LREI News 2021-2022

NE WS 2021

What’s Inside:

5 Meeting Elisabeth Irwin in the 21st Century 10 100 Years of LREI: A Portrait of The School We Love Through The Ages 28 The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI Annual Report Celebrating 100 Years of Progressive Education Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School

CONTENTS FEATURED ARTICLES LREI MISSION STATEMENT

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Meeting Elisabeth Irwin in the 21st Century

A leader in progressive education since 1921, LREI teaches children to be independent thinkers who work together to solve complex problems.

Students graduate from our diverse community as active participants in our democratic society, with the creativity, integrity, and courage to bring meaningful change to the world.

10 100 Years of LREI: A Portrait of The School We Love Through the Ages

— Approved by the Board of Trustees, October 6, 2014 28

The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI Annual Report

IN THIS ISSuE 3

Letter from the Director

17

Lifelong Learning

4

Letter from the Board Chair

18

Creating Intramural Basketball

5

Meeting Elisabeth Irwin in the 21st Century

19

A Growing School

6

Centennial Timeline: The Early Years

11

Field Trips and Walking Elisabeth Irwin's Greenwich Village

12

For a Fair World: LREI in the 1950s

14

Building Community: Classmates and Lifelong Friends

Created in collaboration with Rodney White P’31, ’35

15

Independent Thinking in the ‘60s and ‘70s

MAGAZINE DESIGN

16

Leaders of Our Democratic Society: Alumni and Former Faculty In Continued Conversation

COVER IMAGE Kat McCord P’21

Trillion

2 2

20 Congratulations, Class of 2021!

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Class Notes

26

2021-2022 New Trustees

28

The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI Annual Report

59 Centennial Celebration and Alumni Information

LREI NEWS 2021

LEttER frОm tНe DiRectОR Dear LREI Community, Greetings to you all. As always, the school holds the excitement and promise of a new year. This school year carries a particular significance as all of our students have returned to campus, some having spent over a year learning from home, and also because it marks the beginning of LREI’s Centennial Celebration.

In 1921, Elisabeth Irwin founded this remarkable school, creating our progressive program rooted in a fundamental love of learning and the connections between school and life. I genuinely believe that if she could see how her “experiment” has grown and thrived for the past century, she would be proud of how it has remained true to her vision while adapting to our ever-changing world.

In response to the immense challenges of the past year, I could not be prouder of the way our entire community jumped in, explored new ways of learning and teaching, and of being “together.” We learned that being together remotely in service to a shared goal can be as effective as actually being together. We grew in our roles, supported one another, learned from each other and with each other, all assisted by a heavy dose of patience.

We learned many lessons this past year with more to be identified over time.

We learned a great deal about adult practice and student learning through the lens of the pandemic. We learned that we are more nimble than we assumed and capable of more than we imagined. Though different in so many ways, classrooms were filled with the familiar creative thought and optimism. There was confirmation about the depth and long-lasting nature of our work as a progressive school.

OuR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO REMAIN TRuE TO THE MISSION OF THE SCHOOL.

Also central to LREI’s mission and Elisabeth Irwin’s vision is a commitment to diversity and equity. I am grateful for the work that the community put forth in conjunction with the Plan for Equity and Community at LREI in 2020-2021 (available at LREI.org.)

That said, there are near-daily reminders of the work to be done. Our community remains squarely within the world around us, influenced by all that goes on in society. We need to create such a powerful program and community that we are influencing others rather than the other way around. This is one of those dreams that while maybe never realized, can be a powerful motivating force.

Our responsibility is to remain true to the mission of the school and to care for all students equitably, giving each what they need. One place where we, certainly where I, need to focus on being truer to the school’s mission and goals is in those instances when we work to open up our conversations to a wider range of points of view. This can be a challenge — which points of view are actual differences of opinion and understanding, and when do views represent bigotry of some sort? How can we support children, whether they are 4 or 18, as they mature and establish their beliefs while not yielding when anyone diminishes the humanity of another?

I welcome the students into this centennial year with a sense of optimism. Optimism about our community’s ability to work together to navigate the unforeseen circumstances we may face, optimism about our ability to honor Elisabeth Irwin’s vision and fulfill the school’s mission, and optimism about how much our students will grow and learn, guided by our wonderful faculty and staff. I am so deeply grateful to this community and look forward to celebrating 100 years of LREI together.

Phil Kassen, Director LREI NEWS 2021

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LEttER frОm tНe board chair Dear LREI Community, Once again, I am completely blown away by the incredible support and generosity of the LREI community throughout the past year. It was indeed unprecedented (everyone’s new least-favorite word) in its challenges. Yet, despite the hardship and anxiety that so many experienced on an individual level, as a school, we were able to work together and remain flexible despite the uncertainty of the world around us. To echo Phil’s sentiment, it was the perfect example of progressive education at work.

The Annual Report section of this magazine recognizes LREI’s many donors and volunteers in the 2021 fiscal year. Despite the unique challenges we faced throughout the year, with your help, we were able to raise $1,344,996 (105% of our total goal) for The Fund for LREI, which provides peer-leading tuition assistance, as well as educational resources for students and faculty not covered by tuition alone. Moreover, over 220 people attended our biennial Art Auction, (which was postponed by one year), and an additional 200 people participated online. The event raised an additional $150,420 to support The Fund. It was a wonderful show of support and particularly meaningful as it was one of the only times we were able to gather as a community (socially distanced, of course). Thank you to our volunteers for your efforts, and to all of our donors for their generosity.

THERE IS MuCH TO LooK FORWARD TO AS LREI HEADS INTO ITS SECOND CENTuRY.

Please also take a moment to review the roster of our parent volunteers who serve on LREI’s numerous committees and affinity groups. In my view, there is no higher calling than volunteering in service of the community. We are so appreciative of the many creative ways community members found to participate and stay engaged throughout the year. It is no small feat to do this largely over Zoom! Thank you for the essential work you do and the many ways you contribute to our school.

Although 2021-2022 may not mark a return to complete “normalcy,” it certainly feels hopeful. The buildings are buzzing again with LREI’s remarkable students, faculty, and staff, who have demonstrated amazing adaptability with the shifts between remote and in-person learning. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am grateful to Phil and the school’s administrative team for their leadership and for ensuring a safe learning environment for our students, while remaining fully committed to our mission. As we celebrate LREI’s Centennial this year, we do so with a greater understanding of the resilience of our program and community.

There is much to look forward to as LREI heads into its second century, and I hope to see you in person at some of the exciting events we have planned.

Best wishes,

Jim Harris, Board Chair

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LREI NEWS 2021

Meeting Elisabeth Irwin in the 21st Century For many of us, when we think of LREI, we think of the warm community, wonderful teachers, engaging progressive curriculum, and the school’s ongoing commitment to social justice, but rarely about the woman who laid the school’s foundation.

Kat McCord P’21 and Rodney White P’31, ’35 came together to work on LREI’s biennial Art Auction.

As part of our school’s Centennial Celebration, they set out to bring Elisabeth Irwin’s image back into the present day life of our school.

BY RODNEY WHITE P'31, '35 When Kat McCord and I were working together to create the new Elisabeth Irwin “icon art,” tracking down imagery of Elisabeth Irwin was extremely difficult. The image that kept coming up is the one that everyone in the school is familiar with. She’s this mythological figure — almost like a unicorn or bigfoot — we know of her, but we’ve only seen her in a few photos. Kat and I knew that with this particular image we were creating, we wanted to give the students something to rally behind. Since there are so few images of Elisabeth Irwin out there, we wanted to create some iconography for her that the students could identify with and wear on a t-shirt or a bag with pride. Something the students could look at and say with enthusiasm, “That’s our founder.”

In researching and digging into Elisabeth Irwin’s backstory, I started to realize what a trailblazer she was 100 years ago. In 2021 we are still tilling the ground that she broke. One hundred years ago, Elisabeth Irwin understood how a robust progressive program would prepare students for our complex world. One hundred years ago, she understood the concept of intersectionality before it was a developed term. One hundred years ago, she recognized her identity as both marginalized and of privilege, and she decided to use that privilege for the betterment and progress of all students and families.

Getting to know Elisabeth Irwin through that research, through working on this image for the Centennial, has given me extreme joy and confidence that we’re in the right place. This school is the right place for us, for my family and me.

LREI NEWS 2021

Elisabeth Irwin understood the concept of intersectionality long before it was a developed term.

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1925

First June Camp

From 1925 through the early 1960s, all LREI students spent the month of June in the country. This was called June Camp.

LREI continues this tradition with a four-day trip for lower school students we now call the Farm Trip.

1921

1929

Little Red School House Founded by Elisabeth Irwin

in the attic room of the P.S. 61, as an alternative public elementary school. Parents and students loved the new dynamic learning community. It was an exciting place to learn, with a palpable spirit of curiosity, creativity, and challenge. The small, red brick building provided irresistible symbolism, and the Little Red School House was born.

Irwin’s experiment led a nomadic existence over the following decade, moving first in 1924 to P.S. 61, where it stayed until 1928. However, P.S. 61’s principal and many faculty grew increasingly frustrated with the presence of LRSH, with its philosophy of active learning that clashed with their traditional school environment. LRSH was forced to move yet again, this time to P.S. 41 on West 11th Street.

LRSH at P.S. 41

The Little Red School House at P.S. 41 on Greenwich Avenue (in the heart of the Village) opened in February of 1929 with four classes: two kindergartens and two first grades, with 90 children total. Elisabeth Irwin felt the circumstances were much more auspicious for the fair tryout of her ideas and their ultimate success as a blueprint for educational reform.

EXPLORE A FEW OF THE MANY DEFINING MOMENTS IN OuR SCHOOL'S HISTORY. TIMELINE COLLECTED AND ASSEMBLED BY YUKIE OHTA P‘26

Board of Education Cuts Funding to LRSH

The Great Depression prompts the Board of Education’s announcement that it will no longer fund Elisabeth Irwin’s progressive experiment at P.S. 41.

Roosevelt and Dewey Help LRSH

“Clinging tenaciously to their hope of saving 'the Little Red School House,' at P.S. 41, despite the Board of Superintendents’ refusal to permit continuance of the experiment, parents of children at the school began today to circulate a petition to be presented to the Board of Education. They were backed by a group of prominent educators and citizens, including John Dewey and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.” — World Telegram, April 30, 1932. Eleanor Roosevelt and John Dewey continued to support LRSH as advisors after it became an independent school on Bleecker Street.

Classes begin at 196 Bleecker Street

“We opened that first fall with five groups of children, from 5 to 9 years old — 161 children in all. The next year we added a 10 year-old group. Each year we added another group, taking all children who came. Tuition was $125 the first year, and from the very beginning, scholarship help was provided for those children needing it. Lunch cost a dollar a week, collected at the door. Our budget for the first year was $17,000 and salaries began at $1,200.

Miss Irwin and some of the teachers worked without salary until the school’s existence was assured.”

— MABEL HAWKINS, LRSH TEACHER

Elisabeth Irwin and her teaching staff always intended the school to grow to accommodate the upper elementary school grades. The incredible dedication of the LRSH teachers, readying the building for a fall opening in just a few months’ time. Irwin led by example in her ancient automobile, making deliveries, organizing people and tasks, and exuding her characteristic optimism and humor.

1932

Parents Save LRSH

At a meeting at an ice cream parlor on Sixth Avenue, they resolve to raise money to continue Little Red School House as an independent school.

First Parent Association meeting

is held in LRSH’s new building at 196 Bleecker Street.

LREI NEWS 2021

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1938

New York State Board of Regents LRSH Purchases Grants Absolute to LRSH Bleecker Street Charter The Charter permitted LRSH, among many Building other legal privileges, the right to certify each

1937

from The First Presbyterian Church, who had let the school use the building free of charge until then.

child’s attendance, the successful fulfillment of the state’s educational requirements and, as a not-for-profit corporation, the right to solicit contributions to support the school’s operations.

1934

LRSH organized the first International Exhibition Of Children's Painting

at Rockefeller Center, representing work from forty countries. It honored the creativity of children on a scale that had never been imagined before, let alone attempted. Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States, a huge admirer and supporter of the school, was chair of the organizing committee.

At the opening, Mrs. Roosevelt said, “It is highly important that we understand the needs of our children and the children of the world. Through progressive schools which allow selfexpression, we can do much to help them understand their own countries and countries throughout the world.” The exhibition consisted of 500 drawings and paintings by children 6 to 12 years old, and traveled throughout the United States.

1941

High School Opens

LRSH purchases the 40 Charlton Street building, a former church and settlement, from the Episcopal Mission Society. The high school opens and is posthumously named for Elisabeth Irwin in 1942.

1939 Democracy Pamphlet

As is promised in LREI’s mission statement, “Students graduate from our diverse community as active participants in our democratic society.”

Cultivating critical citizenship, social conscience, and democratic values were core objectives of the LRSH and its teachers. The 1930s were years marked by economic depression, a rising tide of totalitarianism that rejected democracy, and increasing skepticism in the United States about the capacity of progressive pedagogy to create a firm foundation for the nation’s democratic way of life. Elisabeth Irwin and three of her colleagues produced an eloquent explanation of how establishing democracy as a way of life throughout the LRSH community and in the daily life of the school, was the best enemy of totalitarianism.

WHAT YOu SEE HERE IS ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF THE CENTENNIAL TIMELINE. Want to read what happened next?

Visit: lreitimeline.org to see it in its entirety!

1942

Elisabeth Irwin Letter to Students

Elisabeth Irwin sent this very moving letter to students, written from her hospital bed weeks before her death on October 16, 1942. In the letter, she encourages the students to “Please sing the songs that we love so well so that I can hear them up here on 68th Street. It needn’t be loud if you just aim them right. I am afraid Mrs. Landeck won’t like this idea but anyway I will be listening.” Of her dying days, Nick O’Han, LREI historian and Elisabeth Irwin scholar says: “Her courage never crumbled to the end...Her only thoughts at the end were for the children, concealing the hopelessness of the situation, and encouraging them to look forward to her returning to school; back singing with them in morning assembly.”

1945

Elisabeth Irwin High School Graduates Its First Class

1943 Dr. Randolph "rank" Smith Becomes Director

Near the entrance to 198 Bleecker Street is a small brass plaque that honors the man who led our school for 25 years, between 1943 and 1968. Dr. Rank Smith, who succeeded Elisabeth Irwin, was considered by contemporaries as one of the nation’s leading educators, and served through enormously challenging times in the history of our nation.

Over the next quarter century, he served LREI with distinction.

He presided over a school community and its remarkable students, whose active engagement with the history of their times reflected the activism of the founding generation. He combined the philosopher’s breadth of vision with the born teacher’s empathy and insight into the needs of children and adolescents. For generations of LREI students, Dr. Smith was the perfect leader of the school during tumultuous and emotionally stressful times.

LREI NEWS 2021

LRSH Student Gives Speech Before State Legislature, Receives Letter from Eleanor Roosevelt

Paul Coburn, a 10-year-old at LRSH, made a speech before the State Legislature in favor of the Ives-Quinn Anti Discrimination Bill, which would make New York the first state to enact legislation curtailing the practice of discriminating against job applicants and employees based on race, religion, or creed. It was short, to the point, and brought the house down, the applause lasting five minutes.

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100 Years of LREI:

A Portrait of the School We Love Through the Ages

1964: STUDENTS VISIT PENNSYLVANIA COAL MINES “As part of our social studies course, the eleventh grade took a six-day trip to Pennsylvania. The three main objectives of the trip were to study coal mining conditions in the mining towns themselves, and to visit farms of the Amish and Mennonite people in the Lancaster area.”

— FROM INFO, THE EI NEWSPAPER, APRIL-MAY 1954 10

LREI NEWS 2021

FIELD TRIPS AND WALKING ELISABETH IRWIN’S GREENWICH vILLAGE, 1920s-1940s

BY NICK O’HAN, FORMER FACULTY AND SCHOOL HISTORIAN

I would like us to consider the field trip, or interpretive walk itself, as a wonderful example of progressive pedagogy at Little Red from its earliest days. I refer to the trip curriculum, a hallmark of Irwin’s instructional practice.

LREI NEWS 2021

The morning discussion itself was a radical departure from conventional classroom norms in New York’s public schools. It is hard to imagine a time when, for most students, attending the public schools meant sitting quietly in rows of seats bolted to the floor, silent until called upon to recite; learning meant endless memorizing, reciting lists of dry facts and standing at the blackboard solving arithmetic problems by mechanically applying formulas over and over. Moving around the classroom, talking to classmates, and partnering with them in small group projects was, to use Irwin’s term, ”taboo.” And traditional teaching seemed uninterested in the value of students making connections between school learning and their own ideas, experiences and opinions. This is, no doubt, unfair to many teachers of the time, but it was the direction, the logic, and the policies built into the system that were hard for teachers to resist. It certainly was Elisabeth Irwin’s perception, based on her own words, when she decided to make education reform her career. She and a group of experimental educators and reformers who lived in Greenwich Village — including Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Caroline Pratt, Margaret Naumburg, Harriet Johnson, Evelyn Dewey, and Marietta Johnson — set about changing the face of education in New York City and around the nation.

OuR STuDENTS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES CONTINuING TO LEARN FROM FIELD TRIPS — OuR ALuMNI AND LARGER COMMUNITY DO, TOO! For years, Nick O’Han has led a walking tour of Elisabeth Irwin’s Greenwich Village as part of our Alumni Reunion weekend.

This year, we are creating a digital version of this same tour that you can walk along to anytime! It is currently in the design process, so be on the lookout for the finished tour later this year.

Thus, the field trip, as practiced

by Irwin and her staff, was not conceived as a stand-alone experience. It was the predicate for the week’s learning activities that exemplified the school’s integrated curriculum. John Dewey wrote: "Its importance for educational purposes lay in its opportunities for close and intimate acquaintance with real things and materials, with the actual processes of their manipulation, the continuous training of observation, of ingenuity, of constructive imagination, of logical thought, and of the sense of reality acquired through firsthand contact with actualities."

Each year, the children traveled farther away from Bleecker Street. Walking was supplemented by travel on buses, subways, boats, even ferries. All of this

remained rather startling to many passersby, as were the new practices going on inside classrooms introduced by progressive educators, such as the educational value of children’s play, creative expression through block building, sculpture, dancing, singing, performing, and writing. Other additions to the curriculum included nature study, mapmaking, and social studies, all practices, of course, that we have long taken for granted.

My question for you is, what do you think might have been passing through the mind of our typical New Yorker in 1925 as they followed the Little Red children on their interesting perambulation down Bleecker Street? My guess is, “Shouldn’t they be in school?”

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100 years of lrei

On one day every week, for even the youngest children, each class walked through the schoolhouse doors and out into the city. When they returned, they brought their observations, questions and feelings stimulated by what they saw, heard, and thought about.

The following morning, they sat down on the big carpet in the middle of the floor and started to hash out what it all meant.

I use the term "interpretive walk" to emphasize the crucial differences between the field trip as Irwin conceived it and what it often looks like today.

At Elisabeth Irwin’s Little Red School House, the "field trip" was not the passive spectatorship it often has become in many schools, but rather an active and generative instructional practice that can be traced to John Dewey’s theory of active learning, or as Irwin (citing Dewey) referred to it, “learning by doing.” The “doing” combined the students’ outdoor experiences and the week’s follow-through activities, which provided opportunities to creatively reflect upon and construct meanings and ideas out of their own raw experiences. Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Elisabeth’s great friend, called it the transitional process of “the intake of experience transformed into the outgo of action” and forming understanding, purpose, and activity.

FOR A FAIR WORLD: LREI IN THE 1950s

BY LIZ LEICESTER ’64

I started at the Little Red School House in the fall of 1950, just before my fourth birthday. My father, Robert Leicester, had recently begun teaching ninth grade at Elisabeth Irwin.

1957: ARTHUR MILLER P’62, ’65 ATTENDS EI PERFORMANCE OF THE CRUCIBLE He said the following about the LREI production of his play: “Though high school actors obviously don’t have the training of Broadway actors, I believe that this group captured the spirit of the play as well as they did on Broadway... it was just a remarkable group effort; really remarkable.”

What none of us would have understood at the time was the tumultuous and difficult decade that was just beginning. In 1945, the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities became a permanent committee. In 1947, President Harry Truman signed an order to establish a loyalty program for all federal employees and revive an old list of “subversive” organisations. Between March 1947 and December 1952, some 6.6 million people were investigated using secret evidence and informers, without a judge or jury. In 1951,

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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Morton Sobell were accused of spying for the Soviet Union. On June 19, 1953, the Rosenbergs were executed by electric chair, and Morton Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison, eventually serving 17 years. Both the Rosenbergs’ sons and Sobell’s son were students at Little Red. The parents of many other students were threatened, blacklisted, and harassed during this period.

Robert Meeropol, the Rosenbergs' younger son, wrote that despite the attempts

by United States government

agencies and their allies to isolate the boys, there was a protective community surrounding him and his brother.

“The Meeropols, the progressive schools we attended, the progressive camps where we spent our summers provided us with a healthy, positive environment after my birth parents’ death.

Those institutions and that environment worked for Michael and me, and for hundreds of other children scarred by the McCarthy witch hunts.”

Others had a very different experience, describing the “fear and despair” that prevailed, and the feeling that Joseph McCarthy was “camped on the doorstep.”

In a book published in 1954, Louis F. Budenz expressed the government's view of the dangers of liberal thinkers involved in education. He wrote that “Pragmatic philosophy, initiating progressive education, and Communist infiltration have moved along together.” The New York City educational authorities could immediately fire any employees who did not answer LREI NEWS 2021

Randolph B. Smith, director of Little Red and Elisabeth Irwin from 1943, and Milton Unterman, the twelfth grade science teacher, appeared before congressional investigating committees.

Dr. Smith, called Rank by all of us, gave his first testimony to the Senate Internal Sub-Committee hearings on “Subversive Influence on the Educational Process.” He spoke eloquently: "The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights guarantee certain protections to American citizens. Those protections, the founding fathers, with great wisdom and unusual foresight, established as the foundations of our legal system, guaranteeing rights of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of assembly and other guarantees of that kind."

Both Milton and Rank refused to answer the investigator’s questions. Rank again invoked his rights under the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution when he appeared

LREI NEWS 2021

a second time in 1960 at a hearing on “Communist infiltration into the Greater New York Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy and local branch.”

At Little Red, we were encouraged to engage with the major social and political issues of the time, despite the context of fear and oppression in those Cold War days. We participated in demonstrations and picket lines against segregation and the nuclear bomb, and for world peace. In the 10s, we performed a play about the courageous stand taken by Rosa Parks in 1955 when she refused to sit in the "Black seats" at the rear of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

We started our presentation with the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” We traveled around the city and had exchange visits with young people whose lives were so different from ours. We raised money for many organisations, including the NAACP, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

I kept a diary for most of these years. One entry describes a group from the school attending a peace march: There were about 3,000 of us

WE DID IT BECAuSE WE BELIEvE IN A FAIR WORLD AND NOT A WORLD’S FAIR. WE DID IT TO SHOW PEOPLE...THAT PROSPERITY FOR A HANDFuL IS NOT PROSPERITY AT ALL. marching...We sang anti-war songs and chanted “ban the bomb” at the top of our lungs.

It was such a great feeling to know that I had something in common with all those other kids...When we got to the United Nations, we gathered in a big plaza for a rally. We read telegrams from all over the world, including from Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Schweitzer. Then, Pete Seeger came, and what an ovation he got. He sang two songs.

He had just been convicted for not answering questions on "communist affiliations" to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which made everyone cheer louder.

As the ’50s were segueing into the more liberal ’60s, about 30 students from Elisabeth Irwin participated in a sit-in at

the New York World’s Fair. We were supporting a campaign

by CORE for the integration of the construction companies working on the site. Several of us were arrested and described our experiences in Info, the EI student magazine.

We finished our article by answering the question, why did we do it?

“We did it to show ourselves and everyone else that we were willing to go to jail for human rights and for human dignity. We did it because we believe in a ’fair world and not a World’s Fair.’ We did it to show people...that prosperity for a handful is not prosperity at all.”

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100 years of lrei

the questions of government investigatory committees.

Though this measure was later declared unconstitutional, as a result many of our teachers, like my father, could not teach in the public school system.

BuILDING COMMuNITY: CLASSMATES AND LIFELONG FRIENDS

BY SUSAN MEYER ’58 AND ADRIA PRICE ’56

SuSAN

I first entered the Little Red School House in 1949, when I was 9 years old.

My brother, Karl Meyer, had already graduated from Elisabeth Irwin High School in 1946 (the second high school graduating class). During the War, when my father worked at night for The Daily News and my mother taught in public school, my parents thought it best for me to live with my grandparents in Sunnyside, Queens, and start my education at a local public school until I was able to navigate public transportation to Manhattan on my own. These early years proved to be the foundation of my later connection to LREI and Adria Fisher Price (who also lived in Sunnyside).

From the outset, I looked up to Adria, who was two years ahead of me in school. She was a champion basketball player, and on weekends in Sunnyside, I loved to watch her play tennis with my Uncle Sammy. Whenever I was in Sunnyside, I walked my dog to a spot in front of Adria’s house. When she happened to look out and greet me, I pretended it was a great coincidence! That was the beginning of our friendship.

My father died when I was 11 years old, and by the time I was ready for high school, it was clear that my mother could no longer support me on her meager teacher’s salary. Since I showed a gift for painting and drawing, it was assumed that I would pass the entrance exam to the public school called Music and Art. Six of us from my class applied for music or art; four passed the test and were admitted.

I failed and was suddenly unsure of where I would be attending school the following year.

Both my mother and I were disconsolate but had resigned to my plight until the beginning of the summer when LREI notified us of a special meeting of the Board of Trustees. The Scholarship Committee was determined to support me with a full scholarship for the four years of high school. I was rescued!

I have since expressed my gratitude to the school by making regular donations and ultimately joining the Alumni Council as well. Over the years, Adria and I remained 14

good friends. Thanks to LREI, we share an appreciation for the teachers who inspired us throughout our young lives. We’re proud to see that the school's political and social values are continually updated, so that LREI maintains its crucial contribution to a better world.

ADRIA

I was delighted to get a phone call from Susan in 1991 inviting me to join her on the LREI Alumni Council.

1958: JACKIE ROBINSON VISITS EI ON BEHALF OF NAACP Together with Herbert Wright (Youth Leader of the NAACP), they accept a check from EI students for funds raised to support the fight for racial justice.They also grant EI a lifetime membership to the NAACP.

Our friendship began in the 1950s when we were on the LREI girls’ basketball team.

Participating in the Alumni Council has brought back many fond memories from my time as an LREI student, a lifer!

In 1991, I organized our first class reunion, our 35th, and have continued to do so every five years. We just celebrated a special 65th reunion in June 2021. Due to COVID, we connected via Zoom, which allowed out-oftown classmates to join in. It was wonderful to see how easily we reconnected.

As Alumni Council members, Susan and I have worked on an archives project, identifying photos from the 1940s and 1950s.

The images bring back delightful memories of fantastic teachers, school plays, and educational class trips.

Each year, we help plan Reunion Weekend, which includes deliberating over the distinguished and honorary alumni awards.

The Alumni Council allows me to stay connected to the school, particularly its focus on social justice and civil rights issues. As an adult, I appreciate learning about current social and educational issues confronting LREI today. Also, Susan and I can enjoy our pre-Alumni Council pizza dinner on the corner of Charlton and Varick street!

1964: ALVIN AILEY, JACK GILFORD, AND OTHERS PERFORM as part of the “Midnight Show” to Benefit the LREI Scholarship Program. This one begins not at midnight like previous shows, but at 8:30 p.m.

LREI NEWS 2021

INDEPENDENT THINKING IN THE ’60s AND ’'70s

BY NATHANIEL C. PHILLIPS ’74 AND BARBARA MARTINEZ ’74

NATHANIEL C. PHILLIPS

I was at a studio on the Upper West Side and I saw the astronauts; they were using black velvet ropes to suspend them upside down.

It was all fake." It was 1969, and like most American kids, we were watching the NASA space program’s every step as our country answered President Kennedy’s challenge to land a man on the moon. This threw our class into an uproar. One of my classmates argued "We saw it last night on TV; Walter Cronkite showed the film!” Another said, "It’s on the cover of today’s New York Times." Imagine, 10 years old, and we were reading The Times every day. The world in the 1960s was in a whirlwind of change, and we were informed and engaged. No matter our argument, Bob had a counterargument challenging us. Bob kept us going for some time, ending with the object lesson of that day: "You have a responsibility to seek and research facts and come to your own conclusions." I never forgot that lesson.

Fast forward to 2001, the devastating loss of the Twin Tower attacks proved to be a moment of truth. Not only for the country but for individuals and their beliefs. After the attacks, it was not uncommon for there to be discussions about torturing people and turning a blind eye to constitutional protections. It was at this moment that I, once again, returned to that classroom at Little Red. For me, the greatest gift of an LREI education was learning how to think independently and taking on the responsibility of evaluating evidence, being free to explore alternative perspectives, and coming to your own conclusions, especially when your conclusions leave you standing alone.

Suffice to say, independent thinking sometimes leads to being seen as a troublemaker because sometimes you ask a question that requires the room to rethink everything.

LREI NEWS 2021

1972: Students March Against Air Pollution in Washington Square Park

BARBARA MARTINEZ

“At Elisabeth Irwin High School, we want students who will make the world a better place.”

I heard these words expressed by David Glaser in 1971 when he visited my South Bronx Junior High School to recruit students for LREI. The message captured my attention and described a community I wanted to be a part of. Arriving as a tenth grader, I was encouraged to express my thoughts freely, think independently, work collaboratively, and go beyond the classroom to find answers.

One of my proudest memories at LREI was working on the Nicaraguan Relief Fund in January 1973. Managua, the nation’s capital, had suffered a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that killed approximately 10,000, injured 20,000, and left 300,000 homeless. The news saddened my community on that December 23, as our family gathered in preparation for Christmas. Without hesitation, 38-year-old Roberto Clemente (one of our heroes) flew to Nicaragua on December 31 to deliver supplies. Clemente, known for his excellence on the baseball diamond, was also a civil rights activist, humanitarian, and generous individual. He was involved in charitable causes throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, he lost his life en route to Nicaragua.

After the holiday break, I expressed my concern about Nicaragua’s devastation and desire to provide some much-needed relief.

The idea of collecting canned goods was born. Both the LREI community and Charlton Street neighbors donated generously. We delivered several cartons of non-perishable items to the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua to the United Nations, met the Ambassador and other country representatives, and received a letter of appreciation. I was proud that our efforts were helping others, that our contributions were honoring Roberto Clemente’s sacrifice, and that the Nicaraguan delegation recognized LREI as an example for others to follow. This experience inspired my adult activism.

My focus over the last 30-plus years has been on the education and prevention of HIV & AIDS. I established an AIDS foundation in Caracas, developed a curriculum to incorporate the topic into our English language training programs, and started the collection of the Venezuelan QUILT with the Names Project. I thank Dave Glaser for believing in me, challenging me, and encouraging me at LREI. I am forever grateful that he hired me to work summers at Trywoodie Camp. Not only did I make lifelong friends, but I also met my husband of 45 years. Of course, I have to also thank Elisabeth Irwin for making these last 100 years possible.

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100 years of lrei

One morning, our teacher, Bob, announced to our 10s class, “All this talk about astronauts walking in space is fake."

LEADERS OF OUR DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY: ALuMNI AND FORMER FACuLTY IN CONTINuED CONVERSATION Robert Rosenthal ’80 called Cleo Banks P’72, GP ’01, to ask about her 40-plus years as an LREI educator.

ROBERT: You taught through a very changing time; the world is so different now than it was when you started. You taught through a women’s movement, a civil rights movement; you raised us all through these times. How did you do that?

CLEO: I was very open to the

children. We used to have a meeting every morning where everybody sat in a circle. And it was generally the way I taught, I gave students lots of chances to tell me about their experiences and tell the rest of their classmates. Depending on what we were discussing, one morning’s conversation could go on for two or three days. The kids got to really enjoy sharing with the class, and I enjoyed talking to the students, so we did a lot of that. We did a lot of going out; I was a great believer in going on trips. The classroom was open. The children always had things to say, stories to tell.

They were fun to be with!

ROBERT: It was a great classroom. It was very peaceful but very open. And I remember we did blocks on Thursday and Friday.

CLEO: Absolutely! And I

encouraged the students to bring whoever brought them to school to come into the classroom and look at the block building on Friday mornings.

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ROBERT: It was very collaborative. I remember it as a year of learning to work with other people, a lot of sharing.

CLEO: And a lot of that came

through block play, learning to build something together.

ROBERT: How would you describe yourself as an educator?

CLEO: I would like people

to think of me as a teacher that really cared about what I was doing and cared about the children, that I listened to the things they had to say. I would like people to think that I somehow stimulated fun.

I created a lot of opportunities for kids to express themselves.

That was a big part of my teaching style.

Grace Cohen P'79, Cleo Banks P'72, GP'01, and Marie Weiss P'68, GP'10

ROBERT: I would have said those things about you, I think I have said all those things about you, so I guess it worked out! Is there anything you would have wanted to do that you didn’t do?

CLEO: I could do most of

the things I wanted to do.

The school was very open.

That was one of the things I enjoyed most about the school. It was a delightful place to be. I treasure my experience at Little Red.

LREI's faculty have always created classroom environments for students to actively explore and understand the world, like the solar system project in Grace's 8s.

LREI NEWS 2021

LIFELONG LEARNING Mark Bledstein P’10, former faculty, on the beloved members of the LREI community who shaped him as an educator.

Marie Weiss was the bookkeeper who, day after day, was seated at her desk from early morning until late in the afternoon. Marie and truth and accuracy, Marie and integrity and reliability were synonymous. Cleo Banks was the 6s teacher (then the 5s teacher) who introduced her young students to a keen awareness of the value of the classroom as a community.

Using the example of penguins who lived together in the earth’s harshest environment, Cleo illuminated that the students’ respect for one another was crucial for an ever creative, ever vital, and ever cooperative society. Then there was Grace Cohen. As a novice high school teacher, I looked back at the Lower School and always understood that the reputation of the institution was held together by the sound bookkeeping of Marie, the loving and attentive classroom presence of Cleo, and the ever-upbeat and intriguing curriculum Grace implemented in her classroom.

I can still recall that year after year graduates of LREI would return to the school and describe how Grace’s progressive knowledge and LREI NEWS 2021

commitment to an evercomplex (yet in an ideal sense a fair, a just, and humanitarian) society was articulated and presented to them in her challenging and creative 8s classroom. In my 40th year as a high school educator at LREI, I was honored by a celebratory party in which I was seated beside Grace. If I don’t remember the details of what we talked about, I do recall vividly that we shared memories relating to our privileged lives as educators at LREI. Elisabeth Irwin’s commitments and values were Grace’s and my own commitments and values.

Learning was not about memorizing facts; it was about listening to and respecting each of our students — especially as they sometimes expressed wrong-headed and sometimes right-minded understandings of a subject matter. Learning was about putting your shoulder to the wheel, pushing forward the organizations and

ideas that promoted a more just and egalitarian society.

Learning was about our daily communication to our students, our commitment to truthful and creative values. For both Grace and myself, nothing was static.

Just as Siddhartha understood that change was nonstop, constant, LREI’s progressive educators sought each day to impress upon their students the intrinsic value of one’s own curiosity, and a critical analysis of the facts and ideas uncovered by that curiosity.

When I began teaching, it was clear to me that there were a few iconic educators at LREI. Foremost among those educators were Grace and Cleo.

Grace and Cleo both embody, as educators and as human beings, an instinctive and indepth understanding of salient truths of life, of knowledge, and of relationships. Both live in accord with those values, and both taught them day after day to their open-minded students. Likewise, in all school

meetings, both Grace and Cleo represented and articulated these values to their colleagues and fellow teachers. Hence, given the social and financial ups and downs of New York City society in the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond, the endurance and strength of LREI (as both a viable and noteworthy New York City institution) was exemplified in the pedagogy and integrity of Grace, Cleo, and Marie. Three loving and caring individuals who promoted LREI’s progressive values, first envisioned by our dynamic founder. Though Elisabeth Irwin passed away unexpectedly in the early '40s, the substance of her initial vision was professionally nurtured, revitalized, and kept alive for many decades by three remarkable and exemplary LREI staff members: Marie Weiss, Cleo Banks, and Grace Cohen-Ilchuk.

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100 years of lrei

As a young aspiring progressive educator, the first thing I became cognizant of at LREI in the late '60s was the institutional presence of three ever reliable, ever attentive, and respected staff members.

Three staff members whose institutional presence embodied in both my mind and the minds of my colleagues, the egalitarian ideals and traditions first put into place in 1921 by the school’s founder and guiding spirit, Elisabeth Irwin.

CREATING INTRAMuRAL BASKETBALL

BY LARRY KAPLAN P’99, ’04, GP ’26, FORMER FACULTY AND ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

Intramural basketball was the best thing I felt we did as an athletic department.

It came about when Phil Kassen, Leo Isuka, and I coached a team in the Greenwich Village League.

We didn't like how the other players and their coaches carried themselves; we felt we could do a better job. In our first year of intramural basketball, we had four teams of students from the fifth through eighth grades. We realized the skill levels were too varied for everyone to enjoy the game.

The following year, we tried it with only fifth and sixth graders and some seventh graders who didn’t want to play as competitively.

As the years went on, we came up with rules that suited our players. The best thing about our league was everyone played. We also awarded

medals to all players. At its best, we had 80% of the fifth and sixth graders participating.

We taught kids the right way to play: we stressed sportsmanship, teamwork, and fair play. At the end of each game, teams shook hands.

Many of these kids went on to play on LREI’s other teams and carried these values with them.

Phil was the head referee and always said how much he looked forward to opening day, on which it always rained or snowed. Many of the best players in LREI history came through our intramural sports program, learning the rules and continuing to make the school proud.

1988: BEGINNING OF LREI INTRAMURAL BASKETBALL Through participation on athletic teams, students develop their physical skills and the ability to work together toward a common purpose. They also learn to represent the school within the broader community. The goal of the school’s sports program is to encourage lifelong pursuits in physical activities and sports and to provide students with skills they will use well into adulthood.

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LREI NEWS 2021

A GROWING SCHOOL

BY JULIA HEATON, FORMER FACULTY AND CURRENT TRUSTEE

When I joined the LREI faculty in 2004, the high school enrollment was approximately 150 students.

Meanwhile, the high school population was growing. In my first year, the ninth grade had 45 students, the largest freshman class in the school’s history, I believe. As we continued to attract more students, the

LREI NEWS 2021

1994: Parents and faculty work together to construct new rooftop playground. (left) 1996: The first annual Founder’s Day, established by Director Andrew Maclaren, pays tribute to Elisabeth Irwin. (right)

the sense of possibility, autonomy, and creativity was palpable, and exactly what i had been looking for.

hallways and stairwells became more congested. We added more chairs in the cafeteria and lockers in the basement, and the shabby chic classrooms were bursting at the seams.

The school made the bold decision to purchase the townhouse next door to expand LREI’s footprint horizontally and vertically. Students and faculty who were at Charlton Street during this period will remember the constant background noise of drills and hammers, a film of dust across

desks and floors, and some more dramatic moments like the Back to School Night when my classroom started to fill with water from a burst pipe.

Construction woes aside, the result was beautiful — modern labs, seminar-style classrooms, a light-filled art studio, and new outdoor spaces for all to enjoy.

When I left LREI in 2014, the high school enrollment was approximately 250 students.

The people and the spaces had changed, but the commitment to progressive student-centered

education, social justice, and community was stronger than ever. As a former faculty member, I am grateful to have been part of this period of amazing transformation and to have worked alongside amazing students and educators. As a trustee, I am proud of how LREI has evolved and grown while remaining true to its mission for the last 100 years.

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100 years of lrei

The classrooms at 40 Charlton Street had a shabbiness that I found charming. Old-fashioned desks and blackboards, no technology, bookshelves bursting with well-worn texts.

There were several new high school teachers hired that year, many of whom are still teaching at LREI today, and we were invited to be part of a high school redesign.

Over the next five years, we talked about pedagogy and philosophy, collaborated on curriculum design, launched new elective courses, revamped the daily schedule, deepened our commitment to equity and inclusion practices, and participated in tons of professional development both in and out of school. The sense of possibility, autonomy, and creativity were palpable and exactly what I had been looking for. It felt amazing to be working and learning alongside talented progressive educators.

CONGRATuLATIONS, CLASS OF 2021 We were thrilled to celebrate the Class of 2021 with a safe, in-person graduation ceremony!

In the days leading up to graduation, 4s through twelfth graders gathered to acknowledge each senior at Pier 40 for Field Day, then joined their buddies for games and activities. Senior Banquet featured both virtual and in-person speakers, including Angela Davis ʼ60, who was invited by student leadership. On June 9, a limited number of faculty, friends, and family celebrated the Class of 2021 at Pier 45 in Hudson River Park. It was a beautiful, sunny day on the waterfront, surrounded by the city skyline. The high school chorus and bands performed, and student speakers Aidhan Farley-Astrachan and Ajahni Jackson gave moving tributes to their classmates. The ceremony concluded with the traditional granting of diplomas as Adele read the names of each student. We are so proud of the Class of 2021 and are honored to call them our newest alumni!

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LREI NEWS 2021

CLASS OF 2021 COLLEGE MATRICULATION LIST

Acadia University American University Babson College (3) Bard College (3) Barnard College Boston University Brown University (2) California Institute of the Arts Chapman University Cornell University (2) Elon University (2) George Washington University Kenyon College (3) Loyola Marymount University Middlebury College New York University Northeastern University (3) Northwestern University Oberlin College (2) Occidental College Pitzer College (4) Rhode Island School of Design Rochester Institute of Technology Rollins College School of the Art Institute of Chicago State University of New York at New Paltz Syracuse University The New School Tufts University University of California, Davis University of California, Los Angeles University of Florida University of Miami (2) University of Michigan (2) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of Pennsylvania University of Rochester University of Southern California University of the Arts University of Vermont (3) University of Wisconsin, Madison (*Posse Scholar)

Vanderbilt University Vassar College (2) Washington University in St. Louis Wesleyan University (3) Wheaton College (*Posse Scholar) LREI NEWS 2021

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CLASS notes ​Alexander Elwyn ’45 writes, “Sheila, my wife of 66 years, died in September 2018. I’m still living in Montgomery Place retirement home on the Lake in Chicago and, as one may expect at 92, dealing with some health problems.”

Robert Belenky ’49 writes, “My life was spent in education and psychology — mostly community mental health in the Boston area and the Vermont forests. On retirement, I visited Haiti and Russia several times each to learn about children of the streets. I am now in Kendal at Hanover, a very nice Quaker-based retirement community.”

Stephen Diamond ’49 writes, “In the spirit of LREI, my career (after becoming an architect) included guiding the production of well-designed affordable housing in Boston, teaching architecture with frequent field trips, and chairing the meetings of my Cambridge community, where we all sat in a circle. Now, I am living in a retirement community called Brookhaven in Lexington, Massachusetts.”

Michael Sperber ’49

writes, “I am still practicing psychiatry, bicycle riding, and playwriting. The plays we performed at LREI set the stage for later productions.”

KEEP IN TOUCH, WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!

Please send us any milestones, exciting news, or updates about your life. Send your news and photos to alumni@lrei.org

writes, "I remember Elisabeth Irwin very well. She was a remarkable, wonderful woman. She died when I was in fifth grade (the 10s)."

All but one of our eight grandchildren have now graduated from university. They are all either working or involved in graduate studies, and our three children are at peak points in their careers. Hoping this finds my old classmates healthy and doing well.”

Carter Bancroft ’54

Hope Niman Prosky ’57

Jeanne Gould Bloom ’50

retired six years ago from being on the faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

He enjoys traveling with his wife, Brooke, teaching physics and biology, playing sports, and acting (including an upcoming improv performance).

writes, “I am happily retired from my longtime job as a school director, and am still living in Brooklyn Heights. There is light emerging at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel. I value my education at LREI and would enjoy hearing from classmates.”

Astrid Beigel ’54

John Stephens Melish ’58

writes, "Given COVID, this has been a most unusual year with isolation and new ways of contacting people, both for work and personally. As a psychologist, I serve on several national and professional committees and doing so on Zoom is very different. COVID has changed how we relate to people and work. I am well and think of life at LREI often.”

is still working as a professor of medicine at JABSOM at the University of Hawai'i. He survived COVID-19 and is looking forward to reuniting virtually with classmates.

“Much Aloha to Susan Meyer and all of our class still living.”

Janet Kranzberg ’55 writes, "I moved from Berkeley to a retirement community in Oakland almost five years ago. I remain active in peace and social justice organizations."

Carol Levine Paasche ’55 writes, “We spent almost all of 2020-2021 at our farm in upstate NY. Our three adult children (all in their 50s now) have been keeping in close touch and have set up a Sunday Zoom, and this really helped us both to feel more connected to the family.

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Jane Meltzer Assimacopoulos ’63 writes, “My life is full with friends, museums, music, only one cat now, nature, family, books, books and movies, movies, movies. Hope all is well with the remaining Class of ’63.”

LREI NEWS 2021

LREI actively creates spaces for children and adults to sustain friendships between people who hold diverse perspectives and different cultural ways of operating.

AFFINITY & INTEREST GROUPS

LREI now offers several affinity groups and other interest groups for alumni to connect, including an Alumni of Color Affinity Group, a LGBTQ+ Affinity Group, an Education Network Group for alumni who work in the field of education, and a meet-up group for alumni in the Classes of 1950s–1960s.

Email alumni@lrei.org for more information.

Johnny Bancroft ’63

writes, “On my recent visit to California, we had a great very-mini-reunion at Paul Goldsmith’s home in Los Angeles. Many stories were shared about LRSH & EIH! Back in Seattle, I often take walks with Nick Heyer '63.”

Paul Goldsmith ’63 reports that Johnny Bancroft, Paul Williams, Billy Stern, and Petur Hliddal reunited as the Class of 1963 and shared a raucous dinner at the Goldsmith house in Monte Nido, California.

LREI NEWS 2021

Erica Applezweig ’64

Judith Palen Rubino ’71

Ellen Davidman Coppley ’64

Marcia King-Gamble ’73

writes, “Hello to all the friendly people in the Class of ’64! I’m still alive and kicking here in Stuttgart, still seeing patients virtually, writing, and meeting with my writers’ group monthly on Zoom. I’m hoping to be filmed performing with a very small group for a tribute to Woody Guthrie, I'll let y'all know!

Stay safe and enjoy life!”

has retired to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and is living the good life. She’s working with her husband, Jackson Coppley, on his third novel in the Nicholas Foxe adventure series. She continues studying Italian, traveling, and editing books.

Nora Guthrie ’67 writes, “I’ve been working with my father’s materials for the last 30 years, creating exhibits, concerts, books, and records. Nothing like what I thought I’d be doing in 1967! I’m living in Westchester, have two grown kids and two growing granddaughters, and am married to a (now retired) German radio producer. We spend a third of the year in Bonn.”

writes, “After being an elementary school teacher and enrichment specialist for many years, I decided to try something new. In 2015, I started my journey to become a voice actor, specializing in e-learning and explainer videos. Most recently, I published a children’s picture book (ages 2-6) called A Forest of Masks."

has been writing romance novels since 1998. She currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Tony Sparber ’74 has been the owner of Camp Pocono Trails health and wellness camp for the last 30 years, helping kids and teens with fitness, nutrition, internet overuse, and raising their self-esteem. Tony is happy to be working with kids and helping them get in the best physical and mental shape of their lives while having a great time at summer camp.

THE ELISABETH IRWIN HERITAGE SOCIETY

Robert K. Ashby ’69 writes, “I have been very happily living in Zurich, Switzerland, for 26 years! In retirement, I continue to be very active as a professional classical pianist and have an advisory service vetting and offering alternative investments. I would be very pleased to hear from my classmates!”

Please consider joining the Elisabeth Irwin Heritage Society with a planned gift to LREI. For more information, please contact Jenny Weil, Director of Advancement, at jweil@lrei.org or at 212.477.5320.

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Sally Stuart ’74 IN MEMORIAM

Burke Shipley ’36

recently joined the New York Immigration Coalition, a bold, vibrant advocacy organization, where she is excited to be part of the change being made.

Carl Josephson '47 Carol Harriton Cartwright ’38 Barbara Kryzak Schmidt ’55 Kent G. Smith ’59 David Sarlin '61 Kate Spindell Hays '61 Derik Hausman ’88 Daniel Huth ’94

Peter Landeck ’77

writes, ”I’ve been living in Chicago the past 24 years after a seven-year stint in Hong Kong, where I was working as an architect.

I now run a small wholesale premium cigar distribution company in Chicago and New York. A confirmed bachelor, I keep up with classmates Joey Album, Josh Blum, and Ellen Kaye!”

Rebecca "Becca" Luna-Leibowits ’16 Bill Walters P’70, Former Faculty Hy Krutzel P’92, Former Faculty Jim Kielian P’18, ’20

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Rachael Horovitz ’79

is back living in the West Village after three years in London. “Going through storage boxes and finding my Little Red papers/ mementos has made me realize how meaningful my time there was. I cherish our class and our teachers.”

Rosa Silver ’82 is currently a radio DJ on FreeformPortland; listen at freeformportland.org. Her current watercolor series has been on display locally and was included in two magazines (maraisreview.com/rosa-silver). Rosa volunteers on a helpline for The Work of Byron Katie to relieve suffering through meditation and inquiry.

Steven Susaña-Castillo ’12 shares that after finishing his master's in public health in infectious disease epidemiology and statistical methods last year, he moved to Baltimore to work as a healthcare consultant for an analytics and logistics firm.

Yari Gonzalez ’14 recently received a master's in sociology and education policy from Teacher's College, Columbia University!

LREI NEWS 2021

REMEMBERING KENT G. SMITH ’59, GP’18 Kent Gilbert Smith, 80, a lawyer, cheesemaker, and coach, died on Monday, June 7, 2021, from Alzheimer’s disease and associated issues.

The second of three children, Kent was born on March 5, 1941, in New York City, to Rank B. Smith and Grace (Gilbert) Smith. He had a close lifetime association with LREI, serving on the school’s Board of Trustees from 1969 to 2020. His father served as director from 1943 to 1968. During his time at Haverford College (Class of 1963), Kent proposed and worked to establish a system, still in existence, by which students could self-schedule their final exams under the college’s honor code. He attended New York University School of Law, graduating with an LL.B. degree in 1966. In the ensuing years, Kent worked as a lawyer in New York for the Reader’s Digest Association, the New York City Parks Department, and Time Inc. During his retirement in the 2000s, he moved to Rutland, Vermont, where he coached cross-country and track for several schools. A lifelong athlete, Kent was an avid runner who completed over 30 marathons. He also competed as a tennis player throughout his adulthood, playing well into the last decade of his life. He is survived by a large loving family, including his brother, Peter B. Smith ’57, and his sister, Lucinda Smith Hughey-Wiley ’64.

REMEMBERING HY KRuTZEL P’92, FORMER FACuLTY

BY JANET ATKINSON, FORMER LREI HIGH SCHOOL ART TEACHER

Hy was teaching Spanish and South American history when I began teaching at LREI in the 1980s.

This was one of the many roles he held in the school, even temporarily becoming the high school principal. His life was inextricably connected to LREI for decades.

Hy was the real deal; a left-wing, working-class guy from Brooklyn. Before joining the LREI community, Hy and his brothers ran a successful glazing company. At some point in his thirties, Hy left his glazing company to attend college before finding his way to LREI. He was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. We often chatted together; he had a lot of New York stories to tell.

One winter, he invited my two daughters and me to his house in Pennsylvania and taught them how to ski. His son Adam was there and all three children had a wonderful weekend. Hy was also a gifted and enthusiastic ballroom dancer.

Hy loved making things. Every arts festival, he showed students how to make little glass boxes; of course, he knew how to handle and cut glass. His love of craftsmanship got him into the woodshop, where he designed and constructed many projects around the school. He made tables, shelves, cabinets, and once a whole set of mailboxes for the high school staff.

Even after he retired from teaching, Hy was at LREI every day. He drove the school van, taking students to sporting activities, and was the doorman at Thompson Street Gym. After many years in the city, Hy moved to Fort Lee, abandoning New York and Brooklyn for a more peaceful life in retirement.

LREI NEWS 2021

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2021-2022 NEW TRuSTEES Shira Weinert Cornfeld P’26, ’32, ’36 Shira Weinert Cornfeld lives in Brooklyn with her husband Alex and their four children.

Shira and Alex met in kindergarten, went through high school together, and married 20-plus years after their high school graduation. They came to LREI three years ago when their daughters Anais and Anika started in fifth grade, and the 4s, respectively, and Amalia is now in the 4s. Their son, August, attends the Lang School in lower Manhattan. Shira loves LREI and is devoted to its ideals and mission. She has been an active community member, serving as co-chair of WARPAG, the White Anti-Racist Parents Affinity Group, and a parent rep to the PA. She is very excited about the new opportunity to serve as PA co-president with Lunie Small and get even more involved in our school.

Shira worked extensively in arts and education before having children and taking the last five years to focus on her family. She maintained her own photography practice and participated in projects and exhibitions, while also teaching photography to children and adults. She was the gallery manager at Henry Street Settlement Abrons Arts Center and director of photography at the JCC in Manhattan. Shira also taught elementary special education at P.S. 5 in Inwood for ten years and organized many long-term arts partnerships in music, dance and visual arts for the school while she was there.

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Shira was a founding volunteer of Creative Arts Workshops, a city-based nonprofit that worked with children navigating the homeless and foster care systems in New York City through public art and art therapy.

She currently serves on the board of Her Future Coalition, an NGO that works to heal and launch the careers of girls and women in India and Nepal who have been affected by gender-based violence and trafficking.

Shira earned a B.A. in history of art from Yale and went on to receive an M.F.A. from Columbia and an M.A. in education from Hunter College.

James French An itinerant child, James French was born in Goshen, New York, but lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Princeton, New Jersey, Mexico City, Mexico, and Burlington, Massachusetts, where he attended high school and first became passionate about all things art related. It was at this same time that the seed was planted to one day teach art. He was inspired by his wonderful and adorable husband-andwife art teachers. James went on to study at Syracuse University, and graduated in 1998 with a B.F.A. in experimental filmmaking. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a production designer and scenic artist on primarily commercial productions.

Seeking something new, James returned to school in 2006 and received an M.A. in art education from New York University. He started teaching full-time at LREI in 2010.

He currently teaches studio art and chairs the visual arts department.

When not teaching, James works in the studio at school or at his cozy home studio in Jersey City, New Jersey (when his cat will allow it). While historically dabbling in a wide range of mediums and materials — film, woodworking, block-printing, acrylic painting, and scratchboard — James is currently trying to find the courage to oil paint. He finds his inspiration from childhood interests and heroes, his remarkably talented wife and fellow artist/ art educator/LREI colleague Shauna Finn, and his cat Papi. When not making art, James enjoys sitting, reading, ice cream, traveling, the Boston Red Sox, and imbibing potent potables from Scotland, Ireland, and Mexico.

Kai-Anasa George ’92, P’12 Kai-Anasa George has strong ties to the LREI community.

Kai first joined LREI as a middle-school student, then later returned as an LREI parent and administrator. While at LREI, Kai worked in admissions and as a co-chair of the first LREI Diversity Task Force.

Professionally, Kai-Anasa has been an independent school administrator for over 20 years. She is currently serving as the director of enrollment management and financial aid at the Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C. As a member of Burke’s administrative team, Kai sits on several board committees and has served LREI NEWS 2021

as a member of the advisory committee for the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington.

Kai-Anasa attended Mount Holyoke College. She has two children, Tariye, who began at LREI in the 4s and attended until the move to Washington, and Kalea, who recently headed off to college.

Ruth Jurgensen A passionate teacher and education leader, Ruth has more than a decade of experience serving in senior leadership positions at independent schools in New York City and Chicago.

Prior to joining Prep for Prep as CEO, Ruth was Associate Principal at Francis W. Parker School, overseeing educational programs and operations for 900-plus students in Chicago. She was a key member of its senior leadership team and created new initiatives, including an endowed speaker series, and brought Dwight Vidale’s Young Men of Color Symposium to the Midwest. Ruth has taught Prep for Prep students while at LREI, where she first served as an English teacher and later returned as the high school principal to oversee the expansion of the campus and student body.

Ruth earned her B.A. in English literature from Connecticut College and her M.A. in English and American literature from Brown University. She founded the Administrators of Color in Independent Schools Conference and serves on the The Dovetail Project board, a nonprofit that helps young African-American and LREI NEWS 2021

Hispanic men with fatherhood. Ruth currently serves on the board of Kura Labs, a free training and job placement academy for Infrastructure Computing, DevOps, and SRE for students from underserved communities.

Anh-Van Nguyen P’27, ’29 Anh-Van has been an active member of the LREI community since 2009, serving as PA co-president, co-chair of the LREI School Store, and PA representative for many years. She currently sits on the board of her neighborhood association and also serves as its treasurer. Anh-Van spent 14 years of her career at HBO in supply chain operations and DVD production. Prior to her time in media and entertainment, she worked in strategic consulting, advertising and investment banking. Anh-Van received her M.B.A. with honors, specializing in marketing and operations, from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. She received her B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia. Originally from Virginia, Anh-Van lives in Soho with her husband, Tien-tsin, and children Tyler and Hannah, in the sixth and fourth grades, respectively. When she is not spending time with her family, AnhVan enjoys playing tennis, gardening, and taking boxing and dance cardio classes.

Hope Reeves P’22 Hope is a freelance newspaper and magazine writer.

She sits on the boards of The Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, Transportation Alternatives, and several philanthropic foundations focussed on social justice in New York City and throughout the country. She has three sons, two at BHMS, and one, Zane, a twelfth grader at LREI. Hope grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the child of two Weathermen (revolutionaries, not meteorologists), and graduated from Bates College with a B.A. in psychology and Spanish.

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2021 ANNuAL REPORT

LREI annual report 2021

One hundred years ago, trailblazing educator Elisabeth Irwin proposed a better way to educate New York City's children.

She created the Little Red School House as an exciting place full of curiosity, creativity, and challenge.

Ten years later, when the Depression and New York’s Board of Education tried to close her school, parents came together and gave what they could to

create a vibrant independent Little Red School House.

Our school exists today thanks to their generosity.

As we celebrate our school’s Centennial, coming together to support The Fund for LREI is as important as ever.

Whether it’s meeting the increased need for financial aid, faculty professional development for diversity, equity, and inclusion work, keeping our community healthy, or taking students out for athletics and field trips,

your gift allows LREI to thrive as we embark on the next 100 years of progressive education.

LREI annual report 2021

29

WAYS OF GIVING Gifts of Cash

THE FOLLOWING DONOR MADE A GIFT OF GOODS OR SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF LREI IN 2020-2021:

One-time and recurring gifts can be made with direct debit or credit card at lrei.org/givenow.

Kat McCord/Thackway McCord

Checks should be made out to LREI and mailed in the enclosed envelope or to: LREI Business Office, 40 Charlton Street, New York, NY 10014

Gifts of Securities A stock gift may have significant tax advantages. Download our Transfer of Securities form at lrei.org/ways-to-give or contact Ryann Imperioli, Director of Annual Giving, at rimperioli@lrei.org.

Matching Gifts More than 1,500 U.S. companies will double or triple the charitable gifts made by their employees. Be sure to list Ryann Imperioli (rimperioli@lrei.org) and LREI’s tax ID number (13-5562268) on your company’s matfching gift form.

We’ll take care of the rest!

Gifts-in-Kind Gifts-in-kind include event hosting, technology, services, and similar non-monetary contributions. If you have a question about a gift of tangible property, please contact Jenny Weil, Director of Advancement, at jweil@lrei.org.

Elisabeth Irwin Legacy Giving The Heritage Society

THE ELISABETH IRWIN HERITAGE SOCIETY Alma Benney Berson ’58 Alice Bien Buseck ’54† Mitzi Filson Commander David Lamb ’48† Walter Leeds ’54 Norman Meisenhelter† Peggy Bones Miles ’58† Macy Navasky† Arthur Norton ’40† Larry Osius ’48† Michael Patrick ’71 Stephen Prigozy ’48† Sandy Roche Lloyd Saletan ’38† Margery Shine† Harriet Silverman Smith Hannah Stolar Eve Stuart Jay van der Reijden ’87 Nancy Walker and Floyd Hammack Roberta Wallitt ’59 Dolores Duncan Wharton ’45 Jim Wiggins †

Realized Bequests

Since its founding in 1921, LREI has remained true to founder Elisabeth Irwin’s vision, providing our students with a progressive program rooted in a fundamental love of learning and a connection to the real world. You can support her vision for the next 100 years and beyond with a planned gift to LREI. The Elisabeth Irwin Heritage Society, named in honor of the school’s founder, was created to recognize and thank those individuals whose thoughtful gift planning provides an ongoing legacy for future generations of students. To join, please let the school know about your plans for LREI, and we will be happy to include you with the other visionaries who have made LREI a priority. Please contact the Director of Advancement Jennifer Weil at 212.477.5320 or jweil@lrei.org. You can also visit lrei.org/plannedgiving.

Director’s Initiatives Our administration may identify a particular program or need and will seek funding from the LREI community. These restricted gifts are for a specific purpose and are separate from The Fund for LREI. We are grateful to these 2020-2021 donors.

Anonymous (3)

Purvi and Harsh Padia

Asia Society

Liz Kurtzman and Marc Hirschfeld

The CRH Foundation

Daniel Soyer, in memory of David Soyer ’46

Isabelle Autones and Francis Greenburger

Sherry Tenorio and Patrick Smith

Matt and Carey Bernstein

Kimbrough Towles and George Loening

To honor all the wonderful years I spent at LREI — as a parent, a staff member, and a member of the Board — it seemed only natural to acknowledge and provide for LREI in my will. I encourage all of us who have learned and grown as a result of our experience at LREI to do the same as we move into our next hundred years.

SANDY roCHE, p’80, ’82, ’88

The Mandel Foundation

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LREI annual report 2021

LREI annual report 2021

31

THE CAMPAIGN FOR PROGRESS: ENSuRING THE VISION Thank you to the lead donors of The Campaign for Progress: Ensuring the Vision, LREI’s endowment fund.

The endowment is a dedicated fund invested by LREI that offers stability regardless of external economic factors, providing incremental income to be allocated to areas of greatest need as they change year to year. This landmark campaign ensures the growth and continuous renewal of our exceptional 14-year program with fidelity to Irwin’s vision for the next 100 years.

Theo and Will Dotson

Anonymous (5)

Liane Ginsberg in honor of the Paroff Family

Denise and Robert Adler

Barrie Glabman and Adam Schwartz

Margaret Andrews

Goldman Sachs Gives

Isabelle Autones and Francis Greenburger

Cris and Jonah Goodhart

Lori Barnhill

The Grover-Scher Family

Missy and Rocco Basile

Wilnelia Gutierrez and Luis Cruz

Dana Ben-Ari and Nikola Duravcevic

Molly Sellner Harris and Jim Harris

Jean Bernstein

Susan Harris

Haley Lieberman Binn

Kaiko Hayes and Damon DueWhite

Daniel Brodsky ’62

Julia Heaton and Allan Wellenstein

Maria Cilenti and Michael Embler

Eva Hoffman and Ken Cornick ’90

Shirley Collado and A. Van Jordan

Meredith and Charlie Homet

Con Edison

Kristina and Gary Kahn

Elaine and Mark Connelly

Ariel Kaminer and David Schab

The CRH Foundation

Wilma and Howard Kaye

Cyndi and Francis Cueto

Julia and Declan Kelly

Suysel dePedro Cunningham and

Diane and Adam Kidder

Mya Dunlop Carin and Roger Ehrenberg Dawn and Andy Eig Ali Elam Emma and Jonny Fine Christine Fleming and Jim Wiggins Ariela and Sy Foguel Laura Fulmer-Terranova and Vince Terranova Joy Gallup and Alan Knoll

David Cunningham

Lisa Kim and Eunu Chun

Diane and Edward Daley

Rochelle and Warren King

Anne Delaney

Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88 and

Jane Belton Dickerson and Andrew Dickerson

Together, we can position LREI for its second century.

Tommy Krakowiak

Marjorie and Michael Loeb Robin Luce and Sean Fahey Sarah Lutz and John van Rens Lisa Mahar and Morris Adjmi Marc Maltz, in honor of Lenore Maltz Ashley Massey Marks and Josh Marks Andrew McLaren Rita Mella and Robert Rosenthal ’80 Tim Merjos ’80 The MNM Charitable Fund Manjula Nair and Steven Goldman Anh-Van Nguyen and Tien-Tsin Huang The Noonan Family Yukie Ohta and Arnaud Gibersztajn Lara and Alessandro Olivieri Brigitte and Dave Olsen Purvi and Harsh Padia Jeannie Park and David Chan Kasey and José Picayo Emily and Jamie Propp Claudia Ray and Peter Zinman Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Andrea and David Robbins

Liz Kurtzman and Marc Hirschfeld

Sandy Roche

Daniele Dolin and Joseph DeMattia

Estate of David Condie Lamb ’48†

Renee Rolleri and Matt Goldman

Kerry Donahue and Guy Story

Sophia Lo and Hunter Chen, and

Chad Royce

Logan Chen 32

LREI annual report 2021

Tirzah Schwarz and Chuck Goldblum

The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI VOlunteeRs

Elisa Sighicelli and Ruben Levi

Dawn Eig — Co-Chair

The Family of Orlando Levi

Harriette Thomas — Co-Chair

Michele and Louie Sharpe

Allison Weinger — Co-Chair

Fifi and Michael Simon

Angie Vieira Barocas

Kent Smith ’59

Jane Belton

Alisa Soriano

Analisa Cipriano Heinz ’05

The Stuart Foundation

Ken Cornick ’90

Eve Stuart

Cindy Godoy

Nina Stuart ’05

Wilnelia Gutierrez

Liz Sullivan

Jim Harris

Sherry Tenorio and Patrick Smith

Deborah Hodge

Eytan Tigay

Charlie Homet

Kimbrough Towles and George Loening

Meredith Homet

Regina and Dave Trumbull

Marc Mehl

Elisabeth and Gareth Turner

Yukie Ohta

Ceci and Larry Van Blerkom

Chakshu Patel

Karen Wagner and David Caplan

Ian Patrick ’03

The Walt Disney Company Foundation

Kasey Picayo

Allison and Benjamin Weinger

Karen Rhau

Mariet Westermann and Charlie Pardoe

Halee Sage

Jon Whelan

David Schab

Julie and Jamal Young

Sekka Scher

Amy Zimmerman and Kitty Forrest

Elizabeth Simmons

Deborah and Charles Royce Richard Rubenstein Halee Sage and David Friedman

GIFTS IN HONOR OF MURRAY LEWIS In honor of their 50th Reunion, members of the Class of 1971 gave donations designated for financial aid to LREI’s endowment fund.

These gifts were made in memory of Murray Lewis, one of the most influential and important teachers during their years at LREI, and to create something tangible and lasting for future generations.

Jonathon Cole ’71 Lesley Doyel ’71 Jessie Euell ’03 Ramey Fleischman Ward ’71 Verna Gibbs ’71 Susan Glick ’71 Ross Jacobson ’71 Stephanie Shafer Kane ’71 John Keiser ’71 John Kraemer ’71 Peggy Taylor ’71 and Sean Mahony ’71 Judy Palen Palen-Rubino ’71 Carol Sedwick and Michael Patrick ’71 Bobby Plapinger ’71 Madeleine Robins ’71 John Rudolph ’71 Sally Edelman Slater ’71

LREI annual report 2021

†

Realized Bequests

Ceci Van Blerkom Jennifer Walters Jamal Young Amy Ziebarth Amy Zimmerman

Want to add your name alongside these fantastic Fund for LREI volunteers? Contact rimperioli@lrei.org to see how you can help with this crucial LREI initiative!

33

LEADERSHIP DONORS LREI gratefully acknowledges the following donors who made a gift or pledge of $2,021 or more to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. Alumni from the Class of 2011 or younger who made a gift of $100 or more are also recognized as leadership donors. Thank you all for your support!

Carey and Matt Bernstein

Emma and Jonny Fine

Haley Binn

Crystal Fisher and Arie Deutsch

Rachael Burton and Michael Abrahams

Ariela and Sy Foguel

Rory and Mike Byrne

Barbara Fox

Danielle and Young Chase

Jana Friedman and Sandro Pugliese

Maria Cilenti and Michael Embler

Laura Fulmer-Terranova and

Anonymous (7)

Credit Suisse Matching Gifts Program

AbbVie

Cyndi and Francis Cueto

Allison Adler and Chris McAninch

Anjali Dalal and Pamit Surana

Ardea Partners LP

Diane and Edward Daley

Arsenal Capital Management

Juliette DeCarlo and Brian Milberg

Isabelle Autones and Francis Greenburger

Daniele Dolin and Joseph DeMattia

Jesse Avino-Towsen ’08

Theo and Will Dotson

Nat Avino-Towsen ’03

Dawn and Andy Eig

Jodi and Craig Balsam

Lili and Wilson Ervin

Lori Barnhill

Jennifer and Elliot Favus

Dana Ben-Ari and Nikola Duravcevic

Kellie Ferguson and Neal Baumann

Shira and Alex Cornfeld

Vince Terranova Pippa and Robert Gerard Carol and Hank Goldberg Goldman Sachs Gives Goldman, Sachs & Co. Allison Grover Maria Gutierrez and Gabriel Orozco Melinda Hackett Molly Sellner Harris and Jim Harris Susan Harris Kaiko Hayes and Damon DueWhite Julia Heaton and Allan Wellenstein Jennifer and Cameron Hillyer Julie Hirschfeld and Bennett Killmer Eva Hoffman and Ken Cornick ’90 Meredith and Charlie Homet Michelle and Corey Jassem Kristina and Gary Kahn Ariel Kaminer and David Schab Stefanie and Daniel Kaufman Jen Kellogg and Tad Sennott Lisa Kim and Eunu Chun Rochelle and Warren King Suzanne Koppelman Mary Jo and Richard Kovacevich Charlynne and Jeffrey Kovach Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88 and

Our faculty are warm, creative, curious, and eager to discover along with their students.

34

Tommy Krakowiak Wendy and Jamie Lawson LREI annual report 2021

Julie and Michael Leitner

Andrea and David Robbins

Jillkerry and Brian Toolan

Eileen Libutti and Brian Steel

Rockefeller Family Fund

Kimbrough Towles and George Loening

Diane and Alan Lieberman

Jennifer and Eric Rogoff

John Towsen

Jean Lince

Renee Rolleri and Matt Goldman

Ceci and Larry Van Blerkom

Sophia Lo and Hunter Chen

Mariana Elder Rosen

Marjorie Vandow and Richard Fields

Jodi Lu and Asa Johnson

Julie and Jeff Rosenblum

Liselotte and Robin Vince

Jennifer Lynch and Edmond FitzGerald

Kim and Joshua Rosenblum

Johanna Walter and Phil Kassen

Manja Lyssy and Ted Schiffman

Rita Mella and Robert Rosenthal ’80

Jenny Weil and John Samuels

Jill Magid and Jonny Bauer

Halee Sage and David Friedman

Paige West

Lisa Mahar and Morris Adjmi

Orly Sandelowsky and Jared Weinryt

Jon Whelan

Lana and James Marina

Eileen and Marvin Schein

Paul Williams ’63 and Leslie Berger

Ashley Massey Marks and Josh Marks

Nancy Schein

Felicia Wilson-Miller and Vincent Miller

Jill and Marc Mehl

Peter Schein

Cynthia Wong and Sid Gupta

Tim Merjos ’80

Sekka Scher and Steve Williams

Lucas Wong ’17

Karen Mitchell and Robert Chodock

Susie Scher

Denise and Vic Zaraya

Mona Pine Monroe ’48

Cindy and Dan Schwartz

Amy Ziebarth and Miguel Brito

Manoj Nair

Tirzah Schwarz and Chuck Goldblum

Jonathan Ziebarth ’20

Eleonore and Eric Nebot

David Schwimmer

Amy Zimmerman and Kitty Forrest

Anh-Van Nguyen and Tien-Tsin Huang

Carol Sedwick and Michael Patrick ’71

Tom Nussbaum ’63 and Sharon Seiber

Peter Shankman

Open Society Foundations

Michele and Louie Sharpe

Lisa Paolella and Willard Cook

Josephine Shin and Mike Maurice

Sue Portelli and Bobby Digesu

Laura Silber and Dusan Knezevic

Cellie Pardoe ’12

Fifi and Michael Simon

Harmon Pardoe ’15

Charles Smith

Mary Gail Pezzimenti and David Concannon

Sharon and Howard Socol

Violeta Picayo ’09

Karen Spelliscy and Andrew Wang

Daniela Pierro ’19

Simon Staples-Vangel ’12

Adria Fisher Price ’56

Sadie Stern ’17

Emily and Jamie Propp

Sheree Stomberg and Peter Firestein

Rodney Propp

Eve Stuart

Hope Reeves and Martin Walker

The Stuart Foundation

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Telluride Foundation

Harriette Resnick and

Eytan Tigay

Michel De Konkoly Thege LREI annual report 2021

Thank you for all the hard work faculty and staff have put into creating school for our kids.

Elaine and Joe Titus 35

PARENTS LREI@HOME FAMILIES 59% PARTICIPATION Tenzin Choden Shira and Alex Cornfeld Stacy Dillon and Scott Raffo Azalia Garcia Ali Heron and Gustavo Sandoval Sofia Hernandez and Rodney White Christina and Stephen Horner Jen Kellogg and Tad Sennott Andrea Kent and Matt Klein Angela Kim and Mike Weir Jess and Lauren Leslie Min Lew and Koen Malfait Lana and James Marina Asasmi and Hiroyuki Matsumoto Brian O’Keeffe Francine O’Keeffe Olukemi and Oluwole Olusheki Renee Rolleri and Matt Goldman Jennifer and Eric Rogoff Maritza Rosario and Angel Centeno Mariana Elder Rosen Lauren and Valdi Sapira Josephine Shin and Mike Maurice April and Arthur Sookra Wendy Vincent and Kevin Gravenhise Jennifer and Rob Weaver Felicia Wilson-Miller and Vincent Miller

4S

64% PARTICIPATION Kathryn and Faraaz Ahmed Abbe Borok and Dan Borok ’94 Danielle and Young Chase Manja Lyssy and Ted Schiffman Jennifer and Eric Rogoff Ashley Vellano and Kristen Caesar Jennifer and Rob Weaver

The following parents made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. Thank you for your support!

KINDERGARTEN

SECOND GRADE

48% PARTICIPATION

52% PARTICIPATION

Judith Carr-Rodriguez and Paul Rodriguez

Anonymous

Jane and Andrew Dickerson

Michelle and Rethier Atienza

Jennifer and Elliot Favus

Heather Campbell and Adam Rosen

Tiffany Forsyth and Nigel Escalona

Amelia and David Gimbel

Laura Fulmer-Terranova and Vince Terranova

Sofia Hernandez and Rodney White

Eksupar and Randy Griffiths

Jill Magid and Jonny Bauer

Ali Heron and Gustavo Sandoval Sari and Matthew Imberman Ryann and Chris Imperioli Sophia James and Michael Walker Andrea Kent and Matt Klein Angela Kim and Mike Weir Jennifer and Eric Rogoff Natalie Sanz ’00 and Mike Lopez Stacy Shoemaker and Jonathon Rauen Allison Silverman and Adrian Jones Harriette Thomas and David Bess

Kelsey and Sudhir Nair Orly Sandelowsky and Jared Weinryt Natalie Sanz ’00 and Mike Lopez Kira Shalom Peter Shankman Stacy Shoemaker and Jonathon Rauen Karen Spelliscy and Andrew Wang Flora Stubbs and David Shaftel Allison and Benjamin Weinger Felicia Wilson-Miller and Vincent Miller

Jillkerry and Brian Toolan Cynthia Wong and Sid Gupta Melissa Wood-Tepperberg and Noah Tepperberg

FIRST GRADE 50% PARTICIPATION Anonymous Chap and Imani Chapman Shira and Alex Cornfeld Paula Davis Juliette DeCarlo and Brian Milberg Crystal Fisher and Arie Deutsch William Glenn Tasha and Luis Hernandez Angela Kim and Mike Weir Manja Lyssy and Ted Schiffman Asasmi and Hiroyuki Matsumoto Brian O’Keeffe Francine O’Keeffe Mariana Elder Rosen Cindy and Dan Schwartz Wendy Vincent and Kevin Gravenhise

36

Stephanie and Richard Hofmann

In a year like no other, our remarkable faculty and staff fostered so many moments of joy!

LREI annual report 2021

THIRD GRADE

FOURTH GRADE

61% PARTICIPATION

44% PARTICIPATION

Anonymous (2)

Sarah Barlow and Nick Huston

Sheila and Michael Blumberg

Mala Beckhoff

Katia Bouazza and Primavera Salva

Jana Friedman and Sandro Pugliese

Juliette DeCarlo and Brian Milberg

Nancy Hirsch and Rich Fox

Jana Friedman and Sandro Pugliese

Sophia Lo and Hunter Chen

Laura Fulmer-Terranova and Vince Terranova

Karen Mitchell and Robert Chodock

Allison Grover

Anh-Van Nguyen and Tien-Tsin Huang

Andrea Kent and Matt Klein Min Lew and Koen Malfait Jodi Lu and Asa Johnson Natalia Mehlman-Petrzela and Michal Petrzela Michelle and Joel Sandler Susie Scher Sara and Marc Schiller Nancy Schein Peter Schein Josephine Shin and Mike Maurice Michele and Louie Sharpe Allison Silverman and Adrian Jones Lunie and Ramel Small

Eleonore and Eric Nebot Chakshu Patel and Gabriel Ristorucci Donna Ross David Schwimmer Zena Sfeir and Clem Price-Thomas Jonathan Smidt Diana Friedman Soldo ’90 and Peter Soldo Karen Spelliscy and Andrew Wang

FIFTH GRADE 69% PARTICIPATION Anonymous (2) Marika Bernstein-Condos and Steve Condos Jennifer and Lyle Casriel Vivian and Christopher Connolly Cyndi and Francis Cueto Michelle Gomez and Jack Davenport Stephanie and Richard Hofmann Marsha Beecher Hurst and Renwick Hurst Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor Kristina and Gary Kahn Charlynne and Jeff Kovach Sarah Kubersky and Thomas O'Hagen Wendy and Jamie Lawson Kirsten Lentz and Ezra Tawil Olukemi and Oluwole Olusheki Lunie and Ramel Small Bethany Sousa and Joe Brownell Jenny Weil and John Samuels Denise and Vic Zaraya

SIXTH GRADE

62% PARTICIPATION Anonymous (3) Dana Ben-Ari and Nikola Duravcevic Beth Binnard Anjali Dalal and Pamit Surana

Kellie Ferguson and Neal Baumann Kathleen Gersh Lewis Gersh Amanda Goodwin and Jake Edelstein Allison Grover Ariel Kaminer and David Schab Susan Kerner Jen Klass Anna and Joe Magliocco Natalia Mehlman-Petrzela and Michal Petrzela Eleonore and Eric Nebot Anh-Van Nguyen and Tien-Tsin Huang Cortney and Bob Novogratz Akiko and Hiroshi Okamoto Tascha and Daniel Rudder Michelle and Joel Sandler Susie Scher Cindy and Dan Schwartz Gus Tejerina Ceci and Larry Van Blerkom

SEVENTH GRADE 59% PARTICIPATION Anonymous (3) Mala Beckhoff Marika Bernstein-Condos and Steve Condos Haley Binn Alessandra Brunialti and Paul Yager Kelly and Brian Burns Rory and Mike Byrne Shira and Alex Cornfeld Dawn and Andy Eig Christopher Gillman Yael Goverover and Joshua Livnat Lisa and Ray Goris Christine Matijasic and Michael Molaei Natalie and Matthew McDonald Diana and Neal McGraw Jill and Marc Mehl Yukie Ohta and Arnaud Gibersztajn Lisa Primus Sheree Stomberg and Peter Firestein Paige West Denise and Vic Zaraya Sofia Zuberbuhler-Yafar and Jorge Yafar

Daniele Dolin and Joseph DeMattia

LREI annual report 2021

37

EIGHTH GRADE

NINTH GRADE

TENTH GRADE

63% PARTICIPATION

67% PARTICIPATION

56% PARTICIPATION

Anonymous

Anonymous (5)

Anonymous (4)

Michelle and Rethier Atienza

Claudia Bernheim and Leo Raphaely

Brandi Beck and Andy Rosen

Valeska Bachauer and Jeff Kling

Maren Berthelsen and Jesse Karp ’87

Sarah Blustain and Daniel Max

Dana Ben-Ari and Nikola Duravcevic

Haley Binn

Marcia and Charles Brinson

Robert Garland

Christy Turlington Burns and Ed Burns

Chap and Imani Chapman

Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer

Rory and Mike Byrne

Pam and Chris Cloud

Kathleen Gersh

Tenzin Choden

Catherine Del Guercio and Luc Gregoire

Lewis Gersh

Pam and Chris Cloud

Stacy Dillon and Scott Raffo

Julie Hirschfeld and Bennett Killmer

Peter Deming

Katya Duenas and Fernando Dammert

Meredith and Charlie Homet

Mia Diehl

Wilnelia Gutierrez and Luis Cruz

Caroline Jennings and John Curry

Theo and Will Dotson

Jane and David Hyun

Rhoda Kanaaneh and Seth Tapper

Daniele Dolin and Joseph DeMattia

Allison Jacobs

Melissa Kelly and Chris Fleming

Annie Dycus and Andy Shapiro

Stefanie and Daniel Kaufman

Sara Kubersky and Thomas O’Hagan

Kellie Ferguson and Neal Baumann

Jen Kellogg and Tad Sennott

Jess and Lauren Leslie

Samantha and Steve Finkelstein

Rochelle and Warren King

Lana and James Marina

Emma and Jonny Fine

Stephanie Manes

Payal Nevatia-Garland

Barbara Fox

Natalie and Matthew McDonald

Hannah and Jonathan Notaro

Michelle Freedman and Jerry Block

Steve McGee and Dennis Kenney

Paige Novick and David Hoffman

Naima and Corey Garvin

Jessica Millstone and Steve Rivo

Olukemi and Oluwole Olusheki

Elizabeth Gonzalez and Nicolo Marcellino

Jill and Michael Neiberg

Karyn Parsons-Rockwell and Alexandre Rockwell

Khadijah Grant

Dominic Obaditch

Isabel and Oscar Ramirez

Kristina Hou and Daniel Yang

Olukemi and Oluwole Olusheki

Michelle and Corey Jassem

Mimi Park and David Matt

Djenaba Johnson-Jones and Robert Jones

Sheila Rogers

Jill Kastner and Timothy Rice

Viki Rutsch and Saadiq Bey

Pasang Kyipa and Chhapale Sherpa

Daphne Rubin-Vega and Tom Costanzo

Julie and Michael Leitner

Sekka Scher and Steve Williams

Eileen Libutti and Brian Steel

April and Arthur Sookra

Lisa Mahar and Morris Adjmi

Christina Starbuck

Hannah McCouch and Stephen MacGillivray

Jennifer Walters and James Mitchell

Ann and Tim Murphy

Lauran and Charlie Walk

Allison Oakes

Allison and Benjamin Weinger

Lindsay Porter and Gus Reyes

Paige West

Andrea and David Robbins

Amy Ziebarth and Miguel Brito

Viki Rutsch and Saadiq Bey Diana Friedman Soldo ’90 and Peter Soldo Diana Son and Michael Cosaboom

Sincerest thanks to the faculty and staff at LREI for navigating this year with such thoughtfulness and grace.

Maritza Rosario and Angel Centeno Lisa Rosen-Metsch and Ben Metsch Lauren and Valdi Sapira Laura Silber and Dusan Knezevic Charles Smith Esther Wahrhaftig and Marc Blazer Jenny Weil and John Samuels Jon Whelan Kira and Jake Wizner Amy Zimmerman and Kitty Forest

38

LREI annual report 2021

ELEVENTH GRADE 66% PARTICIPATION

TWELFTH GRADE

Anonymous (2)

Anonymous

Amy Berley

Allison Adler and Chris McAninch

Maren Berthelsen and Jesse Karp ’87

Meghan Farley Astrachan and Isaac-Daniel Astrachan

Sophia Brooks and Howard Brunner

60% PARTICIPATION

Denise Kohn and Adam Blank Jill and Michael Katz Richard Katz Suzanne Koppelman Sharon and Edward Lu Lisa Mahar and Morris Adjmi

Christy Turlington Burns and Ed Burns

Lori Barnhill

Kat McCord and Simon Thackway

Christine Buckner-Garrison and Carl Garrison

Valeska Bachauer and Jeff Kling

Susan Ottavino

Andrea Boone and Erin Lynch

Mary Gail Pezzimenti and David Concannon

Foo Cassidy and Ken Westlund

Rachael Burton and Michael Abrahams

Jody Quon and Gordon Finkelstein

Vivian and Christopher Connolly

Colleen Castle

Andrea and David Robbins

Diane and Edward Daley

Maria Cilenti and Michael Embler

Kim and Joshua Rosenblum

Beth and Tim Detraglia

Elaine and Mark Connelly

Lauren and Valdi Sapira

Theo and Will Dotson

Christine Cunningham

Tirzah Schwarz and Chuck Goldblum

Dawn and Andy Eig

Cyndi and Francis Cueto

Julie Siskovic and David O’Brien

Emma and Jonny Fine

Stacy Dillon and Scott Raffo

Sheila Siemion and Thomas Staskowski

Kristina Hou and Daniel Yang

Celeste and Brian Dorsey

Irina and Ilya Startsev

Molly Sellner Harris and Jim Harris

Katy Fleming and Zvi Ben-Dor Benite

Lisa and Stephen Trowbridge

Michelle Hobart and Justin Peyser

Ariela and Sy Foguel

Penny Venetis and Rich Kassel

Mishi Hosono and Adam Weintraub

Sandra Galvis-Pena and Francisco Pena

Esther Wahrhaftig and Marc Blazer

Christina and Stephen Horner

Mary and John Gerzema

Amy Ziebarth and Miguel Brito

Allison and Jason Isbell

Antonia Lopresti Giglio and Anthony Giglio

Sheree Stomberg and Peter Firestein

Michelle and Corey Jassem

Elizabeth Gonzalez and Nicolo Marcellino

Paige West

Sarah and Jamie Kresberg

Jennifer and Cameron Hillyer

Denise and Vic Zaraya

Alexandra and Paul Kekalos

Mishi Hosono and Adam Weintraub

Sofia Zuberbuhler-Yafar and Jorge Yafar

Katharine and Jim L’Heureux Andrea Lerner and Sebastiaan Bremer Rachel Mann and Joshua Rosenblatt Robin and Kheil McIntyre Hannah McCouch and Stephen MacGillivray Hilary and Harold Meltzer Lisa Paolella and Willard Cook Emily and Jamie Propp Hope Reeves and Martin Walker Julie and Jeff Rosenblum Renee Rolleri and Matt Goldman Halee Sage and David Friedman Jessica and David Saslow Maria and Ian Thornell Eytan Tigay Rachel Tigay Ceci and Larry Van Blerkom Johanna Walter and Phil Kassen Kira and Jake Wizner Dawn Williams and Marty Fluger Amy Zimmerman and Kitty Forest

LREI annual report 2021

39

THE 2020-2021 ALuMNI COuNCIL If you would like to get involved with the Alumni Council, contact Elisabeth Ingwersen Mendez, Alumni and Special Events Manager and Violeta Picayo ’09, Alumni Relations Associate at alumni@lrei.org or 212.477.5316, ext.269.

ANALISA CIPRIANO HEINZ ’05

PRESIDENT, EDUCATION NETWORK CO-LEADER

IAN PATRICK ’03 — VICE PRESIDENT ARIEL COHEN ’03

ANA FOX CHANEY ’94, P’32, ’34

EDUCATION NETWORK CO-LEADER

KARA STERN ’84

LGBTQ+ AFFINITY GROUP LEADER

The following alumni made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. Thank you for your lifelong commitment to supporting LREI’s progressive mission!

1930s Ephraim Resnick ’30

EDUCATION AFFINITY NETWORK CO-LEADER

Lois Zimmerman Cohen ’36

MATT CIPRIANO ’96

1940s

PHILLIP ELLISON ’05

ALUMNI OF COLOR AFFINITY GROUP CO-LEADER

TAMAR GARGLE KRAKOWIAK ’88

Roland Reisley ’38

Robert Lilien ’40 Robert Wilkinson ’46 Mary Sickels Seelye ’46 Joe Colt ’47 Emily Baruch Kirby ’47 Joan Studer Levine ’47

ANGELA LOWE ’03

ALUMNI OF COLOR AFFINITY GROUP CO-LEADER

VITTORIO MAESTRO ’64 SUSAN MEYER ’58

Jane Roland Martin ’47 Ann Rosenthal Oliver ’47 Henry Rose ’47 Olga Landeck Rothschild ’47 Mona Pine Monroe ’48 Nancy Richards Osman ’48 Robert Belenky ’49

TIM MERJOS ’80

Stephen Diamond ’49

ALEJANDRO MONTOYA ’08

Nancy Schaines Merjos ’49

Anne Epstein McWilliams ’49 Paula Kornfield Sennett ’49

VIOLETA PICAYO ’09

Michael Sperber ’49

ADRIA FISHER PRICE ’56

1950s

ROBERT ROSENTHAL ’80 DIANA FRIEDMAN SOLDO ’90 AKIM ST. OMER ’02

ALUMNI OF COLOR AFFINITY GROUP CO-LEADER 40

Jeanne Gould Bloom ’50 Joel Mandelbaum ’50 Victor Navasky ’50 Stephen Eisenberg Earl ’51 Max Gottesman ’52 Victor Reis ’53

Bill Woolf ’53 Carter Bancroft ’54 Astrid Beigel ’54 John Baer ’55 Janet Kranzberg ’55 Carol Levine Paasche ’55 William Rothman ’55 Michael Salmon ’55 Barbara Tessohn Sheck ’55 Susan Brown Toder ’55 Gretchen Walther Dumler ’56 John Katz ’56 Adria Fisher Price ’56, 1950s & 1960s Meet-up Group Leaders Judy Locker Adelson ’57 Donald Coburn ’57 Hope Niman Prosky ’57 Edward Schoenberger ’57 Peter Smith ’57 Renee Conforte ’58 David Gottesman ’58 Judy Ogull Kennedy ’58 Susan Meyer ’58, 1950s & 1960s Meet-up Group Leaders Peggy Bone Miles ’58 Robert Norman ’58 Nancy Brown Schmiderer ’58 Jane Cohn Waldbaum ’58 Sandra Unterman Hoeh ’59 Virginia Segal Shipley ’59 Roberta Wallitt ’59

1960s Paul Goldstein ’60 Marjorie Portnow ’60 Cora Baron ’61 Robert Ferrucci ’61 Bridget Leicester ’61 Kathie Amatniek Sarachild ’61 Stephen Bonime ’62 Faiga Brussel ’62 Ann Weisberg Dean ’62 Jane Miller Doyle ’62 Paul Golden ’62 David Kellner ’62 LREI annual report 2021

Tom Nussbaum ’63

Sandra Clitter ’77

Amy Ramirez Rodriguez ’06

Robbie Wasserman ’63

Adrienne Lindgren Fisher ’77

Bob Tawil ’06

Paul Williams ’63

Robert Haber ’77

Ashley Townsend ’06

Jay Beder ’64

Barkley Stuart ’77

Kamillah Aklaff ’07

Ellen Davidman Coppley ’64

Richard Eaddy ’79

Jesse Avino-Towsen ’08

Josie Segal Gallup ’64

Rachael Horovitz ’79

Ella Saunders-Crivello ’08

Nancy Hodes ’64

Caroline Noonan ’09

Peter Knobler ’64

1980s

Paul Leavin ’64

Paula Davis-Mulderrig ’80

Vittorio Maestro ’64, 1950s & 1960s Meet-up Group Leaders

Tim Merjos ’80

2010s

Robert Rosenthal ’80

Hope Goodrich ’10

Rosa Silver ’82

Margret Wiggins ’11

Brian Zimmerman ’83

Cellie Pardoe ’12

Jessica Bard ’84

Simon Staples-Vangel ’12

Amy Barron Forman ’84

Surayya Diggs ’13

Alex Hoffman-Stachelberg ’85

David White ’13

Jesse Karp ’87

Naomi Jabouin ’14

Alice Maggin ’87

Josey Stuart ’14

Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88

Saskia Globig ’15

Lorraine Maxwell ’64 Robert Meeropol ’65 Robert Miller ’65 Jill Rubin Kron ’65 Ellen Schall ’65 Karen Weingeist ’65 Jim Gadsden ’66 Jimmy Tarlau ’66 Sarah Solomon Gordon ’67 Jodi Beder ’68 Melanie Ress ’68 Barbara Salz ’68 Michael Spector ’68 Andrew Weiss ’68 Meg Wolder ’69

1970s Daniel Rosenblum ’70 Bo Sa Tep ’70 Dana Johnston ’71 John Kraemer ’71 Michael Patrick ’71 Sally Edelman Slater ’71 Susan Feinstein ’72 Elisa Johnston ’72 Peter Karow ’72 Margery Perlmutter ’72 Michael Ramoutar ’72 Annj Gumbinner ’73 Joshua Jaffe ’73 Lisa Schilit Pearson ’73 Kate Dundes Shattan ’73 Nina Wallace ’73 Alan Klugman ’74 Barbara Martinez ’74 Marc Abrams ’75 Ronald Balter ’76 LREI annual report 2021

1990s

Violeta Picayo ’09

Harmon Pardoe ’15 Simmon Wells ’15

Ken Cornick ’90

Camrin Cohen ’16

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90

Mekhi Duewhite ’16

Wanda Opitz ’91

Lilah Van Rens ’16

Michelle Roberts ’91

Julia Herzfeld ’17

Dan Borok ’94

Lucy Hirschfeld ’17

Jevon Roush ’94

Sophia King ’17

Matthew Cipriano ’96

Julia Noonan ’17

Sarah Schur McCarty ’96

Lindsay Seitz ’17

Shebra Edwards Hall ’97

Sadie Stern ’17

Martha King ’97

Lucas Wong ’17

Serene Longsworth ’97

Brian Chiang ’18

Joseph Blodgett ’98

Lulu Obaditch ’18

Andy Hiller ’98

Loveday Trumbull ’18

Anansa Brayton ’99

Scekem Wells ’18

Scott Paris ’99

Daniela Pierro ’19

2000s

2020s

Natalie Sanz ’00

Gus Green ’20

Daniel Manian ’02

Cameron Krakowiak ’20

Rosina Roa ’02

Jonathan Ziebarth ’20

Akim St. Omer ’02 Nat Avino-Towsen ’03 Ian Patrick ’03 Shoyinka McKen ’04 Analisa Cipriano ’05 Drew Herman ’05 Jonathan Segal ’05 41

TRuSTEE DONORS The following current and former trustees made a gift to The 20202021 Fund for LREI. Thank you for all that you do for LREI! Matt Bernstein Maren Berthelsen Eunu Chun Analisa Cipriano ’05 Ken Cornick ’90 Jane Belton Dickerson Dawn Eig Katy Fleming Francis Greenburger Wilnelia Gutierrez Jim Harris Julia Heaton Deborah Hodge

Liz Kurtzman Yukie Ohta Dave Olsen Sean Paroff Kasey Picayo Robert Rosenthal ’80 Halee Sage Susie Scher Elizabeth Simmons Lunie Small Eve Stuart Kimbrough Towles Ceci Van Blerkom Angie Vieira Barocas Rodney White Jamal Young Amy Zimmerman

Charles Homet

FORMER TRuSTEE DONORS Margaret Andrews

Stephen MacGillivray

Meghan Farley Astrachan

Tim Merjos ’80

Willard Cook

Susan Meyer ’58

Milena Cornick

Manjula Nair

Daniele Dolin

Victor Navasky ’50

Celeste Dorsey

Anh-Van Nguyen

Emma Fine

Judith Roberts

Kimberley Fiterman-Duepner

Diana Son

Jim Gadsden ’66

Alisa Soriano

Maria Gutierrez

Liselotte Vince

Kaiko Hayes

Nancy Walker

Rudy Jordan

Robbie Wasserman

Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88

ADVISORY COuNCIL Craig Balsam

Jeannie Park

Richard Eaddy

Michael Patrick

Pippa Gerard

Sandra Roche

Sarah Lutz

Jim Wiggins

Andrew McLaren

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Whether impromptu or annual, field trips are frequent at LREI to add inspiration, information, and experiences for students.

LREI annual report 2021

ALuMNI PARENTS The following alumni parents made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. Thank you for your continued support of our progressive mission!

Anonymous (3) Isabelle Autones and Francis Greenburger Sara Baerwald Jodi and Craig Balsam Marika Bernstein-Condos and Steve Condos Carey and Matt Bernstein Linda and Mark Bledstein Sheila and Michael Blumberg Michelle and Michael Boehm

Khadijah Grant

Lisa Kim and Eunu Chun

Jenifer Berman and Andy Green

Michelle and Robert King

Betsy Grob

Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88 and Tommy Krakowiak

Helga Grunberg and Andrew Weiss Sandy Gubar Maria Gutierrez and Gabriel Orozco Melinda Hackett Molly Sellner Harris and Jim Harris Susan Harris Kaiko Hayes and Damon DueWhite Julia Heaton and Allan Wellenstein Kitty Highstein Eva Hoffman and Ken Cornick ’90

Liz Kurtzman and Marc Hirschfeld Mari Leung Kim Lew Jean Lince Sharon and Edward Lu Sarah Lutz and John van Rens Jennifer Lynch and Edmond FitzGerald Alice Maggin ’87 and Wayne Nelson Peter Manian

Katia Bouazza and Primavera Salva Megan Brothers and Michael Kirchmann Rise and Howard Brown Wini and Db Burkeman Kelly and Brian Burns Tracy Butler and Mark Silberberg Chap and Imani Chapman Maria Cilenti and Michael Embler Grace Cohen Lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko Eliza Coleman and Robert Pierro Lisa Goldenberg Corn and Andrew Corn Milena and Bernard Cornick Michael Cosaboom Cyndi and Francis Cueto Diane and Edward Daley Jane and Andrew Dickerson "What I have learned from my many years of teaching is that students hold a great deal of power in their ability to learn and master new content." – Adele de Biasi Pelz, High School French teacher

Sue Portelli and Bobby Digesu Celeste and Brian Dorsey Theo and Will Dotson Joyce Doyle and Bo Doyle, Jr. Kate Edgar and Allen Furbeck

Deborah and Roger Hodge

Lili and Wilson Ervin

Sophie Hsu and Yi-Jen Chiang

Christine Fleming and Jim Wiggins

Allison Jacobs

Kimberley Fiterman-Duepner and Gregory Duepner

Dana Jones and Joe Agne

Eileen Fitzpatrick and Ralph Grishman

Attilia Kalmus

Ariela and Sy Foguel Carolyn Fuss Sandra Galvis-Pena and Francisco Pena Martha Gargle Pippa and Robert Gerard Susan Glass LREI annual report 2021

Tatjana Kalinin and John Herzfeld Marjorie Kalter and Robbie Wasserman Ariel Kaminer and David Schab Rhoda Kanaaneh and Seth Tapper Jill Kastner and Timothy Rice Jill and Michael Katz

Tracie McGee Andrew McLaren Hilary and Harold Meltzer Nancy Schaines Merjos ’49 Tim Merjos ’80 Dominic Obaditch Brigitte and Dave Olsen Lisa Paolella and Willard Cook Jeannie Park Lisa Schilit Pearson ’73 and Stephen Pearson Allison Penn and Armin Harris 43

Kasey and Jose Picayo

Joan Brodsky Schur and Edwin Schur

Sherry Tenorio and Patrick Smith

Hope Niman Prosky ’57

Carol Sedwick and Michael Patrick ’71

Elaine and Joe Titus

Jody Quon and Gordon Finkelstein

Nancy Shapiro

Ada Tolla and Danny Bright

Claudia Ray and Peter Zinman

Fifi and Michael Simon

Kimbrough Towles and George Loening

Ephraim Resnick ’30

Diana Son

John Towsen

Harriette Resnick and Michel De Konkoly Thege

Martha Spanninger

Marilyn Vasta and Ronald Kuby

Melanie Ress ’68

Cassie and Ted Stafford

Liselotte and Robin Vince

Shirley Staples and Donald Vangel

Lauran and Charlie Walk

Christina Starbuck

Nancy Walker and Floyd Hammack

Merril Stern

Johanna Walter and Phil Kassen

Sheree Stomberg and Peter Firestein

Lawrence White

Janet Strain and Larry Fuchsman

Mary Young and Ruben Olmedo

Barkley Stuart ’77

Caitlin Zaloom and Eric Klinenberg

Eve Stuart

Amy Ziebarth and Miguel Brito

Leslie Richartz and Andrew Hoffer Judy Roberts and Mark Tarlov Sandy Roche Viki Rutsch and Saadiq Bey Halee Sage and David Friedman Marianella Santiago Leslie Satin and Dean Rainey Susie Scher

Jojon and Younes Tamir

GRANDPARENTS AND FORMER GRANDPARENTS The following grandparents made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. Thank you for your support!

Lynn and Seth Abraham Claudette Boehm Polly Condit Milena and Bernard Cornick Nancy Farley Martha Gargle

Carol and Hank Goldberg

Mirielle Schuck

Barbara and David Grigsby

Judy and Stephen Sears

Linda and Andrew Kaufman

Linda Silverman

Mary Jo and Richard Kovacevich

Sharon and Howard Socol

Diane and Alan Lieberman

Anthony Sousa

Nancy Schaines Merjos ’49

Evelyn and Joseph Staskowski

Joshua Musher

Phyllis and Bob Zimmerman

Martha Sarno Eileen and Marvin Schein

Thank you, LREI, for an incredible first year for our children!

44

LREI annual report 2021

FACuLTY & STAFF The following current and former faculty and staff made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI. ALL of our faculty and staff gave beyond measure this year and our community is incredibly grateful!

Margaret Andrews

Ryann Imperioli

Meghan Farley Astrachan

Allison Isbell

Michelle Atienza

Jesse Karp ’87

Sarah Barlow

Phil Kassen

Mala Beckhoff

Judy Lambek

Beth Binnard

Stephen MacGillivray

Michele Blackwell

Josh Marks

Michelle Boehm

Tracie McGee

Barbara Charriez

Elisabeth Mendez

Michel De Konkoly Thege

Sergei Mikhelson

Jane Belton Dickerson

Manjula Nair

Stacy Dillon

Kelly O’Shea

Celeste Dorsey

Kate Peck

Eileen Dougherty

Violeta Picayo ’09

Damon DueWhite

Sandra Ramirez

Tammy Dunn

Jonathan Segal ’05

Susan Glass

Mark Silberberg

Elizabeth Gonzalez

Elizabeth Simmons

Amanda Goodwin

Alisa Soriano

Luis Hernandez

Cassie Stafford

Tasha Hernandez

Jennifer Hubert Swan

Pat Higgiston

Jenny Weil

Deborah Hodge

Mary Young

FORMER FACulty and staff Anonymous

Kitty Highstein

Mark Bledstein

Kristina Hou

Kate Brown

Jean Lince

Chap Chapman

Andrew McLaren

Analisa Cipriano ’05

Alison Relyea

Grace Cohen

Sandy Roche

Amy Barron Forman ’84

Ann Schaumburger

Pippa Gerard

Namita Tolia

Betsy Grob

Andrew Weiss ’68

Julia Heaton LREI annual report 2021

45

FRIENDS, FOuNDATIONS, AND MATCHING GIFTS Does your company have a matching gifts program? Please contact your HR department to see if you could double or triple the impact of your gift!

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Carol and Andrew Rindler Rockefeller Family Fund

IN HONOR OF ELIAS’ GRADUATION Penny Venetis and Rich Kassel

Todd Schmidt

IN HONOR OF MARK BLEDSTEIN

The following friends, foundations, and companies made a gift to The 2020-2021 Fund for LREI.

Shaftel Family Foundation

Brian Zimmerman ’83

AbbVie

Telluride Foundation

Amazonsmile Foundation Ardea Partners LP Arsenal Capital Management AT&T Bank of America Charitable Foundation Bernard F. and Alva. B. Gimbel Foundation Brookfield Office Properties, Inc. Kevin Carey The Carlyle Group Sandra and Daniel Cohen Con Edison Coydog Foundation Credit Suisse Matching Gifts Program Richard Dobrow Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Goldman Sachs Gives

Charles Stachelberg The Stuart Foundation

IN HONOR OF CAROL HENRY ’47

The Stuart Four-Square Fund

Stephen Eisenberg Earl ’51

Marjorie Vandow and Richard Fields

IN HONOR OF LUIS HERNANDEZ

VCU School of Business

Suysel dePedro Cunningham and David Cunningham

TRIBuTE GIFTS

IN HONOR OF MILES HORNER'S GRADUATION

LREI is pleased and proud to accept gifts made in memory of a loved one or in honor of teachers, family, friends, or special occasions.

Melanie Ress ’68

IN HONOR OF THE CLASS OF 1982 Rosa Silver ’82

IN HONOR OF THE CLASS OF 2015

Google, Inc.

Saskia Globig ’15

The Harry and Helen Cohen Charitable Foundation Llewellyn Hedgbeth

IN HONOR OF THE CLASS OF 2020 Ada Tolla and Danny Bright

Amy and Brian Heese

IN HONOR OF MARGARET ANDREWS

Jay Hoffer The Hurlburt Foundation

Suysel dePedro Cunningham and David Cunningham

Jocelyn Jezierny

Mekhi Duewhite ’16

Joel Dean Foundation, Inc. Herbert Kanarick B Diane King and Claire Coleman Kathleen Lu Macy’s Foundation Cathy Marchant Faye and Fred Marchant Meredith Corporation Foundation Morgan Stanley Manoj Nair

IN HONOR OF TOBY IMBERMAN’S K GRADUATION Lynn and Seth Abraham

IN HONOR OF THE CLASS OF 1968

Goldman, Sachs & Co. The H&R Block Foundation

Martha Sarno

IN HONOR OF JANET ATKINSON Wanda Opitz ’91

IN HONOR OF THE BERNSTEIN FAMILY Marjorie Vandow and Richard Fields

IN HONOR OF GRACE COHEN Meg Wolder ’69 Elisa Johnston ’72

IN HONOR OF PHIL KASSEN Harriette Resnick and Michel de Konkoly Thege

IN HONOR OF CINDY, GRACE, CLEO, SUSAN, SANDY, RIMMIE, RUTH, AND OF MY DAUGHTER JULIA Betsy Grob

IN HONOR OF LOUIS SARLIN AND CHARITY BAILEY Susan Meyer ’58

IN HONOR OF ZANDER LU ’21 Kathleen Lu Sharon and Edward Lu

IN HONOR OF EDWIN A. SUVANTO David Kellner ’62

IN HONOR OF MILTON UNTERMAN Carter Bancroft ’54

IN HONOR OF ALISON VAN DYKE ’57 Donald Coburn ’57

Open Society Foundations 46

LREI annual report 2021

IN MEMORY OF SUSAN AVINO

IN MEMORY OF MORRIS SALZ

Jesse Avino-Towsen ’08

Rudy Jordan

Nathaniel Avino-Towsen ’03

Barbara Salz ’68

John Towsen

IN MEMORY OF JOHN E. SARNO, M.D.

IN MEMORY OF FLORA FRIEDLAND BRYANT ’56

Martha Sarno

Adria Fisher Price ’56

IN MEMORY OF BARBARA KRYZAK SCHMIDT ’55

IN MEMORY OF ARTHUR BENCE

Todd Schmidt

Nancy Walker and Floyd Hammack

IN MEMORY OF MICHAEL CARLIN ’51 Stephen Eisenberg Earl ’51

IN MEMORY OF DAVID GLASER Rudy Jordan Barbara Martinez ’74

IN MEMORY OF LEONARD GUBAR Eve Stuart

IN MEMORY OF JIM KIELIAN

IN MEMORY OF SETH SCHAPIRO ’49 Eve Stuart

IN MEMORY OF THORNE SHIPLEY ’45 Virginia Segal Shipley ’59

IN MEMORY OF ALAN SOLOWAY ’73 Kevin Carey Sandra and Daniel Cohen Richard Dobrow Llewellyn Hedgbeth Amy and Brian Heese

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90 and Peter Soldo

Jay Hoffer

Tamar Gargle Krakowiak ’88, Tommy Krakowiak, and Cameron Krakowiak ’20

Jocelyn Jezierny

IN MEMORY OF ROBERT LEICESTER

Carol and Andrew Rindler

Bridget Leicester ’61

IN MEMORY OF ADI C.C. LU Kathleen Lu Sharon and Edward Lu

IN MEMORY OF ELLEN MANIAN Daniel Manian ’02 Peter Manian

IN MEMORY OF GREG PASSUNTINO ’04 Martha Spanninger

IN MEMORY OF ALAN S. ROSENTHAL ’40 Ann Rosenthal Oliver ’47

IN MEMORY OF PAUL ROSENBERG ’48 Cathy Marchant Faye and Fred Marchant LREI annual report 2021

B Diane King and Claire Coleman LLC Department Llewellyn Hedgbeth VCU School of Business

IN MEMORY OF GRACE G. SMITH Peter Smith ’57

IN MEMORY OF RANDOLPH B. SMITH Peter Smith ’57

Sandra Unterman Hoeh ’59

IN MEMORY OF JULIE STERLING Cassie and Ted Stafford

IN MEMORY OF BILL WALTERS Linda and Mark Bledstein Dana Johnston ’71

THE FOLLOWING DONORS SUPPORTED THE JULIA ROSE WILBUR FUND TO BENEFIT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SUMMERS AT LREI: Sally and Chris Lutz Scott Schimmel

IN MEMORY OF MARIE WEISS Eve Stuart

Helga Grunberg and Andrew Weiss ’68

47

ART AuCTION After its postponement in 2020, LREI’s Art Auction was held May 10-12, 2021. Proceeds provide outstanding educational opportunities to our diverse and talented students. We are grateful for our community’s support of our progressive mission.

COMMITTEE Jackie Collins — Co-Chair

CENTENNIAL COLORING BOOK COMMITTEE

François Bringer

The Centennial Coloring Book expands on LREI’s commitment to the arts as a special project in celebration of the school’s Centennial. If you wish to purchase a Coloring Book, contact rimperioli@lrei.org.

Heather Campbell and Adam Rosen

COMMITTEE

Angela Britzman Chelsea Hrynick Browne Katia Bulbenko

Julia Burlingham ’04 Karlos Cárcamo Ann Carroll Gonzalo Casals Jennifer and Lyle Casriel Abby Caulkins Stephen Cimini

Matthew Cipriano ’96

Denise Adler

Pam and Chris Cloud

Scott Ferguson — 2020 Co-Chair

Jackie Collins

Dennis Cohen

Sarah Lutz

Erik Coler ’09

Rodney White — Co-Chair

Kat McCord

Jackie Collins

Andrew Nash

Shira and Alex Cornfeld

Hiroshi Okamoto

Guy Corriero

Liz Parks

Abraham Cruzvillegas

Kasey Picayo

Mary Curry and Jonathan Levine

Rodney White

Beth Dary and Scott Ferguson

Monica Manzutto — Co-Chair Gabriel Shuldiner ’90 — Alumni Co-Chair Denise Adler Maren Berthelson Jennifer Elster Arnaud Gibersztajn Chuck Goldbum Sophie Kahn

Eva Davidova

Philipp Klingelhofer

Carlton Davis

Andrea Lerner Sarah Lutz Melody Marcus Kat McCord Andrew Nash Anh-Van Nguyen Hiroshi Okamoto Liz Parks Kasey Picayo Christina Starbuck Ada Tolla JJ Veronis Claudia Vieira Denise Zaraya

DONATIONS We are grateful to the following community members, friends, and artists who made donations and/or purchases at the 2021 Art Auction: Stephen Adcock Denise and Robert Adler Carlos Amorales Samuel Argyle Meghan Farley Astrachan Jodi and Craig Balsam Angie Vieira Barocas and Justin Barocas Laura Barr Brandi Beck and Andy Rosen Robin Becker Tony Bennett Seferina Berch Carl Berg Norma Jean Bothmer Amanda Bouquet and Michael Sprague Karmen Bradvica-Marohnic and Viktor Marohnic Blair Breard and Robert Leaver Sebastiaan Bremer

48

Vega Davis Frances DeBartolo Juliette DeCarlo and Brian Milberg Catherine Del Guercio and Luc Gregoire Brian Delacey Anne Delaney Beth and Tim Detraglia Jane and Andrew Dickerson Rodney Dickson ShalomIsrael Diggs Ann Dimon Roz Dimon Catherine Domonkos Claudia Doring-Baez Theo and Will Dotson Eileen Dougherty Julie Harman Dovan Kelly Driscoll Harvey Drucker Rita Drucker Greg Dzurita

Richard Eaddy ’79 Jason ’Terror 161’ Edlin Dawn and Andy Eig LREI annual report 2021

Brigitte Engler

Meredith and Charlie Homet

Jill Magid

Jonathan Fabio

Kathryn Huarte

Matthew Mahler

Patricia Fabricant

Merrill Hudson

Rachel Mann and Joshua Rosenblatt

Aljoscha Farassat

Clifford Hurvich ’76

David Farmer

Ryann and Chris Imperioli

M. Apparition

Emily and Andrew Faulkner

Michelle and Corey Jassem

Jean Marcellino

Hedyeh Parsia Fawkes and Piers Fawkes

Marthe Jocelyn

Melody Marcus and Laurance Kaufman

Eva Faye

Mary Jones

Brice Marden

Charles Fazzino

Nina Jordan

Jorge Marrón

Liz Fensterstock

Sophie Kahn

Catherine and Daniel Martin

Kellie Ferguson and Neal Baumann

Adayit Kalo-Cunningham

Barbara Martinez ’74

Scott Ferguson

Jen Kellogg and Tad Sennott

Kat McCord and Simon Thackway

Fillin Global

Cushla Kelly

Jennifer McDermott

Monica Manzutto and Jose Kuri

Emma and Jonny Fine

Victor Kerlow ’04

Samantha and Steve Finkelstein

Rochelle and Warren King

Steve McGee and Dennis Kenney Robin and Kheil McIntyre

Shauna Finn

Bella Klein ’07

Jim Fiora

Mark Klemer

Jessica Mein

Berett Fisher and Eric Trachtenberg

Barbara Knight

Margery Mellman

Matthew F. Fisher

Suzanne Koppelman

Mark Miller

Christine Fleming and Jim Wiggins

Lauren Krueger

Richard Montoux

Peter Fox

Sara Kubersky and Thomas O’Hagan

Rachel Murdy

Dr. Lakra

Ryan Sarah Murphy

Antonia Frank ’16

McKenzie Fine Art, New York

Joanne Freeman James French Laura Fulmer-Terranova and Vince Terranova Allen Furbeck Veronique Gambier Pippa and Robert Gerard Jill Gewirtz Cris Gianakos Arnaud Gibersztajn Gabriel Gigliotti Michelle Gilliatte Amelia and David Gimbel

Over their 14-year experience, LREI students come to know themselves as learners and as members of our vibrant community.

Sharon Gindi Camilo Godoy Carol Brown Goldberg Yael Goverover Guzman Melinda Hackett Rami Harawi Molly Sellner Harris and Jim Harris Susan Harris Kaiko Hayes and Damon DueWhite Alan Herman Nancy Hirsch and Rich Fox Steven Holley LREI annual report 2021

Peter Landeck

Nancy Murray

DS LEE

Djavan Nascimento

Bertram Lewis

Andrew Nash

Sophia Lo and Hunter Chen

Mario Naves

Meriam Lobel

Anh-Van Nguyen and Tien-Tsin Huang

Charles ’Keon One’ Loreto

Barbara Norman

LOT-EK, Ada Tolla + Giuseppe Lignano

Susan Now

Alexi Lubomirski

Steven B. Nussdorf

Sarah Lutz and John van Rens

Brian O’Donnell

Manja Lyssy and Ted Schiffman

Francine O’Keeffe

Ian Mack

Yukie Ohta 49

Julia Oldham

David Salle

Philip Swan

Kalil Oldham

Preeti Salvi

Sofía Táboas

Lara and Alessandro Olivieri

Andra Samelson

Andrea and Adam Taetle

Al Ortiz Jr.

Jenny and Kevin Samuelson

Carol Bove and Gordon Terry

Tom Otterness

Nicole Sanz and Jimmy Sanz ’92

Jillkerry and Brian Toolan

Athenea Papacostas

Ann Schaumburger

Cellie Pardoe ’12

Julián Trigo

Susie Scher

Mark Trujillo

Lawrence Schiffman

Regina and Dave Trumbull

Chakshu Patel and Gabriel Ristorucci

Cindy and Dan Schwartz

Meredith Turner and Jared Heller

Kate Peck

Erika Christensen Scully

Gunjan Tyagi

Michael Pellettieri

Judy and Stephen Sears

Josette Urso

Justin Peyser

Peter Serling

Ceci and Larry Van Blerkom

Kasey and Jose Picayo

Zena Sfeir and Clem Price-Thomas

Joanna Vasilakos and Daniel Byrne

Marjorie Portnow

Bejal Shah and Amit Mehta

JJ Veronis

Harmon Pardoe ’15

Kate Dundes Shattan ’73 and Thomas Shattan

Sara Vibes

Anna Kuchel Rabinowitz Stefanie and Ethan Rapp

Jay Shells c/o Fillin Inc

Don Voisine

Chandra Ratner

Barbara Shelly

Cindy Volack

Scott Redden

Gabriel J. Shuldiner ’90

William Wegman

Hope Reeves and Martin Walker

Allison Silverman and Adrian Jones

Jenny Weil and John Samuels

Linda Reid

Sinclair The Vandal

Allison and Benjamin Weinger

Peggy Resnick

Anjie Skaya

Jil Weinstock

Piero Ribelli

Christopher J. Skura

Betsy Weis

Margaret Riegel

Sarah Smyth

Kevin ’FA-Q’ Wendall

Andrea and David Robbins

Sharon Socol

Paige West

Walter Robinson

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90 and Peter Soldo

Mariet Westerman and Charles Pardoe

Daniel Root

Joseph Solman

Rodney White

Rina Root

George Spencer

E. Genevieve Williams

Andrea Rosen

Christina Starbuck

Kira and Jake Wizner

Mariana Elder Rosen

Gillian Stern

Carrie and Kevin Wright

Kim and Joshua Rosenblum

Merril Stern

Darius Yektai

Daphne Rubin-Vega and Tom Costanzo

Ruby Stiler

Mary Young and Ruben Olmedo

Halee Sage and David Friedman

Mary Ann Strandell

Esther Zabronsky

Saint SoHo

Eve Stuart

Denise and Vic Zaraya

Antonio Prohías with Color by Tony Prohías

Claudia Vieira

Flora Stubbs and David Shaftel

On the eleventh grade trip, students experience moments that challenge their assumptions, complicate their worldviews, and ignite their desire to act.

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COMMuNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE Creates opportunities for parents and children to participate together in community service. This committee organizes a calendar of family-friendly volunteer activities that engage parents and students from all school divisions.

Debbie Hecht — Chair Denise Adler Ariane Arpels-Josiah Michelle Atienza Shannon Barden Angie Vieira Barocas Missy Barshay Missy Basile Megan Brothers Thais Brown Zoe Buckman Mike Campbell Sandra Chapman Karen Cockrell Kelsey Collins Shira Confeld Sofia Coppola Rosemary Corbett Suysel dePedro Cunningham Anjali Dalal Rajat Das Richelle Davies Juliette DeCarlo Cathy Del Guercio Anne Marie Denson Amy DiBernardo Daniele Dolin Theo Dotson Dawn Eig Lili Ervin Emily Faulkner Hedy Parsia Fawkes Kellie Ferguson Karla Fernandes-Vogel Matt Fernandes-Vogel Kerri Fersel-Bennett Claudia Figliulo Emma Fine

LREI annual report 2021

Elizabeth Fosnight

Allison Penn

Sandra Galvis Pena

Flore Peralte

Jody Gardner

Jamie Propp

Cindy Godoy

Stefanie Rapp

Natalie Goncher

Tahl Raz

Cris Goodhart

Meg Reiss

Greer Goodman

Karen Rhau

Yael Goverover

Vicky Rich

Allison Grover

Daphne Rubin-Vega

Kelli Harding

Halee Sage

Susan Harris

Pam Salisbury

Eva Hoffman

Primavera Salva

Michelle Humphrey

Jessica Saslow

Ryann Imperioli

Sonia Satra

Tamara Jenkins

Nancy Schein

Michi Jigarjian

David Schwimmer

Shindy Johnson

Ayelet Segal

Kristina Kahn

Zena Sfeir

Adayit Kalo-Cunningham

Melissa Silver

Rhoda Kanaaneh

Michelle Silver

Stefanie Kaufman

Lizz Smith

Erin Kellerman

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90

Angela Kim

Karen Stern

Warren King

Eric Stone

Jen Klass

Fain Sutter

Gary Kravetz

Andrea Taetle

Carmen Lenzi

Shailee Upadhyaya

Harriet Lieber

Ceci Van Blerkom

Alexi Lubomirsk

Dave Ward

Alison Lynn

Allison Weigner

Rachel Mann

Deborah Winokur

Christine Mark-Duruaku

Abbe Winter

Natalie McDonald

Kobi Wu-Pasmore

Robin McIntyre

Kate Zaloom

Chantale Mitchell

Denise Zaray

Riva Naimark ’87

Lejla Zivkovic

Navia Nguyen

Sofia Zuberbuhler

Ahn-Van Nguyen

Susie Williams

Hannah Notaro Francine O’Keeffe Yukie Ohta Brigitte Olsen Bess Oransky Susan Paroff Dee Pelletier

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PARENT’S ASSOCIATION 2020-2021 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CO-PRESIDENTS AND PA REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARD TRUSTEES Maren Berthelsen Lunie Small

LOWER SCHOOL VICE-PRESIDENT

FACuLTY & STAFF APPRECIATION COMMITTEE

Rachel Geman

Organizes and coordinates opportunities for families to celebrate the faculty and staff at LREI by bringing in homemade or store-bought goodies. With thanks to our entire community for contributing gifts of appreciation to our incredible faculty and staff!

Amado Hernandez

Susan Kerner

Juliette DeCarlo — Co-Chair

Elyse Kreitman

Debbie Hecht — Co-Chair

Manja Lyssy

Francine O’Keefe — Co-Chair

Sienna Miller

Anjali Dalal

LITERARY COMMITTEE

HIGH SCHOOL VICE-PRESIDENTS

Enriches the literary life at LREI, organizing the annual Book Week, Book Fair, Literary Evening, and the Book Swap.

Mya Dunlop

Donna Ross — Co-Chair

Daniele Dolin

Hilary Meltzer

TREASURER Sasha Best

SECRETARY Denise Zaraya

LOWER SCHOOL COORDINATOR Francine O’Keefe

MIDDLE SCHOOL COORDINATOR Kobi Wu-Pasmore

HIGH SCHOOL COORDINATORS Mishi Hosono Stefanie Kaufman

Yael Goverover Kelli Harding Molly Sellner Harris Cynthia Howells Amy Hudson Susan Jackson Shindy Johnson Michelle Kaminsky Jesse Karp ’87

Flore Moise

Jana Friedman

MIDDLE SCHOOL VICE-PRESIDENTS

Cindy Godoy

Lorri Shackelford — Co-Chair Kathryn Struthers Ahmed Denise Adler Brandi Beck Marika Bernstein-Condos Pamela Calla Heather Campbell Shira Cornfeld CarolAnn Daniel Nithya Das Rajat Das Stacy Dillon Daniele Dolin Tracey Edwards Dawn Eig Emily Faulkner Laura Fulmer-Terranova Sandra Galvis-Peña Jody Gardner Marty Gargle

Riva Naimark Navia Nguyen Francine O’Keeffe Bess Oransky Dee Pelletier Allison Penn Latir Primus Karen Rhau Kate Rice Lauren Ritchie Adam Rosen Donna Ross Heather Ross Halee Sage

Natalie Sanz ’00 David Schwimmer Iliana Sherak Michelle Silver Karyn Silverman Lunie Small J. Smith-Cameron Jennifer Hubert Swan Jill Schuck Taylor Marlene Veloso Wendy Vincent Keisha Wagner-Gaymon Kira Wizner Caitlin Zaloom Sofia Zuberbuhler

Ken Geist

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GRAPHICS & COMMuNICATIONS COMMITTEE Supports PA-sponsored events and other committees in need of catchy flyers, posters, and social media graphics. Volunteer graphic designers and illustrators create communication materials for PA events and activities.

Ilya Startsev — Co-Chair Rodney White — Co-Chair

HALLOWEEN FAIR COMMITTEE

SCHOOL STORE COORDINATORS Handle the design, production, and sale of school merchandise.

The store opens periodically throughout the school year.

Pam Cloud Anh-Van Nguyen

SpORts COmmittee

ASIAN AMERICAN FAMILIES COMMITTEE Provides a forum for discussion and social interaction for families with roots in Asia and throughout the Pacific Rim, including adoptive and multiracial families. Some issues for discussion include language instruction, student recruitment and retention, and cultural education.

Charlynne Kovach — Co-Chair Josephine Shin — Co-Chair

Promotes athletic participation among LREI students and encourages school spirit at LREI games. Organizes the annual Spirit Game, a lively faculty vs. student basketball game.

Shailee Udani — Co-Chair

Theo Dotson — Co-Chair

Lili Ervin

Ariane Arpels-Josiah Ranjit Arpels-Josiah

The 2020 Halloween Fair was a fun virtual celebration with a magician, dance party, crafts, and goodie bags!

With thanks to our entire community for contributing and supporting our bake sale and virtual fair!

Molly Sellner Harris — Co-Chair

Pinky Fung

Eva Hoffman — Co-Chair

Arnaud Gibersztajn

Juliette DeCarlo — Co-Chair

Sherri Schnall — Co-Chair

Eksupar Griffiths

Marika Bernstein-Condos

Renu Gupta

Thais Brown

Mishi Hosono

Jeffrey Marshall

Cynthia Howells-Munasinghe

Julie Leitner

Jessica Hwang

Joe Titus

Jennifer Jang

Laura Fulmer-Terranova — Co-Chair Francine O’Keeffe — Co-Chair

MuLTICultuRAL COMMITTEE Curates and produces Karamu!, a festive celebration representing the cultures and rich diversity of our community. Karamu! attracts families from all divisions with its food, music, dance party, and performances.

LREI CAMPING TRIP (oN HoLD 2020-2021) Sponsors and organizes the annual LREI Family Camping Trip each spring.

Rich Hofmann — Chair

Michelle Atienza Anjali Dalal Richelle Davies

Rhoda Kanaaneh

SusTAINABLE LREI Finding ways to make LREI a more eco-friendly environment through tangible short and long term initiatives, this committee raises green awareness throughout the school, sponsoring Earth Month events and various community service actions like drives and recycling events.

Karen Cockrell — Co-Chair

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90 — Co-Chair

Angela Kim Christine Kim Shannon Lai Laura Laqui Min Lew

ADOPTION COMMITTEE Provides a monthly forum for members to discuss some of the specific needs and issues encountered by parents and children touched by adoption.

Juliet Burrows — Co-Chair Luis Hernandez — Co-Chair

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FAMILIES OF BLACK STuDENTS (FOBS)

Christine Garrison

A community for parents to advocate for and support Black students within the school’s mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This community is a forum for parents to discuss the experiences of their children. An open community to all parents with Black children, this group will support Black children in their pursuit of a fair and inclusive, vibrant, and engaging learning experience.

Orlando Isley

William Glenn Terrence Harding Sofia Hernandez Crystal Isley Richard Maathey Kheil McIntyre Robin McIntyre

¡AZÚCAR! Connects the Latino/a community across all divisions of LREI including students, parents, and faculty. In addition to supporting Spanish language proficiency, the members coordinate activities that focus on Latino/a culture and heritage.

Felicia Miller

Sofia Hernández — Co-Chair

Lisa Mishraky

Primavera Salvá — Co-Chair

Chantale Mitchell Deb Phillip Karen Rhau Momii Roberts Donna Ross Sarah Schumann

GENDER SEXuALITY ALLIANCE

Anne Marie Denson — Co-Chair

Amanda Silverman

Vincent Miller — Co-Chair

Lunie Small

Alena Banks

Lizz Smith

Nsenga Bansfield-Maathey

Ian Thornell

K. Sasha Best

Maria Thornell

Jason Bruno

Tyson Toussant

Sherleen Bruno

Michelle Trotter

Works towards a greater understanding of, and sensitivity to, LGBTQIA+ issues in all areas of school life. Committee members meet and sponsor events, including the Visibility Photography Exhibit and the annual Pride Parade.

Kristen Caesar

Tarik Trotter

Steve McGee — Co-Chair

Imani Chapman

Ashley Vellano

Dennis Kenney — Co-Chair

Jovan Clay

Keisha Wagner

Danny Bennett

CarolAnn Daniel

Jennifer Walters

Katia Bouazza

Paula Davis

Rodney White

Juliet Burrows

Lawrence Denson

Kobi Wu

Kristen Caesar

Tiffany Escalona

Jamal Young

Catherine Del Guercio

Carl Garrison

Julie Young

Kerry Donahue Randy Griffiths Debra Hecht Sofia Hernandez Elisabeth Jones-Hennessy Kirsten Lentz Lauren Leslie Stephanie Manes Francine O’Keeffe Mary Gail Pezzimenti Primavera Salva Sekka Scher Josephine Shin Kobi Wu-Pasmore

Founder's Day is celebrated with ice cream, in recognition of parents that met at an ice cream parlor in the 1930s and gave what they could to ensure our school remained open.

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PARENTS OF CHILDREN OF COLOR COMMITTEE (POCOC)

Rosemary Corbett

Provides a forum for discussion on the needs and concerns of parents raising children of color. Parents can seek a dialogue and provide support on common issues.

Jody Gardner

Jen Sagum — Chair

WHITE PARENTS ANTI-RACIST GROuP Offers a space for white-identified parents who want to better understand and combat systemic racism. The group supports and encourages conversation around difficult questions of whiteness, privilege, and anti-racist community engagement.

Alex Cornfeld Juliette DeCarlo Cathy DelGuerico Beth DeTraglia Daniele Dolin Dawn Eig Chris Fleming Mary Gerzema Arnaud Gibersztajn Daniel Gordon Yael Goverover Heidi Haddad Kelli Harding Jim Harris Molly Sellner Harris Debbie Hecht Michelle Hobart Deborah Hodge Eva Hoffman Charlie Homet Chris Imperioli Ryann Imperioli Allison Isbel

"From our earliest days, trips have been an essential part of our school program... the curriculum is built around the children's explorations of their world.”

— Agnes de Lima, The Little Red School House, 1942

Hugh Jackman Michi Jigarjian

Kim Rosenblum

Rhoda Kanaaneh

Halee Sage

Jesse Karp ’89

Natalie Sanz ’00

Shira Cornfeld — Co-Chair

Phil Kassen

Sarah Schumann

Kerry Donahue — Co-Chair

Jill Kastner

Cindy Schwartz

Cynthia Howells-Munasinghe — Co-Chair

Melissa Kelly

Daniel Schwartz

Denise Adler

Susan Kerner

Amanda Silverman

Ariel Allam

Sarah Kresberg

Cary Socol

Julie Anderson

Anna Magliocco

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90

Ariane Arpels-Josiah

Rachel Mann

Guy Story

Isaac-Daniel Astrachan

Jill Mehl

Cynthia Summers

Angie Vieira Barocas

Marc Mehl

Jill Schuck Taylor

Brandi Beck

Brian Mundy

Ceci Van Blerkom

Jane Belton

Francine O’Keeffe

Ashley Vellano

Dana Ben-Ari

Liz Parks

Marlene Veloso

Amy Berley

Dee Pelletier

Jenny Weil

Becky Berstler

Kasey Picayo

Jil Weinstock

Maren Berthelsen

Jamie Propp

Jake Wizner

Thais Brown

Stefanie Rapp

Kira Wizner

Ana Fox Chaney ’90

Austin Ratner

Amy Ziebarth

Chris Cloud

Lauren Ritchie

Lejla Zivkovic

Vivian Connolly

Andrea Robbins

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LREI annual report 2021

LREI annual report 2021

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CLASS REPRESENTATIVES 4S

FIFTH GRADE

TENTH GRADE

Kathryn Ahmed

Cyndi Cueto

Shannon Barden

Kristen Caesar

Stephanie Hofmann

Missy Basile

Andrew Gerson

Stefanie Rapp

Pam Cloud

Denise Zaraya

Catherine Del Guercio

4S/K

Kerry Donahue

Angela Kim

SIXTH GRADE

Jennifer Weaver

Kellie Ferguson

Christine Kim

Jill Schuck Taylor

Jill Neiberg

Dina Treanor

Mimi Park

Samantha Dinerman

Ceci Van Blerkom

April Sookra

Tiffany Escalona

Dana Vetrecin

Jennifer Walters

Heidi Haddad

SEVENTH GRADE

ELEVENTH GRADE

Adrian Jones

Alessandra Brunialti

Theo Dotson

Harriette Thomas

Yael Goverover

Dawn Eig

Chase Weideman-Grant

Jill Mehl

Emma Fine

Jenny Samuelson

Holly Glass

KINDERGARTEN

Laura Fulmer-Terranova

FIRST GRADE

Stefanie Kaufman

Molly Sellner Harris

Shira Cornfield

EIGHTH GRADE

Juliette DeCarlo

Emily Faulkner

Michelle Jassem

Angela Kim

Dan Gallagher

Halee Sage

Francine O’Keeffe

Sarah Schumann

Ceci Van Blerkom

Bejal Shah

Diana Friedman Soldo ’90

SECOND GRADE

Kobi Wu-Pasmore

Kathryn Huarte

TWELFTH GRADE Rachael Burton

Heather Campbell

NINTH GRADE

Deedee Kalo-Cunningham

Angel Centeno

Mary Gerzema

Jennifer Sagum

Mia Costic

Mishi Hosono

Natalie Sanz

John Deschner

Jill Miller Katz

Josephine Shin

Mia Diehl

Liz Parks

Daniele Dolin

Esther Wahrhaftig

Kellie Ferguson

Amy Ziebarth

THIRD GRADE Juliette DeCarlo

Stephen Finkelstein

Shailee Udani

Naima Garvin

Debbie Hecht

Nadia Gold

Amy DiBernardo

Khadijah Grant

FOURTH GRADE

Michelle Jassem Djenaba Johnson-Jones

Rob Chodock

Lisa Kawalek

Anh-Van Nguyen

Lisa Rosen-Metsch

Chakshu Patel

Laura Silber

Karen Spelliscy

Michelle Trotter

Elaine Connelly

We have endeavored to accurately list all donors and volunteers. If we have made an error or omissions, please accept our apologies and contact rimperioli@lrei.org.

Esther Wahrhaftig

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LREI annual report 2021

‚ Let s CelebRate!

JaNuaRY 2O22

spring 2O22

January 17: MLK Day 100 Acts of Service

May 2: Centennial Shindig

february 2O22

June 3–4: Reunion Weekend

February 24: 100th Day of School

June 4: Street Fair

Progressive Education Symposium

Arts and Democracy Speaker Event

March 2O22

YEARLONG

March 11: Founder’s Day

Digital Archives: Explore the defining moments that made LREI what it is today.

2021-2022 marks the Centennial Celebration of Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High SchooI. We look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events.

Visit lrei.org/centennial for the latest dates and details.

For our current calendar of Alumni Council meetings and alumni events, please visit our website: lrei.org/alumni Contact rimperioli@lrei.org to get involved!

Facebook: @LREIAlumni • Instagram @LREIAlums

STORYLAB

ALUMNI OFFICE

StoryLab is our ongoing oral history project. Want to add a memory to our StoryLab archive? Email alumni@lrei.org to arrange a remote recording session!

Please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@lrei.org if you would like to help with planning and outreach for Reunion 2022, or if you’d like to learn more about any of the groups listed below. If you have a different alumni affinity group or council committee you would like to help create, please contact us so we can work together!

AOC - Alumni of Color Affinity Group

Alumni Families Committee

Alumni LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group

Alumni Council Committee for Alumni Working in Education

Alumni Archives Committee

LREI annual report 2021

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Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid New Brunswick, NJ Permit #1

Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School 272 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10014 Return Service Requested

OFFICE OF ADvANCEMENT Ryann Imperioli Director of Annual Giving

Jorge Marrón Director of Digital Content

Violeta Picayo ’09 Alumni Relations Associate

Elisabeth Ingwersen Mendez Alumni and Special Events Manager

Kate Peck Advancement Services Manager

Jenny Weil Director of Advancement

Stay Connected

Time Capsule

We are committed to keeping our community connected, now more than ever! Please email alumni@lrei.org to send updates and any changes to your contact info. Didn’t receive the online edition? Email alumni@lrei.org, and we’ll send you the link!

We are living through a historic moment. You have the power to shape history by contributing to the LREI Quarantine Time Capsule, a digital record of how we, as a community and as individuals, lived through the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information or to view a gallery of submissions, please visit lreiarchives.wordpress.com or email timecapsule@lrei.org.

Email alumni@lrei.org, or call 212.477.5316, ext. 269 to provide updates!