Annual Report 2019-2020

RISE TO THE CALL 2019-2020 Annual Report

A MESSAGE FROM NICOLE FURLONGE PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR, THE KLINGENSTEIN CENTER How are you? I trust that you are healthy, safe, and well. I am certain this letter finds you rising to the challenges of this 2020 school year in all the ways that are possible for you to do so.

While rising to be responsive to the needs of our students and our larger school communities is not new to us, the nature of our call has changed. Its tone intensified. We are called to pivot masterfully in order to deliver highly responsive teaching and leading, to support community connection and individual wellness in socially-distanced ways, and to grow as antiracist and anti-oppression educators in our deeply divided and fractured world. In the face of your exhaustion, overwhelm, and resolve to rise in this historic time, I hope you are relishing time with those close to you. I hope that you are caring for yourself, that you are carving out moments where your response time slows, and that you are using such pauses for rest and rejuvenation.

As I write this letter, we are all still living with the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating global impact, a racial reckoning, the climate crisis, and an economic downturn.

Since March, the Klingenstein Center, along with our university community, has taught, learned, and worked remotely. Our professors quickly adapted their courses last spring, learned from that adaption, and then redesigned for the summer and the current academic year. The PSL ‘20 and LA ‘21 cohorts found ways to collaborate and maintain their connections from a distance. PSL ‘21 became the first cohort to begin their Klingenstein experience online, coming together from as close to Teachers College as Harlem and as far as India.

We may be working from a distance, but we are not disconnected. We work with students in ways that aim to build community more intentionally. Since March, we have engaged our alumni online, providing learning opportunities for educators around the globe. We cast our net wider to work with educators who, before this moment, did not have the occasion to connect with us. We created KlingChats, opportunities for educators to connect online and share their challenges and ideas, and offered webinars to amplify the wisdom of leaders experienced in online and hybrid learning. We paused our new FORGE program, the Klingenstein Summer Institute, and the Heads of Schools program—each intensive, residential programs.

These pauses, though not ideal, have allowed us to think

creatively about new possibilities for these important offerings.

Currently, we are working to pivot the 2021 FORGE and KSI programs to an online format with the hope that by 2022, these programs can become residential again.

We remain focused on the values of equity and anti-oppression that guide our work. In May, I wrote to our community of 4000 alumni to rise and join me in committing to anti-oppression work personally, professionally, and in our schools. And rise this community has. Hundreds of educators joined us for our Anti-Oppression Teaching and Leading workshop in July and will have opportunities to take part in immersive follow-up conversation for deeper learning to support their equity work in schools. Others have engaged as facilitators for graduate student affinity groups, as framers for upcoming KlingChats and KlingSalons, and as partners in research. Some of you have reached out asking for support as you launch or deepen equity work in your schools or regions. And I know you are engaging in equity learning and leading in a variety of ways beyond this community. As we design programs aimed to develop equitable, agile, forward-thinking leadership for our schools, these questions more sharply frame and focus the work that the Klingenstein Center is committed to: Who is in the room—and in the teaching and leading pipeline? What ways of knowing have we valued, and what fields and bodies of knowledge have we muted in our curriculum? What ideas do we amplify?

One of our current research initiatives at the Center focuses on Black@Instagram accounts. This project will provide a view of the racist experiences of Black students in our schools as shared in these accounts, identify key elements of these experiences across schools and regions of the United States, and ultimately consider effective and impactful ways in which educators and leaders can respond to and lead in light of these calls for change and repair. I am pleased to share that this research project features a collaboration between the Center, independent school educator-leader Kenny Graves, PhD, and our current master’s degree students. We will recommend both strategic approaches to addressing racial rupture in our communities as well as practices for moving our schools towards being the equitable, inclusive, and anti-oppressive institutions our students need and deserve.

PSL ‘20 Virtual Graduation Celebration

In addition to sharing with you the state of the Klingenstein Center—news from our last year and what we envision on the horizon—this annual report is where we publicly thank the generous alumni and friends who financially supported the Center during our last fiscal year from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020. We are grateful that, even in uncertain times, support for scholarships and endowment funds remained a priority for so many of you. To see the real impact of these gifts, meet Ashley Augustin and Kurt Prescott, the first ever recipients of the Pearl Rock Kane Scholarship and the James and Landis Best Scholarship, respectively, in the pages of this report.

Kurt and Ashley, along with many other future leaders, are studying with the Klingenstein Center because you have created opportunity through philanthropy. Thank you.

We invite you to rise to the call and make a gift to the Klingenstein Center. Your generosity can ensure that promising independent and international school educators have access to a transformative experience. The tuition cost for a graduate degree at Teachers College is nearly $60,000. Scholarship funding is the only tool available to mitigate the financial impact on students who seek to invest in themselves and in the future of our schools.

Your gift of any amount matters. Learn more about making your gift on the back page of this report.

At the Klingenstein Center, we reaffirm our commitment to cultivating educator-leaders who can lead the changes this historic moment compels. As Americans, as our world, wrestles with what kind of society it will choose to be, discrimination and dehumanization—on the basis of race, religion, class, immigration status, gender identity, and sexual orientation— persist and permeate societal systems and institutions. This is the world in which our schools exist and that we play a hand in making. Yet we can choose to remake our schools into institutions that work actively against oppression. We can lead for a better future now in which all persons thrive.

In The Rise, writer and art curator Sarah Lewis reminds us of the necessity of learning to stand “where we would rather not” in

order to “expand in ways we never knew we could.” Such growth happens through “a curved-line, constant pursuit.” It is the arc of this rise that we tend to value “not because of what we have achieved at that height,” Lewis clarifies, “but because of what it tells us about our capacity.” In this, my third year as director of the Center, I am certain of this community’s capacity to rise and make change where we must. In this world of uncertainty, I am absolutely certain that this community matters and can choose to be incredibly influential in this historic moment. I look forward to what we will rise to transform together.

Keep well,

Nicole Brittingham Furlonge, PhD

ASHLEY AUGUSTIN NAMED FIRST KANE SCHOLAR At the Klingenstein Center’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, founding director, Pearl Rock Kane, was honored with the Teachers College President’s Medal of Excellence and the establishment of a scholarship in her name: the Pearl Rock Kane Endowed Scholarship. Pearl led the Klingenstein Center for 37 years, building the Center from a single fellowship program into the preeminent organization we enjoy today. She was a beloved professor, advisor, and mentor to thousands of independent school educators who attended the Center’s programs.

Nearly 350 gifts have been made to the the Kane Scholarship in Pearl’s honor, bringing the endowment to almost $110,000. The Scholarship will be awarded annually to a Full-Year Master’s Program (PSL) student who demonstrates a commitment to equity and inclusion and to continuous learning, two areas Pearl wrote about, modeled, and supported through the Center’s programs and curriculum.

Embodying these ideals, the first recipient of the Kane Scholarship is Ashley Augustin, a member of the PSL ‘21 cohort. Of her selection as the first Kane Scholar, Ashley said, “I am grateful to be a recipient of the Pearl Rock Kane Scholarship. It is truly humbling to be the first scholar of this wonderful scholarship. It means the world to be recognized by an organization that supported the work and life of Pearl Kane.”

Ashley comes to the Klingenstein Center from the Spence School in New York City where she taught math and coached middle school robotics. A graduate of Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins University, Ashley began her career as a Teach for America corps member, and was a teacher and grade level dean at Uncommon Schools, where she also led diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops for faculty.

Ashley Augustin. Photo Credit: Ashley Gallerani

“Along with working with independent schools in recognizing the importance of supporting students emotionally and socially, I am energized to do diversity, equity, and inclusion work in independent schools, both in terms of representing the members within the community, and in terms of the school curriculum as well,” said Ashley. “This will require school leaders to think flexibly and be comfortable being uncomfortable. I believe the real changes occur when schools recognize how they have played a part in perpetuating inequalities. Once that is recognized, schools can think strategically about how to support DEI work and how to expose our students to ways to have a positive impact in their own lives and in the future.”

The Kane family congratulates Ashley on her selection as the first Kane Scholar. Richard Kane, Pearl’s husband, and their children Bradley, Laura, Lisa, and Leslie, shared, “We are delighted that the Pearl Rock Kane Scholarship has launched. Ensuring that talented educators have access to opportunities to learn and contribute was very important to Pearl. We are grateful for the work involved at the Klingenstein Center in getting this started and the generous donations from Pearl’s students and friends that made this program possible. Pearl would have been so pleased with this beginning and with the program for continuing it in the future.”

Richard and Pearl Kane with their children at the 40th Anniversary Celebration. Photo Credit: Bruce Gilbert

GIFTS IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF PEARL ROCK KANE GIFTS TO THE PEARL ROCK KANE ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP AND OTHER GIFTS IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF PEARL ROCK KANE Peter Abuisi, Heads ‘99 Jon Alschuler, LA ‘15 Michael Arjona, LA ‘13 Barbara Beachley, PSL ‘11 Monica Benton Palmer, KSI ‘06, LA ‘11 Amber Berry, LA ‘15 Sean Bierle, Heads ‘18 Frances Blackman Mary Kate Blaine, LA ‘11 Kerry Brennan, JKF ‘83 Carol Brody Luchs Marshall Carroll, LA ‘17 Steve Chapman, JKF ‘85 The Betsy and Alan Cohn Foundation In Honor of Pat and John Klingenstein Ben Courchesne, LA ‘15 Courtney Cronin, LA ‘17 Lisa Culbertson, PSL ‘14 Lisa Darling, Heads ‘00 Austin Davis, LA ‘19 Phil Deely, JKF ‘80, and Hilary Deely Jessica Donovan, LA ‘11 Larry Donovan, LA ‘15 Ellie Drago-Severson, KSI ‘87 Sarah Duddy, PSL ‘10 Susanna Fenhagen, Heads ‘93 In Honor of Donald Morrison Kathleen Fernald, JKF ‘86 Liz Fernández, PSL ‘14 In Honor of Nicole Furlonge Adam Fischer, LA ‘17 Jessica Flaxman, LA ‘15 Jon Frere, Heads ‘02 Nigel Furlonge, KSI ‘00, JKF ‘06, and Nicole Furlonge Mick Gee, LA ‘09 Jenel Giles, LA ‘19 Rachel Griffin, PSL ‘08 Lorri Hamilton Durbin Patricia Hayot, Heads ‘00 James Hejduk, JKF ‘82 Todd Horn, Heads ‘05

Joy Hurd, PSL ‘13 JP Jacquet, KSI ‘09, PSL ‘12 Ole Jorgenson, Heads ‘10 Leslie Kane Joel Konzen, Heads ‘06 Polly Linden, LA ‘09 Stephanie Lipkowitz, KSI ‘89 Jeffrey Lippman, LA ‘09 Eric Lombardi, PSL ‘13 Ray Long, KSI ‘09 Jessica May, PSL ‘13 Ronni McCaffrey, JKF ‘90 Kathleen McNamara, KSI ‘93, Heads ‘13 Gordon McNeill, LA ‘11, Heads ‘19 Donna Moffatt, JKF ‘03 James Nelligan, Heads ‘19 Kelly Nelson, PSL ‘12 Steve Noga, KSI ‘06, LA ‘13 Jen Ogilby, PSL ‘05 Diana Owen, LA ‘15 David Padilla, LA ‘13 Ted Parker, KSI ‘10, PSL ‘14 Danielle Passno, PSL ‘08 Liz Perry, KSI ‘99, and Max Grant, KSI ‘99 In Honor of Stephanie Lipkowitz Derick Perry, LA ‘09 Thad Persons, PSL ‘06 Kim Raccio, KSI ‘03, LA ‘07 Mark Reed, PSL ‘04 Jeremy Robbins, PSL ‘06 Jeremy Sandler, PSL ‘18 In Honor of PSL Class of 2018 Jordan Schnell, KSI ‘05, PSL ‘09 Russell Shaw, JKF ‘05 Jalene Spain Thomas, KSI ‘03, LA ‘11 David Suter, PSL ‘02 Matt Suzuki, JKF ‘99 Ann Teaff, JKF ‘85 Gareth Vaughan, LA ‘07 Erica Walker Timothy Weymouth, PSL ‘06 Karen Whitaker, LA ‘13

Remembering Pearl Rock Kane Pearl’s legacy of leadership and unwavering dedication to improving education continues today through the alumni of the Klingenstein Center whose lives she touched.

For more, visit: klingensteincenter.org/pearl-rock-kane

GIFTS TO KLINGENSTEIN SCHOLARS FUND AND ENDOWMENTS INCLUDES GIFTS THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2020 Sharon Ballen Melinda Bihn, Heads ‘19 Steven Bloom, PSL ‘16 Lindsay Bowman, LA ‘21 Danielle Boyd Heard, KSI ‘93 John Bracker, KSI ‘88 Ryan Buckley, PSL ‘09 Bob Carignan, Heads ‘14 Daphne Clyburn, KSI ‘12 Ann Cohen Mike Coppola, KSI ‘09, PSL ‘11 Tom Doar, PSL ‘96 Stewart Dorsey, PSL ‘11 Vinny Dotoli, PSL ‘02 Liz Duffy, Heads ‘11, and John Gutman Terry Eagle, JKF ‘85, and Sally Eagle Lisa Ellis, KSI ‘00 Doug Fishman, PSL ‘06 Rob Follansbee, PSL ‘09 Nicole Furlonge and Nigel Furlonge, KSI ‘00, JKF ‘06 Liza Garonzik, KSI ‘16 Scott Gaynor, PSL ‘99 Jeremy Gregersen, Heads ‘16 John Gulla, Heads ‘10

Sarah Heard, JKF ‘07 Jesus Hernandez Cobo, KSI ‘16 Will Holmes, PSL ‘01, and Lisa Holmes, KSI ‘94, PSL ‘01 Matthew Horvat, KSI ‘98 John Huber, Heads ‘18 Maiya Jackson, PSL ‘05 Jane Johnston In Memory of Leonard Maurice Wolf Jim Justice, LA ‘07 Dan Karbousky, KSI ‘12 Philip Kassen, PSL ‘98 Paul Keller, PSL ‘05 Jen Kitner, KSI ‘04, PSL ‘06 Andy and Julie Klingenstein Mr. and Mrs. Lee Klingenstein Ann V. Klotz, Heads ‘12, and Seth A. Orbach Steve Kramer, JKF ‘95 John Lewis, PSL ‘03 Carolyn Louden, Heads ‘10 In Honor of Nicole Furlonge Eileen Marceau, PSL ‘08 Ashley Marshall, PSL ‘14 Patrick McWilliams, JKF ‘86

Kathleen Minahan, LA ‘21 Sally Mixsell, JKF ‘01 Thu-Nga Morris, KSI ‘12, PSL ‘15 Donald Morrison, KSI ‘96, JKF ‘01 In Honor of Liz Perry and Josh Pretzer Lester and Dinny Morse Jamie Nestor, PSL ‘10 Will Nisbet, KSI ‘12 Karen O’Neill, LA ‘15 Marc Ott, PSL ‘03 Sarah Peeden, KSI ‘14, LA ‘19 Ben Ploeger, Heads ‘19 Matthew Reininger, PSL ‘11 David Smith, KSI ‘05 Steve Solberg, LA ‘09 Nancy Spencer, KSI ‘89 Roger Strong Cory Stutts, JKF ‘04 Tom Taylor, LA ‘13 Noni Thomas Lopez, JKF ‘06 In Honor of Nicole Furlonge Pen Vineyard, PSL ‘16 Ken and Carol Weiser David Wood, LA ‘09

REMEMBERING JOHN KLINGENSTEIN The Klingenstein Center was founded through the vision and generosity of John Klingenstein. Together with his wife, Pat, in 1977, he established the Joseph Klingenstein Fellows program at Teachers College. Named for John’s father, this Fellowship was the first university-based leadership training program created specifically for independent school educators. Under the thoughtful guidance of John and Pearl Rock Kane, founding director of the Center, this original program grew into the Klingenstein Center, with three graduate programs, two fully-funded fellowship programs, and numerous professional learning opportunities for educators.

John served on the Teachers College Board of Trustees for 34 years and John, Pat, and their children have remained close to the work of the Center in those years and beyond. Generous with their time and resources, they have supported the operations of the Center, provided generous scholarship funds for thousands of Klingenstein Center students, served on the Klingenstein Advisory Board, and connected with students and alumni in classes, in workshops, and at events.

Sustained by the generosity of alumni and friends of the Center, the Klingenstein Scholars Fund provides an ecosystem of scholarship support awarded to several students each year. While John passed away in August 2018, the Klingenstein scholars carry his legacy of leadership as they create and nurture schools around the world.

Kurt Prescott

Jim and Landis Best with Pearl Kane at the 40th Anniversary Celebration.

BEST FAMILY EMPOWERS LEADERS WITH NEW SCHOLARSHIP Jim Best and Kurt Prescott arrived at the Klingenstein Center twenty years apart. Jim found himself in Pearl Rock Kane’s leadership courses in 1997 while enrolled in another graduate program at Teachers College. Kurt became a member of the 2017 Klingenstein Summer Institute (KSI) while teaching philosophy and religious studies at Philips Academy in Andover, MA. Each found himself impacted profoundly by the Klingenstein Center.

“I don’t think I’m understating it when I say that KSI was the pivotal experience of my teaching career. Prior to that program, I had thought of myself as ‘someone who happened to be teaching,’ but in the months and years that followed, I increasingly came to see myself as a teacher,” said Kurt. Reflecting on his KSI experience led him to return to the Klingenstein Center to pursue a master’s degree.

Kurt is now a member of the pioneering PSL ‘21 cohort as well as the first recipient of the James and Landis Best Scholarship, an endowed scholarship for Klingenstein Center students created by Jim and his wife, Landis.

“We were very happy to make a modest gift to Teachers College and the Klingenstein Center—and to know that such a donation could make a real difference in the life of the school, the organization, and the students. We truly believe in the power of education—and in the importance of developing and strengthening the leadership skills of teachers and administrators at every step of their professional journey,” shared Jim, Head of The Dalton School in New York City, and Landis, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP. In addition to the endowment of the James and Landis Best Scholarship, Jim has remained close to the Center since his student years—hosting graduate students’ practicum projects, speaking to classes, and joining the Klingenstein Advisory Committee in 2017.

While supporting the Center, he also relies on it. “School as we know it has changed immeasurably in the past year,” Jim reflected.

“From COVID-19 to racial justice to the political divide, schools and educators are faced with dynamic, new issues—and they need dynamic, new ways to engage with and think about those issues. Today’s challenges are a wake-up call for creativity in teaching and leading. And Klingenstein—I think uniquely in the field—has the ability to respond to that call.”

This commitment to equity and creative change is reflected in Kurt’s goals. As he continues his leadership journey in independent schools, he looks forward to exploring the tension between cultivating equitable and inclusive learning environments and the exclusivist context in which they exist. Asking, “How can we, as educators, help our students deconstruct myths of meritocracy and/ or fixed mindset in pursuit of an open-ended learning process marked by mistakes, challenge, struggle, and meaning?” Kurt relishes the opportunity to engage with difficult questions that lead to meaningful change.

“I’m a big baseball fan,” said Jim. “I’ve always loved Jackie Robinson’s quote: ‘A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.’ That’s what my wife and I hope for from this gift. We hope that scholarship recipients find their own way to make a positive impact on the lives of others.”

And, with support from Jim and Landis, Kurt will.

UPCOMING EVENTS We look forward to gathering in person as soon as it is safe to do so. Until then, please join us for these virtual events. Visit http://klingensteincenter.org/pd for details on the events and registration links.

REGISTER TODAY

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday, November 19, 7:00-8:30 pm EST KlingSalon: Anti-Oppression Work and Reimagining “School” with Dr. Angel Gonzalez, Principal and President-Elect of De La Salle Academy in New York

Tuesday, December 1 – Giving Tuesday Help future leaders by contributing to the Pearl Rock Kane Scholarship or Klingenstein Scholars Fund

Thursday, December 10, 7:00-8:00 pm EST KlingChat: Building Student Self-Efficacy Thursday, January 14, 7:00-8:00 pm EST KlingChat: Associate Heads & Division Heads Roundtable Thursday, January 21, 10:00-11:00 am EST KlingChat: Heads of School Roundtable Thursday, February 4, 7:00-8:00 pm EST KlingChat: Connecting Women in Leadership Thursday, March 4, 7:00-8:00 pm EST KlingChat: Connecting Leaders of Color Thursday, April 8, 7:00-8:00 pm EST KlingChat: Connecting LGBTQ+ Leaders

Thursday, December 3 Virtual Alumni Reception at Virtual PoCC Tuesday, December 15 Priority Application Deadline for PSL ‘22 Friday, January 15 Final Application Deadline for KSI ‘21, PSL ‘22, and LA ‘23 Thursday, January 28 KlingSalon Wednesday, February 24 through Friday, February 26 NAIS - Klingenstein event details to be announced.

Monday, March 1 Application Deadline for FORGE ‘21 Saturday, May 1 Final Application Deadline for Heads ‘22

MAKE YOUR GIFT You can make your 2020-2021 contribution via check by mail or online at klingensteincenter.org/give Please make checks payable to “Klingenstein Center, Teachers College” and mail with enclosed card to: Klingenstein Center, Teachers College 525 W. 120th Street, Box 125 New York, NY 10027

A reminder that last year we moved the Klingenstein Center website to klingensteincenter.org