Penn Charter Magazine Fall 2020

FALL 2020

Solving for a Pandemic

INTRODUCING ALUMNIFIRE

Alumnifire is a networking platform that will help OPCs open doors for one another through professional networking, mentorship and job placement.

Visit penncharter.alumnifire.com to unlock your OPC network, explore the countless opportunities before you, and engage with Penn Charter’s global community.

For help with registration or to ask questions about how best to utilize this network, please contact MaryKate O'Brien OPC ’12, assistant director of alumni relations, at mobrien@penncharter.com or 215.844.3460 ext. 112.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING AT PENN CHARTER? Visit us at penncharter.com, on Twitter and Instagram @penncharter and @penncharterOPC, and follow us on Facebook.

Contents FALL 2020

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FEATURES

8 134th PC/GA Day A pandemic-shortened fall season ended with a weeklong PC/GA competition that preserved the tradition and ended with a PC victory.

16 Teaching and Learning in Covid Times A window into six teaching and learning experiences at Penn Charter as teachers and students pivot to a new way of learning, and being.

24 Riding a Wave of Momentum

The extraordinary How Far? campaign has set a new goal of $125 million to complete the facilities projects central to the transformation of Penn Charter’s campus—a new lower school and the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center.

DEPARTMENTS OPENING COMMENTS

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From the Head of School.................................................................................... 2 AROUND CAMPUS

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12

Campus Currents................................................................................................... 3 PC Athletes Sign to Play in College............................................................... 11 Commencement 2020.......................................................................................12 ALUMNI

PC Profiles Reuven Dressler OPC ’90..............................................................................14 Caroline F. Braun OPC ’05............................................................................15 Then & Now.......................................................................................................... 28 Class Notes............................................................................................................ 29

ON THE COVER FALL 2020

Solving for a Pandemic

The challenges and success of teaching and learning in covid times. See page 16.

Photo: Michael Branscom

FALL 2020 •

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OPENING COMMENTS

From the Head of School

THE MAGAZINE OF WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL

Darryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 Head of School Elizabeth A. Glascott Hon. 1689 Assistant Head of School Jeffrey A. Reinhold Board Clerk John T. Rogers Hon. 1689 Chief Development Officer Rob Frieman OPC ’87 Alumni Society President

MAGAZINE STAFF Sharon Sexton Editor Rebecca Luzi Associate Editor Julia Judson-Rea Assistant Editor

I OFTEN REFLECT THAT PENN CHARTER IS UNIQUE IN THAT, while we can comb through the annals of our 330-year history, our school remains so strong because we always look to the future and to new ways to provide the best educational program for our students. With the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the quick pivot to new and innovative ways of teaching and learning accelerated our pace of change. In addition, the foray into new technologies, safety protocols, and ever-developing means of existing and surviving represents an unexpected step into an unknown future. Now, we all long for a post-pandemic future time of safety and a return to some semblance of an old normal.

This is the case for our students, our faculty and staff, and our families. This is the case, too, for our OPCs. As I read this issue of the magazine, the reality of how everything has changed for everyone is apparent. The stories of life on campus and the Class Notes about OPCs’ lives around the world each illustrates upheaval, change and a desire to be together once again with friends and family members— and they illustrate robust adaptation.

Robust adaptation—it is just this which I believe has enabled our old school to survive for these three-plus centuries. In fact, it is Penn Charter’s history of surviving and thriving through the American Revolution, World Wars, global recessions, past and recent civil unrest, and even the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793 and influenza pandemic of 1918, which inspires hope that we will get beyond covid-19.

How our students, faculty and staff, families and OPCs have robustly adapted gives me hope, and should give us all hope. And coming out on the other side of all of this will be Old Penn Charter, looking to the future, just as has been the case for the past 330 years.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Branscom Feature Photography Proof Design Studios Design William Penn Charter School 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144 215.844.3460

www.penncharter.com Penn Charter is the magazine of William Penn Charter School. It is published by the Marketing Communications Office and distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the school. In addition to providing alumni updates about classmates, reunions and events, the magazine focuses on the people, the programs and the ideas that energize our school community.

Follow Penn Charter at your favorite social media sites: FACEBOOK facebook.com/penncharter TWITTER @PennCharter YOUTUBE youtube.com/pennchartertube INSTAGRAM @PennCharter FLICKR flickr.com/penncharter/sets

arryl J. Ford Hon. 1689 D Head of School

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE

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FALL 2020

CAMPUS CURRENTS

BACK TO SCHOOL In September, after a spring during which teaching and learning happened remotely, Penn Charter welcomed students back to campus for the first time in six months.

STAYING SAFE What does it take to keep school safe during the pandemic? Hiring 24 new teachers and a third nurse.

Patience. Persistence. Cooperation. And stuff. To create outdoor spaces for classes, meetings, and so that students could sit socially distanced and remove their masks to eat lunch, Penn Charter rented tents.

THE SCHOOL INVESTED IN:

Grades pre-K to 8 returned to campus in person, except for about two dozen students whose families

• 17 tents

chose to have children learn remotely for medical or personal reasons. The Upper School returned

• two bathroom trailers

in a “hybrid” model so that students could remain socially distanced in classrooms and hallways: the

• 44 air purifiers

Blue team learned on campus one week while the Yellow team conferenced into classes from home— and then the teams alternated the following week.

Adults reimagined their work. College counselors met students and parents online and hosted more than 100 virtual visits from college admissions representatives. Instrumental and choral groups met virtually for sectional rehearsals and collaborated on concert music by recording their parts separately at home so ensemble directors could edit them together. Lower School teachers identified

• 90 hand sanitizer stations • over 20,000 ounces of hand sanitizer • 10 portable sinks • 3 electrostatic cleaners and 24 gallons of Vital Oxide spray cleaner

and then learned a collection of new technology tools and apps, from FlipGrid to SeeSaw. The PC

• over 250 gallons of spray liquid cleaner

Parent Community held its opening meeting of the year on Zoom and captured a record 180 visitors,

• 110 canisters of wet wipes

more than four times the usual turnout. Everyone learned to recharge laptops and phones overnight.

• 260 boxes of dry wipes

Throughout it all, the community cooperated to mitigate the novel coronavirus with hand hygiene,

• 600 feet of floor tape

social distancing and masks.

• 84 acrylic dividers

Stay safe, PC!

• 1,464 additional hours of daytime cleaning

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CAMPUS CURRENTS

RUN FOR PEACE GOES VIRTUAL, GLOBAL When it came time to start planning this year’s Run for Peace, Cathy Grimes and her team were faced with a dilemma: completely reimagine the event in light of new covid-19 restrictions, or call it off.

“Cancelling didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” said Grimes, who for 15 years has worked with PC’s Development Office to organize the community 5K that honors her late brother, Peter K. Ortale OPC ’83, and Kenny Caldwell OPC ’89, both victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. “These days we’re all more isolated than usual, and giving people an opportunity to come together and be part of something bigger than themselves felt important.”

It was Grimes who suggested a virtual race as a safe alternative: Runners could set their own course wherever they are in the world and connect with others taking part in the event through social media. Elsie Caldwell, Kenny’s mother, and the co-planners at PC liked the idea, and Grimes was able to mine experience she gained developing a virtual 5K at her workplace in May 2020.

A Run for Peace webpage on penncharter.com served as a hub for the event, with instructions for the day, links to PC social media feeds, and a gallery of messages from friends and former teachers remembering Caldwell and Ortale. To help foster a sense of community across the digital divide, the planning team sent out Run for Peace neck gaiters and encouraged runners to pose for photos wearing them.

On the morning of Saturday, Sept. 12, the @PennCharterOPC Twitter and Instagram accounts kicked off a roughly 24-hour race period with a photo slideshow, narrated by Grimes, welcoming everyone to the event. “Today, just like in the days after 9/11," she said in the voiceover, “we're reminded of what matters most: family, friends, health and home. These are our greatest sources of strength.”

So how did this year’s online iteration hold up?

“We basically went from ‘almost cancelled’ to ‘overwhelming success,’” said Chris Rahill OPC ’99, director of alumni relations and leadership giving. Registration surged to an all-time high of 215 as runners reported in from across the United States and internationally from Italy, England and Japan. The event raised more than $17,000 for two scholarship funds created in memory of Caldwell and Ortale, a significant achievement even by the standards of previous years.

After that enthusiastic response, Rahill expects the run will always maintain a virtual component going forward. “It opened the door for a much bigger network of friends and family to get involved, which was awesome.”

To Elsie Caldwell, the global showing of support was “a beautiful way to honor the memory of Peter and Kenny and all the victims of 9/11,” even though she missed having the opportunity to spend a Saturday morning with her “extended family at Penn Charter.” In a typical year, Caldwell would be handing out water bottles at the finish line or walking part of the racecourse with her friend Jack Rogers Hon. 1689, PC’s chief development officer. The Caldwells showed up strong for 2020's virtual run, represented by Elsie’s son Leon OPC ’87 and a cluster of nieces, nephews and grandchildren.

With the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, Caldwell, like Grimes, is pleased to see that the run has become a time-tested PC tradition. And when it’s safe to gather again at the starting line on School House Lane—while simultaneously welcoming a mass of virtual supporters—she suspects the Run for Peace will be “elevated to a whole new level.” PC

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FALL 2020

CAMPUS CURRENTS

BOO! PC seniors gathered for a class breakfast and Halloween celebration on the morning of Friday, Oct. 30 after rainy weather prompted the cancellation of a socially-distant parade scheduled to take place on Perrott Field.

The Class of 2021 came decked out in their best costumes to revel in the festive music, friendly competition and full spread of breakfast fare that awaited them in the Field House, expertly decorated by PC staff.

Halloween-themed games included a toilet paper mummy relay and, for those not already filled up on bagels and breakfast sandwiches, a hands-free eating contest with Fruit by the Foot candy. After the fun, students assembled on the bleachers, separated into Blue-Yellow cohorts and still in costume, for an unusually colorful class portrait that will be unveiled in the 2021 Class Record. PC

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CAMPUS CURRENTS

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:

THROUGHLINES IN CURRICULUM At Penn Charter, the past, present and future of indigenous peoples are interwoven throughout pre-K to 12 learning. Not just a day of education and awareness, but a thread that connects across disciplines. When Lower School students study identity and voice in language arts and social studies, they use primary sources, reading authentic voices to learn more about indigenous peoples’ past and present. Encounter, historical fiction told from the perspective of a boy of the Taíno people indigenous to the Carribean and Florida, informs their discussion of Columbus. Students look at a map of federally recognized tribes and discuss how indigenous names and culture are present in their daily lives. Fifth graders learn about the origins of lacrosse and explore the Native American roots of the game that many students play today. Third grade meets a scholar of Lenape culture as part of their study of Pennsylvania and investigation of William Penn’s Walking Purchase, a discredited land deal between the Penn family and the Lenape.

persuasive writing in an exercise to explain how they think Penn Charter could mark the second Monday in October, historically observed as Columbus Day. In keeping with the idea that indigenous people are not just in the past, they read the work of current U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, the first Native American to hold that distinction. Seventh grade students, in their research on Canada, study the Inuit and other First Nations. Middle School students also will dive into learning about the history and contemporary lives of Native American tribes in the American southwest, in preparation for a future seventh A visitor to Lower School last fall, sharing Lenape history, stories and contemporary life with students.

In Middle School, after reading multiple articles, reviewing definitions of indigenous and colonization, and discussing what they know about early Americans and Columbus, students practiced their evidence-based

grade signature trip.

In Upper School U.S. History, Josh Oberfield picks up the thread that Lower School teacher Naveena Bembry begins in fifth grade: Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears. And further solidifying the idea of voice and which perspectives are presented or erased, the interdisciplinary American Studies class is reading Ghost River, a graphic novel told from the perspective of the Conestoga tribe about the 1763 massacre by colonists.

Social Studies courses throughout Upper School include discussion of Native American history, contributions and contemporary culture. Social Studies Department Chair Brooke Stratton said of Advanced Placement U.S. History, “Indigenous people are a throughline throughout the course and as actors, not just a footnote.”

“We shift the paradigm,” Bembry said, explaining how students strengthen their understanding that indigenous cultures have thousand-year histories but are very

While in third grade, the Class of 2028, now in fifth grade, studied artifacts and objects from indigenous culture.

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FALL 2020

much alive, contemporary and connected to students’ lives.

PC

The How Far? campaign has set a new goal of $125 million to complete the new lower school and the Graham Athletics Center.

More on page 24. And watch the video that celebrates our success and maps the plan for completing our campus transformation. penncharter.com/howfar125

old penn charter

Weekend 2021 MAY 7 AND 8 Reunion planning is underway

for classes ending in 0s and 5s, 1s and 6s!

Details at www.penncharter.com/opcweekend.

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134TH

A truly historic PC/GA face-off morphed from a single day to a covid-safer week of competitions. Both schools were gratified that the 134th PC/GA football game, the longest continuous high school football rivalry in the country, went forward. The streak is unbroken!

GIRLS TENNIS On an unusually warm and sunny November afternoon, gIrls tennis played hard in doubles and singles, but came out with one win, by sophomore Lexi Bari (front, second from right). Bari won in a third-set tiebreaker.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY Captain Drew Gillespie ran a strong 18:06 in the 5K race to lead the team to a tight 27-28 victory over GA.

That 134th game turned out to be an instant classic. Late in the fourth quarter, PC went ahead for the first time, 22-21, on a deep fade pass from quarterback Colin Schumm into the hands of receiver Aaron Maione, who ran it in for the touchdown.

Back in possession, GA marched down the field, but stalled. Fourth down and three, the Patriots lined up, with 9.5 seconds on the clock, for what looked like a sure field goal to win. But Maione charged around the GA defenders and blocked the kick.

QUAKERS WIN!

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FALL 2020

FOOTBALL Aaron Maione won the Geis Trophy for his stellar performance in the 134th PC/GA football game.

Maione was honored with the Geis Trophy, and the football victory— combined with PC wins in boys and girls water polo, girls soccer and boys cross country—captured the 2020 PC/GA Competition Cup.

GIRLS WATER POLO Led by senior and MVP-winner Simone Perry (pictured with coach Brian Hecker), PC’s girls water polo squad dominated and had a significant lead by halftime. Out-swimming, out-passing, out-defending and out-scoring GA throughout the game, PC maintained possession and worked the clock in the final quarter. At the buzzer, the team celebrated with sustained splashes as opposed to hugs on the deck.

Because of covid-19, the games were played with very, very limited spectators (essential school personnel and three guests for each senior player). We missed seeing the thousands of spirited fans who turn out for this rivalry! PC View photos and livestream of competitions; hyperlinks at penncharter.com/pcga

FIELD HOCKEY Playing in a misty rain, junior Amanda Ehrenhalt (pictured) scored PC’s lone goal on a tip from freshman Lara Scott. In a tense game all the way through, Penn Charter’s exceptional defending and goalkeeping held a strong GA team to two goals.

BOYS WATER POLO Having watched the girls win handily, the boys water polo team was ready to bring the Competition Cup tally to a 3-3 tie, and that they did! Down early, the Quakers battled back and won. Backed by outstanding goalkeeping by junior Henry Davis with 18 saves, the team peppered in the goals in the third quarter, ultimately pulling ahead. Senior Max Ehinger (pictured with coach Bobby Wurtz OPC '12) scored six goals and was named MVP for his productive offense.

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GIRLS SOCCER Kicking things off on a rainy but warm day two of PC/GA Week, MVP Kait Haughey (pictured, a senior), scored quickly in the early minutes of the game. Sophomore Gracie Shoup and senior Janae Stewart picked up the other two goals for PC. A strong midfield and back line kept the ball in GA territory much of the game. The win put PC on the board in the hunt for the Competition Cup.

BOYS SOCCER The Quakers worked hard to defend their territory against a strong GA team. Senior Augustus Smith (pictured with coach Bob DiBenedetto) received the James H. Rumpp OPC ’55 Memorial Soccer Award for his exceptional play in midfield.

COMPETITION CUP SCORE PC:5 GA:4 SPORT

SCORE MVP

Boys Soccer Girls Tennis Girls Soccer Field Hockey Golf Girls Water Polo Boys Water Polo Boys Cross Country Girls Cross Country Football

0-3 GA 1-6 GA 3-1 PC 1-2 GA Rained out 14-2 PC 12-6 PC 27-28 PC 20-38 GA 22-21 PC

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Augustus Smith, Rumpp Trophy Kait Haughey

Simone Perry Max Ehinger GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Aaron Maione, Geis Trophy

Girls cross country had a tough loss, falling to GA 20-38. Pictured: Elena Coupas (left) and Julia Dolce, both juniors.

FACULTY NEWS

Photographed for the socially-distant ceremony, senior recruits are: (from left) Kaitlynn Haughey, Janae Stewart, Kaylee Dyer, Ava Coyle, Lillian Avrigian, Camille Weiss, Danny Will, Antonio DeMarco, Julia Veith, Conor McKee, Peyton Parker, Dean Bergmann, Emma Zwall, Maggie Turner*, Alyssa Neducsin, Mia Ferraro and Nico Krueger.

Not pictured: Patrick Isztwan.

College-Bound Athletes Families and coaches gathered on Palaia Field on the morning of Nov. 11 for a socially-distant ceremony honoring 18 PC seniors who have committed to play a sport in college. Twelve student athletes signed National Letters of Intent (NLI), five signed non-NLI commitments, and one is a recruit for the 2022-23 season. Seniors were honored one-by-one and then posed for photos at the signing table in an event led by Director of Athletics and Athletic Planning John Thiel.

Read the complete list of signees below, and view more photos of the ceremony at flickr.com/penncharter/albums.

Congratulations to our athletes for their dedication and hard work on the playing fields and in the classroom!

STUDENT SPORT

COLLEGE

Dean Bergmann Danny Will Lillian Avrigian Patrick Isztwan Ava Coyle Conor McKee Kaylee Dyer Maggie Turner* Mia Ferraro Antonio DeMarco Julia Veith Alyssa Neducsin Camille Weiss Nico Krueger Kaitlynn Haughey Janae Stewart Peyton Parker Emma Zwall

St. Joseph's University Dartmouth College Wake Forest University University of Richmond University of Louisville Lehigh University University of Michigan Harvard University University of Southern California University of North Carolina Stanford University Fordham University University of Miami George Washington University West Chester University University of Pennsylvania Yale University Brown University

Baseball Baseball Field Hockey Golf Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse Rowing Rowing Swimming Soccer Soccer Soccer Track and Field Track and Field/Cross Country

(*Maggie Turner will take a gap year for 2021-22.)

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COMMENCEMENT 2020

A Graduation Like No Other Commencement could not be held at school since Penn Charter's campus closed last spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 112 members of the Class of 2020 graduated on Saturday, June 6, in a one-of-a-kind, virtual and prerecorded ceremony streamed online to the graduates and hundreds of their family and friends.

“You have been and are a remarkable class,” Head of School Darryl J. Ford said in remarks he recorded earlier in the week from PC's back patio, the traditional setting of PC Commencement.

Ford listed the academic, artistic, athletic and service achievements of the class and acknowledged that the graduation was occurring as the country was experiencing not only the pandemic but social protest from coast to coast.

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS Selected by their classmates and teachers to reflect on their PC experience and look to the future.

View at penncharter.com/opc2020.

Akeel Blake begins at 12:21

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Noah Evans begins at 16:34

Vanessa Ewing begins at 20:20

On the afternoon of Commencement and the day after, students and their families were invited to campus for a socially-distant diploma pickup and family photo op. A contingent of faculty and staff were on hand to cheer as graduates picked up their diplomas—and a yellow rose for the girls—and posed for portraits.

“Beyond these accolades, here is the most important thing for you to know,” Ford said. “After this pandemic and social unrest resolve, you still will be a class of remarkable achievement. The hope that all of your parents felt the day you were born and the hope and promise that your teachers felt on your first day of kindergarten at PC, or whenever you first came to our school, is the hope that your families and faculty place in you to mend the world.”

Theodore Cavanagh received the Phi Beta Kappa Award for achievement in scholarship.

Jalynn Johnson received the Senior Award, presented by Alumni Society President Rob Frieman OPC '87. The finalists for the award were also honored: Sarah Foley, Anastasia Lewis and Madelynn Solow. The Senior Award is presented to a member of the senior class who on qualification of scholarship, character, leadership and athletic ability exemplifies the best Penn Charter type.

The 90-minute, prerecorded graduation celebration—livestreamed at 10:30 a.m. on the day and now archived online at penncharter.com/opc2020—includes musical performances, student-produced videos and photo montages, and seven heartfelt messages from teachers in Lower, Middle and Upper School. PC

Congratulations to the Class of 2020!

Senior Class President Patrick Cannon (Colgate University), delivering his remarks from the bell tower in a cap and gown and shorts.

Theodore Cavanagh (Yale University) won the Phi Beta Kappa Award for achievement in scholarship.

The Alumni Society bestowed Jalynn Johnson (University of Pittsburgh) its Senior Award in recognition of her scholarship, character, leadership and athletic ability.

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PC P RO F I LE S

Reuven Dressler OPC ’90

BY MARK F. BERNSTEIN OPC ’79

Change can be hard, but Reuven “Rich” Dressler OPC ’90 is not afraid of it.

He even seeks it out.

In 2007, he and his wife, Elana, moved to Israel, where they have lived ever since. The couple and their children (shown below) now live in a settlement about five miles outside Jerusalem. Dressler, a physician specializing in family medicine, also serves on the faculty of the Hadassah and Hebrew University School of Medicine.

Long interested in his Jewish roots, Dressler had been intrigued by the idea of moving to Israel since he visited during a year’s break from medical school at Temple University. “I fell in love with the place,” he said. Still, actually moving there required a lot of adjustments, the most significant of which was learning Hebrew. A two-year stint in the Israel Defense Forces, required of all citizens between the ages of 17 and 49, took care of that.

“The army is the ultimate place to learn Hebrew,” he laughed. “They really throw you into the fire.”

Dressler serves as a reserve medical officer for the Israeli Intelligence Corps and was a staff physician for the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. He described the latter experience as, by turns, fascinating and boring, with a lot of down time. “I got a lot of reading done,” he said.

Asked why he served his adopted country, Dressler explained in a 2013 interview with the Jewish Exponent, “We’re Jews defending our homeland.

We’re doing what people for 2,000 years were unable to do, and we need to contribute to that.” In fact, he said, he regrets that Americans do not have the same requirement to defend their country.

Although it has taken time, Dressler has adapted to Israeli life and culture, which may be seen by Americans as gruff or assertive, though passionate may be a better word. “You know where you stand [with someone] quickly,” he said.

“If you’re going to be here, you have to learn that.” Dressler now considers himself fully bicultural. “I can act more ‘American’ or ‘Israeli’ as the situation requires,” though he added that he still finds it uncomfortable switching between English and Hebrew rapidly. “I prefer to stick with one or the other.”

Another change Dressler embraced was returning to an old love: lacrosse.

Dressler has been passionate about the game since former PC teacher and Director of Middle School Stephen Watters introduced him to it in seventh grade. In 1989, his junior year, the Quakers won the Pennsylvania state championship, and Dressler, the team’s goalie, was named a high school AllAmerican. He continued to star at Yale, winning the team MVP award three times, and still holds the school’s career records for saves. Under Dressler’s steady leadership, the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1992.

Dressler himself was a two-time honorable mention All-American and an academic All-American.

Once he entered medical school, though, Dressler hung up his lacrosse stick—or so he thought. However, in 2014, at the age of 41, he was lured out of retirement to play on the Israeli national team as it competed for the first time in the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) world championships in Denver. The team, comprised of native Israelis and American ex-patriots like himself, defeated Ireland, Germany and Japan on the way to a seventh-place finish. Four years later, Dressler served as chief medical officer when the FIL tournament was held in Netanya, Israel.

While others might have balked at playing with—and against—players young enough to be their children, Dressler embraced it. “I treated all the guys on the team as I would anybody my age, and I think that I received that in kind,” he reasoned. “It was a chance to be a leader, in the broadest broad sense of the word.”

For Dressler, life moves steadily forward, but he said his lacrosse experience taught him that the old expression, “You can’t go back again,” isn’t really true. Even approaching middle age, he thinks he played some of the best lacrosse of his career.

“When you are dressed and ready on the bus on the way to the game, you suddenly feel less like you are 41 and more like you are 17,” he explained. “It was a real time warp for two weeks of my life.” PC

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PC P RO F I LE S

Caroline F. Braun OPC ’05

BY MARK F. BERNSTEIN OPC ’79

Comcast and other corporate partners. While all of her teachers and students have been working from home since August, Braun herself finds it easier to work at the school building. Most days, she said, it’s just her, other administrators and the custodial staff.

Braun has worked at the Mayfair School since the start of the 2018-19 school year. Before that she spent a year at the school district’s Office of Teaching and Learning, working as an instructional coach for teachers and helping with their professional development.

It isn’t always that a PC assembly leads to a career choice, but in Braun’s case she said it is true. She attended an Upper School presentation by Alyson Goodner OPC ’96, now the director of the Penn Charter’s Center for Public Purpose, on Goodner’s experience with Teach for America, the nonprofit that places recent college graduates as teachers in underserved communities around the country.

Covid-19 may have changed the way she does her job, but the responsibilities Caroline F. Braun OPC ’05 has as an assistant principal of the Mayfair School in Northeast Philadelphia remain the same.

“We run the school!” Braun laughed when asked what an assistant principal does. “We make sure that operations are safe and functioning. We make sure that all of the distractions that happen at any point during the day are taken off teachers’ plates, so they can focus on instruction and ensure that children have a safe, welcoming environment. We manage everything else.”

That is a tall order since the Mayfair School, with an enrollment of more than 2,100 students, is the largest K-8 public school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It also serves a very diverse community—racially, ethnically and socioeconomically. More than half the students are designated as English language learners, which means that English is not the primary language spoken at home. When the School District of Philadelphia switched to remote learning back in March, one of Braun’s jobs was ensuring that each of the students was connected with a Chromebook, funding for which was provided by

A seed was planted, though nothing came of it for a while. After graduating from PC, Braun attended James Madison University, double majoring in English and Spanish. During a study abroad year in England and Spain, her interest in teaching was rekindled, and when she returned to the United States, she applied to Teach for America. Braun spent one year teaching English and Spanish at a charter school in Oakland, Calif., then six more years at a middle school and high school in Richmond, Calif. She returned East in 2016 to earn a master’s degree in school leadership at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education before finally moving back to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia hoped to bring public school students back for in-person learning on Nov. 30, but a surge in covid cases has pushed that date back indefinitely. “When it becomes safe to bring the children back, we will,” is all Braun can say. “We just don’t know when that will be.” In one sense, she mused, remote learning has changed nothing about her responsibilities, but in another it has changed everything. “I still have the same responsibilities: support teachers, make sure the schedule runs smoothly and that parents’ requests and concerns are heard. I make sure the kids are safe and that our counselors have access to the right resources. We’re getting into the swing of it, but it’s not ideal. All of us are making the best of a difficult situation.”

Despite her skills as a classroom teacher, Braun foresees her career as being in school administration. “I love what I do,” she said. “I love working with my students, and my teachers and staff, and my families. I deeply believe that providing equitable access to education for all children is what will ensure that our nation prospers.” PC

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STRATEGIC VISION

GOALS 1,2,3

QUAKERISM • PROGRAM • TEACHING

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN COVID TIMES During a meeting with parents in September, Head of School Darryl J. Ford explained some of the ways in which teaching and learning are different this year, in the midst of a pandemic, and then he paused, and provided a context.

“We are involved in the biggest worldwide innovation in education, ever. It is not the most important innovation,” Ford said, citing the common schools movement that ushered in public school education, the integration of schools and coeducation. “But this is the biggest, quickest change in how we deliver education to children.”

The vignettes that follow offer a window into six teaching and learning experiences at Penn Charter. These are not a comprehensive view of pandemic-induced change — we will leave that to the PhD candidates and the statisticians. Instead, they offer a glimpse into the remarkable ways in which teachers have pivoted. They illustrate the essentiality of technology.

They affirm the spirit of children excited to learn, happy to be with friends, eager to run in the sunshine.

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Students in Seats and in “Boxes” Liz Jones glides through the open door of Room 234 propped wide for maximum air flow.

“Fri-daaay,” she sings in a vibrato that’s as common as a clock tower chime in PC’s Upper School.

It’s 8:45 a.m. and Jones’s ninth graders, already seated at their desks and spaced 10 feet apart in the sparsely-occupied classroom, have just submitted their first high school English project the night before. Even at this hour, under these conditions, Jones’s entrance elicits the scrunched-up eyes that indicate smiles beneath her students’ protective masks.

She settles in and opens up her laptop to greet “the Blues” – the Blue Team cohort, the

Liz Jones consults with her virtual students.

setup, allowing Jones to move freely around

about place and community that was designed

the classroom as she teaches. She situates her

to coincide with the 2020 election and PC’s

laptop on a rolling cart for further flexibility.

all-school theme of Equity and Empathy.

“All you lovely people in the boxes,” she says to

Today, Jones is asking her students to evaluate

segment of the class learning virtually this

the Blues mid-lesson, “can you see what we’re

week – then takes attendance and does some

doing here?” – and wheels them closer to the

informal check-ins before starting her lesson.

SmartBoard for a better view.

Room 234 is outfitted with a SmartBoard

The project this Block 4 English class has just

a grade,” she tells them. “It’s about being

that connects to a large auxiliary monitor. A

completed, called “America to Me,” capped off

honest with yourself and learning how to

wireless MacMini keyboard controls this

a unit of short stories and class discussions

identify your own strengths and weaknesses.”

how the project went for them.

“I always have you reflect before I give you

continued on next page

SOME HELPFUL VOCABULARY. COHORT PC organized cohorts in each division and worked to keep them

clubs and even Meeting for Worship. Google Meet integrates with PC’s school-work systems, requiring fewer steps for students

separate to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and to make it

to switch to virtual. It also was chosen because it runs with less

easier to contact trace if a student or teacher fell ill. Cohorts varied

computing and network resources, so that it is easier to keep

in size from fewer than 10 in Lower School to a Blue cohort and a

running at home for families.

Yellow cohort in Upper School. In grades 9-12, the Yellow cohort studied on campus one week while the Blue team studied from

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT TEACHER

home, and the next week they flipped.

Penn Charter hired 24 new faculty, some as full-time teachers and some as support teachers. If medical or family issues required that

GOOGLE MEET

one of Penn Charter’s permanent faculty teach from home, the

Penn Charter selected Google Meet for video conferencing:

support teacher was on campus, managing the technology and

Students learning from home logged into Meet to attend class,

the classroom.

FALL 2020 •

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TEACHING AND LEARNING IN COVID TIMES continued from page 17

In hybrid teaching, Jones always ends one unit and begins the next on a Friday so that she has the chance to see each cohort in person on successive class days. It’s a strategy that helps create more continuity during a school year marked by disruption and disconnection.

Jones feels the PC community has risen to the challenge of this new form of teaching and learning, and even grown savvier for it. “Virtual learning has improved all of our ability to think on our toes,” she said.

Her best advice? “You always have to have a workaround ready. Always.”

A bit of song never hurt, either.

Liz Jones leads a discussion with her ninth grade English students.

Picking Up the Pace Thirteen-year-old Arielle Willis is happily back at school, practicing how to make origami cranes with her friends, studying French horn, advanced algebra and, especially, science.

“I love science,” she said. “It explains how everything in the world works.”

This year Arie, as her friends call her, is in eighth grade and in science with Jeffrey Humble, Middle School teacher and PC Science Department chair, and 13 classmates—plus one student learning virtually from home.

In Arie's judgment, masks make it hard to hear unless everyone remembers to speak up, but, otherwise, she hasn’t noticed a change in how or how much she is learning: “Once we got out the kinks, the pace is like last year.”

Eighth grade science would normally meet in

18

Arielle Willis studies eighth grade science with Jeffrey Humble, Middle School teacher and PC Science Department chair.

staffing, cohorting, grade size and classroom

front. He teaches to the class and to an overhead

assignments. Humble’s science class meets

camera broadcasting to his one virtual student.

in what has traditionally been an English classroom, which explains the merry pirate flag on the wall, instead of a periodic table. Instead

Periodically, he interrupts himself to ask her: “Are you with me, Olivia?”

In October, over a series of classes, Arie and

of desks arranged in collaborative circles or

her classmates learned about the three states

small groups, covid has turned back pedagogical

of matter—solid, liquid and gas—and the

a combined classroom/science lab, but covid

time: students sit in rows of socially-distant

transfer of energy. “Does something have to

required an all-school rethinking of space,

desks, facing forward, and Humble stands at the

be cold to be frozen?” Humble asks. “Take five

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FALL 2020

minutes and research online, and don’t ask Google. That would be cheating.” Answer: No. (Permission to Google it.)

When it came time for the classic experiment in sublimation—the process by which a solid can sublime directly to the gas state—the class met in the Middle School lower level where Penn Charter’s state-of-the-art IdeaLab has been disassembled to create a vast and more traditional lab space. The laser cutters and 3D printers are packed away, and the lab tables from upstairs were moved down. Two students socially distance across the long length of lab tables that, conveniently, measure six feet.

The middle schoolers reacted with a touch of awe when Humble stops at their table and drops a cube of dry ice into a flask of water, causing

In the state-of-the-art IdeaLab, which has been disassembled to create a more traditional temporary science lab space, Arie and her classmates conducted a classic experiment in sublimation.

is conferencing in on a laptop on the table, and

Learning, check. Friends, check. Is anything

they work to complete a lab report.

missing?

Middle schoolers also predictably reacted

“I don’t know some of my classmates, and it’s

measures the temperature of the water to begin

with excitement for the opportunity to be

hard to know new people when you can’t see

(34 degrees Celsius), then again after Humble

on campus with friends and peers. “After

their faces,” she admits. “There is a feeling

dropped in a cube of dry ice (4 degrees Celsius).

orientation I was excited to see my friends

that nothing is completely the way it was in

And then she shares the results with Olivia, who

more,” Arie says. “I’m happy we came back.”

the past.”

it to sublime directly from a solid to a gas. Arie

Connecting with Young, 100% Virtual Learners “Being well prepared—perhaps over prepared—is key,” said Stacy Master, the online teacher for the 100% distance learners in second and third grade. “There’s no time for tech trouble, and every hiccup is noticeable.”

Teaching a 90-minute session with her distance learners from a small office in Lower School, Master uses two cameras, one a document camera that shows students materials she uses in a lesson and one a camera

Stacy Master meets her second graders on Google Meet in September. Some have since transitioned to in-person learning.

on her laptop that shows her smiling and engaged presence. Master deftly switches

calls students’ attention back to the task at

same responsive classroom techniques her

between the two to control what students

hand—or to their chair in front of the screen

colleagues use in the classroom. But, for the

see on their screens at home. She warmly

if they wander away—by employing the

most part, her students are dialed in. continued on next page

FALL 2020 •

19

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN COVID TIMES continued from page 19

As Master reviews a math assessment with second grade, students talk through their answers, some choosing to share their problem-solving via the online learning tool SeeSaw, and others by holding work done on paper right up to the camera on their own device. Practically touching the camera, a little finger points to an answer, “Can you see it? Can you see what I did?” A student eager to share her work nearly levitates out of the chair in her room. It is at once the same feel of a second grade classroom and completely different.

Master’s students attend a morning checkin in their respective homerooms and then hop onto her Google Meet. “The range of any class—in person or distanced—can be large, depending on the subject. The Lower School curriculum and the nature of this way of teaching demands individualized attention and enrichment opportunities.” Master keeps

An unusual classroom: Master teaching her distance learners from a small office in Lower School.

or when they’re hungry for more to read,

is challenging and so brand new. It’s the most

practice and learn.

challenging year of teaching I’ve ever had, but

a Google Meet open throughout the day for

Master, an experienced classroom teacher,

her students to pop in and out with questions,

said of distance learning, “It is so different, it

I really like it.”

Creating Time for Movement Students bound out of Middle School and across Maguire Field to meet physical education teachers Renee Gunning and Damon LeedaleBrown, shouting happily in the sunshine.

had an epiphany; it just stopped me in my tracks.

I had a vision of how it would work, but it would mean some big changes. So I called Wilson [Felter, director of Middle School] and said, ‘this is going to sound nuts, but hear me out.’”

Felter, a big believer in the importance of regular exercise for the adolescent brain, was on board. “They need colossal amounts of exercise, nutrition and sleep because of the lighting-fast changes in their bodies and

Within moments Gunning explains the coordination and strength-building exercises

brains,” he said. “It really helps cognition

as she and Leedale-Brown demonstrate; with

during school to have lots of movement.”

just 25 minutes, the goal is for less talk, more

Gunning soon recognized the “insane

movement.

complexity” of her original schedule and credits veteran teacher and master scheduler

Faced with the reality that Middle School sports were canceled because of the pandemic, Gunning struggled to think of a way to get kids moving regularly. Laughing, she said, “I do my best thinking when I’m running and, one day, I

20

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FALL 2020

Charlie Brown with figuring out a plan that has When Middle School is in 100% virtual mode, Gunning turns to the popular social networking site Instagram to share workout instructions, challenges and motivation with her students.

See for yourself @pcmspe!

students in PE for 40-minute blocks, three to four days a week. “Renee and Damon are doing incredible work,” Felter said.

All the colorful cones and markers outline the many pieces of an intricate, and covid-safe workout designed by Renee Gunning and Damon Leedale-Brown for Middle School physical education.

For all the students they very clearly love to

control, coordination, and general body strength

Schoolers campaign to start immediately. “Who

teach, Gunning and Leedale-Brown find creative,

and endurance. These socially-distanced drills

doesn’t want to be outside, running around with

fun drills that support students’ balance, body

precede a teams-based game, which Middle

friends?” she asks. Quite right.

Technology-Enhanced Science Labs The hardest part of hybrid learning for junior Liam McLafferty is the discipline that goes into working from home.

“When I’m at my house, in general, I’m less motivated to do school work,” he said. But this nugget of self-knowledge has allowed him to plan accordingly.

During the weeks that he’s off-campus, Liam attends classes from a desk in his bedroom, deliberately avoiding those cozier locations, like

Corey Kilbane leads his AP Physics class through a virtual lab using the Pivot Interactives software.

the couch, where it can be easy to forget that he’s in school. And instead of spending his free

Remote learning lends itself better to certain

Interactives that allows them to do labs—a

periods watching YouTube, he pushes himself

subjects, Liam said, and one that stands out

critical part of any science curriculum—

to start chipping away at that night’s homework

to him is AP Physics. This year, the class

virtually and in-person using interactive

just like he would if he were on campus.

has started using a software called Pivot

high-speed videos and an array of digital tools. continued on next page

FALL 2020 •

21

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN COVID TIMES continued from page 21

So when Liam and his peers are tasked with

can’t easily demonstrate in class”—the

graphing and analyzing data from a video that

acceleration of a skydiver in freefall or the

shows a chunk of dry ice sliding down a ramp,

rotational motion of a giant wind turbine—

they can pause, scroll forward and backward, choose between different camera angles and even overlay virtual measuring devices to get the information they need.

“It’s really easy to use, especially when it comes to graphing data,” Liam said of Pivot.

“and Pivot helps me fill in the gaps.”

There’s also a practical advantage to these virtual labs, since Kilbane is teaching remotely this year. He’s paired with Shequana Callender, a 2020 Rosemont College graduate and one of the support teachers hired by Penn Charter to meet the demands of the

Before covid hit, Liam’s teacher Corey Kilbane

covid era. During hybrid learning phases,

was already learning the software with plans

Callender acts as Kilbane’s surrogate in the

to implement it in his classroom soon. The

physical classroom, helping to make sure the

pandemic fast-tracked that process, but

technology runs smoothly and students stay

Kilbane said the program will benefit his

engaged.

students long after they return to classroom learning.

It's an arrangement that works considerably well, according to Liam McLafferty. Still, he

“We’ll still do traditional labs,” he said, “but there are all kinds of phenomena that I

pines for the day when we’re all together again. "It makes things a lot easier.”

Liam McLafferty, happily back in the classroom.

High-Stakes Math Seven-year-old Violet Yoo stands with nervous excitement along the wall in her second grade class, with four other classmates.

She is wearing a “Quakers in Quarantine 2020” T-shirt, a pint-sized version of the ones created for last year’s senior class, with “Penn Charter Strong” on the back. Two teams of second graders are playing a math “game show,” and the opposing team is lined up, and spaced apart, in front of the windows.

One at a time, students approach the front of the room and virtually “spin” the colorful wheel on the SmartBoard to get a number to subtract from 20. A correct answer equals a point. The game is popular with the 10 students in Joe Maguire’s second grade cohort.

Violet Yoo and her second grade class learn subtraction by regrouping with manipulatives. To avoid sharing, students each have their own board and set of ones, tens and hundreds.

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FALL 2020

“I’m going next! I’m going next!” Violet exclaims, hopping up and down.

A boy on the opposing team spins for his math problem and gets 20-17. That’s a tough one.

He guesses 4. So close!

Violet has a chance to steal the point and guesses 3. Her team is in the lead!

The game takes a series of twists and turns, with steals and “doubles” and leaps in the air for every correct answer. Charlie spins the wheel and gets a tough break: the dreaded 9. Maguire approaches for a little coaching: “Remember to regroup.”

In the end, Violet’s team maintains its lead, and she and her teammates each get a tiny pompom, Maguire’s signature reward for good work or acts of kindness. With each pompom comes a bonus: Students get to shoot a basket using a 5-foot hoop in the classroom. (Maguire is Penn Charter’s girls basketball coach, after all.) When students collect 10 pompoms, they get a “Mr. Maguire dollar,” and five Mr. Maguire dollars earns a trip to the class store to select from puzzle balls, finger skateboards and mochi animal squishies.

Violet and her classmates love the high-stakes game show. “I really like math,” Violet explained.

“You have to think to solve problems.”

Joe Maguire often takes his class to see the construction progress of the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center.

One time they were able to ask this and other burning questions of the senior project manager: “Where do you get your equipment?”

She also likes “bucket work.” Buckets are filled with a combination of different activities from Magna-Tiles (“shapes that you connect and build”) to colored pencils—and some of them contain iPads. “We keep the bucket a whole week,” Violet said, “and then we switch so that we each get turns.” Assigning a bucket filled with high-touch tools to one child for the week, and then disinfecting, also serves a health and safety purpose.

Second graders who learn on campus have adapted with hardly a hiccup to the new safety protocols at school. Aside from the occasional

individual work this year,” he said. “Instead of working with a partner, they do more guided independent work and then share with the whole group.”

“Pause!”

The students freeze.

“Some people are unmuted. Everybody

In readers and writers workshop, Maguire’s

rewind.”

class explores realistic fiction, “small

They take a few steps back.

moment” stories and folktales like “The Rough-Faced Girl.” Violet loves the task of

“Okay, keep going.”

directed drawing, a step-by-step process for

At her desk, Violet draws the Rough-Faced

creating an illustration for the book.

“Use pencils,” Maguire instructs. “Everyone

Girl, a member of the Algonquin tribe, from her bandaged hands to the feather in her hair.

makes mistakes.”

It is a work of art. She shows her drawing to

walking in line, Maguire, in his 16th year of

When the students move from the carpeted

her friend Charlie, at the nearest desk six feet

teaching but his first at Penn Charter, said the

floor to their desks, they are chatty. To

away, and Charlie shows Violet hers. They

primary difference for him this year has to do

refocus the class, Maguire uses language all

exchange thumbs up, and their eyes crinkle

with team learning. “Students engage in more

students are familiar with.

above their masks.

reminder to keep space between them while

PC

FALL 2020 •

23

STRATEGIC VISION

GOAL 5

24

SPACE Develop and repurpose space to serve the changing needs of the Penn Charter program and mission.

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FALL 2020

RIDING A WAVE OF MOMENTUM The extraordinary How Far? campaign has set a new goal of $125 million to complete the facilities projects central to the transformation of Penn Charter’s campus—a new lower school and the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center.

Read more about the campaign on the next page

At 55,000 square feet, the William A. Graham IV OPC ’58 Athletics & Wellness Center will significantly expand and enhance PC’s athletics and wellness facilities with new locker rooms, team rooms and classrooms; athletics training suite; multilevel strength and conditioning Blaine Center; climbing wall; wrestling room; competition basketball courts; and a nutrition station.

FALL 2020 •

25

On one of several visits to the site, second graders learn about architecture and engineering from the Intech construction crew.

How Far? Not Done Yet Beam by steel beam, the structure of the

school year and eight years after the unveiling

Graham Athletics & Wellness Center is rising.

of a Strategic Vision for the future of William

The floor of two new basketball courts—900

Penn Charter School.

tons of cement—was poured in November, and the placement of the last, highest steel beam was celebrated in December. Remarkably in these most challenging of times, the construction progress is steady, dependable and promising.

“Penn Charter is riding a wave of momentum,” said Head of School Darryl J. Ford, “and we are not done yet.”

In a virtual meeting this fall with donors to the How Far? campaign, the fundraising effort to support the Strategic Vision and the

The Graham Center is on schedule to open at

campus transformation that evolved from it,

the end of the summer, in time for the new

Ford announced that How Far? has surpassed

PROGRESS TO DATE

$125M $91M $75M its initial target: On a goal of $75 million, the campaign has now raised $91 million, an impressive 121.3 percent of the original target.

And he announced a new goal: to raise another $34 million in the next two years and reach a How Far? total of $125 million.

“One-hundred and twenty-five million is a lot.”

Ford acknowledged. “Yet, who knew how far we could see when we started this campaign?

We saw far, far past our initial goals.”

How Far? gifts have supported reimagining our curriculum and innovations that include a Teaching & Learning Center for faculty professional development; IdeaLabs with 3D printers and laser cutters, and coding for A Lower School student—one of a handful of students from each division—signs the final beam to be placed in the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center.

26

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FALL 2020

kindergarteners; and so much more.

NEXT UP:

The New Lower School The How Far? campaign has outperformed fundraising goals for financial aid, faculty salaries and professional development, and annual giving. The new $125 million goal reflects the need to raise more capital dollars for construction, for both the Graham Center

EwingCole, the architecture and engineering firm that designed the new baseball facility and the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center, is working on detailed architectural plans for the new lower school. This rendering dates from 2017.

and the new lower school project.

The new lower school was always envisioned as the largest capital project of the How Far? campaign but, as the campus master plan

And, on the other side, on the site of Dooney

“We significantly surpassed our goal of

Field House, a new lower school will unite all

$75 million, and the generosity of our

three divisions in a vibrant Academic Village.

donors gives us confidence. Because of that

evolved, school leaders embraced a plan to

Board clerk Jeffrey Reinhold and other school

realign the academic and athletics programs

leaders embraced the foresight of the plan.

on the two sides of campus. They approved a plan that included not one but two major construction projects: The Athletics & Wellness Center on the site of the old baseball field creates an athletics corridor on the eastern side of campus, from the scoreboard on Maguire Field all the way across to the Strawbridge Campus and Somers Field.

“This campus transformation positions Penn

generosity we can see much further than any of us anticipated when we began. Together, over the next two years, we will fulfill our Strategic Vision and end our campus

Charter to achieve its Strategic Vision and

transformation with a groundbreaking for

remain in the city, in East Falls, for another 50

a new lower school.”

PC

years and beyond.”

Building not one but two new state-of-the-art facilities changed the campaign math.

“The school is uniquely positioned to move

CELEBRATE OUR SUCCESS. Watch the How Far? video at campaign.penncharter.com.howfar125

forward with a goal of $125 million,” Ford said.

HOW FAR WE HAVE COME Endowment: Increased by 40 percent to $98.9 million Annual Giving: Growth beyond industry standards Enrollment: Strongest ever Facilities In addition to the IdeaLabs, the How Far? campaign has supported construction of significant new facilities: Maguire Stadium Field Expansion of Strawbridge Campus with the acquisition of 2.7 adjacent acres Palaia Field and baseball facility on the expanded Strawbridge Campus Renovations to Studio Theater, Perrott Field and the pool Completion of Graham Athletics & Wellness Center Construction of new lower school WE NEED YOU! Contact the Development Office to get involved and to discuss your gift to the How Far? Campaign.

Nicole Martz, assistant director of development, 215.844.3460 ext. 265 or nmartz@penncharter.com.

FALL 2020 •

27

William Penn Charter School

Then & Now

1966

Joseph Pasterchik, reading teacher in the 1960s and '70s.

2020 28

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FALL 2020

Fifty-four years later, different educational tools like Smart Boards, Google Meets, 1:1 laptops—as well as covid-19 health and safety protocols—are on display in Jeff Humble's Middle School science class.

ALUMNI

Class Notes

Class Notes

Penn Charter magazine wants to hear from you, and your classmates do, too! Submit your news (limit 150 words) and photos at penncharter.com/classnote. Digital photos should be 300 dpi JPEGs.

1689 Bruce MacCullough writes, “I am enjoying my retirement (I prefer ‘re-wirement’) and to my surprise, in roughly April 2019, I felt an inner impulse to write a book, Jesus Beyond Religion: The Truth that Sets You Free. The book is a culmination of my faith journey of many decades and offers a discussion that criticizes ‘the many weeds of religion,’ but behind which there remains the wonderful, broad and inspiring message arising from Jesus and the Hebrew prophets.

It is concise and presents a compelling way of life that leads to ‘fullness of life,’ including a deep involvement in working for the wellbeing of all of God’s children.” Bruce’s book is available on Amazon.

1950 Richard T. Claus writes, “Since retirement 23 years ago as the CEO of an industrial chemical company, I have immersed myself in a longtime hobby of collecting antique toys. As frivolous as this may seem, it has not only been personally rewarding but profitable. The driving force is the history

of the objects and what they represent. The research required is often quite daunting. I have also authored and published two books and many articles on the subject. Hopefully this will continue to spark my interest as the years progress.”

Allen W. Donahower writes, “My wife, Ann, died nine years ago. I am living in Florida and at the Jersey shore. My three sons and eight grandkids are all well.”

William S. Kurtz writes, “We’re still in Washington, D.C., on the Hill. Christine and I are both retired now. I’m busy writing and publishing. My first book, Letters from a Soldier, is a collection of WWII letters from the European theater, including the Battle of the Bulge. Proud to say, it is being included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. Working on a six-volume children’s book of letters from a group of animals. First volume was published last year; number two might make it by the end of the year. Christine stays busy being grandma and keeping us going on the homefront. Having cancelled our usual trek to an island in Northern Michigan, we are working our way through quarantine, waiting to be liberated. We’re using the time to restore a bedroom in our old Victorian row house and visiting our daughter and her family in Alexandria, including a new grandson.” When Bill wrote, he and Christine were awaiting the birth of their first great-grandchild, in Madrid.

Christopher W. Parker writes, “This selfquarantine bit for the virus has slowed things down a lot for Janie and me. We did our annual stay in Sanibel, Fla., in JanuaryFebruary, but things were very slow; didn’t go out for dinner at all or even get to see Bon and H. Curtis Wood in Naples. A bit of a bust. Not

much going on back here either. Our 70th PC reunion got cancelled, of course, rescheduled for next year. Look forward to that. Daughter Pam Nauen and family are nearby and we do cross paths a lot. Granddaughter Sammy Nauen is now in sixth grade at PC, and all think PC did a first-class job with remote teaching last spring. Good to hear. Hope many ’50 classmates will make it back for our rescheduled 70th.”

H. Curtis Wood was elected treasurer of the Paradise Coastmen Barbershop Chorus in January and has spent a lot of time since then mastering the task. “No rehearsals or performances because of covid-19. Bonnie and I continue to enjoy life here in Naples, Fla., where the weather is great and we remain active on campus.”

1951 W. Michael Cassell Jr. writes, “I try to keep in touch with Old Penn Charter every 60 years or so, so here it goes. I graduated from Colgate University and earned three master’s degrees from the Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia and Temple University. I was ordained a priest and wound up serving as rector and headmaster in parishes from Washington state to New Jersey. Upon my retirement from parish ministry, I served as a fundraiser for Food for the Poor, raising millions of dollars for the poverty-stricken of the Caribbean, from Haiti to Dominica. We build schools, houses, leprosariums and much more. I have five successful children and was married to Sharon Cassell, a psychotherapist, until her death five years ago. At present, I live in Delray Beach, Fla. I have lived in Florida since 1985. I miss the excellent teachers I was blessed with while at PC.”

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ALUMNI

Class Notes

1952 Arthur U. Ayres and his wife, Ann, live at Valle Verde (a retirement community in Santa Barbara, Calif.). He writes, “Prior to covid, we were playing tennis and I was working two half days a week. We hope to get back to tennis and pickleball.”

William H. Brehm reports that he is doing well in Florida.

Eugene M. Cheston reports that he enjoyed many escapades flying with classmate Michael N. Wood in his plane in the early years, and then flying became an important activity in his life. Gene, who retired as a managing director of Morgan Stanley in NYC, spent the greater part of his career reporting to former company president Richard B. Fisher OPC ’53. He has been blessed with nearly 60 years of marriage and two wonderful children.

was in his studio producing his Red Relics, an assemblage of recycled metal parts painted Calder red. Weather permitting, he was on his farm, doing tractor chores.

Martha is an artist and has a home-based studio, so all was good, and Limousine, their doxie, loves this lifestyle.

David M. Jordan has now published 13 books, his most recent a biography of Robert A. Lovett. He reports that attempting a 14th book during “covid-limited” outside research activities might be too frustrating.

Dave’s grandson Charlie Jordan-Weinstein OPC ’20 graduated from Penn Charter (virtually) and started at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. His granddaughter, Grace, is in 10th grade at PC.

William (Wally) A. Loeb, George C. (Skip) Corson Jr. and Penny Brodie have kept in close touch over the years.

William J. McGuckin and Carol enjoyed their summer home on Lake Mooselookmeguntic near Rangeley, Maine.

With the covid restrictions, they went to Maine on May 1, tolerated a few late-season snowfalls, watched the ice go out and, in mid-summer, enjoyed the 75-degree lake and escaped the heat and crowds.

Joseph B. VanSciver and his wife, Carol, learned some new skills, including how to use Zoom with their family. Also, Carol was Skyping piano lessons and Joe was Skyping guitar and ukulele lessons with family. “We

George (Skip) Corson Jr. keeps busy, as always, in numerous ways for Penn Charter.

Recently, board meetings and other PC business were conducted often by Zoom or similar media. Skip is now in his 42nd year as a board member (or senior board member). Friend Penny Brodie was busy in her sign-printing business through much of the covid “lock-in,” with health-care signage often replacing the charity golf tournament business.

Frank F. Embick writes, “In January, we spent some time in Florida lounging in Naples and on Marco Island. Then, in early March, we left our high-rise condo for a dwelling closer to Mother Earth; our seventh move in Houston, all in the same zip code (don’t ask!). The new address is: 20 Villa Bend Drive, Houston, TX 77069. In April, Anna and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Miss all my classmates and only hope that we can get together in the not too distant future.”

John L. Graham reports that he and Martha were not distressed by the isolation. Jack

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FALL 2020

Michael P. Ritter, as Facebook friends may know, has enjoyed music all his life. He, along with Joseph B. VanSciver, Arthur U. Ayres and others, entertained us at PC with their Sleepless Knights music.

Until covid appeared, Mike was playing music (sax, trombone, clarinet, trumpet) every Tuesday night (for the last 17 years) with the Arcadians at the Court in Leesburg, Va., and every Thursday night in Alexandria, Va., with the Not-So-Modern Jazz Quartet. Also, wife Margo hopes to be back to her iceskating instruction soon.

ALUMNI

Class Notes are doing okay at home during this time, and while we missed summer parades, there’s lots of FaceTime with grands and friends!

Best to all!”

in physical therapy and just moved back to Tucson. Hunter is working toward a degree in education in Pensacola, Fla., and Max is an honor student at U of A.”

F. Bruce Waechter and Janet continued their visits to the Lancaster County Amish country to marvel at the productive farmland. They make a regular stop at the stand of an Amish farmer, who reports that his 12 children and their families are within a buggy’s ride away. “By contrast, we enjoyed Sunday 5 p.m. Zooms with family members, scattered hundreds or thousands of miles away.”

Edward W. Veit writes, “My three years at Penn Charter was a self-imposed disaster.

I finished ranking 59th in a class of 60. I returned for a post-graduate year, to try and improve my grades and to play soccer.

So when the senior classes were off to places like Tufts and Dartmouth, I took a position as a fingerprint clerk for the FBI in Washington, D.C. At 21, I became a patrolman for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. I had a two-year stint in the Army, then returned to D.C. and spent two years walking the beat. On one of my infrequent trips back to North Wales to visit my family, I revisited Penn Charter and ran into soccer coach Chick Conard, who asked how I was doing and I told him, "I need a life; I want to go to college." Chick got me into West Chester University, but I had to play soccer. While there, my coach got me a job at Malvern Prep establishing their soccer program.

Charles F. Wuestner and Grace are doing well at Willow Valley Communities in Lancaster. This is their 14th year living in the lush Amish countryside. They enjoy getting the Class of ’52 updates.

1953 Donald S. Luria writes, “I've been in Tucson for 39 years and dealing with our summer heat. I am almost totally retired, having resigned from 25 arts organizations, and have had some well-appreciated accolades: in Arizona, the Governor's Arts Award, Scottsdale Center of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award and Southern Arizona's Arts & Culture Alliance's Culinary Vision Award. My wife, Donna Nordin, and I are still active in culinary tours in France and California.

“I'm most proud of my four children and four grandchildren. Debbie retired after more than 32 years at Gallaudet and is living outside Washington, D.C. Cindie has become a successful real estate agent in Tucson. Michael was named assistant dean of corporate and community engagement at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Andrew is in West Hollywood and is a senior director at ADP. My oldest granddaughter got her PhD in clinical psychology and is at Boston Children's Hospital. Casey got her doctorate

“At West Chester, I became an English major and was 30 years old when I graduated. I moved to Baltimore County, Md., to work at Dundalk High School, teaching English and journalism, advising the school newspaper and coaching soccer. The soccer team gave me instant school credibility, as we went undefeated and won the county and District III championships, then went on to win three more championships and two state titles. After seven years at Dundalk, the soccer teams went 73-6-5: I had gotten players into colleges all over the East Coast, including four into the Naval Academy. I then became the soccer coach at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the soccer success continued; 1977 was the banner year. The UMBC team went 15-2, winning the Mason-Dixon Championship, ranking 19th in the country and securing a place in the NCAA Division II National

Championship tournament. In 18 years of coaching, my teams had one losing season.

“By 1976, I had two master’s degrees: one from Johns Hopkins University and a second from Loyola University Maryland. Also, I earned a FIFA class C soccer coaching license. In 1982, I became involved with TABCO, the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, eventually becoming its president in 1989 and 1991.

After retiring from the public school system in 1994, I took an adjunct position at Harford Community College, where I taught English and established the college newspaper. Then I moved to York College as an adjunct instructor of English and writing.

“In 1992, there was a reunion of Penn Charter’s 1952 IAAA championship soccer team—I went because Chick Conard would be there and I needed to thank him for ‘giving me a life.’ I learned Chick had cancer; we corresponded for several months.

I attended the 45th reunion of the Class of 1953; I finally felt I earned a place at Penn Charter.”

Former PC teacher and soccer coach Chick Conard

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Class Notes

1955 David (Hugh) Rosenbaum writes, “During lockdown at Quadrangle (my retirement home) we were not supposed to go out for anything except taking walks in the fresh air on campus. So I and a few others took that to mean we could go and work at pulling vines off the trees and were out ‘in the vines’ every day for a few hours. Strenuous and rewarding.

In the photo, that pile of vines came off a tree.

Look at the size of that root!”

1957 Thomas W. Budd writes, “I got my second hole-in-one not long ago, so now I’ve had one at age 70 and another at 80. I'm looking forward to 90 and hope I play at Pebble Beach. Attention, Bruce M. Ambler: I'm ready to take another shot at Pine Valley if you need a fourth. Happily, we still have quite a few guys left from the Class of ’57, so you all must be eating right or something.

Hope all of you are well!”

Philip L. Cohan reports, “I anticipated that becoming an octogenarian would have benefits, but so far it only means that I don’t have to remove my shoes at airport security.

Carolyn and I sold our home in D.C. and moved into an apartment, while spending

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most of our time at our place on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Recently, we were in Chestnut Hill for a funeral, and I was surprised that the town looked unchanged from my days of hanging out with Benedict (Ned) Saurino, the late Stanley (Lee) A. Brooks, J. Peirce (Butch) Anderson and James G. Masland Jr. I enjoy going back there, with all its memories and where I still have many good friends. Even though I left Philadelphia more than 50 years ago, it still feels like home.”

G. Allan Dash writes, “After 13 years on Cape Cod, my wife, Gigi, and I are settling into our new home at Garden Spot Village retirement community in Lancaster County, Pa. Thus far we haven't bumped into any fellow OPCs, despite my wearing a PC alumni cap all around the campus. I'll keep trying!”

Daniel P. Mitchell writes, “This year, the class of 1957 one by one turn 81; being one of the youngsters, I’ll be one of the last on Dec. 21, 2020. I’m sure most of us are adapting to the challenges of age-related maladies. I’m as healthy as when at Penn Charter; my only complaint is a lower back soreness that originated on my first football practice in the fall of ’56, doing a cross-body block on Albert W. Morton.

We had a championship team, and guys like Thomas W. Budd, Philip L. Cohan and Paul Wells were truly good players. I’m grateful for my junior and senior years at Penn Charter. Looking back on all the schools I attended, Penn Charter was by far my best educational experience. As for life now, Maurine, my bride of 58 years, and our five children and seven grandchildren still live in California. We sold our FM radio station in Palm Springs in 2009, and I’m learning to be a residential real estate broker for Keller Williams OC Coastal Realty of San Clemente, Calif. I have fun meeting people and assisting them in selling or finding beautiful houses in an area with perfect weather year-round. Retirement just does not appeal to me. Every day is a blessing to be savored and enjoyed.”

R. Dale Sonderup pens, “Unfortunately, last September I ‘celebrated’ the 42nd anniversary of my 39th birthday. Some day, I hope I’ll have really interesting news to pass on to you via Penn Charter magazine— something like winning the lottery or some other exciting event. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to our class mini-reunion at the soonto-be new home of Gigi and G. Allan Dash.

Barb and I lived in Reading for six years and found Lancaster County to be a great location.

Enjoy it, Dashes!"

Peter S. Stern writes, “I'm actively practicing elder law in Palo Alto, Calif., working around the restrictions imposed by covid to get documents to my clients, whether in person or via FaceTime. All of my summer travel plans went on hold due to borders being closed etc., which left a lot more time for reading, planting a vegetable garden and keeping my 1965 Pontiac Tempest on the road. I hear occasionally from James G. Masland and John E. Sjostrom, who are well, and of course follow the daily Facebook posts of G. Allan Dash.”

1959 Rob H. Ezerman, the son of a World War II veteran, has survived a brain shunt, spent 11 years in “over-the-road, big-truck driving” after he retired from medicine, is divorced and lives in Vermont. He enjoys seeing his son and two grandchildren each summer at the family’s Lake Dunmore property.

Robert R. Matzke Jr. writes, “After a long career at Monsanto Co., I retired in 1999.

My wife, Martine, and I have been married 53 years. We have two daughters and three grandchildren. In 2002, we moved from St. Louis to Denver. We divide our time between Denver and Breckenridge, Colo., where we enjoy hiking, biking and sailing in summer, then skiing and other snow sports in winter. Most years we travel, but not much in 2020. Our daughter Heather lives in Denver and recently retired as

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Class Notes senior VP, chief accounting officer of a local corporation. Her husband is a pilot and flies private jets. Our Denver grandson, Camden, just graduated from the Leeds School of Business at UC Boulder and faces a tough job market at the outset of his career. Our daughter Nika lives in Ossining, N.Y., and is a department head at Johnson & Johnson. Her husband teaches at a local high school. Our granddaughter, Ellie, is a musician in the Westchester Youth Orchestra and a varsity level athlete on her softball team. Our grandson, Max, plays bass in a jazz combo and is becoming a very good tennis player. I went to our 60th reunion in Philadelphia last year and was glad to see 11 classmates there.

Best wishes to all 1959 OPCs still on the green side of the grass.” (See photo.)

Michael P. Rauch writes, “This past year I was surprised and saddened to see how many of my classmates have passed away. I retired years ago after too many years in the computer industry and have tried to enjoy myself since. After my wife of 47 years passed away a few years ago, I downsized and moved next to my son’s family here in Lancaster County, where I’ve lived for almost 50 years. Four months of the year I stay here, doing a little gardening, a little drag racing, target shooting and reloading. Another four months of the year I live with a friend in L.A., touring the state, seeing friends, mountains and visiting wineries. (Old age has forced me to cut back on microbrewery visits.) The remaining four months I travel and have been fortunate to see a good deal of the U.S. and the world, most recently two months in France, Spain and Portugal. Last year was a tour around the Pacific, including a second visit to Vietnam since 1967-68. I’ve been

all around South America and Europe. This year, the pandemic canceled my two-month tour of Africa. I’ve been planning a trip to Italy, Venice, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul and Bucharest for a month-long river cruise to Amsterdam. Now if this damn pandemic will end, we can all enjoy life.”

1961 David L. Geyer writes, “Working with classmates to prepare for our 60th reunion next year, with the goal of making it even better than our 50th. Looks like we’ll have a great turnout! Meanwhile I’m waiting out covid in disguise.”

1960 James M. Arrison writes, “After retiring from Merrill Lynch in 2012, Susan and I moved to rural Kilmarnock, Va. We’re blessed with good health, relaxing summers at our island cottage in the 1000 Islands, Canada, Viking excursions to Eastern Europe and talented grandchildren. Our oldest is finishing his last year at the Naval Academy; two are at the University of Virginia; one is married and working in Colorado Springs while the youngest, age 10, enjoys baseball and school in McLean, Va. We intersect with classmates Alan R. McFarland, James R. Buckley, Samuel H. Francis, David A. Scott and Richard P. Allman annually at the PC golf outing, ocean sailing in the Caribbean and Mediterranean with Samuel Francis and John T. Rogers Hon. 1689; and at Army-Navy football games with Kathleen and Alan R. McFarland Jr. Tangentially through Jack Rogers, we keep up with Penny and James E. Morrison, Robert E. Ward, Charles G. Douglas and George F. Ingersoll. Jack even visited with C. Merrill Ambler in Florida. We look forward to seeing many classmates when we gather at our 60th reunion.” Pictured with Jim: Sam Francis (left).

1962 John Sheridan will be included in the exhibition “From the Ground Up,” celebrating the first 50 years of the Peters Valley School of Craft in New Jersey. The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, N.J., will present the catalogued show from October through January of 2021. John arranged an apprenticeship at Peters Valley in 1973 and 1974. His handmade stool and a cherry wood spoon (pictured) will be shown.

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Class Notes

1963 Charles L. Burrall and Penny spent time walking in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in the spring. On Memorial Day weekend, he came across the grave of Fred W. Kulicke OPC ’61, killed in the Vietnam War in 1969. “It was a very poignant experience to be drawn to this cross,” Chuck wrote, “and in the spirit of a Quaker Meeting, I felt it was worth sharing.”

Charles Kurz reports that he was in Arizona visiting Paul R. Kroekel (pictured below, right) and that he and his wife, Nicky, expected to spend most of the summer at the New Jersey seashore. “I look forward to meeting both the Class of 1963 and the Kurz Family scholars sometime soon at PC.”

1964 Scott K. Ambler writes, “My wife, Robin, and I have retired, moving from South Florida to Gibson Island, Md. (waving at all

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the folks on I-95 going the other way). Our son, Charlie, is a mechanical engineer in San Francisco and came to stay with us for a couple of months, which was the good part of the covid-19 lockdown. Our daughter, Susan, son-in-law Ashley, their 7-year-old son and twin 9-month-old daughters (pictured) all came to stay at the beginning of the lockdown and were here for the summer. They live in D.C., which was our reason for moving north.

We were last at PC for the 50th reunion in 2018 and had a great time connecting with classmates.”

Stephen M. Cushmore reports that his wife of 47 years died on Nov. 1, 2018, and he has moved to a new retirement community called Echo Lake in Malvern. He also reports he was diagnosed about four and a half years ago with Parkinson’s disease.

It hasn’t slowed him down too much yet, and he enjoys singing with a barbershop chorus called the Mainliners. Steve and his classmate and PC teammate Lee S. Ambler went to spring training in March and saw the Phillies win four games out of four before the whole thing was shut down, a few days after they left.

James R. Smith Jr. writes, “As my wife, Sylvia, and I celebrate 53 years of marriage, we have downsized to a small house for just the two of us near Reading, after 51 years of child-raising with a full house.

We have had the privilege of raising eight children, who now range in age from 51 to 21.” Foster parents for more than 20

years, James and Silvia fostered 50 children with special needs and adopted five to add to three biological children. “We now have 10 grandchildren and don't get to see all of them as much as we want. For a time, I drove a school bus for the Berks County Intermediate Unit special needs department. For 14 years, we opened our home to clients with special needs from Threshold Rehabilitation Services, similar to adult foster care. Truly, Sylvia, with such a big heart for others, has been a terrific caretaker for me, our children and our guests. And now we are back where we started, the two of us. It is both a great new adventure for us and somewhat sad as we think over all the fun and laughter and sadness and tears we shared through the decades, with lots of people in our home.

We have gotten back to Penn Charter on some PC/GA days. I enjoy deer hunting in Central Pennsylvania on Blacklog Mountain with good friends each year. I also am my son's personal care aid, as I work with him each day. We have some ideas for our next horizon, but we will do whatever God gives us the strength to do. I have always been grateful for my four years at Penn Charter. I was able to thank my parents, now deceased, for putting me under the discipleship of good men in my educational years: John F. Gummere OPC 1918, Ralph F. Palaia Sr. Hon. 1689, George B. Weigand Hon. 1689, Wilbur Braxton Hon. 1689, Coach Ray Dooney Hon. 1689. Good years, for which I am very grateful.”

Jonathan D. Stanley writes, “My wife, Dorothy Atchley, and I moved to Washington state from Ladysmith, Wis., about three and half years ago to be near our younger son, Peter, and his family (wife Liz and son Miles, age 4). Our older son, Thomas, and his wife, Huaqun Li, have a daughter, age 1, Alice (named after my mother). They live in Fairfax County, Va., which makes getting the family together difficult, and this year, just about impossible. We all enjoy good health, at least, and look forward to better times. I have never regretted attending Penn Charter,

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Class Notes even if I did not fit in well at PC after living the previous four years in Japan. In every way I feel I have been fortunate to have lived the life I have experienced.”

1965 William R. Hutchison writes, “Lots of changes for me in the past few years. I was widowed in 2018 after 42 years of marriage to Lori, and pulled through that trauma with plenty of support from children, friends and my church community. In 2018, I sold Hutchinson Consulting, retired and got remarried to Jane Carney. Our retirement plans for ambitious travel got walloped this year by covid-19 but we are enjoying the summer with kids and grandkids in the backyard and around the pool. A month ago, a new left knee moved in. I named him Louie. Ralph comes aboard at the end of September.”

Georg Jarzembowski continues to enjoy his retirement and—as a former member of the European Parliament—to thoroughly follow the developments of the European Union. His wife, Gabriela, his son, Daniel, and he were not infected by the coronavirus following the German restrictions of social distancing and of wearing masks in shops and in public transportation. He writes that he was and is very worried about the severe coronavirus situation in the States that is not comparable to that in Germany.

Frederic L. Peace notes he is “Trying to stay out of harm’s way during these crazy pandemic times, the most disruptive force in our lifetime. Helping out with Polly’s day care center, which has been open throughout, providing child care for county essential workers here in Westchester, N.Y. All members of the Peace family from East to West Coast, so far, are unscathed by the virus. I hope, classmates, that is the same with all of you.”

John David Rulon writes, “Although it is probably crazy at 73 years young, I am involved with five other adventurous people trying to launch a start-up in which I was the original inventor. QuicBloc Building Systems, Inc. has created a patented next-generation, innovative concrete block that provides a mortarless, lightweight and insulative building solution.”

1966 Stephen R. Gretz married Patricia Paarlberg on June 14, 2017, “in the garden of a villa we rented on Lake Como, Italy. Attending the wedding were our combined seven children (five are mine, two children and one fiancée are Patricia’s). Our primary residence is in South Holland, Ill., and we split our summers between time in her home on Lake Michigan and my home in East Hampton, N.Y. Tricia is a retired teacher and I am currently an investment advisor at Merrill Lynch. This is my 42nd year with the company.

Donald L. Hanlon writes, “After 35 years of university teaching, I am now a University of Wisconsin emeritus professor. My wife, Napa Chayaworakul, and I, both architects, have traveled over the years primarily in search of beautiful architecture. We prefer the old stuff. So, for example, a recent trip to Andalusia was solely to absorb the spectacular buildings and landscapes of Moorish designers in southern Spain. And we unknowingly slipped under the pandemic wire last autumn on a hunt across northern Italy for all of the buildings by Andrea Palladio, with the work of Giulio Romano as a rich dessert. Alas, no more of that for quite awhile. Not even a visit to Mexico, where I am a “permanent resident.” I send my best wishes to all my former classmates for good health and well-being.”

and more projects than our lifetime will see. We closed our graphic design business mid-2018. At the end of 2019, we both stepped away from leadership roles in local all-volunteer community services. We succeeded in securing the future of South Lincoln Resources and partners. Leaving this good work after so many years has been emotionally harder than moving on from any career path. Our attention is now turned back to much needed work on the old house and property. The worst part of staying safe at home has been not having direct contact with our kids and grandkids.”

Peter S. Linton, Leonard C. Schwarz, OPC ’61, and Allen F. Steere have been keeping in touch every Friday by Zoom.

Peter lives in Brussels, Belgium, and summered in St. Tropez, France (pictured), and hosts the phone and video chat. He goes live at 9 p.m. his time; it's 3 p.m. in Philadelphia when Allen joins in, and 12 noon in San Francisco where Leonard resides. A lot of the conversation focuses on the major sports leagues and memories of days spent at Old Penn Charter.”

Robert W. Ulmer, Randal J. McDowell and Allen F. Steere, in June 2020, walked to raise money for the Ivy Hill Therapeutic Equestrian Center. Ivy Hill provides equine therapy for more than 150 disabled children, young adults, adults and seniors in Bucks and eastern Montgomery Counties. The walk raised over $12,000 for Ivy Hill.

Peter Z. Westberg writes, “To my classmates, I salute you. Keep strong, and may God bless your loved ones.”

W. Tonner Hays and Kitty Bone are immersed in life on the Pacific Coast: “Our speck on the Pacific Rim includes a mature spruce forest, a dynamic view of the ocean

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Class Notes

1967 McKinley C. McAdoo writes, “Like everyone else, I’m coping with our new covid world. However, the highlight of the last several months was a virtual gathering with Christopher L. Allen, Robert C. Buckley, Harry S. Cherken Jr., Paul G. Harrington and William H. Safrin. I’m looking forward to getting together again with those guys very soon.”

Gareth W. Rosenau writes, “Following my retirement from the Federal Railroad Administration in 2017, I have been enjoying having more time for family, friends and travel. I’ve been on a number of wonderful trips, including spending almost a month in India last January. Of course, my travel wings have been clipped by covid-19. I’ve also spent a good amount of time in Snowmass Village, Colo., where my deceased parents had their home. My sister and brother-in-law live there during winter and summer, and I try to spend 1-2 weeks in the winter and two weeks in the summer there. I particularly enjoy hiking in the Rockies. In this photo, I am up near the continental divide, not far from Aspen.”

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Frederick S. Schofield writes, “My recently published book, A Run to Hell, Second Edition, glances at a prominent city councilman and president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, namely John (Jack) B. Kelly Jr. OPC ’45, and his Academy Award-winning sister, the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly Grimaldi, a Ravenhill grad. The first edition sold out years ago and my small publisher went belly-up. A few remaining new first editions sell on Amazon for more than $900. Meanwhile, I’m told my style matured and the characters have more depth. Go figure. In reflecting, my greatest writing influence was Mr. Schug’s English class at Old Penn Charter, where I remember telling Stephen A. Bonnie OPC ’66—or maybe Joseph A. Picardo: ‘If I fall asleep, wake me.’ Like many teachers at PC, John R. Schug Hon. 1689 was a terrific instructor and influence.

His memory lives.”

1968 Edwin S. Skinner writes, “It has been five months of self-quarantine so far! We have stayed in and go nowhere. Pamela and I Zoom with kids and grandkids every week to stay in touch. We hope everyone is safe and stays healthy!”

Samuel M. Wilson writes, “While taking measures related to covid-19, I've journeyed inward and have read more by James Cone and Howard Thurman. I'm currently enjoying reading Thurman's impressive autobiography, With Head and Heart. In 1929 at Haverford College, Thurman studied with and was greatly influenced by Rufus M. Jones, cousin of PC headmaster Richard Mott Jones. Thurman, in turn, was a spiritual leader to Martin Luther King Jr. “We are well and I'm still working part-time at the local Wound Center. We live in the boonies on a lake in upstate South Carolina, near the southern Appalachians—it’s a great place to self-isolate. We frequently go to a family cabin in Highlands, N.C.”

1969 Thomas M. Sadtler writes, “My wife, Jane, and I celebrated our 41st anniversary. We live in Concord, Mass. We have two children, Hannah and Sam (pictured). Hannah lives in New Orleans, and Sam lives in Brooklyn. Jane and I have graduated from full-time work and are both now part-time executive coaches.

Jane coaches for the Startup Innovation Forum and I work for a start-up in San Francisco called BetterUp. The coaching is almost all through video. It is very rewarding for both of us. In addition to the U.S., I’ve coached people in India, Canada and Mexico.

This is one of the ways I give back. We live in a small house, but there is always an extra bed. I am glad to host anyone who comes to Boston from my class or from PC looking at the many colleges in Boston.”

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Class Notes

1970

1972

1973

George J. Hauptfuhrer lives in Atlanta and has been in the investment profession since 1979. Since 2006, he has been an investment consultant with Prime Buchholz LLC, serving primarily endowments and foundations. He has been married to Sally since 1981, and they have three children and five grandchildren. Over the years, George has been an active volunteer on a number of boards. He is currently a director on the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a trustee of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. (Pictured below.)

George A. (Jay) Buffum, Jr. visited Robert K. Hirshland in Los Angeles, Calif., a month before the covid-19 shutdown. Jay and his wife, Diana, have been retired for three years. They live in Randolph, N.J., and are traveling to enjoy retirement. Bob is still working at JP Morgan Chase. He and his wife, Rasa, are doing great, with thoughts of perhaps retiring in the Santa Barbara area in a couple of years.

Glenn S. Koach and J. Craig Shields hiked up a mountain north of Santa Barbara, where he lives, to get to a natural hot springs.

John W. Burkhart writes, “Having retired after 40 years of teaching history and advising 40 Penn Charter Class Records, I have yet to develop a marketable skill.”

[Editor’s note: Penn Charter disputes this.]

1974 Albert Monroe Greenfield III shares how much he looks forward to weekly calls with PC classmates, coaches and teachers.

Monroe resides in Villanova with his wife, Wendy, and enjoys time spent with his three sons and granddaughters; taking long walks with his dog, Rhett; singing; throwing a baseball or football around; and a good cheesesteak from Dalessandro’s. He reports that he is very grateful for his classmates and PC connections.

Robert C. Maiocco writes, “Living the dream of a retired PC graduate who wakes up and plays golf or tennis or reads or day trades or looks for the next vacation spot.

Can’t wait to see my PC classmates.”

1971 Daniel W. Reese shares, “I was at OPC from second grade on, was captain of three sports (golf, tennis and squash) and was on the soccer team for three years. Bert Linton was our golf coach. I was all-Inter-Ac, second team, in soccer, and led two student strikes: one for changing the dress code and eliminating neckties, the second to change the way blues and yellows were selected for Color Day. Before our sit-down strike, if a team was short, vacancies were filled by only the grade below; after the strike an equal number from upper and lower grades were selected. And yes, neckties were eliminated.

I went on to Trinity College in Hartford and Columbia Business School.”

Stephan M. Pulst writes, “We as a family of physicians have been dealing with covid in different locations on the globe. Julie (Korenberg) and I are living our professional life by Zoom, doing research and seeing patients at the University of Utah from our home in Utah. Our daughter is an emergency doc in Saipan, and our son is a neurologist on the faculty at USC. Fortunately, everyone has stayed healthy, especially our daughter who is on the front lines in an under-resourced part of the U.S. We miss getting back to our house in L.A. and getting together with Robert K. Hirshland and Rasa.”

David C. Hahn shares, “As I write, we are all enduring the mass grief and restrictions due to the pandemic, as well as the public anger over long-term systemic racism that continues to plague our society. The economic shock of these issues affects everyone. I continue to work on music at this difficult time. Despite the fact that rehearsing and studio recording is impossible, I am working remotely with musicians who contribute their parts online.” Hear David’s new works at soundcloud.com/davidhahn.

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Class Notes Kevin B. Hughes writes, “Kay is going into her fourth year at Mount Holyoke College.

Claire and Bridget both graduated high school from Winchester-Thurston School in Pittsburgh. Claire is headed for Oberlin College in Ohio. Bridget is headed for Barnard College in NYC. “I graduated, too! In May 2020, I received a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, through their part-time distance graduate program.

My studies were concentrated in control systems and power electronics. In contrast, my first MSEE from Pitt in 1983 was focused on power systems and electric machine theory. It was very satisfying that one of my books from PC senior year (Mr. Linton’s calculus class) was a key reference for part of my thesis work at Wisconsin. The book is Calculus with Analytic Geometry, E.J. Purcell, c. 1972. Of course, there are many calculus books, but the Purcell book has an article on differentials that provided key insights that I thought were lacking in many of the other references.”

B-2 Bomber. It is an amazing company and where I spent 28 years before retiring about 2 1/2 years ago. Victoria worked for Northrop Grumman as well, as an industrial engineer. She retired, as one of my assignments relocated us to Utah for 2 1/2 years. I’ve grown to love aerospace, with some amazing experiences. Throughout it all, I’ve maintained my passion for cars, in part through meeting my best friend of now 40 years, Harold Martin, who also worked at GM and whose family drag raced professionally. I was his crew chief for many years until moving to Cali and we still stay connected on car-related ventures.

“Victoria and I are enjoying the retirement life, traveling all that we can. I serve on a couple boards and have entrepreneurial ventures underway to keep active.”

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1977 Alexander S.M. Gibson writes, “We are well in Atlanta, both personally and professionally. Over the last months I have been thinking about my ‘brothers’ more. I realize that, having gone to school with these boys, I have been blessed to be connected with so many good men. Having good people in one's life is a lesson that I have shared with my three daughters, and in June we were blessed to welcome a second granddaughter, Juliet Corinne, to this world where ‘Good Instruction Is Better than Riches.’"

Arthur G. Lofton writes, “My wife, Victoria, and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary. We don’t have any kids, but we spoil our friends’ (and send them back).

“I attended Carnegie Mellon for mechanical engineering and landed a summer internship with GM engineering staff in Warren, Mich. Truly a dream job for a car nerd, and post-graduation, I stayed for six years. I had my first exposure to aerospace as I transitioned to Williams International, a Michigan company that does jet engines for cruise missile and business jets. As a test engineer, I ended up with responsibility for all the West Coast programs, which required me to relocate to Southern California. This was a life-changing assignment, as I met my wife there. A six-month assignment turned into seven years, and we decided that we preferred the sunshine of Cali. I then joined Northrop Grumman on the

Brent Sherwood received the Columbia Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers in March 2020, for “demonstrated leadership and dedication to space exploration, space architecture and in situ resource utilization. He has made a lasting impact on space exploration and continues to make leaps toward human settlement of the moon and eventual lunar mining ventures.” Based in Seattle, Brent leads the orbital and planetary business unit of Blue Origin, a company dedicated to enabling millions of people to live and work in space. The Blue Origin National Team was selected by NASA to begin to develop the Artemis Human Landing System that will put astronauts on the moon again.

1975 James C. Garvey III reports that the class of 1975 hosted a video call that was wellattended and enjoyed by all, and they hope to host another one in the new year.

1976 Michael J. Andris purchased the franchise for the cleanup and reconstruction company SERVPRO of North East Chester County last year, working with sons Mike and Chris.

Brooke D. Steytler writes, “I'm teaching virtual Teen Animation and Cartooning for Kids for ArtFusion 19464 in Pottstown. I hope to get back to in-person teaching soon, but for now this is the way to go!”

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Class Notes

1978 Dag-Daniel Dittert reports that he was pleased to attend, from Germany, a virtual Meeting for Worship as part of the OPConnect series last spring. “You are friends to me. And I love having gone to a Friends school with Jews, Muslims, Christians and others. I like the idea that the PC community has become even more diverse since then.” Pictured: Sipping coconut water in Cuba.

Mark J. Mendel writes, “I am still in Seattle; loving it and getting out often, skiing and climbing. I’ve recently co-founded 3C Bio, Inc., where we aspire to build mobile coronavirus testing laboratories to bring massive-throughput covid-19 testing to the workplace to clear it of asymptomatic infected individuals and thereby make it safe to return to normal operations.”

Allan Rosen-Ducat writes, “I am on the verge of publishing my first illustrated children’s book, titled In the Time of the Dented-Pan & The Strange Quiet. The main character in the story is the representative of my new children’s illustrated book brand, Mashuga Moose®. I live in Arizona with my wife. We sold our cabin in Maine due to covid; couldn’t get there.”

1980 1979 Richard A. Bedford writes, “I have been married for 34 years to my wife, Lisa, whom I met the second day of college. We have two sons, Rich (30) and Chris (28). I left Novo Nordisk in Princeton this year after 21 years as an executive sales manager for New York and New Jersey in the biopharm division of a California-based gene therapy company called BioMarin. We’ve lived in the NYC area in Bergen County, N.J., for the last 30 years. In my free time, I’m an NCAA men's lacrosse official, as well as a NYC high school basketball and NYS lacrosse ref and NJ football official. In the last few years, I have done a lot of volunteer work with the U.S. Navy corpsmen, NYC homeless and North Jersey police. Life has been good, and I wish I could get back to the Philly area and PC more often.”

B. Graeme Frazier shares, “It is pretty amazing that it's been 40 years since we graduated from PC! It was interesting to have the Zoom reunion call with some faces I hadn't seen for a long time. Becky and I still live in the area. Our two older kids are out of college and living independently, and our youngest is a junior in high school.”

Walter R. Grund writes, “Although the cancellation of our Asian overseas trip to Laos, Vietnam and Thailand was a disappointing result of the summer of covid-19, our family is thankfully doing well during this global pandemic. I’m currently working as the sous chef of the prepared foods department at Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting, after 18 years as a culinary instructor at the now-closed Art Institute of Philadelphia. My wife, Betsy (the more essential front-line worker in our family) is a nurse practitioner at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

Hopefully, if all goes well next year, we can

book our long-planned trip to the Greek Islands to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary!”

1981 Roy L. Hirschland writes, “Greetings from Cape Cod. My wife and I are hunkering down here for the time being. Typically, I split my time between the cape and our home in Boston's Back Bay. I am CEO of a real estate company. Our daughter heads to grad school this fall to get her master’s in medical ethics and philosophy of science. Very proud of her.

My main Penn Charter interaction is with my brothers Michael J. Hirschland OPC ’84, Laurence S. Hirschland OPC ’82 and Robert K. Hirshland OPC ’72. I still remain the bestlooking of the "Hirsh" brothers! We reminisced the other day about having Gino Giants with friends for off-campus lunch on some days and cheesesteaks the other days. Wow. Stay safe, everyone.”

1982 Gary C. Adler writes, “I'm living in Portland, Ore., with my wife, Leah, and daughter, Elinor, who was named after my mom. At the end of 2019, I retired from the FBI, after 23 years as a special agent.”

Frank K. Clyburn Jr. has been named chief commercial officer at Merck.

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Class Notes

1983 Eric M. Wilcots was just named dean of the College of Letters & Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

1984 Calvin B. Johnson has been named global head, public health and chief medical officer of the Royal Caribbean Group. In this new role, Johnson will lead the group’s global health and wellness policy, manage its public health and clinical practice, and determine the strategic plans and operations of its global health care organization. Calvin, most recently principal at Altre Strategic Solutions Group, is the former chief medical officer for Corizon Health and for Temple University Health System. He served as secretary of health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2003-2008, and was medical director for the New York City Department of Health, 1998-1999. He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a master of public health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a BS in chemistry from Morehouse College.

1985 Thomas F. Burke shares, “I just finished my 30th year of teaching high school mathematics (nine years at the Hun School

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of Princeton; 21 years at Pennsbury High School). My family has been living in Bucks County, since 1995. We have four awesome children: Christina, Sarah, Mary and Thomas.

The two older ones are out of college, and Mary is at the University of Pittsburgh studying speech pathology. Thomas has two years of high school left at Pennsbury.

Barb, my wife, is a nurse with Patient First. I volunteer for two ministries. For Bucks County Food Runners, I coordinate volunteers to pick up excess food from establishments and take it to food banks, food pantries and homeless shelters. I also work with BeHumankind, which sells iced teas, lemonades and bottled water, with the funds going toward purchasing, building and installing wells in several countries for people to have clean water for drinking, cleaning and washing. If anyone is interested in getting involved with making this world a better place for others through one or both of these nonprofits, please contact me at TFBurkeJr@gmail.com. I hope all is well with everyone in the class of 1985 and your families!”

1986 Mark B. Shoemaker writes, “After 25 years in private law practice, I was appointed as a judge of the superior court of New Jersey in September of 2019. I found it difficult to leave my practice behind, with many memories and lasting relationships with all of my clients, but I felt driven to serve my community by committing the remainder of my legal career to the bench. I reflected on what my father, B. Dawson Shoemaker OPC ’50, left behind as a legacy through his passion for family medicine, and decided to take on a new challenge and serve our neighbors in my own way. I celebrate my 27th anniversary with my wife, Tonya, this year, and our son, Zachary, attends Stockton University, studying criminal justice.”

1987 Leon D. Caldwell’s efforts to build community-based talent took another step forward, as he is closing in on a location in West Philadelphia to start STEAMIE, STEM-based skills development for underrepresented communities. He writes that he continues to be overscheduled in the pursuit of making the world a better place than he found it, but still found a window in the pandemic to go fishing with Mark L. Butler and Abraham Dunmeyer (pictured) and to heckle his classmates on social media.

1988 Sydney H. Coffin writes, “I was living out of the country for a yearlong sabbatical, but swung through Philadelphia before heading back to Paris to meet with a former student of mine, poet Alphonzo Lake. After being in three of my classes every day, we've maintained a close friendship over the years and published two companion articles about how teachers can impact the lives of at-risk youth.

“I was saddened to read of Joe Perrott’s death during the onset of covid-19 this spring but want to share how much I loved him as a teacher at Penn Charter. I am confident that all of my teachers at PC collectively helped me learn the value of good instruction—the very motto of our alma mater, and the day

ALUMNI

Class Notes Mr. Perrott told us to go find a phone and call someone we loved but whom we had not told this to, well, we all have our own story, but I wish I could call him now. The gift he gave us that day, and in reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Chandler, persists in giving my life meaning, least of all that I spent the past two decades teaching high school English.”

Robert W. Moser writes, “I continue educating tomorrow's future leaders as a third grade teacher for the School District of Philadelphia, and recently completed my second master's degree in education.

My son Devon, 18, graduated from Villa Victoria Academy and is attending Penn State University; he’s excited to begin this educational chapter and hopes to become a clinical therapist and then go on to become a doctor of psychiatry. I have enjoyed keeping in touch with Wes Humphreys, and Andrew Smith and my brother Thor Moser, both OPC ’82. Although life has been challenging with our global and local issues, we continue to support and lean on each other throughout these tough times. I remember all the support from PC teachers like Mr. Rogers and Mr. Smith, and enjoyed a laugh finding a copy of The Mirror from decades ago while helping my mom clean out her house. It was that support during my 13 years at PC that continues to drive and motivate me.”

Derek L. Riddick reports, “While I eagerly prepared in March to celebrate my 10th year as owner and head trainer of Strikezone Mixed Martial Arts, the coronavirus had other plans for us. With the New Jersey executive order to close all gyms and fitness centers, not to mention a statewide shelterat-home mandate, we faced an uncertain future. In the midst of this gloom and misery, however, there were some bright spots for my wife, Romy, and me. Our kids saved the day. Our daughter, Savanna, graduated from eighth grade and is excited for the high school era. Our son, Austin, finished up at Georgetown, still beaming with

pride after winning the 2019 NCAA soccer championship. He headed to Harvard Law this fall. Best regards to all in the PC community. Stay safe. Be well.”

1989 Jeremy A. Dubin writes, “I am boardcertified in family and addiction medicine and am medical director of the largest network of outpatient addiction treatment centers in Colorado. We have over 50 points of care throughout the state and have clinics embedded in syringe-access centers, homeless shelters and counseling centers, as well as brick-and-mortar clinics and statefunded roving RVs that cruise throughout rural Colorado. I continue to speak locally, nationally and internationally on the field of addiction medicine. In April, I was honored by my medical school as a PCOM Hero of the Frontline. I am who I am today because of PC in so many ways.”

Erich J. Herbert writes, “I work as a media and marketing strategist for Boston 25/ Cox Media Group, a local broadcast news organization where I get to meet cool and interesting people. I live in southern New Hampshire, about 45 minutes outside of Boston, with my wife, Tammy, and two sons, William (19) and Brendan (17). William is currently going to the University of Maine, studying mechanical engineering and is part of the Maine Army National Guard. Brendan is a sophomore at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where he is a leader on the lacrosse field as well as in the classroom.”

Kenneth C. Murray reports, “A few members of the Class of ’89 had a small Zoom cocktail hour earlier this summer.

Christopher D. Ball, Brian D. Gallagher, Graham E. Michener, Mitchell L. Simon, Neil B. Tanner and I enjoyed catching up.”

Christopher M. O’Dell writes, “Greetings from Houston! After graduating from Rice University in 1993, I tended bar at a pub in London, got a graduate degree in history from NYU, worked in city government in NYC, met and married my lovely wife, Therese, and then moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane Law School. We welcomed our first son, North (now a sophomore in college), during my second year. After law school, we moved back to Houston where I began practicing commercial litigation. Along the way, we were joined by Henry (now a junior in high school).

In 2014, I helped open Arnold & Porter LLP’s Houston office, where I am now the managing partner. Still keep in touch with a number of fellow OPCs, including Christopher D. Ball (who moved to Houston last year), J. Eric Docktor, Brian M. Donaghy and Justin A. Sheetz. I’ve contrived to miss every class reunion so far for one reason or another, but I promise to make the next one!”

1990 Reuven (Richard) Dressler writes, “I have been living in Ma’ale Adumim, Israel (a Jerusalem suburb) for the past 14 years with my wife and six children, ages 3-17. I work as a family doctor with an additional focus in the field of addictions, most specifically to prescription medications. I served two years regular service in the Israel Defense Forces (a PC first?) and continue with plenty of reserve duty. Got involved with a group of guys starting up lacrosse in Israel and played for the national team in the Denver world championships back in 2014. Have tons of great memories of school, and owe PC a huge debt of gratitude. Anybody that comes over here (after covid), please give me a call.

Drinks and dinner on me.” (See the alumni profile on Reuven on p. 14.)

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Class Notes

1991 William A. Gallagher received the Elite Business Advisors’ prestigious Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation and joins an international community of business advisors as part of the Exit Planning Institute. Bill recently earned the designation after completing the Institute’s intensive executive MBA-style program.

1993 Laurel Neff writes, “Greetings from Northern Virginia. After a year, I'm changing jobs again. Last year I served as the Medical Corps deputy corps chief for all physicians in the Army. It was a humbling and remarkable experience as I took on topics like recruitment and retention, and maintaining skills despite fewer trauma cases (which is a blessing and a curse). Now I’m transitioning to serve a year as command surgeon at the National Defense University on Fort McNair, followed by a year as a student at the Eisenhower School. My family is doing well and has done a remarkable job of taking on distance learning; we are cautiously optimistic that next year they will be back with friends. Last night, we were reading about William Penn, and it gave me a chance to reflect on my experiences at PC. I pray for all of you to remain healthy, both mentally and physically, during these chaotic times.”

Victor S. Olshansky writes, “When the bars and restaurants shut down in March, we were uncertain what would become of ZÍAMI Rum, but rather than close up shop, we decided to transform the distillery into a hand sanitizer factory. So far, we've produced close to 300,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and related alcohol products.

Our customers have included a number of large corporations, government agencies and school districts, but we've also been able to donate a significant portion to first responders and nonprofit organizations.

Fortunately, we're all staying healthy.”

1996 Rachel Sigman, after almost nine years with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, has accepted a position with the American Friends of the Hebrew University as the new Philadelphia director.

In her new role, she plans to increase the visibility of this prestigious institution locally and engage alumni and friends in programming. “I'd love to hear from anyone who studied abroad! I can be reached at rsigman@afhu.org.”

1997 Rachel Elfenbein recently published her book, Engendering Revolution: Women, Unpaid Labor, and Maternalism in Bolivarian Venezuela, with the University of Texas Press.

Gurtej Singh became a partner in the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland division. CAO is one of the nation’s largest private orthopaedic groups.

Gurtej specializes in interventional spine care as a key opinion leader in the field of neuromodulation and the use of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain. More recently, he has expanded into the fields of microspine and endoscopic spinal decompression surgery, advancing patient care without the need for open spine surgery. In 2017, Gurtej did a fellowship in stem cell and regenerative medicine, which remains a cutting-edge tool in helping patients use their natural healing factors without repeated steroid injection. While he missed seeing everyone at the 20th reunion, he hopes all are staying safe and finding their own happiness each day.

1998 Michael B. McCrossen writes, “Since moving back from Miami, I have been practicing criminal defense for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender in Camden. I have also had a great time teaching and coaching PC students in the Philadelphia Bar Association's High School Mock Trial Competition for the past three years.”

1999 Christopher T. Glowacki and his wife, Emily, are proud to announce their new business venture, 2nd Family Main Line, a nonmedical senior home-care business.

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ALUMNI

Class Notes Located in Ardmore, the company assists families in need of in-home elderly care, including help with daily activities, errands, housekeeping and meal preparation. Chris serves as director of operations, while Emily, RN, BSN, serves as the company’s director of nursing. Married since 2008, Chris and Emily live in Wallingford with their two children.

2000 Adam K. Sperling writes, “Life in Connecticut has been good in spite of the chaos that’s surrounded us. I recently finished my 15th year at Hopkins School in New Haven. Back in February, I received the NEPSAC (New England Prep School Athletic Council) Wrestling Coach of the Year award, and our program had its first All-American since the early ’80s. In March, as the country was closing its doors, we welcomed our second son, Felix Irving, to

the world. Since then, Leslie and I have embraced the challenge of teaching with two boys under 2 in the house. It has led to interesting classes, as Theodore has “helped” me teach pre-calculus and enjoyed “singing” along with Leslie's French classes.

Also, in June, I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of Kathryn and Kyle Cousin; it was a beautiful backyard ceremony at their home in Weston, Mass.”

Isaac (Ziggy) Whitman writes, “My wife, Sanja, and I have finally settled ourselves back in Philadelphia with our three children (ages 10, 8 and 7), after having moved back in 2017 from San Francisco. Most recently, we have had the great pleasure of buying our first home—from Mrs. Scarpato, our former gentle and wonderful librarian. Mrs. Scarpato, her husband, and her children, Victoria C. Scarpato OPC ’01 and Victor W. Scarpato OPC ’04, have been wonderful in sharing their memories from their East Falls home and welcoming us into it as they

Jason S. Harrow OPC ’02 writes, “I got to argue in the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time, but because of social distancing, I did it from my office via conference call. The highlight was when I was asked by Justice Clarence Thomas whether Frodo Baggins, from Lord of the Rings, could be president. I reminded Justice Thomas that no, Frodo is fictional, so any vote for him would be invalid. It was a great experience, but I hope that if and when I get to do it again, it's in person at the podium. And if that happens, I'll save seats for as many of my OPC ’02 friends as I can; they’ve been my biggest fans. Here's a picture of it on C-SPAN. Hope all is well in Philly! I miss PC.”

moved on. Our kids go to Germantown Friends School and Miquon, I am a cardiac electrophysiologist at Temple, and my wife is a private investigator and also does pro bono work for the Innocence Project. I miss hanging with Daniel K. McKenna OPC ’01 and the Roslyn boys in San Francisco, but it's nice to be home.

2007 Samuel S. Biddle is going back to graduate school at Penn to study integrated product design. Human-centered design is at the heart of the program, which brings together design, engineering and business perspectives to create new products and experiences.

Shannon Harrington relocated to Germany to be the director of people for Das Lab, a digital platform for diagnostics testing with a current focus on covid-19 testing.

2008 Eric Binswanger reports, “In addition to my wedding news (see marriages), I also started my first official job as a TV writer on Shantaram, an upcoming Apple TV+ series based on the bestselling novel.”

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Class Notes Kashif O. Smith graduated from Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine— Emergency Medicine Residency Program.

He recently moved to Reading, where he has begun work as an emergency department attending physician at Reading Hospital, the busiest ED in the state of Pennsylvania.

2009 Matthew D. Byrne writes, “After graduating from Penn in 2013, I stayed for three years studying Parkinson's disease in the laboratory of Dr. Virginia Lee. Currently, I'm finishing my fourth year of a neuroscience PhD at Thomas Jefferson University with Dr. Richard Smeyne, where I study Parkinson's disease and its interaction with viral infections, namely the influenza virus.

Recently, our group has been invited to use our expertise to study how SARS-CoV2 affects the brain.”

the eyes of Barbara now, a woman who has worked hard to accept herself and a disorder that she cannot change. The Trichster Diaries is available on Amazon.

Samuel H. Lerner shares, “I proposed to my fiancée Sarah Layng on July 2, 2020, on Chebeague Island, Maine. We live in NYC and are getting married next October.”

Barbara Lally published her first book, The Trichster Diaries, in which she takes you on her journey toward self-acceptance with trichotillomania, a disorder that involves repetitive, irresistible urges to pull out body hair. The story begins through the eyes of a scared, insecure girl and finishes through

A Cherished Keepsake An OPC received a special keepsake from the family of his “favorite teacher ever,” the late Marta Zamora.

Derek Speranza OPC ’08 was presented with his former Spanish instructor’s Penn Charter Windsor chair, given to faculty and staff upon retirement, at an informal dinner ceremony planned by his friend Phil Cooke OPC ’11, son of PC board member Grace Sharples Cooke.

The Cookes were well aware of Speranza’s fondness for Zamora, and when they learned she would be selling her house in Chestnut Hill to live in Costa Rica year-round, they helped the family arrange for the chair to be transferred into good hands. They surprised Speranza by presenting him with the distinctive black spindle-back Windsor at their house one evening in September.

The keepsake became all the more meaningful when Zamora, who had battled cancer for years, passed away several weeks later from complications during surgery.

Speranza remembers his teacher best for her dry but generous sense of humor and for her intellectual range; class discussions often revealed Zamora’s extensive knowledge of everything from chemistry to the arts to sports. “I learned so much about every subject in her classes,“ he said, referring to Zamora as “basically a polymath.” The two stayed in touch after Speranza’s graduation.

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Derek Speranza at OPC Weekend 2018 with classmates Hannah Campbell and Katherine Damm.

Zamora joined the PC faculty as foreign language chair in 1995 and retired in 2013 at the end of a 40-year teaching career. During her 18 years at PC, she restructured the foreign language department to align with national standards for language instruction, organized and chaperoned countless trips, founded PC’s Cultural Arts Series, and even co-coached Middle School boys soccer.

She passed away on Oct. 9, 2020 at age 76.

ALUMNI

Class Notes Michael D. Massaro (pictured, right) recently became the commanding officer of USCGC SITKINAK (WPB 1329), which is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Portland, Maine. Mike’s primary missions are fisheries law enforcement and search and rescue.

Justin Renfrow is taking the year off from pro football due to covid-19. He and Khaaleedah A. Smith met up at Parc in Philadelphia to scout out restaurants for Justin’s new cooking show, What’s Cooking JR?

Daniel Jarzembowski was awarded the title “Dr. iur.” (doctor of law), magna cum laude, last year for his thesis on “Basic Principles for a European Corporate Groups’ Liability for Privately Held Limited Liability Companies.” At present he is finalizing the last stage of his two-year legal internship and afterward expects to work as an attorney in Hamburg.

Elyse Wilkinson is excited to be moving back home to Philadelphia after spending three years in Los Angeles as a senior consultant at EY. This fall, she will be starting the full-time MBA program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Go Quakers!

2010 Mick C. Foley writes, “I completed my doctorate of physical therapy in May 2019 at Neumann University. I currently live in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood. I treat athletes, orthopedic injuries, patients diagnosed with osteoporosis, and those with balance difficulties. Looking forward to seeing some OPCs at Dan Mamalat’s wedding, as long as it happens this year.”

2011 Jeffrey Naids writes, “Married my high school sweetheart, Rebecca Tamarkin, in September 2019. We began dating while I was a senior at PC and never looked back. In late 2019, we moved to Long Island, N.Y., where we are both third-year resident physicians at the Nassau University Medical Center. I am in radiology and she is in physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation). We hope to return to the Philadelphia area after our training, to start a family and a practice.”

Margaret A. Hilton was engaged to Kevin McCormick in Kiawah Island, S.C., earlier this summer. The two are planning to marry next year.

2012 Emma Cataldi is engaged to her boyfriend, Jake Stevelman. They live together in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and work for Facebook.

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Class Notes MaryKate O’Brien got engaged to Michael Boland in Rittenhouse Square on New Year’s Eve. They celebrated with family and friends, many of whom were fellow OPCs. Danielle Sienko, the ultimate friend, hid in a bush to take pictures of the engagement live. MaryKate also recently joined the Penn Charter development team as the assistant director of alumni relations. She welcomes you to visit Timmons as soon as campus is back open to visitors.

2014 Jordan A. DellaValle graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 and has been working in San Francisco ever since. Recently switching jobs, Jordan now works for Windfall Data, a company that serves nonprofit and for-profit organizations by providing actionable consumer financial data.

on comparative HIV prevention programs in Europe and North America as the topic of their thesis and hopes to translate their findings into policy reforms that will improve HIV prevention in the United States.

Sami Pathak, at Washington University in Saint Louis, received the Nishi Luthra Senior Prize for outstanding performance in physics courses.

2015 Emily Barkann writes, “This past July, I was honored to win a Sports Emmy Award in the Outstanding Trans-Media Sports Coverage category for my work as an associate producer on NFL Media's NFL 100 Greatest & All-Time Team. Rather than going to a fun awards show, I heard the news from my backyard in typical pandemic fashion.”

Jonathan Weiss is a first-year bioengineering PhD student at Stanford University, conducting research on the development of 3D bioprinted heart tissues for human therapeutics.

DEATHS

2013

Former Teachers

Kathryn S. Decker and her boyfriend, Keegan, bought their first house together in Horsham.

Stephen P. Weislogel, on June 10, 2020.

Henry B. McIlvaine is currently living in Philadelphia and working as an application engineer at Flowserve.

2016 Thomas M. Freitag has been selected as the recipient of the Kanders Churchill Scholarship, which supports the completion of a master's degree in public policy at the University of Cambridge. Thomas will focus

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Stephen taught Latin from 1967 to 1978 and served as chair of the Foreign Language Department in his last year.

Marta Zamora, on Oct. 9, 2020.

Marta was a Spanish teacher from 1995 to 2013; for many of those years she also served as chair of the Foreign Language Department.

Read more at penncharter.com/zamora.

ALUMNI

Class Notes 1944

1964 Michael N. Wood, on Nov. 24, 2020.

Joseph H. Kenworthy, on Nov. 16, 2020.

John T. Long Jr., on July 15, 2020.

1953

1947

1968 William H. Bux, on Nov. 22, 2020.

George S. Stewart III, on July 30, 2020.

1948

Raymond F. Green, on March 12, 2020.

1955

1975 Arthur J. Wise Jr., on Aug. 5, 2020.

Albert T. Fisher, on Nov. 27, 2020.

1950

Peter G. Balbus, on April 4, 2020.

1958

1976

Alan C. Good Sr., on July 7, 2020.

1951

Kenneth L. Jordan, on Oct. 19, 2020.

1959

1980

Wayne G. Brown, on June 30, 2020.

1952

James B. Coles, on July 12, 2020.

Forrest J. French, on Aug. 22, 2019.

David E. Smith, on May 27, 2020.

Geoffrey R. Deacon, on Jan. 2, 2020.

Jeffrey S. Mechlin, on May 22, 2020.

1961

Jeffry H. Tindall, on June 30, 2020.

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Class Notes MARRIAGES

2001 2000 Kyle Cousin married Kathryn Kuchefski on June 20, 2020.

(Pictured with Adam Sperling, left.)

Benjamin, to Emily Ballengee Renwick and Matt Renwick, on June 11, 2020. He joins big sister Alice.

2008 Eric Binswanger married Holly Hickerson, on Oct. 6, 2020. He writes, "Holly and I started dating in ninth grade after meeting during a concert with Mr. Fitzmartin's Keystone State Boychoir. There were many OPC connections at the wedding: The ceremony was officiated by Katherine Damm with an Odyssey-themed speech in a special nod to Mr. Dougherty's ninth grade English class, and Matthew Star, Nathaniel Leach, Peter M. Binswanger OPC ’06, Elizabeth L. Binswanger OPC ’10 and Julia Binswanger were all groomsmen and bridesmaids, respectively.

Fitz was even in attendance providing music for the ceremony!”

BIRTHS

2000

1997

Felix Irving, to Leslie and Adam K. Sperling, on March 7, 2020. (Pictured with big brother Theodore.)

Welles Thomas, to Tracy and Christopher J. Rodgers on Feb. 19, 2020. He joins sisters Analee (6) and Sadie (3).

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2003 Dawson Callaway, to Alexandra and Bradford R. Shields, on Oct. 2, 2019.

2004 Maxine, to Dominique L. Negron and Julien Franklin OPC ’05, on April 7, 2020.

The Annual Fund

SUPPORTS 239

(and counting) professional development courses, ranging from Google Classroom certifications to supporting students’ social and emotional well-being.

140

30+

M-audio digital pianos for the

registrations for

performing arts curriculum in the

CoderZ League, a virtual,

hybrid instructional model.

international robotics competition.

500+

cones, markers, tennis balls and more for Middle School PE classes that focus on conditioning, mobility, hand-eye coordination and fun!

Help maintain the exceptional educational experience Penn Charter’s students have always enjoyed, even when school looks a little different.

MAKE A GIFT TODAY. penncharter.com/give

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Philadelphia, PA Permit No. 6118 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19144

Save the Date JANUARY 28

MAY 7-8

JUNE 12

Downtown Reception

OPC Weekend

Commencement

Section of mosaic in the Middle School's Rosen Atrium, created for her Senior Comprehensive Project by the late Tara Parente OPC '05 (1986-2019)