Penn Charter Magazine Spring 2023

The STRATEGIC VISION for Penn Charter is organized around SIX GOALS, each with a set of strategies.

GOAL 1: QUAKERISM

Deepen our identity and actions as a Friends school—and our students’ understanding of Quaker values—to prepare our graduates to live lives that make a difference.

GOAL 2: PROGRAM

GOAL 3: TEACHING

Promote excellence in teaching by supporting faculty to develop and advance their professional practice.

GOAL 4: TIME

GOAL 5: SPACE

GOAL 6: FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Growing with SEED

About one evening a month throughout the academic year, adult members of the Penn Charter community gather in a classroom to engage in personal reflection, to listen to each other’s voices, and to learn together in the context of intersecting identities. They are participating in the National SEED Project, which stands for Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity—a peer-led program that creates conversational communities to drive personal, organizational and societal change toward greater equity and diversity.

What began as a professional development initiative among Penn Charter faculty and staff has grown, based on recommendations from PC’s Race & Equity Task Force and the Gender Equity, Sexuality & Consent Task Force to expand SEED opportunities throughout the community. For three years, SEED cohorts of parents and caregivers have joined this work of fostering social justice. This year, board members were also invited, and Caesar Williams Jr. OPC ’80 was the first to join. Williams, who died suddenly in March, was a trusted member of SEED.

Three Penn Charter teachers trained as SEED Project facilitators lead these cohorts: Naveena Bembry and Lindsay Franklin in Lower School and Cory Moy in Upper School. Two others, Kristen Kelly and Clare Klein, lead the group for faculty and staff. Facilitators begin each gathering with fragrant dishes of food from different cultures—a shared meal that serves as a transition from a hectic day to thoughtful reflection.

“Everyone shares their authentic stories,” Moy said, “and just by being inclusive and by sharing our diversity we can learn from each other’s experience. By the end of the day, you’ve seen each other. You feel like you belong.”

Educating

Students to Live Lives that Make a Difference

When listening to others’ lived experiences through the lens of identity, Bembry said, “people have epiphanies—aha moments—because they had never thought about something that way. It really helps you grow beyond yourself and understand someone else’s experience.”

Vanessa Carlo, a PC parent and a pediatrician, joined SEED this year after a friend recommended it.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said, “but I’m Hispanic and I figured maybe I’ll have something to contribute to a conversation about diversity.

“Sometimes when we share our experiences with race and gender, I learn that things I thought only happened to me, growing up in Puerto Rico, have happened to people who grew up in the mainland U.S. too. It’s helped me think about diversity in many ways I had never thought about before, and it’s helped me even in my own process with addressing LGBTQ and race issues that may come up with my patients and families.”

Facilitators, too, grow with every SEED experience they lead.

“We really stretch the community and then shrink it down,” Franklin said. “The depth of the connections between stories and identities is very powerful. For me as a facilitator, the approach is similar every year, but the way I am able to explore the topics myself really shifts depending on where I am. It never feels stale or repetitive because my sense of my own identity is continuously shifting.”

If you are a PC parent and interested in joining the SEED Project next year, watch your email for an invitation in August.

Parents and caregivers taking part in the National SEED Project share their authentic selves over food, reflection and conversation.

SPRING 2023

8 Darryl J. Ford: Stewarding the Penn Charter Community

After 26 years—the first 10 as Middle School director and the last 16 as head of school—Ford leaves behind an immense legacy.

14 Functions and Trigonometry: Considering All the Angles

An Upper School math course employs project-based learning to teach real-world skills and competencies.

17 Pursuing Academic Passions in Clubs

Students experience the thrill of competition in academic clubs like Mock Trial, Ethics Bowl and MathCounts.

20 Mamma Mia!

More than 30 Upper School student performers on two nights in February brought the Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts to its feet.

ON THE COVER

In addition to his tenure as head of school, Darryl J. Ford is a renowned leader in Quaker education. Page 8.

(Photo: Michael Branscom)

From the Head of School

Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689

Head of School

David Brightbill

Assistant Head of School

Travis Larrabee

Assistant Head of School

Jeffrey A. Reinhold

Clerk of Trustees

John T. Rogers Hon. 1689

Chief Development Officer

Michelle Chaitt OPC ’00

Alumni Society President

MAGAZINE STAFF

Rebecca Luzi

Editor

Michael Petitti

TRANSITIONS.

Transitions can be challenging, yet change makes way for growth and new opportunities.

I have been reflecting upon the prodigious changes that have occurred at Penn Charter in the past decade and a half. While immensely proud of the campus transformation that is unfolding before us, I am equally proud of how Penn Charter has probed deeply what it means to be a Friends school, redefined its public purpose, and continues to explore the intersection of Quaker concerns and the world.

While there is always progress to be made, the growth in the diversity of our community of students, families, and faculty and staff is considerable. This forward movement is not measured solely in numbers but also by the quality of the educational experience of all who enter through our red doors.

The educational program is also markedly different. Project-based learning, real-world experiences and deep dives of content all contribute to and reinvent a vigorous independent school education that readies students both for higher education and for the world. Such an education happens because of a stellar faculty and staff—longtime colleagues and new—who commit to their own professional growth as they commit to teaching today’s students in ways that prepare for a world of continuous change.

These are but a few examples of how Penn Charter has evolved. Yet, transitions, by nature, are challenging for many, even with the opportunities that may result.

As I reflect upon my upcoming leadership transition, I have reconciled my retiring from the headship of the best school in the world by understanding my role as head these past 16 years as one of a caretaker. William Penn called upon caretakers when he entrusted his closest friends with the oversight of our school, founded in 1689 and chartered shortly thereafter. And from the first head of school, George Keith, to Richard Mott Jones, Jack Gummere, Wilbert Braxton, Earl Ball, and to me, we all have taken care—good care, I hope—as we each have navigated change and rendered leadership to this old school.

And now, I am excited about our next head of school, Karen Warren Coleman, our next caretaker, and I look forward to witnessing how our great school will continue to evolve to serve the students entrusted to our care.

Sincerely,

Assistant Editor

Julia Judson-Rea

Contributing Editor

April Torrisi

Contributing Editor

Michael Branscom and Zamani Feelings

Feature Photography

Proof Design Studios Design

William Penn Charter School 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144

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Penn Charter is the magazine of William Penn Charter School. It is published by the Marketing Communications Office and distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the school. In addition to providing alumni updates about classmates, reunions and events, the magazine focuses on the people, the programs and the ideas that energize our school community.

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Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689

CAMPUS CURRENTS

Delivering Laughs in Middle School Plays

Babysitter Brokerage & Knock Knock

In March, middle schoolers presented comic double bills, a charming set of one-act plays that delivered delightful humor and kept the audience engaged with the students’ quirky characters and snappy dialogue.

In Babysitter Brokerage, a soccer mom is trying to get a babysitter for her three-year-old bratty son, and she calls three different teenagers, sparking a fast and furious bidding war.

Knock Knock, a rapid-fire comedy, reveals that when your job is delivering packages anyone might be behind your next door, from your elementary school teacher to a burglar on the job.

EvaKay Noone, who directed the plays, was thrilled with both the outcome and the participation of this year's Middle School production.

“In addition to the 35 middle schoolers in the cast and crew,” Noone said, “a portion of the Middle School Art Club, led by Jennifer Chernak, became our PR group, developing all the graphics and design work for the poster, program cover, and A to Z logo for the delivery service featured in Knock Knock. And, Upper School students supported the show in lighting and costume design as well as makeup and ushers. It was a young group of enthusiastic and talented students, which bodes well for the theater program in years to come.” PC

Upcycling Underscores Environmental Stewardship

In February, Lower School’s eight-week after-school enrichment program EcoArt demonstrated the importance of environmental stewardship and community engagement by hosting an art sale.

Using discarded and upcycled materials to make and sell pins, chess boards, reusable napkins and bookmarks, students raised more than $190. After the sale, they held a Meeting for Business, a peaceful and constructive process in the manner of Friends, to reach consensus about which community partner to support.

The fourth and fifth graders considered DePaul House, Face to Face Germantown, Friends of the Wissahickon, Cradles to Crayons and Whosoever Gospel Mission. As they shared their thoughts about the good works of the organizations, the group reached a sense of the meeting, and they collectively chose Friends of the Wissahickon to receive the $190 donation to support the stewardship of the Wissahickon Valley Park. PC

Getting to Know You: Karen Warren Coleman Visits Campus

Science tells us it can take 40-60 hours to form a friendship. But PC is finding it takes a bit less when it comes to getting to know the next head of school, Karen Warren Coleman. Coleman has visited campus several times since the October announcement that she would assume the headship. During these times on campus, she’s visited classrooms, met with students and faculty, had dinner with parents and caregivers, met with OPCs, trustees and school administrators, and dived into learning about Quaker education.

From Français to geometric formulas, Upper School student leaders to kindergarten artists, the warmth between Coleman and the whole Penn Charter community indicates she is quickly becoming a friend. Coleman will assume the headship on July 1. PC

STUDENTS' LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHTLY

In March, Penn Charter’s commitment to diversity and belonging was front and center during the annual Friends Multicultural Day. Upper School students came together to teach and learn about a variety of backgrounds and identities, honoring and embracing a plurality of voices.

Twenty-five workshops created, planned and led by Upper School students explored passions and interests. They included an exploration of Turkish culture, the history of Italian pasta making, the indigenous origins of lacrosse, sustainable farming, sneaker culture, hair braiding, mental health and mindfulness, and the Hindu religious holiday of Holi.

“Friends Multicultural Day continues to serve as a time for us to come together, learn from one another, and support each other as a community,” sophomore Jack Davey said.

Keynote speaker Cristina Martinez, a James Beard award-winning chef and owner of South Philly Barbacoa, kicked off the day by telling of her commitment to cooking and nourishing Philly and its Latinx community. When she came to the U.S. in 2010, she worked as a dishwasher, prep cook and pastry chef, eventually losing her position due to her legal status.

As an activist, Martinez is a voice for undocumented immigrants in the restaurant industry and launched the People’s Kitchen Philly, which provides free chefprepared meals to Philadelphians. Martinez received national recognition on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.

Martinez also led a workshop on Friends Multicultural Day, teaching students how to make corn tortillas with masa dough balls, tortilla presses and a griddle.

The day ended with dynamic student performances in the Graham, from singing and guitar jamming to step dancing and gymnastics. The moxie of these talented students who performed in front of their peers was overwhelmingly supported by the spirited Upper School community. PC

STUDYING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT UP CLOSE

During Penn Charter’s inaugural trip to explore the history of the Civil Rights Movement, 16 Upper School students and four chaperones journeyed through Memphis, Tenn., to examine the culture and lessons of the fight for racial equality.

Organized by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the trip provided credit for those working toward a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice certificate but was also open to other interested Upper School students.

In the Withers Collection & Museum, students saw Ernest Withers' powerful photography of both civil rights and musical icons, including Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King and Elvis Presley. The Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated—now the National Civil Rights Museum—traces civil rights in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The group considered images of King in his hotel room preparing for his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech—the last speech he would give, in which he called for unity and nonviolent protest in support of Memphis’ striking sanitation workers.

Other museums told powerful stories ranging from lynchings to freedom riders. Students connected what they had learned in school to stories their grandparents had told, as well as to these newly-lived experiences, and they journaled about their feelings. In conversations, they described the “heavy air” in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum but also the hope and resilience it stirred within them.

Identifying key events, people and places from the Civil Rights Movement provided an opportunity to frame current conversation about the pursuit of equity, inclusion and justice in the U.S. In making connections to current social, cultural and political landscapes, the groups discussed topics like the impact of Roe vs. Wade, equal pay for women in the workforce, and the LGBTQ community and health care.

In lighter, unstructured moments, the group made s’mores and played cards by a fire pit, rode non-motorized scooters around Memphis and enjoyed soul food.

“We got to know each other and bonded as a group,” said Antonio Williams, director of diversity, equity and inclusion. “People who never talked to each other at school were now sitting together laughing and enjoying these connected, deep experiences.”

Williams and Shahidah Kalam Id-Din, Upper School English teacher and co-coordinator of the DEIJ certificate program, crafted this interdisciplinary trip designed for students to further explore themes of American identity taught in PC’s history and English curricula. PC

Trip Location Snapshots

The historic I AM A MAN Plaza honors the Memphis sanitation workers who protested working conditions in 1968, as well as the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis exhibits the history of the civil rights movement in the U.S. from the 17th century to the present day.

Beale Street

Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum

Sun Studio Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Withers Collection & Museum

TO BE A

GREAT DAY REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

Before the 8 a.m. bell even rang, it was clear the eighth annual Great Day to Be a Quaker was going to captivate.

The super-sized Middle School Jazz Band wowed the crowd in a packed Rosen Atrium, and seniors and their families filled the Lyons Multipurpose Room in the Graham for breakfast celebrating the Class of 2023 and the remarkable faculty who have supported them along the way. Nearly 30 former faculty members joined Chief Development Officer Jack Rogers Hon. 1689 for breakfast, filling up on scrambled eggs and chuckling at Jack’s gentle ribbing.

The exuberant vibe and crowded spaces continued at the Parent and Caregiver Community meeting and at the Family Circle Coffee Truck—where families warmed up with a chai latte or hot chocolate to ward off the frigid temps. The day didn’t slow down until the late evening when OPCs gathered in Center City for a night out with Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689. There, Alumni Society President Michelle Chait OPC ’00 presented Ford with a ceremonial check representing the group’s Great Day contribution to the Annual Fund.

Feeding off the energy, donors on campus and off supported PC in record numbers. More than 700 OPCs, parents, faculty, staff and friends made gifts for Great Day. Donors inspired by the spirit and generosity of the community throughout the day increased the challenge match to $170,000 to encourage additional philanthropic participation, and it worked. Of special note were the 50 senior parents and 90 percent of faculty (including 100 percent from the Middle School) who gave, realizing two challenge gifts that garnered another $33,000. All told, we collectively raised more than $500,000 for Penn Charter!

Whether grooving along to the music video, enjoying the many events on campus and around Philadelphia, sharing memories of Old Penn Charter, or rooting for their side in the Blue-Yellow Challenge (in Darryl Ford’s last year, his beloved Yellow Team squeaked out a win), the entire community came together.

“Participation is what the Annual Fund is all about,” says the fund’s director, Emma Rowan. “Every year, Great Day reminds us that every gift—like every person at PC—matters.”

Revisit all the videos, Instagram posts and photos from the day at penncharter.com/greatday

DARRYL J. FORD

The Penn Charter Community STEWARDING

by Mark F. Bernstein OPC ’79

The day he first arrived at Penn Charter, Darryl J. Ford found his office door locked. He remembers the day well. It was July 1, 1997, the start of the academic year, and Ford, the newly hired director of the Middle School, wanted to get to work. But no one had given him a key, and no one expected him so early. After wandering the halls and looking for help, someone working in the front office welcomed him and let him in.

Twenty-six years later—the first 10 as Middle School director and the last 16 as head of school—Ford will leave PC with much more attention, and much more fanfare, than he received when he arrived. “I’m getting a lot of lovely affirmation from the students,” he acknowledges as he moves through his final semester. And the students are not the only ones.

Ford’s legacy is immense, starting with the expansion of the physical plant, the fruits of

the $130 million How Far? Capital Campaign that he led along with Jack Rogers Hon. 1689, chief development officer. The Ralph F. Palaia Baseball Field. The William A. Graham OPC ’58 Athletics & Wellness Center. The future lower school. Before that, there was the David L. Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts, Max Gross Softball Field, Kline & Specter Squash Center, Reiger Tennis Courts, Perrott Field, Maguire Field, and the pre-kindergarten program in the neighboring Church of the

Good Shepherd, all of which also opened on Ford’s watch.

“The new buildings will allow Penn Charter to flourish as a school we all recognize 50 years from now,” observes longtime administrator Beth Glascott Hon. 1689. “And they will allow PC to build on that vision that William Penn had, and which Darryl has built on in important ways.”

Beyond the facilities, Ford—the first African American head of PC—has left his mark in numerous other ways as well, such as the creation of the collaborative Teaching & Learning Center to help teachers hone their craft, new scholarship funds, and a deepening of the school’s Quaker spirit. The latter is perhaps most tangible in the Center for Public Purpose, founded in 2013, which engages students to work together addressing challenges that face the city, such as poverty, food insecurity and the quality of public education. On top of all that, Ford has been a steady hand at the wheel, helping the PC community weather the recession of 2008, Covid, and a period of deep social and political unrest.

“He has been able to put his values into action in a unique way,” observes Earl Ball Hon. 1689, Ford’s predecessor as head of school. “Darryl is a terrifically moral person who has found a way to lead the school in a way that reflects those values.”

Ford doesn’t seek attention as he completes his final months, but it is inescapable, especially as he makes his daily rounds of the campus. A big part of his job, he says, is just “saying hello 200 times a day” — to students, teachers, staff, parents and anyone else who crosses his path. It is in his nature to be outgoing, but Ford acknowledges that he is also modeling civility and good manners, another of the subtle lessons by example that are as much a part of his PC legacy as bricks and mortar. Besides, he enjoys it, especially when the demands of his job are most pressing.

“If you’re having a bad day, go to the kindergarten,” Ford laughs. “Those kids will love you no matter what.”

“The Principal”

Though he has taught many classes over the years, Ford always knew he was interested in school leadership. “Darryl always wanted to be a school principal,” confides his older brother, Malcolm, a Penn Charter Lower School science teacher since 2002. Indeed, he has never wanted to be anything else. Ford’s inspiration to be an educator comes from his parents. His father, Malcolm Ford Sr., was a teacher and principal in the Philadelphia public school system; his mother, Edith, who trained as an English and art teacher, taught at the Miquon School, which Ford attended. Each summer day, she would take her sons on picnics near their home in the Cobbs Creek section of the city. Both his parents, Ford often says, were “quintessential servant leaders from whom I model everything I do.”

First at Miquon and later at Friends Select School, where he served as class president through all four years of upper school, Ford was recognized as a leader. His teachers, he learned later, went so far as to nickname him “The Principal.” After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Villanova University in 1987, Ford started a PhD program in Administration, Institutional and Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. But when an opportunity presented itself, Ford jumped

at the chance to become a principal before he even finished his doctorate.

At the age of 28, while still working on his dissertation, Darryl Ford was approached to become head of St. Gregory Episcopal School in Chicago, a choir school that served lowincome boys in grades 1-8. The tuition was $500, Ford recalls, and most families could not afford it. The young, new head of school pitched in wherever he was needed, teaching religion classes and playing the organ as a substitute music teacher. He finished his PhD while working full-time.

Hoping to return to Philadelphia, Ford applied for the PC Middle School job in 1996. Ball recalls him as a strong candidate for several reasons, including his stellar academic background, passion for educational theory and strong interpersonal skills. Not long after he was hired, Ford joined Ball to solicit a major gift from Richard B. Fisher OPC ’53, which became the basis for the new Middle School building built in 2002 that is named in Fisher’s honor.

As director of the Middle School, Ford became known for his devotion to his teachers and his attention to every aspect of school life. No job was too small; Ford kept his eye on everything. “Darryl held everything to a high standard,” recalls Charlie Brown Hon. 1689. “I loved that about him.”

continued on next page

Head of School Darryl J. Ford, observed Jeff Reinhold, clerk of the Board of Trustees, "has an ability to communicate with everyone, from the pre-K kids to the seniors, from seasoned teachers to the rookies."

Ford relished his time working in the Middle School, where he also taught eighth grade civics for many years. “I loved that age group because they’re old enough to have opinions and care, and what I found was that it was often about fairness,” Ford recalls. “If you talk about social issues, Middle School students wouldn’t always bring the most analytical lens to what was going on, but they would ask, ‘Is it fair? And if it’s fair, why aren’t we doing it?’”

A decade after he joined the Middle School, when Ford applied to become head of school, his familiarity with Penn Charter, and Penn

Charter’s familiarity with him, made him a popular choice throughout the community.

Collaboration and Leadership

In assessing Ford’s legacy as head of school, one really can’t avoid starting with all those new buildings and athletic fields. They are a tribute not only to Ford’s skills securing gifts for the school, but to his ability to articulate a vision for Penn Charter and bring groups together to work toward it.

“The key to being a good fundraiser,” Ball explains, “is that you have to really believe in what you are talking about so others will believe in it, too. Darryl was always enthusiastic in talking about the school and his vision.”

As Jeff Reinhold, clerk of the Board of Trustees, observes, “He has an ability to communicate with everyone, from the pre-K kids to the seniors, from seasoned teachers to rookies. He can relate to OPCs from the Class of 1949 to the Class of 2022.”

Those who have worked closest with Ford over the years speak of his leadership style, which is both collaborative and inclusive, reflecting Quaker values. For example, notes Assistant Clerk of the Board of Trustees Jane Evans Hon. 1689, when discussions began in earnest around building a new Lower School, Ford made sure to assemble a broad group of faculty, parents and alumni to develop a complete strategic vision, forging consensus across the PC community. At board meetings, adds trustee Anne Marble Hon. 1689, Ford first “lays out the facts and his own sense of what he thinks. Then, he lets the board talk.” Another longtime trustee, Grace Sharples Cooke, speaks for many when she says, “Darryl can go to that cerebral level, but he’s always right there at the human level, too.”

“As I reflect about my time at Penn Charter,” said Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689, “one of the things I will miss the most is the impromptu daily conversations I have with students in which they share what they are learning and the magic that occurs between them and their teachers.”

Perhaps no one worked as closely with Ford for as long as Glascott, who served as director of the Upper School, assistant head of school, and associate head of school. She and Ford also jointly oversaw the development and implementation of the school’s strategic plan that became the basis for the How Far? Capital Campaign. Glascott credits much of Ford’s success to his ability to assemble and empower a strong team. “He sees the best in people and brings out the best in people,” she says. “He has a vision and ability to get people on board.”

Despite the many other demands on him as head of school, Ford still finds time to connect with students. Early in his tenure, he cotaught an Upper School elective called Being Black in America with former PC teacher Lee Payton. Every day, Payton recalls, Ford would bring in an object from his extensive personal collection of African American art and Black memorabilia, using them as a way to start class discussion. When the two taught the class again the next year, Ford helped drive students to New York City for a field trip to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, then treated everyone to lunch at Sylvia’s soul food restaurant in Harlem.

The class, Payton said, “confirmed the depth of Darryl’s knowledge of African American

history and culture, but it also showed his interest in students’ learning.”

Those connections were also forged outside of the classroom. Elias Tanner OPC ’08 recalls Ford taking an interest in him when he arrived at PC as a sixth grader. “I had boundless, unguarded energy in all directions,” Tanner laughs now. “Dr. Ford

took me under his wing and helped me understand how to channel that energy into something more purposeful.” Throughout the rest of Tanner’s time at Penn Charter, Ford continued to check in regularly, even helping Tanner decide to attend the University of Pennsylvania. “He helped me to be a better student, a better member of the community, and a more thoughtful friend,” Tanner says.

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2022

$135 million raised through 10-year How Far? Capital Campaign

•

In March 2010, the Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts hosted its first performance, the all-school musical The Wizard of Oz. To mark the festive occasion, Head of School Darryl J. Ford, dressed as a Winkie from the magical land of Oz, took a short trip in a hot-air balloon, proving there’s no place like Penn Charter!

Along with his commitment to Penn Charter, Ford’s influence has extended outside of school, as well. He has served on the boards of Villanova, Friends Council on Education, and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools, among many other civic and educational groups. The St. James School, a tuition-free private Episcopal school for grades 4-8 in the Allegheny West neighborhood, named its head of school office in his honor because of his ongoing support of the school. In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed him to the National Board for Education Sciences, an advisory group comprised of researchers and school leaders from across the country.

In many ways, the last few years have been among the toughest of Ford’s tenure. Covid forced PC to rethink pedagogy on the fly, later building tents on the athletic fields so students could be brought back to campus safely.

Social and political tumult has forced a deep reassessment of race, gender and sexuality.

Though Ford has been concerned about these issues for some time, efforts to address them are ongoing, he says. As head of school, he expanded diversity in the faculty and student body, and the school continues to examine everything it does through a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging lens. Under Ford’s leadership, financial aid has increased, as well, to help make a PC education attainable

for families of different means. In July 2020, following the #MeToo movement and the murder of George Floyd, PC created two new task forces, one focused on race and equity, the other on gender equity, sexuality and consent. Each is comprised of administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents and OPCs, exemplifying one of Ford’s favorite maxims, which he has uttered frequently throughout his tenure: “The work of our community is working on our community.”

Lessons Still to Be Imparted

After Penn Charter, Ford notes, “I’ll have a little more control of my time,” which will enable him to pursue his other interests, including cheering for the Phillies, Eagles, 76ers and Villanova basketball. He also intends to remain involved in education, working to support new heads of school and other school leaders, with a focus on women and people of color.

Ford and his wife, Gail Sullivan, an OB-GYN, have two sons, Jameson OPC ’20 and Lucas, a senior in high school. “The entire community has always been extremely welcoming and supportive of our family,” Sullivan says, reflecting on her own years at Penn Charter. “For me as a mom, the biggest blessing was the education that our children received.”

The Fords recently moved to a new house, vacating the head’s residence on The Oak Road a little early so that renovations could be made before PC’s next head of school, Karen Warren Coleman, and her husband move in. The Fords will remain active in the Philadelphia community, especially at their church, where Ford plays the organ.

In his final months, in handoff mode, Ford has been thinking about work still to be done and lessons still to be imparted. Although he describes today’s students as resilient, he also sees some of the anxiety that social scientists have identified in the younger generation. For many, he acknowledges, childhood and adolescence are more scheduled than when he and his brother were growing up.

Ford encourages parents to teach their children the same sort of resilience that his parents did. When he was Middle School director, he would often see harried parents rushing back to deliver a lunch their child had forgotten at home. You can do it once, he would counsel, but then let the child figure it out.

“Keep doing that dance of providing scaffolding around children while giving them the space to make and fix their own mistakes,” Ford advises parents. “Let them fail but understand that failure doesn’t mean that you’re going to have a life of failure.”

There is no plaque to be put on such lessons, no ribbon to be cut. But these and so many other lessons are also central to Ford’s legacy. In speeches around the country, he frequently calls Quaker schools such as PC “the best hope for the world.” That hope ultimately rests on the good instruction that students receive, in the classroom, on stage and on the playing fields, which they will carry with them for life.

“What I don’t want people to lose track of,” Ford says as he ends his tenure, “is that the heart of Penn Charter is excellent teaching and learning and giving students that opportunity in these beautiful facilities. It’s about the powerful student-teacher relationship. It’s about our Quaker principles and practices. It’s about the care we share for our Penn Charter community and the world.” PC

Head of School Darryl J. Ford, pictured with family Jameson OPC '20, Gail and Lucas, was surprised with the Alumni Society's Hon. 1689 diploma in 2019.

In front of a screen displaying arts-themed photos from throughout his tenure, Ford reiterated the school’s commitment to the arts and thanked those in attendance and beyond for their support.

A COMMITMENT WORTH SINGING ABOUT

From his days as a Winkie Guard on stage in The Wizard of Oz, to a cameo in Les Miz, to playing the piano in Middle School music classes, Head of School

Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 has taken center stage in support of the arts at Penn Charter during his 26 years at the school. On Feb. 28, one of his favorite musicians performed at the Kurtz Center to celebrate this commitment.

Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, who first met Ford at the University of Chicago, entertained an audience of about 350 during a lively show in the Ball Theater. Earlier in the day, Elling visited Upper and Middle school students participating in the Jazz Band, the Upper School musical Mamma Mia!, and choral groups the Naturals and Quakers Dozen to hear the students perform and share tips.

Prior to Elling's performance, Debbie Kaesshaefer Hon. 1689 and Jeff Reinhold, clerk of Trustees, spoke of Ford's impact on PC's arts program and facilities. In 2010, the David L. Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts opened with great fanfare. In the years since, thousands of students have showcased their musical, vocal and performing talents on the Kurtz Center stage. PC

Elling has been nominated for 15 Grammys and has won three Prix du Jazz Vocal awards (France), two German Echo Awards and two Dutch Edison Awards.

Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 and Kurt Elling first met at the University of Chicago, where they both were enrolled in PhD programs.

Elling made a guest appearance at the OPCs in the Arts reception, chatting with Emily Drinker OPC ’08 and other guests.

Following the concert, guests were invited to a dessert reception in the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center. From left: Stephen K. Robertson OPC ’78, William F. Rice OPC ’80, Diane Howell, Sterling H. Johnson III OPC ’78.

Over a 25-year touring career, Elling has been called “the standout male vocalist of our time” by The New York Times and “one of jazz’s all-time great vocalists” by The Guardian.

Functions and Trigonometry: CONSIDERING ALL THE ANGLES

by Rebecca Luzi

On a recent spring day, in the shade of trees in the outdoor classroom bordered by the track and the Richard B. Fisher Middle School, a small group of students assembled a geodesic dome in the grass. It wasn’t their first geodome—in fact it was their fourth, each of varying sizes and materials—and by now they moved along with confidence, building it within a 70-minute class block. (At least until they decided to make the doorway larger.)

A geodesic dome, enclosing the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area, is a sphere composed of triangular facets. The geodome on PC’s campus was one of three projects that students in teacher Charlie Brown’s math class would accomplish in this academic year, and each one was built with the needs of different communities in mind.

Outdoor Garden Furniture

Functions and Trigonometry, an Upper School math course, is designed to reinforce and build upon topics learned in algebra and geometry, with an emphasis on problem solving, multiple representations of functions, and written and verbal communication skills. When Charlie Brown Hon. 1689, who moved to the Upper School this year after teaching in Middle School for 36 years, decided he wanted his class to engage in project-based learning, he teamed up with Aly Goodner OPC ’96, director of the Center for Public Purpose. Using both PC relationships and outside community connections, Goodner and Brown helped match students with on-campus and off-campus needs.

“In the beginning of the year,” junior Macie Bergmann said, “Mr. Brown asked what we wanted to do: a project inside PC or outside to benefit the

wider community. My dad is super into building stuff, and I wanted to learn how to help with his next project.”

So Macie’s group chose a project that would help Thrive Village, a neighborhood development effort in West Philadelphia’s Parkside, founded by Leon Caldwell OPC ’87. Thrive needed seating for an outdoor garden and community space for its planned healthy-food retail court. In what Brown calls “Saturday morning happenstance,” he spoke with Caldwell at PC’s

Macie Bergmann described one of her group’s objectives in her application for a Lehr grant: “Design a project which requires community research, planning, attempts, failure, and connections to our math curriculum. This connects to the skills that the Center for Public Purpose focuses on with students: creative problem-solving, lifelong learning, constructive listening.”

annual Run for Peace in September and learned about this opportunity at Thrive Village that his students could turn into project-based learning.

“I thought Leon's mission for Thrive to support West Philadelphia families with nutritious foods was cool and unique,” Macie said. Caldwell connected the students with Tiny WPA, a Philadelphia nonprofit that supports citizen-led design improvements in community spaces. The organization came to PC’s IdeaLab and taught them how to make a picnic table and benches using a power drill, driver and chop saw.

To pay for the materials and for the staff support and supervision of Tiny WPA, Goodner suggested Macie apply for a grant from PC’s Lehr Fund. The Lehr Fund for Public Purpose Programming, established in 2019 by Seth and Ellyn Lehr, OPC parents, enables students and teachers to design learning experiences that prepare graduates with skills and competencies to lead lives that make a difference.

The grant application process itself is a learning experience that requires critical thinking, problem solving and writing skills. Students must estimate a budget for the project, align it with the Center for Public Purpose and determine measures of success.

In addition to the application of our math we are learning in class,” Macie wrote in the proposal on behalf of her group, “we are also learning communication, budgeting and partnership skills that will serve us in our lives.”

The grant proposal was successful, and the students applied trigonometry to craft a picnic table and benches, painted a vibrant purple, helping to furnish the outdoor community space at Thrive Village in West Philadelphia.

"I was excited to engage Penn Charter students in Thrive for them to learn about this community initiative and to contribute to a neighborhood that is important to me,” Caldwell said. “My education at Penn Charter was enhanced by self-directed project-based learning. The students’ willingness to engage, learn, reflect and get to work has been inspiring and continues the PC tradition of learning while serving."

Stained-Glass Window

Meanwhile, the Writing Center, which had moved this year from the Upper School basement to a renovated space on the second floor, had realized a new problem: The sun shone too directly through the window each afternoon. When Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 learned that Brown’s math class was considering a stained-glass window project, he suggested they install it in the Writing Center to help diffuse the sunlight.

Brown and a group of his students collaborated with English teachers in the Writing Center to create a stained-glass window that would honor Cheryl Irving Hon. 1689, a beloved English teacher, Writing Center mentor and tennis coach who died in 2014. After the Upper School students asked Joe Maguire’s second grade class to collaborate with them, teacher Sarah Moses shared with them things that were meaningful to Irving. The students decided the stained-glass window should represent things that Irving loved, such as tennis, her house and a journal, and they set about drawing images that reflected her life and legacy.

Artisans from Beyer Studio in Germantown, which creates and restores stained glass, designed and made the window using second grade’s drawings as inspiration. As part of the process, they visited campus to tour the Writing Center and consider the space, and with the student leaders they measured and determined the dimensions of the project. They also revealed that they wanted to donate their time and materials to make this project a reality for Penn Charter and the trigonometry students.

Brown’s class visited the studio twice to see the operation, the artists at work. “It’s a pretty cool place—a huge room full of different stations of glass,” junior Joey DiBenedetto said. The process taught Joey selfadvocacy—asking for what he needs—as well as how to communicate respect. “I wanted to make sure they know that we’re grateful,” he said.

Senior Bella Toomey learned a lot about working with a business as well as how to team up with her classmates to meet goals and deadlines. “I also think I learned more about how to be a leader and make timely and important decisions and also to trust myself and trust my peers,” she said.

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Students in Functions and Trigonometry each specialized in one project but collaborated on all three projects, such as the construction of a picnic table and multiple benches for an outdoor community space.

Joey DiBenedetto and Bella Toomey learned the intricacies of making stainedglass windows from Joe Beyer at Beyer Studio.

FUNCTIONS AND TRIGONOMETRY: CONSIDERING ALL THE ANGLES

Geodesic Dome

The geodesic dome project, throughout its many iterations, also developed students’ collaborative skills. What purpose should the dome have? Who would use it? Where on campus does it belong?

“We said if we are interested in this, who else on our campus would we need to talk to to understand the need, complications and other considerations we need to know?” Goodner said.

So the math students consulted some experts: Director of Facilities Ansley Cox to discuss location, science teacher Corey Kilbane for IdeaLab help, Lisa Turner, who coordinates PC's learning gardens, to consider using it as a greenhouse. Perhaps the function of the geodome will evolve over time, but for now an outdoor meeting space—or even a space to gather and chill— seems to be where the geodome has landed.

Calculating Outcomes

One of the goals of Functions and Trigonometry is for students to develop knowledge and skills through the exploration of real-world challenges and problems. The project-based nature of the course, Goodner said, “requires them to engage partners through written communication, chart their progress, continuously reflect on new information and apply it to the project for the community. This particular group of students has been excited to engage in this process to listen and to learn with the hope of using their math skills to support and create new resources for our PC community and partner organizations in Philadelphia.”

This math course that teaches skills and competencies beyond logarithms underscores elements of the Portrait of a Penn Charter Learner. As Courageous Learners, the students think critically, problem-solve and take ownership of their education. These Constructive Communicators actively listen to understand others’ perspectives, participate meaningfully in discourse, and actively evolve their ideas to best serve the community. And as Change Cultivators, they engage in their communities to shape and impact their world in powerful ways.

Brown, after 36 years of teaching middle graders, applies the same blueprint in Upper School that he did in Middle School.

“The most important thing in teaching is building interpersonal relationships,” he said, “and if you can get a person to recognize that you believe in, admire and care about them, they’ll work hard for you in math class. Working together toward a goal makes it feel like you're on their team.

“I’m gonna remember my first time teaching Upper School every time I see that geodome... And I'm certainly going to go to visit Thrive Village some day and say, ‘I helped make that picnic table.’ I definitely hope my students will do that too. I hope Bella and Joey come back 10 years from now and say, ‘See that stained-glass window—that’s my project.’” PC

Pre-K students were among the first to gather in the geodesic dome created by Upper School’s Functions and Trigonometry class.

Junior C.J. English was drawn to the engineering aspect of the geodome, including working with 3D modeling program Tinkercad, as well as the feedback and revision process.

Kariyah Hunt, Oliver Jackson, Carolyn Quinn, Davin Barnett and math teacher Charlie Brown Hon. 1689 assemble a smaller, earlier version of a geodesic dome.

Pursuing Academic Passions in

by Julia Judson-Rea

On a Thursday in January, students are spread out in the Board Room, conferring over binders and making notes.

But this isn’t a class. It’s nearly 8 p.m. and these students are solidifying their arguments and prepping witnesses for Mock Trial, an Upper School club. All of them are eager to be there despite the late hour.

The team draws from every grade, though many are sophomores and juniors, and is preparing to compete against a nearby school—in court, in front of a real Philadelphia judge and a jury of practicing attorneys volunteering their time. The judge and jury award points, and the side with the most points—for preparation, arguments, witness crossexamination and more—wins.

“The club functions like a winter sport,” explained Jackie Kazimir, one of the club advisors and an Upper School social studies teacher. “We scrimmage other schools, compete on weekends, and there are knockout rounds as you move toward finals.” Students might also be involved in a winter sport or the musical, but they make time to practice with the Mock Trial team because they enjoy it.

“Mock Trial throws you into public speaking—you can't avoid it,” sophomore Bridgette Gold said. “It's pretty scary to just be thrown in front of people and expected to speak on legal matters, so participating in your history class discussion doesn't seem so bad after.”

“Mock also has a bit of a workload,” she noted. “Each case we get for the year is pretty thick, and you have to learn it fast, memorize random facts and quotes, and then be able to interpret and analyze them.”

Navigating Nuanced Problems

Clubs of all sorts are a big part of life at PC, allowing students to expand their minds and explore their passions, to dabble or to fully immerse themselves. Clubs range from affinity groups—Black Student Union; SAGA, the Sexuality and Gender Alliance supporting LGBTQ+ students; or Club Shalom, to name a few—to the interest-based, like Chess Club, Book Club, Green Club, Microfinance Club or The Mirror, PC’s student newspaper (and also the nation’s oldest school paper, started in 1777).

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Mock Trial student attorneys Karya Karabucak, London Marshall, Sophia Kelley, Amira Kravitz, Ryan Williamson and Maya Brightbill practice the plaintiff’s case.

Many students find the thrill of competition not on the stage or playing field but in academic clubs like Mock Trial, Ethics Bowl and MathCounts.

“The academic clubs provide a unique opportunity for our students to engage in deep learning,” Director of Upper School Kim Berndt said. “They explore challenging, real-world problems and leverage the unique strengths, passions and skill sets of the students involved. Our students are engaging authentically as intellectuals having to navigate nuanced, multifaceted problems and navigate them collaboratively.”

Students can pursue passions or find new ones in a club. “Being part of extracurricular communities at Penn Charter has elevated my Upper School experience,” senior Davina Kennedy said. “Acting as an expert witness in Mock Trial has surprisingly led me to want to have a forensic science career specifically in toxicology. I also have been able to get to know peers from all grades.”

Taking the Lead in Ethics Bowl

Mock Trial isn’t the only academic-focused club that competes against other schools. Penn Charter’s Ethics Bowl team won regionals amid a field of 400 teams, which propelled them for the first time in school history to Nationals. Over spring break PC traveled to Durham, N.C., to compete against 24 other schools at Nationals, sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics within the University of North Carolina Philosophy Department.

Since the beginning of the year, students have been honing their skills during group meetings each Friday over lunch or after school. The team discusses a set of 15 case studies published by the National High School Ethics Bowl organization, focusing on a case a week. Some are fictitious, but many are real-life and have ethical implications in the realm of politics, culture, economics and life in general. Competitions look like an informal debate, with civil discourse emphasized over power of argumentation.

“What I have done in recent years is use many of these cases in both the AP Government and Philosophy classes that I teach,” said Ed Marks, club advisor and Upper School social studies teacher. “I’d like to think that many students in my classes have benefitted from the process of bringing ethical consideration into the understanding of human interactions.”

“As a member of Ethics Bowl and our math competition team,” said senior Harrison Signorello, “I am able to translate skills from these clubs into my actual classes. Ethics Bowl allows me to practice my public speaking and presentation skills.”

Students who have expressed a genuine interest in philosophy and ethics are invited to learn more about and, if interested, join the Ethics Bowl team at the end of their sophomore year. Teacher Ed Marks, who founded the team in 2015, advises the students with help from teachers Michael LoStracco and Robert Vierlinck.

From MathCounts to Math Club

Middle School students also have an opportunity for academic competition. The MathCounts team has been competing against other schools for more than 30 years, advised since 2000 by math teacher Jen Ketler Hon. 1689. The extracurricular activity appeals to kids who love math or want additional challenge. They practice in homeroom and during scheduled club blocks and then sharpen their skills by challenging their math teachers during boisterous assemblies.

Finally, they are ready. As part of the MathCounts Philadelphia chapter, competitions are complex. “Students compete in person at Temple University in a written, two-part competition,” Ketler explained. “In one part students can use their calculator, and in the other part they cannot. Based on scores of the test, the top 10 students go head-to-head in oral competition, and the top four students move on to the state competition.”

Although MathCounts is extracurricular, some Penn Charter teachers use the MathCounts material in their classes. “There are some good, engaging problems,” Kelter said, “so even students not in MathCounts have their inclass experience enhanced by the type of problems MathCounts presents. The problems in the competitions include topics in algebra and geometry and can be any sort of math problem, like projection in a calendar, or solving for X.”

Some students move on from MathCounts to the Upper School’s Math Club, advised by Liz Flemming Hon. 1689. The club is centered on AreteLabs competitions like Math Madness, and the contests are mainly online

The Ethics Bowl team enjoyed a strong showing at Nationals at the University of North Carolina. Pictured: Director of Upper School Kim Berndt, Adelia Wallace, Harrison Signorello, Justin Cockerham, advisor Ed Marks, Ella Parke, Brooklyn Trevisan, Davina Kennedy, Grace Jordan-Weinstein. Not pictured: Alexandra Will.

with an in-person collaborative component. Students practice at lunch. Although the competitions look different from MathCounts, the premise is the same—students who love math find a way to advance that passion.

Eighth grader Bailey Handler appreciates the exposure to new material and figuring it out as she goes. “This year because I'm in eighth grade it's a little easier but, even so, there are many math topics that I didn't yet know,” she said. “It sets you up for future math classes in the Upper School.” Before MathCounts, Bailey wouldn't have considered math her favorite subject. “MathCounts feeds into why it is,” she said. “It adds a good spin to a class that's really intense—makes it more fun.”

MathCounts isn’t limited to those who have strong math instincts and enjoy solving challenging problems on the spot. “For kids who are great at classroom math but who aren’t as quick when they have to be creative and integrate their knowledge, the club helps them develop that, which helps with their classroom math and with standardized testing,” Flemming said.

Academic Wins

Mock Trial club participants, divided into plaintiffs and defense, have been preparing for court since they—and all the other schools competing—were given the case in November. They must learn state laws as well as courtroom etiquette. In mid-February, the PC plaintiff team argued against Roman Catholic High School’s defense. Roman, which has four teams, is known as a Mock Trial powerhouse, but PC’s plaintiff team of attorneys and witnesses won.

"Now that is how you conduct a cross-examination!" one impressed “juror” remarked.

Later in the month, competing via Zoom, PC’s defense team defeated Masterman and competed against a more seasoned Roman Catholic team in semifinals for the city, though the jury awarded Roman more points.

“Our witnesses earned particularly high points for their ability to stay calm and in-character during tense cross-examinations,” Kazimir

reported. “Freshman London Marshall was told by another juror that she fully embodied the role of the expert witness, and was incredibly persuasive in her opinions on the stand.”

In the Zoom trial versus Masterman, PC’s Maisie Optenberg won best attorney for her opening statement and cross-examination. Karya Karabucek stepped in as a substitute witness and then won best witness. Bridgette Gold had such a solid cross-examination that Masterman’s plaintiff’s witness wasn’t able to talk around most of Bridgette’s questions.

“Her demeanor made her a really convincing attorney,” said Erroll Flynn, another Mock Trial faculty advisor.

Most participants don’t aspire to be lawyers, Kazimir said. “They see it as fun, and there is an element of performance and acting. They really have to think on their feet. It’s a great opportunity to be in competition in a non-athletic situation.”

As for Ethics Bowl, at Nationals the PC team went two-and-two in their competitions. “A strong showing,” Marks reported. “There were no soft spots.”

Davina Kennedy (left) is a member of both the Ethics Bowl and Mock Trial teams. “In the Ethics Bowl,” she said, “I am constantly tested with not only looking at but empathizing with all sides of an issue, no matter my personal stance. This has helped me navigate the toughest of situations by having a growth mindset and coming to resolutions with others. Mock Trial has exponentially grown my confidence, testing the boundaries of what I can do.”

“I think because they are so dedicated, they've developed great relationships with each other,” Vierlinck reflected. “Plus, the seniors all participated last year as well, so they have great camaraderie. Everyone in the group, including the faculty, really enjoys thinking through the cases, so getting together with others who enjoy that too is really fun.”

As much as clubs provide opportunities for students to explore interests and develop passions, they may also inform new directions for Upper School course offerings.

“These clubs create a special space for this type of learning and can serve as incubators for how to engage students in deeper learning in academic courses,” Berndt said. “As we continue to expand our understanding of what Advanced Studies courses can be, these academic clubs will serve as exemplars and inspiration.” PC

To see the full slate of club offerings, visit penncharter.com/MSclubs and penncharter.com/USclubs

MathCounts, coached by Jen Ketler, draws students from each Middle School grade. Liz Flemming recruits MathCounts students as they enter ninth grade for the Math Club, which also competes against other schools.

Upper School students brought the house to its feet for Mamma Mia! , the musical featuring a cast of more than 30 student performers on two nights in February at the Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Through songs made popular by the band ABBA, Mamma Mia! tells the tale of Donna, an independent hotelier in the Greek islands who is preparing for her daughter Sophie's wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile, Sophie secretly invites three men from her mother's past in hope of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle on her big day.

The performances featured music by Upper School and a few OPC musicians and were made possible by dedicated stage, costume and production teams of students, faculty and staff.

"We had so much fun rehearsing Mamma Mia!,” said director Michael Roche, “and it was one of the most joyous productions I have directed at Penn Charter. Everyone involved collaborated as a singular unit. The actors, musicians and stage crew were so talented, and each aspect of the production complemented the other. But most importantly, it was one of the nicest groups of students, and their energy was contagious on stage and into the audience."

Songs included "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Take a Chance on Me" and, of course, "Mamma Mia!" Indeed, the music was so familiar and irresistible that the audience was comedically reminded during pre-show announcements only to sing along during the curtain call! PC

See more photos at flickr.com/photos/penncharter/albums.

LA GUAGUA 47

Inspiring Joy, Art and Collaboration

Lower School Spanish Classes Learn How a Philly Bus Bridges Hispanic Communities to Their Culture

La guagua, la Catrina, Bomba, el Vejigante these are just some of the Spanish words the Lower School students learned from a community film and art project that illustrates Latinx and Hispanic culture. Students experienced a vibrant, festive musical film in which a salsa dancer rhythmically travels on a bus connecting her to her roots and ultimately giving her visibility and a sense of belonging.

La Guagua 47 is an eight-minute, magicrealist film showcasing art, song and dance of the community on the SEPTA 47 bus, or la guagua. The SEPTA 47 bus line passes

through Philadelphia's iconic Ninth Street Market along a 10-mile route that connects Philadelphia’s vibrant Latinx communities. The upbeat, colorful film inspired Lower School’s Language and Culture Department to create its own La Guagua PC. Spanish teachers Sonia Duprez and Anabelle MonteroHricz worked with students in every grade, and after two months of collaboration and creation La Guagua PC was displayed in the Lower School. In March, the film’s producer, two principal dancers and choreographer visited PC to meet with students, watch the short film together, and lead an interactive presentation of salsa dancing.

In this Q&A, both Sonia Duprez and La Guagua 47 producer Alba Martinez share their insights on why educating the Philadelphia and PC communities on Latinx and Hispanic heritage leads to cultural awakenings, connection and inclusivity.

What was the Lower School project you developed?

Sonia Duprez

PC Lower School Spanish teacher

“The Lower School Spanish Department has recently been renamed Language and Culture, and in September we wanted to highlight that cultural component and commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month. We wanted a project that would be new and fresh for students and that could be celebrated in every grade. The idea for the project was that PC students would learn more about the idea of Latinidad, particularly in Philadelphia, through the La Guagua 47 film. We then wanted them to create a hands-on project celebrating not only Latinidad but also the idea that we are all part of a community, similar to how it is portrayed in the film: joyful, artful and collaborative.

“Every grade participated in some way. Pre-K and kindergarten created beautiful paper flowers to represent our individuality. First grade created colorful ribbons that connect us to the greater community. Second grade painted the cardboard bus with a beautiful color mural. Third graders created diverse portraits of the riders—some were even self-portraits, riding into a wonderful future. Fourth graders illustrated the Philadelphia landmarks. And fifth graders researched and

SEPTA's 47 bus runs through the iconic Ninth Street Market and connects passengers to Philly's vibrant Latinx communities.

Grades pre-K through 5 collaborated to create their own representation of la guagua, complete with vibrant paper flowers and portraits of riders.

then illustrated some lesser-known places in Philly that are cultural hubs for the Latinx community, such as Taller Puertorriqueño and South Philly Barbacoa restaurant.”

How did you learn about the short film La Guagua 47?

Sonia Duprez

“I am new to the department, and one of my interests in this position was to find meaningful connections within our city. I just began researching Latinx programming, cultural centers and such and came across the film premiere at the Kimmel Center. I watched it and was blown away by the beauty and message of the film. It is a short, musical dream sequence that is perfect for the Lower School. My colleague, Anabelle Montero-Hricz, loved it, and we developed the project to accompany the film. The students responded so positively to the film that I decided to reach out via email to the production company, RitmoLab. Alba Martinez, the company founder, responded immediately. They had not yet partnered with schools but were eager to start a collaboration with PC. After a few months of planning, we were able to bring her to school with two principal dancers from the film and the choreographer, who is an educator and gave a phenomenal presentation.”

How did you come up with the concept for La Guagua 47?

Alba Martinez

Film producer and creative director

“La Guagua 47 is a short musical film showcasing the vibrancy of Philadelphia’s Latino community, which brought together over 50 Latinx artists and 1,000 community members in its production. It tells a story about finding community, inspired by my own journey on a SEPTA 47 bus in 1985. I had just moved to Philadelphia as a young lawyer and felt homesick for my family and culture but could not find the Latinx community, which was literally invisible to the people I asked. One day, I came across a Latinx cultural organization in a phone book, and the young man who answered the phone told me, ‘Hurry and get on the 47 bus!’ The guagua 47 took me to the heart of Latinx Philly, a community

that became a central part of my life from that day on. I was able to find the place I was longing for, that radiates a sense of tradition, culture and belonging. The 47 bus is the portal that brings Latinx home.

“In 2020, after 30+ years in leadership roles in Philadelphia nonprofit organizations, I decided to return full-time to community impact work. I was shocked to discover that the Latinx community, despite its growth and contributions, remains quite invisible and overlooked. The motivation for making this film was to ensure Philadelphia’s Latinx are seen, celebrated and not held back by outdated stereotypes.”

Why is this important to the PC community?

Sonia Duprez

“It is important for so many reasons! First, we have teachers, administrators, staff and students who identify as Latinx/Hispanic at PC. Additionally, it was important to give younger students a clearer understanding of Latinidad. Often, that is seen as something foreign, other or exclusive to speaking another language; but many people born in our city or in this country identify strongly with their Latino and Hispanic heritage. We need to celebrate that! Also, in Lower School we often discuss ‘windows and mirrors’ as essential for seeing ourselves reflected in the stories we learn, and looking into other people’s lives and their sometimes marginalized experiences. This project aimed to do both. We also wanted to have fun! The idea of the SEPTA bus gathering people through music and dance is perfect

for young learners. It’s visual, multisensory, interactive and cultural.”

Why is this important to the Latinx/Hispanic community?

Alba Martinez

“The Latinx community in Philadelphia currently makes up 16% of the population and has been a driving force of overall population growth in the city over the past decade.

Latinx are major contributors to Philadelphia’s economy, through their cultural vibrancy to their labor market and their entrepreneurial spirit. Despite these contributions, this community is challenged by a high poverty rate and low high-school graduation rates. Shattering stereotypes with visibility and positive narratives is essential to facilitating a faster path to equity and prosperity for the Latinx community.

La Guagua 47’s goal is to promote positive awareness and was designed to be inviting and inclusive. The project aims to build bridges, counter invisibility, and bring new opportunities for Latinx to be recognized and included within the city’s social and community fabric. This is why sharing the film with the Penn Charter community is so exciting and rewarding. It is our mission in action. I hope we will continue exploring opportunities to bring the Penn Charter and Latinx communities closer together through this joy-filled project!” PC

See the film at www.laguagua47.com.

– April Torrisi

Principal dancer in La Guagua 47, Ashley Rivera, demonstrated salsa dancing to the Lower School students during the March presentation.

PC Profiles

Catherine McGuckin Cantlin OPC ’92

BY RAY BAILEY OPC ’09

Passing through Penn Charter in the first modern-day coed class was a gratifying and demanding experience for Catherine McGuckin Cantlin OPC ’92.

On top of the ordinary trials of adolescence, Cantlin and her female classmates faced the unusual challenge of integrating into an institution that hadn’t graduated girls since the late 1800s.

In retrospect, it was a challenge that prepared her well for life beyond the red doors. “I think a lot of us went into maledominated professions as a result of being in that environment— myself included,” she said.

Cantlin, now an executive director at project management firm MACRO, a Savills company, draws on her dual training in architecture and business to develop and manage construction projects for a wide range of clients in the corporate, state, education and health care sectors. Navigating her professional life, she found, has not been so dissimilar from navigating Penn Charter. “When I started my career,” Cantlin said, “I was outnumbered in a male-dominated profession and I had to prove myself a little more.” And prove herself she did, so much so that Cantlin was charged with representing Comcast Corporation and NBC10/Telemundo62 for the new Comcast Technology Center in downtown Philadelphia. The 60-story skyscraper, completed in 2018, is the tallest in the commonwealth, capped by the highest-altitude hotel in the country and a restaurant helmed by a Michelin-starred chef. Its one-and-a-halfmillion-square-foot floor plan boasts television studios, shops, offices, a bi-level commissary and a massive fitness center.

Her expertise in both architecture and business made Cantlin well equipped to manage the various interests involved in such a formidable undertaking. “It was an incredible project to be a part of, not just the design or the construction, but the entire project from beginning to end,” she explained. After seven years at PC, Cantlin completed a bachelor’s degree in arts and science at Lehigh University, a master’s in architecture at the Catholic University of America and, more than a decade later, an

MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. “I got my business degree because I wanted to learn about the business side of what I do,” she said, “but I’ve realized how much that training applies to good project management, too.”

Cantlin cites Philadelphia’s rich architectural landscape as an inspiration for her professional path, and after several years spent honing her craft in Washington, D.C., she hurried home when an opportunity to work in construction management presented itself. “I’m a huge fan of Philadelphia,” Cantlin said. “It’s a beautiful city, and it’s wonderful right now because there’s so much activity and development. We have all these great universities and hospitals and people who want to live here.”

Twenty-odd years since returning to the City of Brotherly Love, Cantlin has already helped etch new contours into its skyline, and her influence continues to spread. One of her latest projects is on behalf of National Real Estate Development for the Jefferson Health Specialty Care Pavilion, which will bring together more than a dozen specialized health care practices. Cantlin’s connection to Penn Charter runs deep. She was preceded at PC by a generation of McGuckins—father Robert OPC ’57 and uncles James OPC ’48 and William OPC ’52—and overlapped at School House Lane with her cousin Jeffrey OPC ’88. The Kurtz Center’s band room is graced by a McGuckin family Steinway piano, a gift from her Aunt Carol and Uncle Bill McGuckin in recognition of Bill’s parents’ love for the school.

In 2013, Cantlin was recognized by the Athletic Honor Society for her accomplishments as a three-sport varsity athlete in field hockey, swimming and lacrosse. She was a “pioneer” for girls athletics at PC who helped set high standards for the program, former athletics director Debbie White remarked at the time. The Class of 1992’s girls embraced that pioneer mentality without letting it go to their heads. “We took pride in the fact that we were the flag bearers,” Cantlin remembered, “but a big focus was doing well and setting a good example for what having girls at Penn Charter would be like.”

The Quaker values of community and humility have stuck with Cantlin since graduation, despite her professional distinction. “It’s funny: I didn’t realize it until I got older,” she said, “but certain traits I hold profoundly close are in large part due to Penn Charter.” Nowadays, her “biggest passion”— skyscrapers aside—is raising her three children, ages 11, 13 and 14. PC

Kamal Marell OPC ’06

BY REBECCA LUZI

Since graduating from Penn Charter, Kamal Marell OPC ’06 has been an educator, a social worker, a collaborator and an advocate. Perhaps mostly, he is a relationship builder.

Marell is executive director of a nonprofit coffee shop in Philadelphia. Although it serves up lattés and breakfast paninis to local families and professionals, the Monkey and the Elephant isn’t just a café— it doubles as an employment training program for young adults ages 18-24 who have aged out of foster care.

Former foster kids, Marell said, “are often forgotten about in the city and on the national level. The services they receive drop drastically after they reach 18, and they aren’t necessarily given the tools to help navigate the next phase of their adult lives.” Resources that are available to them are difficult to navigate.

This is where the Monkey and the Elephant comes in. What began as a pop-up around the city is now a brick-and-mortar shop in Brewerytown committed to paying young people a liveable wage while providing employment training—transferable skills they can use in future jobs, like customer service, and opening and closing the shop. Optional shift-leader training goes a step further, teaching management skills and helping participants earn state certification in food service management. Partnering with city organizations such as the Department of Human Services, Philadelphia Youth Network and the Achieving Independence Center, the Monkey and the Elephant also provides housing resources and financial literacy programming. And for those young people who have dropped out of high school or want to continue their education, Marell helps connect them with trade schools and the Community College of Philadelphia, which offers GED exam preparation courses and a path to a college education.

The goal, Marell said of his work with former foster children, “is making sure they are empowered individuals ready to thrive in the early phases of their young adult lives.”

What drew him to this work? “The satisfaction of knowing that I am using my resources and my network to help change the trajectory of young adults' lives,” he answered. “And as a Black man, I know that young adults

who are Black and brown between 18 and 24 are disproportionately left out when it comes to certain access and opportunities.”

Marell’s career trajectory has focused on nonprofits since he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Clemson University in 2010 and returned to Philadelphia to work as a family services case manager and an adoption and kinship care manager. While earning an MEd in urban education and leadership at Temple University, he continued to serve the city’s youth, first as a programming coordinator at People’s Emergency Center and then as a program manager for parents and children.

Before that, Marell spent a year in the pilot group of the Independent Schools Teaching Fellows Program of Greater Philadelphia—a PCinitiated program—learning to teach middle school civics at both Penn Charter and the nearby St. James School. Looking through a teacher’s lens and comparing the educational access of the young adults he worked with at PC and those he has worked with in social services has made him determined to find a leadership position to effect change, to help young people create their own supportive community.

He began to understand the educational landscape, he said, “not only as someone who worked in social services but someone who cares about educational policy and what that looks like for different groups of kids throughout the country.”

Moving forward, Marell sees himself continuing to be a thought leader and an advocate in the city of Philadelphia as well as applying his experience with the Monkey and the Elephant to build bridges between corporate partners and communities. “A lot of issues can be solved,” he said, “if there are conversations between for-profits and nonprofits to see how we can make communities better for the next generation.”

Marell wants to expand educational access and opportunities for “thoughtful and intentional community programming—listening to what community members need and working on their behalf.” He envisions corporate partners learning about the specific barriers a population faces, from housing to mental health support to food security, and then using their influence and resources to provide solutions. And he wants to make that happen. His education and his experience in city social services have led him here.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “what I’m doing, how I'm serving and who I’m serving has been influenced by Penn Charter—in a way that’s intentional.” PC

Athletics Achievements

WINTER SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Quakers rolled to their second consecutive Inter-Academic League championship on a 19-10 regular-season record, undefeated in the league. They moved on to the PAISAA tournament, but again met Westtown School in the finals and came up as No. 2 in the state for the second straight year, dropping a tough one. Leadership abounds on the squad, with Aleah Snead scoring her 1,000th career PC point early in the season, and then earning the accolade of Inter-Ac MVP. Kaylinn Bethea and Bella Toomey joined Snead on the First Team All-Inter-Ac, eighth grader Ryan Carter to Second Team All-Inter-Ac, and Kelsey Bess was given special recognition by the league.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The boys squad again played a strong season, culminating in sharing the Inter-Ac championship with Malvern Prep for the second year straight. Their run in the PAISAA tournament ended after a tough loss to Hill School in the second round.

David Bass OPC ’88 was asked to jump into the head coaching role shortly before the season started. “For me personally,” Bass said, “they helped me rejuvenate and reinvent myself. They were such a respectful team that touched so many lives in the community, and I enjoyed being a part of it.”

Their season was fun for all to watch, too, ending with a regular-season record of 24-4, and 8-2 in the Inter-Ac. Mark Butler scored his 1,000th PC point early in the season, in front of a home crowd. Butler, last season’s MVP, was named a First Team All-Inter-Ac selection, while Isaiah Grimes and Kai Shinholster earned Second Team honors.

WINTER SIGNEES

Three football players committed to play their sport in college at a winter signing ceremony in the Graham.

Pictured with coach Tom Coyle: David Comitale (Muhlenberg) Chase Sahingur (sprint football, University of Pennsylvania), Seamus McCain (West Chester University).

Aleah Snead

Mark Butler

GIRLS INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

These runners just keep on getting faster! At the Pennsylvania Indoor Championships, which brings together in competition public, parochial, private and independent schools, sophomore Alli DeLisi won the 800-meter with a personal-best time of 2:11.84. DeLisi is the first individual Penn Charter runner to win at States. Also at Champs, senior Dani Shipon posted a personal record time in the 800, finishing 12th at 2:18.09.

Senior Veronica Lentz, along with ninth grader Michaela Poland, DeLisi and Shipon, raced the 4x400 relay and finished fourth at the state championships and broke a PC record. The team finished 13th of 70 scoring teams, beating out all other Inter-Ac schools. The same group went on to Nike Nationals, where the 4x400 relay squad came in fourth and DeLisi raced to fourth place in the 800 meters, with a time of 2:10.20, another personal record.

Also this season, Lentz broke PC’s indoor school record in the 60-meter hurdles with an impressive 9.75, and Oliva Roland broke PC’s girls indoor high jump record with a jump of 4’11”.

BOYS INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

The indoor season attracts a large number of PC athletes, several who consider a different sport to be their primary one. Nonetheless, many are quite fast. Late in the season, at the Ocean Breeze Invitational, many PC runners recorded season-best times, with standouts including sophomores

T.J. Zwall (4:26.84) and Nate Johnson (4:30.59) and senior Wes Trautwein (4:38.34) in the 1600-meter and one-mile run (Zwall, 4:30.17; Johnson, 4:33.63; Trautwein, 4:36.17); senior Jack Frank in the 800 (2:00.75); junior Gavin Michener in the 200 (23.70); and junior Britton Armbrister in the 55-meter hurdles (8.82).

The next weekend at the Lehigh Tournament of Champions, Zwall again had the best finish of the day for PC, placing seventh in the 3000 with a season-best time of 8:57.13. Johnson also ran a season-best 2:04.09 in the 800, finishing eighth. The 4x200 relay team of sophomore Jaxon Adams and juniors Zahir Kalam Id-Din, Eian Kilpatrick and Michener placed 15th, running the race in 1:36.36.

“It was a good experience for them at a beautiful place where everybody is a legitimate track person,” Coach Steve Bonnie OPC ’66 said of Ocean Breeze. “Virtually everybody had a season-best. Overall, I’d give it an A-minus experience for a team that is continuing to come up.”

SWIMMING & DIVING

The girls team raced to wins in several meets, with the boys squad not far off the mark. Every year, the season culminates at the Eastern Prep Swimming Championship. Head coach Brian Hecker referred to Easterns as “one of the largest and most competitive meets in the country.” The teams met Hecker’s goals: The girls came in third, and the combined team came in fifth. PC records tumbled this year: Eva McIverJenkins broke the team records in the 50-meter freestyle and 100 freestyle, and Abby Steinbrook is second all-time in the 50 freestyle and PC’s fourth all-time in the 200 freestyle. Molly Lo set a pool record in the 100 butterfly. In the 400 freestyle relay, the final event of Easterns, the quartet of Steinbrook, Lo, Ava Coombs and McIverJenkins finished third with the secondfastest time in PC history. Alexander Zoldan lowered his own school record in the 500 freestyle at Easterns.

The All-Inter-Ac Teams for the girls included junior Steinbrook, sophomores Eliza Black, Coombs and McIver-Jenkins, and eighth graders Arden Keitel and Lo. For the boys, seniors Juan Tovar and Zoldan earned All-Inter-Ac honors for the second consecutive season.

Eva McIver-Jenkins

Alexander Zoldan

ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENTS

WRESTLING

The Quakers bonded together and won three tournaments this season. Wrestling finished second in the Inter-Ac, third in States, and 27th at Nationals—especially strong for the squad. In their final tournament of the season, the Quakers had a school-record 10 wrestlers qualify for National Preps. PC finished with 32 points, good for 27th place out of more than 100 competing teams, which was the program’s best finish at Nationals since 2004, according to head coach Peter Shaifer OPC ’82. Senior George Glomb won three of his five matches and earned a top-12 finish. Juniors Jack Bowen and C.J. English each won two matches to place in the top-16. Four other Quakers notched a victory during the tournament: senior James Glomb, junior Lucas Weinstein, and sophomores Hugh Maley and Greyson Catlow-Sidler

George Glomb was named to the First Team All-Inter-Ac in his weight class. The Quakers had five wrestlers make the Second Team in their weight classes: Maley, Catlow-Sidler, Bowen, Patrick Rullo and James Glomb. It marks the second consecutive year that Maley, Catlow-Sidler and James Glomb earned Second Team honors.

BOYS SQUASH

The boys squash team finished the season 7-10 and headed off to Nationals. Of a total of 103 boys teams competing, the 14th-seeded PC was placed in Division 2 (of seven). The Quakers finished the tournament with a 4-3 victory over Hill School, a team that had beaten PC 6-1 just two weeks earlier. The victory meant PC, which was 0-2 so far in the tournament, finished 15th in its division and 31st overall in the competition.

The defeat of Hill was “a very satisfying victory,” coach Peter Lubowitz said. “Great wins in the 4-7 slots by Grant Roshkoff, Jammer La Barge, Steven Bernstein and Jacob Kestenbaum, with Bernstein winning the final match to put PC over the top.”

Additionally, Ramsay Killinger was named to the All-Inter-Ac First Team, an improvement from his Second Team selection a season ago, while Griffin Yeatman secured a place on the Second Team.

GIRLS SQUASH

The Quakers compete in a region that includes some of the top teams in the country, and the team had a mixed season (5-4 overall, 0-4 in Inter-Ac play). But they moved into Nationals ready to take on especially challenging teams. Penn Charter—seeded 16th in the competition’s top division—faced the toughest of tests to open the tournament, squaring off against the defending national champions, Greenwich Academy. PC dropped that match, but seniors Lexi Bari, Sydney DelBello and Alexandra Glomb brought wins, as did juniors Alexandra and Samantha Jaffe and Savannah Abernathy. The team finished 13th at Nationals. As a testimony to the strength of the team, Samantha Jaffe was named Inter-Academic League MVP and First Team All-Inter-Ac. Her sister, Alexandra, joined her on the First Team. Over the last two years, despite playing the highest level of competition in the nation, the Jaffes have combined to win all but one match in regular season play.

Samantha Jaffe

THANKFULNESS DOWNTOWN

Barnes Hauptfuhrer OPC ’72, during keynote remarks delivered at the Alumni Society's Downtown Reception on Jan. 26, stressed the importance of living a thankful life and shared his own gratitude for the friends, teammates, teachers and coaches who helped him reach success as an investment banker, hedge fund manager and Teamball author.

Hauptfuhrer also touched on his memories playing basketball for one of the best teams in Penn Charter history — the 1971-72 team had a record of 23-2 overall and 10-0 in the Inter-Ac — as well as his time playing for Princeton, where he won a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship.

The 140 attendees also heard from Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689, who provided a "State of the School" at his last Downtown Reception as head before retiring from PC in June after 26 years. Also in attendance were the next head of school Karen Warren Coleman and Chief Development Officer Jack Rogers Hon. 1689. Rogers will retire in June after 27 total years at the school. Prior to his remarks, Hauptfuhrer recognized Rogers for his years spent raising funds to support PC students and programs and for his enthusiasm in connecting OPCs to one another and to Penn Charter. PC

Darryl J. Ford addressed the crowd, sharing updates on the school and taking a moment to reflect on the campus transformation that is underway.

The event was also a reunion of sorts for the class of 1972.

Pictured: Howie Canfield, Tim Knettler, Bruce Balderston, Barnes Hauptfuhrer, John Burkhart, John Doelp and John Zurn.

Chief Development Officer Jack Rogers Hon. 1689 received a standing ovation after Barnes Hauptfuhrer shared kind words about Rogers’ impact on Penn Charter over 27 years.

OPCs, parents and caregivers, and faculty and staff enjoyed food, drinks and good conversation at the Down Town Club in Philadelphia.

Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 with next head of school, Karen Warren Coleman.

Barnes Hauptfuhrer OPC ’72 shared personal stories about important mentors that have shaped his life, including longtime Princeton boys basketball coach Pete Carril.

William Penn Charter School

Then & Now

As director of Middle School, Darryl J. Ford often walked the halls of the new Richard B. Fisher Middle School, which opened in 2002, asking students what they are learning and reading, and maybe even discussing which Philadelphia sports teams might make the playoffs.

2023

As head of school, Ford walks the campus each day to stay in touch with the community, from the senior lounge to the end-of-the-day Lower School car line, but he’s always retained a special fondness for Middle School.

Class Notes

1689

Carol Steinbrook, after 41 years at Penn Charter, will retire in June. Most recently director of accounting and business services, Carol has worked in both the Development and Business offices. Her daughter Rachel Dyer OPC ’92 writes, “My mom has held several positions at PC over the years, but none is more important than the friend, confidant and mentor that she has been to so many. Her kindness and generosity that frequently go unseen have been an invaluable gift to many members of our community. She has made Penn Charter a better place.”

1953

Edward W. Veit was recently inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame as well as the hall of fame of the Maryland Association of Coaches of Soccer.

1954

George H. McLaughlin visited Penn Charter and was amazed by the new wrestling room. “Nice to see such a beautiful campus! I look forward to our next reunion.”

1955

W. Donald Bateman writes, “I've not traveled much in the last several years, but thanks to

extensive business and family travel and the Strategic Air Command, I've been to 47 states and 24 countries.”

Donald P. Gutekunst shares, “I am now living at Gwynedd Estates with Beryl, where I am serving the second two-year term as president of the resident association. I may not be the only one from OPC ’55, but I am one of few who can say they are great-grandparents, as of last July 28. His name is Owen.”

John L. MacWilliams writes, “I've been married 63 years to Louise Rittenhouse MacWilliams. We have four children, seven grandchildren, with the grief of having lost two children to illness, one after a 7-year battle with ALS. Our daughter Anne was a top national competitor in figure skating, and her daughter, Ava, 15, was ranked among the best junior freestyle downhill skiers in North America last year, skiing out of Mad River Glen, Vt. We now live in Beach Haven, N.J., having lived earlier in Hershey, Newtown Square, California and North Carolina as part of my corporate career in electronics. I currently still run US Competitors LLC and have had associations with Cornell, MIT and the FBI InfraGard program. PC helped me with critical thinking and the ability to compose, as an author, many technical articles and reports on industry.”

1956

John D. Milner reports, “I recently retired after a rewarding 55 years as a practicing architect and, concurrently for 37 years, as a professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design. My specialty was restoring historic buildings and designing new buildings in traditional American and European styles. My wife,

Wynne, and I realized early in our marriage of 60 years that travel should be an essential part of our experiences together, and we’ve been fortunate to venture far afield. Our sweet spot became the South of France, and we spent the Christmas holidays renting the former house of Julia Child, in the hills above Cannes, where she lived when writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two. The house has been carefully preserved, including her kitchen (pictured), so it was a thrill to be surrounded by the clear sense of her significant contributions to America’s appreciation of French culture and cuisine.”

1957

Gerald A. Hedges shares, “My wife, Carolyn, and I made a wonderful trip to the Netherlands and Belgium last fall, catching up on some parts of Europe we had previously missed and searching for some ancestral roots north of Amsterdam.”

Penn Charter magazine wants to hear from you, and your classmates do, too! Submit your news and photos at penncharter.com/classnote. Digital photos should be 300 dpi JPEGs.

Class Notes

Daniel P. Mitchell III and Maurine have been married 61 years and are pictured on the front walk of the San Juan Capistrano, Calif. home they’ve shared for 58 years.

have been actively working in psychedelic psychotherapy, doing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, treating emotionally traumatized and depressed patients here in New York City. It has been such an honor to be able to help these patients.”

Robert A. Warren writes, “At the start of the Covid pandemic, a buddy and I realized that kids needed something to do outdoors. We created Snazzy Youth Tennis. We charged a minimal amount to pay for tennis gear and eventually collected enough money to put up a professional practice wall. In 2022, we funded and installed a 25-foot flagpole in our development in Williamsburg, Va.”

1961

James G. Masland Jr., John E. Sjostrom, Philip L. Cohan and J. Peirce Anderson recently enjoyed lunch together at the Narrows Restaurant in Grasonville, Md.

1960

David H. Lifschutz writes, “I feel very honored to have been able to spend two years of my middle school at that glorious academic institution that is Penn Charter. Those two years (fifth and sixth grade) set me up to be successful through high school and college. It also taught me values I still hold dear. Currently, in my 80th year, I

David L. Geyer continues to work with liveedge wood in creating furniture à la George Nakashima.

1962

Roger B. Hedges retired “for the second time” in July of 2021, and that fall traveled to northern Italy with his wife of 37 years, Kristine, for a few weeks’ vacation. He writes, “2022 was punctuated by some personal setbacks, including the loss of my only sibling, Alan B. Hedges OPC ’67 of Greenwich, N.J. We attended his celebration of life in Cumberland County, N.J. Fortunately, Frederick R. Glazier Jr. and his wife, Sue, were just across the Cape May County line, and we spent two nights with

them before dashing up to Montgomery County, Pa., to check in on Stephen W. Simpson and his wife, Audrey.

1964

Wayne Partenheimer and his wife, Debbie, just celebrated their 13th anniversary. Wayne and Debbie grew up in Lower Gwynedd, and Wayne took Debbie to a dance at Penn Charter in the ’60s. She was divorced and he was widowed when they got back together and married in 2010. They live in Haddonfield, N.J., where Wayne was recently elected chairperson of the Zoning Board. He is still practicing law in the South Jersey office of Bennett, Bricklin & Saltzburg LLC.

1965

Albert M. Comly Jr. is a senior architect at VITETTA in Philadelphia, working on libraries, fire stations and historic structures, as well as selective residential work. He writes, “I spend my time as the current president of Wissahickon Fire Company in Ambler and as secretary of Flourtown Fire Company (living every kid’s dream of driving fire trucks). I also serve as Lower Gwynedd Township fire marshal and as a structures specialist on the Montgomery County Urban Search & Rescue Team. Good for excitement and adrenaline. I also manage family real estate trust properties. I spend my spare time as vice chairperson of the Ambler Borough Planning Commission, treasurer of the Springfield Township Historical Society

and secretary of the Springfield Township Historical Commission. If not at meetings, I’m working in my garden or woodworking. I have two very active grandsons who like nothing better than hanging at the firehouse with me.”

1966

Carl Helmetag III and his brother, Peter E. Helmetag OPC ’68, drove in a vintage endurance car rally from Lima, Peru, to Ushuaia, Argentina, in November. He shares, “We covered 11,500 km over the monthlong rally and came in 10th overall out of 37 cars that were entered. Many interesting challenges en route. Great to spend a month bonding with my brother. Pictured is the finish in Ushuaia.”

Donald A. Noveau writes that he and wife Barbara will travel to Austria, Germany and the Netherlands by river cruise in August with her Encore ROCKS group. Encore ROCKS is a group of seniors who sing rock songs in four-part harmony. “She loves it, and I guess we’ll be singing for our supper! Daughter Kate manages three inpatient and outpatient mental health programs in Providence, R.I., and just added oversight of the mental health nursing department at her hospital. Her social work has turned into full-blown hospital administration. Daughter Jenna is a practicing OB-GYN and is doing more and more surgery. Personally, I’m looking forward to the arrival of the removable hardtop that I won on Ebay, for my 21-year-old BMW convertible (Old Wheel Club habits die hard), as well as the next Class of ’66 lunch.”

1968

Edwin S. Skinner Jr. shares, “Our son Tim, his wife, Meredith, and his children Lauren and Dylan gave us a trip for a delayed 50th wedding anniversary. During the Thanksgiving trip to visit Sedona, Ariz., we saw many old places and enjoyed our gift. We drove 4,319 miles out and back! What a great trip!”

Elizabeth Gray Vining, a well-known Quaker writer who lived at Alden Park about the time we were at PC. We're planning a week at Chautauqua, N.Y., this summer and a trip to South Dakota in the fall to see an art exhibit honoring the life work of Signe Stuart, who is now related by marriage. The family is well.”

1969

E. Bevan Stanley writes, “I retired at the end of March 2022. My wife and I bought a house in New Haven, Conn. and moved to a lovely residential neighborhood with a diverse population. Retirement has brought us leisure to travel and visit family more. We had trips to the Norwegian fjords last April, San Diego in January, Seattle in February. We will have more time to visit our family's farm in the Adirondacks. At home, I’ve taken up learning Welsh, working on a small book I wrote during my last sabbatical, and volunteering as a chaplain to retired Episcopal clergy in this area. I continue to be pleased and amazed as Penn Charter grows. I am ever grateful for the wonderful education I received there.”

1971

Michael J. Kennedy writes, “My wife, two sons, daughter-in-law and 5-year-old granddaughter met up in Monument Valley in the middle of March for a week of delightful sightseeing and hiking. The photo shows my son Patrick on John Ford’s Point four years ago. This is the scene of many Westerns over the years, including the original Stagecoach.”

Samuel M. Wilson notes, “It is hard to believe the 55th reunion is this year. Unfortunately I'll not be able to make it, as I'm still enjoying working part-time and providing service at a local wound center. I'm reading works by

R. Keith Helmetag staged a retrospective of 45 years of his design work at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Art and Design Gallery in Manhattan. By Design features Keith's evolving interests, including worldchanging events (9/11 Memorial & Museum, Kennedy Library and New York State Vietnam Memorial); sports (Yankee Stadium and Major League Baseball); cultural landscapes (San Diego History Center’s Junipero Serra Museum about the Kumeyaay Tribe and Maryland’s King’s Reach Plantation about indentured and enslaved servants); and science (Sanford Homestake Visitor Center about astrophysics neutrino research and NOAA’s Rookery Bay Center, used to recruit volunteers for climate change research). The installation was attended by Edward H. Bissell, Roger S. Hillas Jr., David H. Kinley III,

Class Notes

Frederick H. Landell and Robert A. Picardo, as well as Carl Helmetag III OPC ’66 and Peter E. Helmetag OPC ’68. Pictured, from left: Rick Landell, Ted Bissell and David Kinley.

1972

W. Barnes Hauptfuhrer edited a tribute book for Princeton University's legendary basketball coach, Pete Carril. The book, Coach: The Players' Book is a compilation of reflections by Princeton basketball alumni to honor an inspirational, and often irascible, icon of the sport. Barnes, pictured here, played under Carril 1973-76.

1974

Blake M. Christoph and wife Julie and Walter G. Delevich and wife Elsie were finally able to make their planned Paris-to-Normandy river

cruise in September after a two-year delay. They enjoyed a lot of French wine and food, and look forward to a great reunion next year.

1975

John J. Maley Jr. reports, “I’m working with Robert W. De Bolt OPC ’76 to train with the goal of setting a world record in the bench press. In February, we did it. I lifted 358.6 pounds, which broke the U.S. Powerlifting Association world record in my age group by .4 pounds!”

Steven S. Greenbaum writes, “I retired after a career in microscopic surgery and have been enjoying time with family and friends and catching up doing things I never had a chance to do before. Our children are scattered all over the country, with our two boys living in California and our daughter being loyal to the City of Brotherly Love! It’s hard to believe we have our 50th reunion coming up next year. I hope we all remember!” Pictured during a Greenbaum family vacation: Bettsie, Julie, Steven, Joshua, Nikko Kimzin, Gillain, Jeremy and Noah Greenbaum.

1977

Bruce A. Dillard writes, “Last year was filled with signature moments around J.D. Dillard OPC ’06 and the release of his first big-budget feature, Devotion. One of the highlights was watching him take a VIP flight with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Always helps when your movie is a story about Naval aviation. Special moment for us both.”

David S. Jonas recently traveled to New Zealand in his capacity as an adjunct professor of law to speak at an Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum conference regarding nuclear nonproliferation and deterrence issues relevant to that region.

Andrew S. Klein shares, “Faye and I just came back from Mexico: four days in Merida and four days in Cancun at the Riviera Maya Phish Festival. Awesome! We saw them in Phoenix in October as well. Also hitting Ocean City, N.J. lots to golf with J. Peter Davis and his Harbor Pines gang.”

Alfred E. O'Neill Jr. has embarked on a new career as an author, coupled with his career as a New York ad executive. “I published two novels, Even a Pandemic Can't Stop Love and Murder. And volume 2, Even Climate Change Can't Stop Love and Murder. I’m working on the third part now. I was the class poet at Penn Charter, and always wrote in some form—but now, two novels! Becoming an author, with such great reviews and feedback, has turned a lifelong dream into a vocation of love!”

1978

Robert S. Egan writes, “My wife, Sharon, and I just got back from our trip to New Zealand and Australia. We had a chance to see many different sites, including Mt John Observatory at Lake Tekapo. (At 1,029 meters high, it’s the largest accredited International Dark Sky Reserve in the world.) There we saw the Southern Cross constellation, the incredible Milky Way, far-off planets, and the Chinese Space Station orbiting Earth. We snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns, Australia. We also had a chance to roam through rain forests, take in national parks, visit UNESCO sites, ride the TranzAlpine Express train to

Arthur’s Pass, zipline in Queenstown, see the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, and attend La Bohème at the Sydney Opera House. Enjoying the third third of life!”

Class Notes

1982

Francis J. Peffley shares, “This past year, I had the privilege of leading a group of 40 people from my church on the Passion Play pilgrimage to Oberammergau, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Prague.

1980

Walter R. Grund writes, “I’m still working for Whole Foods Market but have transferred from Plymouth Meeting as the prepared foods sous-chef to a much-closer-tohome Jenkintown location as kitchen chef supervisor/backup buyer and order writer specialist. I’m looking forward to a little time off this spring to go on a pandemic-postponed 60th birthday/30th anniversary cruise to the Greek Islands with my wife, Betsy.”

Adam A. Jacks reports, “I recently played golf at my local club in a pro-am with 36 professionals, including Andre Stoltz. I tied for fourth on the pro list at one under par.”

David N. Wilcots was elected to the board of the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists.

1983

Rubén Amaro Jr. had a wonderful trip to Italy during the Thanksgiving break. He writes, “My daughter Andrea and her boyfriend, Adam Alderfer, as well as daughter Sophia and her good friend Liz Lamerson (both students at the University of Miami) accompanied me and my partner, Lori Sarver, for a few days in Florence. We then headed to a 17th century villa in Lucca in the heart of Tuscany for another week. The trip included day trips to Pisa, Sienna and Forte dei Marmi. It was an absolute blast. I’m anxiously awaiting another exciting Phillies season. Go PC! Go Phillies! Go Eagles!”

Class Notes

Davia L. Loren is celebrating a career change: After practicing newborn intensive care for the past 22 years, she now provides care in the adolescent medicine clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She's also a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics Health Equity Track and a workshop leader with the University of Washington Office of Healthcare Equity. For the past decade, Davia has worked extensively as an advocate for gender-diverse youth and for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people on a local and national level.

(See marriages.)

1985

Seth R. Duncan wishes his former classmates all the best. He lives in Somers Point, N.J.

1988

Sydney H. Coffin works with English language learners at Philadelphia’s Job Corps and writes, “I get to stroll around Rocky Balboa’s streets experiencing all the awe and wonder of the fictional hometown hero I grew up trying to be. I draw cartoons with fellow comic book artists at the Pen & Pencil Club once a month, or portraits of so many fantastic friends playing their melodious instruments at Chris’ Jazz Cafe. Join me at one of these places—I’d love to see you there—or at least come to our 35th reunion, old friends.”

1989

Brian M. Donaghy shares, “I was in town watching my daughter play squash for Nichols School of Buffalo at the U.S. High School Team Squash Championships and ran into Stephen A. Bonnie OPC ’66 having what looked like a Schmitter at McNally’s in Chestnut Hill. Nice to see him after a couple of decades!”

Robert L. Salkowitz recently interviewed classmate John S. Underkoffler on his 35-year career in technology, including developing the first working prototype of a shared VR environment (metaverse) at MIT, for the French science fiction magazine Metal Hurlant. It should be available in English later this year.

Christopher J. Salus writes, “After spending most of my 26 years with the Chicago Fire Department on the busy West and South sides, I am now a battalion chief in the downtown area. My wife, Samantha, is an amazing middle school math teacher with Chicago Public Schools and we are both enjoying an empty nest. Our son, Max, 20, is finishing paramedic training in Milwaukee and looking forward to entering the fire service. Our daughter, Eliza, 18, just started a six-year direct-admit physical therapy program at Ithaca College, where she is also competing on the diving team. Looking forward to seeing old friends at this year’s reunion. Best wishes to all!”

Jeremy A. Swarbrick writes, “I just completed my 30th season, along with my 25th Super Bowl, with NFL Films. Not the result I was looking for, but a successful event nonetheless. Season 31 kicks off on Sept. 7 in Kansas City. Go Birds!”

1992

Joseph J. Malizia writes, “After 25 years of active duty in the Army, our family was finally able to settle down in one home, and we moved to Lansdale. I now work remotely for the U.S. Agency for International Development as a senior advisor, and Dana is a nurse at Grandview Hospital in Sellersville. Our sons, Joseph and Michael, are both at La Salle and doing great. Joseph wants to be a veterinarian and is working

at Animal Crackers vet clinic when he's not studying. Michael is playing basketball and wants to pilot aircraft one day. Recently, we had a wonderful trip to St. Lucia, exploring the mountains, fishing for tropical fish and sitting poolside.”

1998

Nathaniel A. (Whitman) Wheedan shares, “I moved back to Philly after 15 years in Austin, Texas, and opened an Austin-style breakfast taco shop in South Philly near the Italian Market called Taco Heart. It's awesome to see OPCs coming through in the mornings. Also, if you're wondering about the name, my wife, Carinne, and I combined our names when we got married in 2019. Whitman + Deeds = Wheedan!”

2000

Margaret M. Farnoly, Katie L. Morton, Andrea J. (Clair) Rose and Andrea J. MacCullough traveled to St. Augustine, Fla., in December for the wedding of MaryCatherine (Corson) Wilkerson, whom they consider an honorary OPC! Earlier in 2022, the same group got together to celebrate the weddings of both Andrea Clair and Andrea MacCullough.

2003

Jennifer N. Cooperman Rosenberg recently developed and opened Hotel West & Main in Conshohocken. West & Main is part of the Hilton Tapestry Collection and includes the 1874 Social lounge on the first floor and the steakhouse Hook and Ladder on the second floor overlooking a plaza.

2004

Chelsey B. Donn will appear in season three of the Netflix show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Cocreated by SNL alum and Detroiters star Robinson and SNL producer Zach Kanin, the sketch comedy series pokes fun at some of the most bizarre and mundane situations in life. Release date: coming soon!

2008

Arthur Bartolozzi IV shares, “After eight years in New England and one in the UK, I moved out to Northern California for my residency. I'm finishing training in spinal oncology, currently in Vancouver and at MD Anderson in Houston next year. To summarize perhaps too succinctly: It has been a wild ride. Along the way, I've developed a love for cooking (almost perfected my risotto and pulled pork), set out to find more hidden local ski mountains and spread Philly pride at every turn. I still run for fun thanks to Mr. Yaffe, project loudly (Mrs. Noone) to my French Canadian colleagues (Mmes Pal/Emery) and am a stickler for concise writing thanks to Ms. Neumeister (and Katherine Damm,

who would doubtless cut this run-on). While I hope none of you will ever see me professionally, I would love to catch up if you find yourselves in BC or Texas!”

2012

Tess Reinhold, who manages programming and artist relations at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, Colo., had the opportunity to welcome Ray S. Benson Jr. OPC '69 and his band, Asleep at the Wheel, for a show on Dec. 27, 2022.

2015

Patrick R. McInerney writes, “In December, I completed an Ironman 70.3 in Palm Springs, Calif. It was an incredible adventure that I got to complete with my cousin in support of his mom. Nearly six hours of cardio without headphones has a way of tapping into the depths of the soul. Anyone who has even the slightest desire to take on any challenge that will stretch you, Go for it! You'll thank yourself later.”

Class Notes

Benjamin W. Skinner shared a photo of a group of OPC ’15s – Ethan T. Ashley, Conor T. Foley, James Paolini, Ross Wood – and their families as they gathered to celebrate Ben and his fiancée, Alex, shortly after the proposal. Alex, Ben, and their new pup, Chata, will be moving to Rota, Spain, where they’re stationed for the next three years while Ben deploys to Germany for his military service as an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) officer.

DEATHS Hon. 1689

George

1934

2017

Adam G. Holland, who guided PC’s baseball to Inter-Ac championships in 2014 and 2017, has returned to Penn Charter to help coach the Quakers.

2020

Anastasia R. Lewis and Robert (Will) Betts Cope OPC ’22 returned to Penn Charter to perform with the pit orchestra for Mamma Mia! Anastasia played the bass, and Will played the drum set for the show.

1954

James R. Harper, on Jan. 11, 2023.

1955

Richard M. Lehman, on Nov. 20, 2022.

1956

Harry U. Felton, on Oct. 10, 2022.

1948

Edgar J. Roberts Jr., on Nov. 23, 2022.

1958

Stephen J. Ruckman, on Feb. 7, 2023.

1950

John

1953

Joseph

1959

Richard S. Thatcher, on Feb. 7, 2023.

Michael J. Shank, on Jan. 5, 2020.

(Buff) Weigand Jr., on Jan. 29, 2023.

Julian Alexander Jr., on Jan. 16, 2023.

Robert F. Taylor, on Jan. 10, 2023.

Thomas S. Williams, on Dec. 26, 2022.

Boyer, on Feb. 4, 2023.

S. Torg Sr., on Dec. 15, 2022.

1961

1965

MARRIAGES

1983

James J. Heffernen Jr. married

on Sept. 10, 2022.

1967

1962

1980

2008

1992

1964

2008

Theron W. Jenkins III, on April 26, 2019.

Frederick Lennig III, on Dec. 3, 2021.

Russell C. Mauch II, on Sept. 24, 2022.

F. Howard Maull, on Dec. 23, 2022.

John A. Blakely, in December 2022.

David S. Mattis Jr., on Nov. 19, 2022.

F. Tucker Schade, March 23, 2023.

Frank A. (Terry) Savage III, on Dec. 13, 2022.

David A. Weaver, on Jan. 26, 2023.

Alan Hedges, on Nov. 6, 2022. James P. Waltz, on Sept. 24, 2022.

Caesar D. Williams Jr., on March 26, 2023.

Mark A. Ries, on Dec. 11, 2022.

Colin Still, on Feb. 8, 2023.

Autumne Mathews

Robin R. McDowell married Andrew Caines on Nov. 12, 2022.

Davia L. Loren married Jane Mellott on Dec. 18, 2022.

Class Notes

MARRIAGES

2013

Kathryn S. Decker married Keegan Smith on Dec. 16, 2022, in New Hope. PC Head of School Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 officiated the ceremony.

BIRTHS

1999

Andrew Carmine, to Mark D. Hecker and Elizabeth M. Spagnoletti-Hecker OPC ’08 on Jan. 1, 2023.

2016

Laura E. Riedlmeier married Michael Trezza on Nov. 12, 2022.

2005

Camilla Rose, to Patrick and Sarah Johnson, on Oct. 25, 2022.

2008

Bennett Henry, to Rachel and Garrett Shields, on Oct. 4, 2022.

2012

Everett Owen, to Mike and MaryKate Boland, on Jan. 22, 2023.

Delaney Violet, to Spencer and Rebecca (Foley) Williams, on March 1, 2023.

Autumn Naomi, to Stephanie and Joshua D. Ford, on Oct. 9, 2022.

From left: Carol Spadaro, Jaysen Rosario, Janique Timmons, Laura Trezza, Michael Trezza, Karen Riedlmeier, Anabelle Montero-Hricz, Michelle Dowd, Malcolm Ford and Erich J. Riedlmeier OPC ’14.

Pop Quiz

Test your knowledge of the Penn Charter Annual Fund!

1. What percentage of PC’s yearly budget is funded by the Annual Fund?

2. A robust Annual Fund means PC can

a. attract and retain top teachers and coaches

b. offer financial aid to welcome and keep families in the PC community

c. ensure the visual and performing arts shine brightly

d. provide state-of-the-art equipment and more to support PC teams to victory

e. engage students in service through the Center for Public Purpose

f. keep the 47-acre campus and its buildings operating and looking beautiful

g. all of the above

3. Match each part of our community to the percentage of the Annual Fund contributed.

1. OPCs:

2. Parents & Caregivers:

3. Faculty & Staff:

4. Parents & Caregivers of OPCs:

5. Grandparents:

6. Friends:

4. How will you give this year?

a. 1%

b. 9%

c. 14%

d. 54%

e. 20%

f. 2%

a. Online at penncharter.com/give

b. In the enclosed yellow envelope

c. A gift of securities

d. A gift matched by my employer

If you have questions about this quiz, contact Emma Rowan, director of the Annual Fund, at 215-844-3460 ext. 227 or erowan@penncharter.com.

Photo: Zamani Feelings