Community News

Ashish K. Jha, a frequent commenter on CNN and other major news outlets, spoke to DCD faculty before the opening of school in September.

COVID-19 Expert Gives Guidance to DCD on Reopening School

Last summer, as DCD was preparing its return to in-person learning, our staff and faculty had an opportunity to hear from Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H., who is dean of the school of Brown University School of Public Health and Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice. Before joining Brown, he was the K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI).

A well-known expert on COVID-19, Dr. Jha leads the national analysis of key issues around the pandemic, advising policymakers and elected officials at the state and federal level and appearing frequently on national television news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, and in written coverage from national newspapers including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

He provided an update on the current state of the pandemic and school reopening strategies. Jha also allowed time for questions, speaking to faculty for an hour about the importance of mask-wearing, ventilation, social distancing, and access to the outdoors, providing reassurance that DCD was following best practices in its reopening plans.

Mother and Daughter Honor the Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

DCD first-grader Sanjana Hwang and her mother Supriya Rao were featured in a segment that was aired on ABC News Live about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her legacy for future generations. Sanjana comes on around two minutes and 10 seconds in the segment, which can be viewed by scanning the QR code below.

Head of School Allison Webster said, “It makes me proud to see one of our students talking about the difference she hopes to make in the world. Thanks to all of [our faculty] for making our classrooms places where students can learn about our world, think about the role they can play in it, and begin taking action now that is appropriate their age. Ruth Bader Ginsburg provided such a beautiful example of a life committed to righting injustice, building relationships, taking steady deliberate action, and caring about the lives of others. She is certainly good inspiration for these times.”

First-grader Sanjana Hwang spoke on ABC News about the impact on her life of deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Scan the code to view the segment.

Fourth-Grader Discovers a Passion for Creative Writing

By Hilary Rochelle

DCD fourthgrader William McLean has been exercising his creative writing muscles. Last summer, as part of his DCD summer project, he decided to write a weekly fun newspaper as a way to stay connected during COVID-19 with friends and family. He called his newspaper, “The Daily Cat” and maintained a loyal subscriber list of 24 people. Finding that his readers loved his paper, William got inspired to write his first book and used his time during July and August to work on this special project.

When he returned to DCD for in-person learning back up in September, William took a little break from writing. Feeling the pull to finish this creative endeavor, he picked it back up in November and finished off “The Nut in the Bunch”, a story about Ace Chippy, a detective chipmunk and all of the crimes he solves. With the humor and deep imagination of a 4th grader, it’s laughing out loud story about Ace Chippy’s encounters, crime scene clues, and resolutions.

William’s uncle Thomas, an artist and who is also familiar with book publishing, helped him bring this project to fruition designing a cover for him and aiding him with the book’s layout. William was so excited when the twenty-four selfpublished copies arrived in the mail. He couldn’t wait to share them with his original “Daily Cat” subscribers. One of these subscribers, Ms. Carla Haith, DCD Lower School Head was honored and touched to receive one of these limited copies!

William is busy working on a sequel. While the pandemic has felt isolating to many kids, it’s wonderful to see examples of children taking advantage of this quiet, less hurried time to get inspired and pursue something creative that clearly feeds their souls.

US Congressman Meets with DCD’s 8th-Grade History Class

Zooming in from Washington, U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN) joined a special combined meeting of DCD’s two 8th-Grade History classes on February 9th.

During a 45-minute session, Phillips described his first-time run for office in 2018, his role as a leader of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, and provided the students with an update on current developments in Washington, including the recent elections, the impeachment trial, and the pending COVID-19 relief bill.

Rep. Phillips spent the bulk of his time responding to student questions, covering a wide range of topics from what it’s like to be a Congressman to the attack on the Capitol and issues of racial equity and justice. He strongly encouraged the 8th-graders to get involved in public service and to run for office some day!

Phillips is a childhood friend of history teacher and advancement director Charles Rudnick, who invited Phillips to join the class as a complement to the students’ conversations about the Constitution and current events in history, which Rudnick co-teaches with Nate Buffum.

U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN) joined a special combined Facing History class in February.

Community News

DCD Recognizes Third-Graders Teddy and Kenny Knight for Bravery

By Leslie Bowen

Monday, March 1, started as a typical enough day for the Knight family of West Roxbury. Twin brothers Teddy and Kenny Knight, thirdgraders at DCD, were home doing school work during a remote learning day away from classes.

Nestled in their favorite spot under the bay window at the front of their home on a quiet street, the twins worked on their spelling exercises together. Their mother, Michelle, who is CEO of Ropes Wealth Advisors, was on a Zoom call in her office at the back of the house, and their father, Lyle, was working on a project in the basement.

Kenny looked up from his work to see a woman who was out for a walk collapse in the middle of the street right in front of their house. He turned to his brother and said, “Something’s not right.”

All of a sudden, Michelle said, there was a big commotion. The boys started yelling for their parents, running in different directions to reach each of them, shouting, “Mom, Dad, it’s an emergency!”

My first thought was something was wrong with one of them, Michelle remembers. “A woman is lying in the street,” they shouted.

Sure enough, she could see that the woman was motionless. Michelle grabbed her mask and ran out the door, shouting to her husband, “call 911!”

“I thought she was dead,” she said. “Her eyes were rolling back in her head.”

The kids stayed back on the steps of the house while Michelle comforted the woman until the EMTs arrived. “It’s okay; it’s okay, help is on the way,” she reassured her as she heard the sirens coming closer. “She couldn’t speak or move,” Michelle said. “I took her mask off because it seemed she was having trouble breathing.” Michelle said she didn’t recognize the woman and guesses she was just out for a walk from a neighboring area.

Michelle was so worried that she took the name and number of the EMT to find out what happened to the woman. “They couldn’t tell me much, but they let me know she was admitted to the emergency room at the Faulkner hospital.” Apparently, the woman had suffered a stroke.

The kids got to her so quick,” she said. “They saw her collapse right as it happened.”

Their quick action, so critical in stroke cases, they hope may have saved her from more serious injury. If they hadn’t been home from school, she might have remained there for a long time. “I was surprised that they were so decisive and knew exactly what to do,” she said. Sometimes kids panic or get scared. They didn’t go out and try to deal with it themselves but told mom and dad. They are so proud of themselves for doing the right thing.”

“We saved her, mom,” they said, something they’ll remember their whole lives.

Morgen Peck Joins Board of Trustees

Morgen is a Portfolio Manager at Fidelity Investments. She is the lead Portfolio Manager for the Small Cap Opportunities Fund and the Small Cap Stock Selector Fund and is a co-Manager on Low Priced Stock Fund. She was a finalist for the Bonhill Group’s Women in Asset Management Award in 2019 and has participated in numerous external marketing efforts on behalf of Fidelity Investments for the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and Bloomberg News.

After joining the DCD community in 2018, she began volunteering on the DCD Finance Committee and formally joined the DCD Board in 2020. She previously served on the Finance Committee at The Pike School and as the Treasurer and member of the Board for The Riverbend School. Morgen graduated from Harvard University with a BA in economics and has earned her CFA charter. She and her husband Morgan Lackenbauer live in Dedham with their two sons Lucas (DCD ’26) and Austin (DCD ’29).

DCD Recognized as All-Star in Education by The Fenway Bowl

Head of School Allison Webster and staff received recognition as an All-Star in Education in New England by the Fenway Bowl in partnership with Cross Insurance, Samuel Adams, and the Boston Globe. DCD was one of 27 receiving the honor.

As part of its commitment to equitable and quality education across New England, The Fenway Bowl honors outstanding people in the field of education. By tapping schools and associations across New England, they create a list of honorees based on colleagues, students, and friends’ recommendations.

The list of this year’s honorees represents individuals who are making a difference and inspiring their communities, from college professors and teachers of all grade levels to custodians, school nurses, administrators, and more.

The recommendation of Dedham Country Day for the award notes, “The community came together with an unwavering focus on meeting the needs of kids; we were able to provide in-person classes five days a week to every child since September. Allison, faculty, staff, parents, and students showed what a community can do when it pulls together for the common good.”

In response to receiving the award, Allison Webster said, “Every member of our DCD community shares in this honor.”

To learn more about the Fenway Bowl and its commitment to equitable and quality education across New England visit FenwayBowl.com.

Karen Eutemey Receives Funding for Public Art Project

Middle School Visual Arts teacher Karen Eutemey is part of a public art project that received funding from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture to complete the Edward O. Gourdin and African American Veterans Memorial artwork.

Karen created ten bas-relief portraits of African American veterans of wars from the American Revolution to the Iraq War that are part of the community-initiated public art project, which features a bronze memorial portrait of Justice Gourdin by fellow sculptor Fern Cunningham Terry.

The City of Boston has allocated $150,000 in capital funds to close the funding gap slowing the completion of the project.

The long-deferred installation honors Edward Orval “Ned” Gourdin (1897–1966), jurist, veteran, athlete, and civil rights activist, who was the first African American and the first Native American (Seminole) to be appointed a Superior Court judge in New England.

Gourdin was colonel of the 372nd Infantry Regiment during World War II, and commandant of the 272nd during the Korean War, the last segregated military unit in the United States. Karen’s sculpture will be part of the installation in Gourdin Park, located in the heart of Roxbury’s Dudley Square, that will become a memorial to the African American veterans of Massachusetts who served in all wars.

Gourdin Memorial Park bas-reliefs of African-American veterans by Karen Eutemey