It is through these inclusive
and families that we will continually find meaning and joy and create a culture to support our strategic journey to achieve our mission.
At Graland Country Day School
is our mission to:
excellence,
We are Graland. As I said in my opening comments on the first day of school in August, and will continue to say, I am filled with pride and astonishment about where we are as a school and where we are going.
Where we are today is strong and vibrant. We are here because we worked together to endure the COVID-19 pandemic. Crisis reveals true character, and our core principles as an institution shined brightly, especially innovation, perseverance, and compassion.
Where we are going is to build on our powerful legacy. To achieve our Mission, we will use the new strategic framework, which will enable us to unleash our full potential as a school. We will create a culture of belonging, enable educators, engage families, and inspire students. In doing so, we will THRIVE.
Your Board of Trustees is committed to working together as a team to fulfill our duties of care and loyalty. We are grateful for the confidence and trust you place in us, and we will strive to do everything in our power, within our carefully defined role, to achieve our Mission: to educate our children by guiding them through an incredible journey which will enable them to climb any mountain…and soar from the summit.
This fall, Graland launched a new strategic plan with one main goal at its center. We want our students, educators, and parents to THRIVE at school, in the community, and beyond. To learn more, visit graland.org/StrategicPlan.
Jill Barkin is the director of education at the Beacon Fund, a social impact enterprise committed to using the full range of philanthropic & market rate tools to create positive change. Previously, Jill worked in corporate philanthropy for JP Morgan Chase and as a consultant to nonprofits and charitable foundations with the Monitor Institute and FSG Social Impact Advisors. Jill currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chalkbeat, a national network of local education news bureaus, and in 2021, was appointed to Governor Polis’s Student Success Task Force. Jill holds a bachelor’s in economics and political science from Williams College and a master’s from Harvard Business School. Jill lives in Denver with her husband Adam (’91) and their two boys, Jacob (Grade 7) and Eli (Grade 5). At Graland, Jill has been involved with the Challenge Success Task Force, the Character Task Force, & the School Climate Advisory Committee.
Lauren Davis is a prolific member of the Denver community, contributing her skills and expertise to many local businesses and organizations. She has extensive experience with fundraising, having served on fundraising committees for the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, School in the Woods Montessori, and Denver Affiliate Susan G. Komen. Lauren has served on Graland Country Day School’s Annual Fund Committee and Inspire Committee, and currently is a member of the development committee. Lauren has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Denver and is passionate about her family, friends, community, and the outdoors. She lives in Denver with her husband, Christopher, and their two sons, Charlie (Grade 5) and Ford (Grade 1).
Jaime Miller ’97 Altman has been on Graland’s Alumni Board since 2013 and recently started her term as president this fall. As a Graland parent and proud alumna, Jaime has also served as co-chair of the Parent Grade Representative Team for the Annual Fund and is currently the communications chair for the Graland Parent Association. Jaime is married to Seth and has two children, Olivia (Grade 6) and Ethan (Grade 3). When she is not volunteering at Graland, Jaime is a camp expert specializing in summer camp placement for children. She also enjoys golf, skiing, cheering on her children, and spending time with family and friends.
Graland Parent Association (GPA) president Cat Carlson joined the Graland community in 2018 after her family relocated to Colorado from New York. Upon her daughters’ acceptance to Graland, Cat immediately started searching for ways to meet people and get involved at their new school. Over the years, Cat has become a familiar face on campus through her various volunteer roles and began her term as GPA president this fall. Cat has two daughters, Alden and Cornelia (Grade 5), and is married to Ned. In her free time, she enjoys running, skiing, spending time with family, and meeting new friends.
“The nature of relationship among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of the school and on students than anything else.”
- Roland Barth, Founder of Harvard’s Principals’ CenterAnother first day of school, and I feel the butterflies again. Since I was five years old, I have experienced the nervousness of beginning school. Now, as an educator, my first day comes a week before the students’ first day. It is August 17, 2022. At 8:30 a.m., I stand up to welcome the faculty and staff back to another school year. As I grab the handheld mic from its stand and look over the assembled educators, I sense such a positive energy that my anxiety begins to evolve into excitement. There is a buzz among them that is reminiscent of first days of the past, August 2019 and earlier. Before I begin to speak, I quietly take a moment to acknowledge their effervescence and dedicate myself to reflect it in my speech and beyond, knowing how important it is to sustain this type of enthusiasm throughout the year.
Educating children has often been called a vocation, “a calling,” or even for some, “a higher calling.” There is a nobility to this idea that I embrace, but from my own experience as a teacher when I was younger,
I was drawn to teach not because it was my predetermined destiny to serve others but because it simply was fun. I loved being around ninth graders, their irreverence and sense of humor suited me, and I also found joy in creating lessons that engaged them and helped them grow. Was I called to teach? Maybe. Did I love teaching? Definitely.
Vocation or not, over the past three years, from March 2020 to now, education, for many in the field, became less of a calling and more of a job. There were moments, for all of us, whether teachers, administrators, or staff, when the work didn’t seem as joyful. For myself, I remember a colleague from the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS) reaching out to me in May of 2020 and asking, quite simply, “Are you ok?” Even over Zoom, he could see a flatness in my eyes, a lack of the spark that he had come to expect from me over the years. His genuine curiosity and kindness reminded me that I couldn’t take for granted the joy
and purpose I had found in my career. At times, I had to rediscover it.
Later that morning, on August 17, I introduced to the educators—administrators, faculty, and staff—who were gathered in Anschutz Commons the main concepts of our new strategic framework: Inspire Students, Empower Educators, Engage Families, and Cultivate a Culture of Belonging. Considering my audience, I spent most of my time focusing on the “Empower Educators” goal to:
“Cultivate a dynamic community where our entire team of educators—faculty, administrators, and staff—are dedicated to growth, collaboration, and innovation. By accomplishing this goal, every educator thrives with purpose and agency while creating engaging growth opportunities for students.”
As I detailed the strategic objectives and tactics that would lead to this goal, I stressed how the effort to empower educators would spin the pinwheel, the visual representing the strategic framework, and impact both students and families, all generating the thriving that was central to the entire plan.
That morning, there was much laughter
as I detailed the framework. One of the teachers who was at the table in front of me had the gumption to announce that she was going to count the number of times I said the word “thrive,” and it became our joke throughout the presentation (the final tally: 23). Still, as fun as it was to laugh together, ensuring that educators thrive is no laughing matter for our society and for Graland. COVID has exacerbated two troubling trends—more educators, whether teachers or administrators, are leaving the profession, and less educators are entering it. To meet this challenge, the strategic plan details several action steps to ensure recruiting and retaining the best talent, and most of those efforts relate to fostering purpose and joy.
The primary initiative this year to help meet this strategic objective is the extension of the professional growth partnership concept to all employees at Graland. Working with an outside consultant, Ali Waggener ’94 Boyd, we are training seventeen administrators to each coach eight members of the faculty and staff throughout the year. These professional growth partnerships are non-evaluative and rely on active listening and open-ended questioning to help educators envision and
ultimately realize their own professional trajectory, full of agency and fulfillment. By supporting educators on their unique journey of growth through reflection and connection, this program will help them master their craft, all while contributing to our overall mission to foster intellectual excellence and strong character in our students. Very much like that conversation with my ACIS colleague in 2020, these interactions, full of curiosity and compassion, will elevate our understanding of ourselves and others, ultimately building the collegiality so essential to a dynamic culture of professional growth.
During my teaching career, my relationships with my students maintained my enthusiasm for teaching. Then, after I moved into administration, my relationships with adults sustained me. Ultimately, the professional growth partnership program is about relationships, as it is through those relationships that we often find our professional purpose. Yes, education may be a vocation, but it is not a one-and-done epiphany that propels one’s career from that moment on. It must be nourished again and again, through the kindness of colleagues, through selfreflection, and ultimately through a deep
commitment to children.
The new strategic framework relies on a synergy between all four focal points. By empowering educators, we plan to inspire students and engage families, all supported by a culture of belonging. Roland Barth, the founder of Harvard’s Principals’ Center, captures this dynamic connection when he states:
“The nature of relationship among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of the school and on students than anything else.”
Throughout this year, for our students, we are committed to sustaining the positive energy I felt so clearly that first day with faculty and staff by building relationships through the professional growth partnerships and more informally through the daily work that we do, innovating and collaborating to empower educators, inspire students, engage families, and cultivate a culture of belonging. It is through these inclusive and authentic relationships with students, colleagues, and families that we will continually find meaning and joy and create a culture to support our strategic journey to achieve our mission.
By Oscar Gonzalez, Director of Equity & Inclusivity
At the center of Graland’s strategic plan is the word thrive. We want every member of our community to thrive, prosper, and flourish by pursuing excellence and wellness. When we feel a sense of belonging, we are able to thrive at our highest potential. Belonging is needed for both well-being and engagement with learning, so in order to achieve our mission, to achieve intellectual excellence, build strong character and prepare our students to be engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders, we must cultivate a culture of belonging.
A broadly diverse community fosters empathy, enriches teaching and learning, and promotes intellectual excellence and strong character. Fundamentally, diversity enhances community, and for diversity to thrive, inclusivity is essential. As Arthur Chan states, “Inclusion is an action, and belonging is an outcome.” Belonging is the goal of our inclusivity work. We want each unique member of our community to show up as themselves and to leave Graland as the best version of themselves.
Through our partnerships and collaboration with Challenge Success, who created “The Building Blocks for Belonging (Interpersonal Relationships, Agency, & Support for those Marginalized),” and Rosetta Lee, who created the inclusive classroom practices framework, we’ve enhanced our ability to cultivate belonging. As educators, we strive for strong, meaningful student-teacher relationships, and at Graland, we are set up to meet the individual needs of students, given our small student-to-adult ratios. It is also an educator’s creed to ensure students’ well-being and to foster a safe learning environment ripe for risk-taking and leaning into discomfort in order to grow. Lee’s framework calls on educators to make certain students can answer the following questions in the affirmative so that they can experience a more inclusive classroom setting. “Do you see me? Do you hear me? Will you treat me fairly? Will you protect me?”
“Belonging is the goal of our inclusivity work. We want each unique member of our community to show up as themselves and to leave Graland as the best version of themselves.”
“Graland values each student as a unique individual and considers every student’s strengths and needs. Graland students learn to value individual differences and divergent thinking. As they grow, they seek inclusiveness and justice in a multi-faceted and diverse world.”
We foster curiosity, and through meaningful relationships, we get to know students and meet their specific needs. We reject the notion that students come as a blank slate, a tabula rasa. Rather we acknowledge that students come with prior learning, their family background, and a multitude of identities and aspirations for who they will become. “We are educating whole human beings, not empty vessels,” (Klein & Ciotti, 2022). In turn, students not only share their stories, but they become curious about the stories of others in the community. To be engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders, to be prepared for a diverse world, students learn to think beyond themselves and start to take into account the community as a whole. Through service learning, project-based learning, the Gates Invention and Innovation program, and the many aspects of our programmatic offerings, students begin to find their passions and purpose. At the very least, they identify their gifts and how they can share them with the world. Student voice, advocacy, and agency are essential elements in this endeavor, and students find belonging as they learn and grow in these self-directed efforts.
“Graland believes that learning is enhanced when those in its community care for each other. Empathy is the basis of understanding in an interdependent world, and with the guidance and support of the adult community, Graland students grow in insight and gain a global perspective and lifelong commitment to service.”
We strive for a climate of care and empathy. Students and adults alike gain empathy by working and collaborating across lines of difference and valuing the humanity and dignity of each individual in our community. Morning meetings and advisory allow for creating connections, and educators get to know students as learners and people. Kyle Redford says, “Students don’t come to us with tidy labels and operating instructions. They are mysterious, developing individuals. Approaching their struggles like puzzles to solve, rather than problems to react to, makes our instruction more effective.” With compassionate curiosity, our community members feel seen, heard, valued, safe, and protected.
Whether on campus, on the sports field, or beyond the walls of the classroom, it is imperative that we meet students’ human need to belong so that they can fully access all that Graland has to offer, the academics as well as hands-on practice with the interpersonal skills needed to collaborate and work with others. Our brains process social pain the same way as physical pain; therefore, it hurts to be excluded. If we’re not actively including, we may be inadvertently excluding, so we work on creating awareness of ourselves, others, and the community. While the golden rule is great, treat people the way YOU want to be treated, the platinum rule is even better, treat people the way THEY want to be treated. It requires communication and truly getting to know others.
A culture of belonging benefits each member of the community as well as the community in its entirety. As we engage as adults, let’s remember that if we’re going to ask students to do their part in cultivating belonging, then we must model the way and hold ourselves and each other to the same standards.
We make sure the students not only have a seat at the table but that they have a voice, and a voice that is heard and valued.
Monday, September 12, 2022 started like many others. I was scrambling to get my family out the door, rushing to get to work on time, and anticipating my seemingly never-ending to-do list. After I parked my car in the parking garage, I had the good fortune of running into Grade 2 Educator, Katie Mimnall and her one-year-old daughter, Evelyn. We exchanged pleasantries about our weekends and how we aspire to ride our bikes to work more often. As we started to walk toward campus, I couldn’t help but be captivated by Evelyn. We made eye contact, smiled, and waved at each other. Evelyn is new to walking, and watching her delight in this new skill just tickled me. As we approached the stairs, Evelyn reached out for her mother’s hand and then, with no hesitation, reached out for mine. Awestruck, I obliged and felt her tiny fingers clench mine as we walked hand in hand up the stairs. This sweet moment was brief but a lovely way to start my week.
Dacher Keltner and a team of scientists at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley have been studying awe for over two decades. This is the emotion I felt when darling Evelyn trusted me enough to invite me to hold hands. The dictionary defines awe as “a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by something that is beautiful or sacred,” and the folks in Dr. Keltner’s lab go on to say it’s “the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of stars in the night sky or marveling at the birth of a child. When people feel awe, they may use other words to describe the experience, such as wonder, amazement, surprise, or transcendence.” They say the most common sources of awe are other people and nature, but awe can be elicited by
many other experiences as well, such as music, art or architecture, religious experiences, or even one’s own accomplishments. A growing body of research suggests that experiencing awe may lead to a wide range of benefits, from happiness and health to perhaps more unexpected benefits such as generosity, humility, critical thinking, and curiosity.
In Lower School assemblies this year, we’ve started a segment called “Moments of Awe,” where we highlight things like my brief encounter with Katie and Evelyn Mimnall, and we hope to encourage community members to notice awe in their own lives. People have already shared a variety of experiences from feeling mesmerized by aspen leaves turning colors, to watching cute puppies on YouTube that have enabled a student to shake off a negative mood, to song lyrics that have brought tears to people’s eyes because they resonate so deeply with the song’s sentiment. We recognize that human brains are constantly scanning our environment to make sure we’re safe, and if something unsafe or negative is perceived, our brain remembers this information. Our brains are going to hold on to that information and prepare should something similar happen again. Psychologists call this the negativity bias. It’s why I can have one negative experience in my day and a plethora of positive experiences, but I focus on the negative one. Our hope is that by highlighting moments of awe, we encourage community members to pause and savor everyday moments that touch our hearts. The invitation from a trusting child coaxed me into slowing down and delighting in the preciousness of human connection. It made me wonder how many other delicious moments like this that I’ve missed? As singer Jason Mraz says, let’s get out there and “look for the good!”
One afternoon, after a fast-moving thunderstorm had rolled through, I opened my front door and looked outside. A brilliant double rainbow swept from one end of the neighborhood to the other. I walked to a park across the street to get a better view.
At the park, a flag football team had just started practice. I heard the coach yell, “Stop the play!” I turned towards the team, thinking someone was hurt or a play went wrong. The coach told the athletes to stop playing and look at the sky. “Look, team! A double rainbow! Everyone take a moment to look!” The boys followed their coach’s instructions, and a collective chorus of “Wow!” and “That’s so cool!” was heard.
I have watched many practices as a parent and educator, but this was the first time I have ever heard a coach stop the practice because of a rainbow! I thought to myself, what a great moment this coach is giving to his young players. He was helping the team learn that there are fleeting moments in our lives when it is necessary to stop and experience something that transcends the ordinary, tests our concept of scale, provides a sense of feeling small in our big universe, and most of all, being in the moment.
One of the many joys of raising a child is watching life experiences through their eyes. Children help us remember that there is something magical in our everyday lives. They delight in a ladybug landing on their finger, a jet flying overhead, and the joy of swinging as high as possible. Their pure reactions help us be in the moment and feel things again on a deeper level.
Part of Graland’s Strategic Plan challenges educators “to create an educational experience that ignites curiosity, passion, and purpose.”
Moments of awe often allow us to be connected to something other than ourselves and help us keep our lives in balance. Experiencing those moments of awe can bring on a sense of hope and the ability to see the bigger picture, leading to curiosity, passion, and a purpose for life.
Finding time in your busy schedules to experience awe doesn’t have to be a trip to the Grand Canyon or a visit to a major art museum. Moments of awe can often be found on a walk, listening to music, creating art, or engaging in family rituals or traditions; these moments often come during unplanned moments but have a lasting impact. Moments of awe often allow us to be connected to something other than ourselves and find balance in our lives.
During Lower School assemblies throughout the year, teachers and students will be sharing their moments of awe and how they felt during those moments. Read below to learn about moments of awe from some of our Lower School students:
“One day, my family was hiking, and a baby deer walked right in front of us. I will never forget that.”
- Finn H. (Grade 4)
“When I lift my baby brother in the air, and he giggles, it gives me shivers!”
- Kallei W. (Grade 3)
“When my family drove to Golden, we saw rivers and small waterfalls. It was beautiful, and I just wanted to jump in and swim!”
- Siwon L. (Grade 2)
“I love snakeswatching them move is so cool!”
- Ryan C. (Grade 1)
“Dahlias are so beautiful to look at! My mom and I planted some, and I always look at them! I love looking at the big dahlia that is pink and white.”
- Arthur P. (Kindergarten)
Elena Abarca - Stanford University
Tomas Alberola - Bates College
Pixie Alfond - Rollins College
Anna Scott Arnold - University of North Carolina
Elizabeth Austin - Let Us Know!
Duke Benson- Let Us Know!
Bridget Berzins - University of Oregon
Sophia Birner - University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sophia Bograd - Colorado College
Luke Boris - California Polytechnic State University
Millie Brophy - Let Us Know!
Hopie Brown - University of Richmond
Mariam Chadrom - Santa Clara University
Will Clark - Lehigh University
Lucy Cler - Colorado State University
Julia Cole - Let Us Know!
Finn Cooper - Pomona College
Graham Cummings - Boston University
Nolan Curran - Let Us Know!
Grace Dale - Tulane University
Lili Dellinger - Let Us Know!
Pj Dodge - Let Us Know!
Hanna Drake - University of Chicago
John Drumm - University of Kansas
Charles Dye - Middlebury College
Ephraim Esson - Santa Clara University
Avery Farmer - Bucknell University
Anika Fernandez-Sharma - Boston College
George Fitzpatrick - Let Us Know!
Miles Fourticq - Let Us Know!
Charlotte Gaudet - University of Colorado Boulder
David Gebremedhin - Let Us Know!
Emory Gerlach - University of Vermont
Levi Gillis - Gap year; then Northwestern
Esther Goldberg - Scripps College
Talia Grynberg-Schepis - Yale University
Frederic Hamilton II - Wake Forest University
Paulina Head - Texas Christian University
Olivia Heiss - University of Arizona
Kate Henry - New York University
Faithie Hutt - Lake Forest College
Kian Ipakchi-Saiy - Let Us Know!
Beckett Jansen - University of Deleware
Walker Johnson - Oberlin College
Maddie Jones - Vanderbilt University
Daniel Judge - Montana State University
Owen Karshmer - Let Us Know!
Molly Karst - Let Us Know!
Micah Kress - University of Colorado Boulder
Catherine Kreutzen - Let Us Know!
Charlotte Laden - University of Oregon
Ruby Leuthold - University of San Diego
Isabelle Louis - Cornell University
Rebecca Lynn - Let Us Know!
Lucas Maass - Boston College
Alexa MacDonald - Santa Clara University
Phelan Mahoney - Duke University
Julie Marwan - George Washington University
Brooke Marx - Hamilton University
Moya Mejia - Let Us Know!
Cedar Miera - Metro State University
Will Montgomery - Northwestern University
Elle Morris - University of South Carolina
Olivia Murane - Williams College
Ellie Neal - Santa Clara Univeristy
Onat Ozer - Let Us Know!
Sara Jane Pak - Davidson College
Stella Palumbo - Santa Clara Univeristy
Jack Pashel - Davidson College
Aidan Patterson - University of Colorado Boulder
McCall Phoenix - Let Us Know!
Sammy Ramirez - University of Colorado Boulder
Chase Reiman - Iowa State University
Brooks Rhine - Let Us Know!
Maria Romo-Nichols - Johns Hopkins University
Waylon Rust - Syracuse University
Burke Ryder - Kimball Union Academy
Mia Sanchez - Amherst College
Milan Sasaki - Let Us Know!
Isabel Sevilla - Florida State University
Noah Shanker - Let Us Know!
Bella Solorio - Let Us Know!
Sam Sutherland - Miami University
Mack Swett - Let Us Know!
Stuart Terry - Colgate University
Gwyneth Theobald - Let Us Know!
Bo Turnage - Let Us Know!
JT Turner - Let Us Know!
Rowdy Twarogowski - Metro State University
Julia Valentine - California Polytechnic State University
Naomi Wellso - Scripps College
Charlie Whalen - Denison University
Will Whalen - Wake Forest University
Adie Williams - The College of Wooster
Tate Wisenteiner - Santa Clara University
William Writer - University of Colorado Boulder
Henri Zeisser - Let Us Know!
Jackson Zucker - Tulane University
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022
6-8 P.M.
GRALAND CORKINS CENTER
The Nancy Nye Priest
Alumni Award will be awarded to Dr. Sarah Burgamy ’93.
Invitation to follow. graland.org/AlumniParty
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022
4:30-6:00 P.M.
GRALAND CORKINS CENTER
Alumni from the classes of 2015-2022 are invited to attend.
Invitation to follow.
SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023, 5-8 P.M.
25th Reunion for the class of 1998
50th Reunion for the class of 1973
GRALAND ANSCHUTZ COMMONS
All alumni 21+ are invited.
Invitation to follow in the spring.
If you do not receive correspondence from Graland via email and/or mail, contact Anna Natassja Scheitler ’13 at ascheitler@graland.org.
At some point in 2020, I discovered the show “Ted Lasso.” Like many, I fell in love with Ted Lasso’s optimism and determination, especially when it was clear the odds were against him. His wisdom and outlook have been referenced in leadership articles, graduation speeches, and talking points in both workplace and school settings. As I think about the newest Strategic Plan, Graland’s framework to build character and community, and how to bring them to life, one of Ted Lasso’s witticisms, “Be curious, not judgmental,” resonates with me. It is the theme in the Middle School this year, is imprinted on the first page of our academic planners, and will be a constant reminder to inspire students. When we’re curious, we ask questions, and the answers to those questions have so much potential. Throughout the year, two particular spaces where students will intentionally explore this curiosity are through the Middle School advisory and service learning programs.
As you will read in the article on the next page, several Graland Middle School educators dedicated their summer to cultivating a common vision for advisory. This work emphasized the importance of holding an intentional space for students to join daily that promotes care, connection, balance, and belonging. By being part of this smaller, curated community, students have the opportunity to explore being curious and not judgmental organically through various activities and conversations. For example, each advisory group works together to create group norms and make their advisory meeting spaces their own with decorations. In
addition, regardless of grade level, all students participate in advisory activities that are based on stories. Your story. My story. Our story. Ultimately, these exercises not only help students to understand themselves better but their classmates as well. This idea relates to Graland’s character framework of honoring individuality and teaches students that each of us is better from knowing someone who is different than us.
We endeavor to expose Graland students to opportunities and experiences that inspire them to dig a bit deeper. Although service learning looks different at each grade, cultivating compassion is at its core. In class, students are exposed to and study the various elements that create job insecurity, homelessness, food insecurity, and inequities in education. This foundation provides important learning that fosters a healthy curiosity in our students as they look to contribute to our greater community in meaningful ways. Working alongside our nonprofit organization partners and as well those experiencing a tough time, students are able to do so free of judgment because, similar to the work that occurs in advisory, they are connecting with another’s story. Working in partnership with these nonprofit organizations provides a powerful and engaging learning experience that reflects our mission and guiding principles.
As educators, it is important we are mindful of the ever-changing landscape our students will inherit as they grow up. In our efforts to forecast what lies ahead for them, we want them to be curious, not
By Marti Champion, Head of Middle School
judgmental. When we engage with genuine curiosity, we are given an opportunity to make authentic connections with others. Showing up in the world with curiosity brings out the best in humanity. Finally, if you haven’t watched “Ted Lasso,” I highly recommend it.
Care, connection, balance, and belonging. These four words encapsulate the mission of the Graland advisory program - a program that is an integral part of the Middle School experience. Starting every school day in small advisory groups provides time each morning for our community to build supportive relationships, practice important character and life skills, and focus on our individual and collective well-being.
This summer, we (Steve Collins, Grade 7 science teacher, and Anna Phelan, music teacher) spearheaded a summer grant project focused on growing and aligning the Middle School advisory program. The full team included a wide range of Middle School perspectives and benefited from the expertise of Kimm Lucas (Grade 5 English), Jolene Collier (Grade 6 Math), Kelly Gaudet (Grade 7 English), Erik Burrell (Grades 7/8 Dean), and Oscar Gonzalez (Director of Director of Equity and Inclusivity).
As a team, we were able to take advantage of the ideas, recommendations, and resources provided by previous and current Graland planning teams. This included the 2015 and 2018 advisory groups as well as the 2021-22 task forces focused on strategic planning, character development, and the Challenge Success program.
Initial research and discussions as a team helped us develop a common vision for advisory and write a succinct and easy-toremember mission statement. Our firm, collective belief is that advisory should be a space of care, connection, balance, and belonging - or C2B2 for short. From that, we worked on a set of guiding principles to help us achieve our mission. Ultimately, we decided that advisory should center on Graland’s core aspects of
character (agency, adaptability, curiosity, responsibility, and empathy) with a specific focus on celebrating and nurturing individuality, community, and compassion.
To achieve our mission and honor Graland’s guiding principles, our planning team created a set of Middle School-wide advisory agreements. These included creating and using a highly collaborative and transparent advisory spreadsheet to plan week-by-week activities, developing a set of DEI-focused, community conversation activities to support our annual Community Day, and celebrating student advisory projects on bulletin boards in the Middle School hallways.
It is our hope that advisory provides Middle School students and faculty a soft place to land where they can feel welcomed, safe, and supported. To make sure our program continues to grow and flourish all year, our team recommended that Graland create a group of Middle School advisory representatives, one from each grade, to work together with Mr. Gonzalez throughout the year. They will regularly revisit the Middle School advisory program agreements and help ensure the program is intentional, aligned, and that students are thriving. To our great delight, this team of advisory reps is already in place and taking a lead role in guiding our program.
The summer grant team is grateful for the time, space, and support provided by Graland to slow down over the summer and reflect on how to best serve our students. We are excited for a great year ahead!
“I hope that Graland students will continue to be excited by advisory, building upon the foundation which was established in Lower School morning meetings. We strive to make the advisory program in Middle School have continuity between the grades, so ideas, skills, and activities are not taught in isolation and forgotten about when kids move to the next grade.”
“I hope Graland students will benefit from this work with more meaningful and aligned advisory lessons, which will help all students feel care, connection, balance, and belonging.”
“Coordinating the scope and sequence of advisory throughout the Middle School will have a direct impact on students’ socialemotional learning.”
“Our collective hope is that Graland students will benefit from an enhanced advisory program that allows us to cultivate deeper connections with our own advisories. The bonds that can arise from thoughtful, respectful advisory spaces can become some of the more powerful relationships students have by the end of Middle School.”
“With greater alignment and clarity of purpose, the Middle School advisory will allow for a focus on care, connection, balance, and belonging to build upon an already strong program. Students will cultivate compassion, honor individuality, and build community to ensure we thrive as a community.”
We Asked: How do you hope students will benefit from your summer grant advisory work?
“… and with reverence to our Lady Nelson …”
For those students and alumni who have experienced the Grade 5 knighting ritual, these are the words spoken by the king just prior to the moment they are awarded the status of knighthood.
“Lady Nelson” is Miss Georgia Nelson, the first leader of Graland who served as headmistress from 1927 to 1960 and from 1963 to 1964.
Miss Nelson was the heart and soul of Graland for generations of children. She demonstrated a love for students and teachers alike that created a learning environment where the joy of learning prevailed and students gained a wellrounded education that would benefit them for the rest of their lives.
The Progressive Education Movement, spearheaded by John Dewey, had begun to gain attention prior to the incorporation of Graland on July 23, 1927.
After securing a few blocks of prairie at the school’s current location and hiring noted architect and parent Jacques J. Benedict to design the initial building (torn down in 1995 for the current Georgia Nelson Building), the founding parents’ next step was to find a leader for the new school. Founding parent Mrs. Abby Shafroth, through a hearty recommendation from a former Vassar classmate, contacted and courted Georgia Nelson to become Graland’s first leader.
There was no question in the minds of the early school founders that Georgia Nelson was the right person. She had previously taught at highly regarded
progressive schools - Francis W. Parker in Chicago, Sunset Hills Country Day School in Kansas City, and Shady Hill in Cambridge, MA. - and those who had worked with her had only the highest praise for her.
After a year of teaching at the Pennsylvania Street location while Graland’s initial building was being constructed, Georgia Nelson began as headmistress in 1927, laying the groundwork for the new school with a deeply caring manner for all and many principles of progressive education.
One of Georgia Nelson’s early quotes in 1927 was, “Instead of the deadly uninteresting school of the past, Graland pursues the special joy of learning.”
According to historian Tom Noel, Graland was arguably the best school in Denver. Emphasis was placed on the whole child, with physical and emotional growth complementing intellectual development. Many “hands-on” learning
opportunities and experimentation based on student interests were created. Responsible leadership and engagement in the community were made possible through business and civic leaders being invited to the school and with field trips to various local sites. Some of those included the Gates Rubber Company, Samsonite Luggage Company, and the Hungarian Flour Mills.
Miss Nelson regularly greeted students upon their arrival at school and often visited classrooms. Her deep affection for each student was further shown by a personal letter she wrote to each graduate and placed at the end of a wood-cover yearbook that reminisced their years at Graland with photos and accompanying poems (an example can be seen on the next page).
In 2020, Graland’s oldest living graduate, Cope McWhinney ’36 Craven, made a series of sound recordings of her early school memories. One of Cope’s main points was that Georgia Nelson created a “community of trust and respect.”
The daughter of longtime and beloved teacher Ruth Gorham, Nancy Gorham ’56 Carraway, wrote, “Your very presence lent such a gentle atmosphere of joy in learning, wisdom, and our enjoyment of life.”
Georgia Nelson demonstrated an equal caring and dedication to her teachers and staff, making them feel valued while expecting excellence. Through her patience, gentleness, and wisdom, those fortunate to work at Graland developed a deep loyalty toward her and to Graland.
There were instances when faculty members experienced financial struggles, and she would discreetly step forward and help.
During her retirement speech, Georgia Nelson stated, “I agreed to come to Graland for just one year. I traveled by train and was met by Graland parents downtown at Union Station. One year turned to many. I stayed at Graland more than three decades. I am humbled that the main building on campus is named in my honor.”
As we approach 2027, the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding,
several threads of the progressive education movement on which the school was initially founded are still present. The high degree of collaboration between teachers in all disciplines to integrate learning and make it meaningful is very evident. Teachers design many projects to encourage creativity and independent thinking. The Gates Invention and Innovation Program also provides these opportunities for many students. There are other reminders of Miss Nelson that can be seen every day. At the base of the stairway in the Georgia Nelson Building is a beautiful framed portrait, as well as
two photographs on the Master Teacher Wall. The house with the white picket fence on the corner of Clermont and Ellsworth is another remembrance. The school purchased the land and built this house for her after she was hired. Also, the Georgia Nelson Award is one of three major awards presented to an honoree of the graduating class.
With Graland Country Day School still standing tall in 2022, our school leaders showed much foresight with their decisions in 1927, including selecting Georgia Nelson as its first leader.
Please help spread the word about Graland - tell your friends and family to check out the “Visit Us” page on the
for details about
Join us on campus to take a tour and hear directly from Graland students, parents, and Head of School, Josh Cobb.
Tuesday, October 11, at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 2, at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, December 8, at 8:30 a.m.
Senior Lecturer at Stanford University School of Education & Co-Founder of Challenge Success
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
8:15 a.m. Anschutz Commons
Breakfast & Presentation moderated by Josh Cobb
All parents want their children to succeed academically and to live healthy and fulfilling lives, but it’s not always clear how best to achieve these outcomes. In this highly interactive workshop, Denise Pope will share researchbased strategies to dial down unhealthy stress and overload without sacrificing achievement or engagement with learning. She will also discuss ways to foster resilience, creativity, and critical thinking while promoting healthier home and school environments that value the whole child.
Register: graland.org/PENDP22
Child Psychologist & Best Selling NY Times Author & Columnist
Thursday, April 27, 2023 6 p.m. Reception 7 p.m. Presentation Fries Theater
Lisa Damour is back, and this time with a new book: “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents.” Join Lisa on Thursday, April 27, to talk about the themes from her new book and how the lessons and strategies she writes about apply to parenting K-8 students. Gain insight into the years ahead and learn techniques to best prepare for that stage of your child’s growth.
Register: graland.org/PENLD23
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
6 p.m. Graland Learning Commons
Amor Towles’ “The Lincoln Highway” is about unexpected destinations. At his book club this year, Head of School, Josh Cobb, will use the novel to explore how a child’s journey to independence can involve a similar number of surprises and how we, as parents, can best prepare ourselves and our children for those twists and turns.
Register: graland.org/BookClub
Saturday, November 5, 2022 6-9 p.m. in the Corkins Center graland.org/BSB22
The Graland Parent Association will be hosting the biannual Birch Street Bash on Saturday, November 5, for the first time since 2018! The Bash is an adult-only gathering that allows the community to come together as a whole. This not to be missed event will feature cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and prize giveaways throughout the evening. For more information, please visit graland.org/BSB.
The Graland Cares Campaign is the perfect way to get in the spirit for the 2022 holiday season! You and your children can feel the joy of giving as you fill a gift bag with requested items and handwritten notes for a senior housed by Volunteers of America (VOA). The bags will be collected at carline from Monday, November 7 through Friday, November 18, and will be distributed to the senior residents in December.
The VOA Snowflake Party is a Graland tradition in which Graland families throw a festive party for seniors living in a downtown VOA facility. During this event, volunteers help to organize and set up a holiday party and guide students in serving dinner, performing in a talent show, and crafting art projects. The gift bags that are collected through the Graland Cares Campaign are also distributed at the party. This is a wonderful way to give back to the community as a family during the holiday season.
Each December, Graland families show their appreciation for employees by bringing in trays of cookies for the annual faculty & staff holiday party. Cookies can be homemade, store-bought, nut-free, gluten-free, or vegan. All are delicious and appreciated! Please bring your holiday treats to morning carline on Friday, December 9. Thank you!
The Graland Store is the place to buy Graland gear for the entire family! Come and see the fully stocked store in person on Tuesdays from 8:10-8:40 a.m or 3:00-3:30 p.m. The shelves are packed full of new merchandise, cozy sweatshirts, and long-sleeve tees to help keep you warm as the seasons change. If you can’t be there on Tuesdays, you can always shop online 24/7 at graland.org/store. All proceeds from the store go towards funding community engagement opportunities such as speakers, events, and programming, so shop online and GO GRALAND by supporting the school you love.
Open House
Development Day (No School for
Open House
Street