Meetinghouse Fall 2024

THE MAGAZINE OF FRIENDS SEMINARY

Meetinghouse

Stories of Wisdom, Connection & Heart

Bob Rosen, Larry Carter and Judy Anderson ’66 retire with 134 years of combined service.

+ Thinking On Their Feet

Dance turns 25—celebrating Barry Blumenfeld and Adia Tamar Whitaker.

+ 20 Years of Unwavering Focus

Celebrating CFO/COO Sisi Kamal

+ Their Light Lives On

Remembering Emeriti Phil Schwartz and Ann Sullivan

Archives

FROM THE 1918

FOOTLOOSE FRIENDS

Friends students participate in “aesthetic dancing” during a girls gymnastics class in 1918. Quakers rejected dance for most of their history. Emerging from the Puritan movement, Quakers felt that art, including dance, was sinful. In the Modern Period, from approximately 1900 to the present time, Friends began to write in support of dance and to accept dance. William Charles Braithwaite, a Quaker leader, in a statement from the Manchester Conference boldly supported art as a rich source of the Spirit of God, a turning point that made it possible for Friends to take a new view of dance. The real break-through came in the 1950s when folk dancing was introduced widely in Friends schools.

Our Mission

Friends Seminary educates students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, adhering to the values of the Religious Society of Friends. We strive to build a diverse school where students exercise their curiosity and imagination as they develop as scholars, artists and athletes. In a community that cultivates the practices of keen observation, unhurried reflection, critical thinking and coherent expression, we listen for the single voice as we seek unity. The disciplines of silence, study and service provide the matrix for growth: silence opens us to change; study helps us to know the world; service challenges us to put our values into practice. At Friends Seminary, education is rooted in the Quaker belief in the Inner Light—that of God in every person. Guided by the testimonies of integrity, peace, equality and simplicity, we prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be.

Adopted December 2015

OPENING SHOTS

Teacher Judy Anderson ’66 works with a student in 1983.

OPENING SHOTS

OPENING SHOTS

Teachers Bob Rosen, Judy Anderson ’66 and Larry Carter receive a standing ovation at the 2024 Emeritus Ceremony in May 2024.

FALL

Notes on Silence A Friendly Welcome Commencement 2024

Books by Friends

A Message from Bo Reunion 2024

Buzz on 16th

Meetinghouse

EDITOR

John Galayda

MANAGING EDITORS

Bryan Hogan

DESIGN

Kyla Campbell, John Galayda

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kyla Campbell, John Galayda, Joseph

Gomez, Bryan Hogan, Michael John Murphy, Stephen Yang ’03

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION

Robert “Bo” Lauder, Head of School

Their Light Lives On

WRITERS/CONTRIBUTORS

Kyla Campbell, Suzy Cohen ’89, Tommy Fagin ’08, Maria Fahey, John Galayda, Jeff Galian, Clove Galilee ’87, Marge Gonzalez, Bryan Hogan, Rebecca Holmes, Bo Lauder, Tom Miller, Makayla Smith, Ashley Tripp, Elizabeth Zimmer

Devan Ganeshananthan, Associate Head of School

Nisa Bryant, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management

Michelle Cristella, Head of Middle School

Erin Gordon, Head of Lower School

Bryan Hogan, Director of Communications

Marjorie Jean-Paul, Director of Institutional Advancement

Kara Kutner, Director of the Center for Peace, Equity & Justice

Sisi Kamal, Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Eric Osorio, Head of Upper School

Trupti Patel, Dean of Faculty

Kirsti Peters, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Hassan Wilson, Dean of Studies

If you think you've spotted an error in this issue, we would be grateful if you could let us know at communications@friendsseminary.org. Thank you!

WBO LAUDER A Message from HEAD OF SCHOOL

elcome to the 2024 issue of Meetinghouse, Friends Seminary’s community magazine. There is much to share since our last issue. During the 2023-2024 school year, we embraced the theme of “Continuing a Culture of Connection,” focusing on connections within our school community, locally, regionally, and globally.

Recognizing the need to renew and strengthen our community post-COVID, we initiated several new programs. These include a parent/faculty/staff/trustee Meeting for Worship to open the school year, regular meetings for parent groups with division heads, and family potlucks centered on heritage celebrations, which have become new traditions for our on-campus community. We also renewed our efforts to organize regional gatherings for alumni, parents of alumni, and former faculty and staff. If you’re interested in a gathering in your area, please contact Michael Mudho, Director of Alumni Relations.

We focused on local and regional connections by opening Leading, the James Turrell Skyspace at Friends Seminary, to the public for the first time. The Skyspace has been visited by schools and colleges from near and far, and most recently by a school in London. We have also welcomed local arts, design, and architectural organizations, as well as our immediate neighbors. Free public access will continue one evening per month while school is in session. For more information, visit www.friendsskyspace.com.

Our Global Education program offered students opportunities to make global connections. A new language-based exchange program had a successful inaugural year with Colegio Sant Ignasi in Barcelona, Spain. In the fall, Friends students hosted students from Sant Ignasi for three weeks, and then stayed with their Spanish counterparts for three weeks in the spring.

This immersive program returns this year, with plans for expansion. Traditional Spring Break travel also resumed, with Upper School students and faculty exploring “Indigenous Ways of Being” in Vancouver. Additionally, Middle School students engaged in Global Dialogues on important issues like artificial intelligence, and Lower School students learned about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through their Global Goalkeepers course. Finally, we continue our tradition of connecting with our community through this magazine. In this issue, you’ll read about the robust and thriving Dance program at Friends, now 20 years old. We also feature a profile on Sisi Kamal, our CFO/COO, who is celebrating her 20th year at the School, a story about civil rights icon Bayard Rustin and his connection to Friends, and in-depth looks at our three recent faculty emeritus honorees—Judy Anderson ’66, Larry Carter, and Bob Rosen—whose combined years of service total 134 years, as told by three of their former students. You’ll also get a peek at the interior renovation of the Annex, read reviews of books by Friends alumni from Faculty Emerita Marge Gonzalez, and enjoy a special Notes on Silence reflecting on last year’s Peace Week, among other features.

There is so much more to share, but for now, enjoy this issue of Meetinghouse. I look forward to seeing you on campus.

Happy reading!

Bo Lauder Head of School

A FRIENDLY WELCOME

This fall, Friends Seminary welcomed 23 talented, experienced and new faculty and staff members, including two senior administrators.

Marjorie Jean-Paul

Director of Institutional Advancement

Marjorie Jean-Paul joins Friends from Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), where she was Chief Advancement Officer. She began her independent school development career in 2008 at The Waldorf School of Garden City as Director of Development and Alumni Relations, later serving as Chief Community Engagement Officer at Buckley Country Day School, where she also chaired the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Before independent schools, she worked as a non-profit management and fundraising consultant. Marjorie holds a B.S. from Cornell, an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from the New School, and a DEI Certificate from Cornell. She is pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

Learn more about our new community members at www.friendsseminary.org/newemployees.

Eric Osorio

Head of Upper School

Eric Osorio joins Friends from the Calhoun School, where he has been the Associate Head of School for Teaching and Learning since 2018. A Horace Mann graduate, Eric earned his B.A. in Sociology and International Relations from Tufts University and an M.A. in Private School Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, as a Klingenstein Fellow. His career in education began at Noble and Greenough School, where he taught civics and history and served as Associate Director of Diversity Initiatives. He later held roles as Assistant Head of Upper School at Packer Collegiate Institute, Dean of Students at Worcester Academy, and Associate Head of School at Swift School in Georgia.

BOOKS BY FRIENDS

FACULTY EMERITA MARGE GONZALEZ REVIEWS

BY FRIENDS SEMINARY COMMUNITY AUTHORS

Idlewild

by James Frankie Thomas ’05

Idlewild is a small Quaker school on Fifteenth Street in Manhattan. Fifteenth, Sixteenth, who’s counting? It would be tempting to treat this novel as a roman à clef, and once in a while communal moments at Friends Seminary do poke through the fictional scrim. Who can forget the morning meeting when Raoul proposed to Dorothy before the astonished eyes of the entire upper school? This momentous vignette appears here and as in real life, the fictional fiancée says, “Yes.” But this is rare and Idlewild is not a roman à clef. I understand that those who

were at Friends Seminary at the time these events were unfolding at Idlewild will be tempted to look for equivalents. My advice is to read this book like any other novel, for its own story. The Friends Seminary experience is not disguised but rather imaginatively transformed into something new. Idlewild is every high school, that crucible we all went through, where we begin to take over defining who we are through angst, longing, confusion and relationships of such intensity that they hover over our whole lives.

Within this universal are very specific particulars. At the center of the book is the friendship between Nell and and Fay, who take turns telling the story, except when their minds are so enmeshed that they fuse into one. Then they write together. Nell is an out Lesbian; Fay does not have her friend’s clarity about her own sexual identity. Her fantasy life runs toward images of gay men. Nell and Fay befriend two boys, whose relationship, somewhat mysterious, triggers the girls imaginations. If these boys are gender-nonconforming, that is not the most important thing about them. One of them, for all his charm, is a scary sociopath.

BOOKS

The book is filled with ferment. The trauma of 9/11 hangs over Nell and Fay. Nell, particularly, begins to understand her own role in a shockingly racist event at the school. Fay, a lifer, is not equipped to face the future and emerge from the warm cocoon of Idlewild. The school’s theater program, a somewhat safe haven, is also a center of competition and turmoil.

If you pick up this book, you are in for an engrossing read and for a trip back to your own teen years. Expect to wonder what became of those friends you used to know as second selves. //

Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity

by Sarah F. Derbew ’05

If you think that scholarship, particularly scholarship of ancient relics and literary works, is dry and tedious, think again. Sarah Derbew’s journey back and forth through time will acquaint you with, among many other things, clay artifacts from the fifth century BCE and how they relate to museum curation today,

The Suppliants, a lesser known play of Aeschylus, and how it relates to the work of twentieth century

Martinican writer Franz Fanon, and the role of the Aethiopians, a term full of entanglements in itself in Herodotus’s Histories and how this role relates to Cavafy’s wonderful poem “Waiting for the Barbarians.”

You are in for a dizzying ride because Sarah’s purpose is to show how much care we must take when we examine the distant past lest we make the mistake of seeing through the distorting lens of our own time. The stereotypes and conventional misconceptions embedded in the post-slavery world we inhabit cause people of our day to misconstrue what they see when they study the past. By untangling blackness in Greek antiquity Sarah shows how today’s cultural biases present a false view of how people with black skin were perceived in antiquity.

The clay artifacts in question are cups with faces of two different hues on either side. These mugs remind me of the topsy-turvy dolls of a much more recent era that Karen SánchezEppler ’77 describes in her book

Touching Liberty. Most of us would say that one face is black and the complexity.” This is what Sarah does as she confronts the confusing jumble head on. Jumping into the tangled extant material of antiquity, Sarah does not shy away from the complications and contradictions she is presented with. She pulls apart the strands so that we can take a look. As she states, “In turning away from the reductive classifications of black people in ancient Greek literature and art, I have sought to lay bare uncritical analyses of black skin color that have long informed scholarship in Classics.” (187)

The sweep of Sarah’s erudition is breathtaking. I am impressed that all her translations from the Greek are her own. The ease with which she connects the ancient and the modern, her implementation of performance theory and critical race theory, her clarity in defining her terms, her willingness to look into old texts and artifacts and see them with new eyes, and her courage in facing down received wisdom all make her a voice to listen to. I, for one, can’t wait to see what she does next. //

Winning Fixes Everything

by Evan Drellich ’04

This book is about baseball, but don’t expect a romance about the boys of summer or the field of dreams. Baseball, it turns out, is a business and a rather cut-throat one at that. The front office, where every trick imaginable is dreamed up to bring a team to the World Series, is not motivated by the love of the sport. In some cases the powers in the

front office don’t know anything about the sport. Evan, along with Ken Rosenthal, broke the story about the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal. This story acquainted the public of the shenanigans designed to skew the results of the game. First the team deciphered the signals catchers on opposing teams used to communicate with pitchers, and then they alerted batters by banging on garbage cans. Apparently, knowing what sort of pitch was coming his way was a big advantage for the guy at the plate.

This book shows that this form of cheating is the tip of the iceberg, and the Astros were not alone at all in bending and breaking rules.

Technology has tempted general managers and players to devise new, dishonest ways of outwitting rivals.

The anti-hero of this book is Jeff Luhnow, a man of dubious ethics and Astros’ General Manager at the time of the scandal. But the book is packed with characters who put money above the game and winning above everything. If you wonder how principles erode in a culture like baseball, you will gain insight here.

The most astounding thing about

this book to me is how Evan gets so many players on the field and players behind the scenes to confide in him. This book is thoroughly researched mainly because people tell Evan things.

On a personal note, I gave the last book I read by Evan to my brother. He was a huge sports fan. That book was about the Boston Red Sox, and at that time my brother was going through chemo. He said that the book was perfect. It occupied his mind as nothing else could. The last time I spoke with him just a day or two before he died, I told him about this book. I said that Evan had broken the story about the Astros cheating with the code. “No kidding!” he said, very impressed. The last words I ever heard my brother say were, “When you finish that book, send it to me.” //

There's a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak by Jonathan Cott ’62

Maurice Sendak was a great admirer of Herman Melville, so it is fitting that Jonathan Cott takes the title of this work, which is mostly about Sendak’s Outside Over There, from Melville’s Redburn. There is enough mystery in Outside Over There, ostensibly a children’s picture book, to sustain this ambitious work of analysis-through- interview and to lead the reader to feel that the last word has not yet been spoken. The complexity of Outside Over There emerges from a kaleidoscopic range of perspectives. Jonathan interviews Sendak himself, a Freudian

analyst, a Jungian analyst, a specialist in children’s literature, an art historian and a highly respected playwright. Each interview shifts our view of the work from autobiography to psychoanalysis to object of art to mythologizing storytelling as life events meet a tender imaginative psyche.

From the interview with Sendak, we come to understand the importance of Sendak’s childhood to this work: his mother’s depression, his older sister’s efforts to compensate for the mother’s withdrawal and the impact of the father’s absence. This childhood informs the book, but events from the world impinge as well – the Lindbergh kidnapping, the Dion quintuplets, and most importantly , Mozart, to whom, Sendak claims, the book is an homage.

If you are reading Outside Over There to your children, you might want to treat yourself to Jonathan Cott’s book so that you don’t miss all the fabulous references—the nod to Leonardo, to Grimm and to Marvell-- the ambiguity of the goblins, and the significance of the wonder horn. You will also come away awed by Jonathan’s skill at conducting wholly absorbing interviews. //

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman ’82

Malka (later Lillian) narrates her story, vividly bringing to life the brutal conditions endured by immigrants in the early Twentieth Century, who arrive in America with nothing but their need to survive. The family, composed of Malka, her sisters and her parents, finds its way to the derelict tenements of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where it is torn apart, first by her father’s defection and then by the illness and madness that extreme hardship breeds. Though misfortune and abandonment plague Malka’s life, her extraordinary cleverness saves her from every peril. She can construct an exculpating whopper in two seconds flat. One such lie changes her on the spot from a little Jewish girl to a little Catholic one. The story of Malka’s childhood was so compelling that I wasn’t sure what the rest of the book could be about. Turns out that “Lillian’s” adulthood is even more stupendous. She has some luck, but mostly, through her own ingenuity,

she rebounds from setbacks and betrayals, often through appalling (though sometimes endearing) lapses in ethics. Her voice is filled with wonderful yiddishisms. She’s funny. The author’s in-depth understanding of the world of ice cream (yes, the book IS about ice cream) contributes to its engaging authenticity. I am very grateful to Liz Baer ’82 for telling me about this writer. //

Children of Light: Friends Seminary 1786-1986

by Nancy Reid Gibbs ’77

This invaluable history of the School sprang from a happy coincidence: Joyce McCray’s tenure as principal at the time of the bicentennial of the School, the School’s long-standing traditions, and the availability of such a promising young writer and alum as Nancy Gibbs. I doubt that any one of her all-male predecessors had Joyce’s keen sense of occasion and vision. The celebration was marked by a cantata, a book of faculty essays, a magnificent quilt, and of course a commissioned history of the institution. When I mentioned at Joyce’s retirement party that the School’s bicentennial had more regalia than the bicentennial of the French Revolution, I got a laugh. But I think everyone knew I was just telling the truth.

I cannot imagine that many institutions have a written history of this quality and depth. It is the story of a School but rooted in the context of a changing city, country, even world. The book discloses a School that strengthens, falters, reinvigorates

itself, and veers off in new directions as forces from without and leadership from within impact its course. After all, it came into being in a very young country and from its hallowed halls (actually a succession of hallowed halls) looked out at all the events of two centuries, from the early days when New York was the country’s capital to the Civil War to

the civil rights movement to Vietnam, from a particular vantage point.

Toward the end of the book, Nancy states that from this point on, the book is a narrative and not a history. This is the part that exists in the living memories of many people (including me). We had an upheaval in the School in the seventies when a new principal was hired. The atmosphere was charged with emotion and uncertainty, and many in the School were deeply entangled in the controversy. I can only say that Nancy’s description of those turbulent times was dispassionate and evenhanded. I think that those who were there, regardless of their position in the conflict, would admire her fairness. //

About Marge

Many Friends Seminary alumni and faculty have published books over the years, and Margaret Gonzalez intends to read them all.

In 2017, Marge, a former Friends French Teacher, parent of an alumna and former trustee, set out on a journey to read all the literature she could find from Friends alumni, faculty and staff.

Marge is also a writer. Her memoir, Body in Space: My Life with Tammy, is the story of two people: Tammy, a four-year-old child living in the precarious world of foster care, and Marge, a French Teacher at Friends Seminary, who took her in and eventually adopted her.

Follow her literary adventures online and learn more about her memoir at margegonzalez.net.

Buzz on 16th

ADVANCED STUDIO CLASS PRESENTS WORK IN CHELSEA

For the third year, 14 juniors and seniors in Advanced Studio class— taught last year by Jesse Pasca—exhibited a diverse array of works at the Caelum Gallery in Chelsea on May 9. This culminating show reflected a range of deep and considered work. The students explored a variety of materials, interrogated the larger culture, asked questions of themselves and their own identities, and produced beautiful and provocative works. Advanced Studio, a capstone course, is designed for motivated students interested in any artistic discipline and eager to fully explore their creative potential.

DEBATE TEAM CONQUERS THE STATE LEAGUE

The Friends Parliamentary Debate Team strengthens skills in public speaking, critical analysis, and understanding from multiple perspectives. A co-curricular program established by Kiran Singh’20, who was in Grade 10 at the time, has grown over the last four years with dedicated support from Chair of the English Department Kate Olsen serving as advisor. Last year’s team enjoyed considerable success with Jenny ’24 (pictured at right) who ranked number one in New York Parliamentary Debate League (NYPDL) and qualified for Nationals and the NYPDL Tournament of Champions. Janelle ’25 and Will ’25 were ranked varsity debaters, and Anna ’27, Emil ’27 and Lucy ’27 were ranked novice debaters.

PARENTS ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES CULTURAL FAMILY POTLUCK SERIES

The school theme for 2023-2024 was “Continuing a Culture of Connection,” and new initiatives were put in place to help facilitate those connections. Notable among these were a series of cultural family potlucks spearheaded by the Parents Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee (PADIC). On four occasions throughout the year, the Great Room and Inner Courtyard were transformed into heritage festivals featuring decorations, performances, activities and smorgasbords of culinary delights to celebrate Diwali, Shabbat, Eid, and Black Excellence. These celebrations are continuing in 20242025, with an additional Latinx/Hispanic heritage celebration added.

CALCULATING CARBON UPTAKE IN THE PARK

Students in Grades 7 and 8 participated in a Climate Action Day last April by applying concepts learned in math and science classes to environmental issues within the larger community. Led by Science Department Chair Dr. Shayri Greenwood and Math Teacher Rachelle Scolari, students measured the circumferences of trees in Stuyvesant Square Park in order to calculate carbon uptake and sequestration. Students also built models of the Annex building and redesigned it as a passive solar structure.

STORIED POST OFFICE PROJECT DONATES TO NON-PROFIT

Following another successful year of the first grade Post Office Project, members of the Upper School Service Committee (Janelle ’25, William ’27 and Emil ’27) visited Jennifer Wittmer’s first grade class and presented two different nonprofits toward which the students could put the proceeds from the sale of their handmade stamps and envelopes: Girls Inc. and Heart of Dinner. The Service Committee reviewed the two organizations, led a discussion about their missions and impacts on the community, and helped the first graders work toward consensus. In the end they agreed to split the proceeds from the Post Office equally between Girls Inc. and Heart of Dinner.

GROWTH IN THE GREENHOUSE

Students in Grade 11 Biology 1 designed and implemented experiments to explore the factors that affect plant growth. The experiments ran for six weeks. Students then analyzee the data, presented the data and conclusions in a formal lab report and proposed further studies based on the information they gathered. Factors explored included the effects of pH on growth and germination, using alternative fertilizer formulations, the effect of motion on growth, and differences in growth caused by variable soil salinity.

BUILDING ROBOT OWLS TO ENGINEERING EGG DROPS

In February Lower and Middle School students, parents and staff members participated in the eighth annual Maker Day at Friends Seminary. From making robot owls to engineering egg carriers that would survive a perilous two story drop, the Friends community came together for a fun-filled morning of building, creating and designing. Supported by the School, Maker Day is an annual celebration of engineering, technology and design organized and executed by a dedicated committee of parents. Programs are designed and delivered by parent volunteers for students in Grades K-8.

STUDENTS (K-12) PERFORM ACROSS 17 PRODUCTIONS

The Performing Arts Department works with students K-12 teaching music and drama (and a Choreography Lab class in Upper School). Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, 11 concerts were performed, and Upper School Jazz students participated in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert to Benefit Friends Shelter. In the Upper School, dancer/choreographer students created and performed the annual ChoreoShow in May, while US thespians presented Merely Players (written by Performing Arts Chair Steve Borowka) for the fall play and The Mystery of Edwin Drood for the spring musical. In the Middle School, seventh and eighth graders mounted In the Forest of the Night in February, and Grades 5 and 6 put on Stories from Brothers Grimm in May.

READ MORE ON INSTAGRAM

To read more community stories, keep up with the latest news and see our community in action, visit and follow @friendsseminary on Instagram.

HOW DOES A QUAKER SCHOOL ROOTED IN PRINCIPLES OF STILLNESS AND SILENCE

INTEGRATE THE

VIBRANT

ENERGY OF DANCE INTO ITS CURRICULUM?

THE ANSWER LIES IN CAREFUL

PLANNING,

WEAVING

DIVERSE CULTURAL EXPERIENCES INTO THE FABRIC OF EDUCATION, AND TWO VISIONARY TEACHERS.

THINKING ON THEIR FEET

BY ELIZABETH ZIMMER & JOHN GALAYDA

When Barry Blumenfeld joined Friends Seminary in 1999, he brought with him a passion for movement and a vision for integrating dance into the heart of the School’s curriculum. Though dance had occasionally existed in some form at Friends, Barry’s arrival marked the beginning of a new era—one where dance would flourish as a key component of the students’ Quaker education. His expertise and enthusiasm helped transform the program into a vibrant space where creativity, culture, and community come together, laying the foundation for a dance program that continues to thrive today. In 2016, the program reached even greater heights with the arrival of Adia Tamar Whitaker, a choreographer and performer, whose global experience and dedication to traditional African dance brought a vital new dimension to the dance curriculum. Today, Dance at Friends is a dynamic blend of cultural exploration, artistic expression, and social-emotional learning.

In a lively and energetic dance studio, first graders weave a sticky web of masking tape, crisscrossing the room with playful determination as they bring the folklore of Anansi the spider—a clever trickster from West African mythology—to life. As they navigate the tangled strands, the children aren’t just learning about movement—they're connecting with each other, their creativity, and the world around them.

“Say, ‘I’ll take care of you,’” Friends Dance Teacher Adia Tamar Whitaker instructs them as the students move within the web, emphasizing the importance of community and support. This intricate web of connections extends far beyond tape in the dance studio.

Much like Anansi’s web, the Dance program is built on the strength of its connections—between students, faculty, and the broader dance community. Teachers Adia

I miss her deeply.” Barry, who rarely performs these days, danced two emotional tributes in honor of Robin during the Spring 2022 ChoreoShow.

After collaborating on an after-school dance and singing class with Faculty Emerita Joanna Pickett, Barry launched the School’s first regular dance class for Kindergarten in 2000. With strong support from the administration, that volved into a comprehensive K-3 dance program and an Upper School curriculum, offering

Barry holds a BA in Psychology, an MA in Dance from American University and is a graduate of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) of the 92nd Street Y. Alongside his work at Friends, he is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, nd Human Development and a faculty Tamar Whitaker and Barry weave together diverse cultural traditions, academic subjects, and emotional learning, ensuring that every thread is integral to the whole. Their close partnership creates a vibrant tapestry of learning, as dynamic and resilient as the webs spun by Anansi himself.

“Students experience dance as more than just movement,” Barry, who is celebrating his 25th year at Friends this year, said. “It’s a way for them to connect with the world, and themselves.”

When Barry, a drummer-turned-tap dancer and choreographer with a passion for psychology and the performing arts, joined Friends in 1999, the dance program was just .. a seedling of what it is today—largely extracurricular, with a few classes here and there. “We had to build it from the ground up, and that was both a challenge and an exciting opportunity,” Barry recalled. His connection to Friends began with the late Robin Hoffman, who dedicated over three decades to fostering extracurricular activities at the School. “I came one summer to teach an audition class for Robin during Friends’ summer camp,” Barry recalls. “After the first class finished, she asked me to stay and teach three more classes that day. I never left.”

BE EXPRESSIVE

member at DEL. Early in his training, he was selected to attend a workshop with legendary Gregory Hines, who imparted a simple, yet profound, message: “Be expressive.” Those two words left a lasting imprint on Barry, shaping his approach to dance and teaching dance for nearly three decades—guiding his belief that dance is not only an art form but a means of self-discovery and connection to the world, particularly the natural world. His youngest students dance as snowflakes and leaves falling from the sky. Some days, they erupt as volcanoes! Through movement they bring to life concepts like the water cycle, the seasons and Lunar New Year. They begin to create short choreographed dances, which

progress through Upper School. It is in ChoreoLab where students create full dance pieces that reflect their deepest selves, and then perform them over three days each the Spring.

Robin became one of Barry’s biggest supporter, and served as board president for his dance company. “I owe her so much for my career as an educator and as an artist, I wouldn’t be where I am today without her, and

Barry integrates the Quaker testimonies into teaching and takes action with students through Service projects worked into his curriculum. From 2017 through 2019, Barry and his students organized an annual dance concert to benefit Dancers Responding to AIDS, an organization that funds essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses. In all they raised over $20,000 for the non-profit.

As a professional dancer and choreographer, Barry founded TAPFUSION in 1997, a tap/modern dance company that fuses tap with modern dance. A recipient

of a Choreographers Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, he has since choreographed over a dozen works for the company.

Complementing his work, his professional affiliations run deep: he served as President of the state’s Dance Education Association and received the Outstanding PreK-12 Dance Educator Award in 2017, and the Outstanding Leadership Award from the National Dance Education Organization in 2019. For eight years, he authored a monthly “Ask The Experts” column for Dance Teacher Magazine.

As Barry’s career as an educator has grown, he’s had the rare opportunity to teach his own children, Ezra ’25 and Sidney ’23 and witness their lives in a unique way. “I’ve come to see him as a craftsman, one who pays close attention to all the details,” Sidney explained.

“The chance to see them in the hallways, give them a hug, and share in their education has been a gift.” Barry said. “It takes a village, and I’m so lucky that Friends is mine,” Barry said.

Top: Barry and Kindergarteners erupt as volcanoes in the Dance Studio in June 2024. Bottom: Adia plays the drum as students dan

NEW HEIGHTS: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER JOINS FRIENDS

In 2016, Adia—an acclaimed dancer, choreographer and vocalist, whose work has brought her across the globe to study traditional African-derived dance styles —joined Barry, helping to elevate the Dance program to new heights. From the moment Adia auditioned, it was clear she was the perfect fit, Barry said.

“From the first conversation I had with Adia on the phone, I knew she was the one,” he recalled. “I was more right than I could have imagined.”

“Because we are so different, our partnership is magic,” Adia added. “We’ve both learned a lot from one another.”

Adia and her husband were in their second year of raising two children when the opportunity at Friends arrived. She had worked as a performer, teaching artist, stylist, and in museums but said she hadn’t

worked full-time. After earning his MA, her husband left his full-time job to return to teaching art, making the timing of Friends Seminary's offer ideal for their family, she said.

Adia said her first impression of Friends was “shock at the abundant resources and financial wealth.”

“I was also struck by how clean and quiet the hallways were,” she said. “When I was getting food during my interview, I was asked what I thought about Friends. My reply was to ask if Friends shared their resources or had partnerships with other public schools in the neighborhood.* I was met with a nervous laugh and a conversation shift.”

Adia is a celebrated dancer, choreographer, and educator with extensive experience in Afro-Haitian dance, vernacular movement, and contemporary modern dance forms. She is the founding Artistic Director of Àṣẹ Dance Theater, a 24-year-old Brooklyn-based performance ensemble that explores neo-folkloric dance and music ........

Visit www.friendsseminary.org/communityimpact to see how Friends Seminary supports the surrounding community through charitable donations and sustainable practices.

Adia leading a Middle School dance class in the Great Room in June 2024.

theater rooted in the African diaspora. She holds a BA in Dance from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. She also completed advanced studies at The Ailey School and has traveled to countries such as Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Ghana, and Brazil to study traditional African dance styles.

Adia’s work blends cultural heritage with contemporary performance, drawing on her expertise in African spiritual traditions and diaspora experiences. Over her career, her choreography has been presented at prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, The Whitney, and Harlem Stage. In addition to her artistic work, she has received numerous accolades, including a travel and study grant from the Jerome Foundation, and she is in the process of completing her certification in the Katherine Dunham Technique, a dance methodology deeply rooted in African and Caribbean traditions.

“I have been very blessed to have always had teachers

that were very invested in my growth and well being," Adia said. “They instilled the importance and value of reciprocity in me at an early age. I knew that if I was taught, I had to teach. I never went to school for education. Teaching always came natural to me. I got better at it when I became a parent. Teaching isn’t something I ever thought about doing or becoming. It’s just part of who I am.”

Her vision is not only artistic but educational, as she continues to teach and create works that emphasize the spiritual and healing power of movement. Through Àṣẹ Dance Theater, she aims to preserve and expand the understanding of Africanist aesthetics in the "New World," making her a key figure in the dance community both in the U.S. and internationally.

“She has made not only the dance program so much richer, but the School as a whole,” Barry said. “She is a powerful force for good in this world. Through example, she has made me a better human being. I’m so grateful for her.”

Barry instructs ChoreoLab students in the studio in 2019.

UNDERSTANDING THROUGH MOVEMENT

In a time when students are increasingly confronted with challenges both inside and outside the classroom, dance offers a way to process the world around them, helping them develop the confidence, empathy, and adaptability they need to thrive. Mission-driven, the program serves as a vital tool for navigating emotions, building resilience, and fostering creativity. As students learn to move their bodies in new and meaningful ways, they also learn to collaborate, communicate, and think critically. Dance becomes a form of storytelling that connects them to diverse cultures and histories, while also encouraging them to explore their own identities.

“We have more time with children than anybody in the building,” Adia notes. “We raise these kids. We grow them. We teach them about culture and folklore as a way for them to look at their own cultures and folklore. North American people often have a hard time imagining African American history beyond slavery.” She also aims to demystify the transatlantic slave trade and the constructs of “Black” and “white” in North American history and culture.

“We start with a fun playground game that introduces the children to folklore, call and response, our class structure, and how dance making will work in Grades 5, 6 and 7,” she said. “We go on to forms like Haitian Ibo, Ghanaian Azonto and Kpanlogo, Senegalese Lamban and Kuku, and South African gumboot dance, and African American step-dancing, a form that evolved in historically Black colleges and universities.”

As students move between Barry’s and Adia’s classes, their close partnership guides them from Kindergarten through graduation.

“We’ve taken great time and care to make sure that everything we do from the time that we meet them until they leave us is impeccably curated.” Understanding that students who attend Friends Seminary come to the School with varying degrees of access to power, privilege and resources, Adia is keenly aware that there is a shared privilege among all students of simply having access to a Friends education. She aims to teach her students to use that privilege to create change.

“A child that grows up taking class with Barry and me will notice more about the world around them and be less afraid to try new things. As they learn about Carnival and dance to Soca music, they learn more about the cultures of their Caribbean caregivers and some of their teachers. As they learn about the Ga-Adangbe and Asante people of Ghana, West Africa and dance Kpanlogo, Azonto, and Afrobeats steps, they learn more about the role of Quakers as allies on the Underground Railroad, and Harriet Tubman’s ancestral lineage. As they dance Haitian Rara and Ibo, they learn about joyous and unyielding resistance. They learn that although it can be difficult and life threatening to stand up for everyone’s freedom, there are those that have done it since the beginning of time. From kindergarten until they leave, they all know and experience Anansi’s web as intersectionality and interconnectedness. Even if they can’t explain it, they can embody it. And this is the goal: to embody the lessons they learn in our classes, to use these lessons, to use their power, privilege, and resources to create power, privilege, and resources for others.”

Leveraging the city’s cultural landscape and its proximity to world-class dancers and performances, field trips are also a cornerstone of the program, extending their perspectives beyond 16th Street. In recent years,

Friends ChoreoLab students, along with other high school dancers, perform at the Joyce Theater in 2017 during a workshop with the Scottish National Ballet.

CURRICULUM A K-12 JOURNEY THROUGH THE DANCE

Kindergartners attend two weekly dance classes: Creative Movement with Barry and Sankofa with Adia. With Barry, they explore basic dance concepts while embodying natural phenomena like hurricanes and states of matter, linking movement to language arts and science.

First graders delve deeper into Adia’s Sankofa curriculum, which ties African diaspora folklore to social-emotional learning. Through call-a exercises, and activities like creating "Anansi’s web," students learn about empathy, community, and environmental responsibility.

Second graders expand their dance knowledge with Barry, studying 20th-century choreographers and using the Language of Dance to notate their movements. A field trip to the Joyce Theater further inspires their creativity.

Third graders explore the Underground Railroad through dance, studying the Quilt Code, Harriet Tubman, and Quaker involvement. They create choreographic pieces while reflecting on freedom and allyship.

Fourth grade takes a break from regular dance classes.

In grades 5-7, Adia’s curriculum focuses on African diaspora dance and cultural resistance. Students study styles from Haiti, Trinidad, and the U.S., learning about carnival and agricultural dances. Sixth graders attend DanceAfrica at BAM, where they stand out for their rhythmic precision.

Eighth graders meet weekly with Barry to study Capoeira, Tap, Lindy, Salsa, and Bachata, with an emphasis on improvisation. Faculty, including Middle School Head Michelle Cristella, often join in to teach partner dancing.

In Upper School, Barry’s ChoreoLab focuses on dance composition. Students attend professional performances and collaborate with guest artists, showcasing their choreography in the annual ChoreoShow. Upper School technique classes cover Modern Dance, Tap, and Yoga, balancing technical skills with dance history.

Barry and Adia have brought students to bear witness to dancers on some of the biggest stages in New York City. Last fall, Barry brought a group of students to witness a contemporary revival of Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring at the Park Avenue Armory. The production, featuring a cast from 14 African countries, left a lasting impression on the students, particularly during the dramatic scene change where the stage was transformed into a peat-covered field. “It’s one of my favorite pieces, and I considered it a mustsee. It blew their minds,” he said. This school year, Barry is taking his ChoreoLab students to see the Jose Limón Dance Company at The Joyce and then Dante Puleio, the artistic director, will be meeting with them after. A company member will then work with ChoreoLab for several weeks, teaching "Limón movement philosophy and incorporating learning sections of a Limón repertory, while also giving the students the freedom to create their own dance.

Through their professional affiliations and connections, Barry and Adia have brought the world of dance to Friends’ doorstep. Last year, Adia’s sixth grade students prepared for their annual visit to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with a lesson from Farai Maliaga, a DanceAfrica teaching artist who’s on the faculty at Florida State University. He played percussion in the Great Room and demonstrated how different beats of his drum correlate with dance moves. “Every year since I’ve been at Friends, the sixth grade students attend the Dance Africa performance at BAM. This is an essential part of my curriculum, she said. “As a part of that experience, a music teaching artist from BAM comes to Friends to do a preperformance workshop with the children. It is always a joy and a pleasure to introduce my talented artist community to my students.”

Additionally, Barry and Adia frequently collaborate with other Friends faculty across disciplines. Adia explores all corners of the School community, locating among the faculty and staff people from different parts of the African diaspora who can bring a first-hand understanding of African and Caribbean diasporic ritual and culture to her classes, like inviting P.E. Teacher Warren Salandy, a Tobagonian, to share his knowledge with students that they both teach. “We have three sororities out of the Divine Nine represented in the building,” she said, referring to the Friends staff and faculty that are members of African-American social organizations founded in historically Black colleges and universities.

CONNECTING WITH THE PAST AND WITH EACH OTHER

In 2021, Barry and Adia developed the Grade 3 Underground Railroad dance curriculum, which explores the folklore of the Railroad Quilt Code through distinct quilting patterns believed to have guided self-liberators during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In weekly Creative Movement classes, students learn about the roles Quakers and Harriet Tubman played, Tubman’s Asante ancestry, and the folklore of Anansi the Spider. They study navigation skills using the North Star and Big Dipper. Lower School faculty in music, art, technology, and library support these efforts as students learn the Quilt Code and Asante Adinkra symbols for their choreography. They reflect on why Quakers risked their lives for others’ freedom, explore the meaning of freedom and allyship, and recognize how all Americans benefited from the labor of Black and African people. They also practice observing and reflecting on their own work and that of others.

HEALING THROUGH MOVEMENT

After a 15-year hiatus, Barry has started choreographing again—a tap dance adaptation of The Rite of Spring with NYU dancers, a deeply personal project inspired by the loss of his father in 2022. "It's a way for me to process grief through rhythm and movement," he shared. “It involves exploring themes—what it is to have a father, be a father, and lose a father. I’m living that. In many ways, it mirrors what we teach our students—to use dance not only as a form of expression but as a way to navigate life's challenges.”

The first excerpt of the work was performed in 2023 during NYU’s Distinguished Faculty Dance Concert. “I have 10 dancers doing a great job with a crazy task—tap dancing to Stravinsky,” he said.

Though the full production will take time to complete, Barry knows The Rite of Spring will open with a solo he’ll perform. In the end, his dance will express all the emotions he’s processing around his father’s loss. The final moments will depict him, embodying his father in the abstract world of the dance, transitioning into the ancestral realm.

While Barry is currently developing this production, it’s not his first time choreographing The Rite of Spring. In 2019, his fourth grade dance students performed a piece inspired by The Rite of Spring at the 92nd Street Y, as part of the 100th birthday celebration for Ann Hutchinson Guest, a renowned expert in dance and notation. In preparation for the performance, students learned about The Rite of Spring, deepening their understanding of the work and its legacy.

Adia’s latest project, Following The Road to Ose Tura, is inspired by grief and loss. It’s a dance and music response to The Road to Ose Tura, a film by her late friend and dance company member, Efeya Ifadayo Olaberinjo Makala Sampson—an Ifá priestess, dancer, and scholar. “Before she transitioned, she entrusted me and others in her dance family to complete the second part of her ancestral dance prayers and finish the films she started,” Adia explained. Both women were diagnosed with cancer, but Adia’s was less aggressive. She still struggles with survivor’s guilt, grief, and memories of inequities in the healthcare system.

The three-chapter, site-specific performance, featuring Adia’s choreography and film projections of Sampson’s work, premiered in August 2024. It included four ritual performances across three San Francisco locations over four days, with Àṣẹ Dance Theater presenting eleven song and dance prayers. The piece explores life, death, and spirituality, blending modern and folk dance with projected rituals and live music. It views death as a natural part of life, rooted in African religious traditions like Ifá. Adia’s choreography honors these beliefs and the resilience of Black culture, linking African practices with Black American gospel. One reviewer described the show as “one of the most joyful funerals one could attend,” highlighting the power of dance in celebration and mourning.

Adia received a sabbatical grant from Friends Seminary to tour the production nationally. From January to June 2025, she will be on leave to complete this work.

The Rite of Spring at NYU, 2023

Following The Road to Ose Tura, 2024

A SCHOOL EMBRACING DANCE

Over the past 25 years, the dance program has benefited from the School’s commitment to the arts. In 2019, Friends completed a major campus renovation that significantly expanded the dance program’s facilities. The new dance studio in the 218 Townhouse is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including advanced sound systems, a video projector, and headset microphones, ensuring that the energy and passion of dance are fully supported by the learning environment. Additionally, the renovation introduced the Great Room, a multi-purpose space, featuring ample seating. Dance classes and some performances are also held in this versatile space.

Today, Dance at Friends is more than a form of physical expression; it is a powerful medium through which students can explore their emotions, connect with others, and reflect on the world around them. In a rapidly evolving and often complex society, the Dance program gives students a structured way to process challenges, celebrate diversity, and grow as individuals. With each movement, students tap into their creativity, develop resilience, and build empathy, all while learning to work collaboratively and think critically. Dance at Friends becomes a form of storytelling that connects students to cultures and histories, while simultaneously encouraging them to define their own identities. Whether exploring

Orlando Hernandez ’08

studied English and Creative Writing at Yale University. Residing in Washington Heights, Manhattan, he performs with the vibrant tap dance and live music ensemble, Music from the Sole, while also working as a choreographer, teacher, and writer. As a playwright, his debut work, La Broa', premiered with the Trinity Repertory Company at the Dowling Theater in Providence, and ran from January through February 2024. The play, inspired by Marta V. Martínez’s Latino History of Rhode Island: Nuestras Raíces, explores the lived experiences of Spanish-speaking immigrants in Providence from 1947 to the present day.

Will Noling ’12

graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance with a BFA in Dance Performance, having spent a term on exchange at London Contemporary Dance School. They serve as a Lead Actionist and Partnership Manager for Hands are for Holding® at the Gibney Company, facilitating movement workshops for survivors of intimate partner violence and working in NYC schools with young people to prevent violence and promote healthy relationships. In addition, they are a founding collaborator, performer, and rehearsal director for Hannah Garner’s 2nd Best Dance Company. He has also come in to teach at Friends on occasion.

Scott Leff ’16

majored in dance at Connecticut College, where he studied augmented and interactive media technology in live performances. He also collaborated with the theater department at the College as a performer and choreographer for main stage productions. He attended the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Music Theater Institute (NMTI) where he intensively trained as a theater artist. Today, he is a freelance production designer in Manhattan, adept at a great range of technical skills, working in theater and film as a digital artist specializing in theatrical projection design.

LEGACY IN MOTION

ALUMNI SHAPING THE FUTURE OF DANCE

Piper Morrison ’19 & Ilana Lehrman ’19

are two alumna who were instrumental in launching the first ChoreoShow at Friends in 2019. Piper, who recently received a degree from Oberlin, was “an important leader in Choreolab her senior year, a natural educator,” teacher Barry Blumenfeld said. “Along with Ilana ’19, she lifted the whole class up, leading the firstever ChoreoShow. It was one of the greatest nights of my teaching career.” Ilana went to Haverford, where she played volleyball, and is now writing and painting in Vienna; Piper has returned to Friends to teach contact improvisation several times since her graduation.

Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman ’21

is a student at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she majors in Film and Television Production with a minor in Law and Social Justice. She also serves as the Creative Director of the Movement in Motion Collective, a collaborative space for dancers, filmmakers, musicians, and other creatives to work together. During her time at Friends, she assisted Barry in developing the dance-for-film curriculum for ChoreoLab during the COVID-19 pandemic.

for the FRIENDSFUTURE

In 1786, Robert Murray, a prominent Quaker shipping merchant, left a bequest which provided a building and financial resources for Friends Seminary—thus the School was launched. During subsequent decades, Friends has held steady to its course, offering an exemplary education of academic excellence within the context of Quaker values.

Following Murray’s example, other generous donors have made planned gifts, thereby providing current and deferred contributions to the School and significant benefits to themselves. These donors are members of Friends for the Future, a group who have chosen to express their admiration and affection for Friends Seminary through a charitable gift in their estate plan.

As you plan for your future, consider how you can support future generations of Friends Seminary students by designating Friends Seminary as a beneficiary of your estate plans through a bequest, charitable trust, retirement or insurance policies.

OPENING DOORS

“When I was on the School Committee many years ago, I saw what an outstanding education students were getting. I contributed a little each year and left a bequest in my will to help sustain the process.”

Ruth Lofgren (1916-2018)

Former School Committee Member

If you are over the age of 70 ½, consider making gifts to Friends through your individual retirement account (IRA). Gifts to recognized charities like Friends can be counted toward your required minimum annual distribution. This would make a direct impact on Friends, while possibly helping to lower your taxable income.

For more information, contact Rebecca Holmes, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Gifts, at rholmes@friendsseminary.org or (646) 979-5058.

JOY HARJO

23rd United States Poet Laureate

Friends’ 2024 Peace Week Speaker

“Even in this world where there's so much interference and so much noise, when you listen to silence, it's so full of everything. It's sort of like how white light is full of every color, and yet it's white light. It's the same thing with silence. Silence is like the white light of sound.”

On December 14, 2023, Joy Harjo delivered a keynote poetry performance in the Fifteenth Street Meetinghouse as part of Friends Seminary’s 2023-2024 Peace Week Celebration. Organized by the Center for Peace, Equity, and Justice, her visit included engaging with faculty and students over lunch and sharing a selection of her poetry with Upper School students before Meeting for Worship. Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation, is a renowned poet, activist, and musician. In 2019, she made history as the first Native American to serve as United States Poet Laureate. She has authored numerous books and released seven critically acclaimed music albums. Her visit was made possible in part through the Isaac Rauch ’08 Fund for Literature.

JUDY LARRY BOB +

STORIES OF WISDOM, CONNECTION & HEART by Suzy Cohen ’89, Clove Galilee ’87 & Tommy Fagin ’08

WISDOM CORE

JUDY ANDERSON ’66 CELEBRATING

by Suzy Cohen ’89

When I asked Judy where she would like to meet for brunch to discuss her teaching career, she offered the Gramercy Kitchen. I remembered with nostalgia what we used to refer to as “The Gramercy” on 17th Street and 3rd Avenue when I was in high school at Friends in the 1980s. That and Joe Juniors were our main hangouts during our free periods. My son, who just finished his sophomore year at Friends, tells me that nobody goes to Joe’s anymore, but that everyone hangs out at the Gramercy Kitchen, currently referred to by students as “the diner.”

In the since-renovated bustling diner, Judy greeted me with her signature warm smile and energetic hug. She showed me a shopping bag on her arm. “I have gifts for you!” she told me as she sat down. I had asked Judy to bring anything she wanted to show me from her 52 years of being an early childhood educator at Friends, and I knew she wouldn’t disappoint. As we waited for our food to arrive, Judy showed me the watch on her

wrist she had received from Friends for 35 years of service (with the original Friends Seminary logo on the face) and a silver charm bracelet for 45 years. She told me that the School had given her an Hermes scarf for her 50th.

Over a tuna melt (extra pickles on the side), unsweetened iced tea, and a quinoa salad between us, Judy began to tell me her story. As Judy started sharing memories I found myself completely captivated, struggling to write down every word. What was unfolding in front of me was decades of incredible wisdom, expertise, and memories. I paused over every word since so much of it resonated with me because of my own family’s experience with Judy: my brother Greg was in her first class at Friends, I was in Judy’s class a few years later, and my son Emmett was in her class in 2013. Also, because I too am a teacher, I found myself asking extra questions so that I could take some of Judy’s wisdom back to my own teaching.

I asked Judy to reflect on her 52 years at Friends.“It’s been a long and rewarding journey of self-revelation, discovery, fascination, and many, many magical moments with my students (too many to count). It never feels old. Even when I’m doing some of the same projects and lessons, I’m always marveling at how the children bring new dimensions to the work. Their ideas, their reactions, there are always surprises. That’s what makes it new for me each day. I’ve thought of new ideas and projects, and my colleagues have brought their own passions and projects, and that's what makes a dynamic program. It's my job and privilege to get to know each child, form a deep, trusting relationship, and to unlock the mysteries and possibilities for growth and learning that lie within. This process, inherent in the teacherstudent relationship, has always been a magical one and remains exciting to me, bringing me great joy.”

I asked her what inspires her. “The children inspire me. They are teaching me at the same time that I’m teaching them. That’s the exquisite symbiosis of nurturing the relationship with them. There’s a beautiful coming together. There lies the beauty.”

Since she began teaching at Friends in 1972, Judy has been collecting photos and memorabilia in an album. She has a picture of every class she has taught. She types every student’s name below, including the children who were absent.

The album has additional photos and notes of gratitude from parents

and students. Judy was excited to reach into her bag to show me one from her first year of teaching. It was a letter from my father, dated 1973, thanking Judy for her “many kindnesses” and for giving my brother “an excellent start to his career at Friends.” This was one of the multitudes of letters she has received from children, parents, and grandparents, thanking her for her work. Because of Judy, children develop positive attitudes toward school, build strong foundations for their educational careers, and become lifelong learners.

THE MAGICAL AGE

Over the course of her teaching career, Judy has taught children ages 3 to 7. Her favorite age is 5, and she pointed out that Selma Freiburg, in her book, The Magic Years, referred to the early years as magical. They also comprise Piaget's "pre-operational stage of development.” Judy delights in these years when children believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.

“I still can’t read the last page of The Polar Express without getting choked up in front of the children.” I asked what was on the last page. “It’s about the wonder of the universe and believing in what is possible. At the end of the book the bell rings for all of those who still believe in Santa. But it’s bigger than a belief in Santa. It’s about the belief in the beauty of the possibilities of life. You hope that you won’t stop hearing the bell. You have to keep believing in the goodness.” As she described it to me, tears filled both our eyes. “This is how I feel about the children. Each child is special.”

HOW APPLES GROW

We talked about the Quaker idea that there is that of God, or goodness, in everyone. Judy confirmed that Quakerism and many other influences have impacted her teaching practices and philosophy. As well as her graduate school studies at Bank Street College of Education, another profound influence on her teaching was her education about the municipal preprimary schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Judy visited these schools in 1992 and 2013, initially studying with Loris Malaguzzi, the founder and longtime, former Director. Upon her return in 1992, she gave presentations to New York and New Jersey area schools on the Reggio Emilia philosophy and practices that helped to motivate teachers to implement these practices into their own work. Essentially, the philosophy and pedagogy of the Reggio Emilia preprimary schools espouses a deep respect for the many capabilities of children, referred to as “the 100 languages." It recognizes children's innate intelligence and infinite abilities to express their knowledge of the world through many different media such as drawing, painting, sculpting, and creative uses of technology. Teachers honor children’s rich capabilities by facilitating meaningful experiences for exploration and discovery during which children construct their own knowledge. Judy’s pedagogy and curriculum have deeply reflected these values.

Judy is known for—and prides herself in—her thematic integrated curriculum units. In her work she focuses on the development of the whole child (the intellectual, social,

emotional, and physical). She builds meaningful curriculum and rich experiences in which children can problem solve, think creatively, and collaborate, all while maintaining the joy and wonder of learning. A cornerstone of Judy’s program is her Apple Curriculum. In this in-depth study, children engage deeply in all aspects of learning: taking a trip to an apple orchard, learning about how apples grow and their anatomy, doing scientific observations of apples, listening to stories about the Johnny Appleseed legend, doing “apple math” (graphing, patterning, sorting by variety and color using venn diagrams), cooking with apples, and learning about the science of dehydration while creating dried apple-head doll characters. This is all combined with block building, fantasy, songs, and daily read-alouds. Also paramount to Judy’s teaching is helping her students grow personally and socially as they build a strong

class community each year. Above all else, Judy wants her students to feel loved, valued, seen, and heard.

Another key element of Judy’s curriculum is the Family Culture Museum in which children gather photos, items, and memorabilia about their families and share them with the class. This curriculum values every child’s experience and background as unique and special. Judy’s students come from a diversity of backgrounds and families, and this museum presentation is a chance for children to appreciate each other’s differences. When sharing about their family cultures, children learn about what they have in common with others as well as what sets them apart, leading to a positive sense of self in the individual and building a sense of community within the group. The idea is that if you get to know yourself and your classmates better, you will be able to expand your world and be better able to

52 YEARS

Judy, who retired from teaching in June 2024, is the longest tenured faculty member in the School’s 239-year history.

empathize with others.

In addition to her teaching, Judy has been an educational leader in other ways. She has published articles in educational journals, presented her curriculum at conferences, has served on school committees, and was a founding member of the teacher’s union at Friends, where she was copresident for seven years. In 2011, she was nominated for the Vivian Gussin Paley Award for early childhood educators and was commended and

Judy was honored at an assembly in June 2024, where it was revealed that Room 10, her classroom, would be commemorated with a plaque in her honor. Twice relocated over the years, Room 10 has been where Judy taught and cared for over 1,200 students.

honored for her work. In 1997, she received a proclamation from the Secretary of Education to commemorate her 25 years as a coteacher with her recently deceased and beloved colleague, Jane Suntken. Many of us who had Judy as a teacher were lucky enough to have also had Jane, and remember with fondness “Mrs. Suntken and Mrs. Anderson’s class.” Judy and Jane modeled collaboration, compassion, and leadership for the 29 years they worked together. Judy recounts that one of the most important things she learned from Jane was the idea that “your students may forget some of what you taught them, but they will always remember how you made them feel." Judy told me that this wisdom guided her entire career.

NEIGHBORHOOD BEGINNINGS

Judy was born in 1949 and grew up in Stuyvesant Town (her parents were original tenants). She attended Friends in high school from 1963 to 1966. She loved many of her teachers and made dear friends there, but what she loved most at Friends was the singing. Judy especially loved getting to wear angel wings when the School put on their annual Christmas Pageant and sang their rendition of Handel’s Messiah.

When Judy was a young adult she wanted to be an opera singer. She started taking coursework at Bank Street College of Education, while pursuing her goal of becoming a singer. Her turning point moment happened in 1966. For one of her first teaching placements, she worked at Project Head Start that year at P.S. 19

Top: Presented by the Pazner family, Judy receives a quilt with words of thanks from students during an assembly in June 2024. Bottom: Judy and co-Teacher Janet Suntken talk with students during recess in 1997.

and met a student who was incredibly shy and withdrawn. Over the course of Judy’s time there, she was able to draw out the student and saw her growing in confidence. She knew she had made a difference. “That’s when the bug bit,” Judy told me. In addition to this, Judy sees her mother as her greatest inspiration. Her mother, Ruth R. Adams, was a professor and the Associate Dean of the School of Education at City College.

Coincidentally, Professor Adams taught Larry Carter, Judy’s esteemed colleague and fellow faculty emeritus.

DANCING WITH PASSION

I asked Judy how she felt about retirement. She described it as a “grueling decision.” She said, “It’s my turn to have separation anxiety.” She prefers calling it “rewiring” rather than retiring. To Judy this means that she wants to figure out new pathways and find new ways of using her talents. She has considered everything from teaching at a college, substitute teaching, volunteering to read stories at her local library, tutoring children

Clockwise from top: Judy and her class with Head of School Bo Lauder (2024); with Lower School Teachers Chris Cincotta and Matt Schlee visiting schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy (2013); as a Friends senior (1966); celebrating the 100th day of Kindergarten in style (2024).

in reading, to becoming an educational consultant. Judy understands that she remains a vital wealth of resources for learners of all ages and that she has much more to give. Even though she is retiring, she will continue to teach, learn, and enrich the lives of many. I know that my life has certainly been enriched from being a student in her classroom. Judy was also one of my own inspirations for becoming a teacher. Even after sitting with her for a few short hours at the diner I felt renewed and energized to greet my

own students the next day. When I walked her to the subway, I told Judy how our conversation was a gift to me that I will bring to my students. We talked about how even though I teach seventh graders (and they tend to be a little less magical than five-year-olds), they still surprise me and teach me every day. Our conversation reminded me that it’s up to me to help them hold on to the wonder and joy of those magical years.

I asked Judy if she had any final thoughts about her teaching. She told me about a quote she thinks of often:

“Martha Graham once said, ‘To be a good dancer you have to dance with passion’ and this is how I feel about teaching.” Judy’s attitude about teaching has always been passionate, positive, and enthusiastic, and her commitment to excellence has never wavered. It is an honor to see Judy join her esteemed colleagues as she is inducted as a faculty emerita after 52 years of service. Judy has shaped the culture of Friends in so many ways, and her dedication, wisdom, energy, and warmth stay with us. The institution carries her contributions as do all of her students. Thank you, Judy, for making our magic years truly magical.

SUZY COHEN ’89

is a former kindergartner of Judy and Jane. She is a Middle School Teacher at The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School. Her son Emmett is an 11th grader at Friends.

HONOR

JUDY

and her 52 years of service through a gift to the Judy Anderson '66 and Jane Suntken Fund for Financial Aid, which provides aid to qualified Lower School students.

CONNECTION

by Clove Galilee

’87 LARRY CARTER CELEBRATING CHALKDUST AND

Larry Carter is an original. Kind yet firm, hilarious but dead serious, he commanded his classroom from the helm of the ship he christened “Carter’s Crew” and “Larry’s Lugheads.” His “helm,” the gigantic blackboard filled with exquisitely crafted handwritten notes and assignments. Yes, he mesmerized us with his perfect handwriting. We all wanted to be Larry.

And we were his “Crew.” To be in Larry’s homeroom was to aspire to a higher ideal as a student and a deeper understanding of the world around us and compassion for the people in it. His kindness, patience, and sense of humor with a generation of children who had very little guidance at home, transformed our lives. Virtually everyone I spoke with for this article ended their emails to me, “Larry was my favorite teacher— EVER.” His classroom was filled with laughter and high jinks, yet we all knew that he expected the highest caliber of work. We wanted to work hard for Larry. He inspired us to excel at Math and Science—subjects that many of us had never enjoyed.

Every time I visit Friends, I make a beeline for Larry’s classroom. I treasure the few talks we had during COVID. His wisdom and advice, even now, enrich my he got playing tag in the courtyard at recess, to encouraging us to rappel down that rock face in fifth grade, Larry was the teacher we went to for comfort and reassurance.

He also encouraged us to think—to observe the world around us and engage in the events of our time. He taught the first current events class at Friends, urging us to examine a pivotal and contentious presidential election (Carter vs. Reagan) and invited a new Middle School English Teacher, the magnificent John Byrne, to talk to the class about his experience of civil unrest in his native Ireland.

Larry was firm and disciplined in the classroom, but he could always laugh at himself and encouraged us not to take life too seriously. Fran (Faleck) Shapiro ’86 sent me a memory of what it was like in his very first homeroom class:

“I distinctly remember one day when Larry was at the board trying to teach us a lesson, and we were apparently acting up and not paying attention. Larry, who I’d never before seen lose his temper, lost it and shouted, “Enough!” He certainly got our attention, but we were all laughing together with him in the next breath, when he cracked himself up by continuing the verse of a recent hit,* “Enough is enough...I can't go on, I can't go on no more no...”

“I can’t at all remember what the planned lesson was, but I’ve always remembered that it’s important to be able to laugh at yourself.”

A PRODUCT OF MENTORS

Larry Carter was born on February 17, 1953 at Harlem Hospital where his mother was a resident nurse. His mother, Frances Carter, née Crider, had come to New York City from Kimball, West Virginia to attend nursing school, in part because many nursing schools in West Virginia were closed to Black women. There were two hospitals that would train Black women: Harlem Hospital and Lincoln Hospital. At that time, nursing schools were not affiliated with colleges, so after she got her nursing certificate, Frances returned to West Virginia and completed her bachelor’s degree at West Virginia State College. She returned to New York in 1945 to teach at the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing. She met and married Larry’s father, Lawrence Lee Carter, and settled in the South Bronx. Later, she and Larry both got their master’s degrees

at the same time. When he first started teaching at Friends, Larry was studying for his master’s at Hunter College at night and his mother was attending Teachers College at Columbia University.

Larry’s grandmother, Ella Crider, was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She was a remarkable woman who pursued education when most Black girls did not. Not only that, she also contracted smallpox at age 14, losing an entire year of school, and still went on to graduate. She moved to Kimball, West Virginia as a young woman to be an apprentice to a doctor and met a man who was 29 years her senior. They married and had two children; Larry’s mother being the youngest.

Education was always paramount in the Carter household, and Larry’s two greatest mentors—his mother and his grandmother—both valued it above all else. As a youngster Larry thought he would be a doctor, but, “At some point along the way,” he says, “I thought: I am not smart enough to be a doctor.” Lucky for all of us, he opted for teaching.

FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER

Larry went to a small private school through grade 6, and in grade 7 he went to public school for the first time: David Farragut Junior High 44 in the Bronx. That was a culture shock—from a class of eight or nine kids to a class of 41—but he believes public school was the best thing that happened to him. He attended Taft High School following Junior High 44. Ironically for the future Math Teacher, in high school, Larry was in advanced English and slow math. In

In addition to teaching math, Larry taught science, served as a Homeroom Teacher and Advisor and mentored countless teachers.

fact, the only Regents test he ever failed was Algebra 1 with a 53%! He was, however, in Honors English. He had a teacher, Mrs. Solomon—his next mentor after his mother and grandmother—for tenth, eleventh and the first half of twelfth grade. She was a phenomenal teacher.In his honors English class, he was the only Black boy along with three or four Black girls. Mrs. Solomon—his next mentor after his mother and grandmother—for tenth, eleventh and the first half of twelfth grade. She was a phenomenal teacher.In his honors English class, he was the only Black boy along with three or four Black girls. Mrs. Solomon also worked with a group of kids in the school who were struggling to get by. Larry was her student assistant, working with Mrs. Solomon during his free periods, and he observed some students having to retake the eighth grade reading test over and over again in the hopes of passing. He was surprised that there were kids older than he who could not read, and he wanted to help them. That is the first time he remembers thinking he might 52 YEARS

like to become a teacher—to help students succeed in life. He was 16. Mrs. Solomon was a great mentor and inspired him to become a teacher, but Mrs. Volchuk (whom he called Mrs. Vulture in the back of his mind) really taught him to be a good writer. She was his very strict, second semester senior year English teacher. The first assignment was to write an autobiographical essay, and he got a

C+. He was shocked, but he rewrote the assignment and learned to respect her strictness. She would make students rewrite anything with a grade lower than B. She had standards that made him reach higher as a student—a teaching trait that he adopted when he became a teacher.

The summer he graduated from Taft High School, his uncle helped him get his first job as a clerk in the

Health Department, a position he continued to hold throughout his first job as a teacher.

Larry started his career in 1975 at Dewitt Elementary School, housed within the Dewitt Church on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side. He had heard the school was having problems controlling the kids in grades 5 and 6, so Larry decided to interview for the job. “I had the look

Clockwise from top left: Larry receiving a token of appreciation from students during the Middle School Closing Ceremony in June 2024; osing with colleagues Meg Richardson, Terri Hassid and Janet McConnell in 1982; speaking to attendees at the Celebrating Black

—I had a big afro and a goatee, and nonsense. There were 15 kids, and I was able to control them, so I got the job.” At Dewitt he taught every subject except visual art and physical education. It was also where Larry’s infamous math groups began.

After a few years, the Church decided not to house the school anymore, so the parents moved the school to 9th Street and 1st Avenue— PS 122. Ultimately, they fell into financial difficulty and stopped paying their teachers. Larry finally left the school because he couldn’t survive. It was March of 1979.

The summer after he left Dewitt, the school closed for good, and the building at 9th and 1st was left vacant. He returned at one point to see if he could get a check for the back pay the school owed him and found that the movie Fame had started filming in the building. He told me, “I saw this film crew and all of these extras hanging around, and I really needed a job, so I tried to talk my way into the film. I kept telling them I looked young and could play a teenager!” he laughed, “But I didn’t get cast. My claim to fame was that one of the scenes was filmed in my classroom. and my clock is in the shot.”

Later that summer, a colleague of Larry’s suggested he take a look at Friends Seminary. He applied, and at 26 years old, was hired to teach Math and Science to fifth and sixth graders. He said he remembers that in his interview, Principal Joyce McCray said to him, “Come and work here. You can be who you are at this FRIENDS’ SECRET VARIABLE

LARRY CARTER LEGACY FUND

Established by Friends Seminary and the Alumni Council’s Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Committee, the Larry Carter Legacy Fund honors Larry’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. This fund will support financial aid for students of Latin and/or African descent.

Visit friendsseminary.org/carterfund to contribute.

school.” He knew he wanted the job. His first few years at Friends were frightening. He felt inept in the Mathematics Department because there were “really hard-core mathematicians,” such as Eva Stangel (his first Chair) and Jean Oppenheim, teaching at the School and he was sitting there having failed the Algebra Regents test. The discussions in department meetings those first years really went over his head, and he felt he didn’t know anything. Slowly, though, he began to realize that it takes a certain talent to teach Middle School. Not everyone can do it. And, thankfully, he possessed this talent. He had certain skills that came in handy: his sense of humor, his natural ability to feel the pulse of the classroom, and his empathetic approach to these young people who were navigating one of the hardest

periods of growing up. He liked Middle School students—especially the fifth and sixth grade age groups— and felt he could help them grow as students and as people. He was also aware that he was in a unique position to help non-white children feel welcome and succeed at Friends. He taught math at Prep for Prep, an intensive 14-month program designed to prepare some of the most gifted non-white children that attend public school for admission to private independent schools, from 1983 to 1991. Through Prep, Larry taught some of the most talented individuals he has ever known. Several of those students attended Friends Seminary. In 2023 the Alumni Council created the Larry Carter Legacy Fund in his honor, celebrating his work creating a safe space and sense of belonging for students of color. The fund is used to

Watch a short film about Larry and the Legacy Fund in his honor.

attract, enroll, and provide financial aid to Black and Latino students, supporting the School's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Larry remained at Friends for 40 years, teaching generation after generation. And throughout his service, as he consistently gave us the generous gift of his wisdom, his humor and compassion, and—most of all—his time, he did so with tremendous grace and humility—in a way, not really understanding the impact he was having on thousands of people.

It is only a shock to Larry that he is so cherished and beloved. It is only news to him, the ways in which he has touched and profoundly impacted all of us. The irony is that Larry is surprised by the outpouring of love and affection directed at him upon his retirement, when no one else is. His

influence comes as no surprise to any of us, but to him it is a revelation.

In his own words; “I have never craved the spotlight, and it makes me a little uncomfortable. I was just a teacher. I don’t think I did anything of much note. And leaving Friends is bittersweet. I got there at 26 years of age. My parents were living, my grandmother was still living, and they are all gone now; and Friends really became my family after the passing of my relatives. Many people have asked me ‘What are you going to do next?’ and I really don’t know. I have worked since I was 17 years old, so this extended summer vacation will seem very strange. I’m sure there will be times I will be bored, but ultimately, I think I will be happy with the things I won’t have to do anymore. I won’t have to get up early. I won’t have to write reports. And I won’t have to do

Back to School Night. But I will miss you all.”

We will miss you, too, Larry. More than you will ever know. Thank you for all the fun, for all the dancing, for all the learning and thinking and all the challenges. You made us better, and we love you for it. Thanks for being our favorite teacher—EVER.

was a student in Larry’s very first sixth-grade class at Friends. She is a Cultural Affairs Supervisor for the City of Santa Monica, a co-artistic director of her theatre company, Trick Saddle, and an artist associate with Mabou Mines.

CLOVE GALILEE ’87

BEAT OF THE CELEBRATING BOB ROSEN HEART

by Tommy Fagin ’08

Everyone knows Bob. Ask around, ask anyone who’s been part of Friends Seminary over the past 37 years and they can share a fond memory of Bob Rosen. Every person I spoke to as I wrote this article had a story to tell about a joke half-remembered or a little way they have of playing around with him. I’ve had my own time with Bob at different stages of life. He was my teacher in the jazz band, my colleague, and—I don’t think I’m flattering myself too much here—my friend. I’ve eaten his cooking. We go to the same mechanic, whom we both adore. Every few months we hop on the phone and chat about this or that. I cherish the relationship I have with Bob, and I know that he has been a part of so many people’s lives over the course of his career at Friends. He knit the School together, to itself and to the city around us. As we face the future of a Friends Seminary without Bob, those of us who learned from him, worked with him, laughed with him, heard the music he made and taught students to make, can only feel blessed that we were here and shared this time with him.

In 1981, when Bob was working as a substitute at the High School of Music and Art (which later became part of LaGuardia), the phone rang. Donald Bender, then the director of the instrumental program at Friends Seminary, was calling to ask if they had anyone who could fill in for him when he went on the road with his band for six weeks. Bob happened to be the one who picked up the horn, and he told Donald that he was the first sub on call and would be glad for the work. When Bob showed up at Friends, Donald took him around and introduced him to everybody. He remembers how “it was refreshing to be in a small space, in a place where everyone knew each other, where people felt like they were empowered.” Bob did his tour of duty and fell in love with the School; when Donald Bender sadly fell ill a few years later, Bob eagerly applied for and accepted the job.

Friends appealed to Bob even in that first temporary gig. “I was drawn to Friends for a host of reasons. The ethos of the School, the political history of the School and Quakerism—it just seemed wonderful to me. And that it was small. I saw very quickly that I could shape a program if I were to be hired there. And that’s what I did.”

The program Bob shaped influenced countless students to make music part of their lives. Many would go on to make a career of the instruments they had learned with his help. Others learned about composition and arranging from his classes and went on to write music for television and movies. Everyone left with a better appreciation of everything they heard, and a confidence that they could make music. Bob had a way of cultivating the strengths of his students, always picking repertoire that would allow us

37

YEARS

to demonstrate the things we did best, as well as challenge us to bolster our weaknesses and improve. The tunes he chose were hip and exciting and made us want to do them justice—his enthusiasm for this music was contagious as pinkeye, and he had us going home and loading up our music libraries with Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock. He taught us to love the music, playing it and listening to it, but he also taught us to trust each other and to want to show up with our part down pat so we could do right by the band. With his gentle joking manner, he also made us want to play for him. The humor was such a crucial part of Bob’s teaching. He would stop the band, say something like “You know…” and before we knew it he had us all laughing. It’s not easy to tell someone they’re flat, or off rhythm, or any of the million things I personally would get wrong when playing a piece. His jokes were often at his own expense, were never meanspirited, and they softened you up to the instruction he was giving you because they made him seem vulnerable as well. They let you know he had a heart; you could trust him. When we got back to playing, a little tighter this time, and he reached down to grab his black soprano sax to join the horns in the chorus, or perhaps to slide into a solo, his hand steadied and ear sharpened by decades

of riding over chords like these, we felt like we had taken a step forward in our learning. This was part of Bob’s magic as a teacher. He held us to a high standard that pushed us to improve, but so gently that you never resented a correction.

The Meetinghouse was Bob’s classroom, and if you tally up the hours he spent in it I’m not sure many in its long history could match him. Even when class wasn’t in session, he could often be found sitting in the front row of benches poring over a freshly-copied score, listening to music over the speakers, playing his horn or the piano, or simply chatting with someone who had stopped by. He sometimes simply refers to the Meetinghouse as “the room,” and he has a deep sense of its peculiar qualities and a reverence for everything it has contained over the centuries: “Those benches were crafted in 1861, and they still exist. The room has such history and such weight. You think of whatever is in that room—all the notes that were played, all the things were said, all the psychic debris that lies on the ground. It’s very profound.”

Bob has graced the air of “the room” with so much music, but his contributions to Meeting have been nearly as memorable, no less masterful. In Meeting for Announcements he would stand and inform us about an upcoming band performance, maybe starting with some topical humor about something happening in the School, then perhaps transitioning into a surreal anecdote (fact or fiction, who can say) containing a vaguely discernible allegorical subtext. Eventually he made his way around

to saying that the concert started at seven o’clock Wednesday, and we all found our feet on solid ground again. In that build and release of tension, we found ourselves laughing. His contributions to Meeting for Worship had a trace of that subtle and delicious Borscht Belt bittersweetness. He spoke in a slightly elevated version of his normal voice, just loud enough to hear, but because of the peculiar acoustics of the room (which he understands so well) you had to lean forward a little bit to catch every word. The stories he told, or rather the way he told them, were influenced by the stories his father would tell about his own childhood on Coney Island with his Yiddishspeaking family, but overlaid with Bob’s signature offbeat, slightly swung rhythm. His stories might make us smile, or draw from us a holy laugh, but there was always something substantial Bob was getting at. Though not a Quaker himself, Bob grappled with the possibilities for revelation at the heart of Quaker worship, always keeping his mind open to the experience of the moment and the mystical thing that happens when people gather and face each other with a willingness to listen to a voice within and without them.

Bob’s understanding of what it means to speak in Meeting—as well as not to speak—is informed by his intimate grasp of the way sound bounces around the Meetinghouse, which he came to learn so well over years of teaching there. As Bob explained, “In some ways, there was a great irony in the room: the room was so large, when people spoke it was always hard to hear. One interpretation was that that architect

Top to bottom: Bob conducts students during a 2013 performance; Bob with students in the Meetinghouse in 2009; Bob with colleagues Linda Monssen, Jennifer Hayes and Joanna Pickett pictured in the 1997 yearbook.

really was trying to create a space that was about silence. I always felt, is the thing here really about the spoken word, people standing up and speaking out of silence? Or is it about silence itself? The other irony was about music. There was so much reflected sound because of the hard surfaces. Students in their beginning improvisation, and in their sense of how they were as a band, it made us sound better because we weren’t hearing ourselves that well.”

In his yearly concerts to benefit the Friends Shelter, Bob united these aspects of the Meetinghouse: its capacity to gather people to grasp something transcendent about our common humanity, and the way the room itself serves to shape sound and silence. In 1996, Bob was asked to put together a band to open up for Chuck Mangione at a school fundraiser. He assembled the Meetinghouse Jazz Orchestra, a big band of seasoned players and composers that would often include professional musician parents and former students of the Friends Seminary jazz program. The Martin Luther King Friends Shelter Benefit Concert always opens with a few songs by one of the student jazz bands. I remember wanting to elevate my playing to be worthy of the occasion. We were opening for a big band full of real-deal jazz players, with a wall of brass and woodwinds playing with perfect precision, the nimble interplay of the rhythm section, the soloists’ scorching virtuosity. Living up to the billing was a responsibility in itself, but we also sensed that we were representing ourselves and Bob’s work in the School before an

especially discerning audience—the orchestra itself.

Occasionally, a student would even be invited to play with the big band. I remember when the lead trombonist, Art Baron, traded bars of four with a friend of mine who was an expert tap dancer. He was up on a plank of wood balanced on a table, Art was blasting away on his horn, the audience was transfixed, the band locked in, every person united in this singular spectacle—

and Bob had brought it all together. Though the name of the Meetinghouse Jazz Orchestra sounds nondescript, it reflects the way Bob thought about the music and why they were playing it: “Playing in a jazz band is like a Meeting. When you stand up and solo, you’re deciding to speak. No one is telling you to speak, and very often it’s a spontaneous moment where you’re deciding to speak about the music and improvise on the music. And it’s also about the

Top: Bob with Jazz students following a performance in the Meetinghouse (2013); teaching at the blackboard (2009); photographed with saxophone (2010).

lot of time with Bob over the years. They would get into a flow together and cook up these ways of having fun: improvised skits, singing, dancing, running jokes that lasted months if not longer. If a camera happened to be running, they would post some of their hijinks online for the rest of us to enjoy, but most of it was just between them, like Russell teasing Bob about the cup he would often leave behind in the Meetinghouse, and they would talk about it so often that “The Cup” became almost like a third person in their friendship. When they would go back and forth about something, one of them would say, “Let’s check with The Cup. Let’s see what The Cup says about this.”

I’m going to miss Bob. The School is going to miss him. When I asked Russell how it felt now that Bob was retiring, he talked about losing a part of our community as well as a friend: “When it comes to personality, when it comes to friendship, when it comes to genuine relating with each other— I’m going to miss all that. I’m going to miss all the stuff I had with him. But the good thing about it is, we had a chance to experience it.”

trust that’s given to you by other players. You feel that trust, that they’re going to accept what you say, accept what you do. In a way they’re holding you up just the way the Meeting holds up the speaker or participant. It’s about being accepted by the community.” In his work with the Shelter, as well as his daily life as a part of Friends Seminary, Bob insisted on the most expansive notion of what our community means and where its

boundaries are. Over the years, Bob’s efforts raised tens of thousands of dollars to feed and shelter some of the most vulnerable people in the city. Bob builds little worlds with people, and those worlds will be a little harder to find now that he’s leaving. Russell Dukes, a facilities employee who’s been at the School since 1999, has long been assigned to straighten up the Meetinghouse after the last bell rings, so he spent a

TOMMY FAGIN ’09

is a former student of Bob. He is an Upper School English Teacher at Friends Seminary. He credits his time in Bob's class for a lifelong love of jazz music and a taste for dry humor.

Led by Bob, the Meetinghouse Jazz Orchestra performs during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. concert to benefit the Friends Shelter in 2015. The annual concert features acclaimed guest arts, as well as student musicians at times.

Heavy rain pours down in Central Park as members of the Class of 2024, become members of the School’s 238th graduating class.

“REIMAGINE THE WORLD AROUND YOU...FORGIVE YOURSELF AND OTHERS AS YOU SEE FIT.”

English Chair Dr. Kate Olson, Commencement 2024 Address

CLASS

SCENES from the

On June 6, 2024, 77 graduates crossed the stage at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park to receive their diplomas from Head of School Bo Lauder and Head of Upper School Blair Parker. The class was the 238th to graduate from Friends Seminary, joining an active alumni community of more than 5,000 graduates. Speakers included Lauder, Board of Trustees Clerk Isaac Henderson and graduates Indigo Hubbard-Salk, Jyotirmoy Dasroy and Jenny Levine. English Department Chair Dr. Kate Olson delivered the commencement address:

“Mo Willems, the great children’s author who penned the famous books about a pigeon who wants more than anything to drive a bus, revised Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a fairytale whose moral I’ve always found confusing. At the end of his Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, he offers the following: ‘If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.’ Here Willems articulates what I hope you will take from my remarks today: not only can you change— more often than not, you, and you alone, control whether you change, whether you leave a wrong story in which you find yourself. And to do so depends on your ability to reimagine the world around you and to forgive yourself and others as you see fit.”

COLLEGE DESTINATIONS

Barnard College

Berklee College of Music

Boston College

Boston University (2)

Bowdoin College (2)

Brown University (4)

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University (4)

Colby College

Colgate University (2)

Columbia University

Cornell University (2)

Duke University

Emory University (3)

Fairfield University

George Washington University

Georgetown University (2)

Haverford College

Indiana University

Lehigh University

Loyola Marymount University

Marquette University

University of Michigan (2)

Middlebury College

Morehouse College

New York University

Northwestern University (3)

Oberlin College

Occidental College

Pennsylvania Sate University

University of Pennsylvania (3)

Pomona College (2)

Princeton University

Rice University (2)

University of St Andrews

University of Southern California (2)

Stanford University

SUNY Binghamton

Swarthmore College

Syracuse University (2)

Tufts University (2)

Vanderbilt University (2)

Vassar College (2)

University of Vermont (2)

Wake Forest University

Washington University in St. Louis

Wellesley College (2)

Wesleyan University (3)

Yale University

REUNITE & RECONNECT

Alumni from the Classes of 2019, 2014, 2009, 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974, 1969, 1964, and 1959 gathered back on campus for Reunion 2024, held May 17–18. The Class of 1974, celebrating their 50th reunion, enjoyed a luncheon in the Upper School Commons, reconnected with their Grade 4 penpals at a lively class party, toured the campus, and wrapped up the day with a roundtable discussion with seniors in the Archive Room.

On Saturday, alumni from all classes joined a panel discussion featuring Judy Anderson ’66, Larry Carter, and Bob Rosen, moderated by teacher Josh Goren. The day continued with brunch in the Outer Courtyard, followed by Meeting for Worship and an emeritus ceremony in the Meetinghouse. The celebration concluded with off-campus receptions, closing out a memorable weekend.

Class of 1974 classmates photographed on the Upper School Terrace during Reunion 2024. Top row, from left: Jonathan Kaufman, Laurence Parker, Norman Feit, David Hochman, Carolyn Ward, Marcia Hochman, Alex Bloomstein. Bottom row, from left: Jon Benjamin, Ivy Baer Sherman, Jonathan Turkle, Scott Swinton, Ruth Tonachel.

REMINISCE & REJOICE

[1] Faculty Emerita Judy Anderson ’66 and Michele AshleyJohnson ’84 [2] Class of 1984 [3] Alumna from Class of 1984 [4] Faculty Emeriti Larry Carter, Judy Anderson ’66, Bob Rosen [5] Class of 1959 [6] Dominic Anesi ’14, Emily Siegel ’14, Danielle Olonoff ’14 [7] Dyllon Gibbs ’09, Director of Athletics David Lieber, Samuel Nebel ’09, Taku Ito ’09 [8] Kyle Fedgus ’89, Physical Education Teacher and S occer Coach Warren Salandy [9] Alumni Council Co-Clerk Jodyann Blagrove ’94, Julia Sobol ’94 [10] Ben Werthein ’19, Colin Donnelly ’19 [11] Tina Chan ’93, Emeriti Larry Carter, Emily Sherman ’93 [12] Carolyn Ward ’74, Marcia Hochman ’74

1 2 IMAGES FROM REUNION WEEKEND 3 4

2023

GLENNA BURCKEL ’57

ROBERT CANTER ’70

ARLINE CINAMON MIRANTZ ’44

JAMES COOKE IV ’93

NATHANIEL “NAT” COOKE ’52

PAUL CHEVIGNY ’53

ELAINE CONWAY ’52

CHRISTOPHER DUNNAVILLE ’79

ROBERT LEWIS ’56

JUDITH LYONS SCHENKMAN ’53

LILA MARGULIES ’92

ELIZABETH ROEBLING ’64

PHILIP SCHWARTZ (EMERITUS)

HELEN TRAPASSO (EMERITA)

2024

STEPHEN C. ANTOPOL ’06

CALEB CARR ’73

SUSAN JONES ’75

ANTHONY PALMER ’77

ELIZABETH GUMMEY PEMBERTON ’57

ANN SULLIVAN (EMERITA & TRUSTEE)

MARGOT WINGER LARRABEE '58

To read obituaries and tributes submitted by classmates, colleagues and family members, please visit www.friendsnewsletter.com and select “In Memoriam” at the top of the page.

To report a death and/or submit a memorial, please email Michael Mudho at mmudho@friendsseminary.org.

IN MEMORIAM

ANN SULLIVAN

Faculty Emerita & Former Trustee

Ann Marie Finneran Sullivan — revered New York school leader, teacher, and mentor to countless students and colleagues over a nearly 60-year career—died September 22 of pancreatic cancer. She was 79.

Ann spent the bulk of her career at two institutions: Friends Seminary and School of the Holy Child of Rye, NY. She was a joyful, visionary force at both places.

Learning, service and community were the bedrock principles of Ann's life. She lived those values in so many ways: imbuing a generation of Friends Seminary students with the confidence that comes from grappling with Melville or Bronte; giving an unexpected hug to a student on the first day of school; sharing a few weekend hours with a friend's daughter to map out college options; and sending that new Colson Whitehead novel to a friend. She took great pride in deep, lasting relationships with ..... students and colleagues, and took greater pleasure when running into a former student in a far-flung place. At Friends, Ann served as an English Teacher and Chair of the English Department, Director of Admissions, ........

Director of College Counseling and Director of Development. She lovingly encouraged all her students and colleagues to think critically and assume the best in others. Former faculty member Daphne Taylor recalls that Ann “always had a minute for you.” Her special way of affirming the positive in the work of teachers has been vital to the development of those whom she mentored. ......

Her impact is especially clear at Holy Child, which she led for 14 years, sharply increasing enrollment and student achievement; building a new, modern library and classroom space for science and technical learning; and creating a global curriculum that included exchange programs around the world.

No one benefited more from her love and guiding hand than her family—her husband of 56 years, Dick, her sons David ’95 and Andrew ’98, their spouses, Adi and Erica, her many .......... nieces and nephews, and her beloved grandchildren, Anna, Felix and Xavier. She shaped her children's lives in countless positive ways, but none more than by instilling a lifelong love for learning and a commitment to service.

PHIL SCHWARTZ

Faculty Emeritus

by Maria Fahey

Upper School English Teacher

When Phil Schwartz retired from teaching in 2014, I was asked to say a few words about him at our final faculty meeting. Phil already had been honored at various festivities, and I knew that he was tired of being praised. He was ready to be upstate tending his garden, sitting on his porch reading Homer or Herodotus, not listening to speeches about his importance to Friends Seminary, or education more generally.

I remember observing that Phil’s ambivalence about his own importance predated these retirement ceremonies. Indeed, it seems to have informed certain curious educational theories Phil had espoused over the years. For instance, when I was a young teacher at Friends, Phil often would proclaim: “Children do not learn because of us; they learn despite us. Our job is not to interfere with their learning.”

Of course, anyone who ever has been in Phil Schwartz’s classroom—or, for that matter, anywhere within a three-block radius of it—will have heard Phil not interfering with children’s learning, his booming voice informing some hapless eighth grader that showing up without homework “sucks the wooly big one” or his joyful ululation, “Great Googamooga,” celebrating another’s recognition of an accusative case ending.

Phil nonetheless insisted that he not be regarded as distinct among his colleagues. One year, he responded to a yearbook dedication by accepting the honor reluctantly, and only on behalf of all teachers. He explained that he was not a captain like Odysseus but rather a crew member like Elpenor, who wanted to be remembered for having swung his oar with his shipmates. I always wondered what those students thought about this

analogy. As many of them knew from having studied The Odyssey, Elpenor climbed up onto the roof one hot evening when he was sodden with wine. When he awoke at dawn, he was still so dazed that he forgot to climb back down the ladder and instead plunged headfirst to his death.

Despite his protests, Phil Schwartz had an extraordinary and distinctive influence on his students and colleagues. When I first met Phil, I was twentyfour and teaching because I needed to pay the rent. I enjoyed the work but hadn’t yet decided what I was going to do with my life. Phil’s example made me realize that designing ways for teenagers to study literature and language is as interesting, rigorous, and fun as anything else I might do. And I know many other scholars and teachers who name Phil as an essential influence in their life’s work.

However outsized his presence, Phil did swing his oar with his mates, and he inspired and led us by doing so. He showed us that grammar and glamour are etymological relatives and that understanding the structure of language allows us to understand our most profound and beautiful human qualities. He showed us that attentive reading of great works from the past keeps us appropriately humble about the present. He taught us that the most likely way to honor the Quaker testimony of simplicity is to break down the steps of learning for students and that, in doing so, we would learn more deeply ourselves. He challenged us to think of military service as community service. He insisted that allowing students to experience the consequences of their mistakes is to allow them a most fundamental human freedom, namely the freedom to take

responsibility for their actions. He showed us how community is built through diligent study in the classroom and deep silence in the Meetinghouse. He taught us that our privilege as teachers is that our opportunities for learning, and thus for delight, are without limit.

When Odysseus journeys to the underworld, he encounters the ghost of the great warrior Achilles who died young in battle and was honored with the most lavish funeral. Odysseus tells Achilles’s ghost that there is not a man in the world more blessed than he and that the Argives honor him as a god. The ghost-Achilles rejects Odysseus’s praise: he explains that he would rather be alive, a dirt-poor tenant farmer who slaves for another man on earth, than to be dead, a hero whose ghost rules over all the breathless dead.

Phil knew while alive what the hero Achilles only

understood once dead. Phil chose to be a teacher of teenagers: he chose the mundane and unprofitable work of tilling young minds, season after season, with unwavering and fierce commitment. Achilles’s ghost yearned for the quotidian life of a farmer, but Phil lived that life as a teacher. Phil Schwartz—who started out a Military Policeman and ended up a Latin teacher in a Quaker school —taught us that the modest fruits produced with the ploughshares and pruning hooks of teaching are more fulfilling than all the swords and spears of fame.

It is nearly impossible to imagine the world without the living presence of Phil. But buoyed up by all the years he rowed with us, I shall welcome new mates and continue to swing my oar. I trust that Phil, like Athena, will be sitting at the stern beside me, steering the way.

Phil Schwartz passed away on November 30, 2023. He taught at Friends for 48 years

AN UNWAVERING FOCUS ON THE GREATER GOOD

SISI KAMAL CELEBRATES 20 YEARS AT FRIENDS

BY ASHLEY TRIPP

Senior Associate Director of Communications

“Growing up, I thought I would have four children. Now I have 800!” Sisi Kamal said with a smile, reflecting on her unexpected career path. For over two decades, she has been a pivotal force at Friends Seminary, serving as both Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Under her stewardship, the School has navigated complex challenges, from managing large-scale renovations to addressing the unprecedented demands of a global pandemic while building the school finances to an incredible level, turning opportunities into a reality. Sisi’s story is one of strategic vision, dedication, and commitment to a community she loves.

Sisi grew up in Iran before the Revolution, spent summers in England, and pursued her studies in the United States. A career in finance seemed like the natural path, but something was missing. “In finance, you’re just a number. You don’t always see the real-world impact of

your work,” she recalls. When a coworker suggested she consider working in independent schools—at the time places that craved the efficiency and strategy of the corporate world—she found a purpose that combined her skills with her values. It wasn't a traditional financial role, but it was the right one for her. Thirty-two years into her unconventional path to education, she has become a force within the C-Suite of New York City independent schools.

Overseeing the finances and day-to-day operations at a school like Friends is a challenging endeavor. It’s a multifaceted job, requiring careful balance and tireless dedication, one that combines executive acumen with a creative spirit. It requires a comprehensive, 360-degree perspective—seeing the School’s financial and operational landscape as a whole, bringing together resources, spaces, and strategies.

Yet Sisi approaches this role with unflagging energy that extends far beyond the traditional 9-5. Her tenacity is matched only by her deep commitment to the community. She refuses to settle for “good enough,” always striving to ensure that Friends families receive the very best. In the beginning of her career at Friends, Head of School Bo Lauder gifted her with “No” and “Maybe” plastic push desk buttons that she still keeps to this day—a humorous keepsake hallmarking her careful, attentive leadership style. But saying no is never easy for her. She thoughtfully considers each decision, always guided by our Quaker values and the greater good of the community.

She understands that a strong financial foundation is what makes great education possible—spaces, programs, and opportunities that flourish because of careful stewardship. To accomplish this, her leadership goes beyond working with colleagues at Friends, but

maintaining a strong network of professionals in the financial sector.

After completing the first major redevelopment project in 2010, she successfully negotiated the School’s term loan to a 28-year duration through tax-exempt financing, marking the first such initiative in New York City independent schools—a strategic move that benefited the School far beyond immediate gains. This strategic move not only benefited Friends significantly in the short term but also paved the way for long-term financing opportunities for other schools nationwide. As a result, the School now boasts the best financing on its books, has secured additional tax-exempt financing, and enjoys optimal 30-year long-term borrowing rates of under 3%.

One notable partnership she fostered was with First Republic Bank. Through months of diligent negotiation, she secured more favorable terms that significantly reduced

expenses for Friends. Her ability to navigate these discussions not only strengthened the School’s financial position, but also led the bank to establish a specialty division catering specifically to the needs of independent schools nationwide. What started as a collaboration blossomed into a broader resource for other schools demonstrating how her leadership creates ripples of impact in the independent school arena.

At Friends, Sisi’s partnership with Head of School Bo Lauder is pivotal in shaping the School’s campus and culture. Beginning with Phase 1 during the Lift Every Voice Campaign—a project that symbolized the duo’s approach to modernizing while preserving the School’s character—a vibrant community space was reimagined. “Let’s just get rid of the walls and make it glass!” Sisi proposed introducing transparency and light into the heart of the School. “Bringing light into space is a priority.” Her approach is focused on creating spaces where students and faculty can thrive. Each project is built on the last—from the opening of a new Cafeteria to the seamless integration of modern spaces like the glass-filled Seeger Center. For Sisi, overseeing these projects is like solving a puzzle. She thrives on understanding the vision, executing it, and finetuning it. “I can’t sit still,” she admits, always thinking ahead to the next challenge. After completing the initial phases of campus redevelopment, Sisi turned her attention to expanding instructional spaces, working with architects to address challenges in the Townhouse Redevelopment Project. It was an intricate dance, demolishing and connecting spaces while ensuring classes could continue with the least amount of interruption possible.

One of the more ambitious projects was the reinforcement and expansion of Hunter Hall ahead of the Townhouse Redevelopment Project. “Let’s build up!” she said, envisioning a long-term solution by adding two new floors to the existing structure and relocating the Sky Field. The project, which included installing a sprinkler system and making other structural upgrades, was completed over a single summer—an “impossible task” in a compressed schedule. Yet Sisi and her team delivered in time for a new academic year. That project also featured an elevator that connected the Old School Building with the rebuilt six floors of Hunter Hall, which made the School more accessible and inclusive.

Another significant construction achievement during her tenure was realizing Bo’s hope for the construction of a Skyspace by renowned Quaker artist James Turrell, the

first of its kind at a K-12 school. Located atop the renovated Townhouses, Leading—the title Turrell has given the work—required years of meticulous planning and execution to merge the practical and the artistic, creating a space that not only serves the community but inspires it. The Skyspace opened to the public in early 2024 and has already seen over 1,000 public visitors.

Most recently, the renovation of the Fifteenth Street Annex building, is the latest of Sisi’s logistical feats. This highly compressed project, completed in just 16 weeks over the summer break, required careful orchestration of every movement because of the narrow stairwells and small spaces. Sisi brought in the same trusted contractors from the Skyspace project, and with a crew of up to 150 people working daily, the Annex was transformed into a modern space for Upper School Math, Science, Engineering, and Performing Arts.

Not one day of Sisi’s work is ever the same. In addition to overseeing campus transformations and financial strategy, she is also highly involved in managing the School’s technology infrastructure, ensuring the School’s systems are on par with those of major financial institutions, not just independent schools. Over the years, her team has overseen key upgrades, including a switch to Cisco systems, robust firewall implementations, strengthening the digital security framework, and protection against ransomware. The proactive approach ensures that Friends remains at the forefront, from supporting remote learning when needed to safeguarding sensitive data.

Thanks to her dedicated leadership, Friends’ campus buzzes with energy from early morning gatherings to lively after-school activities, creating a vibrant experience that extends well beyond the traditional school day with quality, student-centered services that support the community’s needs. The Early Bird (before school), After Owls, and Extended Day (after school) programs offer students a welcoming environment for growth, creativity, and connection. These programs not only provide excitement and enrichment but also create a safe space for students to build friendships and enjoy their time. Sisi has been instrumental in developing these opportunities for K–6 students. Reflecting on her role in overseeing the after-school programs, she fondly recalls the joy and pride shared with Robin Hoffman in their establishment.

Today, Sisi and her team are dedicated to carrying forward Robin’s legacy, ensuring each program fosters the same joy, thoughtful care, and community spirit.

One of her proudest achievements is the School’s ability to provide employees with a robust benefits package— considered one of the best among New York City independent schools. Sisi’s long-standing relationship with a benefits broker enabled her to negotiate a package that brings lasting advantages to the School, helping Friends attain and retain top talent. In close partnership with Bo, Sisi and her team believe deeply in the importance of supporting staff, especially during challenging times, even when they aren’t actively working. “Sisi is the true epitome of a supportive and empathetic boss,” Leah Johnson, Director of Human Resources, shares. “Under her tutelage for the past 11 years, I have developed into a well-rounded HR professional. She cares about not only her direct reports, but also the well-being of every employee at the School. Specifically, she continues to ensure that we maintain a generous benefits offering at Friends, and this dedication has allowed us to offer one of the most comprehensive benefit packages within the NYC Independent School community.”

Harriet Burnett, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management Emerita, who retired in 2023, added "Sisi goes above and beyond for community members in need. When someone is hurting, she will be there for that person or family in ways that are so profound.”

This balance of pragmatism and heart was on full display when the pandemic hit. While others might have seen only challenges, Sisi answered a call to action. Working 18-hour days behind the scenes, she orchestrated a comprehensive response to ensure both the safety of the community and the continuity of its operations. Every critical decision— from installing ventilation systems to de-densifying campus spaces, securing PPE supplies, implementing daily health screenings, and upgrading classroom technology— came with Sisi’s input. To achieve this, she assembled a team of consultants with diverse expertise, all while adapting the Business Office’s operations to meet the everchanging demands of the crisis. Recognizing the importance of expert medical guidance, Sisi was instrumental in the hiring of Dr. Adrianna Bravo, a boardcertified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This partnership with Dr. Bravo was instrumental in keeping the school community healthy, providing health and wellness audits, and helping shape Friends’ pandemic response.

“I was designated as the senior admin by the executive committee to manage all aspects of the school's needs

remotely. That year, I left my apartment fewer than six times,” she said. “My work for the community sustained me.” Sisi is quick to credit her team, whether it is during the pandemic or campus redevelopment project. “I couldn’t do it without them—they are the heart of what we’re able to accomplish.”

Sisi’s leadership is defined by her unique ability to see the potential in people, a quality deeply connected to the Quaker beliefs that she brings into her work. She possesses a rare intuition for assembling the right internal and external teams, trusting individuals from the start, and giving them the freedom to grow.

Just two months into her role, she hired Alyson Evans, Director of Operations and School Safety, who has since flourished through numerous major projects and has remained a steadfast leader within the School. Alyson reflects on her journey at Friends: “I had no idea when I met Sisi that we were about to embark on a 20-year journey together. Looking back on our time and work together, I’m in awe of what we have accomplished. I’m grateful for her continued push to help me grow and challenge myself even when I didn’t think I could. But most of all I’m grateful for the 20 years of laughter we’ve shared. That laugh comes from the heart and fills our office with light creating an environment that makes it a pleasure to come to work every day, even on the hardest days.”

In 2012, Sisi hired Beko Lecaj, who quickly became an integral part of the School. As Director of Facilities, he quite literally keeps the lights on and serves as the go-to person for countless tasks behind the scenes. Reflecting on their relationship, Beko shares, "I met Sisi about 17 years ago, and she is the reason I got to know Friends. She always supported me, helping me grow into where I am today. Her work ethic and organizational skills are off the charts, always and in an instant, has a solution path to any situation that arises. I can't say enough about her dedication to the success of the students, faculty, staff, and the School as a whole.”

In her office on the sixth floor, her team members share a feeling of empowerment to contribute and thrive even if their career path takes them in another direction. But saying goodbye is not always easy, as was the case with two former assistants.

Annie Harper worked with Sisi right out of college and during the School’s legal separation from the Quarterly Meeting—a crucial moment in Friends’ history as it paved the way for the augmentation of Hunter Hall and the

construction of the Townhouse. With lawyers for parents, Annie did not picture herself following in their footsteps despite Sisi’s joking attempts at getting her to apply to law school. Within months of her employment at Friends, she was juggling legal teams and documents with the ease of someone 10 years her senior. “These efforts presented many interesting legal puzzles,” Annie said, “and working with Sisi and our outside counsel to approach them thoughtfully with an eye toward future Friends generations sparked my interest in exploring a legal career. She was truly instrumental in helping me get to where I am today, and I’m very grateful.”

Jennifer Gandásegui served as Sisi’s administrative assistant for four years. When she first joined, she helped with a months-long project to refinance the School’s loan. As a former English teacher, Jennifer wasn’t initially enthusiastic about the shift to spreadsheets and numbers. However, Sisi saw something more in her—a path that she herself hadn’t yet envisioned. Sisi’s leadership style, much like that of a skilled educator, is rooted in discovering what ignites a person’s passion. Sisi guided Jennifer to see her potential far beyond administrative responsibilities. Sisi recognized that Jennifer's talents extended beyond her office, and she is now thriving as a Learning Specialist at Friends.

"She has an incredible work ethic and leads by example, holding herself to the highest standards while always doing what’s right for the School,” Jennifer said. “The pressure she puts on herself comes from her deep commitment, and that dedication inspires her entire team to follow her lead. She empowers us not just by what she says, but by the way she shows up every day—with integrity, passion, and an unwavering focus on the greater good."

Many think that Sisi is all business—and this is by design. Sisi remains a famously private person, a choice she attributes to the immense responsibility she carries for the School. “You need to set boundaries,” she said, acknowledging that her approach might be difficult for some to understand. She has consciously maintained a degree of social distance from the wider community, a decision rooted in her desire to uphold fairness and ensure objectivity in her role. “I love our community, but I cannot become too emotional because, at times, we must have tough conversations,” she explained. This careful balance reflects the trust and accountability that come

with the weight of her position.

But what brings her joy? “I was so excited for Annie when she decided to become a lawyer. I had such pleasure in writing her reference letter. She is so accomplished.” Sisi raved. “And there it is,” she added “That is my joy!” Sisi is never one to shy away from rolling up her sleeves and working alongside her team, no matter the time of day. Whether it's making soup, sketching gym mascot murals, helping Beko paint lines in the courtyard, meticulously reviewing enrollment contracts line-by-line, managing crowd control at the elevator, or putting on a surgical gown to administer COVID tests, her contributions are endless.

Many of these actions go unnoticed, but they keep the institution running smoothly and reflect her commitment not only to Friends but to our city neighbors. During the summer months, Sisi and her team work tirelessly to ensure unused school resources were put to good use. Through DonateNYC.org, Friends has dramatically expanded its reach. The School donated the well-made partitions that were used during COVID in classrooms to a hospital in Brooklyn that they were so excited about and put them to immediate use for patients, has provided items like lockers and cafeteria equipment to a new school for children living in a family shelter in Queens, and afterschool materials and books to Children of Promise NYC. One of the most meaningful partnerships has been with Storefront Academy in the Bronx and Manhattan. The relationship continues to grow tremendously, and just this past spring, nearly 75% of the Annex furniture was donated to the academy. Sisi, Alyson, and Beko’s leadership in these efforts shows the dedication to serving both the Friends community and the wider city.

For Sisi, the reward isn’t in recognition but in the small, everyday moments—seeing a student thrive in a classroom she helped create or watching the sun stream through the glass windows of a new space. “If you do a great job, you see it. If you make a mistake, you see it too,” she said.

"Our school radiates life, light, and energy—qualities that can’t be replicated or manufactured. It’s a feeling that comes naturally, a spirit that can’t be forced or faked,” she reflects. But of all her remarkable achievements at Friends, perhaps her greatest contribution has been herself— leading with heart, humility, and an unwavering commitment to the values that make the School so special. “Twenty years feels like yesterday,” she said.

EVERY STUDENT. EVERY TEACHER . EVERY YEAR.

FUND FRIENDS for

The Fund for Friends (the School's annual fund) supports every student, teacher and staff member every school year. It is the most important fundraising initiative for our School, as it ensures we can carry out the mission-driven work that we commit to every year. The Fund touches every corner of our community and is the heart of our school’s financial health, allowing us to bridge the gap between tuition and the full cost of a Friends Seminary education. Nearly seven percent of the operating budget is not covered by tuition and fees, and this is where the Fund for Friends comes to the rescue.

To make a tax-deductible gift today, scan the QR code, visit www.friendsseminary.org/give, or use the enclosed envelope. Questions? Contact the Advancement team at: advancement@friendsseminary.org or (646) 979-5050.

SEEKING BAYARD

by Makayla Smith

Bayard Rustin Fellow of the Penington Friends House on 15th Street, and Extended Programs Associate at Friends Seminary

Having never grown up during integration, my Grandmama (Mama) used to play a game with my older brother and I that involved our school’s yearbooks. Knowing that we went to a predominantly white elementary school, she would ask us to carefully find the faces of every Black person that we saw on each page. For every Black face that we found, we then had to match them with a specific shade of Black. Once this was done, we went around in a circle and said aloud the shades that came to mind; some of my favorite skintones to call out were blue-Black (mostly, for its rhythmic taste on the lips), chestnut, ebony, almond, and toffee. When the game was over, Mama would say in her Southern dialect, “You may never see any of these folks again, but it’s your job to always know whose you look like, whose you’ve got to protect when no one else is looking.” As I strummed through the pages of Friends Seminary’s yearbook from 1986, it was only right that I used this method to find him. Since the subject of this article was reared by his maternal grandmother, I decided to channel the spirit of Mama as a form of homage. On page 145, while his skin is washed out of the frame, I’m quick to imagine a flush of toasted brown filling in the color blind gaps. If it were possible for the sacrifices of intelligence to quantify itself, then let us behold thee! With his back straightened, fingers pointed with satisfaction, and his mouth fixed to the tune of a conscientious objector, Bayard Rustin stood. Frozen in time, he delivers his speech, “Human Rights Not Atomic War: The Central Issue of Our Time” in the Fifteenth Street Meetinghouse.

Bayard Rustin has had a profound effect on the world and at Friends Seminary. This is one writer's exploration of the man, as his voice continues to resonate and guide her.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bayard Rustin in 1956

Before Bayard Rustin was an activist, he was his grandmother’s baby. Despite her nineteen years of age, her unmarried status, and the fact that the child’s father did not want anything to do with his newborn, the child was born to Florence Elizabeth—the daughter of Rustin’s grandparents—on March 17, 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was in Julia Edith Davis’s (affectionately known as “Grandma or Ma Rustin”) highest favor for Bayard to not become a purveyor of his circumstances. When Janifer Alexander Rustin (affectionately known as “Pa Rustin”) and Julia became the sole caregivers of this young boy, it not only gave his life fresh wings, but it also created the intimate relationship he would form at the intersections of Quakerism and social justice. In Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics, Walter Naegle, Bayard’s surviving partner and sole preservationist of his legacy, describes the intergenerational influence of Quaker faith in the Davis and Rustin household, with particular emphasis on Ma Rustin’s Quaker rearing over Bayard: “Davis’s generosity was informed by her Quaker upbringing. Upon her marriage to Janifer, she had joined the Bethel AME Church, but the Quaker values from her childhood informed her words and deeds throughout her life. While neither she nor Bayard were permitted to attend West Chester Friends Meeting, she also instilled Quaker values in young Bayard and saw the inevitable transgressions of the young child as opportunities for education rather than merely punishment.” Walter continues, using the Rustin household’s political involvement to allude to what Bayard would end up committing his life’s work towards: “The Rustin home welcomed travelers who took part in the Great Migration of Black people escaping from the Jim Crow South; Julia was an early member of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and when notable Black leaders visited the city, they sometimes stayed in the Rustin home. Bayard recalled that as a youngster he met writer and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson, who penned the lyrics to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” now known as the Black national anthem, and activist and educator Mary McLeod Bethune.” By digging deeper into Bayard’s roots, it should be noted that Julia did not doubt his intersectional faculties, in an already doubtful world. Neither did she have to employ the perverse tactics

of -isms onto this young child who was being trained to conquer what was Earthside. If you’re asking me what you can do about a lack of humanitarian aid, I’d say that Julia seemed to embody one of its most altruistic features: the ability to adjust one’s eyes so that they are wide enough to see oppression’s beck and call, and render it useless.

Celebrating the School’s bicentennial year, Bayard was invited to speak at Friends on February 10, 1986. A few of his remarks lean into a space of open endedness that I believe is meant to force its listeners to ponder on his, theirs, and the world’s civic responsibilities to themselves and those around them: “How can a sane person say that how we treat each other is more serious than the possible elimination of humankind altogether?”; “The we/they concept is contrary to the concept of one humanity, and therefore, to the concept of human rights.”; Last, but not least, “If the majority of the people in the world adhered to the concept of human rights, violence and war would be impossible.” Detailed briefly in News from Friends, a magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of the School during this time, his speech was described as provocative as he talked about maintaining the idea that concern for human rights would prevent war. According to Pamela el-Okdah,

Bayard Rustin, as a teenager, in 1920

Top: Bayard Rustin speaking to Friends students in the Meetinghouse. Bottom left: (from left) Rustin, Head of School Joyce McCray, and Rustin’s partner, Walter Naegle, seated in the Meetinghouse. Bottom right: Rustin delivers his speech to the Friends community in the Meetinghouse during the School’s bicentennial celebration. All images are dated February 10, 1986.

Chairperson of the Social Studies Department at the time, Rustin “encouraged a lively question and answer session which lasted long after the formal part of the evening was over.” In this particular question and answer session that Pamela el-Okdah describes, Bayard uses this question to illustrate political selflessness: “You must judge every situation the way you judge yourself: not where do you stand but are you making an effort to move in the right direction?” Titled after the name of his speech, “Human Rights: The Central Issue of Our Time”, his words are crystallized in history via Friends Journal—a Quaker publication that was founded in 1955 and is supported by the Friends Publishing Corporation. I couldn’t help but to look at this crystallization and ask myself this question, how is someone at Friends able to both access and honor this experience with such a fierce political figure? Knowing the influence of Quakerism in his own life, how can a Quaker institution, such as Friends, continue to do the work so that Bayard’s legacy does not disappear and/or be remodeled in vain?

On an intra-communal level, Bayard’s legacy has preceded him to some degree, at the School. In 2012, students performed a dramatic reading on his letters in the Meetinghouse during a visit from Michael G. Long, editor of I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters. If one is paying close enough attention while perusing the library, one will find themselves looking at a mossy, earth toned image of Rustin, his very being etched in kente cloth, sitting on librarian Eric Owens’s desk. Today, in the classroom, Rustin is discussed in Upper School History Teacher Stephon Richardson’s Black Thought in Action course. “I cover Bayard Rustin as part of a broader discussion on Black activists’ engagement with socialist and communist movements in the early 20th century,” Richardson said. “Our main focus is on Rustin’s time as a socialist, specifically his work with A. Philip Randolph. Together, they pressured the FDR administration to integrate defense contracts during World War II by threatening a "March on Washington"—an idea that, of course, would later be realized in 1963.” In the spirit of the six degrees of separation, Walter Naegle works out of his own office that is located in the Rutherford Place building that’s attached to campus.

Outside, in the grandeur of society, Rustin has created a path for himself as a notable component in the contemporary world’s fight for freedom. Within the last few years, he has become a pioneer for those who were,

and are, a part of the LGBTQIA+ communities. He was kicked out of Cheyney State's Teachers College because the administration learned of his same-sex attraction to men. This expulsion was what led him to New York City in the first place, where he formally joined The Society of Friends in 1936. This cued the beginnings of his immersion in the smorgasbord that was the Harlem Renaissance: singing backup for Josh White, developing a close relationship with Alain Locke, and eventually joining the Young Communist League in 1938. In 1937, he participated in the American Friends Service Committee's (ASFC) Institute of International Relations program. That same year, he decided to become a peace activist and served in the AFSC’s Peace Brigade with 160 other college students. In 1941, through the Fellowship of Reconciliation that was led by Reverend A.J. Rustin visited Puerto Rico as a means to figure out what problems conscientious Puerto Rican war objectors were facing. To be even more specific, drawing on his connection with the Fifteenth Street Meetinghouse, Rustin was a member of the New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in 1949, as he served on the Race Relations Committee and the Prison Committee.

Most famously, he is known for teaching Martin Luther King Jr. the ways of nonviolent protests and was chosen by A. Phillip Randolph to be the organizer, leader, and agenda maker for the March on Washington in 1963. His involvement in the March is described in depth via the foreword, written by Davin W. Carbado and Don Weise, in the book Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin: “Rustin was chosen by A. Phillip Randolph, president of the Negro American Labor Council at the time, to be the formal organizer and leader for the March. Co-chairing the March alongside Rustin and Randolph were James Farmer, director of CORE; John Lewis, chairman of SNCC; Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP; Whitney Young, president of the National Urban League (NUL); and Martin Luther King Jr under SCLC. Despite some petty differences, under Rustin’s direction, the movement peacefully coalesced for the first time ever, articulating its demands for economic empowerment and civil rights with one voice. In only seven weeks, he orchestrated the largest public protest in American history. The March helped to secure the passage of the Civil Rights Act in July 1964. In Rustin’s words, the march “made Americans feel for the first time that we were capable of being truly a nation, that we were capable of

(Top) Bayard Rustin speaks following Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic “I Have A Dream’” speech (bottom) in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. Rustin read the demands that the leaders of the civil rights movement would take to President John F. Kennedy.

moving beyond division and bigotry.” Shedding light on the Life magazine excerpts that are featured in this write up, featuring Randolph and Bayard on its cover, Carbado and Weise continue to analyze the worldwide media traction the March gained: “Rustin was pictured along with Randolph on the cover of Life magazine, which proclaimed in September 1963, “For all the dissension that has split Negro organizations, the march was an astonishingly well executed product of leadership.”

These last few years have brought atonement to his name. In 2015, at Vh1’s Logo Trailblazers Honors, Raven-Symoné (actress most famously known for her role in Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven, The Cheetah Girls franchise, The Cosby Show, etc.) and Martin Luther King III (Martin Luther King Jr.’s son) presented Rustin, accepted on the behalf of Walter, with a tribute that shared kudos in his dedication to obtaining human rights globally. In 2016, Bayard received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from thenpresident Barack Obama. In 2023, released through the streaming platform Netflix, the film Rustin was released with Colmon Domingo (actor most famously known for his roles in The Walking Dead, The Scottsboro Boys, Passing Strange, etc.) taking the reins as a faux Bayard.

Regardless of his outward successes, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge how Bayard’s Blackness and his decision to be an openly gay man during this time has kept his legacy away from us all. To some degree, this is a song that has a well known beat: When many of my other marginalized friends have begun to sing their songs of success, career wise, there is always the lilt and verve of racism, sexism, colorism, classism, ageism, etc. to knock them down a note. Where the wider world may have been unsteady in its recognition of Bayard, I looked for someone whose support never wavered or waned: Walter Naegle.

During the summer of 2023, I was celebrating the end of my residency as the Bayard Rustin Fellow at the Penington Friends House (PFH). Throughout that first year of living at PFH as the Fellow, I was working on a fiction novel that I had begun during my undergraduate career at UAB. For the get-together, I’d prepared an activity for everyone in attendance that illustrated a component of my writing process. I chose to use Lynda Barry’s scribble activity called Monster Jam from her book Making Comics. The rules went like this: Firstly, they were to divide a sheet of paper into quarters; Secondly, they were to draw a quick scribble or shape in each panel; Thirdly, they were told to pass the paper to

Bayard Rustin speaks with community members in the Meetinghouse in 1986. Math teacher Ben Frisch, right, looks on.

their neighbors for two minutes each where they were asked to turn one of those scribbles or shapes into a monster. Naegle was in attendance. This was the moment where I learned that Walter was a visual artist, where instead of making monsters, he drew descriptive human portraits and vast landscapes within such a limited frame of space. Even moreso, he worked as a psychiatric technician at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and he pursued his love of photography at the Germain School of Photography. When Rustin and he met in 1977 in Times Square, Naegle was already familiar with Rustin’s name, due to Naegle’s own interests in the Civil Rights Movement. Whenever Walter and I have spoken of Bayard, his responses are always thoughtfully measured as he finds the balance between speaking on Rustin as a fierce protester of injustice, and Rustin as his lover and his friend.

When I first started my job as an After School Teacher at Friends, I constantly worried about how I was going to be received by this population of students and faculty. A few questions went through my head: How will I honor my Blackness in a school that is predominantly white? How will I react if this is one of the first times that any of my students have interacted with a teacher of color, let alone, a Black woman educator who has face tattoos? Where do I fit inside of this landscape as a working class person who did not have the privilege of going to a private school? How do these things affect how I will remember my time at Friends and how does Friends play a part in crafting memory as a whole? As these questions fell through my mind, I could not help but to think of something Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin in the Sun, wrote to her then husband, Robert Neimroff, when she was at Camp Unity in 1954 in upstate New York. Published in her memoir To Be Young, Gifted, & Black, Hansberry proclaims the following: “A couple of days I have been feeling so miserable that I didn’t want to do anything but build myself a tree house and forget it. You know what I mean—there are times when you are sure that the peace in symphonies, and grass and sunlight and mountains is not to be found in life—and honey that is a desperate feeling.” Being that this was also my first time in a Quaker institution, I often relied on some of the knowledge I’d gained, during my time as the Bayard

Rustin Fellow and while living in a Quaker based community at PFH. When I was able to assess my own humanity and how that impacts those around me, I then began to ask myself how does my existence within the School nurture and sustain Friends Seminary’s push to create systematic structures that reflect their testimony of equality? Pulling from the FS Essential Principles, Practices, and Procedures, I continue to think, how are Friends’ values of service, simplicity, integrity, diversity, equality, community, stewardship of the environment, and nonviolence reflected in the life of the School?

Lastly, do we appreciate how the testimony on integrity calls us to truth telling, authenticity, and wholeness? In searching for what I believe to be Bayard’s answers, the School’s answers, the answers of those I have been in community with at PFH, I realize that I stumble upon my own.

ABOUT MAKAYLA SMITH

When Makayla Smith was 14, renowned poet and professor Nikki Finney posed an adult question to her creative writing cohort: "If you could save one memory from your life, what would it be and why?" Eleven years later, that question still resonates. Makayla’s ongoing attempts to make sense of Finney's question have led her to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in English (with a concentration in English) and a minor in African American Studies from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She then earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from The New School. Still unsatisfied with the answers to her pondering, she became the Bayard Rustin Fellow at the Penington Friends House in the fall of 2022 in New York City.

With Finney’s question in mind, Makayla continues to explore how her identity as a Black, Alabamanian, female, and queer individual influences her existence and literature. For now, her answer is simple yet complex: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

OWLS SOAR!

The Varsity Spring 2024 Track teams lead the way! The Girls team won their second consecutive ACIS Championship, and the Boys team finished in third place, Featured left: Saagi Hemmings ’24 competes in the triple jump in Spring 2024.

ANNEX ANEW

When Upper School students and their teachers returned from summer break, they stepped into a campus building that looked a little different from the one they’d left just two months earlier.

by Rebecca Holmes Senior Associate Director of Advancement

After a summer of construction, the Annex on 15th Street has been transformed into a vibrant center for Upper School Math, Science, Engineering, and Performing Arts. Once aging, it now brings new energy to the School’s programs. "The Annex has been a cornerstone for our students and teachers for over 25 years, and this renovation symbolizes our commitment to innovation and growth," Head of School Bo Lauder

said. "We’re building a future where our students can continue to explore, create, and thrive in a space that meets their potential and inspires their curiosity."

While the School has done construction projects before, none matched this 16-week sprint. "Months of planning and a team of 100 to 150 people working daily kept it on schedule and within budget, with an exciting result," Bo shared.

The updated, university-grade labs for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology are now flexible and advanced, giving students hands-on experiences in real scientific work. Dr. Shayri Greenwood, Head of Science, is thrilled: “The labs feel enormous now, and we finally have the space to dream big with independent research and new equipment.”

The Annex also includes a new Faculty Center, called STEM Cell, with a central meeting room, Nucleus. Bright and welcoming, it’s already sparking collaboration. Dr. Greenwood calls it “a joyful space that opens new ideas and connections.”

The Performing Arts have also found their stage in the revamped Joyce McCray Black Box Theater. Equipped with modern lighting, students can now control light color, shape, and texture. Steve Borowka, Head of Performing Arts, noted, “We’re teaching students to use an ETC Ion board—the same system used on Broadway.” Directly beneath the McCray, the former ‘Physics Cave’ has become a lively space for Performing Arts classes, offices, and storage. Steve sees endless possibilities: “Storage is a game changer. Now we can inventory costumes and props, and even consider offering a costume design class.”

The McCray will host its first production in February with A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Grades 7-8. Currently, rehearsals for The Odyssey are underway for a December 13-15 performance at Baruch College.

For Elisa '25, who balances STEM and humanities, the new Annex is an exciting chapter. “Before, Humanities felt more central, and STEM was a bit separate,” she said. “Now, it feels cohesive and connected.”

Elisa is inspired by the new Physics Lab, with more space for experiments and collaboration. “Seeing teachers work together inspires me. I want to be around people passionate about things I’m still learning. That’s what I want in college.”

With Math and Latin now in the Annex, Elisa feels a stronger connection: “Both subjects are like solving puzzles. It’s exciting to see Humanities and STEM together in one place.”

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

by Tom Miller

In the late 1840s, political and social unrest in Germany led thousands of immigrants to settle in New York City, forming a vibrant enclave known as Kleindeutschland in the Lower East Side and East Village. By 1855, the city’s German-speaking population was surpassed only by Berlin and Vienna. On July 3, 1879, The New York Times reported the cornerstone laying for the German Masonic Temple on 15th Street, a project led by an association of German lodges to serve their growing community.

Designed by Arthur M. Thom of Thom & Wilson, the building cost $60,000 (equivalent to about $1.8 million today) and was constructed in the Queen Anne style. It featured Baltimore brick and Nova Scotia stone trimmings, with distinct stone bands and brick piers that added dimension to its façade. Inside, it housed various lodge rooms named after classical orders (the Corinthian, Ionic, and Doric), a restaurant, a dining hall, and spaces for lectures and meetings.

Throughout its history, the German Masonic Temple hosted many events. It served as a political and social gathering space, such as when the German-American Independent Citizens' Committee met there in 1881 following President Garfield’s assassination to adopt resolutions expressing their solidarity with their new homeland. The Lodge even voted to allow women members in 1884, a controversial decision at the time. The building was also home to the Manhattan Liberal Club, which used the space for lectures and celebrations, including progressive discussions on race, women’s rights, and political activism.

The temple underwent significant changes in the 1930s, when architects Louis Almendinger and M. Allen Schlendorf remodeled it. They added a classical Greek temple front with Doric columns and a sleek Art Deco facade on the upper floors, giving the building a striking, mixed architectural style.

In 1997, Friends Seminary acquired the building to expand its Upper School facilities. After renovations by Anderson Architects, the structure was transformed into an academic space with 15,000 additional square feet, providing modern classrooms for math and science courses. Today, the newly renovated building remains a vital part of the School's educational landscape, blending its rich history with a contemporary purpose.

1936 photo by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

CURTAIN CALL

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month in October 2024, Lower and Middle School students gathered in the Meetinghouse for a performance by Ballet Hispánico, a leading Latino dance company. The dynamic performance fused Spanish dance, classical ballet, and contemporary movement, exploring the journey of cultural identity and heritage.

GRAINS OF TIME

The New York Quarterly Meeting is experimenting with how to refurbish the centuries-old wooden benches in the Meetinghouse. As a sample, woodworkers restored two benches along the upper level to their original wood grain. Other benches were test painted white to match their current appearance.