THE ADVENT SCHOOL
The Advent School Mission
Since 1961, The Advent School has stayed true to its founding vision: an urban school whose community reflects the diversity of Boston; a forward-thinking curriculum that inspires and engages a child’s passion for learning; a commitment to social justice; and a culture of collaboration where every child has the confidence to take action in a connected world.
2023-24 Board of Trustees
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Ted Schwartzberg P'28, Board Chair
Jennifer Carriòn P'27, Vice Chair
Vicente Piedrahita P'26'29, Treasurer
MEMBERS
Roby Bhattacharyya P'28'30
Artie Bonney
Jerrell Cox
Airley Fish P'26'26
Arturo Forrest P'26
Jon Lee P'27'29
Elyse Swallow P'24, Secretary
Lauren Goff P'27'28, Member at Large
Jerry Ward, Member at Large
Adrian Madaro '01
Jenn Meader, Faculty
Sarah Patrick P'26
Ramona Persaud
Karin Roesch
ECC: The Art & Science of Rainbows 8
Second Grade: Games & Design Challenges Teach Students to Manage Conflict 9 Fourth Grade: Move Around Massachusetts
The Class of 2024 & Next Schools
HEAD OF SCHOOL LETTER FROM THE
Dear Advent Community,
As we look back on the past year, I’m reminded of the vibrancy and resilience that define our School community. Over the course of my time at Advent, I’ve witnessed the ways in which our world continues to evolve sometimes challenging, often unpredictable, but always full of opportunity. Through it all, the Advent School has remained steadfast in its mission to nurture and uplift our students, guiding them toward becoming thoughtful, compassionate, and confident individuals
One of the things I appreciate most about Advent is the sense of support that fills our classrooms, hallways, and beyond. These walls, in both the literal and figurative sense, have become a sanctuary for children a place where they are encouraged to take risks, embrace their uniqueness, and discover their true selves. As families, we often watch our children take paths that differ from what we may have envisioned, and yet, it is in these moments of divergence that the true richness of their journeys unfolds.
This year, as I engaged in conversations nationally about the purpose of education, leadership, and what it means to guide children through these formative years, I am continuously reflective by how much we, as a
school, already embody these ideals. Schools across the country are grappling with how to adapt their models of education in response to the needs of today’s students. They are seeking to find a balance between academic rigor and the social-emotional growth that is so essential for well-rounded development
At Advent, we are already living this balance. Our curriculum is built around the intersection of academic foundations, socialemotional learning, and the celebration of diversity ensuring that students are not only well-prepared for their academic journeys but also equipped to be thoughtful, compassionate, and engaged members of their communities.
What makes Advent unique is that we don’t just teach children to meet the demands of the world—we help them to approach the world with curiosity, resilience, and an unshakable belief in their own potential.
This is reflected fully in our Strategic Visioning process which engaged all of our constituents, including children. These voices of our community looked toward the future with mission in mind and championed for the value and the need to be intentional
I am reminded every day of the importance of preparing students for the world ahead, one that may be fraught with challenges and uncertainty. Advent has always been a school grounded in social justice, and our commitment to honoring the diversity of our community is at the heart of everything we do.
As a community we believe that education is not just about academics, but about helping children understand who they are, what they believe in, and how they can contribute to the world around them. It’s about cultivating an appreciation for individuality, self-expression, and the worth of each person. When children see themselves reflected in their learning, when they engage authentically with the world and the curriculum, they not only gain knowledge they also develop the skills and confidence to navigate a complex and ever-changing world What makes Advent unique is that we don’t just teach children to meet the demands of the world we help them to approach the world with curiosity, resilience, and an unshakable belief in their own potential
Our students are not just ready for the next steps in their academic journeys they are ready for whatever comes next in life, equipped with the skills, confidence, and sense of purpose that will help them navigate any challenge with grace and strength
As you see our year in review through this issue of The Lion’s Roar, I am filled with gratitude for the commitment and passion that each of you students, faculty, alumni, staff, and families bring to this community. Together, we have continued to create a space where children can thrive, where they can explore their passions, and where they can grow into thoughtful, purpose-driven individuals
I look forward to the year with excitement, knowing that the Advent community will meet the challenges of an ever-changing world with unwavering purpose, compassion, and a shared belief in the power of education to transform lives.
Through your collective time, talent, commitment and support, you continue to make Advent possible Thank you!
With deep appreciation, Nicole
An Advent Education
Teaching at The Advent School is purposeful, flexible, and engaging. Our researchbacked, pedagogical approach is rooted in social justice and inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which sees children as citizens with rights. We align our academic project, pedagogy, and social-emotional curriculum with eight core values to empower our students to be skilled, confident changemakers and 21st-century citizens.
Integrated, Challenging Curriculum
Advent provides a dynamic, rigorous, and immersive curriculum that engages every learner, makes connections across disciplines, and inspires students to have a voice in their learning process.
Meaningful Assessment
We embrace multimodal assessment practices that further student learning and foster teacher and family understanding of the whole child.
Diversity & Belonging
Our inclusive, urban learning environment reflects Boston’s diversity and celebrates and creates a sense of belonging for all community members.
Social Justice
Social justice is the core of all we do We define social justice as the active participation of all people in a society to equitably value and meet the needs of all individuals and communities.
Collaboration
Our collaborative approach to teaching includes teachers and students learning both with and from each other.
Curious, Engaged Learners
We value inquisitive, playful, and active learners and seek to foster a lifelong love of learning.
Critical Thinking
Advent experiences and teaching practices enable learners to develop thinking skills for designing, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting complex ideas and information.
Partnerships
Shared engagement in the learning experience is the foundation of our School community.
The Art & Science of Rainbows
Research and investigation (R&I) is a dedicated time for students and teachers to collaborate on emergent, coconstructed curricula and overarching themes. ECC’s exploration began with discussing what colors are in a rainbow. Some felt that purple should be included, and others disagreed. Their R&I progressed into what rainbows are and how they are formed. By doing research, they learned:
Lunar rainbows are real! The moon can actually create a rainbow. Rainbows are endless, extending as long as there are water droplets and light. Each person’s view is unique; rainbows might appear slightly different depending on where you stand and how you look, making it a personalized experience
Students continued their exploration through paint mixing. The class challenged themselves to see how many colors they could create using the primary colors red, blue, and yellow They learned that adding white paint makes colors lighter, and black paint turns it a darker hue.
By the end of their rainbow adventure, ECC students were bursting with knowledge about how rainbows are formed, and they had a newfound appreciation for the science and beauty behind this natural wonder
Games & Design Challenges Teach Students to Manage Conflict
In Second Grade, students are exploring new relationships, changing social dynamics, and feeling the emotional weight that these interactions can have. They often encounter conflict when asked to take risks, stand up for what they believe in, and share their thoughts and opinions. Rather than avoid the topic of conflict, teachers Emily Gutermann and Bridget Parker created and piloted a hands-on approach using games and design challenges to build comfort and skills around managing conflict.
Throughout each activity, students were placed in a variety of mixed groupings where they were confronted with increasingly complex challenges, last-minute changes, and peer leadership opportunities that shifted the social dynamics. This allowed kids to encounter developmentally appropriate and varying types of conflict in order to build problem-solving skills.
First, students were introduced to the challenge and given a five-minute brainstorming period to design a plan as a group. They then created for 10 to 20 minutes. Rather than declare a winner who is celebrated or recognized, all students were commended for working together. At the end of the challenge, they reflected upon the process through a group discussion, and also filled out an “exit ticket” based on the Likert scale. By including these opportunities for reflection after each challenge, teachers were able to measure how each student’s understanding of conflict evolved over time.
Giving students a space to see that we, as their teachers, take their thoughts and opinions seriously and then connect their problems with real, immediate action is important in encouraging our students to be problem solvers. Providing them with this opportunity for self-reflection allows them to identify their personal strengths and challenges The better we know each other, the more comfortable we’ll be with sharing how we feel and engaging
conflict!
Move Around Massachusetts
Did you know that Massachusetts’ border is 1,180 kilometers long? Advent Fourth Graders do! In a project that spanned the school year – and blended math, physical education, geography, and history – students walked, ran, and skipped their way to a virtual loop around the state.
Created by teachers Kate Boswell and Jenn Meader, the project began with students designating a 300-meter lap in a section of Boston’s Public Garden Each week, they pooled the number of laps and tracked the total distance along the edges of the state of Massachusetts 9,600 meters with the goal of circumnavigating the state in about 20 weeks.
Each time they logged their distance on the map, students paused to learn more about the region and its natural, historical, or geological features. They studied Indigenous people in one area, explored mountains in another, and studied the Marconi Wireless Station in Wellfleet, from which the first transatlantic wireless messages were sent
In addition to building math and literacy skills, students experienced social-emotional growth in having to lead, assist others, and work cooperatively, skills that will serve them well in the future.
2024 Graduates
2024 GRADUATES
AND NEXT SCHOOLS
Vivienne Grey Agnew-McMahon
Stephen Jovanni Alleyne
Yvonne Lyn Campoli
Alexandra Gray DeVoogd
Emma Grace Hogan
Hunter G. Holland
Kinari W. Murrow
Luke Nolan
Daria Kerensa Rosenberger
Noah I. Russell
Iahn Jemin Seo
Eleanor Swallow Crumbley
2024 graduates are attending the following schools:
Beaver Country Day School
Boston College High School
Brimmer & May
Boston Latin School
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Cambridge Street Upper School
Catholic Memorial
Dana Hall School
The Woodward School
REPORT ON GIVING
The School would like to recognize the donors who made a gift to The Advent School between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. We are grateful to our community members who support learning with passion, acting with courage, and changing the world.
Anonymous (1)
Guilliaem Aertsen P’92
Caroline Aiello and Andrey Shakirov P’26, ’29
Kim Alleyne P’24
Brian Amper and Lisa Salerno P’31
Patricia and Steen Antonsen P’29
Atissa Banuazizi and Chandler Rosenberger P’22, ’24
Alison Barker and John Griffin P’27
Becky Bedwell and Deniz Ferendeci P’29, ’31
Amanda Behen and Avraham Wachs Cashman**
Roby Bhattacharyya* and Megan Sise P’28, ’30
Jennifer and Nick Bhuta P’25, ’28
Arthur Bonney*
Karen Bottenfield P’28
Ingrid and Simon Boyd P’25, ’28
Kimberly and Matthew Boyd P’26, ’26
Luis Branco and Soraya Barreto P’27
Camilla and David Brinkman P’16, ’19
Thadine Brown P’14
Katherine and Andrew Brunner, P’27, ’31
Janet and Tom Buckley GP’25
Georgia Cady and Edward Wasniewski P’08, ’10
Jennifer and Jason Campoli P’24
Shirley and Steve Cantin P’27
Carol and Guilio Caperchi P’29
Catherine and David Carlson ‘77
Jennifer Carriòn* P’27
Kristin and Zachary Casavant P’27, ’32
Sarah Casseus ‘90
Samantha and Kalli Catcott P’27, ’31
Adam Cederbaum and Karen Kwok P’20, ’23
Young Shin Cho and Hyuk Soo Seo P’24
Brooke and Craig Cochran P’26, ’29
Erica and Kevin Colleran P’28, ’30
Caroline Collins**
Deidre and Dillon Collins P’31
Jerrell Cox*
Emily Davidson and Benjamin Resner P’15, ’18
Tracy Davis
Virginia de la Garza** and Pablo Vargas P’23, ’27
Rishi Dean and Shalini Sookar P’28, ’28
Lauren DeMore and Taylor Kearns ‘92, P’27, ’29
Rebecca Dietrich-Coffin and Dwight Coffin P’25, ’29, ’29
Margaret and Sean Duddy P’27, ’30
Nicole** and Raymond DuFauchard P’20
Rachel and Neville Edwards P’23
Josie Egner ‘22
Joy Erickson
The Cooke family
John Fanning and Coreen Kraysler P’10, ’14
Emmanuella Fedé**
Natalie and Matthew Fedors P’29
Holly Fetter and Ulunma Izejiobi P’28
Airley Fish* and Fred Copper P’26, ’26
Emille Fitch and Matt Cardile P’31
Caroline Fitzgerald and Justin Garrison P’27, ’31
Stephanie Foland**
William Frohlich and Nancy Harris Frohlich
Jenny and Jared Fry
Mila and Daniel Gaddy P’27
Elisabeth Gill
Ellen and Alex Ginman P’29
Nora Goddard and Dave Cole
Lauren* and Edward Goff P’27, ’28
Walter Gonzalez
Veronika and Joseph Goodwin P’30
Berney Graham
Catherine and Jack Gurnon P’09, ’09
Sean Harlow**
Abigail Hayhurst**
Holly Hennick-Marroquin** and Michael Marroquin
William Heward and Ashley Wisneski P’30
Jaci and Michael Hogan P’22, ’24
Marie-Louise Jackson-Miller
Alison and Peder Johnson P’19, ’21
Tara and Stephen Johnston P’29
Samuel Jonas**
Washawn** and Julius Jones
*indicates a member of the board of trustees
**indicates a member of faculty or staff
Jill Kaszynski and Robert Shear P’26
Ryan Kaufman and Erica Groetken Kaufman P’25, ’28
Chloe Kimberlin** and Thomas Costello
Roshan Kumar and Rachna Ramachandran P’29
Gabriella Kyriakides** and Jason Serino
Tera and James Lally P’23, ’27
Margaret and Brian Langhorst P’29
Sarah and Jonathan Lee* P’27, ’29
Axel Lekander P’25, ’27
Sonia Lewin P’03, ’05
Lauren Lewis**
Amber Lowe** and Derek Brine P’29
Raina Lu and Michael Feder P’28
Ariel and Adrian Madaro* ‘01
Ted Maloney and Claire Newton P’26, ’29
Alexandra Marshall and James Carroll P’92, ’94
Leslie Martin P’18
Tanya McMahon P’24, ’29
Jennifer Meader** and Mark Lowenstein
Kyle Menter**
Jayme Moffi and Bethany Van Delft Moffi P’28
Gabriel Mugar and Anda French P’27
Vita and Ethan Murrow P’21, ’24
Aimee and Steven Nezhad P’26, ’28
Jessica and Kenneth Nolan P’24
Cathy and Edward O'Connell
Linda Ow and Ryan Chin P’25, ’29
Cassie Pagnam**
Peter and Spence Paras P’28, ’30
Sarah Patrick* P’26
Hilary and Brett Paulsrud P’25
Anne Peirce GP’19, ’22
Jane and Eric Philippi P’95, ‘98
Vicente Piedrahita* and Divya Mani P’26, ’29
Claire** and Jay Price
Dr. Le'Aqua Pruitt**
Ruben Raskin** and Rebecca Smith
Josy Raycroft**
Amy and Doug Reeves P’16
Karin Roesch* and Pai Sachin P’22
Laurence Sax and Leanne Chase P’18
Jessica and Henry Schuck P’28
Ted Schwartzberg* and Jenica Upshaw P’28
Natacha Shillingford** P’28
Karen Simons
Carlyn** and Conor Simons
Emily Siskind
Emily and Alexander Smith
Starr and Philip Snead
Danielle Sommer P’23
Greg Starosky and Mary Moore P’22, ’25
Kathy Strand P’21
Douglas Surgenor** and Elsa Freer Surgenor
Elyse Swallow* and Will Crumbley P’24
Marc Tanner and Rebecca Rogers
Karen Tirozzi and Danielle Pease P’26
Laura Tomasetti and David Beardsley P’16
Danielle** and Blake Tye
Sophia and Nicholas Velastegui P’25
Gretchen and Kyle Vice
Ellen and John Walsh GP’24, ’28
Jennifer Wang and Simon Peffers P’26, ’29
Jerry Ward*
Lecolion Washington
Michael Weaver and Stella Zhou P’28
April Wennerstrom
Nicole Werther and Daniel Lev P’23, ’26
Jennifer West Jackson and Gregory Jackson P’26, P’28
Marion and Sean Westgate**
Taegan X. Williams** and Adam Lui
Robin Wilson**
Molly Wood**
Kyoko Yamamoto and Ashish Shrestha P’29
Corey Zehngebot and Adam Friedman P’28, ’30
Claire Zinnes and Dennis Kim P’25
FOUNDATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS
Anonymous (1)
Henry Hornblower Fund, Inc.
Hayward Photography, Inc.
Community Music Center of Boston
The Davis Companies
Columbia Management Group
Temple Ohabei Shalom
Massachusetts Port Authority
Marketing
Establish Advent as a top independent, elementary school with a progressive, innovative, and rigorous curriculum, and social justice as a core element of its history and mission.
Build a highly-visible and desirable brand identity that is representative of Advent’s unique history, mission, and pedagogical approach. Foster a network of “Advent Ambassadors” who promote the school in parent/caregiver circles.
Increase and maintain yearly applications. Establish Advent as a top workplace, drawing in quality, mission-aligned applicants for teaching and administrative positions.
The board of trustees’ strategic planning process involved community input, research, and analysis, including the School’s AISNE re-accreditation and visiting team recommendations, financial consultant findings, facility needs assessment, internal data points, and regional and national benchmarks Based on an assessment of the data, the strategic planning committee identified five key areas for strategic focus to guide the School for years to come.
We are grateful to the committee and sub-committees for their leadership and insight.
Giving
Create a culture of giving for all Advent constituents that supports our mission and ability to provide an exceptional learning experience in an inclusive community steeped in social justice.
Build and maintain a robust donor database. Develop a compelling narrative on the importance of investing in Advent’s legacy. Reimagine events to drive stronger outcomes and foster greater inclusivity. Strengthen relationships with donors and empower them to give where it matters to them. Diversify sources of funds for future sustainability.
Advent Campus
Invest in Advent’s campus to enrich the student and community experience, meet program needs, and utilize all our urban setting has to offer.
Execute a capital campaign that activates the community to fund essential investments in our facilities.
Prioritize the upkeep of our historical buildings with consideration for the wellbeing of our students, faculty, and families.
Establish partnerships in the city that support “Boston as our classroom.”
Build a budget and fundraising plan for future investments, such as air conditioning and the upgrading of interior spaces.
Teaching & Staffing Alumni Engagement
Solidify a teaching and staffing model that empowers educators as leaders, experts, and partners, sustains our unique approach, and encourages collaboration.
Nurture the aspects of Advent culture that define us and set us apart from other schools: the co-teacher/team teaching model, the daily manifestations of the Reggio Emilia approach, the priorities of social justice and DEI, and the attention to the education of the full student.
Establish competitive salaries that attract and sustain talented professionals reflective of the diversity of the student body.
Determine the staffing size that ensures the delivery of the School’s best program, is reflective of sustainable enrollment, and fosters teacher leaders and efficient school operations.
Create a vibrant Advent alumni community, ensuring that every alum has an opportunity to engage and contribute to the enduring legacy of Advent.
Build a robust database for alumni and a system for ongoing data collection.
Establish a consistent point of contact for alum and use their insight to design Advent’s alumni program.
Establish an alumni association and traditions for graduates entering the association and signature annual alumni events.
Make the alum experience visible to current and prospective families, uplifting connections to next schools experiences and Advent alumni changemakers.
