40 minute read
Faculty Voices
INTERVIEW BY KAITLIN RESLER
Megan Labbate Science and Sustainability
For Megan Labbate, the sky’s the limit. As a Science Instructor, and the Sara Lee Schupf Family Chair in Curriculum Excellence and Innovation, whether it’s creating new and innovative science classes or helping promote sustainability initiatives on campus, she works to make Emma exceptional.
What was unique about your Science and Society: Water Quality and Climate Change class
last year? It was really interesting in terms of the goals I initially created for it. We were going to go out to a river and do all these great outdoorsy things that ended up not happening because of COVID. I had an incredible group of seven students. Several of them were remote, so I sent them some water quality testing equipment at home. They did a lab that tested a local water source and some local kids chose Lake George, or the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, but a student in Jamaica tested a local beach, and another in the Bahamas tested an area with a lot of tourism. It ended up being cooler because they were in geographically different areas!
I also don’t know that I would have invited the speakers that we had if we weren’t forced to use Zoom. Michael Hickey (a Hoosick Falls resident who brought attention to the town’s contaminated water) came to a class and after we hung up the students said ‘that’s the coolest thing we’ve ever done!’ I was like ‘That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done!’
We were also able to talk to Anna Clark. She wrote The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy, one of the first books to examine the Flint water crisis. She gave us more insight about the city. You’re in a science class, so you’re learning the science behind all of it, and the societal pieces, but you’re also talking to someone who has that firsthand knowledge and experience.
For their final projects the students advocated for something water related they were passionate about. Izzy S. ’22 was in that class and she’s using her final project for the Signature program. Her idea started when she learned about dams in an environmental science class with Science Instructor Jon Calos and continued to explore the topic. She called someone who was a part of a coalition that advocates against the building of a specific dam, and they offered her an internship! To have the freedom to explore a topic and find passions and interests across classrooms is really valuable.
Will this course be different in
Fall 2021? We’ll use some of the same case studies, and there are great local resources to pull in. The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy has a water quality scholars group where they take students in the area and teach them about water quality on the Hudson so I would love to partner with them. And I want to actually get out on a river this time around!
I think we’ll continue to use Zoom now that people are willing to meet that way to speak to a class. We also have an alumna who spoke at the Eunice Newton Foote Climate Talk [for Earth Day 2021] coming to campus this fall who will visit. Having an alumna come in who is actually doing that work will be a great way to kick off the class.
Can you talk a little bit about sustainability initiatives on
campus? The Emma Green reusable, compostable utensils blossomed more than I thought they would! At the start of the year the co-heads of Emma Green saw the amount of waste that was being generated from COVID safety practices. We realized that we didn’t have to make a huge change at the administration level; we could ask people to bring their own utensils and offer this cute bamboo set.
It started as a preorder, and I remember looking at the list two days in and realizing ‘oh no I need to order more!’ By the end of the school year there were about 300 sets around campus. We ended up netting enough sales to buy a tree for campus! It’s incredible to know that anyone who purchased a set can look at that tree on campus and see a small impact.
I also worked on the initial discussions about sustainability for the strategic plan. There was a lot of excitement in the group to try to push our thinking about how we can be more sustainable in different ways. I think we all realize that the buildings on campus are not the most efficient in terms of sustainability, but we can do other things that will be really valuable. Like having an energy audit to help us understand where and how we can improve and take on those sustainability initiatives in the classroom and in our campus community.
What is your big hope for this
school year? Being able to think big again is something that I hope we get out of this school year. I want to push the envelope a little bit more, form more partnerships with the community, really elevate things! What we were talking about earlier—launching that class during a pandemic—I’m really proud of, but I want to go bigger with it to make it a class where students walk away and say that it changed their perspective. I want that feeling of the sky being the limit!
Leading with
PURPOSE
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STRATEGIC VISION FOR 2021–2026
Developing a shared vision for Emma Willard School began the day Head of School Jenny Rao arrived on campus. The work culminates in LEADING WITH PURPOSE, our newly adopted strategic vision, designed to guide our school for the next five years. What started with careful listening and fresh-eyed examination of every facet of the school quickly grew to include a formalized, inclusive process soliciting input from hundreds of members of the Emma family, on campus and around the world. The result? Inspired initiatives that show how we will recommit to our mission within five broad areas that touch every aspect of the school. Each of these overarching categories defines an area in which teams are sharpening, refining, and organizing action plans. Together, we will chart a deliberate path forward for our historic institution—one that will ensure not only educational excellence, but also a healthier, more connected community and fiscal strength for years to come. Approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2021, the strategic vision is a living document that will chart our course moving forward. The details of how we achieve this vision will continue to evolve as concepts are tested and new opportunities emerge.
“There is a moment in each student’s journey at Emma Willard when they find the confidence to use their voices, become comfortable making mistakes in pursuit of ambitious learning, and work together to solve problems. We have a responsibility as a school to continue to empower our students to make change in our world, especially at this moment in history.”
JENNIFER C. RAO, 17th Head of School
PRIORITY 1
Learning
Nurture a learning environment defined by creativity, deep inquiry, and wellbeing.
Our distinctive experiential education gives our students opportunities to deepen their knowledge and gain a global perspective. Intellectual inquiry across disciplines and creativity throughout the curriculum do more than benefit our students: they reinforce our role as a global thought leader in girls’ education. Transformational residential and student life programs are equally pivotal to meaningful learning. We are committed to creating deliberate and carefully crafted programs that will foster a student life culture that values differences, encourages dialogue, and fosters respect.
We will:
CREATE a state-of-the-art performance and gathering space that amplifies the arts to promote creativity and benefit all disciplines. DELIVER a unique Advanced Studies program to allow students more freedom to discover their strengths and the opportunity to go further in pursuit of their passions. ESTABLISH a partnership with a research university to expand our expertise as a thought leader on developing wellbeing and resilience in adolescent girls. BROADEN experiential learning opportunities for students, locally and globally. TRANSFORM our student life program, prioritizing resilience, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging for all students.
PRIORITY 2
Teaching
Cultivate faculty excellence and curricular innovation.
Building on our historical strengths, creative, inspiring, and unmatched teaching continues to distinguish the Emma Willard experience. Our faculty expose students to a curriculum that cultivates intellectual curiosity, helping them understand the complexities of diverse viewpoints. In creating a teaching and learning environment that examines biases and challenges systems, we ensure that our community upholds its ideals of academic excellence, equity, and inclusion. We are also committed to providing our faculty with access to exceptional professional development and the dedicated time to cultivate their disciplinary expertise. Increased compensation and better housing will further affirm our faculty’s incomparable professionalism and dedication.
We will:
ESTABLISH a Center for Teaching and Learning that ignites innovation and creativity in pedagogy and curriculum. ENCOURAGE faculty to develop deeper expertise in their fields through partnerships with institutions of higher education. DEVELOP an exceptional employee experience that starts with recruitment and extends through the arc of each teacher’s journey at Emma Willard. BROADEN and diversify candidate pools for all positions and provide support and mentorship for all employees. CULTIVATE an inclusive community in which all feel welcomed and valued. RENOVATE and expand existing faculty housing to better support our living and learning community.
“A new Center for Teaching and Learning sets the stage for us to offer a richer, more varied curriculum and to be a place where intentional investments in professional development enable teachers to grow and evolve over the course of their careers.”
PRIORITY 3
Belonging
Value and affirm each person in a community that reflects the world.
The power of being known and recognized—cultivating connections with others from across the country and around the world—stays with Emma Willard graduates throughout their lives. We know tomorrow’s global, ethical citizens hone their skills most effectively in a profoundly diverse community. As we prepare students to thrive in a complex world, we will encourage dialogue across differences and deep curiosity about others; this fuels learning and empathy, and creates a sense of belonging. We must also actively cultivate anti-racist practices to build an equitable and inclusive environment. By examining our established systems and leveraging financial aid, we can ensure all students benefit from the full Emma Willard experience.
We will:
CREATE a department of Institutional Equity and Inclusion to intentionally foster change by examining our status quo to advance our vision of purposeful, informed action. CULTIVATE the promise and possibility of a profoundly diverse community by dedicating financial resources to enhance our campus and provide students access to equitable opportunity. GROW our resources for financial aid, increase the number of full scholarships, and expand the areas where we actively recruit.
“As we place equity and inclusion at the center, as opposed to the margins, of all decisions, we commit to co-create the world that ought to be at Emma Willard.”
CHRISTINE GILMORE, Head of Institutional Equity and Inclusion
PRIORITY 4
Connection
Deepen and expand our local, national, and global networks.
Alumnae, parents, and friends of Emma Willard School are a precious resource, with a shared sense of purpose and commitment to uphold the mission and values of the school. Our community’s strength lies in the relationships we develop, providing global perspectives and the awareness necessary to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world. Our own connections with each other lift our lives in immeasurable ways. Enhancing these relationships will keep our school vibrant, relevant, and distinctive. By communicating and amplifying the unique attributes of our programs, we can expand our reach in attracting future generations of students who will benefit from an Emma Willard education.
We will:
BOLSTER our position in the marketplace by articulating who we are with authenticity and clarity, with help from expert partners in market research and communications. STRENGTHEN the alumnae experience through cross-generational, multicultural, and purposeful connections and opportunities to participate, volunteer, and engage with current students and each other. INCREASE a sense of community for parents by working in partnership to enhance the living and learning experience of students.
“An Emma Willard education reveals each student’s own power and uniqueness and then cultivates a path to embody those qualities. As adults, this shared experience becomes the enduring fabric of knowledge and wisdom that allows us to support each other.”
VALERIE GONYEA ’82, Alumnae Association Council President
PRIORITY 5
Capacity
Build a physically, financially, and environmentally sustainable future.
Our magnificent and iconic campus is an asset that distinguishes our school from all others. We must care for our beloved campus in ways that ensure its brilliance and grandeur, preserve its historic distinction, and support our entire program and community. Imagine the aspirational goals Emma Willard School could achieve with plentiful, well-managed resources. As careful stewards and inspired educators, we already achieve great things with the resources we have today. Identifying new sources and levels of funding will strengthen our capacity to dream big, deepen our impact, and draw wider audiences into our mission. A comprehensive campaign will be essential to providing the means to fulfill this strategic vision and secure the future of Emma Willard School for generations to come. As a distinctive leader in girls’ education, we are also responsible for being the positive change we want to see in the world. This requires us to deepen our commitment to sustainability and environmentally conscious practices.
We will:
DOUBLE the endowment. GROW the Emma Fund through expanded engagement with alumnae and parents. EVALUATE our current tuition model to ensure access, sustainability, and mission alignment. CREATE a more diverse set of revenue streams to amplify the impact of our mission. ESTABLISH a comprehensive facilities plan that preserves our historic campus and supports program goals, while ensuring that all buildings remain structurally and mechanically sound, and that campus safety is paramount. GUIDE and measure environmental sustainability efforts, while incorporating this critical global issue throughout the curriculum. Bringing Our Vision to Life
These priorities are stakes in the ground, signaling our most important ambitions for Emma Willard School. They are the aspirations we will support over the next several years by investing our time, resources, and philanthropy. Some priorities can be addressed by working with what we have and relying on our traditional fiscal discipline. Others require significant, coordinated support. During the 2021–22 academic year, we will shift our efforts from envisioning the future to developing and sharing specific plans for implementing our vision. Together, we can make Emma Willard even better than it is today. We can ensure that in its third century, our school remains a national and global
ELISABETH “LISA” ALLEN LEFORT ’72, Chair, Board of Trustees
TO SERVE AND SHAPE STORY BY LORI FERGUSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN J. MIYAZAKI AND CAROLINE VOAGEN NELSON THEIR WORLD
Program Pillars in Action The challenges facing today’s students are undeniable. From community connection and climate change to sustainability and social justice, the sectors that will demand their energy and attention in coming years are broad and deep, and the need for thoughtful, informed, and inquisitive leadership is greater than ever. In response to this changing world, Emma Willard School’s new strategic plan, An Imperative to Lead with Purpose, anticipates the demands of tomorrow, and delivers the education and experiences our students need to live and lead. Our academic vision, which was introduced in Spring 2020, is an integral part of our strategic focus over the next five years. This vision centers on three pillars: Intellectual Flexibility, Purpose & Community, and Equity & Justice. In reflecting on how best to prepare future generations to meet—and surmount—the mostpressing issues of our day, we find that our alumnae are already hard at work. We took some time to catch up with Suma Reddy ’98, Lina Srivastana ’87, and Josephine Masandika ’12 to explore how they are pursuing these pillars in their own lives.
Intellectual Flexibility
SUMA REDDY ’98
One glance at entrepreneur, educator, and grassroots activist Suma Reddy’s CV and you know this is an individual with boundless curiosity and creativity. The recipient of an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and a B.A. in economics from the University of Rochester, Suma holds certifications in iOS from the Flatiron School and UX Design from General Assembly as well. She is also an entrepreneur with a talent for technology who has co-founded several companies in the agricultural robotics, vertical farming, waste management, and renewable energy spaces.
“I’ve always felt very entrepreneurial and grassrootsdriven,” says Suma. “I was astoundingly shy as a child— I rarely even had the courage to speak—but I had a pressing desire to experience and explore.” And explore she did. She began her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, followed by a stint at a microfinance start-up in India. “Before I began tackling these bigger issues, I wanted a grassroots understanding of the populations I was working among and the problems that needed solving,” she explains.
Once Suma got a sense of some of the issues in play, she began exploring ways to bridge her interests in grassroots entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation. Among her first ventures was Farmshelf, a company that creates smart indoor farms that allow people to grow produce where they live and work. She has since moved on from that endeavor and is now in the process of building out Future Acres, an agricultural robotics company building intelligent tools to carry farms into the future. “This is a platform technology,” she observes. “Our goals are to improve the efficiency of farming, better the lives of farm workers, improve crop health, yield, and quality, and mitigate the long-term impact of farming on climate change. People often view automation as the enemy, so we decided to address the concept head-on. Our robots are collaborative tools rather than objects that displace workers. We’ve also started a community engagement program that explores how we can play a role in reimagining career opportunities for migrant families through STEM education and training, as well as advocate for policy and industry changes to reframe the definition of specialized workers and increase protections.”
Future Acres is also a business with the ability to empower a new generation of leaders at the grassroots level, Suma continues. “Five to ten years out, we envision farm workers as leaders and organizers who are using these tools to make their jobs easier and give them greater autonomy. For example, what would it mean for workers to lease or own their own equipment to harvest crops, or even own their own farms? It’s a form of upskilling.”
Suma attributes her expansive view of leadership in part to her days at Emma Willard. “One of the biggest lessons I learned at Emma is that leadership can come in all forms—on the sports field, in the pottery studio, in the classroom—there wasn’t one form of leadership that was valued over another,” she observes. “Everyone was encouraged to follow their passion and be their authentic selves.” Such diversity in terms of leadership and representation is itself a form of intellectual flexibility, she notes. “Whether intelligence is emotional, creative, or physical, it’s important to allow people to find what drives them.”
But recognizing what you’re good at is just part of the equation, Suma continues. To be effective, that passion must be channeled. “I recently heard an expression, ‘Lean in and lean on,’ and it resonated. It’s what I try to do. Get started, experiment, iterate, and then find your support network.”
For Suma, the impetus for creation lies in consciously bridging her three worlds of interest: entrepreneurship, organizing, and activism. “I’m interested in determining whether technological entrepreneurship can address issues of racial, economic, gender, and climate justice,” she explains. “Essentially, I’d like to bake justice into the DNA of entrepreneurship in the tech sector.”
Another important aspect of Suma’s life is advocacy work for individuals in the Asian LGBTQ community. “I came out in 2019 while in business school, and I’m currently the co-director of the Asian Pride Project,” she says. “That work is as foundational to my sense of self as anything I’m doing. For me, intellectual flexibility means fully expressing myself in every sector of my life.
“My life is a constant learning process—I love the challenges,” Suma concludes in a rush of enthusiasm. “I’ve always had an innate drive to keep pushing and pursuing. I just keep leaning in and leaning on and trying to be authentic to myself, and hopefully that’s in service to others.” And that seed was planted at Emma, she insists. “We weren’t encouraged to chase status or wealth; we were encouraged to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Purpose & Community
LINA SRIVASTAVA ’87
For strategist, writer, and producer Lina Srivastava ’87, purpose and community are inextricably linked; indeed, these tenets guide her in every venture she undertakes as an activist working to harness community-led power to advance human rights and global development. “I’m motivated by the act of combining human rights and storytelling, providing evidence of what policies mean for people,” she observes. “You can’t make social change on a spreadsheet.”
Lina has a host of experience to back her claim. A former attorney and nonprofit executive director, she has worked on strategic project design for such renowned organizations as UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, and the ICRC and has led social impact strategy for documentaries that have earned awards at the Oscars and Sundance. “Community-led power and storytelling have been a through-line in my life for the past two decades,” she observes, “and my experiences with nonprofits—coupled with my work in the arts, media, and film—have shown me how self-expression can play a role in advocating for human rights.”
Lina’s first efforts to leverage cultural innovation in support of human rights and global development work came through CIEL/Creative Impact and Experience Lab, which she founded in 2008. “At CIEL, we employed a narrative strategy for human rights advocacy, amplifying people’s stories through various arts and communications formats such as film, virtual reality, and augmented reality, while also interrogating narrative-based advocacy through framework development and white papers and the like,” she explains. For over a decade, CIEL conducted groundbreaking work, but new geopolitical realities and a fresh focus have convinced Lina that now is the time to shutter the organization and focus on her newest initiative, the Center for Transformational Change.
The impetus for this new initiative is rooted in Lina’s belief that community leaders in lower-resourced regions need to be recognized and supported for wholesale transformation to happen, and that individuals in the innovation and creative sectors have an essential role to play in generating hope to motivate societal transformation. “My focus now is to demonstrate how leadership and narrative help that happen,” she observes.
The Center also reflects Lina’s evolving understanding of leadership. “In the U.S., leadership is seen as a single person taking control to manage or do something, but over the past five years, I’ve come to see leadership as a process rather than a person. It’s steeped in collective action, poly-vocal, and community-based.” She concedes, however, that as a woman and a woman of color, she does feel a responsibility to step forward, but insists she does so advisedly. “If you’re doing social justice work and you’re the story, you’re doing it wrong, but as a woman you do need to be modeling behavior. There is a sense that leadership means holding yourself out as a model for people to see.”
This was a lesson learned in part at Emma Willard, Lina notes. “I experienced many eye-opening moments at Emma that encouraged self-expression. My English teachers Paul Lamar and Christine Carroll gave comprehensive attention to voice, my choir director Russell Locke talked quite a bit about projecting—and that was about more than singing—and my flamenco teacher Cornelia Thayer emphasized the importance of positionality. We were a group of young women learning to express ourselves and we were encouraged to question.
“I was at the school in the late 80s, which was a different time,” she continues. “I was supported in my desire to be a scrappy feminist—I learned to always be in a position of inquiry, an attitude that still affects the way I position my work today. The inquisitive nature of the narrative and innovative frames that I employ are informed by the DNA of Emma.”
The way that Emma’s curriculum was developed and delivered also had a profound impact on her, says Lina. “The consistent message was ‘Go out in the world and ask questions.’ It’s something I do to this day. I’m constantly asking, ‘Where does my purpose lie?’ ‘How do I fit into various communities?’”
Given her experiences, Lina is delighted that ‘Purpose and Community’ has been defined as a one of Emma’s program pillars. “I see it as an essential skillset for navigating a world that is deeply fraught,” she observes. In fact, these principles inform her latest venture. “I want the Center to be an ecosystem of stories and community action underpinned by hope and optimism. I want to explore how leadership and narrative help change happen and I want to involve people around the world—from progressive corporations and ethical investors to philanthropists and large multilaterals—in the effort.”
Lina has established a website, tcleadership.org, to serve as a resource for prospective change agents. “We’ve created a framework that lays out the way transformation is catalyzed and leadership evolves, and we’re elevating the stories of people, organizations, and movements who are doing the actual work of transformational change—too often without resources or recognition—as models of impact we need to adopt.” These are the individuals who can teach the world about community-led power and the importance of narrative shift, Lina insists, and we must listen. “There’s no time to waste, so I’m going as big as possible.”
Equity & Justice
JOSEPHINE ‘JOZY’ MASANDIKA ’12
Josephine ‘Jozy’ Masandika has never been one to simply sit back and wait for good things to happen. As a young girl in Tanzania, she read voraciously and worked her way to the top of her class at the Muungano Vocational Secondary School, a local secondary school that combined academic and vocational learning. There Jozy made the acquaintance of Ashley (Shuyler) Carter, founder and former Executive Director of AfricAid, an organization dedicated to helping secondary school girls complete their education and cultivate leadership skills that will enable them to transform their own lives as well as their communities. Carter was so impressed by Jozy’s intelligence and drive that she encouraged her to apply to Emma Willard School, thereby furthering her progress in the quest to become a biomedical engineer.
Jozy has leveraged the opportunity to full advantage. After graduating from Emma, she earned a B.S. in biology at Lake Forest College and an M.S. in biomedical engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago. Today she is a senior systems integration engineer in Baxter International’s Global Service Engineering division and insists that the company motto, ‘to save and sustain lives,’ is a perfect fit for her goals. “My job is the very definition of that. I’m working on life-saving devices every day.”
Jozy is also making her mark as a board member of AfricAid, the organization that led her to Emma Willard. She assumed her position in November of 2020 and is thrilled by the opportunity it represents. “As a board member, I’m now an architect rather than a receiver—I am part of the team that decides where the money is spent,” she observes. “It’s teaching me to appreciate my position of power as well as the journey that brought me here.”
As is her wont, Jozy is leveraging her positions with Baxter and AfricAid to best advantage, using the roles to learn to work more effectively within the global community. “I’m working to create an environment that’s conducive to equity and justice,” she says. And while she admits it sounds counterintuitive, she asserts that the best way to approach the task is by avoiding the impulse to look at the bigger picture. “The idea of transforming the world can get scary and depressing very quickly, so it’s important not to ask yourself, ‘How can I change the world,’ but rather ‘How can I make an impact on a small segment of the world?’ For example, the board work I’m doing now impacts the girls in AfricAid, and that’s how I look at my contribution. I’m not transforming the world; I’m just laying down the tracks so that others can get there one day.”
Education is obviously a critical piece of that work, and Jozy remains grateful for the lessons she learned while at Emma. “The teachers lead by example— they walk the walk—and they behave in a way that makes students feel seen and heard, which is incredibly powerful.” And fellow students are a source of strength, too. “I’m not unique—everyone’s life journey was an inspiration.”
Emma is a place that stays with you long after graduation, Jozy insists. “One of my dearest friends from Emma, Hella Habtewold ’12, was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She is the nicest human alive—she genuinely sees the best in everyone—and every time I interact with her, I try to learn from her.” The institution remains a presence in students’ lives after graduation as well, Jozy asserts, offering them a voice through vehicles like the alumnae magazine. “Being featured in this article is such an honor. You can be a leader, but without exposure, you don’t have as much of an impact.”
For those who are looking to make their own mark on the world, Jozy’s advice is simple but direct. “Follow your dreams, always be willing to ask for help, and remember that without failure, there’s no growth.” She speaks from personal experience. “When I face a tough situation such as discrimination because of my race or sex, I remind myself it’s not about me, but rather springs from an anger or bias that the abuser hasn’t dealt with, and as such isn’t something I have to carry with me. Instead, I lean on my support system, tell myself, ‘The worst thing you can do is fail,’ and move on.”
Advanced Studies removes traditional classroom boundaries
STORY BY MELISSIA MASON
ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN STAUFFER
When your goal is to instill a love of learning in the future leaders of the world, it helps to love teaching. Emma Willard School faculty exude an enthusiasm for learning that is irresistible. After just a few moments of conversation, you can’t help but want to discover more about what excites them.
Last year, we announced a plan to “go beyond” Advanced Placement™ classes, replacing AP with our own Emmaspecific Advanced Studies (AS) courses. This summer, faculty spent time together in a coordinated effort to dream of and plan for advanced classes that are student-centered, relevant, and meaningful.
EMILY SNYDER Engaging Art History
After teaching AP Art History for many years, Emily Snyder began to feel like students were speeding from prehistoric cave drawings to post-1980s contemporary art, barreling past Pacific Island royal architecture and impressionism in an all-out sprint toward the finish: the AP exam. “It felt like it was all about the exam and not about the depth of the learning,” she shares. “The shift to Advanced Studies has really given me the opportunity to center the student experience and make thoughtful decisions about how and what I teach.”
For Emily, one of the most invigorating elements of the new perspective on advanced learning has been the connection with other faculty—hearing what they’re doing, getting ideas, and helping one another. “Coming up with cool ideas and getting feedback has been so enjoyable and exciting,” Emily shares. “It’s helpful to see how others approach problems.”
During the week-long collaborative curriculum design process, Emily focused on embedding experiences that would be authentic and meaningful for students. The exercise is helping her decide what pieces of the former curriculum to keep. “It’s clear that some of the cross-cultural comparisons that I’ve been doing in the AP class are things I want to continue,” Emily explains. In addition to a traditional chronological arrangement of content, she will focus on elements that tie together thematically. “While exploring Romanesque cathedrals, we’ll pause to look at Buddhist architecture and reliquary designed for pilgrimage to compare it alongside the European tradition.”
One of the most appealing features of the new class design is that students will have more choice. “If we’re focused on non-western pieces, students will have the opportunity to choose whether they want to explore the Pacific Islands or colonial Latin America. We’ll be able to dive deeper into those moments,” Emily explains.
With the added flexibility, Emily envisions her students engaging in a robust classroom experience that involves more writing, reflecting, revising, and analyzing. “I’m interested in making this class more about developing the vocabulary and analytical skills necessary to contextualize and understand different works of art and to apply that knowledge in a real-world setting,” Emily says. “Are you able to think about a contemporary problem related to art history, develop a solution, and communicate your ideas in an effective way?”
Emily points out that this approach to art history requires a higher level of thinking skills than focusing on an exam, giving students the opportunity to test their skills in a different way, listening to feedback and working collaboratively. “For art history in particular, many people take the class because they are visual artists and have a creative mindset. Memorizing and regurgitating isn’t necessarily the way they best express what they know,” Emily says. By moving beyond a focus on testing, art history becomes accessible to all students and allows them to demonstrate their knowledge in new and creative ways.
In the inaugural Advanced Studies Art History class, Emily is excited to dive into project-based learning. Students will propose a public monument to replace the statue of Teddy Roosevelt flanked by an Indigenous person and an African man, which is soon to be removed from the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. “The project is based on something I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years,” Emily reveals. “I want to try to get kids to think about public monuments specifically from an art history lens.” She feels that this approach puts students at the center of the classroom experience by giving them a tangible way to apply what they are learning.
Beyond this year’s public monuments project, Emily dreams of engaging students in conversations about the repatriation of objects acquired during colonial and imperialist periods. “Kids are engaged in the type of work that has a social justice lens,” she says. “Where we are in upstate New York, there are many conversations about who has the right and responsibility to own and
care for objects.” Emily’s students are passionate about exploring why there are mummies in Albany and what can be done about pot hunters who steal indigenous artifacts from burial grounds, what it takes to get them returned, and how communities collaborate in a way that is valued and appreciated. “There is a lot of work to do in this local area,” Emily shares. “I imagine we could collaborate with US history classes to imagine a different way of looking at the relationship between the US government and Indigenous people.”
Emily’s work in Student Life has also given her a birds-eye view of the toll that stress and anxiety take on student wellbeing. “For so long, I watched kids fall apart before, during, and after AP week because of the stress it puts on them,” she recalls. “They stop sleeping, stop taking care of themselves, and generally struggle so much more because of the stress of the exams.” By engaging students in academic pursuits that align with their personal passions, Emily believes we can help alleviate that pressure. “I’m hoping that the new approach to advanced learning restores the joy our students have in learning!”
LASZLO BARDOS Creating with Calculus
When Laszlo Bardos talks about calculus, his eyes light up. That spark is a reflection of the passion and excitement he strives to foster in his students. He dreams of the moment when his students are faced with a problem and realize they can use calculus to solve it. It’s that moment of realization—creativity meets math meets real-world solution—that excites Laszlo about the possibilities inherent in moving beyond a focus on AP testing. Emma’s new Advanced Studies curriculum gives Laszlo and his students the gift of time and space to have fun with math.
“Traditional math curriculum is like being on a highway, striving to get from point A to point B,” Laszlo explains. “You can get from algebra to calculus in a direct route, but never see anything along the way.” He likens the journey to a cross-country road trip. “You’re driving right past the Grand Canyon, but never see it. You get to California, but how much have you missed by not stopping to explore along the way?” Although the direct route may help students pass a test, they miss the fun that can be found in “sight-seeing.”
Laszlo’s ideal advanced studies course makes connections between what students are learning and the things they feel passionate about. “Math knowledge is very fragile,” he observes. “Ask a student three months after a test and they have no idea what they learned for that test. There isn’t a long-term connection. By asking students to do fun and real things, we’re giving relevance and meaning to it.” In an Advanced Studies class, students leverage their comprehensive math knowledge— not just what they learned for a particular test. “When students finally get it and realize how math works in practice, that connection is burned in their brain.”
Laszlo expects students to choose a field they’re interested in and use calculus to find a solution to a question they devise. When students come to the end of the class, he hopes they walk away with the ability to apply the principles they learned and the ability to actually make something—whether that’s a physical product or a complex analysis of a problem and its solution. From creating electronic circuits to solar ovens, Laszlo has experienced first-hand what students can do when they apply calculus to a purpose-driven goal—and when there’s purpose, the motivation to learn shifts. “In a traditional advanced class, the goal is to pass a standardized test,” he explains. “But if the goal becomes to explore something you’re interested in, that’s a completely new mindset, and it’s really powerful.”
Peppering his class with explorations and activities, Laszlo teaches students to think creatively about real-world challenges and how they may be a part of the solution. By moving beyond AP, Laszlo hopes that students experience the thrill of making things. “I think our Makers Space is very valuable,” he says. “Our society doesn’t necessarily give the message to girls that they can use wood-working tools and saws and drills and that they can actually make things.” Developing these skills opens up possibilities so that students have capability—beyond creating digital media—to develop prototypes, expand their skills in other spaces (like art),
and create what they dream of. For Laszlo, “beyond” is the difference between having book knowledge and having a feeling of accomplishment and wonder in creating. “It’s seeing the power in what you can do with what you know,” Laslzo reflects.
Laszlo brings his own hobbies and interests into the classroom as a demonstration of what students can achieve. As one who loves working with electrical circuits, Laszlo looks forward to giving his students the opportunity to create. “I love so many aspects of making,” he shares. “I can’t wait to have students do things with electronics and robotics, to have students sew, crochet, and make things out of wood.” As a cyclist, he can apply calculus to determine how far he can coast if he stops pedaling. “Don’t get me started on differential equations,” he laughs. “You have gravity to consider, and air resistance … I can make this as complicated as you want. That’s what’s rich about this approach to learning—it’s much more interesting than assigning chapter nine, problem 13.”
Moving beyond the AP gives teachers the chance to focus on skills that are not covered on a test. “Thinking on your feet or working on a team, being able to communicate with other people, being able to write about what they’re learning,” Laszlo explains, “those are things that go beyond the AP test.” Testing doesn’t cover these skills, but they are key to a student’s future success. Whether or not a student ever applies a calculus principle to a real-life situation after his class, Laszlo wants to make sure they know how to solve problems. “You are going to face problems every single day in your career,” he explains. “Your job is to take that problem, see its essential components, break it down into steps that are manageable, and complete it. That’s what math is.”
As he looks forward to the possibilities of the new approach to Advanced Studies, Laszlo reflects on the best moments he experiences in the classroom. “When I see a buzz of activity in the classroom, where students are making, planning, collaborating … I’ve arrived,” he says. His goal is to set the environment where students can nurture creativity, curiosity, collaboration, experimenting, failing, and trying again. “At Emma, we’re so lucky,” he concludes. “If we give these students the opportunity to create, they will jump on it and do amazing things!”
CAROLINE BOYAJIAN Fulfillment Meets Literature
What do Sophocles, Toni Morrison, The Good Place, and an advice column have in common? Soon, they will be tenets in an Advanced Studies course centered around literature and philosophy. The class is the brainchild of Caroline Boyajian, who says, “This is a dream course for me, and something I think the kids can really sink their teeth into.” Students will be reading and viewing works that are not explicitly philosophy, alongside great philosophers from history.
“What I hope to achieve is an experience where students engage with works that are about the human experience, what makes our lives meaningful, and what we owe to each other,” Caroline explains. “The idea is to get kids to think about their lives differently, and to also think about literature differently—how what they’re reading speaks to the human condition.”
Inspired by the philosophical discussions in the TV show The Good Place, Caroline envisions the class exploring a selection of fiction works, the New York Times’ column “The Ethicist” by philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, and a variety of classic works of philosophy to inform what they’re reading. Add on a layer of resolutions (think New Year’s), and students will walk away with an interdisciplinary experience that informs how they see the world around them. “I want students to resolve for themselves to accomplish something that will either do good in the world or allow them to live more authentically,” Caroline says. “Whether that’s to return to a hobby that gives you joy or interact with their friends in a different way or become more engaged with current events … I want them to think about how both fictional and philosophical texts can help us live our lives in a way that is richer and more fulfilling.”
With a variety of writing assignments in store, students will journal, write book and film reviews, and even try their hands at an advice column. “They’ll get to practice using a different voice in their writing,” Caroline says, “and they’ll also teach the rest of the class about the particular philosopher they’re researching.”
While Caroline sees the class as having some parallels with a traditional AP curriculum—a holistic approach centered around how students think and write—it’s the creativity to move beyond the boundaries of the AP test that excites her. “Rather than working toward a goal that happens at the end of the year,” she shares, “students can be more creative in thinking about what they’re passionate about in the moment.”
To Caroline, going “beyond AP” means having the opportunity to do interdisciplinary work. “Sometimes kids can walk away from high school with the sense that these subjects that we hand to them—math, science, English, art, history, music—are separate things in the world, and the truth is they’re not,” Caroline contends. “These are all interrelated, interconnected ways of thinking about the universe and each other. You don’t need to pigeon-hole yourself as a math person or a history person or an English person—you’re just a thinker.” Caroline is giving students the opportunity to be more open about how they see themselves as thinkers and learners.
In her additional role as junior class dean, Caroline engages students in conversations that move beyond what is explored in a typical classroom setting. “Conversations about who we are, who we want to be, and what it means to be in community together are not and should not be separate from the intellectual, academic conversations we’re having in the classroom,” she asserts. “The more we can think about character as part of our academic experience the better.”
Caroline’s dream for creative advanced coursework doesn’t end at philosophy. “I also fantasize about designing a course that’s grounded in ekphrasis, writing about art,” Caroline shares. She gives as examples the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley—inspired by a fragment of a statue of Ramesses II—and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier—inspired by the Johannes Vermeer painting of the same name. Her face lights up as she explains, “I envision an interdisciplinary environment where students use real artwork as inspiration for the writing that they complete for the class!”
By nurturing this imaginative process, Caroline hopes that students can shift their focus away from external pressures and evaluations and more toward what they have accomplished. As class dean, she has had ample opportunity to see firsthand the pressures that students are under. “Students will always care about grades—and they should,” Caroline adds, “but if we can shift their attention away from the pressure of that measurement in just a small way … that would be something!”
PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE READING AND VIEWING LIST
Interested in reading along with the Philosophy and Literature class? Caroline shares the following glimpse into the list of possible works she’ll be using.
READING
• No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre • Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro • The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery • Sophie’s World by Jostene Gaarder • Turtles All the Way Down by John Green • The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers • Tao Te Ching • The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained • The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus • The Ethicist NYT column by Kwame Anthony Appiah
SHORT STORIES:
• “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty • “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by
Ursula K. LeGuin • “The Egg” by Andy Weird • “The Three Questions” by Leo Tolstoy • “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges • “Søren Kierkegaard Confounds the City” by
Tom Baikin-O’hayon • “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri
VIEWING
• The Good Place (Season 1 and Season 2) • Groundhog Day
