Highlights of Fall 2022

Meaningful Partnerships

During the Cochrane Summer Economic Institute, rising Seniors in the Richmond area come to Collegiate to grow as inquisitive thinkers and future business professionals.

Mia Jackson ’17 is speaking over Zoom from her apartment in London to a group of rising Seniors gathered in Collegiate School’s Sharp Academic Commons. They’re talking about geographical data and urban studies, and how ArcGIS, a data visualization program, can be used to tell the intricate story of a community. The students — 17 in all, from seven area high schools — are engaged, asking Jackson questions with an enthusiasm that rises only from the energy of making discoveries. Their collaboration is part of the Cochrane Summer Economic Institute (CSEI), a monthlong program for rising high school Seniors in the Richmond area that elevates students’ understanding of economics by enabling them to collaborate directly with business professionals. It’s the same program that Jackson, a current master’s student at University College London, participated in when she was a student at Collegiate. “I’ve always been interested in adding more layers of passion to all the things I’m interested in,” she tells the students. “And programs like this really helped me do that.”

This is, at its core, the foundational goal of CSEI: to nurture students’ passions with the guidance of experienced professionals. Beginning in early July, the participating students came to Collegiate to take part in the program, which is administered by the School’s Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship. Enthusiasm abounds as students begin making connections between what they have learned in the classroom to the larger professional world. “We’re making discoveries that go beyond what we sometimes get from classroom lectures,” says Miranda Lutchman, who attends The Center for Leadership, Government and Global Economics at Douglas S. Freeman High School. “Everything we’re learning here is preparing us for the future.” At the start of the program, students are grouped in teams and assigned a company partner. The CSEI 2022 partners — Henrico County Entertainment & Sports Authority, Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU — mentor the students, giving teams a unique look into the professional world. “Collegiate’s CSEI program challenges students to ask and answer real-world questions,” says David Lanning P ’24 ’26, co-surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and a partner for this year’s program. “I was impressed with the students’ effort, energy and creativity in their work towards finding solutions to these problems. It was a very rewarding experience for the students as well as the partnering organizational leaders that participated.” The students’ challenge: after learning the intricacies of their selected company, discover new ways their partner companies can contribute to a thriving city while delivering on the partner’s mission, vision and values. “I’m really appreciative of the resources that Collegiate has provided, particularly with regard to the company partners we got to work with,” says Carson Wang, a student at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School whose group worked with the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. “Having Collegiate give us all these professional connections has been really helpful. Because we got to work downtown where the Children’s Hospital is, and because of our research — whether that was online research or interviews with employees — we developed a deeper understanding of how a hospital operates. CSEI has changed my way of thinking.” Through research that involves community interviews and workplace observation, students propose ideas that could contribute to alleviating challenges faced by their company partners. For example, the group that collaborated with the Richmond Flying Squirrels conducted interviews with Richmond residents to learn about what they felt were the priorities the Flying Squirrels should pursue. “My favorite part of the program has been walking around the city and interviewing more than 60 people about the Richmond experience and the Flying Squirrels,” says Graham Bor ’23, a Collegiate student. “It was a really good experience to hear firsthand from people about what they valued in our partner company. I think it definitely put us back in touch with the community.” The work the students complete during the CSEI program often has a direct effect on the community. Students working with the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU identified that, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals that have incorporated telemedicine into their practice have had more success providing care and support to their patients. Following this discovery, the students created an ArcGIS StoryMap that helped visualize where CHoR telemedicine services, based on access to public school services and broadband access, could have potential immediate and high positive impact. The students’ StoryMap helped inform a due diligence process and the ultimate adoption of CHoR telehealth services by the Parent Child Development Corporation (PCDC), which provides a variety of educational and family support services to children and families in rural counties around Richmond. During the course of the program, students work with a mentor from their partner company, a connection that gives them the chance to establish themselves in a business setting. Students also collaborate with and learn from guest speakers such as Jackson — all of whom add unique perspectives to the possibilities of the professional world. “Listening to the guest speakers has really taught me a lot,” says Collegiate student Anne Pearson Gremer ’23. “They have really helped me strengthen important skills like public speaking and ArcGIS use.” CSEI also gives students the opportunity to meet peers from different communities, allowing them to foster valuable connections. Aaleya Fowler ’23, a Collegiate student, says that working with peers who bring such passion to group projects encouraged her to discover new methods of collaboration. “Working with everyone here has definitely taught me different ways of how to be a leader,” Aaleya explains. “This group work has been invaluable, and working with them has given me the chance to meet more people in the community.” At the conclusion of this year’s program, the three groups presented their research to a large audience of family, friends and the community partners, with each presentation illustrating their findings with the help of ArcGIS technology. The culminating presentations demonstrated the advancements the young professionals made over the summer. They expanded their passions and broadened their future possibilities. “I’ve really enjoyed my experience here,” says Zamiyah Burton, a student from Steward School. “It has been great working with a diverse group of people from different schools and different backgrounds and then all coming together to achieve a common goal. CSEI has definitely improved my way of thinking, and I’m really excited for what the future holds.”

COLLEGIATE FACULTY PURSUE SUMMER GROWTH

At the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year, a number of faculty members embarked on projects that focused on enhancing Collegiate’s educational experience. These professional development opportunities are made possible by philanthropic support.

Wendi Moss and Kate Cunningham participated in the Civil Rights Bus Tour.

ALUMNI GRANT FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE

Allie Albright worked on the introduction to algebra curriculum.

Karen Albright and Beth Savarese coordinated curriculum and assessments for the AP AB calculus course.

Frank Becker, Laura Domalik, Kate Featherston, Heather Bruneau, Susie Leahy, Marcie Moyer and Kim Smythe worked on developing Lower School Resource Integration.

Beth Ann Bell and Amy Merchant worked on developing videos and curriculum to support them.

Rhiannon Boyd and Wendi Moss worked on the Envision Richmond curriculum.

Shannon Castello, Wesley Hedgepeth and Courtney Schweickart worked to realign the 9th Grade curriculum: (1) to meet the needs of a diverse study body; (2) to fully realize the capabilities of our new textbook; and (3) to provide better avenues for deep inquiry.

Kristine Chiodo, Catherine Clements, Sarah Dunn, Patty Sinkler, Melanie Gregory, Ben Lamb and Rachael Rachau worked on developing a comprehensive Digital Citizenship plan for students and teachers JK-12.

Jeff Dunnington, Rives Fleming, Carolyn LaMontagne, Monica Melton, Asher Rolfe, Christine Waldron, Rachael Rachau, Nick Sberna, Christine Waldron and Ruth Webb worked on student agency in the Middle School.

Meg Evans, Liz Haske, Wendi Moss, Nick Sberna and Christine Waldron worked on the 5-8th Grade writing curriculum.

Kelsey Felton and Anne Hogge worked on RULER, a social and emotional learning approach developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Christy Foster, Elizabeth Hatfield and Pam Privasky worked on writing/ creating the 7th PBA textbook used in the 7th Grade advanced algebra class. The time spent this summer was used to review, write and add problems to the existing curriculum. After identifying and ordering the problems so that a comprehensive algebra course is constructed, they then created a textbook printed by the Cougar Shop. David Headly worked on developing a Collegiate student solar project to incorporate several solar projects across both the Mooreland Road and Robins campuses.

Jan Rodgers attended the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute in Colorado Springs, where she met educators across the country to learn about teaching leadership to students.1

ARTHUR BRINKLEY GRANT FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE

Emily Bryant and Savannah Reeves worked on the 3rd Grade economics curriculum to help students learn about economic systems.

Catherine Clements worked on building a Wiki for the Makerspace as part of the Reed-Gumenick Library website. The Wiki is intended to include an inventory of tools and materials available in the makerspace, along with documentation, instructions and tutorials for using said tools and materials. It will act as a repository of institutional knowledge for the makerspace. Additionally, the Wiki will feature suggested projects (with documentation, instructions and samples) and student project galleries.

Jack Hale consolidated, organized and digitized the 5th Grade reading curriculum into a comprehensive schoology course that more fully utilizes the scope of Collegiate’s educational technology platforms and better aligns with our institutional goals.

Greg Sesny worked on using the authoring tool Articulate 360 to storyboard, create and refine a full course to be run asynchronously.

CLASS OF 1974 ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Tamara Ingram, Laurel Maughan and Monica Melton visited France to research new partnerships with schools.2

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NEW FACULTY AND STAFF

FIRST ROW (FROM LEFT)

Stacey Davis Lyanna DiNardo Sarah Abubaker Angie Muzzy Savannah Clarke Christina Vitek Derek Podolny Shauna Maines Natalie Price Melissa Mingus Dwayne Jackson Bill Ruhl Elaine Gines

SECOND ROW (FROM LEFT)

Sue Crews Tara Burgess Heidi Benson Rachael Barker Jen Hoggan Caroline Riina Nancy Faulkner Paige Daniels Margaret Ann Hazelton Amanda Ijames Tricia Mottley Ellie Wilder Hannah Foster Emily Fano Dave Taibl Maggie Varland Morgan Norge

Not pictured: Gerard Bullock, Mary Manning, Kaitlyn Miller, Alex Neilson, Brian Nicholas, Barb Peco, Sheryl Pedigo and Emily Roig.

THIRD ROW (FROM LEFT)

Joshua Christian Billy Peebles Tyler Stevens Miranda Saunders Craig Simmons Bart Farinholt Mike Mailey Adam Ortiz Jason Messick Mike Leber Alex Washko Bethany Pittasi Laura Philips

BEGINNING THE YEAR TOGETHER

For both students and parents, the beginning of a new school year marks a time of growth and new beginnings. That’s why, to kick off the 2022-23 academic year, Collegiate School welcomed parents to campus for a special evening of connection. After hearing from Interim Head of School Billy Peebles, parents got a chance to catch up with one another at social gatherings for each division.