UHS Journal Fall 2016 NOAR

SAN FRANCISCO UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL FALL 2016 • SFUHS.ORG

UHS Journal THE DEVILS’ WORKSHOP Welcome to the uLab, a brand-new design and fabrication space.

Page 11

A NEW BEGINNING UHS rethinks the start of the day.

Page 14

ASSESSMENT How does University make the grade?

Page 22

THE ANNUAL REPORT Page 33

UHS JOURNAL

Annual Report Issue/Fall 2016

8

Front of the Book

Feature Well

Alumni Section

2

11

26 Alumni Association

News

3 4

FACULTY MEETING UHS welcomes 10 new instructors and staff members.

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL To sleep, perchance to dream—UHS changes its daily schedule so students will be better rested.

DEVILS’ WORKSHOP The uLab, a brand-new fabrication and design thinking space, has 3D printers, a laser cutter, and a computer-controlled router.

It’s one sophisticated toolshed.

14

THE REST IS HISTORY Teenagers need lots of sleep, and their biorhythms aren’t set for morning. But school start times don’t typically accommodate these facts. In a one-year experiment, UHS is letting students grab some more Z’s.

UNIVERSE Why Barbies speak (Spanish) to Amelia Nieto; what students and faculty think of Just Mercy, the school’s summer read; how to ace all your holiday shopping without leaving the house; the Class of 2016 leaves its calling cards; and more.

18

A STUDENT OF CONVICTION As Ginger Jackson-Gleich ’03 studied the flaws in our criminal justice system, she thought she wanted to be an impartial researcher. Then she realized that she has the heart of an impassioned advocate.

22 18

OUR STRATEGIC VISION

CONNECT.INVENT.DESIGN. After two years of listening, exploration, and reflection, UHS has launched Connect.Invent.Design, a new website that outlines the school’s strategic direction and commitment to creating a richer, more multidimensional view of excellence. Visit sfuhsdesign.org and become part of the conversation.

REASSESSING ASSESSMENT What skills, competencies, and knowledge does University want its students to acquire, and how does the school measure success?

Does assessment at UHS make the grade?

27 Alumni Calendar 28 Class Notes/

In Memoriam 29 Alumni in Physics:

Pushing the Boundaries

of Science

31

The Annual Report 34 Board Chair Letter 35 Parents Association President Letter 36 Alumni Association

President Letter 37 Board Treasurer Letter 38 New Board Members 40 Fundraising/Financials 41

Gift Listing

62 Thank You to Our

Volunteers 64 Ways of Giving to UHS/

Board List

UHS Journal Vol. XXVII, No. 2 EDITOR

EDITORIAL BOARD

PRINTING

Bruce Anderson, P ’18

Shaundra Bason Thelma Garza Kate Gorrissen Holly Johnson ’82 Mary King

Burns & Associates Fine Printing

DESIGNER

Patéra Design

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY

Lindsey Chung ’17 and the Advanced Projects in Physics class, by Glenn Matsumura

SFUHS.ORG

1

Note from the Head of School

Faculty meeting

WHEN MY YOUNGEST WAS IN NINTH GRADE, WE COMMUTED T O S C H O O L T O G E T H E R . Like most teenagers, he would get up at the last minute, pull on some pants, brush a tooth or two, climb into the car, and go right back to sleep. He attended a school that required a coat and tie, and I would watch in wonder

UHS welcomes 10 new instructors and staff members

from the driver’s seat as he put on his tie without waking up.

So, yes, I know about the difficulty teenagers have getting enough sleep. The problem is epidemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement two years ago

University High’s newest

teacher and a student: He’s an

School. In the spring semester,

saying “insufficient sleep in adolescents [is] an important public health issue that sig-

faculty members hail from

English instructor and ninth-

Mary Kelly will take over the

nificantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of our nation’s

all across the country and

grade mentor at UHS, and

Latin program while Deborah

he’s a master’s student at the

Shaw is on sabbatical. Mary

middle and high school students.” Chronic sleep loss not only impairs physical and

specialize in sundry subjects, but they all seem to have one

Middlebury Bread Loaf School

has taught Latin at St. Andrew’s

thing in common: They’re quite

of English. Rachel Esselstein,

School in Middletown,

comfortable wearing a number

who has taught math to middle

Delaware, and at the TEAK

of different hats.

schoolers and college students

Fellowship Summer Institute

as well as to high schoolers

in New York City.

Incoming math instructor

mental health and classroom performance, it contributes to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and obesity.

Clearly, an alarm has sounded. Let’s hope that schools are awake enough to respond.

At University, we’re taking action. This year we’re experimenting with our schedule, moving our Monday and Tuesday start times to 8:30 a.m. and beginning classes at 9 a.m. the other three days. I hope you’ll turn to page 14 and read “The Rest is History,” writer

Sandeep Bhuta, who loves

at the Bay School, has taken

writing word problems, comes

on statistics and precalculus

to UHS from St. Ignatius High,

at University. Catherine Lu

where he not only taught math

is teaching three levels of

for six years but revitalized the

Chinese. Before UHS, Catherine

the demands of agriculture, the lack of air-conditioning for urban schools, transpor-

speech and debate program.

was an instructor at Princeton

tation timetables, and the adult workday. And even as we’ve learned a tremendous

Jessica Bejarano is teaching

University’s Beijing program

amount about the particularities of teen sleep in the last 20 or so years, the science has

chamber orchestra, camerata,

and at the Tsinghau International School.

remained way ahead of the practice. We’ve decided to put the science into play.

and chorus and serving as a

Robert Sullivan’s exploration of the UHS schedule changes and the neuroscience behind

Back row, Pierre Carmona, Catherine Lu, Jessica Bejarano, Sandeep Bhuta. Front row, Rachel Esselstein, Molly Bondy, Jessica Osorio. Not pictured, Nora Free Mather, Mary Kelly, Heather Olson.

them. There are also some helpful tips, “Your Tickets to a Better Night’s Sleep,” on page 17.

School schedules—daily, weekly, and yearly—in the United States were built around

There are three considerations driving this experimental schedule change: First and

ninth-grade mentor. She was

Jessica Osorio, Class of

also recently named the con-

2010, has returned to Univer-

ductor of the 85-year-old San

sity to teach English and serve

Francisco Civic Symphony.

as a 12th-grade mentor. Her

Nora Free Mather, who

UHS classmate Molly Bondy

has a PhD in music from the

is teaching AP Art History as

to but rarely find time for. This work, which is essential to our ambition to be a national

University of Pittsburgh with

well as the visual arts portion

leader in shifting school culture, is now happening by intention rather than by chance.

a concentration in jazz studies

of Western Civ. Heather Olson,

foremost is our care about the health and wellness of our students. Second is our need to model risk-taking for our students, to be as bold and nimble as the school’s strategic vision calls for. Third is the opportunity to provide our faculty with time to engage in the professional development and curricular collaboration that educators often aspire

My personal hope is that by acknowledging the different circadian rhythm of teen-

returned to campus. After

fully awake but also to engage as alert and happy participants in this exciting academic

Western Civ. Nora is also a pro-

working in admissions and

journey. At UHS, we want to give our students more time to sleep so they have more

fessional saxophonist and

college counseling for UHS,

will soon be releasing an

Heather headed to Minneapolis

album with Zambian singer/

where she most recently

musician Mathew Tembo.

served as the lower school

Pierre Carmona is both a

office manager at the Blake

GLENN MATSUMURA

the admissions assistant, also

the music history portion of

GLENN MATSUMURA

and composition, is teaching

agers with our new schedule, we give them the best chance not only to get dressed while

opportunity to dream.

Julia Russell Eells

2

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

SFUHS.ORG

3

Universe

Universe

UHS summer read unmasks criminal justice system

NEWS, NOTES, AND NUMBERS FROM AROUND CAMPUS

The Devil is in the E-tail New UHS online store

Best seller Just Mercy delivers damning account of the death penalty Jacqueline Thompson, Summer-

TUMPED BY THE S CHALLENGE OF FINDING A PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR AUNTIE EM? FRET NO MORE. UHS has partnered with BSN Sports/ Sideline Stores and now offers easy online shopping for Universitybranded apparel and merchandise, everything from hoodies and ball

TACKLE NEXT?

School in 1985, Bryan Stevenson moved

have to get close.”

“I didn’t realize how much race

Center for Human Rights, where he

plays into our criminal justice system,”

represented death row inmates in

says sophomore Maddie Dowd. “I

states across the region. In 1994, he

thought that that was something we

teacher,” says Matsuishi-Elhardt. “I

founded the Equal Justice Initiative in

had overcome and I now realize that

would love to take a class from him.”

Birmingham, Alabama, promising to

that’s not the case at all. We still have

represent anyone in the state facing the

really serious issues with police officers

a hairdresser and talk to people about

death penalty. Two years ago, Stevenson

discriminating and unfair convictions

their problems because he’s superb at

published Just Mercy, an eye-popping

against people of color.”

talking,” Dowd says.

account of his work on the death penal-

have ever come across.”

“Bryan Stevenson would be a great

“I think Bryan [Stevenson] could be

“I think he’s doing exactly what he DID JUST MERCY CHANGE

should be doing,” says history teacher

a New York Times best seller for more

THE WAY YOU VIEW THE

Carolyn McNulty, “i.e., taking his lived

than a year. UHS chose Just Mercy

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

experience to a wider audience through

as the schoolwide read for the summer

SYSTEM? IF SO, HOW?

his book and speaking engagements.

of 2016. Seniors Fatima Burgos and

“What we learn in our civics and

I hope he’s still working hard at helping

Sergio Martinez asked students and

U.S. history classes is that this country is

to defend those who need it most, or

faculty what they thought of the

built on liberty and equal protection un-

at least has lined up a great crew to

book and of Stevenson.

der the law for everyone, and Just Mercy

continue that work.”

really showed me that this is a lie,” says sophomore Miya Matsuishi-Elhardt.

“I already knew the criminal justice

blankets, and bags, all sporting the

MERCY?

beloved block U. And the beautiful

system in the United States was an

“Stevenson’s idea that the modern

imperfect mechanism that unfairly

“School Store.”

most brilliant and charismatic minds I

ty and other issues. The book has been

TAKEAWAY FROM JUST

on “School Life,” and then click on

“Honestly,” says Holt, “I would like the man to be President. He is one of the

to Atlanta and joined the Southern

T’s. The site also offers chairs,

ping. Simply go to sfuhs.org, click

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

says: “You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance. You

WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN

your UHS sweats to do your shop-

4

SHOULD BRYAN STEVENSON

After graduating from Harvard Law

caps to scarves and long-sleeve

part is you don’t have to get out of

WHAT JOB OR ISSUE

bridge associate director of academics,

death penalty has been used to ‘redi-

incriminates certain demographics

rect the violent energies of lynching’ is,

(mostly men of color),” says junior

for me, one of the most poignant and

Claire Anderson, “but the book took

terrifying arguments in the book,” says

away any faith I may have had in the

English teacher Michael Holt.

system to work effectively for anyone.”

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Spiegel & Grau) is available in paperback for $16. Author Bryan Stevenson will give the Pritzker Family Lecture at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on March 27, 2017.

Tickets are $28 and $38 (jccsf.org/artsideas/lectures). If you want to contribute to the Equal Justice Initiative, go to eji.org and click on “Donate.”

SFUHS.ORG

5

Universe

Universe

Graduation Cards The Class of 2016 broke new ground

G20S16 N I T E GRE CLASS OF

Film and Literature:

THE FROM

Hope Go D

all is

Better tools for teaching Spanish

well.

We m iss yo u

, UHS .

evils !

Student speaker Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí salutes his classmates for doing what they love.

talented, hard working, and

15 with whom they’d shared

The 2004 film Diarios de motocicleta

motocicleta in Spanish III at UHS. Students,

spirited.” Another, Carlos

their groundbreaking journey

was the darling of Cannes and Sundance

they said, read sections from Guevara’s

Cabrera-Lomelí, recounted

through UHS.

and critics around the world. It was based

travel memoir and then watch the movie

on the book Diarios de motocicleta: Notas

(en español, por supuesto). They also

the greatest hits of “a class that did what it loved . . . Sean

Hauser, a veteran biology

de viaje por América Latina (The Motor-

juxtapose entries from Guevara’s journal

[Gilmore] dunking at the state

teacher and himself a class

cycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American

with two poems, both written by the

Some may remember the UHS

championships, Benny [Solo-

mentor, emphasized that

Journey) written by Ernesto “Che” Guevara

20th-century Spanish writer Antonio

Class of 2016 for staging an

mon] evolving from the raw

each graduating senior could

about the 7,500-mile, eight-month trip he

Machado, that use travel as a metaphor

epic senior prank (in which

experimental work of

look inside to find the “best

took with his best friend in 1952. It is a

for the journey of life.

a student in a chicken suit

DJ Flamin’ Menorah to the

guide” to facing the unknown.

story about friendship, coming of age, and

emerged through a secret

visionary masterpieces of

“Animals as diverse as pigeons,

the intersection of class, race, and social

a means for the students to internalize the

trap door into the middle of

King Sol, Toni Xu conducting

turtles, sharks, butterflies, and

injustice. It is also a powerful tool to help

language. While students will learn a full

Western Civ, teams of others

the school orchestra.”

honeybees all seem to possess

Spanish students better grasp the language

body of Spanish grammar by the end of

the remarkable ability to travel

and its syntactical complexities.

their third year, early exposure to usage

zip-tied the backpacks of

Congratulations Head of School Julia Russell Eells hugs senior speaker Giuliana Lee.

School Julia Russell Eells point-

and migrate vast distances

more). Others may celebrate

ed out, this was the first class

with astonishing accuracy. . . .

Daniela Cavalli, Amelia Nieto, Ernesto

the form and function of complex systems

the class’s elaborate YouTube

to graduate after spending four

You will continue to uncover

Padró-Campos, and Helena Senatore led

such as the preterit and the imperfect past

music video, “Devil’s Anthem

years in the school’s signature

in the coming years, you

a two-day workshop for Bay Area high

tenses. And this allows students to absorb

(Featuring Stephen Curry),”

mentoring program. “You have

possess your own highly

school Spanish instructors at South Cam-

the language in a manner similar to the

with its fleeting but powerful

partnered with your teachers

evolved navigation system:

pus. The workshop was entitled “Raising

way native speakers acquire it.

cameo by the Golden State

and mentors in moving UHS

your own intuition.”

the Conversation: Exploring Content-Based

Warriors’ star.

beyond the beta model imag-

The class’s calling card may

ined 40 years ago,” Eells said,

be as pioneers of the mentor-

ment exercises last June in

“helping us to develop a bold

ing program. Or it may be the

Davies Symphony Hall focused

2.0 version of our best selves.”

more literal cards, thousands

on the graduates as inno-

Instead of receiving diplomas

of them about the size of a

vative thinkers, indomitable

in a conventional A-to-Z march

standard business card, that

athletes, and irrepressible

across the Davies stage, seniors

were hidden all over the UHS

actors and musicians.

received their sheepskins with

campus before graduation.

their mentors and the other

“Greetings from the Class of

Giuliana Lee, praised her

members of their advisory

2016,” they read. “Hope all is

classmates as “exceptionally

clusters, the groups of 13 to

well. We miss you, UHS.”

One student speaker,

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

The UHS program uses literary text as

underclassmen, and so much

But speakers at commence-

6

Most notably, Head of

Last June, UHS Spanish teachers

BOTTOM AND TOP RIGHT, ANNE PANTELICK

Hats off Mortarboards fly as the Class of 2016 graduates last spring.

Faculty speaker Paul

within the text allows them to replicate

Is it working? Apparently. Far-flung

Instruction Through Literature and

alumni keep sending thank-you notes to

Cinema in All Levels of Spanish Language

the Spanish program. A recent message

Learning.” The central point: The use of

from an alumnus who is taking a college

film and literature—rather than commer-

Spanish class said: “Even now I’m sur-

cial textbooks or Advanced Placement cur-

prised at my own words as I confess that

riculum—as instructional content allows

today I craved to dissect Borges or García

students to encounter different registers

Márquez and I truly think it was your

of the language starting in Spanish I.

teaching that gave me an appreciation

The University team shared with workshop participants how it uses Diarios de

for the beauty and emotion behind these works.”

SFUHS.ORG

7

Universe

Universe 3

5

6.9

At my desk

6

With Amelia Nieto, Spanish instructor Photography by Glenn Matsumura

2 1

Amelia grew up in Spain’s

their wedding, she chose

capital and cheers for

March 14. “Pi Day,” Amelia

Real Madrid, arguably the

says, “3/14/16,” reciting the

world’s most legendary soccer

first five digits of the famed

team. “Soccer is the perfect

irrational number.

game,” Amelia says. Much to her astonishment, some of

I am chaotically organized. But I know where everything is.

her UHS students root for FC

called Connect.Invent.Design. The site

gave Amelia this tape

lays out the school’s strategic vision, which calls for reimagining what makes a school outstanding and for empowering

brings her Real Madrid pen to

says. “My last year at Burke, an

students to invent and sustain their own

class to mark, with great flour-

eighth-grader said, ‘You wore

vision of success and purpose. The new

ishes, the papers of misguided

27 different pairs of shoes this

site, sfuhsdesign.org, was designed by

Barça supporters.

year.’ I said, ‘What? How do

Kelly Schmutte, a designer and lecturer at

you know that?’ Then this stu-

the Stanford d.school, and details the two-

dent gave me a chart on which

year path of the strategic work at UHS. It

says. “I’m a mediocre

she had drawn each pair and

also touts the outsize goal of that work:

flamenco dancer, but I’m a

on which she had noted how

Redefine educational excellence by creat-

When Amelia Nieto taught

decent flamenco singer.”

often I wore them.”

ing a richer, more multidimensional view

Spanish at San Francisco’s

A favorite song? “I like any-

Katherine Delmar Burke,

thing by Enrique Morente,”

a fifth-grade student there

she says, citing his entire 1982

gave her a brunette Spanish

album Sacromente.

Amelia recalls: “The student said, ‘When I saw her,

4

that dismisses grades and school rankings

6

Is there a Spanish edition of The Life-Changing

as the ultimate arbiters of worth.

“We hope that parents, alumni,

Magic of Tidying Up? “I am

students, and educators who haven’t had

chaotically organized,” Amelia

a chance to explore the site yet will visit

Amelia was an outstand-

says. “But I know where

soon,” says Head of School Julia Russell

ing high school math

everything is.”

Eells, who served on the 15-member

I thought she had the same

student, but studied linguistics

Strategic Design Committee that included

sense of fashion as you.’”

at university. After college,

alumni, faculty, staff, and current and

Another pupil gave Amelia

she earned an MBA in small-

former parents. “And we hope that those

a blonde Spanish teacher

business administration, partly

who have already visited will return

Barbie. “Look at this,” Ameila

as a way to do more math.

frequently to see what has been added

says. “If you press the button

When her husband, Patrick,

and to continue to think deeply about

on her back, Barbie speaks

asked her to pick a date for

the exciting possibilities that await our

Spanish.” She presses the

community as we move ahead to reshape

button and Barbie says,

independent high school education.”

“Five. Cinco.”

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

A middle-school student

“I love flamenco,” Amelia

teacher/maestra Barbie.

8

5

Average number of hours of sleep for teens in South Korea

87

Percentage of U.S. high school students who average less than 8 hours of sleep

Percentage of UHS students who participate in at least one interscholastic sport

In October, University unveiled a website

heel. “I love shoes,” Amelia

3

Amelia Nieto She's a fan of shoes, flamenco, and Real Madrid.

In search of excellence?

Check out sfuhsdesign.org

dispenser shaped like a high

4

1

Second site

on special occasions, Amelia

Barcelona. ¡Qué horror! So,

94.9

Average number of hours of sleep for high school seniors in the U.S.

2

By the numbers

Average number of hours of sleep for teens in Australia

35

77

Percentage of possible league titles UHS athletes have won over the last 15 years

300+

Player ejections from all league teams over the last 12 years

6

UHS player ejections over the last 12 years

27

72

Percentage of U.S. teens who bring a cellphone into the bedroom and use it while trying to get to sleep (see the story, “The Rest is History,” on page 14)

25

Percentage of students in the Class of 2010 who selfidentified as a person of color

48

Percentage of students in the Class of 2020 who selfidentify as a person of color

48

Number of middle schools represented in the UHS Class of 2010

Number of middle schools represented in the UHS Class of 2020

$495,850 Financial aid allocated to the incoming Class of 2020

Financial aid allocated to the incoming Class of 2010

$695,550 SFUHS.ORG

9

Barnard College

2

Bates College

2

(4) (1)

Admitted Enrolled

(1)

The George Washington University

Kenyon College

2

(1)

The New School - All Divisions

1

Lehigh University

2

The University of Arizona

1

Lewis & Clark College

3

Towson University

1

Loyola Marymount University

3

Trinity College

2

(1) (2)

(1)

4

Berry College

1

Loyola University Chicago

1

Tufts University

6

Boston College

2

(1)

Loyola University New Orleans

2

Tulane University

2

Boston University

12

(3)

Macalester College

6

UC Berkeley

12

Bowdoin College

5

(1)

Marquette University

1

UC Davis

12

(1)

(3)

Brandeis University

4

(1)

Middlebury College

2

UC Irvine

4

Brown University

4

(2)

Monmouth University

1

UC Los Angeles

8

Bucknell University

2

Mount Holyoke College

1

UC Merced

4

Carleton College

3

(2)

Muhlenberg College

1

(1)

UC Riverside

4

Carnegie Mellon University

4

(1)

New York University

13

(3)

UC San Diego

14

Chapman University

6

Northeastern University

4

(1)

UC Santa Barbara

16

(1)

Chico State University

1

Northwestern University

2

(2)

UC Santa Cruz

6

(1)

Claremont McKenna College

1

Oberlin College

6

(2)

Union College

1

Colby College

5

(1)

Oberlin Conservatory of Music

1

University of Chicago

4

(2)

Colgate University

7

(2)

Occidental College

5

University of Colorado at Boulder

3

(1)

College of Charleston

1

Ohio Wesleyan University

1

University of Connecticut

1

College of Marin

1

(1)

Pace University, New York City

1

University of Denver

1

University of Massachusetts, Amherst 1

(3)

Colorado College

6

(1)

Pepperdine University

1

Columbia University

6

(4)

Pitzer College

1

Connecticut College

7

(1)

Pomona College

1

Cornell University

6

(1)

Pratt Institute

1

CSU East Bay

1

Princeton University

3

CSU Monterey Bay

1

Reed College

3

University of San Francisco

1

Dartmouth College

3

Rice University

1

University of Southern California

13

(2)

Davidson College

1

Rochester Institute of Technology

1

University of the Pacific

3

(1)

Rollins College

1

University of Vermont

1

Sacramento State University

1

University of Virginia

2

Saint John's University

1

Vanderbilt University

1

San Diego State University

1

Vassar College

4

1

Dickinson College

3

(1)

(3)

University of Michigan

5

University of Oregon

3

(1)

University of Puget Sound

7

(1)

University of Redlands

2

Drexel University

3

Duke University

2

Eckerd College

1

San Francisco State University

2

Villanova University

2

Elon University

1

San Jose State University

2

Washington University in St. Louis

5

Emerson College

1

Santa Clara University

3

Wellesley College

1

Fordham University

3

Sarah Lawrence College

1

Wesleyan University

6

(2)

(1)

(1)

Georgetown University

1

School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1

Wheaton College, MA

1

Gonzaga University

1

Scripps College

1

Whitman College

2

Hamilton College, New York

2

(1)

Smith College

1

Whittier College

1

Harvard University

5

(5)

Sonoma State University

2

Willamette University

4

Williams College

3

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

1

Yale University

5

Haverford College

1

Stanford University

4

Hofstra University

1

Swarthmore College

1

Indiana University at Bloomington

1

Syracuse University

4

10

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

(1) (4) (1)

(1)

ilcre

Denison University

(1)

(1)

op

3

College

1

ase

6

Bard College

Admitted Enrolled

Johns Hopkins University

(3) (2) (2)

pril K

Amherst College

College

By A

1

Work sh

Admitted Enrolled

American University

Devi

College

The

NUMBERS IN PARENTHESES INDICATE ENROLLMENT AS OF JULY 31, 2016

ls’

2016 College Admission and Matriculation

(1)

(1) (4)

SFUHS.ORG

11

Getting their bearings Miles Johnson and CJ Dowd calculate how to fire two steel balls so they collide midair.

Cool tools Students now have access to a 3D printer (above), chop saw (right), and laser cutter (below), all in one place.

UHS opens a brand-new fabrication and design thinking space

We’re standing in the school’s brand-

students. “They don’t want to do the next

new uLab, just off the entrance to South

step before passing judgment on the first,”

Campus. Designed by innovative archi-

he says. “‘Should I nail this thing to that?

tecture firm MKThink, the space was built

Do I glue this thing here?’ Being a great

to foster these sorts of hands-on learning

scientist is not about following steps 1

experiences. Tools that were previously

through 10 on a lab instruction sheet and

segregated in various teachers’ rooms have

answering the question at the end. That’s

been gathered together here—from such

not a great scientist, that’s a person who

shop class classics as a drill press, band

follows directions wonderfully.”

saw, miter saw, and sander to digital tools,

Nevarez says that he hopes the lab will

including a laser cutter, 3D printers, and

“empower students to be bold and brave,” to

a computer-controlled router. The room’s

learn from their failures. Scheatzle concurs:

predominant color is white—white tables,

“We are fully in the technological age, one

Nasif Iskander picks up an intricate wood-

white walls, white cabinets, all of which

that increasingly requires individuals to

en object made up of a disc with numbers

double as dry-erase boards.

think across technologies, virtually and physically, logically and intuitively. I also should

engraved around its edges and two smaller

“I tend to think of the space itself as the

discs layered on top. All three rotate around

most important tool,” arts and industrial

a central axis, along with two ruled arms

design instructor Matt Scheatzle says. “It

that resemble the hands of a clock. Names

has the potential to teach something that

April Kilcrease is a writer and editor based

of constellations are engraved on one of the

doesn’t get taught enough in our school,

in Oakland, California.

smaller discs; numbers and lines precisely

which is how you apply knowledge in the

mark off measurements on the other. “This

real world. Many of our students have very

is an astrolabe, a modernized re-creation

strong abstract knowledge, but unfortu-

of a medieval astronomy instrument that

nately it falls apart as soon as they have to

was essentially the first handheld comput-

apply that knowledge in a concrete way.”

er,” explains Iskander, the assistant head of

Currently, the Advanced Projects in

school at UHS and dean of faculty. “Rather

Physics class is using the lab, and Indus-

than just looking at photos of astrolabes

trial Design will be taught there in the

and talking about how they might work,

spring. Faculty members, however, fore-

a couple of my students used CAD software,

see students from a wide range of disci-

hand tools, and a laser cutter/engraver to

plines—from language arts to history—us-

make one that would work. To be able

ing the space. “We conceived of the lab,”

to make this and use it, rather than just

Iskander says, “as both a fabrication space

look at pictures, is a really powerful thing.”

and a kind of idea space that would en-

mention it’s hella fun to make stuff.”

Product placement A better mousetrap?

Anything's possible in the uLab.

courage new ways of thinking.” Physics Shop talk Seniors Charles Tananbaum and Max Fisher brainstorm solutions to a physics problem.

P H O T O G R A P H Y BY G L E N N M AT S U M U R A 12

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

Class action Advanced Projects in Physics uses the uLab this fall; Industrial Design moves in in the spring.

teacher Ozzie Nevarez is excited about bringing the sort of experimentation and creativity found in art or jazz classes into math and science. When it comes to designing and building, Nevarez says he has seen a fear of failure paralyze too many

SFUHS.ORG

13

Kids aren’t getting enough sleep. They

a pioneering sleep researcher with par-

complain about this, and so do we. Morn-

ticular expertise in childhood and adoles-

Adolescents are different, with dif-

ing is anything but electric.

cent sleep. She notes that a perfect-world

ferent needs (like we didn’t know

Today, the consequences of teen sleep

scenario would feature a school day

that). Around puberty, the body

deprivation—car accidents, depression

beginning as late as 10 a.m., as recom-

starts secreting melatonin, a hor-

and anxiety, and lower grades and test

mended by a paper published last year by

mone that facilitates sleep, later in

scores—are quantifiable. Study after

researchers at Harvard, Oxford, and the

the day. So adolescents experience

study shows that a vast majority of ado-

University of Nevada at Reno. Carskadon

a shift in their circadian rhythm

lescents in the United States need more

hopes UHS and a few other bold schools

that urges them to go to sleep lat-

sleep and at different periods of the 24-

are part of a revolution—one she has had

er and wake later, something we

hour day than they are now getting.

a hand in starting.

know in part because of research by

What that science tells us today:

So UHS has pushed the start time of the

Carskadon is the director of the Sleep

school day back, from 8 a.m. to either 8:30

Research Laboratory at E.P. Bradley Hos-

Research by the National Sleep Foun-

(Mondays and Tuesdays) or 9 a.m. (Wednes-

pital in Providence. As a doctoral student,

dation posits that adolescents should

days and Fridays). Thursday remains a 9

she was mentored by William Dement of

get 8½ to 9½ hours of sleep per night.

a.m. start, so students get a net gain of three

Stanford University, long considered the

In reality, students in many high-

hours a week. Is that incremental move

dean of sleep research. “There were no

performing high schools across the

enough to make a real difference?

sleep disorders before 1970,” Dement told

country average 6.8 hours (in some

Carskadon.

“The short answer is ‘yes,’” Mary

me back in 1998 when I was reporting a

schools, as little as 6).

Carskadon says from her office at Brown

cover story on sleeplessness for LIFE

A 2014 University of Minnesota

University in Providence, Rhode Island.

magazine. What he meant was, there

study of high schools in three states

“It seems small to some, but it’s a marvel-

was precious little science. Then he and

linked later starts to the school

ous step.” Carskadon knows. A professor

associates, including grad students like

day to improvements in grades,

of psychiatry and human behavior, she is

Carskadon, set up shop, conducted sleep

test scores, and attendance and re-

THE REST IS HISTORY

By Robert Sullivan

14

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

I L L U S T R AT I O N BY W I L L I A M D U K E

“boot camps” with kids and adults, and

ductions in car crashes, substance

published studies that spurred others to

abuse, and symptoms of depression.

look into sleep deprivation and its effects.

A 2011 National Sleep Foundation

Now, instead of groping in the dark,

poll said that 72 percent of teenagers

sleep researchers know the nature and

bring cellphones into their bedrooms

extent of the problem and at least some

and use them while they are trying

of the ways to address it (see “Your Tick-

to get to sleep. Twenty-eight percent

ets to a Better Night’s Sleep” on page 17).

leave them on while sleeping, only

SFUHS.ORG

15

workload,” she says. A small team start-

Friday because I have third period free.

evened out, which helps me organize and

Minnesota studied the Edina experiment

ed work on a new schedule in February

So I wake up around 7 to eat a leisurely

avoid cramming on certain nights.”

and found that the students there reported

and had it approved by May. “We had to

breakfast and then work for 2½ hours

Another senior, Morgan Clemens, says,

being less depressed and less sleepy and

get past our perfectionist tendency,” she

before I go to school. I honestly love the

“I think it’s really helpful to get some extra

more engaged with school.

recalls, “and say, ‘Let’s do an imperfect

new schedule so much. It has allowed

sleep, especially since here at UHS we tend

Today, Carskadon looks back fond-

schedule.’” Says Alex Lockett, dean of stu-

me to get more sleep—I never really feel

to stay up a bit later than we should, wheth-

ly at the Minnesota experiment and its

dents: “Given that thinking about how to

sleep-deprived anymore—and given me

er it’s studying or doing other things.”

results, but her onetime hopefulness that

structure time outside of experiencing it

more time to do work.”

the country would heed the alarm about

is purely an abstraction, we felt strongly

Senior Sergio Martinez, editor in chief

teen sleep, rather than hit the snooze but-

that experimenting with a different daily

of The Devil’s Advocate, deposes three oth-

ton, has been tempered by the reality of

schedule would give us the best informa-

er students with slightly varied but simi-

entrenched behavior and priorities. “I don’t

tion for what might work in improving

larly positive takes. His classmate Jonah

Robert Sullivan is the author, most recently,

keep score” of the schools that have made

the pace and workload for all members

Benjamini says he likes “how classes are

of A Child’s Christmas in New England.

switches since Edina, Carskadon says, “but

of our community.”

from 7:20 to 8:30 a.m. The University of

SO FAR, SO GOOD. THE THINGS WE’VE HEARD, MOSTLY FROM THE STUDENTS, ARE GOOD. THEY LIKE BEING BETTER RESTED.

16

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

I will say that it’s a cop-out to some extent to say that strides cannot be made.”

“It’s preparing us more for the future.”

Lockett underscores an important but easy-to-overlook point: Students are

UHS had been able to launch its dra-

not the only potential winners with this

matic if incremental experiment because

change. Teachers now have structured,

the school is, if not an island, still relatively

intentional time to collaborate on curric-

isolated. Other schools and districts seem

ulum and professional development. And

immutably hamstrung by issues of morn-

the revised schedule also means that most

ing transportation and afternoon athletics.

classes now meet three times a week rath-

“I understand buses, and sports,” Cars-

er than four. And this experiment is as

kadon says. “But I’ve been incredi-

“I like it because it almost mirrors a college schedule,” says senior Diana Gleyzer.

much about time as it is about sleep.

bly impressed with the educators who

“When faced with a full school day and

have chosen to do something. There are

extracurricular schedule, many of our stu-

ways, there are always ways. We need to

dents report that they have little flexibili-

be collaborative.”

ty in their daily lives,” Lockett says. “Our

UHS has tried to be so, and has

hope is that with this later start, students

approved this one-year trial. On the

will use this time as they see fit—to sleep

ground, Kate Garrett is the academic dean,

in, go to bed earlier the night before and

an English teacher, and the point person

wake up early to complete their work,

as the school switches to this somewhat

exercise, spend time with family, or have

to be awakened by texts, calls, or

later schedule. Garrett notes that the first

a less rushed commute to school. In fact,

emails. Says Carskadon: “I want

big schedule change at UHS came after

my hope is that students experiment with

someone to invent a family tech-

the school acquired the South Campus

a variety of ways of using this extra time to

nology lockbox, and put all the

building and shifted from a seven-period

see what feels the best to them.”

tools away at a certain hour.”

schedule to a six-period model. That move

Garrett points out that the new start

So what to do about all this? Well, two

eliminated most early dismissals for sports

time is on a trial basis. “We’re doing it

decades ago the good folks in Edina, Min-

and meant there were fewer transitions

right now, for this academic year,” she

nesota, thought they might try something,

during the day. The school also began to ro-

says. “So far, so good. The things we’ve

and plunged into a yearlong experiment

tate the schedule so that first period wasn’t,

heard, mostly from the students, are good.

not unlike the current one at UHS. In 1996,

say, Calculus or AP U.S. History every day.

They like being better rested.”

the administration of Edina High School

The current change, Garrett says, grew

Amen, say the students. “The 9 a.m.

responded to studies showing its kids

out of a self-study she led for the accred-

starts are later on in the week and I have

were getting too little sleep, and much of

itation process last year. “There was

usually accumulated more homework by

it at the wrong time for their biological

real synergy and clarity across constit-

that point,” sophomore Elizabeth Flaher-

clocks, by moving the school start time

uencies that we should look at pace and

man says. “I have a 10 o’clock start on

Your Tickets to a Better Night’s Sleep Sleep, like food and water, is life-giving fuel for the body and the brain. Here are five tips for getting more of it, whether you’re a sleep-starved teen or a melatonin-depleted Baby Boomer.

1

MAKE A SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT.

“A consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns,” says the National Sleep Foundation. Don’t vary your schedule wildly on the weekends. If you go to sleep later and get up later, make sure that it’s not more than two hours off your weekday schedule.

2

DEVELOP A WIND-DOWN ROUTINE.

A hot shower or bath coupled with a cool room (about 68°) can increase deep sleep, according to WebMD. Relax with a book, music, or yoga before you hit the lights.

3

CURB THE ELECTRONICS.

Turn off your smartphone and other screen devices an hour before bedtime.

“Blue light emitting from these gadgets stimulates the brain and inhibits melatonin production,” says Britain’s Sleep Council.

4

STAY AWAY FROM LONG NAPS AND LATE-DAY CAFFEINE.

Try to avoid the siren call of naps—they can impair your night sleep. If you feel you must take one, make it less than an hour and don’t take it too late in the day.

Similarly, try to stay away from caffeine—coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate, and caffeinated sodas. And definitely don’t consume any later in the day. A recent study out of Michigan showed that caffeine consumed even six hours before bedtime typically led to sleep losses of more than an hour.

5

CHECK IN WITH YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU HAVE PERSISTENT SLEEP ISSUES.

If you’re often drowsy, have a hard time falling asleep, or frequently snore, you may be suffering from sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or another treatable sleep condition. See a doctor.

SFUHS.ORG

17

S T U D E N T

By Judith Stone

As Ginger Jackson-Gleich ’03 studied the flaws in our criminal justice system, she thought she wanted to be an impartial researcher. Then she realized that she has the heart of an impassioned advocate.

and my curiosity about it in a huge way.

The small classes, the emphasis on social justice issues, my inspiring classmates, and the mentorship of teachers who were invested in you as a thinker and as a person were invaluable.”

If she could go back in time and give advice to her high school self, JacksonGleich says, she’d tell teenage Ginger to be more tolerant of views different from her

OF

“I keep telling myself that there are lots of

of the advantages to a later start in law

own. “I went to a high school where near-

advantages to starting law school at 30,”

school: experience, authority, perspective.

ly everyone agreed with me—and I didn’t

says Ginger Jackson-Gleich ’03, now 31

The arc of Jackson-Gleich’s moral uni-

have time for the people who didn’t,” she

and in her second year at Harvard. What

verse bent toward justice early in her life.

says. “Then, in college, I met tons of peo-

was she doing in that decade after college

She grew up in San Francisco’s Bernal

ple I didn’t agree with. I was in the mix

graduation? Oh, not much. Just changing

Heights neighborhood, where her family

with them all the time and ultimately be-

the world.

still lives. “I knew people with family mem-

came friends with many of them. And that

“When people look at my résumé, they

bers who were incarcerated,” Jackson-

changed where I engage with the world: By

think what’s going on?” Jackson-Gleich says

Gleich says. “One of the first things I saw

learning how to listen deeply to someone

with a laugh. Yes, there’s certainly variety:

was the effects of incarceration on inno-

I disagree with, I learned to search for the

She has run operations for Outward Bound

cent people—children, partners, other fam-

place where opposing points of view meet

in Utah and Alaska, served as an educa-

ily members. That was my introduction to

or resonate.”

tional adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank

the unfairness of the criminal justice sys-

In her sophomore year at the University

of San Francisco, and taught at UHS. But

tem.” Her parents—mom Pat Jackson is an

of North Carolina, where was a Morehead

Jackson-Gleich’s impressively packed CV

Emmy-winning sound editor who’s now a

merit scholar and majored in political

also reveals a consistent theme: her com-

professor at San Francisco State and dad

science and economics, something hap-

mitment to reforming our nation’s skewed

Dan Gleich is a media archivist and docu-

pened that made criminal justice her aca-

and wounded criminal justice system.

mentary film producer—modeled social

demic focus. During the 2004 presidential

responsibility in action for Ginger and her

campaign, Jackson-Gleich and classmates

younger brother Jasper, now 27.

from UNC campaigned for John Kerry

It’s there, for example, in her work as a writing tutor at San Quentin’s Prison University Program; the master’s degree in

“I went to my very first protest with my

in Daytona Beach, Florida, canvassing in

Jurisprudence and Social Policy she earned

mother in 1991, when I was in first grade—

low-income neighborhoods. “I met black

at UC-Berkeley; the research she conducted

probably against the Gulf War,” Jackson-

men in their 40s and 50s who’d been con-

for Human Rights Watch on the criminal-

Gleich recalls. “I was raised with the idea

victed of felonies 20 or 30 years earlier,”

ization of drug possession; and her contri-

that part of your job in life is to try as hard

Jackson-Gleich says, “and I learned that be-

butions to investigations by the ACLU and

as you can to leave the world a better place.

cause of this, they’d been disenfranchised

the Department of Justice Civil Rights Divi-

My parents educated us from a young age

for life. I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine

sion into police misconduct.

to look at the world with open eyes, and not

how this could be appropriate in a dem-

close our eyes when something out there is

ocratic society. That made a huge imprint

difficult or troubling.”

on my thinking.” (The laws regulating fel-

These days, Jackson-Gleich, an editor for the Harvard Law Review, serves as a

CONVICTION 18

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

student attorney with Harvard Defend-

High school deepened these values.

ony disenfranchisement vary widely from

ers, an organization providing free repre-

“I describe UHS as having a Hogwarts

state to state; according to The Sentencing

sentation to low-income defendants. She

feeling—a place of unending riches and

Project, a nonprofit advocacy organiza-

also designs and organizes the Defenders’

opportunities,” Jackson-Gleich says. “The

tion, some 6 million Americans are pro-

monthly training sessions, deploying some

school influenced my sense of the world

hibited from voting because of such laws.)

P H O T O G R A P H Y BY T O N Y R I N A L D O SFUHS.ORG

19

Jackson-Gleich wrote her senior thesis on the negative effects that the permanent disenfranchisement of felons has on voter turnout in general. She also did extensive research on other consequences of felony conviction—the permanent loss of driver’s licenses, welfare benefits, earning power, and the right to live in public housing—and

Book ’em: Great writing on criminal justice

•

and communities. In her senior year, Richardson Preyer Award for Excellence in

•

Political Science.

She decided to continue her explorations at Berkeley’s interdisciplinary PhD program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy.

•

“It’s a really incredible program,” JacksonGleich says. “And one semester into it I realized I didn’t want to be an impartial empirical researcher; I wanted to be an

•

advocate!” She left Berkeley with an MA and took a job working in Alaska for Outward Bound while she pondered next steps.

Then Nasif Iskander, the UHS dean of faculty, offered Jackson-Gleich an alumni teaching fellowship. She taught economics and served as the senior class dean and director of student leadership. “I studied economics because I wanted to be able to understand and speak one of the lan­guages of our country’s most powerful actors,” she says. “To see my students learn to use

ful capacities. He didn’t belong in the adult

We asked Ginger Jackson-Gleich to suggest some books for people who want to explore the criminal justice system (they can, of course, start with Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, which was the schoolwide read for UHS last summer). Her picks:

the collateral impact on their families Jackson-Gleich received the Chancellor’s L.

done awful things, but he also had wonder-

•

system. We can do better than that.”

In some ways, we are doing better, Jackson-Gleich observes. “As an undergraduate, I applied for a grant to fund a project

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

by Michelle Alexander (The New Press): “Arguably the book that got widespread criminal justice reform going. It’s been cited by the Supreme Court (at least in a dissenting opinion!), and it's a very powerful read.”

that would have made it easier for kids to visit their incarcerated parents,” she says.

“The university administrator in charge of funding told me, ‘I honestly don’t under-

Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics by Marie Gottschalk (Princeton University Press): “Perhaps the best book I’ve ever read about criminal justice—thorough, meticulously well-supported with data, and very thoughtful.”

stand why you think this is a population that deserves services and support.’ I was horrified—and his attitude seemed unmovable. But today we see national dialogue on

Governing Through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear by Jonathan Simon (Oxford University Press): “A somewhat more philosophical and theoretical book that grapples with the influence of fear on a wide range of policies.”

issues that 10 years ago seemed untouch-

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (Vintage): “This moving novel tells the story of a man on death row whose family asks a local school teacher to visit him in prison before he is executed.”

with her fiancé, an MBA candidate at MIT,

able, like the general agreement that drug possession should be decriminalized.”

Jackson-Gleich, who lives in Cambridge isn’t sure yet exactly what she’ll do after she graduates in May of 2018. “I hope that

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member by Sanyika Shakur (Grove): “One of the first books I ever read by someone telling the story of his own criminality. It’s a raw tale demonstrating that a person who has done terrible things is still capable of deep humanity.”

“I also highly recommend taking a look at the reports by the Department of Justice on the Ferguson Police and the Baltimore Police (and not just because I worked for DOJ’s Special Litigation Section last summer). I think they’re extremely readable.” Both can be found at https://www.justice.gov/crt/speciallitigation-section-cases-and-matters.

that set of tools was exciting in a way that I could never have imagined.

I loved teaching, but I accepted the job

Justice for all Jackson-Gleich works hard to make "criminal justice" less of a misnomer.

my career will involve many different kinds of legal work,” she says. She’s drawn to impact litigation—bringing lawsuits that compel systemic change by focusing on why a law is unjust or unconstitutional.

If she could go back in time and give advice to her high school self, Jackson-Gleich says, she’d tell teenage Ginger to be more tolerant of views different from her own.

“I’m interested in what we’re criminalizing and how harshly we’re punishing people," she says, "in ending discriminatory practices and the excessive use of force by police, ending the death penalty, fighting felony disenfranchisement, and repealing three-strikes laws.”

The docket is daunting; there’s a lifetime of work to do. “But I’m optimistic,”

knowing that ultimately I wanted to return

Jackson-Gleich says. “It’s now a foregone

to criminal justice work. The fact that I stayed five years instead of the one year

applying a piece of wisdom passed on by

juvenile detention center in North Caroli-

conclusion that the criminal justice system

I had planned was a testament to what

an Outward Bound instructor. “She told

na. He’d spent months in the facility wait-

needs reform. If I’ve played even a tiny role

an incredible community UHS is. I often

me, ‘Whenever you’re about to do some-

ing to learn whether the prosecutor was

in calling this issue to the attention of the

worry that I’ll never again have a group of

thing really hard, think about a person

going to reduce or drop the serious charges

public, I’m proud of that.”

coworkers as brilliant, fun, and kind as my

you’re going to dedicate it to.’

against him or move forward. When it was

UHS colleagues.”

When Jackson-Gleich started law school, she says, she quieted any trepidation by

20

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

Critic in the making Jackson-Gleich, 5, tackles Vonnegut.

“So I made a list of the people I was

finally decided that this teenager should

Judith Stone is the author of When She Was

going to law school for. One of them was

be charged as an adult, I felt as if my heart

White: The True Story of a Family Divided

a kid I met when I was a volunteer at a

were being ripped out. This young man had

by Race.

SFUHS.ORG

21

What are the skills, competencies, and knowledge a student at UHS should develop? Do letter grades facilitate that acquisition or get in the way? Does assessment at UHS make the grade?

Reassessing Assessment

By Kelli Anderson

22

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

I L L U S T R AT I O N BY B R E T T RY D E R

Many American institutions use letter grad-

enough, “like a vending machine where

ing as a way of distinguishing performance

you put in money and effort and get out

or product. But there’s a growing senti-

a grade,” says Byron Philhour, a physics

ment among educators, including many

teacher who led the inquiry team.

at University, that a system that works for

When students feel that everything they

inspecting poultry and trading bonds may

do is high-stakes, they resist taking intellec-

not be ideal for measuring student prog-

tual risks and they experience unhealthy

ress. So this year, as a follow-up to a 2015

levels of stress. “I sense that students feel

faculty inquiry report, UHS is beginning

torn around balancing their own love of

a long-term reconsideration of its assess-

learning and desire to do things outside

ment practices—which include traditional

their comfort zone against these external

points-based letter grading—and experi-

pressures around college admissions and

menting with alterations that might better

this message coming from outside: ‘You

serve students and the school’s mission.

can’t get any B’s,’ ” Philhour says. “There are

Traditional letter grades perform two

elements of that which are complete-

roles, without much nuance in either case:

ly false. As anybody who has lived a life

They provide teacher feedback to students

knows, there is no straight path. Part of our

about growth and achievement, and they

challenge is to communicate that to stu-

function as an evaluation tool for col-

dents authentically, but we are up against a

leges. “The role that grades have in sorting

very loud argument about this single track

students is of absolutely no educational

to success that’s mirrored in society.

value,” says academic dean and English

“Also, there is some truth to the fact that

teacher Kate Garrett, who served on the

if you want to get into Harvard or Stanford

inquiry committee. “But you can’t ignore

and you actually believe that that is an

that colleges literally want to understand:

important part of success for your life,

Who is the ‘best’? They want the best student

then the track is really narrow in the sense

body for their institution. So grades have this

that you should get really good grades. So

crazy dual role. It’s becoming very hard to

I think what’s driving the committee is a

navigate, and it’s making our kids sick.”

sense that there is a lack of balance and

One of the takeaways from the commit-

that maybe we could do a better job of

tee’s work was a sense, based on feedback

communicating to students all the differ-

from students and other parties, that the

ent possible paths there are to success. We

focus on grades can make school feel too

are basically being beaten in a PR war over

transactional and not transformational

what is the goal of life.”

SFUHS.ORG

23

Another challenge is making sure assessments measure and develop the things the school wants to measure and develop in students. “To oversimplify, there’s a big part of taking a test that is

a week instead of four. “That reduces

an example: “A mentor might say to a kid,

The hope, of course, is that changes

about how quickly can you do problems,”

the number of class periods you’re hav-

‘You know what’s amazing? Four of your

in assessment will positively impact stu-

Garrett says. “That’s a good skill, but it’s

ing to prepare for each week,” says Alex

teachers said you are incredible at helping

dents’ experience of high school. Garrett

probably not the only skill we want our

Lockett, the dean of students. “In our previ-

your peers learn.’ As a student you think,

hopes students will start to regard grades

kids to develop. We have to do some deep

ous schedule, all six classes met on Monday

‘I am?’ and then you start paying attention

as a mechanism for feedback and growth

thinking about what are the skills, compe-

and Friday, which meant there were more

to that and you realize you’re a leader in

“rather than a referendum on your good-

tencies, and knowledge we are trying to

opportunities for assessments to happen all

the classroom. I think it’s really important

ness as a human being and your future

produce as a school, as a department, as a

on the same day.”

that we spend a lot of time with students

chances of happiness in life.” Philhour

class. And how do you assess whether that

University’s

to help them invent and sustain their own

would like to hear fewer students report

vision of success.”

that, yeah, I worked like a dog and I got

pioneering

mentoring

has happened or not? And then how do you

program will be enhanced with a new at-

express that assessment in a way that really

tendance program called “Presence.” Be-

Given University’s tradition of teacher

into the college I wanted, but it was a ton

cultivates what you’re trying to cultivate?”

yond recording a student’s attendance in

autonomy, it’s likely that different kinds

of work and I’m totally stressed out. “That

Going forward, the UHS faculty will

a class, “Presence” measures the quality of

of assessment tinkering are already hap-

isn’t everybody at all, but it is a meme

have to grapple with a number of other

that attendance with a feedback system that

pening all over campus. For the last three

about our school,” he says. “It would be

philosophical questions around assess-

qualitatively notes things like participation,

years, Garrett has been delivering her feed-

nice to move the needle on that.” And

ment, including this: How does the school

preparation, and engagement, all of which

back on papers via audio file. “The students

Lockett would see victory simply in

create a culture that embraces setbacks

gets sent to mentors, who can filter that

put on their headphones, read their paper,

richer exchanges between students and

and even failure as necessary steps in the

feedback for their mentees. “Why is some-

and listen to me talk to them about it,”

faculty. “We’re not striving for better col-

learning process without causing students

body not doing well in class?” Philhour asks.

Garrett says. “It’s stunning to me how much

lege admissions, we’re not striving for

and parents to fret about the future?

“Usually it’s because they don’t organize

they love it. It has a number of different

busier students or students who are more

their stuff, and they’re not turning to peo-

effects I didn’t anticipate. Chief among

involved in the world,” she says. “I think

this quiz you showed me you’ve mastered

ple for support. So this is also a way to train

them is they don’t feel so bad about the

what we’re striving for is a calmer, more

this topic but not this one.’ ”

teachers in understanding the causes of per-

feedback. It’s my tone of voice—it makes

meaningful series of engagements every day, in the classroom and out.”

One alternative form of evaluation that has been around for a while is standards-

“In physics, one of the learning goals

based grading, which shifts the assess-

would be: ‘I understand and can apply

ment focus from achievement [i.e., test

Newton’s third law of motion,’ and I would

Aside from ninth-grade physics assess-

formance issues in class. You can’t just say,

them feel like they aren’t losers. It doesn’t

scores] to learning. It hasn’t been used

give a grade for that,” Philhour says. “How

ment, there are a few other concrete changes

‘This kid is lazy.’ It’s very unlikely that this is

end up taking me less time, but it’s way

much at UHS, but this year a form of it

does a student show me that they under-

that students and faculty are experiencing

actually the case. Once mentors see all this

more fun and way less painful.”

will be used in the newly launched ninth-

stand the third law? That could come in a

this year:

teacher feedback, they can discuss with the

Neither Philhour nor Garrett worry

For readers who want to examine the

grade physics classes. Unlike the tradition-

variety of ways, including a quiz or exam.

The daily schedule is different. In what

student: ‘Hey, I’m hearing from your teach-

that changes in UHS assessment practices

issues around assessment in more depth,

al grade book that consists of a number of

What shifting to that mode of thinking does

is a one-year experiment, school is start-

ers that you’re not organized in class. It’s not

will negatively impact college admissions.

the California Association of Independent

assignments or exams with scores on each,

is make the learning goal the center of the

ing later with the goal of students getting

that they hate you and it’s not that you’re

“When schools first started moving away

Schools has an Assessment Resource page

a standards-based grade book consists of a

grade book and not the artifact. Ultimately

more sleep and faculty having time to col-

unintelligent, it’s just that we need to work

from AP courses, there was a lot of worry

on its website. You can find this page at

on organization.’ ”

Diving Deeper

number of learning goals. Philhour’s grade

it probably won’t change the grades deliv-

laborate on curricular development (see

about how that was going to affect college

caisca.org/page/224117_Assessment_Re

book is a hybrid between traditional and

ered; it’s more about reframing assessment

story page 14). Also, in an effort to address

Likewise, regular teacher-to-mentor

admissions,” Garrett says. “It had zero ef-

sources.asp.

standards-based grading in that he still uses

and learning and how we communicate it to

the sheer volume of schoolwork, which

feedback can help students recognize their

fect, because every high school has main-

letter grades, though those grades don’t

students. So rather than, ‘Oh, I got another

students report as a significant source of

strengths. Lockett, who co-founded the

tained an ability to indicate to colleges the

Kelli Anderson is a former senior writer for

merely represent accumulated points.

bad grade on a quiz,’ the discussion is, ‘In

stress, classes will meet just three days

mentoring program four years ago, gives

students who are doing advanced work.”

Sports Illustrated.

24

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

SFUHS.ORG

25

Alumni

Alumni Association News and Calendar

By Holly Johnson ’82, Director of Alumni Relations

2017 April

3 Repeat of Hamilton seminar

2016

sponsored by Parents Association. Alumni invited to join. Time t.b.d.

Summer Send-Off BBQ

25th Reunion Dinner with the Head of School, 7:30 p.m.

6 Baseball Alumni vs. Varsity, Paul Goode Field, 3 p.m.

6

November

Class Reunions for 1982,

May

16 Bay Area Independent High

College Life Panel

5

5

Schools Networking Event

1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012, at UHS, 6–9 p.m.

Plus more events and seminars to be scheduled

UHS Night at

26

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

ALUMNI OFFICE NEWS is delivered to your in-box at the beginning of each month, so please make sure the school has your updated contact information. We also use Facebook and LinkedIn to get the word out about upcoming opportunities, so please join those groups and “like” our pages. Visit the alumni section of the school website to find links to social media pages or to update your records.

(Or email uhsalumni@sfuhs.org.)

to participate.

24

Showcase, 5–7 p.m.

Alumni Soccer Turkey

22

Kick-About, Kimbell Field,

Badminton Alumni Game, at

10 a.m.

the Devil Dome, 7–9 p.m.

23 Basketball Alumni vs. Varsity

December

Holiday Hoops Fest, at the Devil Dome, Women: 4 p.m., Men: 5:30 p.m.

TOP, JAMES FAERRON

UHS CELEBRATED ITS 40TH BIRTHDAY EARLIER THIS YEAR and alumni were front and center at the festivities. Over 500 alumni attended or participated in at least one event here in San Francisco or at one of our gatherings in New York, Seattle, and Oakland (see photos and more at www.sfuhs.org/ scrapbook). The commemorative programming enhanced our traditional calendar of events and we plan to continue the momentum by adding new ways for alumni to engage.

ALREADY THIS FALL WE’VE SEEN ALUMNI ON CAMPUS for the unveiling of the mural created

by Vera Gould '10 outside of the student center and for the entertaining seminar about Hamilton (the man and the musical) presented by teachers Chris Martin and Ryan O’Donnell. As you can see on the calendar on the next page, there are many opportunities for you to connect with your alma mater over the next few months. Please mark your calendar and make plans to attend an event. Take a look at the school’s calendar of arts and athletics events on the website (www.sfuhs.org) as you are always welcome to share in the fun.

MANY THANKS to our alumni leadership. Clayton Timbrell ’00, who represents the alumni association on the board, and his fellow alumni trustees Margaret Charnas ’76, Matt Farron ’98, Louise Greenspan ’86, and newcomer Boe Hayward ’96 contribute an important voice and help steward the school with their expertise.

Clayton is also working with the alumni office to begin building a representative alumni association governing body that can develop leadership throughout the generations of graduates. Please watch your emails and postal mail for information about the new association and invitations

20 Holiday Reunion (all classes

26

invited), at Pause Wine Bar

Soccer Alumni vs. Varsity, at

(1666 Market Street, SF),

Kimbell Field, 11 a.m. (men and

6–9 p.m.

women simultaneously)

SFUHS.ORG

27

Alumni

Class Notes 1979 Crane Maiden Books released a collection of poems by MARC ZEGANS last spring. Boys in the Woods “takes the reader through the darker, grittier spaces of boys growing up amidst the woods and waters of New England,” says the publisher’s website. The collection, the site adds, “is a visceral account of the cruelty and the soul-scraping initiations faced by young adolescents on the cusp of entering the adult realities of the human condition.” Books published by Crane Maiden include a soundtrack, and Marc wrote the lyrics to the songs that accompany his poems.

ect “is a heaven-sent fit between my hands-on maker mentality, founder inclination, educational technology background, and desire to go back and teach. Plus, with Oracle’s latest commitment, we are poised to literally change the way education is conducted in the United States.”

GERALD HUFF works on the cloud services that talk to Tesla cars. He reports that he’s done some speaking and writing on the topic of technological unemployment. He is writing a novel set 20 years in the future that explores the problems that can arise in a society facing a dramatically reduced need for human labor because of developments in hardware and software.

LESLIE KARDOS opened her own gynecology and minimally invasive surgery clinic last spring.

1981 Members of the Class of 1981 shared 60 pages of moving personal updates with each other on the occasion of their 35th reunion last spring. It's an amazing class, living out the school’s mission by making change in the world and seeking new horizons. Here are just a few new projects underway by this incredible group of people.

SANDRA BODOVITZ FEDER writes children's books and is one of the founders of Design Tech High School, a charter school in Burlingame. She convinced JOHN PETERSON to serve on the school’s board. John says the proj-

28

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

RIX KRAMLICH launched a new company in July called FUTR (future) that is a next-generation student loan servicing business.

“Sounds arcane?” he writes. “Yes it is, but it will really help people burdened with student loan debt and will be a game-changer for the industry.”

TUCKER MALARKEY is working on a nonfiction book, Stronghold, about one man’s crusade to save the wild salmon of the Pacific Rim. It’s a conservation thriller that she hopes will trick people into learning some amazing gee-whiz science.

Her research has taken her to the Russian Far East where she’s had some hair-raising adventures involving Cossacks, oligarchs, and revolutionaries. Watch for a preview chapter in The New Yorker sometime soon.

JJ MULLANE is launching a new company, Illumen, that will focus on popularizing reusable utilitarian categories beyond water bottles and grocery bags. Illumen’s first product line will be reusable-cloth gift wrap made from ecofriendly materials by nonprofit social benefit organizations, mostly in India.

DEBORAH NADEL, a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, is working on a book with her husband, a financial planner, hoping to provide a basic education about financial matters and the “emotional/decisionmaking tendencies that make us do the wrong thing,” she writes.

JAIME SANFORD reports that she helped found an organization that provides gently used furnishings to formerly homeless families.

The group gathers unwanted furniture throughout San Francisco to help settle families who are eligible for subsidized housing but who usually have nothing to furnish their apartments.

1982

DIANE ROSENBLUM designed the upstairs hallway space at the 2016 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. The space featured her artwork, including pieces from a series called “A Measure of Art” that depicts the art and careers of famous artists. Cristene Collier Schonefeld ’77 was also in the Showcase this year, as part of the design firm that did the kitchen.

LESLIE TALMADGE and her husband, Brian Kopperl, and their daughter, Lauren, have returned to the Bay Area. They moved to

Mill Valley from Cambridge, Massachusetts, over the summer.

1983 MARGARET NOMURA CLARK and family moved to the D.C. area for Margaret’s new position as artistic director of the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Congratulations! She reports that Bruce “Doc” Lamott will take over her teaching gig directing the high school chorus at the S.F. Conservatory precollege division. “Attending Doc’s final Camerata concert and Cabaret was a full-circle moment and brought back memories of singing in Camerata. Having my former Hamlin students and the S.F. Boys Chorus singing under Doc’s direction was very special and symbolized my years of teaching in S.F. It was a moment I will never forget.”

ALUMNI IN PHYSICS

Pushing the Boundaries of Science

By Holly Johnson '82, Director of Alumni Relations University High School rolled out its ninth-grade physics curric-

In her PhD work at UC-Berkeley, Andrea grapples with how

cation and design thinking space, on South Campus. Physics has

heat is transferred. She and her team of professors, postdocs,

always been important at UHS. The school has an alumnus

and other grad students are studying how the classic laws of

helping to build what may become the world’s most powerful

heat transference break down at nanoscopic scale. As electron-

computer. Another plays a critical role in landing a vehicle safely

ics become ever more sophisticated and integrated circuits

on the surface of Mars. And one alumna researches heat trans-

carry larger and larger amounts of information, researchers

ference at nanoscopic scale (that’s right, a billionth of a meter).

and manufacturers, particularly those who make hard drives,

We turn our microscope onto six alumni who are out on the leading edge of science:

STEVE KUBICK reports that he has a new job as a senior analyst (continued on page 31)

want to understand what happens at a 10-nanometer size (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter).

Andrea’s team is looking for new ways to measure the temperature of components. One promising line of research, she says, involves using luminescent nanoparticles to map temperature at a 10-nanometer scale. Alternative energy is another field with potential applications. Andrea found her start in this area while studying mechanical engineering as an undergraduate

1985 LINCOLN MITCHELL’S third book, The Democracy Promotion Paradox, was published in the spring by Brookings Press. His next book, Will Big League Baseball Survive? Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports, and the Future of Major League Baseball, will be published later this year by Temple University Press. Lincoln shared his expertise on politics in the former Soviet republics with Carolyn McNulty’s Modern European History class at UHS last spring.

ANDREA PICKEL ’10.

ulum this fall and opened the doors to the uLab, its new fabri-

at Carnegie Mellon and through summer internships at Texas Instruments in Dallas. She has always been interested in the intersection of physics and engineering, so she was delighted to find a home in the nano/energy lab in Berkeley’s mechanical engineering department. With a UC fellowship and another from the National Science Foundation, Andrea is excited to begin her third year in the program, with the possibility of becoming a colANDREW BESTWICK ’03.

lege professor in the future.

Andrew studied physics and math at Harvard and then worked at Bain & Co. as a management consultant who

ERIC BELZ ’83.

specialized in financial services and the semiconductor indus-

If you find parallel park-

try. He returned to campus, obtaining a PhD in physics from

ing on a hill in San Francisco

Stanford in 2015. Since then he has joined a promising Berkeley

difficult, consider the park-

start-up, Rigetti Quantum Computing, where he is a manager

ing challenge faced by Eric

looking to apply principles of quantum mechanics to storing

Belz. Eric and his team at

information. His company is not short on ambition. Its goal:

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab-

build the world’s most powerful computer. Its challenge: scal-

oratory (JPL) in Pasadena

ing up the size of the system so that it is capable of processing

are responsible for the seven-minute descent of the Mars Landing

large amounts of information.

Vehicle—from when it enters the rarefied Martian atmosphere

Andrew became interested in looking for new ways to

to when it deploys its parachute and then touches down. To make

move electrons around while he was in graduate school.

this even more difficult, communications from the Red Planet

Breakthroughs in this area could have applications in energy

take 10 minutes to reach the lab—by the time the team on Earth

transmission, cryptography, and machine learning. Andrew

begins to receive landing data, the vehicle has already set down.

says he was inspired to do basic research because of the poten-

Eric works with radar sensors to determine a viable land-

tial to improve, significantly, people’s lives in the near term and

ing technique, and his calculations have to take into account

because his work is in the vanguard of physics.

Mars’s incredibly thin atmosphere—so thin that some moun-

SFUHS.ORG

29

Alumni

taintops actually rise above the atmosphere—and the plan-

of the variety of problems and materials to work on. “These

et’s powerful dust storms.

materials,” he says, “offer a new window into other funda-

Eric has been at JPL for 17 years. He earned his BS in

mentals of physics.”

physics from UC-Berkeley and his PhD in experimental and nuclear particle physics from Caltech. His first project at JPL

EVELYN HULL ’09.

was working on a topographic map of Earth that was created

Evelyn graduated from UHS with an enormous passion for

using imaging radar technology deployed on the Space Shuttle

hands-on work, inspired in part by her participation in the the-

Endeavour over eight days in 2000. “The entire shuttle bay was

ater tech program. She received a BS in aerospace engineering

full of data tapes, which we analyzed,” Eric says. The map is

from the University of Michigan and has been working at the

the most cited earth science data set ever, he notes proudly.

NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field. She is also com-

The work on Mars has been equally transformational.

“When I got to JPL, what we thought about (Mars) was com-

pleting a master’s in dynamics and control at the University of Southern California.

pletely different than what we know now,” he says. His team

At NASA, Evelyn uses her understanding of aircraft and

is working on the next Mars mission, which is scheduled to

pilots to help create new guidelines for unmanned aerial

launch in May of 2018 and land that November. NASA’s stated

systems—drones—as their number grows exponentially.

goal for the missions is nothing less than to pave the way for

“How can they be integrated into the national airspace as

astronauts to land on Mars.

it currently exists?” she asks. Other questions for her team

in deal management, handling TV participations for Warner Bros. Television, which is the largest television production company in the world.

So it is definitely a lot. “Having just visited Auschwitz and Birkenau the day of our 30th reunion last year," Steve says, "I am into the history of the Warner brothers as Polish Jews whose father emigrated from that region. Did you know that in 1933, they tried to release a film called Concentration Camp, which was shut down by our very own State Department? Anyway, of the studios, it is still the most liberal, and I am so much happier there. I also feel like I can finally put my education at UHS, Northwestern, and Pepperdine (corporate finance MBA) to work.”

include: How close to large aircraft can drones safely fly?

EMMA DOWD ’11.

If commercial users are required to file a flight plan, how

Emma did biophysics research as a chemistry and physics

well can the aircraft be expected to adhere to one? NASA is

major at Harvard but became interested in the basic science

working with industry partners and the Federal Aviation

side of quantum physics after a summer internship at the

Administration on these issues.

University of Vienna. Now in her second year as a doctoral

Evelyn has also been involved with a simulator project

student in physics at UC-Berkeley, Emma is in the ultracold

that tests pilot reactions to new procedures and technologies.

atomic physics group at Cal working on research that will help

As the population of unmanned vehicles grows, she says, it’s

us better understand complex quantum systems. “We under-

important to figure out, preemptively, how to deal with them.

1986 RANDY WOO sent in this note from Seattle: “Just remembered that we hit the 30th anniversary of our UHS lacrosse California State Championship and the big wins over rivals St. Ignatius and Novato High. Go Big Red!”

stand atoms pretty well,” Emma says. “They are manipulable, so we use our control over them to set up different systems and see what kind of physics is going on.” Using laser light, Emma and other researchers create energy landscapes and measure how the atoms move through them.

Emma’s research involves tabletop physics—observing

1988 TRACY CHILES MCGHEE sent in this news: “I still live in Washington, D.C. My daughter Sasha Ariel is a

atoms, for example, in big silver vacuum chambers. “It’s “That’s something that I especially like about my field. We can get at really fundamental physics with experiments that fit in one room.”

ROBERT KEALHOFER ’09.

Robert is also at UC-Berkeley, beginning his fourth year in the doctoral program in physics after earning a BS from Harvey Mudd. His research focuses on the largest subfield of physics: condensed matter physics. Robert is working on a project to synthesize materials to characterize their electrical and thermodynamic properties. Understanding topological properties of materials could improve technologies that understanding could also pave the way for replacements for semiconductors, for example. Robert loves the field because

30

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016

1995

1989

1997

MARIANNA STARK announces the opening of A Stark Project, a new gallery dedicated to installation art in West Berkeley’s Sawtooth Building. Among the curators and artists who will show work in the coming months is Natasha Boas ’82. Find out more about A Stark Project at thestark guide.com. Marianna and her

Compass, the tech-driven real estate platform co-founded by ROBERT REFFKIN, recently rolled out in San Francisco with some of the nation’s top real estate professionals. This marks the opening of the firm’s ninth luxury market since it launched in 2013 and culminates a $75 million investment round led

by Wellington Management LLP, increasing Compass's total funding to $210 million.

husband, Sam Perry, hosted an alumni artists gathering at their studio in West Oakland last July.

1992 DAMANI BAKER’S film, The House on Coco Road, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. The movie is a documentary about a group of strong women, including his mother, during the revolution in Granada when Damani was a child.

JILL AXELROD DYAL reports that baby Tabitha Helen Dyal was born on April 19 and that “her older brothers and sisters—three German shepherds—are already very protective of her.” Jill and family live in Greenwich, Connecticut.

paign going to finance the final production of the film. You can check it out at pigeonkings.com.

Or you can see the teaser at milenapastreich.com/birdmen.html.

CLAYTON TIMBRELL married ERICA REID on July 16 at Meadowood in Napa Valley. Clayton and Erica’s honeymoon included a week in Antibes followed by a road trip to Rome and a weekend in Istanbul.

Clayton represents alumni on the UHS Board of Trustees.

ALI WONG’S one-hour Netflix comedy special, Baby Cobra, premiered in May and immediately gained a top-50 comedy ranking on the streaming service. The New York Times Magazine published an interview with her titled “Ali Wong Knows How the Internet Sees Her” in the June 22 edition.

2000

2001

Filmmaker MILENA PASTREICH reports that she is well into the editing stage of a documentary film called Pigeon Kings, which is about men in South Central Los Angeles who are filled with hope by their devotion to pigeons that do somersaults in the air. Milena did her graduate studies in film at UCLA. She has a Kickstarter cam-

Congrats to BEN GUCCIARDI and his nonprofit, Soccer Without Borders, for the incredible honor they were awarded last spring—the 2016 Lipman Family Prize from the University of Pennsylvania. The prize includes a cash gift plus executive training and support from the Wharton School of Business.

Soccer Without Borders

1994

really cool that we can control quantum systems,” she says.

don’t yet exist, Robert explains. At a more mundane level, this

excited to share that I recently released my debut novel, Melting the Blues. Classmates LATONIA MCKINNEY and MONICA WHOOLEY have shown tremendous support in the pursuit of this dream come true. Folks can find the book at major online booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.”

freshman in college, majoring in computer information systems.

She also models. As for me, I am

JULAYNE AUSTIN VIRGIL reports: “My commitment to youth development and building stronger communities was cultivated at UHS, and I recently became the CEO of Girls Inc. of Alameda County.

The agency empowers 8,000 girls (ages 5 to 18) from low-income communities and inspires them to become strong, smart, and bold.

My husband, Clay, and I have two daughters, Vivienne, 3, and Zahra, 1, so this work has a special importance to me. I invite anyone who is interested in learning more to come visit our downtown Oakland Simpson Center for Girls.”

SFUHS.ORG

31

Alumni emerged as the winner from among 170 applicants worldwide. UHS is proud of Ben and also of the Lipman family, who created the prize in 2012 and, in an amazing small world connection, includes a former UHS trustee, a former Decorator Showcase chair, and three alumnae (Monique ‘09, Elyse ‘05, and Amelie ‘04).

2004 EMILY PROUD and her husband, Nick Brown, welcomed baby Adam Nicholas Brown into their lives on August 13. Emily is a preschool teacher at One Fifty Parker School and a painter. Her husband is an architect at Studio Vara. They live and work in San Francisco.

his album X Infinity, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Ten rap album chart, coincidently just below the soundtrack for Hamilton: An American Musical. Congratulations!

2005 Plume published GEORGE WATSKY’S book of essays, How to Ruin Everything, in June. The book not only reached No. 10 on The New York Times paperback nonfiction best sellers list on July 6, but also received this rave review from Lin-Manuel Miranda: “Funny, subversive, and able to excavate such brutally honest sentences that you find yourself nodding your head in wonder and recognition.”

Then, in August, George released

We acknowledge the loss of the following members and friends of the UHS community and extend our deepest sympathy to their families and friends.

2009 JACQUELINE THOMPSON has moved from the UHS math office to Summerbridge, where she is the associate director of academics.

2010 MOLLY BONDY and JESSICA OSORIO joined the faculty at UHS this year. Molly is teaching AP Art History and Jessica teaches ninth- and 10th-grade English.

VERA GOULD painted a mural in the student center hallway as part of our 40th celebration. It was unveiled to friends and classmates in September.

2011

Artist and ocean advocate COURTNEY MATTISON exhibited her large-scale ceramic coral reef in the Palo Alto Art Center’s summer show, Fired Up: Monumental Clay.

In Memoriam

GRACE BAELEN-KING was our most recent grad to come to the Alumni Career Day Panel for juniors and seniors in April.

Grace spoke to students about her career in software and how she got started. Other speakers included Greg Gordon ’81, Jessica Vapnek ’81, Harold Mann ’84, Trevor Traina ’86, Christina Kramlich Bowie ’87, Marianna Stark ’89, Celeste Young ’90, Justin McMahan ’93, Allison Harding ’96, Clayton Timbrell ’00, Shaun Young ’00, Daniel Katz ’04, Kseniya Tuchinskaya ’04, Kolin Hribar ’05, Zach Robin ’09, Brittany Blum ’10, and Andrea Pickel ’10.

2015 CONOR BUTLER, TREVOR CHONG, GRACE EUPHRAT WESTON, AUDREY EVERS, DANNY FISHMAN-ENGEL, ANNIE FRASER, JOSH GUGGENHEIM, LIZZIE HALPER, ALEXANDRA HANSEN, ETHAN LAMPERT, KATIE LO, ADAIR MAXWELL, MICHAEL MENDELSOHN, AUSTIN MOREMAN, KABIR PAREKH, XENIA RANGASWAMI, BRIAN SCHMELTZER, and BEN TRACY participated in the “College Life” presentation to the Class of 2016

AROUND THE COURTYARD Harper Collins published the debut novel of KEN LOGAN, a former UHS English instructor. True Letters from a Fictional Life has received superb reviews. Kirkus called it “a funny and realistic coming-out tale. . . . The rounded characters deal with betrayal and honesty and love and near tragedy in ways teen readers, gay or straight, will recognize. Just the right touch of humor, mystery,

SHEANA W. BUTLER, mother of Serra Simbeck ’84 and grandmother of Elena Butler ’06 and Tobias Butler ’09, June 1, 2016.

Annual Report 2015–2016

GEORGE DIRKES, father of Matt Dirkes ’92 and Stephen Dirkes ’94 and stepfather of Gabriel Stern ’90, December 6, 2015.

LAWRENCE “LARRY” MILLER, father of Nichole Miller ’95, April 18, 2016.

SHARON ROBERTSON, mother of Deke Sharon ’86, April 5, 2016.

HENRY SIDES, father of Josh Sides ’90 and husband of Sudie Sides (retired faculty), September 12, 2016.

WAYNE OTIS VEATCH JR., father of Will Veatch ’98, August 7, 2016.

GENE ELKUS WOLLENBERG, mother of Heidi Philbrick Schell ’81 and Lande Ajose ’83, July 26, 2016.

drama, and romance.”

Obituaries in this issue include notices received in the Alumni Office by September 14, 2016.

Please let us know if you would like a relative to be remembered in the UHS Journal.

T H E N E W PA U L G O O D E F I E L D D R AW I N G C O U R T E SY O F A R T Z E N D A R S K I 32

UHS JOURNAL FALL 2016