Faculty News

Practicing What We Teach: PCDS Yellott Program

2020-21 faculty research aimed at further engaging students

Ongoing learning, continuous growth, collaboration. Cycles of practice, self-reflection, and improvement. These phrases describe some of the attributes of the education that students at PCDS enjoy. But did you know that those same qualities distinguish the PCDS faculty experience as well?

One of the ways that PCDS encourages its faculty to pursue ongoing growth and learning is through the Yellott program. Yellott grants are available to any full-time faculty member, alone or in collaboration with others, to undertake substantial, self-reflective projects over the summer that are related to curriculum and instruction. These projects require allotments of time, focus, and material resources beyond what teachers can devote during the school year.

During the spring of the school year, teachers submit applications for Yellott funding by describing the goal of the project, the guiding questions, the method of inquiry, division of responsibilities and timeline, the plan for its implementation, and a discussion of the suggested impact of the project. These proposals are then evaluated by a committee comprising the head of school, the division heads, and the director of curriculum and instruction. Yellott funds are not granted to faculty members if the proposed project represents the work all PCDS teachers are expected to do to keep themselves abreast of new texts or ideas in their field; rather, the committee is eager to fund those projects that go beyond surface-level modifications. Yellott projects are intended to be time-intensive deep dives into teaching practice and curriculum, and successful projects are those that have implications not only for the teacher but for the School.

After a one-year break from the Yellott program at the end of the 2020 school year, PCDS faculty responded in full force last spring when the call for Yellott proposals went out. As a result, at the end of the 2021 school year, the Yellott committee approved four projects for summer funding. This year, half of the projects are collaborations among multiple faculty members. As a result, in sum, the recipients of Yellott funding represent nearly 10 percent of the PCDS teaching faculty. This is a notable and healthy metric, as it means that a substantial portion of the faculty returned to campus in August with an exceptionally high level of energy, inspiration, and engagement—all of which tends to infuse the entire teaching community with those same qualities. Here is a little bit about the projects and the faculty members working on them:

Deepening Students’ Connections to the Natural World Pete Saunders (US science) is working on a project centered on Deepening Students’ Connections to the Natural World. By cultivating community alliances and designing thoughtful project-based learning experiences, Pete is working to design a wildlife biology curriculum that helps students contribute to the conservation of their immediate environment in meaningful and impactful ways.

Building a Foundation for Mathematics with our Youngest Learners The pre-K team of Kelli Newsome, Sasha Eden, Claire Stephens, Kelly Blackson, has chosen to focus on Building a Foundation for Mathematics with our youngest learners. In light of a significant shift in the LS math curriculum, The Pre-K team is embracing this opportunity to design a custom math curriculum that will build a stronger mathematical foundation in PCDS’s youngest students, in a fun and developmentally appropriate way, that will prepare them for the rigors of the Investigations kindergarten curriculum.

Technology Approach to Tracking Student Growth and Development Brett Girod (MS innovation & technology) is excited about his Technology Approach to Tracking Student Growth and Development. By designing an original, streamlined digital survey instrument to increase the frequency and utility of touchpoints with students in advisory (“digital high-fives”), Brett is investigating ways for adults to see, recognize, and support MS students’ full humanity and socialemotional well-being.

A Curriculum for Executive Function A multi-grade-level LS team, known as the “Executive Function Action Group”, made up of LS teachers Gina Saltonstall, Jaime Sheridan, Pam Gagner, and Maddie Williams, is focusing on a Curriculum for Executive Function. Every teacher encounters students still developing the ability to manage emotions and monitor thoughts that would allow them to work more efficiently and effectively. This project seeks to build a curriculum for executive function for our youngest learners by demystifying the concepts and language associated with executive function, and allows for teachers and students to collaborate more effectively in the development of this crucial skill set.

Yellott projects are supported through the Yellott Faculty Grant Program, funded by an endowment that honors the memory of John I. Yellott, PCDS Headmaster from 1966-72.

Last school year, US English teacher David Kaye had the privilege of competing on Jeopardy! after many years of attempting to appear on the show. Following an audition process that took place over Zoom in the summer of 2020, he received “the call” while at School in September and flew to Los Angeles in late October to tape. “Being on the set, meeting Alex, and timing the buzz-in system successfully are all unforgettable moments,” shared Mr. Kaye. In his episode, Mr. Kaye vied with a four-time champion for the lead throughout the game, but he ultimately took second place receiving $2,000.

In addition to feeling incredibly lucky to have been on during Alex Trebek’s last week of episodes, Mr. Kaye is grateful to the PCDS community for all their support around his appearance. “The day my episode aired,” he said, “nearly the entire US came to the Najafi Gym, masked and socially distanced, to watch it at lunchtime with me. I couldn’t have asked for a more wildly enthusiastic audience to relive my game with.” The celebration continued six weeks later with a special “Virtual Trivia Night” that Leslie Feldman ’99 and Tiffany Pondelik ’00 organized for alumni, which David co-hosted with PCDS’s other resident Jeopardy! contestant, Lance Coon. “We watched clips of Lance’s and my shows, asked PCDS- and general-knowledge trivia, and tied in a contestant faceoff,” Mr. Kaye said. “The whole experience was a definite highlight in a difficult year.” “After twelve years of pedaling back and forth come rain, heat, or cold,” US history teacher Matt Guthrie shares, “I bought a car.”

US athletic trainer Mitchell Barnhart wrote a journal paper—“The Influence of Timing of Reporting and Clinic Presentation on Concussion Recovery Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”—which was published in Sports Medicine. For more on his paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33761129/

In May of 2021, MS social studies teacher Shannon Burke was invited (over Zoom) to Leiden University (in the Netherlands) to guest speak about her thesis research. “I had the opportunity to discuss the prominent appropriation of Native symbolism and iconography throughout the Southwest region. The Cultural Anthropology Department at Leiden discovered they had been using a Zuni symbol and name to represent their program for decades, which resulted in internal discussions about cultural appropriation and exchange. I was able to speak alongside Kenny Bowekaty, an advocate for the Zuni community, as they discussed new logo options for their program,” she reports.

US history teacher Justin Brooks won an Outstanding Educator Award from The University of Chicago.

In July 2021, MS social studies teacher Kelsey Knustson was certified as a Master Scuba Diver, the highest recreational level one can reach. In 2021, she also began a doctorate in education policy, organization, and leadership (with an emphasis on global education and diversity and equity) which led to a doctoral research position with the United Nations (the education division: UNESCO). These projects are related to global access to education and digital literacy. She’ll be working as a doctoral researcher for the UN through April 2022. Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Jenny Treadway presented at the ISAS Diversity Conference in Houston, Texas, in October. “My workshop topic was titled ‘Humans of…Using Student Voice to Promote DEIJ work.’ Participants learned about PCDS’s Humans of PCDS,” she reports. Additionally, in 2021, she attended, along with seven PCDS faculty members and five PCDS students, a virtual People of Color/Student Diversity Leadership Conference which focused on DEI work in Independent Schools.

US history teacher Sean Harvey was awarded the W. Turrentine Jackson Award from the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association (which serves historians that live in states and provinces west of the Mississippi River) for his dissertation titled, “Assembly Lines: Maquiladoras, Poverty, and the Environment in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.” This award is given to the author of the most outstanding dissertation on any aspect of the history of the American West in the twentieth century. Mr. Harvey’s dissertation was completed at Northwestern University in the summer of 2020. Here is a link for more on his award: https:// www.pcb-aha.org/awards/jackson-dissertation-award/ dissertation-award-recipients

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Emily Claire Buckle was born on February 24, 2020, to LS teacher Julie Buckle and her husband, Andrew Buckle; and big brother, Charlie. Luca Stephens Huff was born on April 8, 2020, to LS teacher Claire Stephens and facilities manager Andrew Huff; and big brother, Emerson. In this photo, Luca is at the wheel of Grandpa Paul Schweikher’s VW Bug. MS Spanish teacher Hannah Fox and her husband, Parker, welcomed Patrick James Fox into the world on May 8, 2020. North Eric Miller was born on March 19, 2021, to US art teacher Hallie Mueller and her husband, Nick.