminds them, “curiosity often leads to more success than naked ambition, anyway.”

His students are all 11th and 12th graders, highly focused on building their college resumes. He says, “I encourage my students to consider a gap year, and to take the time to examine if they are ready for college. If they don’t love this [academic] environment, they should be open to other things.”

Brendan’s own experience makes him especially valuable in this environment as a voice for another path, having graduated from Hackley seeking that clarity himself. After a year at Clark University, he took a gap year, mostly working in England at a school for students with Cerebral Palsy and other physical disabilities. Living and working abroad renewed Brendan’s appreciation for wondering and exploring, and he began to develop better habits. “I learned from working,” he says. “I matured, and developed a better work ethic,” such that when he went on a year later to Hunter College, he earned better grades than he had in high school. Brendan earned a Fulbright Scholarship and, upon graduating college, taught in Germany before returning to the States to complete his MA degree.

But it was then 2008, and with the economic downturn, the public school job market was challenging. “I’d get a job, and then there’d be staffing cuts, and as the new guy, I was the

one cut.” After stints at Horace Greeley High School, Rye High School, and Hendrick Hudson High School in Westchester, and Arlington High School in Dutchess County, he decided to go to law school. Yet one year into his law program, he was offered a teaching position at Ardsley. “I earned my law degree at night while teaching at Ardsley, and finished my degree just as I was offered tenure at the school.”

Nine years into his teaching career, five of them at Ardsley, Brendan (who dropped “Kelly” from his previously hyphenated last name when he got married—“there were just too many names”) seems happily done with all that travel. He and his wife and two sons live in South Salem, and he does some estate planning law “on the side.” He remarks, “I enjoy providing the service of helping people plan their financial futures. It is, in many ways, a parallel to the support and guidance I provide my students.”

While he appreciates all his Hackley experience taught him, he also appreciates the benefits of teaching in a public school.

As a teacher, he has the opportunity to work with students with a greater diversity of learning styles. “Here, I teach some kids who have never taken English seriously, who get to see the benefits of say, Pride and Prejudice. I teach kids with different learning needs who would never have attended Hackley.”

In addition, he observes, it’s an interesting place in which to see how national issues play out in conversation. “Students here protested the Pledge of Allegiance after the [Trump] election,” he notes, which challenged him professionally.

“These students live and learn with people who don’t always agree with them—the ‘echo chamber’ effect doesn’t apply.”

“I like teaching here,” he says. “I might still send my own kids to Hackley, but as a teacher, I like the stimulation of working in this environment.”

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Neil Jaggernauth ’06

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middle school math teacher and coach, the windward school, white plains, new york

Ask us for a short list of alumni who most radiate love of Hackley, and Neil quickly comes to mind. We return that appreciation, for all the warmth and devotion he has given to his alma mater. Neil is a teacher because he wants to shape lives the way the people guiding him at Hackley shaped his.

That’s all there is to it.

Neil came to Hackley as a boarder in the 9th grade, was active as a student ambassador, a community service leader, and member of the cross country and baseball teams. He stayed connected with Hackley as a Class Rep as he went on to Quinnipiac, where he majored in Information Systems Management and devoted himself to various management roles within their D1 baseball program. Initially thinking he wanted a career in coaching, he became Head Equipment Manager and unofficial assistant coach for the University of Alabama men’s baseball team out of college, and soon realized he’d missed his true calling. While he loved coaching, he realized that at the collegiate level, you might help a player become better at baseball, but at the school level, you could help players become better people. His true passion rested in the character development made possible through team sports.

When an intern position opened up in Hackley’s Alumni Office, he applied, and came back to the Hilltop with the plan that he would also coach Middle School baseball. While serving in the Alumni Office, Neil also worked as a Middle School advisor and helped coach Varsity baseball. “I had no idea I wanted to teach,” he says. However, the time he spent around his former teachers, talking to John Van Leer, John Gillard and others at the lunch table or around campus, showed him that what he valued most about coaching was the teaching opportunity it presented.

“Being back at Hackley, I realized the impact my teachers had had on me,” he says. After observing classes in Hackley’s Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, he realized that the Middle School age group was what resonated with him most. This,

along with time spent as a Middle School advisor and substitute teacher, clarified his new direction, and he began graduate studies in education. And in 2014, he began his teaching career at The Windward School in White Plains.

As a Middle School teacher at Windward, he loves teaching 7th and 8th grade math as well as coaching 8th grade boys soccer and 7th grade boys basketball. Windward is an independent school that educates students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities.” Neil observes, “Our students are very bright kids who just have this one thing that keeps them from showing what they can do.” The program is designed to help students overcome reading, writing and related language-based challenges. Many of these students arrive at Windward with what Neil describes as “schoolphobia,” having been battered by frustration in previous schools to the extent that they lack self-confidence. All Windward teachers begin as interns, no matter how many years of teaching experience they have, and they learn to understand what these students bring to the classroom, and what, as teachers, they need to understand to best support them.

Neil says, “I really value working with these kids because they need so much in terms of confidence. Their education goes beyond math to focus on what it means to be confident, to not be afraid to ask questions and take chances.” As a coach, Neil recognizes that coaching is just teaching in a different setting. “You teach them different skills, and you teach them how to be better people,” he notes. As members of a team, the students learn selflessness, mental toughness, and the importance of sacrificing for the team. Neil observes that many of these students will not play a sport in high school, and even fewer will go on to play sports in college, so this Middle School immersion in team sport is a valuable character education opportunity.

eauty 19

Quote Credit

Each year, he teaches his athletes a series of mantras he learned from one of his college coaches: • “So what?” (Did you make a mistake? Miss a pass?

Move on!)

• “Why not?” (Take a chance, take the shot, do what you can to help the team win, reach out to support the friend who feels bad.)

• “Not yet....” (We may not have the skill or understanding to accomplish something right now, but we’ll get there. And we acknowledge the opportunities for growth.)

These lessons, he says, are every bit as relevant to the students in the classroom and beyond it as they are on the field or court.

Neil says he is exhausted at the end of every day. “I wander around the school building, shooting the breeze with colleagues, recharging, before I can begin my prep work for the next day.” But he loves every minute of it.

As much as he loves Windward, he hasn’t given up his commitment to Hackley: he comes back in August to assist

in pre-season soccer training, and this spring will be his sixth year volunteering as an assistant coach with Hackley Varsity Baseball.

When he left his job at Hackley, he wrote his colleagues to thank everyone for “constantly showing and reminding me why I want to be a teacher as well as giving me valuable insights into the world of teaching as I begin my own teaching career.” Recalling his own days as a Hackley boarder, he wrote, “I embraced the Hackley community and adopted it as a home away-from-home. That means, whether or not you knew it, many of you were like mother or father-figures to me in one way or another. […] I am not unique in that everyone has supplemental mother and father figures throughout their lives. However, I got the unique opportunity to do something that many people don’t: come back and develop those post-adolescent relationships across the board with all of you.” With that matured perspective, he was able to say, “Despite some of the stuff that gets thrown your way, all of you somehow continue to make this a place that kids like me can call home.”

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Bill Roberts ’75 science teacher, the masters school, dobbs ferry, new york

When we think about Bill Roberts ’75, it’s his warmth, his humility, and the depth of his commitment to Hackley over the years that most stand out. Past president of the Hackley Alumni Association and a member of one of the multigenerational Hackley families who have done so much for the school, we have so much to thank him for, yet still, he keeps thanking Hackley.

“In addition to the excitement I gained in learning about science and the natural world from teachers like Art, Ann, and Doc Szabo,” he reflects, “I also developed an interest in other areas of study, which has enriched my life. My curiosity about our history and the workings of our government was fostered

by Walter Schneller, and my love for Shakespeare and other literature came from Arthur Naething and Bill Nielsen.”

Inspired, he says, by his wonderful Hackley science teachers, including Art King and Ann Craston, as well as some other powerful mentors, Bill acquired a lifelong love of science and medicine. One of Hackley’s most accomplished students, Bill was Valedictorian and recipient of the Parker Cup at his Commencement, and went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his medical doctorate from Columbia. After his medical training, he practiced Gastroenterology before moving on to conduct clinical research and drug development in the Biopharmaceutical industry at Merck and Regeneron, and he reflects, “I have always felt fortunate to be able to make a living in a field where the end result was also useful for other people.”

Now a member of the Science department at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, Bill teaches ninth grade Biology as well as two seminars offered to 11th and 12th graders. “The seminars tend to be courses where the science teacher has a particular passion or background, which informs the curriculum,” he reports. “This fall my seminar explores issues related to science and ethics in medical research. In the spring I will be teaching Anatomy and Physiology. Each one gives me a chance to use my prior study and experience to help my students explore things about themselves as we examine varied issues in science, medicine, and society.”

Three years ago, however, he decided to embark on a new career—as a teacher. His two wonderful daughters, both Hackley alumnae, reinforced his love of working with kids, and he found lasting inspiration in his Hackley role models.

Even coming as he was from a highly demanding career track, the reality of teaching took him by surprise. He notes, “I have always had great respect for the work that teachers do, and I knew that they worked hard. Until actually becoming a teacher I never realized just how hard they work. My respect has only grown for the commitment teachers make toward

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Hackley teachers, M. Mitton, Ella Mae Miller, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Kerson, and Mr. Naething were all great inspirations to me.

Robin Michelson Nourie ’78

improving their craft and caring for their students.” In addition, he has found that the challenge of reaching all the students in each class to help them grasp material and feel good about their progress is harder than he expected. “It requires different approaches, creative effort, and more time. Fortunately, as with most challenges, gaining greater experience has helped me in this and many other respects as a teacher.”

Much of what he appreciated about Hackley—as a student and as a parent—holds true for Masters as well. Both schools, he says, have “interesting, bright, just plain good kids with whom it is fun to interact. Both schools place a real value on strong effort and good character.” In addition, he notes, “I have been so pleased to see that, among my colleagues at Masters, there are still great teachers who inspire kids the way I was inspired at Hackley.”

The experience has also been highly gratifying, as his students make teaching both challenging and worthwhile. Bill observes, “We have an eclectic bunch of interesting, thoughtful students at Masters. It is a lot of fun to work with them and to help them learn about science—and also about themselves. I have also very much enjoyed the chance to continue to learn new things about biology, a subject I have always loved, and about how science can make things better for our society and our world.” He also appreciates the benefits of Masters’ seven-day boarding program, which in drawing from about 35 countries and 15 states brings together students of varied backgrounds and experiences, and thereby, he says, “enriches the experience for all of us.”

Thoroughly enjoying his new challenges, Bill says he still thinks back on his Hackley teachers when he prepares his lessons or works with his students. “I am grateful to Hackley for the fine education I received and for the way its teachers helped prepare me for lifelong study,” he says. He’s also grateful to Masters—for the opportunity he has been given to become a teacher, to continue learning at a high level, and to have this chance to pass along to his students some of what he has learned in his eclectic, ongoing career.

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Madeleine Ayala Lopez ’97 fourth grade teacher, hackley school

“I credit Hackley with changing the path my life took,” Madeleine Lopez reflects. Born in Chile, Madeleine moved to the United States with her parents when she was 10 months old. Her parents settled in the Van Tassel Apartments on Beekman Avenue in Sleepy Hollow, in the apartment where her mother lives to this day.

prepared in math, but history was really tough. We had been assigned The Red Badge of Courage for summer reading and I hadn’t understood that meant I really had to read it!

Mr. Olson gave a quiz the first day of school.” Entering in 8th grade allowed her to fully transition to the academic expectations so that by 9th grade, she says, “I had learned how to be ‘Hackley.’”

Madeleine was a high-achieving student in the Tarrytown public schools, and education was deeply valued by both her parents, even though neither had gone to college in Chile.

“My teacher approached my parents and said I was a strong student and should apply to Hackley,” she reports. Her mother had worked for a Hackley family, and so her parents were aware that it was a good school—but thought it was only accessible to very wealthy families. When they found out they could receive financial aid, her mother said, “THAT’s why we came to America—so you could go to Harvard!”

Moving toward senior year and college applications, her mother’s wish that she would attend Harvard was the only thing Madeleine knew about college, and she is grateful to her college counselor, Julie Lillis, who helped broaden her perspective. “I wanted to study math and international finance, thinking some day I could spend half my year in Chile. Julie suggested I apply to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.” She went on to Georgetown and graduated with a major in Science Technology and International Affairs.

Madeleine transitioned smoothly into the Hackley social environment when she entered in 8th grade. “It was fun being a student at Hackley, and everyone was so welcoming,” she recalls. But, she says, “the vocabulary my classmates used was more sophisticated—I had to step it up. I was well

Yet still, it took a while for her path forward to become clear.

She worked first as an international trafficker for a wine importer, using her English, Spanish and French language skills to work with vineyards in Chile, France, and Italy. Then, she took a position at Nextel, where she quickly advanced in

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[Teaching] is such a rewarding career, and I reflect all of the time on how essential my teachers at Hackley were in terms of inspiring me to be an educator and modeling what it means to be an outstanding teacher and member of a school community.

Chris Lillis Meatto ’02

the ranks. Meanwhile, her fiancé, Andrew Lopez, had also started working at Nextel. Both were frustrated with the work and decided to enroll in a Foundations of Education class at Manhattanville College. They loved it, took a second class, and then took the bold step of quitting their jobs and entering the Jumpstart program at Manhattanville, an intensive program that puts new teachers right in the classroom after a fastpaced summer immersion in education courses. Andy and Madeleine completed the summer course, got married over Labor Day weekend, and each started teaching in Bronx public schools the day after Labor Day. Teaching 4th grade in the Bronx was, she says, “the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I was the only 4th grade teacher, so there was no peer with whom I could talk or turn to for guidance. I pretty much cried my way through the year.” On a whim, she emailed Ron DelMoro, Hackley’s Lower School Director, to ask if Hackley was hiring Lower School teachers. “I thought, maybe I can go back to what I knew!”

Ron was in the midst of restructuring the 4th grade program. Each of two new “homeroom” teachers would teach history and English. Madeleine finished her Master’s and started at Hackley as part of the new 4th grade team in September 2005.

Now in her 12th year at Hackley, Madeleine has three sons, the eldest a Hackley 2nd grader. Seeing Hackley through his eyes confirms her sense that Hackley is “such a happy place for kids. My son runs in to school every day.” She loves, too, that Hackley is so much more diverse than it was years ago.

While she was one of just four or five people from diverse backgrounds in her class, she says “It feels like a little UN now.” In the “Trip Around the World” project she created for the Lower School, “we could represent 26 different countries of origin across just a two year period—with no repeats!” In

particular, though, she loves the way Hackley Lower School celebrates all the students for who they are.

Across her years teaching 4th grade, she has seen student reading proficiency increase dramatically through Hackley’s literacy curriculum. As chair of the Social Studies Committee, she has overseen the development and evolution of scope and sequence, looking not just for growth and progress but for opportunities to expand the curriculum to include lessons on sustainability, social justice, multi-culturalism, and more.

Study of the Great Depression, for example, introduced students to the Dust Bowl, and to questions about the longterm impact of the conversion of the Great Plains to the fields of wheat that became the “Bread Basket.” “The kids learn to understand that there are consequences to messing with the environment,” she notes.

She particularly values all the opportunities for collaboration between Lower School faculty. For instance, the 4th grade “Biography” unit in English class was complemented by biography study in Spanish class as well, while science class in the Lower School garden tied in with 4th grade Native American studies as students harvested corn and mashed it up. And later in the year, when they study the Vietnam War in history, they will sing 1960’s protest songs in music class.

“I love Hackley Lower School,” Madeleine says. “Hackley has done so much to support my personal growth. She says, “Hackley fulfilled what I thought I needed. Everyone is so happy. I love what I teach and have so much fun with the kids. Hackley exerts a pull, like gravity. We’re here, even when we don’t need to be, because we are so committed to the community.”

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Samantha Horn ’06 history teacher, sleepy hollow high school, sleepy hollow, new york

When Samantha came to Hackley in the 6th grade from public school in Yonkers, it was Hackley’s campus that first won her over. “Oh my gosh, Mom,” she said, “I want to go here!”

As a Hackley student, though, she came to understand and appreciate the commitment to community and to the appreciation of learning that she found at Hackley. She loved the fact that teachers live on campus and devote so much of themselves to creating an atmosphere that helped students see themselves as scholars. “It’s a place where being smart and doing well is valued,” she says. She also appreciated the inclusive, accepting atmosphere, in which everyone encouraged each other, and even the quirky felt at home.

She fell in love with history in Mr. Fitz’s 7th grade class and it remained her passion all the way through Hackley. She recalls, “I loved that I was able to ‘double up’ and take additional history classes in both my junior and senior years.

Instead of taking just one senior-year history course, I was able to enjoy Modern European with Mr. Edwards, Government and Politics with Mr. King, and AP Art History with Mr. Leistler!”

At Colgate, however, she put the idea of teaching aside for a while and focused on psychology, thinking that she would pursue a career working with students with special needs.

Her college professors encouraged her to pursue a PhD in autism research and then do policy work, telling her she was “too smart” to go into teaching.

Samantha thought, “How sad. Smart people needed to become teachers.” And she knew that a research-based career would never satisfy her desire to work on a daily basis with kids. She recalls, “I wanted to have impact on students—and I knew what kind of impact my Hackley teachers had had.” She went on to obtain a Master of Professional Studies in Social Studies and Special Education at Manhattanville College.

She sustains her connection with special education in her summers, working as assistant director of Our Victory, a day camp for children with special needs, and has taught a graduate class at Pace University’s School of Education.

While pursuing her Master’s, she found herself back on the Hilltop, this time as a substitute teacher. “The Hackley community was once again incredible to me,” she reports.

“Teachers opened their doors, allowing me to observe their classes, and shared resources and advice about teaching.”

As a student-teacher at White Plains High School, Samantha experienced what it was to teach in a large, diverse public school, but hoped to find an environment that combined that diversity with the small community environment she appreciated at Hackley.

She found it at Sleepy Hollow High School, where she is now in her fifth year teaching Global History at the Honors, Regents, and ESL levels. The students are respected, and the teachers know their students and are committed to their needs. Sleepy Hollow has the community feeling I wanted along with the diversity.”

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One of the aspects of its community she appreciates most is the way friendships are formed across all socio-economic and cultural groups. “Here, the ESL student might also be an AP student—in another school, these two groups might not have anything to do with each other.” For Samantha, this diversity is at the heart of both the challenge and the beauty of working at Sleepy Hollow. She notes, “Students come from here with different levels of schooling, from different countries, speaking different languages. Some of them may not have had much access to school before coming here. The classroom population is diverse in terms of background, ability and preparation, and you have to figure out how to teach EVERYONE.” A typical lesson will have many layers of differentiation, offering added challenges to those looking to do more, as well as support and scaffolding for others. “There are,” she observes, “just so many tools you need to have in your tool box.”

As she talks about her students, she mirrors the energy, warmth and commitment to each individual student her Hackley teachers modeled for her. Reflecting back on her Hackley experience, she says, “There’s something about the mottos—Enter here to be and find a friend…Iuncti Iuvamus…

Go forth and spread beauty and light—they are such a part of your life at Hackley. Those sayings become part of what the community is, and of the values you internalize as you go out into your life. It’s a special thing.”

Earlier this fall, Samantha and fellow members of the class of 2006 gathered for their 10th Hackley reunion. She reflects, “It was so nice to see people doing pretty much exactly what they always said they would do. They are the same people, now living their dream.” For example, the friend who wanted to be a doctor is a now practicing medicine. And Samantha? When she graduated Hackley, her classmates voted her “First to be a Hackley Teacher.”

This past summer, Samantha visited her good friend and Hackley classmate Emily Werboff, who teaches Social Studies and English in Philadelphia. “We did what any self-proclaimed history nerds would do: we visited Independence Hall,” Samantha confesses. “As we stood in the room where the Constitution was drafted, we reminisced about re-enacting the Constitutional Convention in Mr. Fitz’s class all those years ago. Thank you, Hackley teachers, for inspiring us to pursue careers in this field!”

Jumaane Saunders ’96 As an alumnus of Prep for Prep, Jumaane Saunders ’96 attended Hackley as a boarding student from the 7th to the 12th grade, participating in NEALSA (Hackley’s Diversity Club), and playing lacrosse and football throughout his Hackley career.

Reflecting on his Hackley experience, Jumaane says that coming to Hackley made him realize how important a quality education is, and his time on the Hilltop inspired him to devote his life to creating ways to provide similar opportunities to as many children as possible. He values Hackley’s strong faculty-student relationships, its sense of community, and has fond memories of the athletics community and the boarding community, both of which welcomed him warmly.

Jumaane went on to earn his BA in Biology and Religious Studies from Macalester College, and his MA in Educational Politics and Finance and his Master of Education in School Leadership from Columbia University Teachers College.

Jumaane has served as Elementary School Principal at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School since its founding in 2013. Prior to this role, Jumaane worked as a biology teacher with Teach for America, a chemistry teacher at The School of the Future, a Senior Manager at Kaplan, Inc., and as the Director of External Programming at The School at Columbia University.

He chose to go into education because he wanted to be an innovator and work toward establishing ways to providing equitable educational opportunities for a wide spectrum of families. He is proud of the school he has created and in particular its diversity.

In June 2016, Jumaane was appointed to a three-year term as Alumni Trustee on Hackley’s Board. He is the first to fill a new board position, the Alumni under 40 Trustee, created by the Board to bring perspective and experience of younger alumni to the Board’s discussions.

by Diane Rapp P ’91, ’94, ’98, Hackley Trustee

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hackley in education

We invited alumni who work in education—as teachers, coaches, administrators, trustees and more—to tell us about their work, and we were thrilled by the great response. We are sure there are others in the Hackley alumni community who work in education but did not respond to our query. Are you among them? Let us know! Email alumni@hackleyschool.org.

We have made every effort to include all who responded—please accept our apologies for any omissions.

k-12 educators Numerous Hackley alumni serve or have at one point in their careers served as classroom teachers in K-12 schools, public, private and independent.

Alden Vaughan ’46

Mac Bradford ’62

Christopher R. Matlack ’73

Prior to teaching at the college level, taught at Hackley 1950-51 prior to naval service, and at AB Davis High School in Mt. Vernon, NY.

Taught English in the Chicago public school system, grades 9-10, 1966-1967, before joining Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich, CT, grades 7-9, 1967-1974 as English teacher and Lacrosse coach. English Department Chair, 1972-1974. (Worked in education publishing, 1975-1977, and then in a human resources consulting, 1977-2004.)

Science Instructor, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH

John Camera ’57 Taught theater and acting, directed ten or more productions of classical and contemporary plays, and taught English at Hackley School, 2004-2010. Coordinated redesigned lighting and stage in Hackley Performing Arts Center.

Eugene Morrison ’60 Math teacher, physical education teacher and coach at schools including Pine Crest School, Mills School, and Cardinal Gibbons High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL through retirement in 2000. Served on state advisory committee, ’98-’99. Began his teaching/ coaching career at Hackley, September 1966-June 1969.

Roger Garrison ’62 Retiring from a career as an English teacher in the Ossining public schools, taught Middle School English at Hackley for 13 years through his second retirement in 2014.

Nick Gmur ’64 Science department head, O-level secondary school, Anloga, Ghana during three-years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, West Africa.

John Van Leer ’65

John Draper ’61 Taught Spanish for 41 years at Crystal Springs School for Girls in Hillsborough, CA. Also coached soccer and supported alumni relations. Currently working part-time as Alumni Liaison.

Thirty-nine years as a history teacher, Hackley School. Retired 2015.

Shirley Choy Zaragoza ’74 Taught Spanish at the high school level at York Prep School in Manhattan for one year.

Bill Roberts ’75, M.D. Science teacher and coach, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, NY. Returned to graduate school and began teaching after practicing medicine and running clinical trials at Merck and Regeneron.

Vicky Seelen ’75 Thirty-eight years of teaching at Kent, Groton, Exeter Summer School, UMass Boston, and for the last 28 years, Noble & Greenough, Dedham, MA. English teacher & department head; faculty member; Chair, Faculty Evaluation Committee; Coach: Boys Varsity Swimming, Girls Varsity Cross-Country, Girls Varsity Crew. Disciplinary Committee. Faculty Advisor to Literary/Arts magazine. Klingenstein Fellow.

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Robin Michelson Nourie ’78

Sarina Naccari Fierro ’91

Madeleine (Ayala) Lopez ’97

Thirty years of independent school teaching in English and French, currently at Germantown Friends School.

Previously at the Wheeler School, and Moses Brown.

Head of the Lower School, Curtis School, Bel Air, CA. Twenty-two years in education, which began with five years as a Kindergarten teacher at Hackley, and as a Kindergarten teacher at PS 41 in NYC.

Fourth grade teacher at Hackley since 2004. Director of the Lower School After-School Programs, Co-Director of the Assistant Teacher Program, Chairperson of the Lower School Social Studies Committee, and Board of Trustee K-12 Faculty Representative. Previously, taught fourth grade for a year at The Bronx Little School.

Bobby Light ’82 Special Education teacher for over 23 years, in both private and public school settings, including the Summit School in Nyack, NY, and the Wappingers Central School District, where he currently teaches and serves as a district trainer for the Handle With Care crisis intervention program.

Claudia Palermo Abate ’83

Julianne Puente ’91 Fourteen-year year teacher, dean and coach at Hackley. Currently in eighth year at King’s Academy, Jordan, serving as Deputy Headmaster and Dean of Students.

Andrei Schneller ’91 Substitute teacher, high school soccer and lacrosse coach, Portland Maine.

Art Educator, Westlake High School, Thornwood, NY, for 29 years, in Studio Art, Crafts, Ceramics, Photography, Drawing and Painting, Media Video, Digital Imaging, 2 Dimensional Design, Graphic Design and Illustration, Television Broadcast Production, and through Independent Study in the arts.

Head of School, St. Paul’s Episcopal School, Oakland, CA. Previously, assistant Head of School and Director of Administrative Programs, Director of Sixth Grade and Middle School, sixth grade humanities teacher.

Leslie Kawer Herrera ’83

Dianne (Sullivan) Fahy ’92

Taught reading and Language Arts for over 11 years prior to starting a tutoring business that helps dyslexic students find success in reading.

Math teacher, Hackley School, now in her 21st year

Heather Wolfgang Murphy ’89 Elementary level special education teacher, fifth grade teacher, Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, MA, 19942004. Special education teacher and fourth grade teacher, Reading Public Schools, Reading, MA, 2006- present.

Melissa (McCaffery) Stanek ’90 Upper School history teacher, dean, and Varsity Lacrosse coach at Hackley.

Previously taught at Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA and The Pingry School, Basking Ridge, NJ.

Josh Stern ’91

Alvaro Borrell ’93 Public elementary school special education teacher, Amherst, MA. Lacrosse coach, grades 3- 8.

Danielle Almeida ’96 Math teacher, 7th grade, Irvington, NY Jumaane W. Saunders ’96 Elementary Principal, Brooklyn Prospect Charter School

Brendan Buschman ’98 English teacher, Ardsley High School.

Teaches English 11, English 12, AP Language and Composition and Public Speaking, and advises the debate program.

Ed Van Leer ’99 Middle School math teacher, Bronx, NY public school, 2008 - 2015 Meghan Basher ’01 Director of School Counseling, Joseph A. Foran High School, Milford, CT. Previously worked as a middle school counselor at East Shore and West Shore Middle Schools, Milford, CT, and teaching aide, Briarcliff, NY Public Schools and substitute teacher, White Plains, NY. Josh Deitch ’01 Upper School Head, the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine, NYC. Previously, Middle School Head, Saddle River Day School, NJ. Krysta (Fiorillo) Dudley ’01 Kindergarten teacher, Collegiate School, NYC

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k-12 educators

Chris Lillis Meatto ’02

Jennifer Lee ’05

Juan Carlos Cobos ’08

Upper School history teacher, Avenues: The World School, NYC. Founding co-advisor for the Upper School’s Model UN club and currently serves as a faculty lead for developing interdisciplinary projects. Previously, co-advisor on the student-run magazine, academic advisor.

High School Social Studies teacher, Detroit Delta Preparatory Academy for Social Justice (part of the Equity Charter Network in Detroit, MI), teaching civics/government, economics, and world history. Previously taught 9th and 10th grade global history at Good Counsel Academy, White Plains, NY.

First Grade Assistant Teacher, Hackley School, 2014-15. Nursery Room teacher, The Clearview School, 2012-13

Hanna Campbell ’03

Adam Baitsell ’06

Teacher and Track & Field Coach prior to joining administration as Director of Operations, Achievement First.

Learning Specialist at the Spartanburg Day School, Spartanburg, SC. Coached lacrosse at the Varsity and Middle School Levels for Coral Reef High, Miami, FL. Previously, 6th grade English teacher and lacrosse coach at the Palmer Trinity School in Miami, Florida and sub for the Miami-Dade County School district.

Michael Makinde ’03 One year teaching English and history to high school juniors and seniors, mostly ESL students, at Boston International High School in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Marya Myers ’03 Served as a preschool classroom teacher before moving into curriculum writing and consulting. Earned a Dual Certification in Early Childhood Education and Special Education at Teachers College, Columbia, and taught at CP Kids, the preschool at Chelsea Piers, prior to becoming a Lead Content Editor and Writer Great Minds; writes and edits Kindergarten English Language Arts curriculum, and trains teachers and administrators to implement the curriculum. Curriculum consultant for The America Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA).

Garin (Beitler) Michelson ’04 History teacher at the High School of Fashion Industries, NYC (currently on leave). As a teacher for the NYC DOE for four years, taught all grade levels and subjects.

Samantha Horn ’06 Social Studies teacher, Sleepy Hollow High School, Tarrytown, NY. Also serves as assistant director of Our Victory, a day camp for children with special needs. During graduate studies, substitute taught at Hackley.

Neil Jaggernauth ’06 Seventh/eighth grade math teacher, The Windward School, White Plains, NY. Soccer and basketball at Windward; returns to Hackley each spring to coach baseball.

Emily Werboff ’06 Teacher, English and Social Studies, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.

Meg Johnson ’07 History teacher, rowing coach, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA. Previously, history teacher, rowing and squash coach, Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ.

Meghan F. McDermott ’08 Fifth Grade civics teacher, The Browning School, NYC Caroline Shannon ’08 Middle School French teacher, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY Brian Alvarado ’10 Served one year with AmeriCorps as an Urban Education Fellow at Great Oaks Charter School in Bridgeport, CT, as a member of the TutorCorps program, providing daily English Language Arts tutorial to 6th/7th graders, assisting teachers and administrators in a variety of academic and administrative capacities. Co-founded and helped coach the inaugural Great Oaks Grizzlies Flag Football Team. Previously, tutored at Kuman and Sylvan Learning Center.

Peter Niemczyk ’11 Teaches Middle School history and creative writing, and advises the school newspaper, The Elisabeth Morrow School, Englewood NJ. Soccer and basketball coach.

home to the hilltop

Along with some who responded to our survey and are listed elsewhere on these pages, the following Hackley alumni have returned to the Hilltop as teachers, coaches, administrators or staff for years of tenure brief and long.

For many, Hackley was the first stop in what became an illustrious career in education.

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Bill Drisler ’33

Melissa (McCaffery) Stanek ’90**

Alden Vaughan ’46

Ron Martucci ’91

Charlie Bates ’49

Sarina (Naccari) Fierro ’91

Phil Havens ’49

Julianne Puente ’91

Lang. Stevenson ’53

Dianne (Sullivan) Fahy ’92**

Harry Gratwick ’54

Astrid Kruse ’92

John Camera ’57

Josh Marks ’92

Eugene Morrison ’60

Kate Caputo Squyres ’93

Jim Biehle ’62

Emily (DeMarchena) Washington ’94**

Roger Garrison ’62 John Van Leer ’65 Matt Sampson ’68 Bob Kirkwood ’71 Chris Matlack ’73 Scott Nelson ’73 Becky (Nelson) McGovern ’75 Sue (Wise) Nelson ’78 Bill McNaughton ’79** Leslie Allen ’81 Karen Michelson ’81 Susan (Bergsman) Arkin ’82 Elizabeth (Rout) Koenig ’83 Damon Ploumis ’84 Haleh Tavakol ’84** Margie McNaughton Ford ’85** Evelyn (Craston) Wolke ’85 Jill Vollweiler ’86 Dana Thomas ’87 Niki (Doufekias) Emanuel ’90 Rob Gutheil ’90

**

Alumni currently working at Hackley.

Elizabeth Todd Masters ’94 Shawn Lyons ’95 Eric Werner ’95 Laura (Chepiga) Sullivan ’96 Elizabeth Aranow ’97 Madeleine (Ayala) Lopez ’97** Ana Venturas Ripp ’98 Chia-Ming Chen ’99 Ted Quinn ’99 Larry Stewart, Jr. ’01 Caroline Block ’02 Cheryl Berman ’03 Michael Canterino ’03** Jason Rizzi ’03 Greg Dreyfuss ’04 Neil Jaggernauth ’06 Kate (Jones) Wierzbicki ’07 Juan Cobos ’08 Meghan McDermott ’08 Lucas Avidan ’11

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hackley alumni in higher education Hackley alumni have had and continue to have tremendous impact in the field of collegiate and graduate education.

Alden Vaughan ’46, PhD

Malcolm Mooney ’62

Eduardo Cue ’69

Professor of History, emeritus, Columbia University; Affiliate Professor of History at Clark University, Worcester, MA.

Working artist, teaches abstract painting at Alberta College of Art & Design.

Previously, taught drawing at Wentworth Institute of Technology and has taught art at a public school in Boston as well as at the Hudson River Museum.

Worked for Board of Education in NY in Research Evaluation and Assessment, and as Inspector for OREA, an assessment program that dealt with language and art.

Journalist and journalism instructor at Celsa Communications School, La Sorbonne, Paris; Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme, Lille; and at other institutions around the globe.

Shaul Bakhash ’55, PhD Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA Peter Spina ’56 Served as president of four colleges —two year and four year/graduate.

Named Emeritus President at Monroe Community College in Rochester and SUNY Polytechnic in Utica, NY John Camera ’57 Taught acting and Shakespeare at Hunter College, NYC, 2010 to 2014.

Cabanne Howard ’60, JD University of Maine School of Law, American and foreign Constitutional Law, Legislation and Professional Responsibility. Also, Bowdoin College, Constitutional Law, Fall 2006.

John Waterbury ’60, PhD Scientist Emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Scientific staff member, 1978-2007, retiring as Senior Scientist. PhD, University of California, Berkeley, in general microbiology. Maintained active research projects through August 2016. Instructor and advisor in Microbiology in the MIT-WHOI Joint Graduate Program, and Instructor in the Microbial Diversity Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

Claude Canizares ’63, PhD Professor of Physics at MIT. Roles include Bruno Rossi Professor of Physics; Director of the Center for Space Research (now the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research) (1990-2002); Associate Provost (20012006); Vice President for Research and Associate Provost (2006-6013); Vice President (2013-2015).Has served on dozens of MIT and national committees, including the NASA Advisory Council and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Committee.

Stuart J. Davis ’63 Former History Department Chair, The Madeira School, McLean, VA. Frederick S. Vom Saal ’63 Professor of Biology, Reproductive Researcher, University of Missouri Peter B. Harris ’65, PhD Professor of English, Colby College, Waterville, ME Jeff Guiler ’66, PhD Professor, Labor Relations, Robert Morris University Peter W. Lightfoot ’68 Associate Professor of Voice & Opera, Michigan State University

Andrew Burstein ’70, PhD Charles P. Manship Professor of History, Louisiana State University.

Historian and author.

Mark Burson ’73 Adjunct instructor in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi. Also teaches at Rust College, a small HBCU in Holly Springs, MS. Doug Lasdon ’73 Adjunct faculty, New York University, teaching “Law and Urban Problems.”

Executive Director of the Urban Justice Center.

Michael Barnhart, PhD ’74 Professor of Philosophy, Kingsborough Community College, CUNY; Department Chair, overseeing philosophy, history, political science, and criminal justice.

Shirley Choy Zaragoza ’74 Professor of Business Management, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), TriBeCa, Manhattan/NYC. Previously, parttime at other institutions including: Indiana University, Hudson Valley Community College, and Jersey City State College Barry E. Dornfeld ’76 Professor, New York University David A. Gutschmit ’76 Professor, Naval War College

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Jonathan A. Marshall ’77, PhD

Takao Hensch ’84

Simon W. Grote ’97

Computer Science professor, UNC Chapel Hill (1990-1998). Additional faculty appointments in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, Neurobiology.

Research Field: Neural computation.

Professor of Neurology at the Harvard Medical School of Molecular Cellular Biology in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (Harvard College). Previously, a Group Director at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan. Created summer school and internship programs for graduate students from around the world. Involved in the OECD initiative on Brain Science and Education.

Assistant Professor of History, Wellesley College

Faith L. Stevelman Kahn ’78 Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School Barry S. Kraushaar ’82, MD Assistant clinical professor of orthopedic sports medicine, Dominican College, Blauvelt, New York. As medical director of the Athletics department, lectures on anatomy and function in sports and helps guide curriculum, and as a senior member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Society of orthopedic surgeons, helps set standards for requirements in a continuing orthopedic medical education in New York.

Bill Macaulay ’82, MD Orthopedic surgeon; Nas S. Eftekhar Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and director of the Clinical Hip and Knee Fellowship.

Jill (Abruzese) Slye ’88 Multiple teaching and program management roles at Harvard University since 2007 including Office of Career Services. Currently teaching courses in Public Speaking and Executive Communications, Harvard University Extension School.

Sarena Straus ’88, JD Adjunct professor at law schools, colleges of criminal justice and pharmacist college programs on topics related to criminal law, career planning, and creative and legal writing.

Dinamarie Garcia-Banigan ’90, MD Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Jill Grossman ’91

David Cooper ’83 PhD Professor and department chair, Department of National Security Affairs, the U.S. Naval War College.

Previously, a career Pentagon official.

Darin Gray ’83 Director of STEM Educational Outreach Programs, University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering; summer professor for an introduction to engineering course.

GED instructor at LaGuardia Community College and communitybased organizations, 2001-2005; adjunct professor in journalism, NYU and Columbia University, 2004-2012; subsequently, educational consultant, researcher, writer.

Dr. Christina Rapp Prescott ’94 Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, John Hopkins University, specializing in pediatric corneal transplants.

Paul H. B. Erickson ’95, PhD Associate Professor of History, Science in Society, and Environmental Studies, Wesleyan University

Eleanor B. Johnson ’97 Associate Professor, English & Comparative Literature, Columbia University Ann (Fissekis) Willis ’98 Staff Researcher Associate at UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Adam Kahn ’00 Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Previously, Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University. And teaching assistant/ assistant lecturer at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Yona Stamatis ’00, PhD Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Courses on world music and music and social justice. Previously, visiting lecturer in the Modern Greek Program in the Classics Department at the University of Michigan, and Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Kalamazoo College.

Megan Blossom Prentice ’02, PhD Tenure-track Professor of Psychological Science at Castleton University in Vermont, specializing in Developmental Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Psychology. Previously, part-time lecturer in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science at the University of Kansas, where completing PhD in Child Language.

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education-related services These Hackley alumni are committed to important work in the field of education in ways not strictly defined by traditional “classroom” teaching.

Tim MacDonald ’58

Scott Moss ’84

Cheryl Wong ’99

Private hitting instructor in baseball and softball during the 1980’s and 1990’s in Florida and Long Island, and at Stetson University and Lynn University. More recently, volunteer batting coach for Hackley baseball and softball teams.

Russian language and culture teacher, the Saint Sergius Assembly and Learning Center at the Tolstoy Foundation, Valley Cottage, NY, a K-12 program for Russian-American children. His love of language was inspired by his Hackley teacher, Nicolai Tchertkoff.

Coached Youth Wrestling and Women’s Wrestling at multiple organizations, including New York Athletic Club, Beat the Streets, and most recently, UFC Astoria.

Robert Low ’74 Educational publishing. Edits and sells school books for students and professional books for teachers. Previously, managed Professional Development contracts and events for educators, including ones for the District of Columbia and Chicago Public Schools.

Karen W. Malm ’76, PhD Executive Director, Summit Community Counseling. Adjunct faculty, University of Utah, Department of Educational Psychology. Works regularly work with children with educational issues and consults regularly with schools. Adjunct faculty at the University of Utah, Department of Educational Psychology. Previously, school psychologist, Granite School District, Salt Lake City, Utah (19871991), working in the Special Education Preschool program, Headstart and in a self-contained elementary school classroom for intellectually disabled students.

Robert Wingate ’87 Executive Director, Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center, promoting healthcare workforce development serving underserved populations, which includes managing and replicating an afterschool club curriculum for high school students across New York State, and working with healthcare occupational training programs at the college and university levels. Board member, the Center for Aging in Place, which offers health literacy and other community education programs for older adults.

Ali & Hadi Partovi ’90 Co-founders, Code.org, which promotes Computer Science in K-12 and created the “Hour of Code,” a world-wide annual event that has introduced more than 100 million kids to the joy of computer programming. Hadi runs Code.org full-time, and Ali serves as a part-time advisor and “evangelist.”

Victoria Wank ’82

Jill Grossman ’91

Special Education, Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Currently at Margaret Brent Regional Center.

Education policy consultant, Center for Public Research and Leadership, 2012-2014. Researcher and writer, New Leaders, 2014-2016

Darin Gray ’83 Alternative and Adult School teacher for five years and an Alternative and Adult School Coordinator for 20 years for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Mike Halas ’98 Army Special Forces Officer “Green Beret.” Teaches, advises, and assists indigenous military forces, training local soldiers to fight and protect their own people and thereby reduce the number of US Soldiers sent overseas.

Darrel Swann ’01 Media Arts teaching assistant and internship coordinator, Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Arts Lab, Pleasantville, NY. Anna Adler ’02 Working Artist and Arts Education teacher for children, adults and the elderly, including homeless. Currently, Community Outreach Specialist, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Ithaca, NY and Arts Around You Camp Coordinator and Teaching Artist, Community School for Music and Art, Ithaca NY. Post-graduate research and series of performance art in alternative and puppet theater with focus on work with schools and the elderly in Prague, 2013, as part of a Fulbright grant. Taught art to college students at Marymount Manhattan College and NYU. Christine Gall ’08 Farm-to-School educator, developing cooking, nutrition and gardening programs in schools, including curriculum development, local food sourcing, volunteer recruitment, summer camp programming, and more, most recently in Burlington, VT.

trustees, administrators and related roles

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Whether as professional staff or dedicated volunteers, Hackley alumni serve important roles in supporting the essential work of education.

Berkeley Johnson ’49

Haleh Tavakol ’84

Former Trustee and Board President, Hackley School, as well as other significant non-profit board leadership roles.

Director of Alumni Relations and Alumni Giving, Hackley School

Don Rice ’57 Former Trustee, Hackley School and Chapin School Alan Y. Roberts ’60 President UVA College of Arts & Sciences Foundation, 2001-2003; Co-Founder College Foundation. Board member 1992-2004; Chairman UVA Alumni Association, 2010-2011; UVA Alumni Board of Managers, 2005-2012.

Jonathan M. Herman ’65 Former Trustee, New York University

Ray Wareham ’66 Former President, Board of Trustees, Spence School Vicky Seelen ’75 Former Trustee, Burke Mountain Academy David Singer ’76 Twelve years of service, Harrison, NY school board, including two years as Vice President and three as President.

Prior to school board service, served as a founding trustee and chairperson of the Harrison Educational Foundation.

board of trustees

Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

Keith Kroeger ’54

Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Hackley School

Tom Caputo ’65

Jill Grossman ’91

John Torell ’80

President and member of board of directors, Montessori Day School of Brooklyn (a preschool), 2009-2013 Craig Beni ’92

Tim Matlack ’70

Kaveh Khosrowshahi ’85 John Canoni ’86 David Berry ’96 Jumaane Saunders ’96

Current Trustee, Nantucket Partnership for Children, the umbrella organization for the Nantucket New School and Strong Wings Adventure School. His father, John Beni ’51, previously served on this board.

Herbert A. Allen ’58

Josh Marks ’92

John T. Cooney ’76

Chief Financial Officer, Little Red School House and Elaine Irwin High School. Previously, for nine years, Director of Business Operations, Director of Financial Aid, Coach and Advisor, Hackley School.

Jack M. Ferraro H’63

Chris Combe ’66 Trustee, Northwestern University, 1998-present

Alumni currently serving on Hackley’s Board of Trustees

Sarah Unger ’03 honorary trustees

Berkeley D. Johnson, Jr. ’49 Philip C. Scott ’60 advisory trustees

Ana Venturas Ripp ’98

James L. Abernathy ’59

Former Assistant Director of Capital Gifts, Hackley School. Current member, Hackley Alumni Association Board of Directors.

John J. Beni ’51 Robert R. Grusky ’75

Alyssa Cherif Oakley ’03

Michael G. Kimelman ’56

Two years in Alumni Affairs & Development for Harvard University as Digital Project Manager, managing digital communications and engagement projects.

Jonathan P. Nelson ’64

Koichi Itoh ’59

Conrad A. Roberts ’68 Lawrence D. Stewart ’68

F E AT U R E

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hackley

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By Suzy Akin

teamwork:

Every Player Matters Eight years into her tenure at Hackley, Middle School Drama teacher Merideth Maddox is enthusiastic about the program’s growth and momentum.

“We just keep doing more and more, stepping beyond the circle of what we have done in the past, because we are excited about all we can do.” While always a source of enthusiastic participation, the Middle School Drama program has grown from a lively extracurricular activity to a focused, developmentally-rich program that gives Hackley students in grades five through eight the chance to experience drama and grow as theatrical performers over their Middle School years.

Come seventh and eighth grade, all students are asked to choose both “majors” and “minors” in various arts disciplines.

Students choose to participate in visual arts, music and drama through either “minor” or “major” courses. “The committed musician or visual artist still gets the chance to experience theater education, while the student who loves drama can, through the drama major, gain meaningful depth and skills in dramatic arts,” Merideth explains

In fifth and sixth grade, all students participate in drama classes along with their music and visual arts programming, and interested students are invited to participate in an extracurricular play, with rehearsals taking place after school.

Students get a taste of what it is to experience drama, and Merideth observes, “Those interested in performance start to get hooked, and they enter seventh grade with a foundation they can build on.”

Students who major in drama in seventh or eighth grade take the “Acting Intensive” course, which stresses rehearsal and performance techniques and in which students prepare and present two shows each year. Students who opt to minor in drama take “All Things Theatrical,” in which they learn about playwriting, improvisation, elements of design, auditioning, directing and other elements of theater without the intensive performance commitment of a show.

F E AT U R E

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Significantly, in the seventh and eighth grade, the majority of rehearsals happen during the school day. “We found that with all the competing demands on their schedules, from school or club sports or other activities, the after-school rehearsal time became so fractured. And, the techniques they learn can be better taught in a classroom setting,” Merideth observes. “We put our energy into the Acting Intensive program as a way to give students the skills they need to succeed on stage. The rehearsal process takes time—and students are able to have more time to build their roles when they rehearse during class time than they would if we only rehearsed after school.

Students are challenged through the course structure to gain understanding of what they can contribute to their rehearsals and performances and to come prepared with ideas. By the time we get to blocking scenes, the students are making their own choices. They have control and ownership over their performances, rather than just being told what to do. That’s exciting for me,” she notes.

These foundations help build confidence, and with that, deeper commitment from the students. Senior Matthew Bonanno began working with Merideth Maddox in “behind the scenes” functions in the seventh grade. “I was charged with writing down blocking, organizing props, and keeping the actors focused,” he recalls. “I never thought that I would want to act, and assumed that I would always work for the crew.” He credits the Middle School program—and the energy, enthusiasm, and dedication with which Merideth approached each rehearsal—with inspiring him to try performing as an eighth grader. Four years and seven Hackley Drama performances later, he remains a dedicated member of Hackley’s theater program. Matthew reflects, “At each of our Upper School rehearsals, I hope to emulate the same energy, discipline and focus that Ms. Maddox brought each day.”

The program emphasizes fun while encouraging students to think creatively. Senior Jack Clark, who was among the first students to participate in the Acting Intensive class, reports, “In one mock audition, Ms. Maddox had asked me to try and get a dog to help me commit a crime, and, without thinking, I began trying to bribe the dog, offering him a cut of the loot after helping me rob a bank. After that didn’t work because dogs have no need for currency, I immediately dropped to the floor and began barking at the dog. I figured we needed to be speaking in the same language. But the part I remember being most impactful was that I didn’t even care that I was on the floor barking wildly at something that wasn’t even there, in front of a teacher and all of my friends.”

The course structure also supports the teaching of theatrical discipline—what it mean to be “off book,” the importance of maintaining silence backstage, the need to take responsibility for one’s own props and costumes, and, overall, to understand that all this contributes to successful performance.

As Merideth notes, this discipline also effectively underscores the importance of teamwork. “Teamwork is at the heart of dramatic performance,” she says. Unlike in musicals, where a limited number of players are literally and figuratively “in the spotlight,” the dramas Merideth and her team choose “give every person a ‘moment.’ They learn that no part is unimportant, and that everyone is an integral part of the production.”

She reflects, “The Middle School program teaches this kind of thoughtful engagement, which the old system of extracurricular musicals could not support. Our students learn what it means to be part of an ensemble—which is every bit as powerful as being part of an athletics team.” And, playing against stereotype, Merideth notes that last year’s Acting Intensive class enrolled more boys than girls.

The significant changes made in the Middle School program have tremendous impact on the strength of the Upper School program as well. Merideth and Upper School Drama teacher Willie Teacher work together in the Acting Intensive class, coteaching and co-directing. “Students get to know Willie,” she points out, and this makes it easy for them to stay involved in Upper School. Further, because the Acting Intensive course combines seventh and eighth grade students, the kids get to work closely with and build relationships with students outside their grade. “By the time they reach Upper School,” Merideth notes, “they already know many of the students a year ahead of them. The connection is there.”

Jack Clark, who has remained active in Hackley Theater through Upper School, says, “Ms. Maddox’s class was not so much a class of rules and ‘getting things right,’ but rather about listening and building up the tools I would later use in my acting career at Hackley. Ms. Maddox’s class gave me that gift. It gave me security and fun and a 40 minute break in the day when I didn’t have to be a perfect student or ‘get it right.’

I could just be myself.”

Clockwise from top left: Merideth Maddox and Willie Teacher; 7th/8th grade Acting Intensive performance; Upper School showcase; 5th/6th grade play; 7th/8th grade Acting Intensive performance.

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F E AT U R E

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From left: Upper School Showcase; The Katrina Project

By Amanda Esteves-Kraus

the journey of hackley theater

Are We There Yet? “Welcome! Jump around! You got a song—let’s get it on the speakers.”

Good luck even hearing Willie Teacher over the sound of raucous laughter as smiling kids stream into Acting I. Students high-five Willie and each other as they fidget and position themselves on the floor, chairs, or the window ledges of the classroom. Movement is encouraged in this space.

A student plugs in an iPhone and music floods the room. For the next three minutes and forty-six seconds, the students just listen. At the end of the song, the students are prompted to give one word describing the song—“Pump, good, vibes.”

One student utters, “I don’t know.”

Willie’s immediate response is “Never say I don’t know.”

Willie Teacher—known to his students as “Teach”—leads Hackley’s Upper School theater program with an irresistible mix of charisma, irreverence, deep thinking and fun. For him, good acting and good theater are all about willingness to explore, take risks and discover, even (or especially) when you “don’t know.” Not knowing just opens the door to the shared experience of finding out.

For instance, he says, “If kids come into class and say, ‘What are we going to do today?’ and I say ‘We’re going to act out a scene about going to California,’ all they will think about is California, the final destination. They won’t notice things along the way, like Iowa or the detour through Baton Rouge, what they saw and who they met there. They won’t experience the journey.” It’s the knowledge, the understanding and the empathy gathered along the way that allow them to inhabit a character.

Willie says, “So much of acting depends on having access into living and walking through the experience of others. Our students learn to see through another perspective, to ask ‘What are the possibilities here? My character may look like this, but what if he’s the first in his family to go to college? What if she lost everything in a tragic storm? What if his father died?

How would empathy with these experiences change the way the actor relates to the character?” In exploring a character, students need to live the existence of others, truthfully, with all their jewels and all their flaws.

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This all sounds exciting, brave…and terrifying. But the scaffolding upon which the Hackley theater program is built teaches students how to approach these challenges. Hackley students can participate in a full academic Drama program, parallel to the track offered for Visual Arts and Music. The music exercise described above, for example, accomplishes two goals: it welcomes students into what Willie describes as “a sacred space where creativity can thrive,” and it invites students to critique art in a healthy, constructive way. And this is just a point of entry.

Beginning in Acting I, students begin to learn improvisational work and to perform simple activity exercises (like brushing their teeth or making cookie dough) in order to gain comfort just being observed, without putting on a show. In Acting II, the curriculum reinforces these tools and adds text work and dramatic structure as students begin working with existing scenes and writing original pieces. The members of the Acting III class become an in-house theater company—the “Hacktors”—and regularly present 10 minute “Lunch and Learn” performances for fellow students, injecting living theater into the middle of the academic day. Finally, the seniors in Acting IV pursue a number of special assignments, such as the annual English Speaking Union Shakespeare competition and partnerships with Hackley Lower and Middle School students in exercises that encourage literacy and an introduction to theater. In addition, the Acting IV students create their own senior “showcase” in which they identify a unifying theme and collaborate to create a production they then perform in an Off-Broadway theater space in New York City.

Hackley Upper School presents three drama productions on campus per year. All Upper School students, regardless of if they take an acting course, are invited to audition for the first two productions—a “mainstage” classical theater piece from the likes of Shakespeare, Moliere or Shaw in the fall, and in the winter, a more modern, intimate “black box”-style performance. The third production is a curriculum-based showcase for the students in Acting I, II, and III—many of whom will experience stage performance for the first time.

Through this progression, the students mature as actors as they gain an understanding of the workings, culture, power, and impact of theater and performing arts. Willie says, “Hackley students are like sponges. They soak up everything.

This insatiable appetite for learning coupled with an incredible work ethic is at the core of the successful ‘Hacktor.’ It’s unique, and make them fun to work with.”

Students learn from a variety of acting styles, including Meisner, Method, Viewpoints and Suzuki—all of which help them build what Willie calls the “actor’s tool belt.” He explains, “It’s an imaginary tool belt that our scholars carry, and that we as directors, administrators, teacher and parents have the responsibility to fill.” Students are exposed to these tools when they walk through the door and enter the actor’s space, and they must be taught how and when to use them on and off the stage.

Willie’s work in Hackley’s theater department echoes and reinforces his work as Upper School Diversity Coordinator, through which he works to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. The tools that support this include opening dialogue, developing mutual understanding and creating shared appreciation for all we learn from each other, on the Hilltop and beyond. Willie stresses, “Our students find and develop a voice that explores the human condition on a macro and a micro level, and in doing so, they encounter the ‘Other’—people whose identity, context and experience are different from what they know. They do this in a safe yet challenging environment, with the objective of replacing ‘otherness’ with a new sense of ‘normal’ that values all parties involved.”

The experience of acting, then, is an exploration into being human. Willie describes the mission as a mandate to “provide the tools, and lessons on how to use them with intent, to ensure that these younger generations know when and how to build a new and better world.” Tools like actions, blocking, and intensity help students achieve theatrical objectives and overcome dramatic obstacles, yet they also encourage students to be thoughtful about the ways in which they work, listen and learn together in order to move effectively through the world. He reflects, “Believing in the kids and giving them the right equipment helps them to grow, find a voice and be intentional in their expression.”

With increasing numbers of students making ongoing commitment to Hackley Theater, the program is vibrant and growing. When she was in ninth grade, Hanna GoodwinPierce ’18 announced, “Teach, I plan on being in every Hackley show during my high school career.” So far, as a junior, she’s right on track, having completed seven shows in as many trimesters. It takes time, and requires tremendous commitment of intellect and heart. But the return on investment for the community? Priceless.

Are we there yet? We’re on our way.

A L U M N I D AY

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Clockwise from top left: Former and current Hackley Alumni Association presidents gathered for breakfast with Headmaster Michael Wirtz. Standing from left to right, Bill Roberts ’75, John Cooney, Jr., ’76, Michael Wirtz, Conrad Roberts ’68, Larry Stewart ’68, Nick Stewart ’59.

Seated from left to right, John Canoni ’86, Christie Philbrick-WheatonGalvin ’00, and Berk Johnson ’49.

Missing from photo: Tony Crookshank ’57, Bob Kirkwood ’71, and Belinda Walker Terry ’76.

Co-captain, Alex Meyer ’16 and her teammates took their win all the way to NYSAIS State Championships.

From left to right, John Beni ’51, Toby Dunn ’58, Rein Grabbi ’51 (who flew in from Estonia) and Dick Hodgson ’51 celebrate “Hodge,” recipient of the Alumni Service Award.

John Saunders ’66 and Dick Hodgson ’51 were captains of their undefeated football teams, and they celebrated their reunions (50th and 65th respectively) by suiting up and joining the team for the coin toss. Hackley’s football team ended the season undefeated. Go Hack!

By Haleh Tavakol ’84

october 15

Alumni Day 2016 Hundreds of alumni and friends returned to the Hilltop on October 15th to celebrate Alumni Day on a spectacular, sunny fall day. The day began with the Alumni Soccer Game and a 5k run through the Allison Trails. Later in the morning, alumni, faculty, and friends gathered in King Chapel for the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association, where Alumni Association President, Christie PhilbrickWheaton-Galvin ’00 updated Hackley alumni, and everyone enjoyed hearing from Michael Wirtz, Hackley’s twelfth headmaster.

At the Annual Meeting, a new class of Alumni Board members were elected, including two new directors, Lori (Levine) Ordover ’73 and Ali (Sirota) Kelman ’01.

A special highlight of the meeting was the induction of Walter Johnson as an Honorary Alumnus, with Hackley teacher, coach, dean, alumna and parent Melissa Stanek ’90 as the induction speaker. Current and former presidents of the Board of Trustees visited Walter in June and presented the recognition privately. Hackley Advisory Trustee John Beni ’51 presented the Alumni Service Award to a surprised Dick Hodgson ’51 for his 65 years of loyalty and service to Hackley. Hodge’s daughters also attended and surprised their dad.

During the Memorial Service, John Van Leer ’65 paid tribute to Dave Bridges. “Dave’s legacy lives on in me,” he said, “as it does in every other student whose life he touched and enriched.” We were grateful Nancy, Doug ’82, Bruce ’84 and their families were able to attend.

The Annual Meeting was followed by numerous activities and more great weather. The 50th Reunion class of 1966 visited The Alumni Archive Room for a walk down memory lane and enjoyed a special luncheon in the Tuck Shop. Afternoon activities included a nature walk with AP Bio teacher Tessa Johnson, a creative writing class with Anne Siviglia, a foreign policy discussion with Vladimir Klimenko, and a children’s art class with Middle School art teacher Monica Carrier. The afternoon varsity games were a big success, between the wins, Community Council’s food stand, Think Pink Bake Sale and the gorgeous weather. The day wrapped up with the Headmaster’s Reception and special reunion dinners, including the annual 50-Plus Club dinner.

Thank you to the hundreds of alumni who joined us on the Hilltop and made this day truly special.

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A L U M N I D AY

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Clockwise from top left:

“ Dave had a unique window into school life and over the years as board members, headmasters and administrators came and went, he became the defacto institutional memory of Hackley. And what a memory Dave had for anything Hackley. Events and dates, and most importantly, for faces and the names that matched them, Dave’s capacity seemed boundless.”

— john van leer ’65

John Beni ‘51 and the Class of 1951 celebrated their donation of bleachers in honor of their achievements as Hackley student-athletes.

Left to right: Len Panzer ’86, Alex Toti ’86, Scott Kramer ’86 and Paulomi Shah ’86 at the Headmaster’s Reception.

Alex Dargery ’01 with Upper School Director Andy King and his son, Henry.

Bob ’57 and Suzanne Johnson on the Quad.

Members of the Class of 1986 celebrated their 30th Reunion with a special rooftop toast.

Former Hackley varsity athletes Bre Millette ’09, Anjelique Parnell ’10, and Erica Khosrowshahi ’09 at the football game.

Eric Landman ’66, John Saunders ’66, Jim Hand ’66 and Paul Peterson ’66 take a trip down memory lane in the Hackley Alumni Association Archives Room.

Joanna Wolfson ’01, Emily Copenhaver Fetter ’01, Ramin Afshar-Mohajer ’01, and Eric Gyasi ’01.

The Bridges family and John Van Leer ’65 outside King Chapel.

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A L U M N I D AY

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Clockwise from top left:

“ Walter’s greatest gifts to us are his reaffirmation and commitment to protect and uphold the values that are so central to this community. The formal and informal mottos, ‘United We Help One Another’, ‘Go Forth and Spread Beauty and Light’ and ‘Enter Here to Be and Find a Friend’ continue to have real and perhaps even greater meaning because Walter committed himself and our community to truly live by them.”

—melissa stanek ’90

Sarah Moritz ’11, Dani Cummins ’11, and Sydney Alabaster ’11.

Matt Wolf ’99, Erica Annunziata ’99, Ali (Sirota) Kelman ’01 and Jeremy Kelman.

Koichi Itoh ’59, Matt ’59 and Judith Garrity at the 50+ Club reception.

Lots of hugs as we “be and find a friend” at reunion!

Children of alumni enjoy class with Middle School Art Teacher, Monica Carrier.

Friends reunite on the Hilltop.

Members of the Class of 1966 celebrated their 50th Reunion with their spouses, significant others, and friends.

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View more photos!

Find the gallery of Alumni Day 2016 photos at www.hackleyschool.org/alumniday where you can view, download and print them.

A LA UT MUNRI ED AY FE

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“ If this is your first trip back to the Hilltop in several years, the specialized buildings, expansive manicured grounds and best-in-class athletics fields may be the most striking change. The new learning spaces, both indoor and out, offer current Hackley students things many of us never dreamed would be part of a K-12 education. Yet the learning spaces themselves are insignificant if not filled with the exceptional characters who have breathed life into a Hackley education for over a century.”

— christie philbrick-wheaton-galvin ’00, president, hackley alumni association

Clockwise from top left: Michelle Piccolo Hill ’91 and Hallie Bulleit ’91

Class of 1976 classmates, Belinda Walker Terry, Don Thomas, and Karen Malm.

Alumni soccer players gather for a friendly game.

Mark Bernfield, Rachel Saunders ’96, Justin Finn ’96, Rob McMahon ’96, and Marc Mugnos ’96.

Class of 2006 had a great showing, including from left to right, Sean Khosrowshahi, Sarah Walmsley, Jennie Sirignano, Allie Krouner, Dan DelMoro, Charlotte Owen, and Neil Jaggernauth.

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end note

Woods Cairns As seen on the map the red trails allude to lungs, but while I’m in them they’re green tunnels I take like oxygen that’s excited to be needed.

A cardinal zips like a tissue tugged on a string & stick.

A fat plague bug dodges the instrument of my mouth.

My throat is an apocalypse unsealing tribulation, eager for a city that can open its skyways as wide.

Hints of wetland seething in the future now are just shoots nudging upward some color.

I don’t know what to do with all my gratitude but I know what I hope to become. ~ W. M. Lobko

Inspired by the cairns—piles of stones—created by members of the Hackley community who walk the Dave Allison Memorial Trails.

W.M. (Wil) Lobko, a member of Hackley’s English department, has published his poems and reviews in Guernica, Boston Review, Kenyon Review, and Washington Square. He teaches 10th and 12th Grade English as well as Advanced Creative Writing.

Join Hackley Connect, the official online platform for Hackley’s Alumni Networking Initiative.

You can sign up in less than two minutes at hackleyconnect.org using your LinkedIn or Facebook account, or by signing up directly on Hackley Connect. Once you sign up, it’s easy to select ways in which you can use the Networking Initiative as a resource.

ackley Connect, the new face of our Alumni Networking H Initiative, enables you to:

• Give back—Introduce, employ, provide informational interviews, and/or be a mentor to our graduating students and young alumni.

• Expand—Leverage your professional network to get introduced to people you should know.

• Get ahead—Advance your career through inside connections and access to exclusive opportunities.

• Re-connect—Find and reminisce with classmates, see what they have been up to and stay in touch.

Join at www.hackleyconnect.org Questions? Please contact Haleh Tavakol ’84 at htavakol@hackleyschool.org or 914.366.2631.

Non-Profit Org.

HACK L EY R EVI EW

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293 Benedict Avenue Tarrytown, NY 10591

PAI D White Plains, NY Permit No. 91030

STAY CONNECTED WITH THE HILLTOP! Save the Dates and Join us: Saturday, May 20, 2017

The Legacy Gala

Find us at: www.facebook.com/HackleyAlumni http://lnkd.in/hackley www.twitter.com/MrsHackley legacy.hackleyschool.org hackleyconnect.org

New look, more sustainable. This issue of Hackley Review, printed on FSC-certified paper comprised of 100% post-consumer waste, is manufactured Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) using biogas produced from decomposition of waste in a landfill site, and is printed with soy-based inks, using electricity purchased from wind power.

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