Lowenhaupt Award Recipient Alissa Rowan

Excerpt from Mr. Cooke’s speech from the Annual Meeting in May 2022:

Every year one Community School faculty member is recognized for his or her work furthering the education of young children through excellence in program development in their classroom, presenting educational information at conferences or workshops, or publishing works for other educational professionals. The award is named in honor of Henry C. Lowenhaupt, an important member of Community School in the 1970s. In addition to recognition tonight and in a permanent display in the main office, there is a cash award that accompanies it.

In the nomination that led to this year’s award winner, this teacher was described as “a builder of a program far above and beyond what is expected in an elementary school,” and who has made it her mission this year to return our entire school community’s experience back to normal.

She came to us in 2015 with a varied background that included marketing, sales, and event management. Of course, that is not why Community School hired her; rather it was her extraordinary talents and experience as a playwright, director, and teacher that brought Alissa Rowan to Community School.

Her work as a drama teacher here at Community is extraordinary. She directs plays for 8 grades – which can mean a dozen or more different plays each year – and takes the time to ensure that each play connects with the curriculum, to a subject students are studying, or to a social or emotional need that the grade as a whole is wrestling with. When she doesn’t have a play on the shelf that fits the need, she just writes a new one…but what you may not realize is that for Alissa, there is NEVER a play just sitting on the shelf that she can use. Every play, every year, is either entirely original, or has undergone a deep rewrite. Every year she comes up to me and says, “thank you for allowing me to write new plays,” and I think, “a lot of drama teachers would be demanding that I pay them to write plays, or refusing to do it altogether!”

(Please don’t share that observation with Alissa!)

What you may not realize is just how deeply her commitment to the growth of each individual student goes. Many drama programs are content to cast students in roles that serve the needs of the play; Alissa casts students in roles that serve students’ individual needs. Shy students get large speaking parts – but not before they are ready – students who need leadership opportunities are put in charge of set design, or stage managing –students who need the experience of working for others are given tasks that support a team.

This dedication to the social emotional growth of children extends beyond her program, however. For instance, when Taylor Mata, the school counselor, wanted to start a “Counselor’s Corner” video series, Alissa took on the videography and editing duties. When we decided a few years ago to create an annual Veterans Day celebration, Alissa took that on – and then when the pandemic forced us to go virtual, she took over the direction of the video production. To create a shared sense of community revolving around literature, Alissa creates videos for our Community Reads series. And now that we are moving toward a more normal school experience, Alissa once more leads the way, lobbying to return to live performances in front of audiences, bringing the “community of Community” back together once more. Her contributions to us all go far, far beyond her classroom.

Perhaps most importantly, Alissa is kind, sincere, and genuine. Her love of Community School, the children in her care, and her peers here at work is unparalleled. She is committed to collaborating with others, which multiplies the positive effect she has throughout the school. Alissa has a great sense of humor, and can be relied upon to bring levity even in the midst of the stress of a drama production. She is committed to her craft, and has created a program that reaches every child, every employee, and into every classroom, but she remains modest and self-effacing.

I suspect that the only person here that is surprised Alissa is receiving this award is Alissa herself. If I asked her to, she could right now name multiple people who she truly thinks are more deserving of this recognition, and point out that she could not do her work without others. And I agree with this last point; she could not do it without others, but it is Alissa’s devotion to the idea of collaboration, and her belief in hearing all voices, that ensures that her work is really a reflection of us all.