FEATURE
A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE Memories of Original Teacher, Christine DeWitt Gathered by Scott Garbe
Was John Pratt so persuasive that he could convince Christine to teach in the “Great White North”? Or, as the daughter of one of the first female solo pilots in France (at the tender age of 17, no less), was Christine’s own sense of adventure the central factor? It may have been a bit of both, as relayed by Christine during CDS’s recent 50th anniversary year.
“In 1971, John Pratt and a group of educators walked into my classroom [in New Jersey] and talked to me briefly. He said, ‘I was thinking of starting a new school in Ontario, Canada. Would you be interested?’ And I replied, ‘I don’t think so.’ “I came back to California to stay with my parents for a little while. Then I got a follow-up call from John saying something like, ‘We really need somebody with your expertise. You would be a fabulous addition in early childhood Pre-K.’ I told him that I was worried about Canadian citizenship paperwork and he waved away my concern. ‘Oh, we can do the paperwork for you. Come on, you’ll love it.’ So, I said yes and the whole process started. My six-year-old
Christine DeWitt outside at recess with her class, 1972-73. (below) Field trip to a farm across the street during winter 1973.
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n many ways, the origin story of CDS is one of adventure, vision and innovation. It was an exercise in convincing a group of individuals to come aboard a journey where the landscape had yet to be created. Sometimes those individuals were found in the unlikeliest of places–in Tenafly, New Jersey, for example. That is where CDS’s first Head of School, John Pratt, discovered a young educator named Christine DeWitt. Their meeting would lead to her being one of the original three teachers at CDS during its inaugural year.
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WINTER 2024 THE LINK