Expanding Possibilities, Fall 2022 - Annual Report

The Little School cultivates authentic learning in community and the natural world, amplifying curiosity and expanding sense of self, belonging and possibility.

Mission Values

Members of the TLS community:

• Demonstrate a deep respect for childhood.

• Wonder, learn and reflect for continuous growth.

• Celebrate creativity, innovation, kindness and curiosity.

• Honor identity, foster belonging and promote justice.

• Steward the environment and engage nature.

• Cultivate and embrace joy.

Vision

To foster vibrant understanding and promote action that advances sustainability, justice and joy.

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear TLS Community,

Welcome to our second edition of Expanding Possibilities! This publication will be coming to you annually with several objectives in mind. First, and most importantly, this is an opportunity for us to thank you for your incredible support and care. Our community thrives because everyone in it participates, connects and holds The Little School dear. This is a community that is generous in sharing gifts, time, funds and laughter. All of it makes an impact. If you are reading this letter, you are an important contributor to The Little School’s culture and success. Thank you for all you give to our school.

Expanding Possibilities also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the last year and to celebrate people and giving. We celebrate our Outgrowers. We recognize folks who have retired from the faculty, staff or Board.

We thank donors who helped us meet our philanthropic goals. We reflect on the past and the people who are forever a part of the school’s fabric –our alumni and past faculty and staff.

We use this magazine to share some of the exciting events currently happening at the school, always working to link it to the school’s deep history and philosophy. We also hope to inspire you about the school’s future.

Finally, we invite you to connect or reconnect with the school. If you are a current family, we hope you are joining us for Sing, Big Field playdates, PGA events, curricular events and more! If you are an alum family or community member, we would love to reconnect! Join us for a Sing! Drop by for a visit! Reach out and share your ideas, stories or feedback. We always love hearing from you.

With warmth and gratitude,

JULIE KALMUS Head of School

FROM THE BOARD

Dear TLS Families and Friends,

It is my honor this year to open our Annual Report with this note of appreciation for The Little School and our Board of Trustees.

The following pages will give you further details about The Little School and how its implementation of progressive and child-centered education is done with thoughtful care, focused on the experience and growth of the children and families of our community, so I won’t try to do that here, but let me tell you a little bit about what The Little School means to me and my family.

The Little School means to me that my kids, at an early age, began developing their understanding of themselves rooted in the context of their community, friendships and global ecosystems. They understand that they have an impact on each other and on the environment and their choices can make a difference.

The Little School means to me that my kids expect the adults in their life to care for them and be their partners in their education into middle school, high school and beyond.

The Little School means to me that my whole family is invited to have a lifelong relationship with a community of alum, alum parents, educators, trustees and friends who believe that education can and should be child-centered and experiential.

These are the things that drew me to serve The Little School on the Board of Trustees five years ago. The impact that the school has had on my family is immeasurable and I’m proud to be part of a Board that is committed to supporting the school as it embarks on executing the innovative rolling strategic plan that we recently have shared with the school community.

The Board of Trustees today is made up of 16 trustees with a diversity of backgrounds, expertise and experiences.

From our careers to our family compositions, our cultural backgrounds to our lived identities, the board leverages our different expertise to ensure that The Little School remains a beacon of excellent education into the distant future by maintaining a strategic posture toward the relevance and viability of the school. We are in constant partnership with Julie Kalmus, her administrative team, and the amazing educators at The Little School in this work. When we do our work well, the school operates from a position of strength resourced to live its mission fully, constantly becoming a better version of itself.

The evidence of this can be seen in so many ways. The Little School today attracts, hires and retains amazing educators who invest their talents and energies into amazing programs for all children from pre-school to fifth grade.

The Little School is increasing investments in financial assistance and the accessibility of a TLS education for families from diverse backgrounds. The Little School is building community through the thoughtful development and launch of affinity group meetings.

I invite the readers of this report to consider your place in the ongoing story of The Little School, now entering its 63rd year. Whether you are new to the community or a longtime friend, I invite you to engage in the community in whatever way works well for you and your family. I commit to you that Julie and I will welcome your participation and look forward to getting to know you.

Thank you,

DANIEL WESTFAHL Board Chair

Alumni Parent ‘22, ‘20, ‘18

MUSEUMS OF LEARNING

Alice Hauschka, Assistant Head of School

Take children out from behind their desks, unfold their hands, open their minds and allow them to learn in their own ways and in their own time.

—Founding

Head, Eleanor Siegl

At The Little School, from its inception in 1959, teachers have embraced student choice, interest and curiosity, as the raw ingredients for nurturing intrinsic motivation and authentic learning.

Founding Head Eleanor Siegl said that schools should “Take children out from behind their desks, unfold their hands, open their minds and allow them to learn in their own ways and in their own time.” Our new mission to cultivate authentic learning in community and the natural world, amplifying curiosity and expanding sense of self, belonging and possibility resonates this same impetus to make learning meaningful, personal, and experiential.

As this vision for authentic learning takes shape in the classroom, it is guided by the expert planning, collaboration and guidance of teachers.

It takes masterful teaching to guide students to exert choice and agency over their learning while simultaneously building the skills and knowledge to pursue and research questions, design creative solutions or build toward culminating projects and presentations. Part of the authenticity lies in the freshness and variety of topics and the cross-discipline integration of themes; part of the joy and play lies in how students’ curiosity, choices and ideas are reflected by and invited into the curriculum. Engagement, skill and knowledge are further enhanced when children are asked to solve real problems, build real models or share their work with a discerning audience.

While culminating projects take many different shapes, they often result in what could be called museums or showcases of authentic learning where children present their projects individually or as a collective group. This could be a presentation to one’s own grade level peers or it could be an invitation to other classes or parents to a gallery or presentation of the projects, providing a powerful exchange of ideas and engagement across ages.

In their Farm to Market unit, 1-2 students applied their learning about commerce, vendors, produce, bartering and supply and demand to create their own market — using pattern blocks as the currency.

As a part of their experiential study, the 1-2s took full day field trips to Tonnemaker Farms and the Pike Place Market, interviewing farmers, fishmongers and vendors and harvesting or purchasing produce for cooking projects back at school.

The integration of children’s interest, inquiry, creativity and academic skills are on full display as children share their projects, and the TLS community has an opportunity to celebrate learning in child-centered and authentic ways.

Although most of this annual report looks back at 2021, we wanted to provide a window into some examples of authentic, project-based learning from Fall 2022, presented in teachers’ newsletters.

The colorful stalls were bustling with eager shoppers and vendors calling out: “Get your fresh fish here!” “Best cheese around!” “Crab legs, crab legs!” From the moment the market opened, everyone stepped into character and had a splendid time buying and selling from each other.

The teachers made room for student inquiry, voice and agency as they presented the challenge of designing an inclusive event, respectful of the culture of the holiday. Since food always makes guests feel welcome, students baked Pan de Muerto handing out samples to student visitors of the Ofrenda.

Inspired by LatinX heritage month and by several community members who celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, the 4th and 5th graders embarked on a deep dive into the history of the event, learning how different countries represent the values of the holiday and inviting guests to share their experiences and traditions.

The students organized themselves into seven groups, each group specializing in one aspect of Dia de Los Murtos, and took responsibility for researching, writing, crafting and presenting about one aspect of the tradition. As one of the teachers said, “It is a good reminder of what young people can accomplish when the reins are in their hands.”

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY ABOUT WHY PROJECT-BASED, AUTHENTIC LEARNING IS SO POWERFUL?

The 2019 Gallup Report Creativity in Learning, based on a nationally representative study of teachers, students and parents found a strong connection between choice, inquiry, student engagement and achievement. Project based learning was cited throughout the report. When asked what they believe are the most important learning outcomes, both parents and teachers ranked these outcomes as the top three choices: 1. LEARNING TO THINK CRITICALLY. 2. PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. 3.

According to Gallup, “A majority of students would like to spend more time on activities and projects that help them see how what they are learning relates to real-life problems outside of the classroom, such as 1) working on projects that can be used in the real world, and 2) publishing or sharing projects with people in their community or outside their class and school.” A recent (2021) review of Project-Based Learning Research from Edutopia, cites studies that show, “when implemented well, project-based learning can increase long term retention of content, helps students perform as well or better than traditional learners in highstakes tests, improves problem solving and collaboration skills and improves students’ attitudes toward learning.”

The 4th and 5th graders transformed the Columbia room into an Ofrenda full of art, remembrance, light, food offerings and reverence for loved ones, community members and pets who had passed. Making the Ofrenda accessible to the youngest children in the school meant planning and rehearsing how they would present to different audiences.

STRATEGIC PLAN PUTTING OUR INTO ACTION!

Julie Kalmus, Head of School

After a year of listening, designing and testing, TLS formally launched its new Strategic Plan in October 2022. The plan is organized through initiatives, tactics and goals designed to vibrantly amplify our mission. Anchored in commitments to our Program, People, Place and the Foundations of our school, the plan lays out three horizons of vision. Each horizon makes space for reflection, to assess our progress and adjust to our changing environment. Taken as a whole, our plan is relentless in ensuring that the school continues to evolve and thrive into the future. This article spotlights the implementation and impact of some of initiatives ahead in the Program Pillar in the first phase of the plan - Horizon One: Living Our Commitments. For those of you who prefer video content, be sure to check out our website’s Strategic Plan page to see how these initiatives are already coming to fruition in the daily life of the school.

VISION FOR THE PROGRAM PILLAR:

The Little School will create and advance authentic, purposeful learning for students, families, faculty/staff and the community.

INITIATIVE #1: COMMUNICATE DEPTH OF CURRICULAR CONTINUITY AND STUDENT LEARNING

This year, all faculty are spending the year on one of five curriculum committees to map a TLS student’s learning journey across subjects and ensure continuity, alignment and depth in our academics. The outcome of this work will be a new reporting format, updated curriculum documents and shared understanding of learning goals and milestones.

INITIATIVE #2: DESIGN GLOBAL CULTURE & LANGUAGE PROGRAM

TLS is home to more than 29 home languages. What if we designed a program that leveraged this diversity and gave our students new, meaningful experiences with global languages and cultures? This is the design question in front of our Global Language and Culture Committee as they seek input from students, families, colleagues and experts.

INITIATIVE #3: MAP AND DEFINE ASSOCIATE TEACHER PROGRAM

We have amazing teachers. We also have amazing Associate Teachers. This year, we’ll bring structure and clarity to the Associate Teacher Program, helping us return to our roots as a place that launches extraordinary educators into their careers and spreads the best of TLS to our community and beyond.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Why: Authentic learning is not just for kids and when our faculty lean into new learning, powerful experiences are sure to ensue for our students and colleagues.

The What: Last spring, faculty met one-on-one to identify areas of passion and growth that would deepen their practice as educators. We then looked for meaningful learning opportunities and sought ways to make the experience collaborative across pods and levels. A plan in hand, teachers headed into summer with shared books to read, conferences scheduled and workshops awaiting their attendance. As a result of this planning, we attended dozens of powerful professional development experiences virtually, in Seattle and around the country.

The How: In August, we launched our Workshop Weeks with our first Unconference. Every faculty member presented about summer learning. Each workshop was planned and presented collaboratively, opening with a 15-minute overview of takeaways followed by 45 minutes of handson and interactive learning together that could be applied in practice.

Workshops included titles like:

•

•

•

•

•

THE IMPACT ON TEACHERS:

“This was a great use of professional time. I appreciate hearing from colleagues about what they’re excited about.”

“I think they were great! I appreciated that you had us DO something and learn as students learn.”

“I just love learning from my colleagues! They are an incredibly thoughtful group with sound ideas!”

“This week has been GREAT! Monday was the best first day back I’ve ever experienced- honestly!! Love that we can embrace fun and take risks!”

THE IMPACT ON STUDENTS:

Across campus, learning is buzzing with new experiences and approaches. Writers’ Workshops center on building authentic student voice and teaching skills while inviting personally meaningful writing. Math differentiation comes from multiple directions, highlighting handon applications, interactive games and conceptual extensions that focus on depth. Walking through classrooms, evidence of engagement, personalized goal setting, ownership and reflection abound. We’re excited to leverage this learning in our committee work and curriculum work throughout the year.

NEXT STEPS:

Cross-level Learning Groups (CLLGs) meet weekly to investigate shared topics of relevance such as: parent conference purpose and planning, progressive education’s history and current state, the role of assessment and findings from learning walks focused on looking for evidence of learning progression and alignment. The result is a vibrant culture of authentic learning for everyone at TLS.

STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM EXPANSION

The Why: The science and research of learning and learners has skyrocketed in the past two decades and great schools have a responsibility to lean into this knowledge and design in service of what is best for our students. To do this, we need folks who specialize in social emotional growth, identity growth, academic growth and teacher coaching so that we are constantly assessing what works best for students.

The What: We’ve expanded our Student Support Team (SST)! Our SST is now a seven-person team designed to support faculty in differentiated instruction, to meet the individual needs of students, to provide continuity in learning and to ensure the whole child is being taught and celebrated in TLS’ program.

The How: Each SST member has a unique lens to their work that informs the full picture of each child. Here’s a look at each role: Assistant Head of School/CEO of Solutions: Our Assistant Head of School oversees the SST, ensuring that understanding individual students informs the design and evolution of our full school program.

• Learning Specialist: Our Learning Specialist champions our schoolwide emphasis on assessment and differentiated instruction. They meet with small groups and individual students. They also co-teach with faculty to help them expand their differentiation tools.

• Counselor: Our School Counselor champions our school-wide emphasis on social-emotional learning. They meet with small groups and individual students. They also co-teach with faculty to help them expand their social-emotional teaching tools.

• Faculty Support Specialist: Our Faculty Support Specialist creates professional partnerships that ensure faculty feel seen and supported in their teaching, planning, collaborations, communication and professional development.

•

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Educator: The DEIJ Educator supports growth and intention of our DEIJ practices as a school. This is a hands-on role in which the DEIJ Educator is a vibrant and purposeful part of classroom communities and school-wide conversations.

• Curriculum Support Specialists (CSS): Our two Curriculum Support Specialists support the logistics and life of the school to ensure authentic learning. The CSS bring intuition, flexibility, creativity and solutions to the school day. Armed with a sense of humor and depth of skill to jump into anything, the CSS partner with the Assistant Head of School to assess needs and execute support throughout the school day.

The Impact: The team meets weekly with one another and offers weekly sessions with faculty to discuss individual students and brainstorm strategies for teaching, learning and social-emotional growth. It is a powerful team that also supports families in getting deeper information about their student and understanding the best supports to help each child grow.

Wondering about the other pillars and the impact that they will have on TLS? Here are the high-level objectives of each pillar.

Vision for the Place Pillar: The Little School will sustain and steward connection to place and its campus, maximizing educational potential and ensuring a longterm, ethical responsibility and relationship to the natural world that honors the ongoing legacy of the Indigenous stewards of this land.

Vision for the People Pillar: We will work together to build an intentional, vibrant and engaged community committed to equity by focusing on children and classroom community and then expanding to the larger community outside of TLS.

Vision for the Foundations Pillar: The Little School will be resourced, prepared and resilient to deliver its mission out loud in changing circumstances. TLS provides community scaffolding to nourish our program, people and place. Visit our website for more information: www.thelittleschool.org/about/strategic-plan

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS

ANNUAL FUND AND AUCTION

David Aisenberg

Diana and Michael Albrecht

Flavia Amaral and Carlos Figueira

Amazon.com

Annalee H. Anderson

Wesley K. Anderson

Keiko and Jonathan Andrews

Anonymous (6)

Julia and Michael Atalla

Cigdem and Hakan Aygun

Shweta Banker and Utsav Dalal

Gethen Bassett

Nivy and Rajat Bawa

Ketemash Behulu and Daniel Tessema

Aman Benes and Wesley Pereira

Nupur Bihani and Amit Bidaye

Ojasa and Nihar Bihani

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Brianna and Dino Bischofberger

JoJo and Eric Bisset

Monique Bloch

Bright Stone Fund

Boeing Matching Gifts

Alison Bower

Monique Bradshaw and Ada Duan

Sola and Segun Bright

Rachel Brodsky and Andrew Finch

Tatiana Buga and Dan Iatco

Adrienne and Chris Cadotte

Ashley Cappelli

Meltem Celikel and Umut Utkan

Mei Chan and Way Vadhanasin

Kelly and Michael Chang

Samna and John Chheng-Mikula

Fidela Chiang and Mu-Hsin Wei

Jenny Chiang

Jimmy Chu

Leilani and Geoff Clawson

Kristin and Jeremy Condit

Nick and Louise Conway

Ellen Kaspi Cool and Thomas Cool

Stryker Corp.

Lisa Coté and Warn Willis

Connie Coutain

YJ Dang and Tom Tang

Amy Darke and Dan Reger

Lisa Decker

Becky Dolan

Sean Dolgin

Abiade and Ernie Dore

Qing Du and Tommy Li

Cindy and Rich Edwards

Sophia Egler

Andrea Estes and Kaan Ozel

Estrada Family

Yi Fang and Wei Shao

Yeganeh Farigam and Ali Niknejad

Lynne and Jeffrey Finn

Angela and Chris Fitts

Kerryn and Daniel Frampton

Yuan-Xiao Family Fund

Sarah and Will Gallien

Saakshi Gangwal and Sankalp Jain

Liz Garden

Kathy Gibson and Dan Klusman

Julie Glendenning and Mark Freid

Google

Leanne and Seth Gordon

Neha Goswami and Abhishek Dubey

Kingston Govati and Christina Kadzamira

Deborah Gray

Jenny Gruenberg

Amanda Haecker

Margaret Hall Janna and Jonathan Hamaker

Hamaker Giving Fund

Amanda and Dustin Hamlin

Mary Harden

Stephen and Joelle Harrison

Silvia Hartmann and Rasa Izadnegahdar

The Hathaway Family

Alice Hauschka and Sean Walsh

Nicole and Aaron Haynes

Hehmeyer-Teevan (Alex, Jaime, Griffin, Cale, Dillion, Brier)

Heritage Bank

Olivia and Gregory Hermann

Jules Hetland

Robyn and Ryan Hites

Sara and Gordon Hodge

Max Honch

Kristin Hornell

AnChi Hsieh and David Chen

Eunice Huang and Jiun-Haw Chu

Hsiao-Chuan Huang and Chien-Her Chin

Vanessa and Jay Huang Claudia Hung and Tim Burrell

Sarah Imbach and Andy Nowka

Imbach & Nowka Family Fund

Julie Irvine

Debra and Mark Jacobson

Marilyn and Andy Jacoby

Pooja Jain and Apoorav Trehan

Sarah Jamal

Serena Ji and Robert Qi

Kiki Jiang and Yiheng Li

Miranda Jiang and Layne Lin

Xiangmei Jiang and Chengzhu Yu Claire Jin and Peter Selby

Wenlan Jing and Guofeng Deng

Jochim Family

Larrissa and Shawn Johnson Tiana Johnson and Kyle Dickson Alani Kalfayan and Dan Laughlin

Julie and Ted Kalmus

Fatima Kardar and Ali Alvi Jessica Kehoe and Matthew Johnston

Amanda and Daniel Keller

Lilli Ann Kelly

Meaghan and Michael Kelly

Pamela Kessler and Peter Zetterberg

Emily Kim and Joohan Chang

Soora Kim and Josh Lee

Kimco Realty Company

Rachel and Nathan Klee

Tina Knutson

Kary S. Kublin, Ph.D. Clarissa Kuo and Joe Zhao

Jackie Latif

Zina and Andrey Lee

Julia and Randall Lehner

Liya and Tao Li

Jeanie and Curtis Light

Cindy Lin and James Lee

Faye Liu and Weifeng Tao

Kiki Liu and Bowen Zhang Ying Liu and Li Yan

Liz and Gary Long

Simon Lu’s Family

Charlotte MacCay

Wendy MacDonald

Laura Machado de Wright and Matthew Wright

Kristan and John McCaskey

Aurora McCone and Jamie Evans Julia and Ryan McGavran

Taira McKinney

Jules and Greg McLawsen

Manju Meghwani and Girish Sabhnani Michele Mendrick and Brad Herman

Mem Merrin and Adam Harrison

Jamila and Brent Merritt

Microsoft Shay and Sur Moon

Hannah Moore and Alex Wilford

Keri Moran and Guy Gilbert

Moss Adams LLP

Yuki Murakami and Ryo Ishizuka Marissa Natkin

Network for Good New York Life

Sarah and Toshi Niwa

Nora Korg Charitable Lead Unitrust

Ngozi and Jude Nwoko Bree and Justin O’Brien

Chidinma Odoemenem and Ugo Enyioha Oracle

Kathryn and Matt Osborne Morgan Padgett

Tammy and Marc Paine Astha Parmar and Prashant Singh

Susan and James Pass Christina Friedt Peters Kendra and Jeff Petkau Jinny and Bernhard Poess

The Poess Family Charitable Fund Payal and Vivek Pradeep

Suma Prasad and Sid Prabhu

Jade Qiang and Kenny Chen

Catharine and Robert Rachlin

Mia and Mike Rafn

Priya Raghav and Raghav Kaushik

Noa Rappaport and Nir Mardiks

PJ Rawlings

Sierra Reid

Mary Lou Ricci and Peter Frem Carrie and Oliver Roberts Samantha and Colin Robertson

Heidi Ruff and RJ Morse Saks-Xu Family Fund

Andrea Salazar and Randy Nuñez Salesforce Foundation

Desiree Salgado and Troy Anderson Laila and Bassam Saliba

Jones Lang LaSalle

Leah and Phillip Saltzman Lisa and Benjamin Sanders

Rebecca Sears and Joe Burcar Cassie and Roy Seney

Soumya Sharma and Saurabh Sinha Dahlia and Eitan Sharon

Judy Shedd and Terry Coonan

Selena Shelley and Michael LeFevre Demei Shen and Dylan Myers

Jo Smith

Kathryn Yates Stevenson and Gary Stevenson

Lindsey Stibbard

Barbara and Woody Sullivan

Sarah Sullivan-Singh and Virtaj Singh Sara Tahir and Hassan Javed

Su-Ann Tan and Ajith Kumar

Hongxi Tao

Sobia Tariq and Waqas Ahmed Zarry Tavakkol and Habib Rahbar

Debbie and Justin Thenutai

Kelsey Thomas

Kristin Trace and Jeffrey Richter Twilio

UHG

Sean Vacca

Monica Cermeno Vazquez and David Cornette Sophia and Nicholas Velastegui Celeste Walsen

Chan Wang and Yuelei Xie Jessie and Ben Wang Wei Wang and Xiao Wu Katie Warden and Ray Castillo

Cindy Weber

Carolyn Weger and Chris Carlson

Lijia Weng and Chao Gao Regan Wensnahan

Colleen and Colin Wes Shannon and Dan Westfahl Braden Wild Ann and Tyler Williams

Colette and Andrew Willingham Dawn and Ken Wojciechowski

Andrea Wong Mei Mei Wong and Chi Chin Susan and Ken Wong Stacy and Tim Woo The Wood Family

Coco Xu and Jeff Weng

Izzy Xu and Haizhou Wu

Ling Xu and Jevan Saks

Wen Xu and Kam Lai

Yates Stevenson Giving Fund

Margie Ye and Jd Hazra

Shirley Yeung and Davin Chin

Chunhui You and Eric Deng

Chunhui You and Zhiyao Deng

Jennie Yu and David Nguyen

Jiajun Yu and Yisheng Chen

Nazia Zaman and Mansoor Jafry

Jasmine Zhang and Jinlin Xu

Allie Zhao and Henry Wei

Jessie Zhou and Brady Montz

Jianwen Zhou and Tom Tao

Fenglin Zhu and Ziying Zheng

FINANCIAL AID

Keiko and Jonathan Andrews

Rahel Asseged and Baheru Muluneh

Julia and Michael Atalla

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

JoJo and Eric Bisset

Monique Bradshaw and Ada Duan

Tatiana Buga and Dan Iatco

Ashley Cappelli

Meltem Celikel and Umut Utkan

Monica Cermeno Vazquez and David Cornette

Kelly and Michael Chang

Samna and John Chheng-Mikula

Kristin and Jeremy Condit Louise and Nick Conway Amy Darke and Dan Reger

Lisa Decker

Becky Dolan

Neha Goswami and Abhishek Dubey

Yi Fang and Wei Shao

Yeganeh Farigam and Ali Niknejad

Kerryn and Daniel Frampton

Sarah and Will Gallien

Julie Glendenning and Mark Freid

Google

Kingston Govati and Christina Kadzamira

Amanda Haecker

Janna and Jon Hamaker

Amanda and Dustin Hamlin

Stephen and Joelle Harrison

Alice Hauschka and Sean Walsh

Robyn and Ryan Hites

Max Honch

Kristin Hornell

Claudia Hung and Tim Burrell

Sarah Imbach and Andy Nowka

Debra and Mark Jacobson

Pooja Jain and Apoorav Trehan

Wenlan Jing and Guofeng Deng

Ashley and Jay Jochim

Jones Lang LaSalle

Julie and Ted Kalmus

Fatima Kardar and Ali Alvi

Ellen Kaspi Cool and Thomas Cool

Amanda and Daniel Keller

Meaghan and Michael Kelly

Pamela Kessler and Peter Zetterberg

Tina Knutson

Zina and Andrey Lee

Liya and Tao Li

Jeanie and Curtis Light

Charlotte MacCay

Wendy MacDonald

Laura Machado de Wright and Matthew Wright

Kristan and John McCaskey

Aurora McCone and Jamie Evans

Taira McKinney

Michele Mendrick and Brad Herman Mem Merrin and Adam Harrison

Microsoft Hannah Moore and Alex Wilford

Keri Moran and Guy Gilbert

Tammy and Marc Paine Kendra and Jeff Petkau

Petkau Family Charitable Fund

Noa Rappaport and Nir Mardiks

Desiree Salgado and Troy Anderson

Laila and Bassam Saliba

Leah and Phillip Saltzman

Rebecca Sears and Joe Burcar

Cassie and Roy Seney

Dahlia and Eitan Sharon

Selena Shelley and Michael LeFevre Stryker Corp.

Barbara and Woody Sullivan

Sara Tahir and Hassan Javed

Su-Ann Tan and Ajith Kumar

Zarry Tavakkol and Habib Rahbar

The Roberts Family

Debbie and Justin Thenutai

UHG

Wei Wang and Xiao Wu

Katie Warden and Ray Castillo Jr. Cindy Weber

Carolyn Weger and Chris Carlson

Regan Wensnahan

Colleen and Colin Wes

Shannon and Dan Westfahl Ann and Tyler Williams Susan and Ken Wong Marie and John Wood Coco Xu and Jeff Weng Shirley Yeung and Davin Chin Jianwen Zhou and Tom Tao

IN HONOR OR MEMORY

In honor of the great journey Deng’s family had with The Little School at 2021

In honor of Sloane and Max McGavran

In honor of the grandparents of Dia and Jia

In honor of Lili Nguyen

In honor of Callum John Leo Morse

In honor of Owen Wilford

In honor of Ellie Hathaway’s pre-k class

In honor of Linus Myers

In memory of all my loved ones who were taken too soon!

In memory of Herman and Nehama Sharon

OUTGROWING 2022

The Class of 2022 christened the Rivers Gym for its first Outgrowing Ceremony in June.

Fourteen students became TLS alum after years together full of laughter, learning and friendship. The class joined middle schools around the Puget Sound and several have already returned to say “hello” and share stories about their new adventures!

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2022!

From the top:

LEV ELTERMAN

CIAN BRADSHAW

GAVIN WEYER WAILYN CHEN JACK NOWKA

ALI EDWARDS

MAYA SALIBA

From the top:

GRANT WESTFAHL CEDAR GALLIEN LALA ZETTERBERG JOED HAMAKER ALE FINCH DAMIEN LEFEVRE SHELLEY LINUS MYERS

The Class of 2022 is sharing their gifts and some TLS culture to the following middle schools:

Billings Middle School

Bridges Academy

Chinook Middle School

Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Northwest School

Pacific Cascade Middle School

Pine Lake Middle School

Rose Hill Middle School

Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences Seattle Girls School

The Evergreen School University Prep

Before they launched into their new schools, the Class of 2022 reconnected in August to say “hello” to the garden and each other.

UP WITH FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL

PAUL BRAHCE

Sarah Gallien, Alumni Association Board Chair

Paul began at the Little School in 1984 as a classroom teacher, sharing a pod with Dierdre Reedy in the Meadows building and a group of 5- and 6-yearolds. “I came into myself as a teacher and educator at The Little School,” he told me. Over the years, he taught many ages and various levels, but in each he led his class with an unconditional warmth and understanding.

Before TLS, Paul Brahce taught in an early childhood program at the University of Washington, working with children of University of Washington students. They were wonderful, but he really wanted to move into an elementary school setting. When a colleague told him about an opening at The Little School, he quickly scheduled a tour. “It was love at first sight! I was interested in alternative, progressive models of education and The Little School was exactly the kind of school I had been seeking.” He stayed with the Little School for twenty-four years, leading the school for over a decade.

After founding Head of School Eleanor Seigel retired in 1988, the school struggled to find a suitable, stable replacement. The board eventually asked Paul to serve as interim head in 1993. He stepped up, and within the year, it was clear he was the head of school TLS needed and a consistent, logical successor to Eleanor.

“What I learned from Eleanor and my wonderful colleagues during my time at TLS has informed every aspect of my work since. It would take a book to capture it all, but the essence is a deep respect for children and childhood, a commitment to the creative process of learning and an unwavering belief in each child’s capacity for engagement and success in their own unique ways.”

This “deep respect” for children as individuals and the importance of childhood is a quality that has always made The Little School a special place to learn and Paul exemplified it.

I was often pushing boundaries as a student, but he let me know that he didn’t like or respect me any less for it — my worst fear — he just wanted me to understand how my actions affected those around me. From my perspective, he was an excellent Head of School. So, it’s no surprise that when he moved to Wisconsin, he served as Head of long-time progressive Wingra School in Madison, a K-8 program. After working there for seven years [he] decided that it was time to retire. He didn’t. Instead, he found himself taking a position as the Interim Director of a Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood program for a few years, where his “love of teaching was rekindled.” Now, he teaches at a small school on Orcas Island, Salmonberry.

Paul explains, “It’s a wonderful little school, with much the same flavor as The Little School during my early years of teaching there. Former TLS teacher, Tom Rawson taught at Salmonberry for several years and was the music teacher when I first arrived there.” This fall, he returned for one more year, his fourth, this time teaching 6- and 7-yearolds. “I plan to retire after that,” he said. “Hopefully, it will take this time.”

Retirement would be well deserved for his lifetime of exceptional service both to children and to education. In the meantime, Salmonberry is lucky to have him. He was a warm and welcoming presence at The Little School for twenty-four years and continues to be a well-loved member of our alum faculty community.

FOND FAREWELLS

RETIRED 2022

We said goodbye to three extraordinary people this year at TLS. Combined, they held over 100 years of institutional memory and impact and consistently used their gifts to make The Little School a better, more authentic place for children, families and colleagues.

COLLEEN WES, JACQUELINE LATIF and KEN WOJCIECHOWSKI are important parts of our TLS family and we are excited for the days ahead when they will visit and share time on campus with us again.

We had an opportunity to celebrate Jackie and Colleen at our End of Year Picnic in June. Ken finalized his decision this summer. In the pages that follow are their own words about their next steps and reflections. Please join us in recognizing and thanking Colleen Wes, Jacqueline Latif and Ken Wojciechowski for their extraordinary service to The Little School!

KEN’S BEEN WORKING AT THE LITTLE SCHOOL

by Alice Hauschka, with love from your TLS family (sung to the tune of I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad)

Ken’s been workin’ at The Little School, all the livelong day. Ken’s been workin’ at The Little School, just to pass the time away. Can’t you hear the teachers callin’, rise up so early in the morn?

It’s the Head of School callin’, after an epic storm.

Ken won’t you blow, Ken won’t you blow, Ken won’t you blow those lee-ee-eaves! Ken won’t you plow, Ken won’t you plow, Ken won’t you plow that snow?

There’s a bird in the classroom of Meadows, A tree on the roof of Wo-oo-oo-oods, A cistern that is leakin’ in Rivers, Ken’ll know what to do, Singin’ fee-fi-fiddlie-eye-oh Fee-fi-fiddlie-eye-oh-oh-oh-oh, Fee-fi-fiddlie-eye-oh Ken, we hate to see you go!

IT IS WITH THE UTMOST APPRECIATION AND GRATITUDE THAT WE HONOR THESE FACULTY AND STAFF MEMBERS WHO RECENTLY LEFT THE LITTLE SCHOOL.

COLLEEN WES

“It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Little School community for about 20 years – a community that fosters a learning environment where children trust they have a voice that will be heard and thrive because they feel safe, loved and celebrated for exactly who they are.

“To come to a beautiful campus and witness children in their happy place growing into who they truly are is more than I could ever ask for. I have learned so much during my time at The Little School, not only from working alongside amazing teachers, staff and leadership who create magic with each and everything that they do, but from the children, no matter how young, who have been my greatest teachers of all.

“I am missing The Little School already but am looking forward to taking all that I’ve learned here and creating something new. To all the teachers, staff, students, alumni and families of The Little School, I thank you.”

JACQUELINE LATIF

“After 25 years, it is time to make a logical life transition. I have so many great memories, stories and have cultivated many lifelong friends during my teaching career at The Little School. I will miss my colleagues, parents, but most of all, the wonderful children who bring so much joy to my day. This granny will be a snowbird who plans to spend time with the descendants. I will also continue to work on developing my business, which will be a family-friendly community venture called The Black and Tan Hall in Seattle.”

KEN WOJCIECHOWSKI

“I have truly enjoyed working with all of you and the many past colleagues on this beautiful campus filled with positivity and energetic young kids, which I will dearly miss. I look forward to coming back to visit at a future school event. What’s next? After a mini sabbatical, I will have the opportunity to work with my son who is starting up an elevator service company.”

WELCOME TO OUR NEW TRUSTEES

We are thrilled to welcome two new trustees to The Little School Board this year. Both come from fellow independent schools and have meaningful experiences with DEIJ and Advancement that will help the Board as we activate our Strategic Plan and work to extend stability and access in our community. Please join us in welcoming Leslie and Nick to this work!

LESLIE HARRISJOHNSTON is the Director of Equity and Social Action at Eastside Catholic School. Leslie was welcomed onto the Eastside Catholic Middle School Humanities faculty in 2019 and accepted an additional role of director of equity and social action in January 2020. She earned her master’s degree from New York University and her bachelor’s degree from Mount Vernon College. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Saybrook University and will receive her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in June. She also worked as an instructional coach at The Overlake School prior to her partnership with Eastside Catholic. She has lived in the Seattle area since 2018 after moving from Iowa. She is also the parent of a current TLS second grader!

NICK ZOSELJOHNSON is an elementary educator at heart. Nick taught in both public and private schools for ten years including time with Teach for America. He then moved to leading the elementary division, preschool-grade five, at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma where he oversaw curriculum development, assessment and program design. Nick is currently the Lower School Admissions Director at Annie Wright Schools and brings his experience working with international communities, marketing and budgeting to his work with the Board. Nick believes in the power of early education and delights in supporting communities that help young children thrive. Nick enjoys spending time with his young children, camping, hiking and skiing.