experienceSUMMER2022 Learning to Live Langley A Look Back at Michele Claeys’ First Year as Head of School
experience 252421201817161410621 In this issue is published twice a year for alumni, families, and friends of The Langley School Head of School Michele Claeys Editor & Designer Sharon Vipperman, Director of Publications Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications Brittany Westbrook Where vital academics meet a deep respect for childhood Preschool through grade 8 in Northern Virginia 1411 Balls Hill Road, McLean, Virginia 22101 (703) 356-1920 www.langleyschool.org ON THE COVER: Head of School Michele Claeys reads to preschoolers. Head of School’s Message Feature Story: Learning to Live Langley Campus Happenings Feature Story: Defining Rigor Honoring Our Graduates Langley Says Farewell to Debi Gustin The Langley Fund Impacts from 2021-2022 Update on The Next Generation Campaign Spring Auction Raises $550,000 Class Notes Alumni Profile: Brendan Zotter ’04 The Last Word: A Time for Gratitude
MicheleWarmly, Claeys Head of School
As I reflect on my first year as head of school here at Langley, I’m proud of all we have accomplished together. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our students, parents, faculty, and staff – both past and present – and have so appreciated the warm welcome you have given me. Langley is an incredible school, with a dedicated and supportive community, and I have had so much fun learning about the many traditions, signature programs, and activities that make the Langley experience unique. You can read more about my first year and the goals we achieved on page 2. Despite the lingering effects of the pandemic, we contin ued to deliver on the academic rigor and social-emotional acuity for which Langley is known. Our classrooms were filled with expert teaching and inquisitive learning, and our Class of 2022 graduates are well prepared to face the challenges of high school. On page 10, you’ll find a more in-depth look at our academic program and how we define rigor and engage deep learning.
I hope you are enjoying the warm summer months, along with some time to relax and rejuvenate with friends and family. Even though school is not in session, Langley’s campus is bustling with activity. Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on our magnificent new Crossroads Building which will open this fall, as well as our former Primary School which we are transforming into a new STEAM space called Pirro Studios, named after beloved former junior kindergarten teacher, Betty Pirro. We can’t wait to officially open these state-of-the-art facilities in September and to see them come alive with the energy of our students and teachers. In addition to the many contractors on campus working to complete our construction, we also have a number of students and faculty here for six weeks taking part in our summer programs. It’s wonderful to experience the joy on the faces of the children as they learn and grow during the summer months, especially since we paused Summer Studio for the past two years due to the pandemic.
years of pandemic restric tions. Our parent associ ation, PALS, plays such a central role in building the warm, inclusive community that has been at the core of Langley’s identity since our founding. I can’t thank our parent body enough for their support this year. Whether coordinating a faculty/ staff appreciation luncheon, volunteering to help with Field Day, or supporting the school at our record-breaking spring auction or through our Next Generation Campaign, our community is deeply committed to ensuring Langley continues to thrive. Be sure to read about our fundraising successes this year beginning on page 17. This fall, not only will we celebrate Langley’s 80th anniver sary and the official opening of the Crossroads Building, but we will also have the opportunity to do a deep dive into Langley’s programs, practices, and overall student experience as we develop the school’s next strategic plan and begin the accreditation process through the Virginia Association of Independent Schools which happens every 10 years. We look forward to receiving your input through community surveys and small group meetings which will include students, employees, alumni, and past parents. Please watch for more information this fall. It’s an exciting time to be at Langley as we celebrate our past and plan for our future. I am truly honored to be part of the Langley community, and I look forward to continu ing to get to know each one of you as we embark on the exciting things to come for this special place.
One of the highlights of the year for me was being able to welcome our parent volunteers back to campus after several
Dear Langley friends... Head of School’s Message 1
Learning to Live Langley
A Look Back at Michele Claeys’ First Year as Head of School
Underscored by this year’s theme, “Together We Thrive,” Ms. Claeys began the 2021-2022 school year with five school-wide goals which focused on uplifting, reconnecting, supporting, learning, and growing. These key goals guided us as we began returning to more “normal” school life fol lowing several years of limitations due to the pandemic.
Langley community has made my first year seem effortless and just so much fun,” says Ms. Claeys.
FEATURE STORY:
Since she arrived on campus last summer as Langley’s new head of school, Michele Claeys has fully immersed herself in our school culture, meeting with hundreds of faculty, staff, students, and parents, visiting every classroom on campus, and working tirelessly to understand, reflect upon, and offer a fresh perspective on Langley’s strengths and “Thechallenges.entire
GOAL 1: Strengthen communication with and support and appreciation for faculty and staff. The past few years have been extremely challenging for Langley’s faculty as the pandemic forced them to discover new ways to teach and connect with their students and each other. As they creatively developed and implemented distance and hybrid learning models, they continued to preserve the key tenants of our program and provide their students with the rigorous, joyful learning and meaningful connections for which Langley is known.
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“Whether meeting with my student advisors to the head over lunch, reading to our preschoolers, playing Ultimate Frisbee with the Middle School, participating in a Lower School social studies lesson, or taking part in my first Field Day, I have truly learned what it means to live Langley. I could not be more proud or grateful to serve as Langley’s head of school, and I look forward to the many wonderful things to come.”
“I know we are all so incredibly grateful to our faculty and staff for the flexibility, agility, and dedication they have shown over the last several years,” says Ms. Claeys, who met individually with nearly all of Langley’s 130 faculty and staff members to get to know them personally. “As they transitioned back to a more typical classroom structure this year while navigating the impacts of new COVID-19 vari ants, I felt it was extremely important for our community to recognize their efforts and support them in whatever way we could.”
Pictured at left clockwise L to R: Head of School Michele Claeys tours the Crossroads Building, plays Ultimate Frisbee with Middle Schoolers, reads to first-graders, and celebrates Halloween.
GOAL 2: Reconnect faculty, staff, students, and families. Thanks to the cooperation and support of the entire Langley community – and guidance from our hard-working Health & Safety Task Force – Langley was able to provide opportunities for valuable in-person connection from the moment school opened in the fall. Throughout the year, we carefully reintroduced many pre-pandemic programs and traditions, including day and overnight field trips, in-person performances and assemblies, Middle School electives, team sports, and volunteer opportunities and events for parents, including parent socials and the spring auction. Our faculty and staff met in-person for profes sional development days and other school-wide meetings, allowing them to more effectively collaborate across divi sions and departments. In order to provide more transpar ency, Langley also worked to enhance our communication with families this year, including creating a new dashboard with up-to-date COVID-19 information.
GOAL 3: Develop and implement continued work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through the efforts of DEI Coordinator LaToya Needham and our DEI Committee – and the support and involve ment from the Board of Trustees, parents, faculty, and staff – Langley made our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work a priority this year. We continued building a solid DEI foundation with faculty and staff through several professional development sessions; hosted DEI dialogues with parent groups to get a pulse on the community; iden tified areas of strength and improvement through faculty/ staff DEI surveys; tracked our growth and audited our DEI practices; and continued to grow our DEI Committee and provide forums for discussion.
With the return of parent volunteers to campus, the Parent Association of The Langley School (PALS) was able to treat faculty and staff to many special appreciation events this year, including a lovely spring luncheon and an ice cream party. At Langley’s first in-person auction since 2019, the community came together to raise a record-breaking $550,000 for the school, $160,000 of which was raised spe cifically in support of faculty excellence during the “Raise the Paddle” portion of the live auction.
Faculty enjoy Taco Tuesday during Teacher Appreciation Week.
“As we come back together following the pandemic, our DEI work is central to our ability to connect as a commu nity,” Ms. Claeys says. “In order to ensure every student is challenged and supported to learn to the best of their ability, we must maintain a sense of belonging for every one. Even though we certainly have more work to do on this front, I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made together this year.”
“While the school was able to find creative ways to keep our community connected when the pandemic kept us physically apart, there’s nothing like being together in-person for a shared experience,” adds Ms. Claeys. “It was so won derful to see parents in the Sherman Arts Center watching a student performance or to see the bond that developed among our students when they took an overnight field trip together. It’s these moments that help build and nurture our unique sense of community, and I can’t wait for us to come together even more frequently next year.”
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“The success of our students is due in large part to Langley’s outstanding faculty and their ability to deliver our curriculum through unprecedented challenges,” says Ms. Claeys, noting that Langley’s efforts to attract and retain talented teachers have paid off with attrition levels at just half of what they were last year. “Our teachers are our most import ant resource and have a direct impact on student achievement.”
By the Numbers
GOAL 4: Implement and enhance our professional growth process to support goals for teaching and learning that directly impact students. After two years of focusing on transitioning our program to distance and hybrid learning models, Langley was able to return to providing robust pro fessional learning and coaching opportunities for our faculty. We expanded our faculty coaching program to create a cohort of instructional coaches who meet monthly to develop best practices for coaching our teachers. Each faculty member at Langley now has an instructional coach who helps set goals and pro vides specific, targeted feedback for improvement which directly impacts students’ experience in the classroom. As the world opened back up this year, our teachers were also able to enhance their craft by returning to both virtual and in-person professional development training and conferences. This year, Langley was once again able to use our full range of assessment tools to measure student prog ress and growth, including the AIMS assessments and the ERB CTP-5 standardized test. The impres sive results on these assessments show that, despite the challenges of a global pandemic, our students have progressed in their learning and continue to outperform independent school norms.
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COVID-19 Task Force meetings11 PALS Executive Committee meetings9 Board of Trustees meetings8 Meetings with Lower School student advisors5 Meetings with Middle School advisories12 Stories read to preschool through grade 213 Morning carpool duties105151 Introductory meetings with faculty/staff 78 Parent meetings 59 Classroom/teacher visits 39 Crossroads Building project meetings 33 Senior Leadership Team meetings 32 Student performances and athletic events
In her first year as head of school, Michele Claeys has spent her days getting to know our community and familiarizing herself with Langley’s traditions and signature programs. Here are just some of the ways she learned to live Langley this year:
• Articulating and promoting Langley’s exceptional STEAM program
As Langley prepares for an exciting year ahead, Head of School Michele Claeys has identified these top priorities:
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Priorities for 2022-2023
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• Telling the alumni story and utilizing alumni feedback Assessing accessibility and affordability
“We would not be in the position we are today with a beautiful new building about to open and a more robust endowment to support our priorities without the lead ership of our Board or the participation of our generous community,” Ms. Claeys adds. “What a wonderful way to kick off Langley’s 80th anniversary and celebrate our con nection to each other and to our school.”
As we reflect on our accomplishments this year – and congratulate Ms. Claeys for capably navigating her first full year as head of school – we look ahead to the fall when Langley will begin a new strategic planning process along with our 10-year Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) accreditation self-study. All members of the Langley community will be involved in these strategic processes, whether as a member of a team or a learning group or through one of our community wide surveys. We look forward to gathering input from a wide range of past and present members of the school family as we create an exciting new roadmap for Langley’s future and celebrate the school’s 80th anniversary.
55 GOAL 5: Help Langley thrive throughout the Crossroads Building project and the completion of the campaign.
Planning for the Future
• Retaining talented teachers and providing the best tools and training Continuing curriculum review and enhancement Utilizing and promoting the new Crossroads Building and Pirro Studios
• Prioritizing student belonging through social-emotional learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion
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In 2019, Langley’s Board of Trustees launched the Next Generation Campaign to accomplish two major priorities:
1) expand and enhance our campus footprint with the ad dition of the Crossroads Building and 2) grow our endow ment to support innovative programs, professional develop ment, tuition assistance, and other school initiatives. This campaign has been the most ambitious in Langley’s 80-year history, and we have raised more through this effort than in any other campaign, with $14.4 million raised to date from more than 100 donors (including the largest single gift ever received at Langley, a $3 million leadership gift). On schedule to open this fall, the new Crossroads Building will house Langley’s Primary School, fifth grade, and Club E.D. programs, library, innovation lab, music room, perfor mance stage, and multipurpose space. Langley will also transform the former Primary School space into what will be known as Pirro Studios, a dedicated home for our inno vative STEAM program, which will feature art classrooms and a fabrication lab. We have also reached our endow ment goal of $10 million, putting Langley more in line with our peer schools.
3. During their performance of “Folk Tales for Fun,” fifth-graders told six folk tales originating in different cul tures and highlighted the ways we are all connected.
5. Primary School students took to the stage for “Primary Explorers Extravaganza,” a musical performance that high lighted their study of oceans, outer space, and rainforests, along with Langley’s core values. Through the Arts
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Campus Happenings
1. First- and second-graders took us on a fun journey through songs and dances from classic movies spanning 80 years during their musical performance of “Movie Madness.”
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Expressing Creativity
2. Fourth-graders had the unique opportunity to share their light box artwork as part of the Arts Integration exhibit at the renowned Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.
4. Musical theater returned to Langley when nearly 50 Middle School students presented “The Big Bad Musical” in which the Big Bad Wolf is slapped with a class-action lawsuit by characters from favorite fairy tales.
7. The third grade continued their popular 50 states project, with each student researching a specific state and creating state fair “floats” highlighting the geography, culture, history, and industries of their state.
8. Eighth-graders continued their tradition of an overnight class trip, traveling to New York City this spring where they enjoyed three days of activities in the Big Apple.
6. End-of-year Middle School overnight trips returned this year, with sixth-graders enjoying a three-day adventure at Camp Calleva where they participated in activities including a ropes course, rafting, hiking, and rock climbing.
Keeping Traditions Alive
9. The second grade once again celebrated Earth Day while beautifying Langley’s campus during their annual spring planting day.
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2. Parents enjoyed getting to know one another during a series of grade-level parent socials held at the Starr Hill Biergarten at Capital One Center’s Perch.
3. Langley’s parent association, PALS, led a school-wide “Share the Love” service project that included more than 500 homemade valentines and breakfast and lunch treats for area community heroes, including staff at the McLean Police Station.
4. In April, parents, faculty, and staff gathered for an epic battle of trivia and team fun at the much-anticipated return of Leopardy Quiz Night.
1. Langley parents were thrilled to once again volunteer on campus following several years of pandemic restrictions. Many thanks to this amazing team of volunteers who organized a delicious spring appreciation luncheon for faculty and staff.
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5. Full seasons of winter and spring sports returned this year. Congratulations to the JV girls’ basketball team – who ended their season as the undefeated conference champi ons – and to all of our student athletes.
7. Primary Schoolers enjoyed their first-ever Field Day fea turing 10 activity stations with ocean, rainforest, or space themes and tons of fun for all.
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8. Students in grades 1-8 joined together in teams for out door fun and collaboration during their annual Field Day event. Special thanks to the many parent volunteers who helped make the day a success! Developing Teamwork on the Field
6. In May, the annual Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) track and field meet returned to Langley for the first time since 2019, with Langley coming in first place overall and taking the league title, making it our 15th title in the last 16 years of the competition.
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Establishing Common Language In 2019, our faculty developed Langley’s Portrait of a Grad uate identifying the academic, social-emotional, and essen tial skills that we intend for all students to gain and exhibit here and when they leave Langley. Our teachers identified five critical competencies that all Langley students should be able to demonstrate: critical thinking, creating, com municating, collaborating, and initiating. While staying mindful of what our students are able to do, we are also always thinking about how they're able to do it. Complet ing the portrait, Langley graduates are curious, committed, compassionate, culturally competent, and confident as they demonstrate these skills.
“We are trying to reset our priorities around what we know students are going to encounter when they leave us,” Ms. Beck says. “Undoubtedly, they're going to need a rigorous experience to prepare them for when they enter the work force. Nothing has made us believe that more than the pandemic and the dynamic nature of learning and growing during this time, but we are recognizing that learning can and should happen in a challenging, engaging, and intellec tually rich way. Rigor is not the same as difficulty, though they are often conflated.”
Defining Rigor Engaging Deep Learning at Langley STORY:
“In our experience, the word ‘rigor’ is one that bears some definition and exploration,” says Ms. Beck, “particularly when we talk to our faculty about how they approach it with students and learning. Whether teaching preschool or eighth grade, we are always thinking about what we want students to be able to do when they leave us.”
Misunderstanding Rigor Common beliefs around rigor and learning can be mis leading. It is argued that the idea of challenge range and engagement has turned rigor into something many educators never intended it to be. We often mistake rigor for something just feeling hard and difficult to complete, but the assumption that academic rigor is characterized only by the amount of sustained effort it takes to achieve it ignores the depth, richness, and intensity necessary for a truly meaningful and engaging learning experience.
Langley’s Head of Lower School and Assistant Head for Programs Sarah Beck answered these questions earlier this year in the final installment of our Climbing the Arc parent education series. The goal of the series was to remind par ents about the tenets of Langley’s philosophy of excellent teaching and learning. Ms. Beck took parents through four areas surrounding rigor at Langley: establishing common language, defining rigor, making the connection to socialemotional learning, and giving tangible examples of how it all plays out in the classroom.
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Whether from prospective or current Langley families, questions around rigor are some of the most frequently asked. Parents want to know how a Langley education will challenge and engage students. How will we ensure that their child is continually growing? And, ultimately, is Langley providing a rigorous experience that will prepare their child for what is next?
FEATURE
Defining Rigor: Difficulty vs. Complexity At Langley, rigor is about the thoughtful and purposeful combination of two ideas: difficulty and complexity. While difficulty is defined as the amount of effort that the learner must expend, complexity is the thought process the brain uses to deal with the information.
“Ultimately,thinking.wewant students to be able to do both complex and difficult tasks, sometimes at the same time,” says Ms. Beck. “And there are activities like dancing, karate, or martial arts that are both difficult in terms of the effort that has to be expended and complex in terms of the thought process that the brain has to use to deal with Itinformation.”ispossiblefor an academic task to become increasingly complex without becoming difficult and vice versa. In a fifth-grade Langley classroom, for example, students worked on a nonfiction writing project where ultimately they were expected to write an essay. Initially they were asked to read text on a topic and take notes, then to read another writer’s example, pulling out key characteristics. Next, they were instructed to plan the outline for what they would include in their essay, and finally, they were expected to synthesize this information and draft their own essay, including an introduction with a thesis, an example, and a conclusion. This process moves between varying levels of complexity and difficulty, requiring stu dents to use different levels of thinking along the way.
PRACTICEprovideINVESTIGATIONopportunitiestodiscover,examine,andexploreMODELINGgiveanexampleofprocessorproduct offer
“When we say rigor, we're talking about a really thoughtful and purposeful combination of those two ideas of com plexity and difficulty,” Ms. Beck adds. “There is a distinction
COMMUNITY or enhance connections between people opportunities to improve or maintain proficiency through repetition as a basis for
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Langley’s ability to successfully achieve our intended learn ing outcomes is a direct result of our excellent academics and social-emotional learning for students at all stages of the school’s Arc of Development along with a strong in structional model based on our Inquiry Essential Practices of investigation, modeling, practice, feedback, and com munity building. Together, these concepts not only guide teaching and learning excellence, but also serve as a foun dation for common language and a roadmap for making sure that the inquiry-based learning process for students is targeting exactly where they are, helping them know where they need to go next, and challenging them to grow in a way that's just uncomfortable enough based on where they are developmentally and personally as learners. It is through this lens that we define rigor at Langley.
between a difficult workload that can feel like a lot of effort being expended and the complexity of work and the deep thinking process actually required to complete it. Langley faculty recognize that when both are present there is a palpable love of learning, questioning, curiosity, and desire to know more that really drives rigor.”
To understand the difference between difficulty and com plexity, look at two sample activities: building the largest LEGO set in the world and playing a game of chess. With the LEGO set, you have to find all the pieces and assemble them. The task could take days or weeks, but it doesn't have a lot of complexity to it. If you follow the instructions, though it might take a lot of work, you are likely to reach the desired end result. While there is value to making the effort, there is little complexity to building the LEGO set. With chess, there are a set number of pieces. It typically doesn't take days to complete, but the complexity is inherent when playing chess. You are thinking about your next move and even thinking six steps ahead in order to beat your opponent. It might not be as taxing physically or timewise, but the thought and strategy requires a deeper level of
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Connecting Excellent Academics to Social-Emotional Learning
“It’s really about the careful and delicate balance of know ing exactly what level of challenge and engagement each student is ready for,” says Ms. Beck. “We don’t want to over-challenge them just for the sake of intensity and diffi culty, but we also don’t want to under-challenge. We want to build up their confidence and let them experience what it is to know they can do hard things. Head of School Michele Claeys describes this as fist-bumping and headscratching moments. Purposeful rigor requires both.”
“When we talk about difficulty and complexity as teachers, we’re always mindful of what level of thinking we are asking our students to do in class today,” Ms. Beck adds, pointing to tools and frameworks such as Bloom’s Taxon omy or Costa’s Levels of Thinking, both of which are used regularly by Langley faculty as they plan their lessons. Par ents should look for both difficulty and complexity when assessing the richness of their child’s learning experience.
Student efficacy – their belief in their own self-capability –is the number one driver of learning outcomes. If students believe they can do hard things, if they are supported in their pursuits, and if they have the social-emotional skills to process their failures and activate their resilience, they will achieve more meaningful learning outcomes. This is why we believe that social-emotional learning is not second, but adjacent to academic learning at Langley. When student well-being is considered and cultivated, their ability to navigate learning that is both difficult and complex improves.
“The recognition of this connection is embedded in how Langley teachers design learning experiences.” Doing hard things for the sake of difficulty alone, with no thoughtful approach, can lead to a sense of failure and incapability. That “I can’t do it” feeling can turn into stress and disengagement, both of which are detrimental to learning outcomes. At the same time, something that is too easy or for which the student receives overpraise can also be damaging. Kids know when they are being given easy work, and that can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, or insecurity. The key is to challenge students wherever they are while still giving them the opportunity to succeed and to try again. Making learning physically taxing or thoughtless to the point that it loses its value is not only ineffective, but also can be detrimental.
“As we all know, recently there has been an increase in rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among kids and teens that experts say, in some cases, is connected to the academic learning environment,” Ms. Beck comments.
CLASS OF 2022 GRADUATION:
“I learned how to stay organized and focused, to be myself no matter what the situation, and to persevere through everything.” -Joshua S. “Langley helped me develop the confidence to do things such as go talk to someone I don't know or present in front of a group of people.” -Harper M. “I have bec0me more confident in my work, learned what true friend ship is, and learned to always put forth my best effort.” -Naomi S.
“Langley has helped me learn negotiation and self-advocacy skills, and I will carry those lessons with me to my next school.” -Sarah A.
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On June 10, Langley celebrated the 53 members of the Class of 2022 at a lovely graduation ceremony during which our graduates each shared special memories of their time at Langley. We are so proud of all that they have accomplished during their Langley years, including the maturity and growth they displayed throughout the high school application and selection process. We know they will excel in high school, and wish them well as they begin this exciting new journey!
Honoring GraduatesOur
Voices from the Class of 2022
Members of the SCA presented the eighth grade’s class gift – a plaque for a 20-year time capsule to be buried outside the new Crossroads Building and $500 to go toward Langley’s endowment.
“Langley has taught me to be creative and hardworking and also to give back to the community.” -Madeleine G. “At Langley, I have become a better oral speaker and debater. I have learned a lot academically and learned what it means to be a young adult with a strong moral compass as well.” -Aliyah M.
“Langley taught me strong academics, as well as life lessons such as how to be a good friend.” -Tony D.
“I feel that Langley has prepared me for the future, teaching me to be strong in the face of hardship and providing me with the aca demic skills that I will need in high school.” -Drew M. “Langley has taught me how to be punctual, how to handle tough workloads, and how to ask for help when I need it.” -Ava B.
15 Bishop Ireton High School Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School The Bullis School* Connelly School of the Holy Child* Deerfield Academy, MA Edmund Burke School* Episcopal High School* The Field School* Flint Hill School* Foxcroft GeorgetownSchoolDay School* Georgetown Preparatory School Gonzaga College High School* Herndon High School* Holderness School, NH Holton-Arms NationalMercersburgMcLeanMaretTheLangleyLandonIndependenceSchool*HighSchool*School*HighSchool*MadeiraSchool*School*HighSchool*Academy,PA*CathedralSchool* Paul VI Catholic High School Potomac School* Sidwell Friends School* St. Albans School* St. Andrew’s Episcopal School St. Andrew’s School, DE* St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School* Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart *Asterisks indicate the schools our students will attend in the fall Class of 2022 High School Acceptances
“Mrs. Gustin has truly been one of my favorite teachers,” adds Maddie Petru ’22. “She has provided a safe space for her students, taught with passion, and truly loves everyone who enters her classroom. She has taught me so much more than language arts.”
Langley Says Farewell to Debi Gustin
When Langley’s sixth-grade language arts teacher, Mark Robbins, passed away suddenly in 2012, Mrs. Gustin tran sitioned into his role in the Middle School – a role she has embraced for the past decade. The move to sixth grade not only allowed her to focus on her love of literature, but also to “move up” with her previous class of fifth-graders. Her many sixth-grade students fondly recall reciting Shake speare during BardFest, practicing their public speaking during “pop-ups,” learning valuable organizational skills, or simply finding a listening ear when they needed one.
A lifelong learner with an insatiable curiosity, Mrs. Gustin is most proud of the fact that she has continued to grow and improve throughout her teaching career. “My wonderful colleagues and students have made me a better teacher and a better person,” she says, noting that her favorite part of working at Langley has been the strong community of teachers who truly care for one another.
Although Mrs. Gustin looks forward to devoting herself to her many hobbies – sewing, scrapbooking, jewelry making, read ing, and writing a young adult book (which she promised her students she would do in retirement) – she will miss reading to her students and seeing their reactions, chatting with them about their lives, and reading their wonderful (and sometimes terrible!) book recommendations.
Current and former students attended Debi Gustin’s retirement celebra tion, including Grace Kellermann ’17 (left) and Kayla Sharpe ’09 (right).
Math Teacher Nicole Musgrove feels Mrs. Gustin has had a central role in building that sense of community, adding, “Debi is always available to lend an ear and then follow up with words of wisdom or a big hug. She makes sure that everyone knows they are loved and cared for.”
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As for how Mrs. Gustin would like to be remembered, she says: “I love knowing that something I said or something I taught had an impact and made someone want to know more, read more, or write more. For that, I feel truly blessed.”
As assistant director for 16 Middle School plays and musi cals over the last eight years, Mrs. Gustin made countless costumes and spent many hours getting to know her students outside the classroom. She lists “Once Upon a Mattress” as her favorite Langley production, recalling the memorable challenge of making 14 ball gowns out of satin and “Debitulle.has inspired the best from children, both on stage and off,” says Drama Teacher Joanna Edie. “Her nurturing, but no-nonsense, manner draws students into her orbit. They love spending their afternoons coming up with imaginative costume ideas or getting her wise perspective on whatever troubles they might be facing.”
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“Mrs. Gustin invested so much into her students, shaping our minds, morals, sense of self, and relationship to our community,” says former student Kayla Sharpe ’09. “It’s been more than 15 years since I last sat in her fifth-grade classroom, but I still remember and appreciate her pa tience, wit, and warmth like it was just yesterday.”
FACULTY/STAFF NEWS:
For the past 20 years, more than 1,000 students have benefited from the masterful teaching and sage advice of Debi Gustin, who served as both a fifth-grade homeroom teacher and a sixth-grade language arts teacher during her two decades at Langley. As a testament to her pro found impact, more than 150 current and former students, parents, and colleagues turned out to honor Mrs. Gustin as the school celebrated her retirement in June.
Mrs. Gustin arrived at Langley in the fall of 2001 and quickly became an integral part of the fifth-grade team, a position she held for the next 10 years. Whether sharing her passion for history, organizing archaeological shoebox digs, writing and directing class plays, or bonding with her students at Camp Highroad, she was instrumental in lead ing hundreds of fifth-graders through this pivotal year.
17 THE LANGLEY FUND Thank you for your generosity in 2021-2022! 100% faculty/staff participation $ more than 540,000 total raised 69 first-time donorsa84 gifts to The 1942 LeadershipCircle lastgiftsincreasedfromyear 62 Faculty/Staff: • meaningful appreciation events and fun surprises • competitive employment benefits • updated instructional classroom tools and supplies Your Gift Impacts... Students & Families: • instruments, supplies, and technology • accessibility to math and reading specialists, executive functioning specialists, and counselors • substantive tuition assistance ...and much more! 475 total donors* 121 faculty/staff 40 grandparents 33 alumni 11 past faculty/staff 75 past parents 265 current families *Donors may fall into more than one of the above categories $463 received AmazonSmilefrom leadership circle Give now at langleyschool.org/support-langley
When asked about her ongoing support for Langley, Beano commented, “Not only was Langley a wonderful school, but every teacher, every year really cared about Virginia. That’s the bottom line.”
The Next Generation Campaign recently reached $14.4 million, with a generous leadership gift of $3 million from Elizabeth “Beano” Solomon. Beano’s daughter, Virginia Solomon, graduated from Langley in 1995.
SUMMER 202218 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:
Langley Receives Largest Gift in School History
This is the largest single gift in Langley’s 80-year history and a testament to Beano’s long-standing commitment to Langley. Beano also contribut ed to the Doris Cottam Middle School and the Solomon Ath letic Center, which is named in her honor. The library inside the new Crossroads Building will be named The Solomon Library and Innovation Center.
On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., Langley will formally open our new 40,000-square-foot Crossroads Building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Langley community. Prior to the ribbon-cutting, campaign lead ership donors are invited to a celebratory breakfast event at 8:30 a.m. The Crossroads Building will be home to our Primary School and fifth-grade pro grams, as well as the Solomon Library and Innovation Center and lower-level multi purpose space which will serve all Langley students. In addition, our former Primary School building will be rededicated as the Pirro Studios, housing our acclaimed STEAM program.
Virginia ’95 and Beano Solomon L
Crossroads Ribbon-CuttingBuilding
• Complete our campus master plan with the addition of the Crossroads Building • Grow our endowment to $10 million
nationallyREACHinprograms,usgeneralwithassistanceultydevelopmentprofessionalforfacandstaff,tuitionforfamiliesfinancialneed,andfundsthatallowtoinvestininnovativelikeourworkSTEAM,oursignatureprogram,andourrecognizedmodel for inquiry-based learning.
Many families have been passionate about supporting the endowment and ensuring that Langley has a reliable source of funding to support our organizational priorities, as well as an endowment that is comparable to that of our peer schools.
Your Support Matters
On May 16, 2022, Langley’s Board of Trustees moved campaign contributions into our endowment, allowing the school to officially reach the $10 million campaign goal.
Since the launch of the Next Generation Campaign, more than 100 Langley families, past and present, have contributed to support the Crossroads Building and our endowment. All contributors to the campaign will be recognized on the Crossroads Building donor wall, which will be unveiled during our 80th Anniversary Founders’ Celebration, September 22-24, 2022.
Over the past few years, families have contributed to ex isting funds or established named funds to bolster Langley programs that align with their philanthropic priorities.
Langley’s endowment supports
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WhatdoestheDEVELOPMENTPROFESSIONALFINANCIALendowmentsupport?GENERALAIDOTHER
Langley’s Next Generation Campaign set out to accomplish two goals:
The Board of Trustees established a named fund to honor Dr. Elinor Scully’s eight-year tenure as Langley’s head of school, signifying the school’s commitment to making a Langley education accessible.
“As we begin the work to develop our next strategic plan, our focus on growing our endowment and promoting planned gifts will remain a priority,” adds Lara Ramsey ’87, trustee and strategic plan co-chair.
Celebrating Our Endowment Success
Inspired by the educational experience their daughter, Maggie ’08, had at Langley, Dave and Catherine Thompson established a faculty scholarship fund in 2019 to support continuing education for faculty members.
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Additionally, gifts of $10,000 or more will be recognized with engraved bricks on our courtyard plaza. A few classroom and common space naming opportunities are still available, both in the Crossroads Building and Pirro Studios. Gifts at all levels are welcome and our collective participation will enable us to raise the remaining $1.6 million needed to reach $16 million for the campaign this year. Visit langleyschool.org/support-langley/endowment to learn more about Langley’s endowment.
During their time as Langley parents, Glenn and Suzanne Youngkin established a student scholarship, which covers up to 95 percent of tuition and expenses through gradu ation for one newly admitted student in grades 4-7. The Youngkins also set up a permanent restricted endowment that provides the ongoing financial means to award the scholarship annually.
Currently, 23 named funds exist within our endowment, and hundreds of families have given to specific funds or the general endowment to grow this vital resource.
Visit campaign.langleyschool.org or contact Ricki Marion at rmarion@ langleyschool.org to make a gift.
On Saturday, May 14, the Langley community came together for our first in-person spring auction since 2019. A record 340 guests attended the 2022 “Together We Thrive” auction at the beautiful Conrad Hotel in Washington, DC, for a delicious meal, fun games and raffles, silent and live auctions featuring a wide range of items, live entertainment, and Thanksdancing.tothe generous support of current and alumni families and other Langley friends, the event was a tremendous success, raising an incredible $550,000 – the most ever raised at a Langley auction. At the heart of the evening was our community’s commitment to faculty excellence, with attendees rais Auction Raises
TOGETHER WE The Langley School 2022 Spring Auction L
$550,000 ing their paddles to provide $160,000 in support of our teachers. Proceeds from the auction will have a direct and immediate impact on the school's ability to attract and retain an exceptional faculty and provide an outstanding educational experience for our students. Langley offers sincere appreciation and gratitude to our auction co-chairs, Aly Brokenshire and Allie Miller, and the en tire auction committee who produced an incredible event that exceeded our goals and brought our community together after several years apart. Langley is also grateful to our many event sponsors, including our Diamond sponsors, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and The Narang Foundation, for their generous support.
20 SUMMER 2022 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:
Record-Breaking Spring
thrive
Please contact Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations
1998 Kelly (Farrell) Maguire switched careers from technology to personal training in 2017. Last year, she opened a fitness studio in Philadelphia called Launchpad Fitness. This sum mer she is also excited to be working as a flying trapeze instructor at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts.
1997 Chris Lewis recently joined Kuleana Cap ital Management as managing director. In this role, Chris is leading marketing efforts to scale the investment advisory. He’s pictured at right with his wife, Clare, and son, Cole, nearby their summer home in Cape Charles.
Connect with former classmates and families by updating your news and contact information at langleyschool.org/alumni-family-portal.
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1995 Ari Schantz and his wife recently purchased a town home in the Rochester, NY, suburb of Penfield. They are enjoying their new home with their 6-year-old daughter, and hope to make many lasting memories there with friends and family.
Peggy Evans (pevans@langleyschool.org) if you’re interested in planning or attending a class reunion.
Class Notes
2004 Jaedra DiGiammarino ’00, Alicia DiGiammarino ’04, Courtney Millian ’04, and Anna Karnaze ’04 reunited in McLean in May to celebrate Anna’s marriage to Khalid Elwanni.
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In April, Hannah Klein ’76, Judith Brown Shapiro ’76, and Jennifer Sheehy ’83 gathered at the Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, DC. The friendships picked up where they left off (over 40 years for Judi and Jennifer) and they hasSisters”thethemselvesdecidedThereconnecting.enjoyedthoroughlyallladiestocall“Warrioraseachsurvivedsome health challenges. They look forward to a few more decades to share with each other and would love to reconnect with others from their Langley days.
2013 Caroline Morin graduated Summa Cum Laude from the College of William & Mary with honors this spring with a major in international relations and history. She was also awarded the 2022 Carr Memorial Cup, an award that recognizes the student who best exemplifies character, scholarship, and leadership.
2008 Chrisie Appleby received her master’s degree in special education from Lourdes University in May. She will begin work as an intervention specialist in Toledo, OH, in the fall.
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2014 Ethan Kallett, a May graduate of the University of Penn sylvania, has been selected as a 2022 Yenching Scholar and awarded full funding to pursue an interdisciplinary master’s degree in China studies, with a concentration in economics and management, at the Yenching Academy of Peking Uni versity in Beijing. Ethan was one of the 125 students chosen from 27 countries to enroll in the one-year program in September. As a Yenching Scholar, Ethan plans to analyze the impacts of technology transfer and enhancement of human capital on Sino-Latin American infrastructure proj ects, using economic data available from China’s Ministry of Commerce and at national economic data institutes in Brazil and Peru.
2010 Ilina Mitra is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in public policy at Harris School of Public Policy at the Uni versity of Chicago. She graduated from Brown University last year with a master’s degree in data science. This sum mer she is interning at Urban Institute in Washington, DC.
2009 Nicole Johnson married Kyle Shoe botham during a small ceremony on August 22, 2020, in Charlottesville, VA, where the two met while at the University of Virginia. The couple celebrated with family and friends in July 2021. Nicole is a rising 3L at Georgetown University Law Center and worked as a law clerk for Senator Marco Rubio during 2L. This summer, she is a summer associate at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC.
2012 Cailin Frankland graduated from the Harvard Chan School of Pub lic Health with a master’s degree in epidemiology. She has moved to Baltimore to take a position as a researcher ensuring that critical research gets funded.
Dina Phipps is a recent graduate of the College of William & Mary and received her B.A. in English and Hispanic studies. She will be continuing her education at William & Mary in order to pursue her master’s degree in elementary education with a certification in English as a Second Language. Dina looks forward to her future career as an educator!
Get Your Alumni Care Package!
Jeff Schneider graduated from New York University Med ical School in May with an M.D.-Ph.D. degree. He gradu ated alongside his Langley classmate, Brendan Zotter ’04, who also earned his M.D.-Ph.D. from NYU.
As part of Langley’s 80th anniversary next year, we will be creating care packages to send to Langley alumni who are in high school or away from home in college, grad school, or the military. To ensure these alumni receive their special packages filled with Langley treats, we need your help to collect current addresses.Ifyouare currently in high school, college, grad school, or the military (or you have a Langley grad who is), please send the name and mailing address to alumni@langleyschool.org by September 10. As an incentive, two lucky alumni will receive AirPod Pros in their care Alumnipackages!parents are invited to help put to gether our care packages on Saturday, September 24. Help us honor our alumni and send them a little piece of Langley to brighten their day!
On May 25, Langley welcomed approximately 30 members of the Class of 2018 and their parents to campus for a reunion.
Princeton University Southern Methodist University Stanford University Texas Christian University Union College University of North CarolinaChapel Hill University of Utah University of Virginia Vanderbilt University
Americanincluding:
Ian Singer graduated from Stanford University in June with a degree in psychology. He plans to return to Stanford to earn a master’s degree in sustainability in 2023.
2016 Emily Bratti and her ice dance partner were appointed members of Team USA and competed internationally for U.S. Figure Skating in Austria, Croatia, and Estonia this season. At the U.S. Figure Skating National Champion ships in Nashville in January, she and her partner earned a fifth-place finish at the senior level and were named as alternates to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and 2022 World Championships. Emily moved to Michigan to train with Olympic champions Charlie White and Tanith Belbin White, and hopes to transfer to the University of Michigan to continue her studies in physics and astrophysics.
University
Arizona State University Baylor University Brown CornellUniversityUniversity
Celebrating the Class of 2018
Katie Warner spent the past year studying abroad in Florence with Middlebury College’s School in Italy and also spent a month at Oxford this summer where she participated in the British American Drama Academy's Midsummer in Oxford Program. Katie earned a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in performing arts and European language and history. She plans to return to the DC area where she hopes to become a licensed American Sign Language interpreter, join DC’s theater community as an actor and stage combatant, and continue work on her first full-length album.
Alumni enjoyed reuniting and reminiscing with each other and their former teachers as we celebrated their high school graduation and transition to college. The class also enjoyed receiving notes of congratulations from their former kindergar ten little buddies who are now Langley fourth-graders! The Class of 2018 will attend a wide variety of universities in the fall,
Davidson College Duke University Full Sail IndianaHamiltonUniversityCollegeUniversity
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The medical field is typically made up of those who prefer to do clinical work with patients and those who prefer to do research in a lab. Brendan Zotter ’04 is one of a select few medical professionals who has the passion, and the skill, to do both. This past May, he graduated from the New York University Medical School with a dual degree – M.D. and Ph.D. – on his way to becoming a physician-scientist.
During his undergraduate years at the University of Vir ginia, Brendan assumed his love of cell biology would lead him to work in a research lab. But when one of his mentors suggested he explore the possibility of this dual medical role, he decided to gain some real-world experience in the emergency room at the UVA hospital as part of their med ical transcriptionist program. “I found that I really enjoyed working with patients,” says Brendan. “In fact, seeing real people who were suffering from a disease motivated me to want to conduct research to improve our understanding of that disease.”
He also credits Langley with helping to develop his other passion – music. Throughout his Langley years, Brendan was involved in the school’s band program, playing the baritone horn and the tuba under the guidance of longtime band director Mr. Schmidt. Some of his favorite mem ories center around the Langley band trips and the bonds he made with classmates. An accomplished pianist, he still plays frequently and even led the arts and entertainment club at NYU which provided students with a much-needed musical outlet during the stresses of medical school.
“The wonderful thing about being a physician-scientist is that I’ll get to identify clinical problems I can actually help to solve,” he adds. “From obtaining research funding, to conducting research and clinical trials, to treating affected patients, I’ll be able to integrate my skills as a researcher and a doctor, and I find that very motivating.”
“The wonderful exposure I had to science and music [at Langley] profoundly shaped the rest of my life and prepared me to excel in those areas in high school and beyond.”
This revelation led him to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs the following year. He was accepted to NYU where he has spent the last nine years earning his Ph.D. in neuroscience in 2020 and completing his M.D. this spring. Interestingly, he was not the only Langley alumnus in this year’s gradu ating class of 10. Jeff Schneider ’04, his Langley classmate, was pursuing the same dual degree and the two recon nected while at NYU. With both degrees in hand, Brendan recently began his neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania where he will spend the next four years perfecting his training. Ultimately, he hopes to do a neuromuscular fel lowship before focusing on the peripheral nervous system and the genetic diseases that can affect it. “I’m particularly interested in genetic neuropathies because of the tremen dous
“I’m so grateful to Langley for giving me the opportunity to explore my interests in meaningful ways at such a young age,” Brendan says. “The wonderful exposure I had to science and music profoundly shaped the rest of my life and prepared me to excel in those areas in high school and beyond.” Brendan Zotter ’04 (right) with Langley classmate Jeff Schneider ’04 at their NYU graduation in May.
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Brendan’s love of science extends all the way back to his elementary school days at Langley. He recalls sitting in those early science classes and knowing he wanted to pursue a career in science. “Mr. Cole and Mr. Berman were really wonderful, inspiring teachers and they are the reason I ended up going into science,” says Brendan, who attended Langley from preschool through eighth grade. “They encouraged me to use science to understand how the world works.”
Brendan Zotter ’04
Iandgeneditionsthesehavetunitiesopporwetotreatconwiththerapiesbecausebelievemyparticular skill set would allow me to make a meaningful impact in this area,” says Brendan, who plans to spend 75-80 percent of his time doing research and the rest treating patients in a small practice.
ALUMNI PROFILE: 24 SUMMER 2022
The Denton family at Andrew’s Langley graduation this past June.
The Last Word: A Time for Gratitude
I remember my first visit to Langley in 2005 like it was yesterday. As we turned into the school’s entrance, I was surprised to see a large building under construction. Crews were hard at work on the future Sherman Arts Center. Our admission tour guide proudly told us that it would finally give Langley students a place to eat lunch together. Our guide went on to show us the Primary School and the Lower School buildings, along with the old Middle School which was known then as “Down Under” since it sat below much of the campus. Our guide said Langley was hoping to build a new Middle School someday. I remember not paying too much attention to that part of the tour. After all, having a middle schooler was miles away. That was 16 years ago. Since then, all three of our boys have graduated from Langley – Will ’16, Nathan ’20, and Andrew ’22. As I reflect on our family’s many years at Langley, I find myself sad that our time here is at an end, but mostly what I feel is gratitude. I’m so grateful for the wonderful teachers at Langley who provided our children with a well-rounded, rigorous, and richly varied education. I remember feeling worried as our oldest son, Will, transitioned to high school at St. Albans. Was he really prepared? Well, the answer was a resounding yes. He flourished in high school. Nathan fol lowed in his footsteps and, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, he is thriving. I know our youngest, Andrew, is ready for this transition, too, as he moves to high school this fall. I’m so grateful for the strong founda tion Langley has provided all of my boys. I’m also grateful for the Langley community. Over the years, we participated in two large capital campaigns and witnessed the generosity of our fellow Langley families. Countless parents donated hours of time and millions of dollars to make Langley the place it is today. We have all benefited from the generosity, dedication, and involve ment of past and current Langley families, as well as the strong partnership that exists between faculty, staff, and parents. Both my husband, Rob, and I have filled various volunteer roles at Langley. I served on the PALS Executive Committee and chaired the 2011 and 2012 spring auctions, and Rob served on the Board of Trustees for six years. We both feel that we have received far more than we gave to the Finally,school.I’m grateful for our fellow Langley families. They are the heart of the Langley community. I feel so fortunate to have met so many wonderful and interesting people while getting to know the families in my boys’ classes, vol unteering at a Langley event, or attending a game on the athletic field. I met some of my closest friends to this day during our first year in preschool. It’s hard to believe those preschoolers are now sophomores in college. I’ll never forget my first parent/teacher conference at Langley. Will’s preschool teacher sat down at the table and said to me, “Will is going to be an engineer.” Well, she was right, proving just how well Langley’s teachers know their students’ strengths and personalities. Will is studying electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. I’m grateful he got his start at Langley. So as the Denton family closes this chapter of our lives and our boys move on to exciting new challenges, I look back fondly on the memories we’ve made and the experiences we’ve shared during these foundational years. And I’m truly grateful we chose Langley.
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By Barbara Denton, Parent of Will ’16, Nathan ’20, and Andrew ’22
Current students and teachers are invited to take part in an allschool spirit day celebrating our founding on September 22, 1942.
Where vital academics meet a deep respect for childhood Preschool through grade 8 in Northern Virginia 1411 Balls Hill Road, McLean, Virginia 22101-3415 www.langleyschool.org (703) 356-1920
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22: All-School Spirit Day
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: Langley’s 80th Anniversary Open House Party 4:00-6:00 p.m., Crossroads Quad Current and alumni families are invited to enjoy live music, festive food trucks, and campus tours as we kick off the new academic year.
Happy 80th Birthday, Langley!
We’re celebrating The Langley School’s 80th anniversary during our Founders’ Celebration September 22-24, 2022. Save the date for these special events and plan to join in the fun!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24: Langley Alumni Care Package Party 2:00-4:00 p.m., Crossroads Building Alumni parents are invited to help us put together care packages for our alumni in high school or those away from home at college, grad school, or in the military. See page 22 for details on how to ensure you or your Langley grad receives one of these surprise packages in the mail this fall.