Hackley Review Winter 2017-18

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COMMUNITIES WITHIN A

COMMUNITY

This is Hackley Boarding Consider five-day boarding at Hackley and experience the benefits of residential campus life along with weekends at home with family.

I joined boarding to become an individual, but instead I became a part of a community, a family, of 30 or so students and teachers. In joining, I have become thoroughly codependent. Without the people on boarding I would have no one to have late-night worry sessions with, to psychoanalyze The Royal Tenenbaums with, to be silly with. I would never know about the tumultuous world of Korean dramas, and I would never have found out what it is like to let people care about you who aren’t related by blood. I have realized that being part of a community can make everything richer.

A Hackley boarding student

On the third floor, it’s not just “Enter here to be and find a friend.” It’s “Enter here to be and find a friend you will be living with and sharing a bathroom with for the year.” This is a home. We are a family.

And, if you want to find the third floor, I’ll tell you what one of my senior boarders told me my first year on boarding. “To get to the third floor, well, it’s sort of like Hogwarts. Just hope you get on the right moving staircase — the one that takes you to Awesome.”

Amanda Esteves-Kraus Faculty Boarding Associate

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Contents 4 From the Head of School

6 Toward a Common Language Building Community Through Service-Learning.

By Emily DeMarchena Washington ’94, P ’30

14 Hudson Scholars Expanding Community Beyond the Hilltop.

By David Sykes

16 Hackley’s Educational Mission Amidst Polarization “ Learning from the Varying Perspectives and Backgrounds in our Community and the World.”

by Vladimir Klimenko

20 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.

Growing Up on the Hilltop Reflections on the long tradition of calling this Hilltop “home.”

By Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

24 Faculty Housing: The Heart of Campus Community Hackley adds four faculty homes and plans for eight more.

By Suzy Akin

Suzy Akin Editor Chris Taggart Primary Photography Alphabetica Design

26 Alumni Day 2017

By Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

36 Endnote Coming Back to Hackley: An Alumna Reflects.

© Copyright 2018 Hackley School.

All rights reserved.

By Krysta Dudley ’01

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The night before Alumni Day, faculty, students and parents gathered at the annual Dave Allison Memorial Soccer Game to honor and remember coach Dave Allison and to cheer on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team. Betsy Fenzel ’97 paid tribute to Mr. A and commented “When you think about all the women and children at Hackley that Mr. A inspired, allowing us to bring the principles of teamwork, hard work and dedication into the world, his legacy is tremendous.” Betsy ended with “and as Mr. A would say—what’s the word?”And the team joined in with a resounding ANIMAL. Mr. A would have proud.

The qualities Mr. A encouraged in his athletes were Honesty, Courage, Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Strength—qualities we strive to nurture on the Hilltop every day.

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from the head of school

A class of second graders was seated on the rug, ready to begin their literacy work for the day. Assembled as a full class, they interacted with their teacher and one another to go over the key learning points. Moments later, they seamlessly rearranged themselves into small groups spread about the room to work in different learning centers. In these subgroups, and with assistance from patient teachers, they read and completed activities purposefully designed to engage them while also improving their comprehension, decoding, and writing skills. Aside from watching the impressive work of some of our youngest students improve as readers, I was struck by the power of smaller learning communities within a larger whole. This experience also resonated with me as a metaphor for Hackley: we are communities within a community, living together and working in different configurations to bring the school’s mission to life.

In this edition of Hackley Review, you will read about many important communities within our larger community and the role that each plays in the culture of our school. Emily DeMarchena Washington ’94 developed a post-Advanced Placement Spanish course that is centered on the concept of service-learning. Over the last 10 years, she forged relationships with local social service organizations and then built curriculum around the work of those organizations and the

people they service. Her classes connect the Hackley community to the larger community in which we are located, helping build understanding through the sharing of different perspectives and experiences.

Given Hackley’s unique residential structure, campus residents—boarders, faculty, and faculty families—form a community on the Hilltop. This group contributes to the vibrancy of our school, a place that does not empty out or shut down after the academic day ends. The school’s ability to house faculty, providing quality homes for dedicated teachers and administrators to live and raise their families is an essential element of this community. Margie McNaughton Ford ’85 shares her experiences growing up on campus as the child of two faculty members in one such home on Allen’s Alley.

We are also pleased to share an update on the new four-apartment unit currently under construction at the top of Allen’s Alley, which will soon be home to four faculty families. The strong culture of philanthropy present at Hackley has helped the school create this residential community, enabling us to attract and retain high quality faculty who directly impact the experience of our students.

This experience also resonated with me as a metaphor for Hackley: we are communities within a community, living together and working in different configurations to bring the school’s mission to life.

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2017–2018 Board of Trustees

Hackley Parents’ Association

Officers

Officers

John C. Canoni ’86, President Sy Sternberg, Vice President John R. Torell IV ’80, Treasurer

Of course, the ideal of community can only be achieved if members learn to talk across their differences. Hackley’s mission challenges us to do just this, as we “learn from the varying perspectives and backgrounds in our community and the world.” Across the country, serious discussion across difference seems absent today, as people with different opinions struggle to find common ground for the common good.

History teacher Vladimir Klimenko’s essay on political discourse on the Hilltop explores these conversations in the school and seems particularly relevant and timely.

Finally, no exploration of community at Hackley would be complete without a focus on our alumni body. Throughout my short time on the Hilltop, I have been struck by the depth of connection alumni feel towards the school. The relationships formed while here—whether with teachers and coaches or with peers—last a lifetime. These qualities were on full display at this year’s Alumni Day. The pictures of the various events held throughout that day capture the warmth and affection present on campus, representing the importance of alumni to the larger Hackley community.

Pallavi S. Shah, Administrative Vice President

David A. Berry ’96 MD, PhD

Marian H. Hoffman, Upper School Vice President

Sherry F. Blockinger ’87 Christopher P. Bogart Roger G. Brooks Thomas A. Caputo ’65 H. Rodgin Cohen Dawn N. Fitzpatrick Jason J. Hogg ’89 Eric B. Gyasi ’01* Linda Holden-Bryant Keith R. Kroeger ’54 Kaveh Khosrowshahi ’85 Michael H. Lowry Timothy D. Matlack ’70 Harvinder S. Sandhu, M.D. Jumaane Saunders ’96* Sarah Unger ’03* Pamela Gallin Yablon, M.D. *Alumni Trustee Honorary Trustees Herbert A. Allen ’58 Daniel A. Celentano John T. Cooney ’76 Marvin H. Davidson Berkeley D. Johnson, Jr. ’48 Philip C. Scott ’60 Advisory Trustees James L. Abernathy ’59 John J. Beni ’51 Harold Burson Mark R. Gordon Robert R. Grusky ’75 Koichi Itoh ’59 Michael G. Kimelman ’56 Jonathan P. Nelson ’64 Diane D. Rapp Conrad A. Roberts ’68 Lawrence D. Stewart ’68 Susan L. Wagner

Michael C. Wirtz head of school

Deborah-Ann Linnett, Executive Vice President

Maria A. Docters, Secretary

Jack M. Ferraro H’63

Today, as always, community is central to the Hackley experience. While we may organize ourselves in smaller groups— classes, teams, ensembles, clubs, dorms, campus residents, or alumni—we all share in the knowledge that this school is truly unique. And that we are proud to call ourselves members of the Hackley Community.

Lisa Torell, President

Hackley Alumni Association, Inc.

Officers Christie Philbrick-Wheaton Galvin ’00, President Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87 Vice President Daniel E. Rifkin ’89, Treasurer Timothy L. Kubarych ’06 Secretary

Kaye J. Duggan, Middle School Vice President Chitra Dhakad, Lower School Vice President Alissa R. Goodman ’95, Secretary Erica Napach, Treasurer Nora Shair, Assistant Treasurer Leadership Team Michael C. Wirtz, Head of School Philip J. Variano, Associate Head of School Steven D. Bileca, Assistant Head of School Peter McAndrew, Director of Finance and Campus Planning Anne Ewing Burns, Director of Lower School M. Cyndy Jean, Director of Middle School Andrew M. King, Director of Upper School Christopher T. McColl, Director of Admissions John P. Gannon, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Susan E. Akin Director of Communications 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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By Emily DeMarchena Washington ’94, P’30

toward a common language:

Building Community through Service-Learning Landing back on the Hackley hilltop in 2007 after a seventeen-year absence was surreal for me in more ways than I could possibly express

The aesthetically mismatched red-brick building where I had spent my Middle-School years had been replaced by the green, picturesque expanse of Akin Common, the “temporary” double-wide trailer where we had held Science classes was nowhere to be found, and the Tuck Shop had been moved from its creepy, dank, dark home in the basement of Minot Savage to the pristine and spacious bottom floor of the newly inaugurated Saperstein building. There were still some familiar faces around, providing for some reassuring, albeit bizarre, interactions with former teachers turned colleagues. “Mr. Variano,” my Middle School Director, was now Phil, my coaching partner for Softball, and “Ms. Budlong,” my seventh-grade Math teacher, was Anne, my homeroom partner.

What hadn’t changed, and what ultimately drew me back to Hackley, was its commitment to using its wealth of resources to provide the student body with a balanced, thoughtful, and academically challenging educational experience that values

character and service to the community over intellect. As a modern language teacher, I want my students to become skilled, culturally competent communicators—communicators who use the language to connect and build relationships with others across linguistic, cultural and, oftentimes, ideological differences. Giving people a common currency, language, with which to authentically communicate, understand and challenge their preconceived notions of reality in the world today, is essential to my mission both as a language educator and diversity and inclusion practitioner. How could I achieve these seemingly lofty educational goals while providing my students with the opportunity to use and hone their language skills in a real-world context? Little did I know that Hackley would be the place where I would discover, explore and implement the teaching model I had been missing, my proverbial missing piece of the pedagogical puzzle: Service-Learning.

Top left: Nadya Klimenko ’12 works with local Spanish-speaking adults through Neighbors Link. Bottom left: Amanda Patterson ’17 working with immigrant children.

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“ As a modern language teacher, I want my students to become skilled, culturally competent communicators —communicators who use the language to connect and build relationships with others across linguistic, cultural and, oftentimes, ideological differences.”

— emily demarchena washington ’94, p’30

I’ve never been very good at puzzles, so my learning curve was going to be steep to say the least. I was first introduced to the concept of Service-Learning over ten years ago by the former Upper School Community Service Coordinator, Shachar Link. While Community Service is broadly defined as a voluntary act that benefits others, Service-Learning is a teaching strategy that combines academic and social education goals to meet real community needs; it requires the application of knowledge and skills, and the deliberate reflection about the experience. The core principles and best practices of Service-Learning entail a compelling and meaningful sense of purpose, learning objectives anchored in curriculum, active and collaborative engagement with community partners, and integrated reflection as a means to unearth and respond to the current and future needs of all the involved parties. A successful Service-Learning project harnesses the power in communities to foster a sense of a common, interconnected purpose and sustained relationships. “This is where the rubber hits the road,” I thought to myself. There was no better place than Hackley for me to explore this novel approach to teaching. So where did I begin?

I have been fortunate to teach the Spanish V and the Post AP: Language and Culture courses during my tenure at Hackley. These courses attracted our most talented, engaged and committed students of Spanish, and I found them eager to develop their communication skills. With “We want to be able to communicate with native speakers, Señora” echoing in my head, I began my search for community partners. I reached out to Neighbors Link, a non-profit organization in Mount Kisco that seeks to “strengthen the whole community by actively enhancing the healthy integration of immigrants.”

Neighbors Link serves a primarily Latino immigrant population, mostly from Guatemala. When I met with the community partners, they identified some immediate and long-term needs that our Hackley students could address. Once the project was clearly laid out, I identified the linguistic elements (lexical groups and functional language) necessary to accomplish our objectives. Which vocabulary needs teaching or reviewing? Which grammatical structures will the students need to use? What historical context needs discussion? What socio-cultural trends need or attention? How will we rehearse in the “safety” of the classroom environment before we leave the Hilltop to address this need?

During the last ten years, the participating students have responded to the varying needs in different ways, and while we have sustained our relationship with Neighbors Link, the projects have evolved from year to year. More recently, the extensive Hackley network has allowed me to build a relationship with a new community partner right here in Sleepy Hollow, Open Door Family Medical Center. The parents of two current Hackley students, physicians on the center’s medical staff, were eager to foster a more meaningful relationship between the Hackley community and their organization. Oddly enough, these parents first learned about Hackley (and subsequently applied for admission for their daughters) when they witnessed our students’ involvement at an event they attended at Neighbors Link. In the past, our students have researched, developed and disseminated information about health risks for educational fairs, planned and implemented culturalenrichment programming for the after-school program at Mount Kisco Elementary School, interviewed and chronicled the challenges of day-labor workers in Westchester and, most

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Kyle Kallman ’11 shares knowledge about Lyme Disease with local workers.

“ Service learning put my efforts in the classroom into perspective. It was no longer about performing well in the classroom, but applying my skill sets to communicate and help others. My experience in service learning drove me to consistently work in positions that serve the Latin American market.” — greg tavarez ’12

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“ I remember through our interactions with the children and attempting to speak to them in Spanish, many refused to reply in their home tongue and instead spoke in English.

This was reflective of shame many felt for their heritage, deeply telling of the effect the Westchester environment has on impressionable kids who feel marginalized or different. This was a revelation to me—as a white male of European heritage, the most culturally visible group in the Westchester community, I’d never thought of ancestry as something to be ashamed of.” — alec linden ’16

recently, collected detailed accounts of families displaced from their homes by a carbon-monoxide leak last year twoweeks before Christmas.

This desire to use language to connect with and better understand the diverse lived experience of Latinos in Westchester County is a driving force of the project. Another objective of the project is to affirm and celebrate the community members’ ethnic identity, as a minority population, as the danger of their losing ties to their identity is high. During the reflection period for our projects, the students often share that it is “one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences” of their junior or senior year because it incorporates working with a population with whom they may have not had direct contact, and serving this community with the language that they have studied for so long but have not employed in a real-world context. The “Ah-hah!” moments are diverse and expansive. Students report that the project made them more aware of their privilege and the dangers of “living in a bubble,” and that the reality they enjoy on the Hilltop is not the reality for the majority of the population of Westchester County. Many finish the project with the notion that it would be irresponsible to not leave the “bubble,” given the resources they enjoy.

In addition, the experience pushes students to apply grammatical concepts and lexicon studied in a way that many, if not most, have not been asked to do. A deeper, lasting understanding of language register, grammatical mood, and syntax occurs organically when the situation is deeply meaningful.

Notorious topics like the Subjunctive Mood, the Imperfect and the Preterite tenses, or the dreaded, double object pronouns become a little less mysterious when you are teaching a group of eager ten-year-olds magic tricks, learning “Luna de Xelajú” (a Guatemalan folk song) and comparing it to “This Land is Your Land,” or sharing your own experience with Lyme disease with an at-risk population.

Over the past few months, the Hackley faculty in all three divisions have been tasked with a crucial and timely reflection exercise. In our “Portrait of a Graduate” discussions, we are attempting to “define more precisely those habits of character, scholarship and accomplishment we hope to cultivate in our students to help ensure lives of meaning, purpose and active involvement with the world.” We will look to embrace teaching strategies which foster these skills in our students.

Working collaboratively to create or innovate, engaging actively with others to address shared problems and learning

Top right: Jack Clark ’17 and Luisa Stalman ’17 providing language support for members of local Latino community.

Bottom right: Kallie McAndrew ’12 and Sojourner Elleby ’11 with children at Neighbors Link.

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Serena Hernandez ’15, Isis Flores ’15, and Andrea McCree ’15 talk with members of the Neighbors Link community about health risks.

to communicate effectively and empathetically with all the stakeholders in the community have been at the forefront of our discussions. For me, a well-crafted Service-Learning project not only develops all of these skills but provides our students with the opportunity to take genuine ownership of their learning, something that lessons constrained by the four walls of the traditional classroom often cannot. Meaning in the lesson is inherent, almost obvious, sustained, and unique to each learner. The cursed age-old question, “Why am I learning this?” is replaced by “What else can we do?” or “Which problems can we address with the knowledge we’ve acquired?” Service-Learning done well makes its own path, a forward-looking vision of the world where our students grow into longtime learners, responsive citizens and valuegrounded people.

Beyond mastering a nuanced control of grammar and a sophisticated knowledge culture, I want my Spanish students to realize that honing their communication skills is a means by which they can work hand-in-hand with members of the

Spanish-speaking communities to address real-world problems that transcend language. Language becomes the tool and a critical lens through which they can connect across difference and examine their own biases. Once they have acquired the skills to decode bias and identify prejudice, they can better address inequities that keep all of our constituents, not just those from historically underrepresented groups, from leading compassionate, productive and successful lives.

The integration of Service-Learning projects into my curricula was the best pedagogical decision I have ever made and, if you ask my students, a highlight of their time on the Hilltop.

Emily DeMarchena Washington attended Hackley in Middle School, and returned as a Middle and Upper School Spanish teacher in 2007. Her son entered Kindergarten in Fall 2017 as part of the Class of 2030.

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Katie Philpott ’11 helps build understanding of diabetes at Neighbors Link.

“ Service learning turned my world upside down. I spent hours teaching students about folk music in after-school programs—but I think it would be more accurate to say that they taught me. I had never seen a group of students so excited to learn about folk music, and I had never seen a group of parents so grateful to hear their kids singing “This Land is Your Land.” — aurora straus ’17

By David Sykes

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hudson scholars:

Expanding Community Beyond the Hilltop While Hackley Modern Languages students venture forth from the Hilltop to work with diverse communities in Westchester, the Hudson Scholars program enacts a similar community partnership right here at Hackley. Created in 2016, Hudson Scholars completed a successful second season in Summer 2017.

In addition to the Hudson Scholars core curriculum, highlights from the Summer 2017 session included an ice cream social with the families, a technology day (coding, 3D printing, and geocaching), a trip to NYC and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a cookout for the families, and an overnight camp-out for the Scholars on Hackley’s campus.

Hudson Scholars is a dynamic four-week summer academic enrichment program for low-income middle school students from our local communities of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown.

It brings together Hackley teachers, Upper School volunteers, and the incredible Scholars for a meaningful and valuable experience. Funded in part by restricted gifts from members of the Hackley community, the program includes challenging and engaging coursework in English, math, science, social studies, drama, art, and PE. In addition, the program emphasizes leadership skills while promoting values such as hard work, integrity, and community through a thoughtfully designed character education curriculum.

Most exciting, though, is the incredible relationships that develop between the Scholars and the Hackley Upper School mentors. Over the past two summers, over forty Hackley Upper School students (including some recent alumni), volunteered their time to help with the summer program and even more have volunteered to be involved during the school year.

The way in which the Scholars look up to the mentors, who become role models to them, is quite special. The Hackley students demonstrate love for school and excitement about learning. They share a wide variety of interests and passions.

Most significant, they model the values of kindness and respect prized at Hackley.

Each summer the program seeks to provide the approximately 16 Scholars with a meaningful, academic, enriching, and fun four-week experience. The opportunity helps prevent summer learning loss, inspires creativity and curiosity in the classroom, fosters a culture of hard work and excellence, and instills values such of confidence, integrity, empathy, and resilience. At the same time, the program creates a close-knit and supportive community to which the Scholars and mentors feel closely connected. These four weeks set provide participating Scholars a transformational experience that supports success in middle school and beyond. During the academic year, the Hudson Scholars program provides weekly tutoring sessions and monthly Saturday programming in an effort to provide ongoing academic support as well as to continue to strengthen the relationships and sense of community.

The Hackley mentors invite the Scholars into the ethos of “Enter here to be and find a friend,” and in doing so, they discover that the relationship works both ways. Seeing the joy and discovery through the younger Scholars eyes, the Hackley volunteers find their own experience vastly expanded through the relationships that form with the Scholars. In being “a friend” themselves, they also “find a friend.”

David Sykes teaches History in the Upper School and is the founder and director of the Hudson Scholars program.

At right: Hackley mentors and Hudson Scholars working and learning together at Hackley.

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LEARNING FROM THE VARYING PERSPECTIVES AND BACKGROUNDS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD Hackley School Mission

By Vladimir Klimenko

Hackley’s Educational Mission Amidst Polarization

There is little doubt that the political climate in recent months has stoked political passions among the country’s adult citizens. For our community on the Hilltop, however, the more relevant question is what impact this has on our own educational environment. Has the politically-charged climate in the country as a whole affected the culture of Hackley’s Upper School? To what degree has it altered the fundamental nature of discussion, both within and outside of the classroom? As so much of America seems drawn to opposing sides, does one still “Enter Here to be and Find a Friend”?

Upper School faculty and administrators tend to be confident about the resilience of school culture and its ability to maintain consistency and standards within a changing external context. Among the pillars of a Hackley educational experience are certain core principles and practices, among which are 1) the expectation of at least civility, if not friendship, within the community, 2) the importance of mastering facts and weaving them appropriately into arguments and conceptual understanding, and 3) a recognition of the benefits of multiple perspectives, whether derived from cultural and social background or divergence of opinion.

While the Contemporary Issues seminar and Government class clearly wade directly into questions of politics and forms and style of governing, the daily routines and course content at Hackley remain largely unchanged.

For certain disciplines, however, the onset of what some commentators have dubbed the “post-factual era” poses new challenges. History Department chair Bill Davies responds to the very notion of “alternative facts” with a dose of traditional medicine. “History,” he says, “is one of the disciplines that teaches students that, while it may be true that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, all opinions are not equal.”

While history is not a technical science, Mr. Davies argues, the discipline uses tools to distinguish legitimate facts from fictions or distortions. He observes, “Historical method is what separates the valid opinion from the invalid, and historical method is based in careful analysis of fact and chronology, analysis which ideally yields balance and nuance. This is why we are constantly challenging students to move beyond gut feeling and long-held assumptions to ask how and why a thesis is true.”

Beyond that, however, faculty find that today’s charged environment has altered accustomed forms of discourse, as debate now extends beyond issues of policy — disagreements over taxation, social programs, or foreign relations—to discussion of fundamental ethical principles at stake. Teachers who would, as a rule, keep personal political convictions out of the classroom are uncomfortable keeping silent on topics that bear on certain basic human values. English teacher Nicole Butterfield insists that her classroom must be a “space

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where everyone is welcome,” and reflects, “Test a few recent headlines against Hackley’s motto, ‘Enter here to be and find a friend,’ and I believe the role of teachers in our community becomes abundantly clear.” Hackley needs to maintain a clear firewall against negative stereotyping and scapegoating.

What about the experience of Upper School students? To what degree has political disagreement become a source of disharmony within peer relationships? As might be expected in Democratic-leaning Westchester County, a post-election Dial poll indicated that only 15% of students supported the Trump candidacy, yet the President’s supporters say they do not feel besieged. “Hackley kids are nice,” says senior Max Tannenbaum, a visible campus Republican who gets a ready audience with his peers. He is encouraged by what he perceives to be greater curiosity on campus. “As a rule, students will take the time to hear you out. However, by the end of a long Facebook chat at night, most people’s opinions are at the same place as where they started.”

Tucker van Eck ’17, last year’s elder statesman within Hackley Conservatives, shares Max’s assessment. “I have noticed a significant uptick in political interest and debates among members of the Hackley community—more so than during Obama’s Presidency or in the months leading up to Election Day.” And, he observes, even if other students disagree with the President’s policies, there is a general culture of civility.

Senior Paul Lapey, this year’s co-president of Hackley Conservatives, concurs. “Students are generally pretty civil with each other when they discuss politics — even when they disagree.”

Paul thinks that the issues that might trigger more heated discussion touch less on policy disagreement and more on issues of culture, race and identity.

In Tucker’s view, once a political debate breaks out, it can only go on for so long before the other person no longer wishes to continue the conversation. Sophomore Max Rosenblum, The Dial’s Deputy Politics Editor, notes that stronger opinions are typically reserved for dialogue between like-minded people.

“People will be mostly polite in dialogue with their opponents, but when they speak or chat online with people who share their views, a harder or sharper edge comes out.”

So has the larger ideological divide in American society significantly altered student discourse? Members of the student community offer a mixed response. Aurora Straus ’17 observes, “Our generation’s propensity for online headbutting hasn’t changed, but the subject material has.” She notes, “Since the election, there’s definitely been a new level of unease among students. Most political infighting occurs, unfortunately, through social media platforms.”

Senior Alex Wenstrup suggests that student dependence on social media, where they experience a significant degree of confirmation bias, comes to overshadow the space formerly filled with robust debate. For Alex, the risk in today’s social media environment is not simply that people reinforce their own biases within their online feeds. He believes the problem is further magnified by the repetitive superficiality of what one reads. “Facebook, as a social media platform,” he observes, “is a place for people to share their opinions. What frustrates me, however, is when people use a 30 second clip from Now This or Buzzfeed as if that proves some sort of point.”

Students like him, he notes, also rely less and less on primary sources, instead consuming news from sources like The Daily Show. For example, he notes that students do not take the

“ Test a few recent headlines against Hackley’s motto, ‘Enter here to be and find a friend,’ and I believe the role of teachers in our community becomes abundantly clear.” — nicole butterfield, english teacher

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Upper School students with Vladimir Klimenko discussing topics of the day in Contemporary Issues.

This day’s issue: North Korea.

time to read the texts of important proposed legislation. “Yet we all seem to feel perfectly entitled to not only an opinion, but are also convinced that our opinion is right, despite our own pretty scant knowledge of the topic. All of this is reminding me how unbelievably polarized political debate has become now.”

Tucker echoes Alex’s observation. “People are taking the time to be well-informed, although I fear that students—including myself at times—are reading sites that do not present political issues objectively. People only read articles that support their ideas.”

Sarah Lucente ’17 reflects, “After the election, it seems to me that variability of opinion, even liberal opinion, is increasingly difficult to voice without judgment.” This concerns her, as it seems more important now than ever to open the conversation. “I don’t think this has happened as much as it could have since the election.” She argues that an important element to civilized discussion is to avoid drawing hasty negative conclusions about another person’s deeper motives and attitudes. “I think we just have to listen more and try to understand where the other side is coming from.”

Aurora believes that the current historical moment, for all of its uncertainty, has yielded positive results. “Students are more engaged in politics—and riled up enough to want to run themselves—than ever before.” She acknowledges the twin challenges of increased polarization along with greater apathy.

“Despite the palpable tension, though, I do think the election has started an important conversation.”

All of which, evidently, circles back to Bill Davies’ point. The purpose of a solid education is not to inculcate a particular viewpoint, but to develop criteria for determining how to assess the factual validity of competing truth claims. The challenge for Hackley, therefore, is not to stake out positions on particular points of policy, but to instead challenge students to be able to distinguish viable, robust, fact-based argumentation and truth claims from ones that are fabricated and easily disproved.

Vladimir Klimenko, member of the Hackley History department since 2005, teaches American History through 1900, Contemporary Issues, and Modern European History. He is the parent of a member of the Class of 2012.

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Legendary faculty member Kathy Szabo and Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

By Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

Growing up on the Hilltop Hackley has been my home since I was an infant. I took my first steps in the Grille Room, rode my tricycle on the quad, had my first my kiss on Clark Oval, learned to drive a stick shift on the Hackley hills, was married in King Chapel, and it was there we joined Hackley friends in saying farewell to my dad this past June. Hackley and I have an intimate history.

They say it takes a village to raise a child and for me, and many faculty kids, it took a community of diverse, passionate people from differing backgrounds and personalities with a common love of education and community. Growing up in Allen’s Alley, the faculty housing above the tennis courts, our faculty neighbors were our family.

Returning to Hackley as an employee and a parent, I came to appreciate how deeply the residential community shaped the Hackley culture I knew and loved, and how profoundly it shapes it still. In the years since I graduated, I saw Hackley expand, grow and change through the decades, but the sense of family, which helps shape the student experience, remains consistent. The school doesn’t close its doors at 4:00, life continues through the evening and weekend. As many Hackley students have said through the years, Hackley is home — even to those who don’t literally live here. John Van Leer ’65’s son Ed ’99 recently noted that living at Hackley “shaped my view of the world as one large community. When I think about my time at Hackley, I never think of it from the student perspective. To me, it’s simply my home.”

I was lucky to grow up with strong, resilient, incredible women who helped raise me. They were my role models and served as surrogate moms to many on-campus children as well as more than a few of our Hackley friends. When legendary Biology teacher Kathy Szabo cut six inches off my hair, without asking my mom, because she said my hair looked “ratty,” my mom simply shrugged and said it looked cute. Mrs. Szabo fed me when I looked hungry, yelled at me in Hungarian when I climbed too high in the pine tree in her front yard, and tutored me in her kitchen every Sunday night during my sophomore year to get me through biology. I would not be the person I am today without the influence of Mrs. Szabo and other Hackley faculty members I grew up with and their children.

When I was little, I took a great deal for granted that I now understand to be profoundly formative. It was a beautiful world in which to grow up. I knew every inch of the Hilltop like the back of my hand. I was always grateful for Mrs. Hackley for creating my world, and thought of her as a great aunt who looked after us. Our Hilltop was a place where there was

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always someone to play with. We played hide and seek in the halls and classrooms of the Upper School and snuck into the Chapel to ring the bell late at night (until they figured out how to lock us out!). The older kids made strict rules and we all followed them. If you brought food outside you had to share it with everyone, except for fruit. The strictest rule was you couldn’t tell your parents anything. (When my mom and dad asked why I had a huge bruise on the left side of my body, I couldn’t tell them that I was put at the end of the human whip and was accidently flung into a tree.) Every child was included in every game and adventure, and conflicts were settled amongst ourselves.

Maria Szabo ’82 and her sister Julie ’80 were my partners in crime and we remain like sisters to this day. Maria recalls “the beauty of the place. A wooded hill with a view of the mighty Hudson River that leant itself to sledding, bike riding, many forts, ice skating on little ponds and so many games, mischief and misdemeanors. Hide and seek, murder in the light, murder in the dark, capture the flag, running bases, kickball. We roamed the 88 acres with complete freedom.

Parents would pop their heads out and holler for us if they wanted us to come home. We would show up bedraggled and scraped up and dirty for meals or to sneak snacks out.” Our imaginary games involved themes and stories interwoven with the landscape — every tree, rock, stream and ditch participated. “My connection to the natural features of Hackley still warms my heart,” says Maria. “I sometimes dream of running down the hill on a bumpy dirt path [in] full sprint from my house to the soccer field.”

As Maria recalls, “All our neighbors were teachers, and they socialized quite a bit with each other. There were some characters from many backgrounds but all were extremely intelligent.” With no cell phones, internet, or cable TV, we learned

about history and the world through the amazing people who surrounded us. Through Carl Buessow I traveled to New Guinea; Mort Dukehart instilled in me a love of art and European architecture; and I learned intimate details of European history from the Szabos and Pavel Litvinov. I embraced being a faculty child and loved taking classes with my faculty family members.

Ed Van Leer ’99 recently noted, however, that he didn’t fully appreciate until he became a teacher how challenging it was for the teachers to teach their co-workers’ children. He says, “Mr. Fritz would give me detention one day and then be at my house for dinner the next. The Clingens ate dinner with us most Sundays, and Chief Randy [McNaughton] would walk by with his box of rocks while I was out playing basketball in front of our shared parking area. These teachers taught classes that you would say I was ‘barely passing.’ Mercifully, they always separated the school experience from the personal, which allowed me to see the teachers as people too.”

And students who don’t live on campus come to see teachers as people too — they knew “Mr. and Mrs. McNaughton” not just as teachers, but as my parents, and my parents, by extension, watched out for my friends and classmates in a way that was parental. Because of faculty housing, teachers were available to coach, run clubs, and support Hackley boarders, thus extending this spirit of family-oriented community to the wider school culture — into the hallways, where Mr. Van Leer could (and would) say to a student, “I know your mother, and she wouldn’t like that.”

We were lucky to live among committed educators who focused on each of us as individuals. They taught us the importance of speaking our minds, of being true to ourselves, and of perseverance. Through them, we learned what it really

From left to right: Archival photo from the late 1950’s of The Allen Houses—affectionately known as Allen’s Alley.

Bill McNaughton ’79, second from left, picnics with faculty kids, including Julie ’80 and Maria ’82 Szabo, far right.

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From left to right: Archival photo from the late 1950’s of Allen’s Alley. Annabelle ’20 and Colin ’22 Ives (children of teacher, coach and dean Jenny Leffler) outside their Allen’s Alley home. Faculty kids on a Halloween Hayride circa 1969. Current faculty children trick or treat on Halloween.

means to “Enter here to be and find a friend,” and we learned the full value of “unreserved effort.” They supported us in everything we did and were our cheerleaders.

Because these smart, down to earth, irreverent, kind people, committed to this community, made homes here, raised families here, and mentored our friends here, it fundamentally shaped the nature of their teaching. It created a culture that holds a quality of community and sense of home at its core.

That makes Hackley a very special place. It took my coming back as a parent raising my children in other places to fully understand the formative power of community on the Hilltop.

It’s not a stretch to say that all our children — all Hackley students — grow up on the Hilltop.

Today, another 17 families are raising their children on the Hilltop, another generation of families shaping the Hackley experience for all. Annabelle ’20 and Colin ’22 Ives, children of teacher, coach and dean Jenny Leffler, live in the house I grew up in on campus. Allen’s Alley is still filled with kids of all ages who are in and out of each other’s homes and have the freedom to roam the campus as we did. Colin says that if he didn’t live on campus, he would be on his phone more.

Instead, he is outside in the woods or the fields with fellow faculty kids. There is always someone to play with right outside his door. Annabelle has been exploring the woods since she was little; a few years ago, she discovered a water tower.

She didn’t have a cell phone until she was 13. “My mom said all she had to do was open the door and yell for me.”

Hide and seek still takes place all over the Upper School building, and kids still have their favorite hiding spots. The same close knit community with the “it takes a village attitude” persists today.

Margie McNaughton Ford ’85 is the daughter of Randy “The Chief” McNaughton, the longest serving faculty member in Hackley history, who retired in 2003 after 46 years of service and died in 2017, and Mary Anne McNaughton, former Hackley drama teacher, who also retired in 2003. Both Randy and Mary Anne were named Honorary Alumni by the Hackley Alumni Association in appreciation of their lasting impact on generations of Hackley students. Margie returned to Hackley in 2013 and serves as Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Alumni Giving.

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faculty housing:

The Heart of Campus Community “Four new faculty apartments are presently being built on the Hilltop. This project recognizes the long standing need for more substantial living quarters for faculty members and their families.”

an all-bachelor teaching staff, the enlargement of the student body and faculty soon made necessary the building of the present faculty house in 1929,” pointing to the faculty apartments constructed near what is now Zetkov Gymnasium.

So wrote Henry Silverman ’57 for The Dial during his days as a student. And we are pleased to be able to say exactly those words again now about the new housing four Hackley families will occupy this winter.

Prior to The Legacy Campaign, the Allen Houses (fondly known as “Allen’s Alley”) in the late 50s were the last faculty homes built on campus, even though Hackley has evolved from a 5th- or 6th-grade through 12th grade boys boarding school with a small “day boy” population to a coeducational K-12 day and boarding school—growth that throws young Mr. Silverman’s observation about the move beyond the “idea of an all-bachelor teaching staff” all the more sharply into relief.

It is impossible to understate the importance of faculty housing to the culture of Hackley School and the degree to which a stable, committed residential faculty shapes and strengthens the community. The words “attracting and retaining faculty” are far more than fundraising jargon.

Mr. Silverman continued, “The need for new facilities for faculty members has been an urgent one for many years.

Although Mrs. Hackley founded the school with the idea of

As Margie Ford ’85 eloquently recalls, Hackley became home to not just Hackley teachers but Hackley families. The tradition continues today, with a new generation.

Clockwise from top right: Linda and Glenn Greenberg, ready for their “hard hat” tour of the new construction.

Campus map showing the two new housing units—the four unit building opening Winter 2018 as well as the planned eight unit building. Science teacher Bill McLay and his son Will check out their new apartment. The nearly-complete four unit faculty housing.

the vision for more homes Hackley parents Glenn and Linda Greenberg P ’24 deeply appreciate the dynamic that shapes our Hilltop community, noting that “We all recognize that the strength of any school is its faculty. Faculty housing can be a deciding factor in attracting and keeping the finest teachers.”

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In the spring of 2017, the Greenbergs decided to pledge $3 million to launch Hackley’s effort to continue its plan to expand faculty housing beyond the current four-unit building with the construction of an additional eight-unit building that will be home to even more Hackley families. The fundraising is off to a strong start for this project, though there is still work to be done.

Campus housing creates more than just a place for people to live, they observe. “Not only does it help teacher pay go further, campus housing is convenient and offers access to terrific facilities. Having our teachers on campus also facilitates greater interaction with their students—our children. It is with enthusiasm that we support additional faculty housing at Hackley.”

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A

Four unit faculty housing, completed Winter 2018.

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Planned eight unit faculty housing.

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Clockwise from top left: HAA Director Ali Kelman ’01, Honorary Alumna Mary Anne McNaughton, and Head of School Michael Wirtz.

The Varsity field hockey team shut out Masters School 3-0. Pictured is Elon Middleton ’18.

Members of the Class of 1967 enjoy each others’ company as they take in the campus during their 50th reunion.

Ali Zaccagnino ’01 and Trish Raciti DeCenzo ’02 on the quad.

By Margie McNaughton Ford ’85

october 21

Alumni Day 2017 On a spectacular, sunny fall day in October, generations of alumni from classes 1949 through 2013 returned to the Hilltop to celebrate milestone reunions, cheer on our varsity teams, tour the Walter C. Johnson Health and Wellness Center, and reconnect with one another as well as former and current faculty, staff and coaches.

The day began with an alumni soccer game on Saturday morning, while outdoor enthusiasts enjoyed a morning run/walk on the Hackley trails. Later that morning, alumni, faculty, and friends gathered in King Chapel for the Annual Meeting of the Hackley Alumni Association (“HAA”). HAA President, Christie-Philbrick-Wheaton-Galvin ’00, welcomed alums home and spoke about the importance of being connected and engaged with their alma mater.

Health and Wellness Center in “hard hat” tours and were amazed by the expanded facilities it will offer.

Alumni from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were thrilled to have their former Ecology teacher, Art King, join them on a nature hike with AP Biology teacher Tessa Johnson. Mr. King loved being back in the Hackley woods, and even taught Ms. Johnson a few things. Later that evening, Mr. King, still vigorous at 95, joined the Class of 1962 at the 50-Plus Club Dinner.

Head of School Michael Wirtz spoke about his first year and plans for the future. A new slate was elected for the Alumni Board of Directors, including new members Zan Variano ’09 and Katie Philpott ’11. A highlight was the induction of Mary Anne McNaughton as Honorary Alumna by Alumni Board Director, Ali Kelman ’01. Mary Anne felt honored and touched by the gesture. This past year, the Hackley community lost two legends, Kathy Szabo (biology teacher and Science Department Chair) and Randy McNaughton (science teacher, coach, and Chief), and we remembered them with tears and laughter during the memorial service.

Following exciting athletic events, alumni and friends headed to Allen Memorial Hall for the Head of School Reception to mingle and catch up. Classes celebrating special reunions met for individual dinners in various locations on campus. Members of the 50-Plus Club, boasting record-breaking attendance, had cocktails at Gage House, the Head of School’s residence, followed by dinner in the Middle School Dining Hall. 50-Plus Club Chair Toby Dunn ’58 congratulated alumni from the Class of 1967 on their new status as members of the 50-Plus Club. Actor George Hamilton ’57 returned for his first campus visit since his student days, and he shared memories of his Hackley experience and the valuable lessons he gained on the Hilltop.

After lunch, alumni were treated to master classes with Hackley faculty. English teacher Anne Siviglia had former students writing about Mallomars in her Writing Workshop, and History teacher Vladimir Klimenko taught a Contemporary Issues class. Children created “Leaf Print” compositions with Middle School Art teacher Monica Carrier, and Dianne Fahy ’92 led The Mathematical Mystery Tour, exploring Hackley architectural design features through a unique mathematical lens. Alumni previewed the Walter C. Johnson

It was a beautiful day to roam the campus, and alumni enjoyed reliving memories in the hallways and telling stories about their Hilltop days. Though Hackley’s appearance has changed, the feeling of family remains the same. Returning to the Hilltop is like coming home.

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Clockwise from top left:

“ I am sure you agree that Hackley is a very special place. The legacy of excellence that fills these buildings is overwhelming, yet somehow not intimidating, because it is coupled with the warmth of the Hackley family that flows throughout the campus. You know that while some buildings and faces have changed over the years, the spirit of our Alma Mater has stayed the same regardless of the reunion you are celebrating this year. Welcome home!”

The football game drew an enthusiastic crowd as always!

Ivy Trzebucki ’97, Anne Siviglia and Anneke Pilson ’97 at the 20th Reunion Dinner.

The Hackley Varsity football team won a swift victory over Riverdale 33-8. Pictured: quarterback Javon Coleman ’18.

Members of Class of 1957, along with their spouses and friends, gathered at the Players Club in Manhattan for a pre-reunion celebration.

The Class of 2002 celebrate their 15th reunion on Alumni Day. Top row, from left to right: Adam Gordon, Eddie Howard, Kevin Plunkett, Aaron Bergman, and Chris Meatto. Bottom row, from left to right: Kate Lamper Radetsky and Abby Cohen Jaffe.

Mike Thomas ’65 and middle school cross-country team

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

member, Arushi Chandra ’23, kick off the day on the Hackley trails with the 5K Run. Meg Irmler ’92 and Samantha Ryan ’92 walk down memory lane.

Lynn DeMichele, Andy Retzloff with Father Dearman at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association.

Adam Rosen ’97 reminisces at his reunion dinner.

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Clockwise from top left: Hackley Alumni Association Board Members at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association. Back row left to right: Tim Kubarych ’06, Bill Roberts ’75, Conrad Roberts ’68, and Dick Hodgson ’51. Front row left to right: Trish Raciti DeCenzo ’02, Ali Kelman ’01, Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87, Christie Philbrick-Wheaton-Galvin ’00, Anastasia Venturas Ripp ’98, and Toby Dunn ’58.

Members of the Class of 1982 catch up at the football game. From left to right: David Simon, Doug Bridges, Gigi Chavez de Arnavat, Doug Towne, Roland Foster, and Diana Melamid Henderson.

Alumni Day was a great opportunity for alumni to visit with their favorite Hackley teachers. From left to right: Mike D’Alessio ’12, faculty member David Sykes, and Jibran Ahmad ’12.

Alums play hard during the alumni soccer game.

For seven years now, Upper School Biology teacher Tessa Johnson has led nature hikes on Alumni Day, and every year, a core group of her attendees call themselves the “Art King Fan Club”—alumni and faculty who raved about the teachings of retired science teacher Art King. She reports,” I would hear the joy in their voices as they recalled their time spent in the woods over 40 years ago. It is amazing how much they remembered of what he taught and to hear what an impact he had on their lives.” Ms. Johnson not only shares Mr. King’s passion for Hackley’s woods, but uses the indices he created to support her own classwork.

This year, however, Ms. Johnson was thrilled to meet the legend himself. She says, “I can now count myself as a member of the Art King Fan Club. He is truly an exception teacher and his passion for the woods exudes from every pore. I loved some of the fun facts he gave me and hearing stories about Hackley. It was fascinating to hear how some things have changed but the heart and soul of Hackley has stayed constant.”

Hackley ties run deep. From left to right: Brian Leary ’87, Rob Reda ’87, Bruce Dunbar ’85, Sallyann Parker Nichols ’87, Chaja Feenstra-Pole ’90, Wendy Leary ’87, Lisa Riffel ’87, Bruce Ikelheimer ’87, and Craig Peck ’87.

Trish Gorman ’12, faculty member and coach Jenny Leffler, and Kelly Gorman ’12 catch up at the Dave Allison Memorial Soccer Game.

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Clockwise from top left: Family reunion on the Hilltop. From left to right: John Van Leer ’65, Jana Craston Penders ’83, Art King, Julie Szabo ’80, Mary Anne McNaughton, Margie McNaughton Ford ’85, Leslie Allen ’81, Anne Siviglia, and Anne Van Leer.

Hackley Math teacher Dianne Fahy ’92 shows alums and their children the Magic Square during Mathematical Mystery Tour.

Old friends from the Class of 1977 reconnect at the Head of School Reception.

From left to right: Steve Warshaw, Linda Koch, Todd Cowle, Tyrel Holston, Scott Davidson, Jay Koven, Margie Leinhardt Koven, Cathy Law, Dr. Paul Jenkins, Helene Fuesy Donahue, Annette Severiens Himes, and Alan Cowen.

Members from the Class of 1967 returned to the Hilltop to celebrate their 50th Reunion.

Margaret Randazzo, Varsity football coach Darnell Davis ’10, and Katie Philpott ’11 caught up during the Head of School reception.

Head of School Michael Wirtz greets alums at the Head of School Reception.

Meg Johnson ’07, Emma Fursland ’07, Lauren Bindler ’07 and Becca Kilman Dvorak ’07 at the Head of School Reception.

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Alumni gathering at the Head of School Reception, Alumni Day 2017

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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 Initiative, H enables you to:

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

• Expand — Leverage your professional network to get introduced to people you should know; join industry-specific groups.

• Re-connect — Find and reminisce with classmates. Reunions, networking, and regional events are posted in class and geographic groups.

• Post jobs — potentially hire highly qualified and reliable Hackley alumni.

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

Facebook.com/hackleyschool

Twitter.com/HackleySchool

Instagram: hackley_school

Facebook.com/HackleyAlumni

Twitter.com/michaelcwirtz

Instagram: hackley.headofschool

Twitter.com/HackleyAlumni

Instagram: hackleyalumni

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end note

By Krysta Dudley ’01, Lower School Teacher

Coming Back to Hackley: An Alumna Reflects That experience I had at Hackley, and the teachers who helped foster it, propelled me into the field of education.

I knew that I wanted to inspire joy and love for learning in others, while simultaneously creating a classroom community that felt safe. A community where differing opinions and backgrounds were respected and encouraged. A community where working hard and putting forth your best effort were paramount.

Krysta Dudley ’01 and her daughter at Alumni Day 2017

I often reflect on my four years spent in Hackley’s Upper School as some of the best years of my life. In fact, I loved my years as a student there so much, that I decided to return to the Hilltop to continue my career as an educator. A driving force behind my return was because Hackley was monumental in shaping me into the person that I am today.

These statements are very grandiose and while they are easy for me to make, I have not had much time to think about the “why” behind them. What was it about Hackley that made it so special to me? The incomparable education provided by top-notch educators is at the top of the list, as is the serene and beautiful campus, and of course, the days that we had tortellini for lunch.

But when I think back on my experience, I realize that the interpersonal relationships that I formed — with my peers, teachers, and coaches — are truly the “why” behind what makes Hackley such a unique place. I remember heated debates in my Upper School history classes, with everyone’s opinion encouraged, valued, and respected. Attending art shows, plays and coffee house evenings, observing with pride all of the individual talents that my fellow classmates had to offer. While I often can’t remember what I wore a few days ago, I still recall one liners from freshman year Anthropology, the perfect circle drawn during a Geometry lesson, and the main arguments of my Senior Year Utopia paper. Hackley, as a community, works to intrinsically inspire each individual student to be the very best version of themselves that they can be.

I had an extremely fulfilling career as a kindergarten teacher at an independent school in New York City. However, when the opportunity arose to teach in Hackley’s Lower School, I knew that it could not be ignored. While I was not actively looking for a change, I was filled with curiosity. Was Hackley’s Lower School reflective of my personal Upper School memories? Were there the same values that I held so dear as a student and now as an educator? There was only one way to find out. I arrived at campus with the warm feeling that I have felt every time I visit. Upon walking into the Lower School, an unfamiliar territory to me, I saw the motto, “Enter Here to Be and Find a Friend,” and was filled with wonder and anticipation.

The minute I stepped foot into the kindergarten classroom, I “found and was” just that, a friend. The students were actively engaged in differentiating between fiction and nonfiction. They were debating, questioning, and expressing their opinions, and were respected for doing so. They immediately welcomed me, engaged me in conversation, and asked for my opinion in return. It was exactly as I had remembered: passionate, articulate, and comfortable, even at just five and six years old.

Now that I am teaching at Hackley, this passion for learning is evident every day with my first graders. Hackley’s Lower School curriculum is infused into all subjects. Just the other day, while we were learning about directionality and “north, south, east, and west,” on a map, the first graders couldn’t help but gleefully start singing the song they are learning in music: “Fifty Nifty United States,” and I couldn’t help but join in.

This is the Hackley I remember, and the Hackley that I am proud to be a contributing member of today. And as an added bonus, tortellini is still on the menu.

View more Hackley Perspectives at: medium.com/hackley-perspectives

John Kelly ’88 on becoming a Member of the Copper Beech Society I was fortunate to have been a “lifer” at Hackley. Today I teach at the University of Wisconsin. Through my less-wellprepared undergraduate students—and as my wife and I plan for our son’s schooling—I have gradually come to realize the uncommon value of a Hackley education, including intense experiences with critical reading and writing; a diverse faculty, (e.g. my physics teacher was from Russia, my French teacher from Haiti); and a nearly equally diverse student body, free of socially harmful cliques.

Having lost a parent at a young age, I knew it was important for even a young person to have a well-thought-out will. I created my first will while still in college. At that time, I didn’t yet fully appreciate the uniqueness of Hackley but I already felt that the school shaped me into whatever I was and would become. In my career, I worked extensively in poor, rural Latin America. Living among Mexican villagers, the contrast with my privileged childhood was stark. Making the school a substantial component of my will could help a few children —perhaps students from Westchester’s growing 1st or 2nd generation immigrant community - to experience what was given to me.

Hackley’s teachers collectively foster a sort of ideal: a way of approaching some problem or subject by eagerly pursuing what great minds have discovered and written, and linking this to one’s own experience. Today, as a professor, I have found the University of Wisconsin’s founding principle (the “Wisconsin Idea”) to be a Hackley hallmark: “that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.” While map technology—and teaching tools —have evolved enormously since my Hackley days, the commitment to a community’s pursuit of human thought will continue on the hilltop as long as there is a Hackley.

Dr. John Kelly ’88 lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin—a Mississippi bluffs river town reminiscent of Tarrytown—with his wife Sangeetha and seven-year-old son Luke.

He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Earth Science at the University of Wisconsin—La Crosse. His fieldwork-based research focuses on forest and rural land use change, cultural geographies, and land tenure (ownership and resource rights) in southern Mexico and in indigenous areas of Latin America.

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