Stepping Outside

Learning By Doing

Many of us are intimately familiar with a traditional classroom education, sitting at a desk — or maybe a collaborative Harkness table — evenly spaced from your peers, four walls, and an instructional blackboard (or whiteboard) at the front of the classroom. No matter how elaborately the room was decorated, there were probably times when you just knew that a change of environment could help you re-focus and re-energize.

In the last issue of Foote Prints, we outlined our Strategic Plan (footeschool.org/strategicplan), which — among many other imperatives — prioritizes “learning by doing ... utilizing the outdoors and New Haven as our canvas.” We emphasize the importance of learning where we are — on our park-like campus, in our neighborhood and our city, and in communities near and far.

Our campus — with its gardens, Sacred Woods, ropes course, playgrounds, and fields — is the perfect supplement to the learning happening in the classroom. Field trips, too, are a hallmark of the Foote experience, as our teachers look for opportunities to partner with the vast network of global and local organizations. Venturing off campus, students can explore marshes in Milford, invent at the Eli Whitney Museum, get creative in nearby art galleries, practice their world language skills with native speakers, and much, much more.

Adaptability

Each year, 4th graders select a significant individual in history that they will research and ultimately “become” as part of their Wax Museum project presentations. Stationed throughout campus, the students teach passersby about their chosen individual. This year they added a new twist: with the outdoors as a resource center, the students were asked to find materials that they could use to create “artifacts” — props that elucidate their research project.

“There's a planning period, but the greatest lessons come when their plans don't come to fruition and they have to adjust. They have to work with others to make this creation — that exists only in their mind so far — come to life. It becomes a day of learning that they all really remember.”

Accessibility

“The Great Outdoors” has always been a source of inspiration for artists, and it can also serve as the canvas itself. Ninth-grade art students use outdoor spaces around the school to create installations that serve as an homage to significant moments in art history, while providing an opportunity for anyone to enjoy artwork in a public space.

“We start with cave-painting using the cement foundation along the gym wall, and then tie that into a contemporary artist who makes art in the same way. This year we studied Keith Haring, who made art on subway walls so that people could see them outside of a gallery. The students utilized the retaining wall between the fields on Highland as a canvas for a Keith Haring-inspired mural.”

MEREDITH ANDREWS, ART TEACHER

Environmental Responsibility

Outdoor learning is an opportunity to raise awareness about nature and environmental issues, promoting a sense of environmental responsibility. Our first graders take this responsibility seriously, as they diligently maintain the campus gardens, and gain a first-hand appreciation for the surrounding flora and fauna. At the same time, students can take lessons from the classroom and directly apply them to their environment.

“We need math to measure a perimeter and we use estimation skills to figure out how many weeds we can pick in one minute; we can see firsthand the insect life cycles we learn about in science; we sketch our surroundings and write descriptions and reflections about what we see. We really take advantage of every opportunity we get to go outside.”

Kayleigh

Creativity

Foote’s campus is the perfect spot to practice tree I.D., plant vegetables, care for our chickens, and make any number of scientific discoveries. In 7th grade, the Middle School recess field becomes the stage for a tug-of-war demonstration on force. The J.M. deck becomes a launchpad for trajectory tests. Across the curriculum, faculty use the campus to reframe the classroom experience.

“Heading out of the classroom, while providing a feeling of excitement, also invites new opportunities and new ways of thinking. When launching marbles for an engineering challenge, opening the door out to the deck immediately inspires students to aim farther. When we take them out to the fields for a tug-of-war physics challenge or to meet with members of the New Haven community, we are expanding their understanding that there are an infinite number of learning resources available to them.”

Growth

P.E. classes often find creative ways to use the outdoor spaces. In addition, our arboreal challenge course features ice-breakers and problem-solving challenges on ground-based elements alongside physical challenges of the high-ropes course. Simultaneously, students come to appreciate the struggles, the missteps, and the wrong turns — because those are opportunities for growth.

“Students discover more about each other and about themselves as they conquer new challenges — sometimes in teams and sometimes as individuals. The problemsolving, leadership, communication, and accountability skills that our students develop becomes transformative.”

CARRIE BOYCE, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Leadership

Working in a different environment promotes teamwork, communication, and cooperation. With new opportunities for collaboration, students become more empathetic and eager to take on leadership roles. The Foote chicken coop offers opportunities for collaboration, but it also empowers students to demonstrate leadership skills. Our third graders have taken on the responsibility of overseeing the dayto-day coop care.

“The third graders collect the eggs and distribute them to members of our community. We absolutely love having the chickens on campus — that's a very special and unique aspect to our program. It’s important that we utilize our beautiful campus for as much outdoor learning as we can.”

EMILY PALEY, 3RD-GRADE TEACHER

Resilience

Opportunities to navigate new environments gives students a chance to face unexpected challenges, and learn how to adapt. Before the 5th-grade field trip to Nature's Classroom, many have never spent a night away from home, or been immersed in a rural environment. After the trip, they have a new sense of self, emboldened and energized by the courage it took to try something new.

The following is an excerpt from a May 23, 2023, interview with former Head of School Frank Perrine (1967–1992), conducted by Associate Director of Development Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89, and Foote Archivist Cindy Leffell.

Q: How did you decide that education was going to be your career path?

Frank Perrine: That's a great question. My father and my grandfather were both bankers in a small-town bank [near Cranbury, NJ]. … But I didn't take to it. I majored in History and English, and I went through what everybody goes through: “What am I going to do with my life?” I went into the Army, and when I got out in 1957, a family friend who owned a factory over in Trenton, NJ, offered me a job as a salesman. … I went to work because it was a job and I didn't know what else I wanted to do.

After I did it for a while, I said, “No, no, no, no. This is not what you're gonna do for a lifetime.” So, I moved to New York, and I got a master's degree. I was drawn to teaching. I don't know why. It was an inner thing.

I wrote a letter to every public school district in the Manhattan area, and got no acceptances whatsoever because I didn't have a teaching degree. And so I gave it all up and went to Europe for the summer, went to bull fights all over Spain with a good friend,[and] had a wonderful time.

When I came back the day before Labor Day, I went to a teacher's agency — The Cooperative Bureau for Teachers. A woman told me about a job at The Harvey School (Katonah, NY). They needed a teacher for the school's opening in a few days. I got all dolled up and drove up there in my little car, and the guy offered me a job pretty quickly. I had no experience, obviously, but I liked him. He liked me. He said, “I could offer you a contract to teach. Can you teach math?” I said, “Oh, sure.” I didn't know anything about math. He said, “Can you coach?” I said, “Oh, yeah, I can do all that.”

It was a boarding school — 60 boys, 4th through 8th grade, old-fashioned English school, neckties, stand-up straight. Yes, sir. No, sir. Wonderful. … The second year, I got married and my wife Laura moved up there. We lived in a dormitory with 16 kids. The year Kennedy died, 1963, my headmaster died in an automobile crash. And for some dumb reason, they made me acting headmaster. I was only 29 or 30. I did my best and liked it. [After hiring a new headmaster], the school named me assistant headmaster.

Then in 1967, The Foote School was looking for a head and they invited me up to New Haven for an interview. For some reason they hired me. I started there July 1, 1967, when I was just 33. We moved across the street from the school, rented a house, and started working there.

I liked school life: I like kids, I like recess, I like games, I like being in the classrooms, I like the interaction, and I love to teach. For me, it just clicked. I knew I was very, very lucky, especially to go to Foote — to a place like that with a reputation like that. It was a wonderful school. I said to myself, “How did you ever get that job?” I still feel that way. I don't think I could have ever had a better job.

At the end of 25 years, I said, “You gotta let somebody else run the place. You're getting stale.” So, I don't know if it's right or wrong, but life went on and I still love the place. You guys are so, so nice to me.

Q: If you can remember back to your first year at Foote, who was the first person you hired or what were some of the first decisions you made?

FP: Well, you know, Bob Sandine was there. And, he was a very good friend of Mrs. Churchill [Foote’s previous headmistress]. So I made Bob assistant headmaster right off the bat. He was a rock beside me for the whole run. He's still one of my best friends. I started off with a good crowd. There were some really wonderful teachers there. I did all the hiring. I did all the placement. I did all the admissions. We didn't have any assistants. But I loved it.

Q: What was behind the decision to add the 9th grade?

FP: The theory was you go to grammar school until 8th grade, then you go to high school. But there was also a feeling that a lot of kids would do better with an extra year at the grammar school level before they jumped into the big high schools. So we debated that, and the trustees and committees thought that would be a good idea. We wanted to have a 9th grade. Bob Sandine and Virginia Wilkinson basically started it, ran it for several years, and added programs of travel here. We got a following.

Q: In your experience, what is a hallmark of a Foote education?

FP: We were always very strong on academics, and I thought writing was very important and wanted the kids to be good at that. Practice, practice, practice.

What got me laughing was that the kids had been all over the world, but they didn't know where the Mississippi River was. They didn't know where Kansas was. So I taught them all the states, all the capitals, all the presidents, latitude, longitude, geography. We memorized the Gettysburg Address. We memorized poems.

They had to recite everything. They could draw a map of the United States. I wanted to fill in the basics. So I taught the whole 7th grade every year for 25 years. I was in the classroom every day and that's how I got to know the kids.

Q: Another thing you did was create ways for alumni to stay connected to the school, like reunions and the alumni magazine.

FP: There was nothing. I can't believe it — it was a clean slate. Isabelle Dewitt started Foote Prints. We started an alumni association. We started reunions.

There was very very little in the way of fundraising. We had a deficit every year. We didn't have any money. You know, the school wasn't broke, but it was just going day-to-day, practically. Every year they had a fundraising drive, and the treasurer would send out a letter at Christmas time, and they'd raise about $20,000–25,000. That was the only fundraiser, no development, no nothing. And then slowly but surely we started a little endowment. I'm very proud; $20 million is not a bad endowment at all for any school like ours.

Q: What were some other unique experiences students and faculty had?

FP: We had a house in Vermont, which Laura and I bought in 1971, and we took the 8th grade up there for an overnight and brought the 9th grade for three or four nights. We did it every year. We had wonderful, wonderful times doing that.

Q: Who are some of the teachers you still keep in touch with?

FP: Getting good teachers is always the fun and the trick. That's who runs the school, not me. The teachers do it. And so I was always looking out for somebody. Jay Cox came along — he was a shop teacher out of Madison Country School. I hired him to teach fifth grade when we had an opening. He seemed to me to be the perfect guy for boys and girls that age. And he had a great personality.

Then the business manager left, and I hired him to be business manager. He did that until just a few years ago. I talk to him all the time. He's a great friend. Another guy, Bob Osborne, has always been a wonderful guy. He came along as sort of an intern in the lower grades way,

Frank Perrine Timeline (1967–1992)

way back. He is still teaching high school in New Haven. Oh, still a half a dozen teachers. Francie Irvine and Laura Altshul and Jerry Overly. I talk to them regularly and Patty Langdon. It's been a huge part of my life. And, I haven't got the right words to say how happy it's made me.

Q: Over the course of your 25 years at Foote, did it seem like the students changed? What seemed to change the most for you?

1967

Frank becomes Head of School

Rooted School on Loomis Place

1970

First issue of Foote Prints Magazine is issued

1971

Welcomes first 9th grade class (curricular theme: “Wilderness and the City”)

1970s

Adds Latin, Russian, and Spanish language courses

1973

Acquires 5-acre parcel of land for playing fields

1974 Begins Mixed Age Group (combining students from grades 1 and 2 in one classroom for two years with same teacher)

K–5 becomes Lower School and 6–9 becomes Upper School

1979

First official Alumni Reunion Foote’s first Apple II microcomputer

FP: When I grew up, we got home from school, played outside, and did everything all day. Now everybody runs the kids to games and plays and this and that and they never have any freedom, are never alone. The parents are all over them all the time. That's the only thing I see differently.

I think kids just need good handling, and places like Foote do it well. They still learn to read. They still learn to write. They still learn to play ball. They still learn to be good people. I've always been big on trying to get them to do something good with their lives, to make the world better.

Q: What other people defined Foote over the years?

FP: Lola Salowitz taught math forever, and Ann Gulliver was a great teacher. We had a lot of them. That was the trick. Annie Clark taught gym forever. A lot of other people stayed there for 20, 25 years. The place just worked. We had a nice camaraderie. We had very good trustees. Bart Giamatti, Eli Clark, John Smith, Milt DeVane, Everton Hosley, Jay Bovilski, Charlie Michael. The last 15–20 years, there have been a lot of terrific women who were on the board.

Q: How did athletics fit into the school philosophy?

FP: I loved our sports approach. We were never a killer of teams. We liked to play. The coaches were wonderful. They let the kids play. And we weren't trying to kill everybody and beat everybody. We had some good teams and we had some good spirit. But I liked the approach to athletics. It was not trying to be big-time.

Q: It seems like you led the way for your three children, who are all involved in education.

FP: I'm so proud they've all been teachers, and I think some of the next generation will be, too. They love teaching.

We loved living in New Haven. We had a wonderful, wonderful 25 years there. It was still home to us. Our kids all went to Foote and then two of them went to Wilbur Cross High School and one went to boarding school. So we were still very involved with, and still love New Haven. Great, great, great part of our lives. Lucky. Lucky, lucky us.

To make a donation in memory of Mr. Perrine, visit footeschool.org/give.

1980

Foote enrollment tops 400 Inaugural “Foote Race” for financial aid

1980s

Creates of Community Caring Coalition, encouraging community service

1981

Foote Summer Theater begins

1984

New classroom building erected; expands endowment and scholarship funds.

1985

Ground broken for North Building (time capsule to be opened in 2035)

1986

Campaign raises $1.1 Million

1987

Fifth grade begins school-wide recycling program

1988

Foote School offers mini courses in After School Program

1989 Library expansion planned

1991

Foote celebrates its 75th anniversary Ribbon-cutting for new library (now called the Frank Perrine Library)

JASMINE (TOMPKINS) NIKOLE

Art is the connective tissue that binds all other facets of life. It is an educator, a healer, a diplomat, and an activist. It is at once deeply personal and universal. It is both an escape and a grounding force. Jasmine (Tompkins) Nikole ’06 knows this to be true.

An engineer, an educator, and entrepreneur — among many other roles — Jasmine determinedly keeps her creative side active. During the pandemic she took the leap to become a full-time artist. It’s meant hard work, and requires her to make tough choices, but the rewards far outweigh any reservations she might have had.

The Early Years

From her earliest days, Jasmine knew in her heart that she was an artist. Instead of toys, she asked her parents for art supplies so she could hone her craft at home. A 5-year-old asking for paper and paint made sense to them, too — they come from a long line of distinguished artists.

“We are all creators,” Jasmine explained. “We’re writ- ers, singers, photographers, graphic designers, painters, and musicians — on both sides of the family.”

Her grandmother and her great-grandfather were artists whose museum-quality paintings were displayed in prestigious institutions. Though Jasmine never had the opportunity to meet them — or even view their works, as they have been lost to time — she carries with her the inspiring stories that have been passed down: how her grandmother’s works were purportedly displayed at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, or how, when her great-grandfather became paralyzed, he used painting as a means of healing.

Jasmine, who is primarily a painter, can relate to that. She’s been able to use her craft to unite communities, provide a space for healing, and encourage others to embrace their authenticity.

When Jasmine came to Foote in second grade, she brought with her a talent for creating — not just works of art, but community. She immersed herself in all Foote had to offer, and stayed through 9th grade, so she could experience the China trip, and enjoy more time with her tight-knit classmates.

“We had really strong bonds,” she laughed.

She also took advantage of the varied art classes, media, and techniques that are still endemic in the Foote curriculum.

“I think the art program [at Foote] really shaped me and exposed me to the tools and skills that I use today and every day,” she said. For example, when someone asks her if she’s ever worked with clay, or sculpted stones, she can nod confidently. “The different media that I was exposed to at Foote just opens my eyes and makes me want to explore it more as an artist now.”

Applied Science And Math

Jasmine left Foote for Sacred Heart Academy, bringing with her not just her artistic aptitude (and renowned dance skills) but a penchant for science and math that led her to Rochester Institute of Technology for an engineering degree. Like the student herself, this degree was about substance and style. RIT is one of just nine institutions that offers an undergraduate degree in Packaging Science. The degree addresses the practical: how are packages designed for sustainability, shipment, and cost-effectiveness? It also addresses the aesthetic: how do products look when they’re in the package and on the shelf?

While she worked toward this career, she also got heavily involved in all aspects of college life: mentoring, community health coaching, gospel choir, student clubs, government, and dozens of other activities. Yet Jasmine never lost touch with her artwork.

“It’s always a part of me,” she said. She would carve out time about once a year to do some form of art just for herself. She was also frequently commissioned to create works for others, from portraits to wall murals (continuing the business she’d started in middle school).

After college she moved back to Connecticut, taking a job at Unilever, where she was a packaging engineer for Dove’s, St. Ives, Vaseline, Fisher Price, Conair, and more. She was also seeking out new ways to connect with her community. Again, art was the answer. She opened a paint-and-sip spot and found that while it was a way to connect people with each other, it was also a way to connect people to themselves.

“Not only was I instructing a painting session, I was also leading self-fulfillment workshops in the middle of the session. Guests were leaving with new connections to the other people around them, and a better understanding of themselves and what they want to do in the future. That’s where the healing in communities comes in as well,” she reflected.

Up until then, she hadn’t seriously considered art as a career — while it’s true her family are all talented artists, “art was never looked at as a means of living,” she explained. After the pandemic hit, she began to reconsider how she was spending her time and talent. Shortly after she gave birth to her son, she found herself working from home and wondering why she wasn’t putting more of her energy into her artwork. She began to split her professional time between engineering and her artwork. By the time her daughter arrived, there was no question about what she wanted to do. She left engineering behind and put all her energy into growing her art business.

While it isn’t always easy — she can’t always say yes to every project she’d like to take on, and finding childcare in the moment is always tough — she does not second-guess her decision.

“It absolutely was the right decision. I have no doubt,” she said. “I’m able to spend those moments, every single day, with my kids. I’m grateful for that.”

Seeing People

Today Jasmine’s business, Jasmine Nikole Art Studio, is flourishing. Her website (beautifully designed by her sister, graphic designer Tiara ((Tompkins)) McKnight ’09) abounds with stunning portraits and vibrant nature-inspired scenes. It’s alive with the same energy and passion that Jasmine exudes.

Portraits are her specialty, and “seeing people” is her priority. There were so many times in her own experience when she felt she wasn’t seen, and she never wants anyone else to feel that way.

“I think this is a world where everybody is a number or a statistic, and it’s been that way for a long time. … I always want to make people aware: ‘Hey, I see you. I see what you’re doing. I recognize you. I see your strength, but more importantly, I want you to see your own strength,’” she emphasized.

This summer Jasmine brought this mentality with her into the classroom as part of Horizons at Foote’s summer program. She taught art to grades K–8, and forged a special connection with the middle school students.

“They can get so lost in their friend groups, they feel like they’ve lost their individuality,” she said.

One day she asked 7th grade students to take a piece of paper and first write down what others think about who they are. Next, she asked them to write down who they think they are. “Who are you?” she pointedly asked. After making their two lists, she told the students to tear up their first list.

“Everything on that page, good or bad, none of it matters. The only thing that matters is what you say about yourself,” she told them.

She then asked them to write down what they want to be — who they want to be — not when they “grow up,” but now.

“What steps are you taking to be that person?” she asked them. “The future is now. It doesn’t happen magically one day.” The exercise was transformative, particularly for the students who originally seemed closed off during her class. “After that they really started to open up.”

During the pandemic, Jasmine began to ask herself those same questions: “Who am I? What am I really doing?”

“I began to think, ‘Now is a good time.’ We were hit with a pandemic so you were faced with yourself. To be recognized and feel seen and be able to relate to others is very important in reconnecting after that solitude,” she said.

Yet in some ways, she said, that way of thinking really started during her time as a student at Foote.

“I think Foote exposed me to a world that I would not have been exposed to,” she explained. “[For example], respecting others is something that my family taught me, but at Foote I was able to practice it.”

Last spring, she invited the Foote kindergarten classes to her exhibit at Creative Arts Workshop: “Freedom Dreams.” It’s her favorite series, and cemented her decision to become a professional artist.

She explained, “Telling stories is very important and that particular series sent me on the path that I’m on right now, mentally, spiritually, and physically. The story behind it is that we have to strip away the technology and social norms now to achieve true freedom, which is living off of the earth and being close to nature.”

To view and/or purchase her work, visit jnikoleartcollection.com

SAVE THE DATE: NOV. 10

For one night only, Jasmine will host an exhibit at NXTHVN:

“She’s Gotta Have It: An Icon Art Gallery Showcase”