TOGETHER | CEE's 2020-21 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT | 2020-2021

TOGETHER

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CELEBRATING THE 39TH ANNUAL CEE OLYMPICS! 3

CONTENTS The Center for Early Education, a socio-economically and culturally diverse independent school for children, toddlers through grade six, strives to graduate students who are joyful, resilient, life-long learners. The Center embraces a philosophy of education that combines a nurturing, inclusive learning environment with an increasingly challenging academic program that addresses the developmental needs of each child.

MESSAGE FROM DAVID MESSINGER, PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2020-21 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 7

2020-21 OPERATING RESULTS Page 8

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2020-21 SUPPORTERS Page 23

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WHY WE SUPPORT THE CENTER: THE MITCHELL FAMILY Page 26

CORE VALUES

MESSAGE FROM REVETA BOWERS, INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL

RESPONSIBILITY

WHY WE SUPPORT THE CENTER: THE PASSMAN FAMILY Page 32

HONESTY

HONORING THE CLASS OF 2O21

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS Page 17

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MESSAGE FROM PETER CHANG, PRESIDENT, PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS Page 42

INCLUSION

ADMINISTRATION AND ADVANCEMENT STAFF Page 50

CARING

@THECENTERFOREARLYEDUCATION

LETTER FROM BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESIDENT Summer 2021

DEAR CENTER COMMUNITY, Despite unprecedented challenges facing every school across the country, the dedication of The Center’s leadership and the commitment of our special community has put our school in a strong position for the future.

As I write this note, it’s unclear what the new school year will bring. However, considering how the school successfully navigated the significant difficulties of the past year, the Board of Trustees has full confidence The Center will continue to thrive. In particular, our school adjusted miraculously at every turn, we fortified our financial position, and we hired a dynamic leader as our next Head of School.

Looking back at last year, the faculty and staff reimagined the curriculum and the campus, and families made many shifts and sacrifices. Due to the never-ending dedication of our teachers, administrators, and staff, they created new spaces for children to grow, learn, and connect with one another. Through it all, we are reminded of children’s profound ability to adapt.

As we think toward the future, the Board is proud to share that the school has maintained an advantageous financial position. In the face of downward budgetary pressure due to the pandemic, we implemented rigorous financial discipline. We also benefited from the ongoing generosity of The Center community. Tuition does not cover the full cost of operating the school, so we appreciate our community’s ongoing commitment to the Annual Fund and support of the Gala.

None of this would be possible without the exemplary vision and leadership of Reveta Bowers, our Interim Head of School. Working with the faculty and staff, Reveta and the team developed and executed a plan that required constant reevaluation with a focus on health and safety. As we contemplate the complexity of the year ahead, we are fortunate for Reveta’s continued stewardship for another year.

At the end of the 2021-22 school year, Reveta will pass the torch to Damian Jones, our next Head of School. As we have shared previously, we conducted an extensive nationwide search looking for a stellar educator who has the expertise, character, and conviction to lead The Center in the years ahead. The Board is confident that we have found an outstanding leader in Damian, and we enthusiastically await his arrival in July 2022.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are as committed as ever to The Center’s mission, and we remain steadfast in our positive outlook for the continued vitality of our school and community.

Respectfully yours,

DAVID MESSINGER President, The Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020-21 JACK ANGELO DENISE BARTA JOHN BRACKER KAWANNA BROWN, VICE PRESIDENT VERONICA CAJIGAS USAMA CORTAS ERIC ESRAILIAN MASSY TADJEDIN FARDIN DENNIS GIES, TREASURER BETZÁBE GONZÁLEZ DAMIEN GRANDERSON MICHAEL GUERIN MATT KLINE MAI LASSITER ANTHONY LOCKE ’94 MARCUS LOLLIE DAVID MESSINGER, PRESIDENT ALEXANDRA MISCZYNSKI CHARLES NELSON VIVECA PAULIN-FERRELL, SECRETARY TANYA PERARA ’83 BRIAN POTIKER JJ RAMBERG TOM STAGGS DARNELL STROM ROBERT TUTTLE SUNNY WHANG

BOARD MEMBERS GATHERED FOR A CAMPUS TOUR AND TRUSTEE RETREAT IN MAY.

BOARD COMMITTEES 2020-21

FINANCE COMMITTEE

AUDIT & INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

Dennis Gies, Chair Brian Potiker, Vice Chair

Marcus Lollie, Chair Brian Potiker, Vice Chair

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Mai Lassiter and Charles Nelson, Chairs

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE David Messinger, Chair

AD HOC COMMITTEES COMPENSATION COMMITTEE John Bracker, Chair

Matt Kline, Chair

SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE Eric Esrailian, Chair

LEGAL COMMITTEE Matt Kline, Chair

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS COMMITTEE Tom Staggs, Chair

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OPERATING RESULTS

UNAUDITED

2020-2021 REVENUE

AFD & Events (net)

16.68% Tuition & Fees

81.13%

Auxiliary Programs

Other Income

1.07% 1.12%

EXPENDITURES Salaries & Benefits

69.16% Financial Aid

Operating Expenses

10.79%

20.05% PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT $2,362,325

Annual Fund Drive

Gala/Auction (net)

$1,111,300

Capital Campaign

Restricted Gifts & Other Fundraising

$1,406,000

$1,424,839

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Summer 2021

DEAR CEE COMMUNITY,

One of the sage things I consistently heard my mother and grandmother say throughout my childhood and teenage years was, “We should count our blessings! We have so much to be grateful for.” Upon returning to The Center in July 2020 as the Interim Head of School, I was well aware that it would be a year of challenges, surprises, and unpredictability. As we finished the 2020-21 school year and are now embarking on a new school year with students back on campus, I am reminded of how important it is to focus on the many blessings and positive outcomes of the past year.

One of the most wonderful things that The Center experienced this year was the spirited support of our school by the members of both our current and extended community. Trustees, faculty, staff, administration, parents, grandparents, alumni, alum families, and friends of the school came together as learners, volunteers, participants, audience members, presenters, collaborators, and donors in unprecedented numbers. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your incredibly generous support of our students and programs. I am so grateful for the many calls and notes, and donations of time, energy, and personal resources you have shared with the school. Your support makes all the difference in our ability to deliver on our mission, in good times and in years of great challenge, and ensures that The Center for Early Education can provide the best experience possible for young children well into the future.

I look forward to working with our wonderful faculty, staff, administration, and Board of Trustees next year as we support all of your children and families. I am counting my blessings every day to be able to do work that I still love in a community that offers all of us so much.

Sincerely,

REVETA BOWERS Interim Head of School

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CLASS OF 2021

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CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS

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SPRING 2021

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LETTER FROM PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Summer 2021

DEAR CEE COMMUNITY,

It was only eighteen months ago that our lives changed dramatically. Despite the unknowns of COVID-19, our school demonstrated an unyielding effort to continuously deliver a quality educational experience for our children (and the adults in our community) during the 2020-21 school year.

Throughout the year, the virtual Community Engagement and Education Series and Parent Education events engaged the community in deep conversation around themes of social justice, political debate, coping, and parenting.

We also inaugurated CEE’s adult Anti-Racism Interest Group, an intimate, safe space to speak our truths and connect. Each of our family Affinity Groups led conversations with guest speakers; through all of these discussions, we experienced an elevated sense of community and connection while physically distanced.

Our community also demonstrated its resilience through record-breaking participation in the 2020-21 Annual Fund Drive, Center Together. CEE’s CNL80 Gala provided great levity in a tough year while raising much-needed funding for many aspects of our school. Many parents volunteered their time, created scripts and songs, and directed and shot footage to bring the Gala home for a CEE history-making first.

To say that Reveta’s leadership during this time is deeply appreciated would be an incredible understatement.

With her steadfast stewardship, children were able to return to campus starting in February, and we completed the school year with no on-campus exposures to COVID-19. There is truly no amount of gratitude and appreciation we can show to the faculty, staff, administration, facilities, and security teams for their continuous effort to keep our children safe and develop meaningful learning experiences amidst the pandemic.

While there is still uncertainty in this upcoming year, we are excited to renew the strong on-campus partnership between parents and school once again. The Center remains in great hands as Reveta continues her term as Interim Head of School through 2021-22, and we welcome Damian Jones as our new Head of School starting July 2022. The Parents’ Association looks forward to supporting this transition. Thank you to the parent volunteers for all that you have done and will continue to do to enrich the learning experiences for our children and to strengthen our community. Good days are ahead!

With deepest gratitude,

PETER CHANG Parents’ Association President

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WHY WE SUPPORT THE CENTER THE MITCHELL FAMILY

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For Caroline and Alex Mitchell, the parents of two boys in the Early Childhood program at The Center, and Gloria and Accie Mitchell, Alex’s parents, supporting CEE is a multigenerational effort.

Caroline shared that the family appreciates how at The Center, “the teachers truly see the children for who they are and help them learn in the way that they learn best.” The Mitchells see the value of supporting the school in our alumni, observing that “the kids who graduate from The Center have a high level of confidence and a sense of wonder about the world. They always ask questions; it’s a great school for kids who love to learn. The focus on community service is also above and beyond any other schools we considered.”

Giving time and resources to the school that their children and grandchildren spend so much time at each day is a high priority for the Mitchells. As Gloria explained, “It is important to support the place where your children are learning. Education is something that can never be taken away from a child, so to provide a place where they can learn and grow and have their moral compass reinforced each day is really, really important. It happens at The Center.”

Driving their support is the family’s belief that “when you are in a position to make a difference you should. We know that the need is great everywhere for philanthropy, and while we can’t support every cause, we realize how important education is for our kids and grandkids, and we would like to be a little part of providing that next step for other children.”

Alex reflected on the many opportunities to give to the school beyond financial giving, encouraging others to get involved.

He explained, “there are so many ways The Center opens up its arms for support, like volunteering on campus, participating in affinity groups, and giving to the Gala, for example. We reached out to all of the small businesses we support in our daily lives and many of them were thrilled to partner with The Center to donate experiences in support of the students!” Center students are lucky to have supporters like the Mitchell family!

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WHY WE SUPPORT THE CENTER THE PASSMAN FAMILY

As an alumnus and current parent, Danny Passman ’87 explains, “our decision to support The Center is very much connected to my being an alum of the school. My experience was so positive, truly—too many warm memories to count. I still have best friends with whom I graduated from The Center (a long time from 1987!), as do each of my three brothers.

That’s an unusual thing, and I’ve always wondered if there is something about the Center experience that nurtures that kind of warmth and connectivity amongst its students.”

Danny's wife Soundis shares that being part of the alumni and parent community gives their family a unique perspective on the value of a CEE education. She says that “in talking with friends of Danny’s from high school, they expressed the recurring thought that they could always tell which kids had come from CEE. It felt to them that those students were the most prepared, at ease, and confident in high school.”

Grandparents Shana and Donald Passman appreciate the “beautiful, loving community” that they have been a part of for so many years. Shana was a student at CEE’s teaching college when she “fell in love with the place” and decided to send their four children to The Center. Shana describes the feeling of now having her grandchildren at CEE, saying that “no words can describe how special we feel” that they will have this “beautiful start to their lives and make extraordinary friendships.” Donald, a former trustee, notes how The Center in particular helps “kids feel good about themselves” and how “it is a pleasure to give back in a small way.”

Giving back to the school through their support of the Annual Fund Drive and Leading from The Center Capital Campaign is central to the family’s commitment to Center students. Danny describes their support of CEE as “derived from wanting to give back to the place that gave me so much and remained so meaningful in my life and the lives of my family.” He

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continues, “to give back and to support the school is essential, as we know independent schools cannot subsist on tuition revenue alone.” Danny’s Center experience feels particularly meaningful as time goes on. “The school has undergone so many changes since I was there—the campus, of course, looks very different now—but I can see and feel that the core values and underlying ethos are the same. It was my dream, always, to send my kids to The Center and watch them experience what I so happily remember. And, I can say that it really does give me the pleasure I hoped I’d experience, to see them walk the halls on that plot of land between Alfred and La Cienega, happy, connecting, and thriving.”

Soundis adds, “We truly believe in the core values of the school—Honesty, Caring, Responsibility, and Inclusion—and the mission to create a community with socio-economic, political, and cultural diversity.” Thank you to the Passman family for their dedication and support of Center students!

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ALUMNI COUNCIL 2020-21 ALUMNI COUNCIL PRESIDENTS Darrin Revitz ’92 Nathan Ament ’98

ALUMNI COUNCIL COMMITTEE CHAIRS ANNUAL FUND DRIVE Morgan Cohen ’92 Lauren Nourafchan Ravan ’05

EVENTS Abbie Feldman ’92

COMMUNITY SERVICE Morgan Mallory ’95

NETWORKING Trevor Miller ’97

ALUMNI COUNCIL MEMBERS Tiffany McLinn ’78 * Nancy Kirkeby ’79 Lisa Gilbar Levy ’87 Carrie Rosten ’88 Judd Zinberg ’89 Amos Buhai ’92 Marc Gilbar ’92 Khaila Locke ’92 Stephen Silberkraus ’93 Ariela Weston Herman ’95 Ellie Burrows Gluck ’96 Jenny Louchheim ’96 Lexi Barta ’97 Thea Sheinberg Chiprut ’98 Adam Aronson ’00 Sarah Hoberman ’01 Gabriella Nourafchan ’01 Alex Haas ’02 Mia Zee ’02 Trini Rios ’03 Sara Hendel ’04 Caitlin Kramer ’05 Marissa Lepor ’06 Parker Thomas ’06 Natasha Moini ’10 Landon Lewis ’16

*In memoriam: we have lost one of our most loyal council members

BIOGRAPHIES In third grade, students spend the majority of the third trimester researching, drafting, and presenting their capstone Biography projects. Throughout the months-long process, students select a “Changemaker” to study, fully immersing themselves in this person’s life and triumphs. In the process, students hone their writing, researching, and speaking skills, helping them gear up for the challenges of the upper grades.

The project culminates with a “Biography Tea,” during which the third graders present a speech to the entire class as their biography recipient themselves!

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS A key pillar of The Center’s mission is lifelong learning. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, CEE faculty and staff participated in a number of professional development opportunities remotely during the 2020-21 year. CEE's robust Professional Development Fund, supported by the Annual Fund Drive, helps faculty and staff remain at the forefront of their respective fields and bring the latest practices to CEE.

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Faculty and staff took part in a number of workshops and programs in 2020-21, many of which focused on teaching and learning and social justice and equity, including those listed below.

TEACHING & LEARNING

SOCIAL JUSTICE & EQUITY

Advancing Thinking through Writing: Teaching expository writing that can be integrated into any content

Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy: Practices to support African American students Reciprocal Learning Partnerships for Equity

Math Reasoning and Foundational Skills in Kindergarten (Greg Tang Math Academy)

Equity as Excellence Workshop (CATDC)

Mastering Group Facilitation: Creative thinking, decision-making, and group dynamics (CATDC)

Understanding Systemic Racism: Society, Schools, and Classrooms (Virtual Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy)

Play and the Developing Brain in Early Childhood Education (UCLA Extension)

NAIS People of Color Conference

Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking

Women & Leadership Conference: “A New Day: Creating a Path Forward” (CATDC)

Understanding Students with Dyslexia

Inclusion in the Early Years: Why, What, and How?

Play Counts: How Brain Development is Enhanced Through Play (Stanford Bing Nursery School)

Examining Early Childhood Anti-Bias Framework (Child Educational Center)

Stepping Outside: Seeing the Potential of our Outdoor Environment An Introduction to Project-Based Learning Design Writing Units of Study Workshop (Teachers College Reading and Writing Project) Creating Online Student Shows (Broadway Teaching Group) Agile Course Design Workshop California Teaching Credential Coursework

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ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM 2020–21

INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL Reveta Bowers

DIRECTOR OF LOWER SCHOOL Natalie Adams

DIRECTOR OF UPPER ELEMENTARY

ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR OPERATIONS Erika Johnson

DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Laura Maher

Mitchell Alexandre

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT PLACEMENT

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Gabby McHale

Omar Dueñas

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS Katrina Lappin

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Jeanne Jacobs-Gaffney

ADVANCEMENT TEAM

CREDITS

DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

SPECIAL THANKS

Laura Maher

DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL GIVING AND GALA Ellen Krissman

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT Jessica Gersh Leff

DATABASE MANAGER AND ADVANCEMENT SERVICES COORDINATOR Mitzy Velez

Peter Chang Erika Johnson Andy Mallett David Messinger Nassim Shandy

DESIGN SMOG Design, Inc. Nick Steinhardt & Jada Merritt

EDITORIAL Jessica Levin, Director of Communications

FINANCIAL REPORTING Brian Relth, Senior Accountant Debbie Wilhite, Director of Finance

PHOTOGRAPHY

All efforts have been made to ensure the information in this report is accurate. We sincerely apologize for any inaccuracies or omissions.

Should you find any, please contact the Director of Communications, Jessica Levin (levinj@cee-school.org).

Matt Argüello Roger LaGrange Jessica Levin Andrew Zinn CEE Faculty

SUMMER AT THE CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

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CELEBRATING THE CEE CLASS OF 2021!