Welcome to
Areté
Julycaptures 2017, our aspirations Classical Greek for excellence, justice, or virtue, the concept of areté nicely for children at Moses Brown. We seek to foster the inner promise in all students, and promote habits of mind, body, and spirit that prepare our graduates to do both well and good in the world.
Building an Innovation Ecosystem By Matt Glendinning As summer draws near, I’m looking forward to some recreational reading, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s new book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, tops my list. The core of the book is about how to navigate and thrive in a high-change environment. The world in 2017 is certainly that, and our Moses Brown microcosm is no exception. We opened a completely-renovated Walter Jones library at the start of the school year and the Woodman Family Community & Performance Center in December. We formed a partnership with the Boston-based non-profit SquashBusters and are now building a squash and education facility on our campus that will serve 100 public school students, and provide collegiate-level facilities for MB’s squash players. And a few weeks ago we broke ground on a 5,000-square-foot Engineering & Design studio called the Y-Lab, which will open when we return to school in September. As groundbreaking as these new developments
are, I see them as part of a continuum that goes back to our roots. Early Quakers—including Moses Brown himself—felt that education was a means to an end, rather than an end in and of itself. Schooling was intended to be used for something, to give children the knowledge to understand their world and the tools to make it a better place. Today, MB’s current strategic plan, MB Believes, focuses on providing students the skills they’ll need to make a positive difference in the interconnected world of the 21st century. It does that by creating an ‘innovation ecosystem,’ a holistic set of programs and facilities that foster three key attributes (what we call our North Stars): Expert Thinking (creative problem-solving), Global Awareness, and Ethical Leadership. It’s exciting that the scope and transformative impact of this model are garnering attention as MB’s faculty share their expertise on the national stage and educators from around the country visit MB to learn about our experiential programs. MB’s vision is also
A HISTORY OF DYNAMISM AT MB • In the late 1800s, new courses and facilities for arts such as woodand metal-working mirrored societal changes driven by the Industrial Revolution • The introduction of Advanced Placement courses in the 1950s and ‘60s, particularly in Math and Science, prepared students for success in the age of Sputnik • And in the 1970s—coincident with the rise of more collaborative and diverse workplaces—MB launched programs like Team Trips, seeking to build the trust and collaboration that turns a group of individuals into a high-functioning team
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Areté, July 2017
Good Summer Reads Lower School: Secret Coders Gene Luen Yang’s Secret Coders series is a runaway hit in third grade! Kids love figuring out clues along the way, and the fact that each book ends with a cliffhanger that makes you want more! Fortunately, there are three books in the series, with a fourth due this fall. Middle School: Radioactive! Radioactive! presents the story of two women breaking ground in a male-dominated field, scientists still largely unknown despite their crucial contributions to cutting-edge research, in a nonfiction narrative that reads with the suspense of a thriller. Photographs and sidebars illuminate and clarify the science in the book. Upper School: Hidden Figures It's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't like Hidden Figures. This true story is a great read for those who love math, and see the world in equations and mathematical models—but it's equally also great for those who don’t (and they'll still appreciate those “human computers”). Hidden Figures shares a new piece of NASA’s history celebrating the contributions of women and African Americans—while also sharing their individual stories. Adults: Thank You for Being Late Thank You for Being Late is a work of contemporary history that serves as a field manual for how to write and think about this era of accelerations. It’s also an argument for “being late,” for pausing to appreciate this amazing historical epoch we’re passing through, and to reflect on its possibilities and dangers. To amplify this point, Friedman revisits his Minnesota hometown in his moving concluding chapters; there, he explores how communities can create a “topsoil of trust” to anchor their increasingly diverse and digital populations.
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generating strong financial backing. As we announced on June 1, MB’s capital campaign has now topped $43 million, and several recent $1 million dollar gifts will fund scholarships and a new program in Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation. Our goal: bring together great kids from a variety of backgrounds and inspire them to do both well and good in the world. The Entrepreneurship program will launch next year for the entire ninth grade, beginning with a two-night trip to China, Maine in August and culminating with an immersive week in the spring when our fledgling innovators will implement their ideas for serving the world beyond MB’s gates.
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MB’s new maker space, the Y-Lab, will be the homebase for this kind of project-based learning and activities that ask students to design and build solutions to real-world problems. Using 21st-century tools such as 3D printers, CNC routers, and laser cutters, they’ll develop deeper understanding of key skills such as coding, and subjects like geometry, physics, and engineering.
A H S ’ IT
Guiding them in this work will be a new member of MB’s faculty: David Husted. An MB alum (’86), David will serve as our inaugural Director of Innovation and Design, charged with helping faculty incorporate a ‘hands-on, minds-on’ approach in all academic disciplines. We are also tapping into a vibrant innovation ecosystem right here in Rhode Island, collaborating with Hasbro to accelerate our Engineering & Design program and with the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown to launch the Entrepreneurship initiative. One synopsis of Tom Friedman’s new book suggests that to thrive in the 21st century, individuals, institutions, and nations must learn to be both innovative and adaptive while having the ethical grounding to help those sidelined by change. As the head of a school that has honored Quaker principles for over 200 years while also embracing innovation with every decade, I feel like it just might be the ideal summer read.
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20 17 . T P MB Announces David Husted ’86 S SE as N E P LAB O Y Inaugural Director of Innovation and Design This August Moses Brown will welcome David Husted ’86 back to campus as our first-ever Director of Innovation and Design. A graduate of MB, Roger Williams, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, David has spent his career helping people use technology to realize their ideas, both as a corporate consultant and as an educator. In his new role he will oversee the Y-Lab, guide and train faculty on how to integrate this facility into their courses, and teach classes. David comes to us from Derby Academy, where he led the team that designed and built the Derby Innovation Center and a maker-space equipped with 3D printing, a laser cutter, a CNC mill, electronics and woodworking tools, as well as a video editing room, and a breakout/classroom space. Before that, he served as director of technology at Lexington Montessori School, where he collaborated with faculty on curriculum and technology development. “I’ve worked with students
from pre-kindergarten through graduate studies, and I’m very excited to bring this experience back home to MB,” he says. In addition to designing, building, and maintaining facilities like MB’s Y-Lab, David has created elective courses such as Robotics and Design Creations, a class that incorporated LittleBits components, fabrication tools and materials, construction techniques, and coding to prototype students’ inventions. This learner-centered class allowed middle schoolers to realize their own creations, including an LED flashlight, a box with a remote-controlled trap door, and an automatic pet feeder. This summer David will be busily stocking the Y-Lab with all of the components we’ll need to begin trying and tinkering at a whole new level next fall. If you’re on campus, stop by and say ‘hi,’ but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t have a lot of time to talk!
July 2017, Areté
A Home for Engineers, Coders, and Makers Y-Lab to open in September
The hammers and crowbars began in June. Throughout the summer, demolition, renovation, and construction teams from New England Construction will transform Alumni Hall into the Y-Lab, a 5,000-square-foot maker space slated to open this September. IBM’s Global CEO study asked more than 1,500 CEOs from 60 industries in 30 different countries what skills they most needed in their workforce for the 21st-century. Their answer was clear: creativity. So in a world with instant access to information, having a strong body of knowledge isn’t enough. Students need to be able to use knowledge creatively and effectively. This is why MB’s strategic plan emphasizes the real-world application of skills and knowledge. Our adoption of methods like Project-Based Learning and subjects like Engineering & Design is part of a concerted effort to teach creative
problem-solving. The Y-Lab will be the home base for this kind of learning. This state-of-the-art engineering and design studio will allow students to prototype their ideas with high- and low-tech materials— everything from glue guns to laser cutters— and develop facility with the design process. “MB’s focus on creativity, on teaching kids how to apply knowledge to solve real problems, on developing global competencies, while staying true to its values-based mission is a vision we believe in,” says Brian Goldner P’14 (President, CEO, and Chairman, Hasbro, Inc.). This process often requires students to develop knowledge and skills from diverse subjects: coding, 3D design, geometry, physics, and engineering. The Y-Lab will be home to MB’s Engineering & Design program and robotics teams, as well as enable math, science, and humanities
students to experiment with their ideas in the real world, and host after-school and summer programs like Design Squad, Professor Gizmo, Build It with DownCity Design, Creative Computing, Camp Invention, Forensics, and Junior Engineers. The Y-Lab takes its name from Quaker engineer Thomas Young (1773-1829). A true scientific pioneer, Young overturned Newtonian orthodoxy by showing that light acts as a wave as well as a particle. He also proposed the three-color theory of vision, and is best known for developing ‘Young’s Modulus,’ which describes the elasticity of a material and is routinely used in materials science and structural engineering. By September, the sound of hammers and crowbars will have faded. But the sounds of servos, gears, and young engineers will just be starting up.
MB Expands Math, Science, and Coding Curriculum Last July Dr. Laurie Center became Moses Brown’s first Director of STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Her lifelong passion for computer science, technology, and collaborative learning made her a natural choice for this 21stcentury leadership role. In fact, she pioneered research into gender and peer collaboration in problem-solving as part of her doctoral thesis. After studying Moses Brown’s math and science offerings for the past year, she has made exciting recommendations for the Moses Brown curriculum. Some of these ideas have already been implemented, with others soon to come. Courses like Engineering Design; Tinker, Tailor, Maker; Programming with Arduino; and Robotics & Programming have challenged students to develop both their coding chops and their skills in the design process. These classes require that students not only be able to solve difficult coding problems, but that they use
their knowledge to improvise and create, and to bring those creations into the real world. This builds on the success of capstone STEM projects in middle school, including 7th grade’s Water Transport Challenge, and 8th grade’s ever-popular Rube Goldberg Devices. In a more purely academic realm, Dr. Center has led Moses Brown to the adoption of new high-level courses that will challenge the most accomplished and ambitious math and science students, including multi-level AP Physics; AP Computer Science; Multi-Variable Calculus; and Accelerated Geometry (summer offering). In middle school, we are introducing Accelerated Algebra and new after-school opportunities in VEX robotics. Lower school now has programming and elementary computer science beginning in nursery with things like Creatorverse, Daisy the Dino, Cargo-Bot, and Code-a-Pillar. There are new course units about the principles of engineering and electrical circuitry, technology, capstone maker projects,
and increased math differentiation for grades 3-5 to challenge students at the level that fits each child best. On top of these teacher-taught courses, there are also clubs and activities that are poised for dramatic growth in the 5,000-square-foot Y-Lab, including Vex Robotics, Math Counts, and Science Olympiad. And we have new summer and after-school opportunities for students at all ages and levels of aptitude and interest, including Design Squad, Professor Gizmo, BuildIt! with DownCity Design, Creative Computing, Camp Invention, Forensics, and Junior Engineers. Taken together, these developments represent a major investment in the knowledge and skills students need to be not just technically native, but fluent in the languages of technology— science, engineering, and math. Under Laurie’s leadership we have made great strides in a short time, and the years ahead look even more dynamic. 3
Areté, July 2017
Hasbro Continues Support of MB’s Engineering & Design Program As Moses Brown’s Engineering & Design Program continues to flourish, the school has been fortunate to enjoy the ongoing support of Hasbro, Inc., one of the most innovative companies in the world. At the start of the 2016-17 school year, 50 MB faculty and staff spent half a day at Hasbro’s global headquarters, where company leaders shared how they collaborate to bring ideas and products to life through the ideation, design, engineering, and manufacturing process. The upper school Engineering Design class also visited Hasbro this winter, where students experienced a detailed exploration of how an idea moves from the imagination of a designer to a concept that is costed, fully designed, manufactured, marketed, and shipped to 39 countries around the world. Coming full circle, in the final weeks of the school year, graduating senior Jared Schott, Jr. was mentored by Hasbro designers and engineers
During his Senior Project, Jared Schott, Jr. was mentored by Hasbro engineers and designers in designing and building a robotic arm. during his Senior Project, which allowed him to use his love of mechanical engineering and 3D design to build a mechanical arm. MB and Hasbro also spent the year exploring new opportunities for collaboration. “We have really enjoyed and valued these experiences with the MB community and are working
on piloting new ways that our teams can collaborate to further support the important growth of engineering and design education at Moses Brown,” says Jane Ritson-Parsons P’17 ’21, Hasbro’s Group Executive for Global Marketing. Expect to hear more exciting news in the months ahead!
MB Launches Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation Program Thanks to $1 Million Gift and Partnership with Brown University's Swearer Center In September, Moses Brown School will launch an exciting program in Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation that has the potential to become a national model. Students will benefit from a broad array of curricular and co-curricular experiences, and from a partnership with The Social Innovation Initiative at Brown University’s Swearer Center for Public Service. “Brown is really pleased that Moses Brown is preparing young people for lives of change in their community, and introducing entrepreneurship and social innovation to the curriculum,” says Alan Harlam, Director of Social Innovation at the Swearer Center. “I’m excited to work with Gara Field and her team to adapt what we’ve been doing at Brown to the high-school level, and to apply what we’ve learned for greater impact.” To be implemented over the next four years, the program will reach every student in the Upper School; those whose passion is sparked can explore opportunities for deeper study. Thanks to a new $1 million cash gift to MB Believes: a Campaign for Learning, People, and Place, program implementation will begin immediately. Social entrepreneurship is a growing phenomenon, one that applies business principles to addressing some of the greatest social challenges of our time. “One of our principal goals is to equip the next generation 4
of leaders with the skills and values to make the world a more just and humane place,” says Dr. Gara Field, Director of Global Education, who will direct the program. “Ethical leadership often manifests in an entrepreneurial context. As such, social consciousness and business acumen can be powerful catalysts for change.” Starting this fall, Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation will become a key theme of the ninth grade year, which will now begin with a three-day, two-night orientation trip to a Friends camp in Maine. There students will learn about social challenges that can be addressed with entrepreneurial skills, and the parallels to MB’s Quaker history and mission. Throughout the year, the learning will continue with case studies, guest speakers, and site visits to expose students to tangible examples of social entrepreneurship in action. Beyond ninth grade, electives, co-curricular activities, and competitions will offer students multiple pathways for exploration and learning. Two sections of a new course, The Economics of Social Entrepreneurship, will be offered in the spring of 2018, building on the work of Dan Ohl and the students who piloted the elective this spring. “It was really empowering for students to be asked by local business owners to help solve real problems—and for the kids to see they
had real value to add,” Dan says, “These students learned so much about themselves, working in groups, connecting with adults in the business community, engaging in new forms of research, and developing their presentation skills.” As the program grows, plans include: • an annual Entrepreneurism & Social Innovation Speaker Series • a student-run Social Entrepreneurship Club • an annual, student-led Social Entrepreneurship Summit, welcoming teens from across the region • Entrepreneurship & Social Action Grants, modeled on the Class of ’48 Grants for Independent Study and Inquiry, to support intensive summer immersion opportunities • Senior Project Innovation Internships, featuring a three-week opportunity to intern with innovative local businesses and organizations “Engaged scholarship, the concept of doing well by doing good, is already part of MB’s DNA,” says Gara. “This social innovation work honors and enlivens the school’s Quaker mission through student-driven passion and purpose."
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7 1 0 2 f o s s a l c
103 seniors will attend 67 colleges this year Babson College (2) Bennington College Bentley University Boston College (2) Boston University (7) Bowdoin College (2) Brandeis University Brown University (7) Carnegie Mellon University Catholic University of America Central Alabama Community College Colby College (3) Colgate University (2) College of Charleston (4) Colorado College Dartmouth College Denison University (2)
Dickinson College Emory University Fairfield University (2) Florida Southern College Franklin and Marshall College George Washington University (2) Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Gettysburg College (2) Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Ithaca College Kenyon College Lehigh University Loyola University (MD) (2) Miami University of Ohio Michigan State University
Middlebury College Northeastern University (4) Penn State University Pomona College Princeton University Providence College (2) Quinnipiac University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Roger Williams University Sarah Lawrence College Seton Hall University Skidmore College (2) Southern Methodist University Trinity College (CT) Tufts University (3) Tulane University Union College
University of Chicago University of Louisville University of Massachusetts – Amherst University of Miami (2) University of New Hampshire University of Pennsylvania University of Puget Sound University of Rhode Island (2) University of Richmond (2) University of Vermont Vanderbilt University Vassar College Washington University of St Louis (2) Wellesley College Xavier University Yale University Juniors Hockey (gap year)
the moses brown fund
96%
Campaign fundraising now exceeds $43 million! We’re thrilled to report that we’ve now raised $43,699,412 (as of June 12, 2017) for MB Believes: A Campaign for Learning, People, and Place. Below we report the percentage raised toward each of the individual fundraising goals of MB Believes that add up to our overall target of $56.5 million. Beyond these original goals, we’ve also been excited to take on the new squash center project and partnership with SquashBusters (a $7.87 million initiative). trips
expert thinking model
29%
Historic levels of giving! world-class teaching
open access
76%
40%
117%
132 students on MB TRIPs this summer!
New curricula in Project-Based Learning, Engineering, and Coding!
65% increase in students on scholarships since 2008-09!
13 teachers invited to present at national conferences!
woodman center
y-lab
young learners center
sailing & marine education center
72%
A successful first season!
1%
74%
Opening this fall!
Our next big push!
100%
Location almost finalized!
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A PUBLICATION FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL MATT GLENDINNING
JULY 2017
INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence RI 02906
Moses Brown School