E X P A N D I N G
POSSIBILITIES SPRING 2022
Mission The Little School cultivates authentic learning in community and the natural world, amplifying curiosity and expanding sense of self, belonging and possibility.
Vision
Values
To foster vibrant understanding and promote action that advances sustainability, justice and joy.
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.
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear TLS Community, One of my favorite things to do is walk through campus in the mornings. Without fail, there is a buzz in the air that is full of discovery and authentic learning. Up in Cedars, students are sharing information they’ve learned about refugees for an integrated learning project. Some of our 1-2 students are outside painting beautiful solar systems to complement their space study. Meadows students are excitedly melting snow and ice in sensory tables and creating magical imaginary worlds for plastic arctic animals. Down the hill, in one of our outdoor classrooms, kindergartners sit on beautiful handmade Hemlock tree stump stools, compliments of Michael Asbridge, our former technology manager, as they share observations and questions about volcanoes. In front of me, a third-grade
The last two years have stretched us as a community. Yet, throughout different challenges, there has been a happy buzz in the air.
student arrives at the Turnaround. She jumps out of her car and runs over to check in. “What are you doing?” she asks. After explaining that I’m writing a letter to the community, I ask her if there is anything I should be sure to tell everyone. “You could tell them that kids are doing great, and we love school,” she offers. As is often true, children have an amazing way of arriving succinctly at the most important truth. The last two years have stretched us as a community. Yet, throughout different challenges, there has been a happy buzz in the air. The inconveniences of construction required us to design creative solutions together as a faculty. How would we navigate drop-off and pickup without parking? What would we do when classroom spaces were occupied by construction workers? Together, we optimistically created new experiences. Little did we know we were simply in training for what was to come. A spring of teaching solely online while we managed the anxiety of COVID left us tired by the end of the 2019-20 school year. However, we realized we had an opportunity to design into the realities of the pandemic, rather than solely react to it. Throughout the summer,
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faculty met weekly, “reimagining” the fall ahead. We scoured the research, followed the news, considered our age group and helped each other think in solutions, dreaming about ways to better serve students safely on campus and online. The synergy of our collaborations and solutions engendered energy, optimism and gratitude. Our beautiful campus offered abundant outdoor spaces to play and learn. Our foundational philosophy and history reminded us time and again to keep children at the center of our work. The meaningful partnership of our families meant COVID protocols were observed, and our students stayed healthy and safe. The universality of childhood reminded us that children nimbly adapt when they know they are cared for and respected. When the Rivers Building opened in January 2021, our energy and optimism grew even stronger. Amazing things happen each day in this space and remind us why we built it. Children learn pickleball in the gym, design pinch pots in the art studio, investigate pond specimens in the environmental ed lab, cook freshly harvested dishes in the kitchen, strum ukuleles in the music room, perform on the stage and warmly greet each other on their way through the breezeway each morning. Our gratitude for this new space is unending. If you contributed to the Rivers Building’s design and possibility through our strategic planning process in 2014, thank you. If you contributed to the Campaign for
a Big Future, thank you. If you were a board member or admin team member between 2014-2021, thank you for your vision and your commitment to TLS’ future. The challenges, adaptation, designs and successes of the last two years have deepened our community and honed our collective creativity. We are in a unique place to imagine the possibilities that lie ahead for TLS. In the pages that follow, you’ll read about our learning and growth and how it positions us for new opportunities and partnerships. You’ll see the ways we continue to evolve and refine our values and mission so that they most deeply reflect The Little School’s philosophy, program and community. We hope that you will be compelled by optimism and energy and feel the gratitude that we have for each of you. Gratefully,
Julie Kalmus Head of School
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FROM THE BOARD Kelly Chang, Past Board Chair, and Dan Westfahl, Current Board Chair The Little School Board of Trustees serves the school’s mission and ensures sustainability for generations of learners to come. Sometimes sustainability takes the form of strategic visioning of what is to come, and sometimes it is the institutional continuity the board provides during times of challenge or change. No other moment in the school’s story demonstrates the need for or power of this dual approach better than where we sit together now. On a beautifully enhanced campus, COVID precautions in place, with a vibrant and fully enrolled program and a resilient and engaged community, we are ready to embark together on values-driven strategic planning. When COVID-19 bumped into the world, the TLS community was in the final stages of an ambitious vision, conceived in 2014, to renew our progressive program, improve enrollment and retention, nurture a vibrant community and revitalize our campus. We were “enjoying” all the associated opportunities to practice our resilience. (Who remembers parking off site and taking a van to get to school on a construction site?!)
We came through COVID even better together, because we had shared purpose when we selected Julie as our new head of school, fulfilled the Campaign for a Big Future and finally breathed (through masks) The Little School spirit into our new buildings, outdoor classrooms and Zoom rooms. To those who have been through it all, look what we did together! To those who have just joined TLS’ story in this chapter, welcome — we are so excited to share this with you! And to all, we get to keep building shared purpose this year with a new round of strategic planning. Join us! What will we imagine into reality next? With the prior strategic plan completed, the next right in front of us and Julie’s feet securely beneath her on our campus, it was time for a leadership transition for the board. Kelly chaired the board for five years, from before we had a campus plan to the opening of the Rivers Building and through the head transition from Peter to Julie. The board elected Dan Westfahl as board chair in May, and he entered his inaugural year after three years on the board, having served as treasurer and leading the finance committee throughout construction financing. We both are so grateful for having the honor to serve the school in this way and to each other for providing continuity and stability alongside a belief in an even more powerful and nourishing future always in front The Little School.
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RESILIENCE AND GROWTH Alice Hauschka, Assistant Head of School
Did you hear about the rose that grew / from a crack in the concrete? / It learned to walk without having feet / Funny, it seems, but by keeping its dreams / it learned to breathe fresh air... —Tupac Shakur
This year’s class of 4th and 5th grade students opened the 2021-2022 school year with poetry, including “The Rose That Grew from Concrete,” by Tupac Shakur, and “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, prompting them to begin exploring their poetic voices in their year-long theme of resilience. As the teachers began to introduce this theme with their students, they generated some examples from students’ lives and experiences and examples from nature and discussed ideas about what resilience means: to try again, to persist, to bounce back, to adapt, to do hard or scary things. Now the teachers were asking their students to consider where these ideas might show up in several poems they had selected, to begin connecting these ideas to literature and to their hearts and minds. When have they been like that rose?
Our schoolwide pivot to outdoor learning allowed us to maximize the benefits of health, learning, inquiry, and exploration that our 12.5-acre campus provides.
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We have been reflecting on the resilience of students, staff, teachers and families and the many ways our school, like the rose, had to “learn to walk without having feet … [while] keeping its dreams.” When history looks back on how the COVID-19 pandemic slammed education and turned schooling upside down, it will see that The Little School stood tall in its 60+ year history, strapped on its face mask, zipped up its rain suit and persisted in providing a world-class education that put children’s learning and well-being at the center. We came together as a community in the face of risk and fear to do as children do so naturally — adapt, persist and do hard things. As the pandemic continues into the winter of 2022, many of our adaptations have carried into this year, not only because they were — and still are — necessary to keep us from getting sick, but also because these adaptations have challenged us to be innovative and truly progressive in our approach to learning. These innovations have honed our core beliefs, clarified our mission, deepened our commitment to equity, nourished our collaboration and ultimately strengthened our community.
Our mask (and raingear!) mandate showed us that children can play, imagine, laugh, get dirty and compete in games of Ultimate or gaga ball, regardless of the weather or cloth covering their faces.
We rooted our practices and actions in gratitude and justice, helping our students learn reciprocity and gratitude for the gifts of the garden or forest and helping them learn generosity in extending those gifts to others.
We learned how to smile and show compassion and understanding with our eyes and words and gestures.
We focused on curricular experiences that built academic skills in personalized, powerful ways.
We leaned into technology as a powerful tool for collaboration and teaching. Our Connected Learning program, from March 2020 to June 2021, proved that there are no boundaries to powerful teaching and relationships, and we can access these skills and tools in strategic, nimble ways.
We took COVID safety practices seriously and integrated them into school life in ways that were kind, clear, pragmatic and built the child’s independence, as well as their interdependence.
We have re-invented many of our cherished traditions, like Sing and Arts Festival, focusing on what is at the core of their purpose and meaning for children and for the community.
We remembered how being silly, joyful and fun is central to childhood and found new ways to bring joy forward in our community.
As Ted Lasso says, “If you care about someone and you got a little love in your heart, there ain’t nothing you can’t get through together.”
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REFLECTING CRITICALLY
FOR THE FUTURE
Kristin Condit, Co-chair of the Strategic Thinking Committee Imagine it is ten years from now and you walk onto The Little School campus. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? These are some of the questions being asked as we engage in strategic planning for TLS. Strategic planning is the process by which we reflect on where we want to go as an organization, think critically about the challenges and opportunities ahead and define the set of strategic initiatives we will pursue to further our mission. The last time TLS went through the strategic planning process in 2014, we decided to invest in campus revitalization (resulting in the Rivers Building!), to reaffirm our commitment and action toward a diverse and inclusive community and to improve the clarity and continuity of our curriculum, among other initiatives. With these bold goals complete, we are ready to embark on the next journey of strategic planning.
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Over 2020-2021, the Board of Trustees formed the Strategic Thinking Committee to prepare the school for the launch of strategic planning. The committee was tasked with reflecting on the previous strategic planning process, surveying the current landscape, collaborating with other independent schools and organizations in the area and determining a process for strategic planning at TLS that was true to our values as a school and would set us up to be successful going forward.
The Arts Festival looked a little different in 2021, but it remains one of TLS’ time-honored celebrations and a great opportunity to connect as a community.
The committee reached several conclusions: 1. In order to enable TLS to be responsive and adaptable to changing needs and environments, strategic planning should be a regular, ongoing process for The Little School. Instead of being done once every 5-7 years, we should always maintain a long-term strategic plan that rolls forward each year and is updated based on the current landscape and needs of the school. 2. Ensuring that everybody in our community is welcomed, embraced and has equitable access at TLS is core to our values. As a result, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice (DEIJ) should be a principle for how we evaluate our strategic initiatives and needs to be infused in everything we do.
With these recommendations in hand, we kicked off strategic planning for TLS this year with excitement, curiosity, stewardship, joy and collaboration. Our fall was filled information seeking from our community. We used surveys, focus groups and interviews with all of our constituents to understand perspectives, ideas and dreams that our community holds for the school. We are now in the process of synthesizing all of our findings so that we can return to the community for more input and clarity. With the steadfast anchor of children and childhood at our center, the importance of continuing to tend the people, program and places that make TLS special rise to the top of our priorities. We’ll be excited to reach out soon about our next steps in the strategic planning process.
3. Our community is the foundation of TLS, and community engagement is critical to ensure our strategic plan reflects everybody in the TLS community. We will use our strategic planning process to bring the community together. THE LITTLE SCHOOL • EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES SPRING 2022 • 7
EVOLVING OUR COMMITMENT TO
COMMUNITY AND BELONGING Julie Kalmus, Head of School
Teaching in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply & intimately begin. —bell hooks
Progressive learning has long concerned itself with creating the “necessary conditions where learning can most deeply & intimately begin.” When bell hooks wrote this in 1994, she was responding to the tensions around multiculturalism being expressed in schools across our country. She espoused hope and possibility about the ways that education could embrace and understand each individual in our schools. She believed that diversity demanded us to care for and respect one another. Today, we understand that the task of creating the conditions for deep learning requires us to examine the individual, structural and institutional experiences that can inhibit our ability to learn from one another. Researchers Floyd Cobb and John Krownapple describe the critical importance of creating “a culture of belonging” characterized as 1) ensuring all community members feel seen and known, 2) connecting each individual to the broader community and 3) understanding and affirming the talents, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of living of each community member.
Since 1994, The Little School has grown visibly more diverse. In the 2021-2022 school year,
53%
of TLS’ families hail from outside of the United States, which means, “Have a great day!” can be heard in 26 home languages, representing 34 countries, each morning at Turnaround.
63% 1/5 1/5 100%
of families identify as brown, black or multiracial.
families receive financial aid.
students bring neurodiversity to our campus.
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of our 211 students bring powerful identities and selves to school each day.
Members of our community, across all constituencies, identify TLS’ diversity as one of its strengths. But as hooks’ modeled for us, the breadth of experience and culture in our community demands that we ask broad questions about the conditions we are creating for learning for all students. It’s a design question that increasingly guides our learning and work at TLS. How might we design a culture of belonging for all members of TLS’ community? Here are some of the steps we’ve taken as a faculty to engage this question, in a commitment to continuously evolve to best serve our community. EMPATHIZE AND SEEK PERSPECTIVE Experts suggest that the first step of answering complex social questions is to understand the community you serve. Quantitative data offers us some information. We also seek qualitative input. Community surveys, conferences, parent coffees, family gatherings and student conversations all add to the school’s understanding of community experience. When we apply our learning from these conversations, we begin to create what Cobb and Knownapple describe as the first requirement of belonging: being seen and known. The Little School has consistently received positive feedback about its warmth and care for children. Feedback over the past two years highlights appreciation for TLS’ warmth, care and hospitality, its commitment to communicating with transparency and its interest in family culture and identity. It also reveals a desire for family connection in affinity spaces, an understanding of economic diversity and neurodiversity at the school and expanded dialogue about differentiated learning goals. LEARN AND COLLABORATE We recognize that to truly be seen and known, we need to dig deeper. A place of belonging demands vibrant, purposeful learning for everyone — students, families and teachers. As a faculty, we are engaged in expanding our knowledge and skills to ensure that every student is met where they are and as they are. We look to academia, research and experts. We look to each other. We hold space for discourse, discomfort and discovery.
Last summer gave us rich opportunities to learn together as a faculty. We explored ways to differentiate curriculum to meet the needs of individual learners in literacy workshops with Wired for Reading, math workshops with Jo Boaler and SEL workshops with Second Step and Responsive Classroom. We worked with Caryn Park from Antioch University, investigating how to better cultivate identity, community and belonging in school settings. Mandy Dillion, a TLS teacher who grew up abroad, led us in understanding common experiences and gifts of international students learning in new cultures. We used Elena Aguilar’s equity framework to assess our current culture of belonging and create goals to deepen that culture. This learning continues into the school year with access to guest speakers like Zarretta Hammond, Rodney Glasgow, Dr. Beverly Tatum and Dr. Bettina Love and a passion for the dialogue that follows as we synthesize our learning and collaborate to apply it. ACT AND REFLECT Armed with new strategies, information and ideas, our faculty lean in together to design classroom and community experiences. Curricularly, we consider the content we teach, ensuring it aligns with best practice and accurate information. We discuss the many ways that identity is expressed and create an expectation of respect and curiosity as we discuss who we are and how we are
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growing. We engage the ways that a commitment to stewardship, justice and joy stretches us into action and expands our perspective. We attend to the different learners in our spaces and embrace their strengths and challenges. Then, we observe and narrate what we see. Who are you playing with? What discoveries are you making? Where are we hearing your voice? What are your passions and interests? Where are you withdrawn? When do you belly laugh? When do you seek alone time? What do you choose to share about who you are? Questions like these help us notice our own teaching behaviors. We reflect on the ways we pay attention to hearing multiple voices, to creating multiple avenues for self-expression and to celebrating each individual and their contributions. As we narrate, share our reflections and support relationship building, we create Cobb and Knownapple’s second and third ingredients for belonging: connection and affirmation.
DEI MISSION We will reflect on our own identities, be curious about the experiences and perspectives of others and seek to understand how our identities intersect. We strive to create an educational culture where struggle and discomfort are embraced as necessary for increased understanding and a community whose members are humble, curious, kind and committed to social justice.
DEI VISION The Little School creates innovative learning communities committed to equity, intentionality, and continuous inquiry and growth. SELF-REPORTED RACIAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITIES
White Chinese Multiracial Indian African American Pakistani Ethiopian Israeli Korean Persian Malaysian Japanese Mexican Nigerian Russian Turkish Vietnamese
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGES SPOKEN AT HOME
Mandarin Hindi Korean Spanish Nigerian Yoruba Farsi Urdu German Turkish Hebrew Romanian Japanese Greek Gujarati Russian Persian Khmer Kannada Portuguese Igbo French Arabic Cantonese Bengali Aramaic
As we embark on a year of strategic planning, expanding our sense of community and belonging remains a critical space for growth and engagement. It is a joyful time at TLS and a time for us to ensure that the “respect and care for the souls of our students,” families and faculty are evident daily in our work. It is at the core of what makes our community so special.
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KATHERINE BULLITT
FOUNDING LITTLE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER Sarah Gallien, TLS alumnus, parent and Alumni Association Board member You’d be forgiven for not knowing Kay Bullitt — she didn’t seek the spotlight — but it doesn’t take much digging to find her hand in nearly every aspect of the civic life of Seattle. She worked to preserve historic landmarks, revitalizing Pioneer Square. She advocated for the arts. She earned several awards for her work in international relations and as a peace advocate, including the United Nations Human Rights Award, and she was involved with politics and campaigns, from the local school board to state offices. She cofounded a credit union so women could take charge of their own finances. She even had a hand in founding Bumbershoot. Of all her work though, the most notable and recognized locally, is her early and unwavering commitment to racial justice and educational reform — the desegregation and preservation of racial diversity in Seattle Public Schools. When she saw some good could be done, she did it. In the 60s, when kids needed somewhere to go, she ran an integrated summer day camp in her back yard. She died this past summer, on August 22, 2021. She was 96 years old. And she touched my life — and yours — in ways I otherwise wouldn’t have known. I recognized her immediately, though I was initially unsure why. In the 2005 photograph published with her obituary in the Seattle Times, she stands among the trees outside her Capitol Hill home, property behind her filled with guests — in chairs, at tables, on the grass. “When you bring people together around a purpose,” she said, “good things happen.” On a hunch, I searched “Kay Bullitt” and “The Little School.” She was a founding board member. The Little School, it turned out, was one of those “good things.” Kay met the school’s founder, Eleanor Siegl, during Siegl’s first year in Seattle, at a New Year’s Eve party at the home of Robert and Dorothy Block. “Kay and I gravitated toward each other,” Eleanor wrote in her dissertation, “two women, wives of prominent men. Her husband, Stimson, an outspoken liberal attorney,
had recently campaigned for public office, a campaign in which Kay had been actively involved. She was one of the few people I met who asked what I would be doing while my husband continued as Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.” Eleanor had recently signed with Seattle Schools to teach, but experienced and witnessed antisemitism and racism among the staff. She’d found few friends and fewer people with whom she could talk about her work. Kay had been involved in education since she was a young student at Radcliffe, where — while earning a degree in Government — she’d worked at a community center with African American children and with an interracial farm project at the Hampton Institute. Over the years she’d taught 4th grade; traveled the country visiting schools, youth centers and social agencies, while pursuing her interest in work/study programs for preadolescent youth; and eventually moved to Seattle to work in educational therapy before meeting Stimson. She’d worked at Seattle Youth Center as a volunteer teacher until the birth of her daughter. The breadth and depth of her understanding of education was astounding. Kay and Eleanor, two brilliant women with similar backgrounds — each with a tireless drive to make things better — they quickly became friends.
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Kay knew Eleanor was frustrated in her teaching position. Eleanor felt she couldn’t give her students what they needed and deserved. Above all, Eleanor was concerned about the general “lack of awareness of children’s developmental needs,” something with which Kay understood intimately. Upon visiting Eleanor’s classroom, Kay was impressed with what Eleanor had accomplished, floored by the degree of student freedom and autonomy she saw, Eleanor explained in her dissertation. “How do you do it?!,” Kay asked. Eleanor responded, “It’s hard work.” Kay wanted to know how she could make it easier. In short, Eleanor told her, fewer children. Kay pressed, asking more questions, wanting to know how she’d design it. Eleanor theorized on what it would take, how to create the ideal learning environment. Ultimately, she didn’t think she could do it within the public school system. To accomplish what she was envisioning, it would have to be privately funded. Kay’s response: “Why don’t you do it?” Seattle needed preschools. “It was a time when a place for small children [was only] in used car lots and things like that. They had provided care for children during the second world war and then wanted places near where the mothers were working, you know, in the factories,” Kay explained in a 2008 interview. Not much had developed since. Kay had recently looked for a nursery school for her daughter and found only parent coops. She wanted to know what it would take to make Eleanor’s vision a reality. They started looking into it. To incorporate a school, they would need a board of trustees. The Blocks, at whose house Kay and Eleanor had met, joined the Bullitts, the Siegls and their friends, the Wensbergs, as the founding board. Between these eight highly influential individuals, they had experts in child welfare, business, law, music, education and public relations. “We explored ideas with each other,” Eleanor wrote. “We were all parents, […] had all been children with our own memories of helpless feelings and painful experiences in school. It was an empathetic group, willing to pursue the possibilities for improved conditions for the young. What was remarkable was that, out of Seattle’s population of 500,00, the eight of us had met.” It was on the strength of their commitment that The Little School was founded, and it all grew from that initial connection between Eleanor and Kay.
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Kay Bullitt (left) with TLS Founder Eleanor Siegl (center) and other guests at Eleanor’s retirement party in 1988.
The school was named, zoning laws petitioned and influenced, the original site at Unitarian Church in Seattle was eventually secured and play equipment built (by hand). Through the hard and careful work of the board, the school was staffed and students enrolled. They supported one another through all the difficulties of building an integrated preschool, something truly groundbreaking and progressive, given the particular sexism, racism and antisemitism of their time. And as Kay put it in an interview, “I was involved from the very beginning.” Her belief in The Little School spurred action. Because she knew — from her success in procuring busses for voluntary integration in the public schools — that sometimes, “if you just take a little initiative, […] it solves the problem.” And that “when you bring people together around a purpose, good things happen.” Bibliography: Dissertation, Eleanor Siegl. Dahlia Bazzaz, “Kay Bullitt, Seattle philanthropist and civil rights activist, dies at 96,” Seattle Times, August 24, 2021. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/kay-bullittseattle-philanthropist-and-civil-rights-activist-dies-at-96/. James Gregory, “Katherine ‘Kay’ Bullitt: Coalition for Quality Integrated Education; Peace activist,” Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project. University of Washington, https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/bullitt.htm. Katherine Bullitt, interview by James Gregory and Lisa Fielder, November 11, 2008, Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project, University of Washington, https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/bullitt.htm. Sam R. Sperry, “Making Waves: Remembering Kay Bullitt,” Post Alley, September 19, 2021. https://www.postalley.org/2021/09/19/makingwaves-remembering-kay-bullitt/.
WITH GRATITUDE The Little School Board of Trustees is tasked with guiding the school with an eye on the horizon. The care, vision and commitment of these individuals helped us forge new paths as a school, and we are grateful for their service. Monique Bloch (2018-2021) — As an alumna, Monique joined the board with an unparalleled love for the school. She was a champion of alumni reconnection and worked on board recruitment during her years of service. Monique (front row, center) poses with her classmates and Teacher Margaret Hall for a class photo on a climber near the Big Field.
Frank Grijalva (2017-2020) — Coming to TLS as a former head of school at Overlake School, Frank brought rare insight and experience to the board’s strategic work, particularly during the exciting initiation of the Rivers Building creation. He was an invaluable member of the Executive Committee and is remembered for his longrange vision and wisdom.
Claudia Hung (2016-2021) — Claudia served on the board as the parent of current and alum students and brought a beautiful combination of serious dedication and wry humor to the board. Known for asking the hard questions and engaging others in forward-thinking, authentic conversations, Claudia was especially pivotal in her work on the Diversity Committee and the Campaign Executive Committee. Claudia (center) and the Hung-Burrell Family celebrating Hailey’s Outgrowing in 2021.
Frank (left) with Habib Rahbar at the 60th Anniversary Celebration & Auction in 2018.
Ellen Kaspi Cool (2017-2020) — An alumni parent and former teacher, Ellen brought her long institutional history and love of the school to her board service. She was particularly remembered for her engagement on the Diversity Committee and passionate commitment to the school’s core tenets. Ellen leading a TLS Jump Rope for Heart event in 2009. THE LITTLE SCHOOL • EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES SPRING 2022 • 13
Dan Klusman (2013-2020) — Dan’s time on the board took place when his son was a current student and after his Outgrowing. Dan brought a rare sense of humor and creative energy to the board, particularly in his dynamic leadership in the areas of development and marketing. He was a tireless champion of board giving and is remembered for asking great questions. Dan (center) at the Groundbreaking for a Big Future with son, Bennett (right), and TLS alum Gus Mitchell (left).
Judy Shedd (2013-2021) — Judy’s tremendous love of the school as an alumni parent was the shining light of her board service. An unparalleled champion of the school’s alumni, Judy is especially remembered for her initiative and support of the school’s Alumni Association Board and helping to start several beloved traditions, such as the Alumni Reunion. Judy (left) with Alice Hauschka and former TLS Business Manager Carolyn Matter celebrating TLS in 2015.
Noel Murphy (2009-2021) — Critical to the Board’s success and strategic direction over the past decade, Noel’s tenure included time both as a current and alumni parent. In her remarkable 10 years of service, including several as board chair, Noel’s steady leadership and long-term vision was pivotal in steering the school through a head of school transition, developing a vibrant strategic plan and setting in motion the forward-thinking growth trajectory that continues today. Noel (right) with TLS alum and former trustee Lindsay Stibbard at the Trustee Reception in 2018.
Jenny Steen (2014-2021) — An alumna and former staff member, Jenny’s knowledge of institutional history, passion for the school and positive guidance were hallmarks of her time on the board. Jenny provided leadership on the school’s Governance Committee, among other roles to support the board’s work. Jenny (right) with former TLS Teacher Joyce Kidd-Miller at the 2018 Alum Reunion.
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OUTGROWING With two amazing classes of Outgrowers, we knew we had to make the most of the opportunity to celebrate them and find ways to do it safely. In 2020, the Outgrowing ceremony was rescheduled to August. We held the ceremony under the covered court, and each Outgrower had their own table for guests. This worked well for an Outgrowing class of five students, but how to handle the 2021 group of 17? Move it to the Big Field! Both celebrations were special and unique, just like our Outgrowers.
Anthony Amoratis
Amirra Edwards
Riley Knutson
Mateo Suter
Lucas Wright
The 2020 Outgrowers showed off their matching sweatshirts, which were a gift from the TLS Alumni Association.
Head of School Julie Kalmus welcomes Outgrowers and their families to the 2020 ceremony under the covered court.
Each of our Outgrowers received a fern to plant in the landscape behind the Woods Building, which serves as a symbol of their connection to TLS.
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2021
Pictured (back l-r): Ruby Ward, Ana Lucia Cornette, Dylan Aygun, Jack Ogliore, Trinny Donhoff, Noah Condit, Anthony Chin, Benjamin Chin; (front l-r): Maya Hancock, Alice Freid, Elodie Ebbo, Maayan Mardiks Rappaport, Hailey Burrell, Charlie Johnston, Jia Katageri, Kian Rahbar; Not Pictured: Zach Williams
Teacher Katie Warden reflects on Outgrower Hailey Burrell and her time at TLS.
Outgrower Dylan Aygun takes center stage as Teacher Max Honch speaks on Dylan’s growth while at The Little School.
Families gathered together on the Big Field for the 2021 Outgrowing Ceremony.
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FOND FAREWELLS It is with the utmost appreciation and gratitude that we honor these faculty and staff members who recently left The Little School. RETIRED 2020 Anyone who had the good fortune to work with CINDY SORENSEN or visit one of her classes knew that they were watching a master teacher. Though she had 31 years of experience under her belt, Cindy maintained the curiosity of a new teacher, always wondering how to better her practice and make learning more accessible for her students. She combined the confidence to try new ideas with a hearty commitment to the mission of The Little School, always putting the student first, leaving time for play and remembering that learning is a long, wonderous experience if everyone feels connected. Cindy’s dry wit and her belief in the value of childhood shone through in stories she told in the lunchroom and in her production of curricular contributions, such as the annual salmon study. Students in Cindy’s class felt safe and understood, as did the many parents and colleagues who worked with her. Truly, her wisdom permeated each level she taught. Though we will all miss her dearly, her grandchildren can now soak in more of that love! SALLY VONGSATHORN joined The Little School faculty in 2003 and was quickly beloved and respected for her ability to nurture and inspire the deep intellect and creative capacity in the hearts and minds of students as well as colleagues. As an educator and designer of curriculum, Sally’s methodology was holistic and childcentered, meaning that she created experiences that were attuned to a student’s intrinsic drive to experiment, play, express themselves, connect and learn. Her powerful skills as a teacher grew new wings when she envisioned, proposed and subsequently initiated a dedicated art specialist role at The Little School, and her 15-year tenure at TLS was punctuated by the outstanding art program Sally built from the ground up. Sally’s collaborative leadership of the Art Festival resulted in a collective sense of accomplishment for the entire TLS community, a source of awe at the creative power and potential in children and sheer joy in celebrating their art. Hundreds of TLS graduates identify as artists, makers and creators thanks to Sally. HEIDI WEATHERS was a committed proponent of social-emotional development. She developed a strong rapport with each student, which created a safe place for communication and learning. The element of fun was always present in her classroom. Whether students were learning about Lewis and Clark or building a giant geodesic dome, Heidi created academic expectations that allowed the process to drive student engagement. Heidi also spent part of her time at TLS as the faculty representative to the Board and brought joy to her colleagues through the creation of the Sunshine Committee. After 10 years as a teacher at TLS and a year on sabbatical, Heidi decided that a change of scenery was in order. She packed up her family and moved to her native Montana. It must be a lot brighter in the Big Sky State, now that Heidi is there with her sunny disposition. THE LITTLE SCHOOL • EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES SPRING 2022 • 17
RETIRED 2021 MICHAEL ASBRIDGE’s work as our technology manager will leave a lasting impact on the school. He helped the school develop its first long-range technology plan, steadily planned updates and improvements to our technology systems and devices, created spaces for virtual sharing and collaboration and ensured that we moved into the Rivers Building with phone, AV and network systems poised and ready for use. As the “adventure” of online learning arrived at our doorstep, Michael was essential in our transition to learning from home. He quickly secured accounts at a moment’s notice to make sure learning was consistent and accessible. As a proud grandfather, a self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades and eager thrift-shopper, Michael’s next adventure is sure to be filled with family, innovative construction and design projects — and plenty of Hawaiian shirts! This photo of Michael Asbridge was snapped from a small peak above Mt. Forgotten Meadows in the North Cascades, though we know he will always remember his time at TLS. TAMMY CROOK answered every question, tracked every attendance, tended every injury or illness and knew right where to find whatever you might need. She brought a steady attention to detail and care throughout the school day and a keen ability to jump in to support children, families and faculty whenever needs arose. As our student services coordinator for the past six years, Tammy wore many hats and lived in many offices. With the birth of her second grandchild, Tammy chose to take off her work hat and proudly wear her grandma hat full time! We think her grandchildren, Hazel and Andrew, are so lucky to get her undivided attention and hope they will become part of the TLS family like their grandma as they grow older. JACKIE HUBENET has been connected to TLS’ family since the early 90s, when both she and her husband, Richard, taught at the school. As their careers expanded, Jackie made the bold choice to open her own early childhood program in Seattle which she deftly ran for over 16 years. Jackie returned to TLS in the fall of 2019, joyfully teaching kindergarten. Never one to shy away from a new challenge or opportunity, in 2020-21, she took on the Connected Learning program for our 1st and 2nd grade students, building a strong virtual community and powerful learning experiences for the children who met her on screen every morning. As the school year unfolded, Jackie and Richard’s youngest daughter graduated from college, opening the door to their next bold adventure ... MADRID! The couple couldn’t turn down the chance to teach and live abroad and moved to Spain. Buen viaje, Jackie!
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ALUM UPDATES There is no stopping TLS alums! The Outgrowing class of 2014 graduated from high school last spring. Check out where some of our alums are attending college. Sawyer Anderson is attending University of California at Irvine, with tentative plans to major in chemistry.
Meera Kalhan is attending Boston University this fall.
Nathan Apfel is attending Yale University, possibly majoring in physics or economics.
Aidan Richter is attending Colorado College and is on the Swim and Dive Team.
Sophia Beams: I got into Skidmore College and will be part of the class of ‘25.
Max Robertson is attending Digipen Institute of Technology, studying towards a BFA in Digital Art and Animation. He’s long been interested in the game industry, and this will set him on that path.
Anni Corrin is attending Washington State University. Nigel Fogelquist continues to play ukulele and is thrilled to be going to Evergreen State College, his first choice.
Gus Mitchell is attending the University of Denver — Go Pioneers!
Pictured (l-r): Nathan Apfel, Aidan Richter and William Donohue celebrate graduation together.
Two TLS alums are currently volunteering at the school with extracurricular activities. Owen Gammill (’15), an EPS senior, is co-captain of their cross country team. Owen is bringing his knowledge and love of running to help lead the TLS Running Club.
Sam Sakaguchi is attending California Polytechnic State University San Louis Obispo and studying mechanical engineering. Zoe Fowler: I am … attending the University of Puget Sound to play soccer! I am hoping to study the exercise sciences and I am super excited about it!
Zoe Fowler declares for University of Puget Sound.
Congratulations to TLS alum Ryan Long on being drafted to play baseball in the Baltimore Orioles organization! We wish him the best of luck and look forward to following his pitching career.
Noah Condit (’21) has a passion for chess. He comes to campus two days each week to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for chess with the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
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ALUM COUNSELORS AT SUMMER CAMP Last summer was the first in a long time that TLS has hosted our own summer camp, and the cherry on top is that TLS alums were part of our counseling crew. This group of high school students and recent grads included Cooper Kroll, Gus Mitchell, Hannah McConnell, Meera Kalhan, Sam Sakaguchi and Teresa Krauss-McClurg. It was such an honor to see this lovely group of alums every day as they helped make memories for our camp attendees. So much fun was had, by both our students and our counselors, that we’re going to do it again. If you’re an alum who would like to be involved with TLS Summer Camp in 2022, please reach out to Director of After School Programs Ray Castillo, Jr. at dirextday@thelittleschool.org. Pictured (l-r): Teresa Krauss-McClurg, Gus Mitchell, Sam Sakaguchi and Hannah McConnell. Not pictured: Meera Kalhan and Cooper Kroll.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE NEW ALUMNI PORTAL ON THE TLS WEBSITE •U pdate us on what you’re doing. •C heck out past editions of the TLS Alum Newsletter, and sign up to get the next one delivered right to your inbox. •S ee pictures from more recent alum events, and dig deeper in our SmugMug photo archive to find photos from the past. •V olunteer to support future alum events or to get involved with the Alum Association Board. There’s so much to explore, and it’s just the beginning. Let us know what you would like to see in the Alumni Portal by sending an email to TLS-alums@thelittleschool.org.
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SAVE THE DATE TO CELEBRATE APRIL 23, 2022 Go to thelittleschool.org/auction to learn more.
IT’S NOT JUST OUR CAMPUS THAT HAS IMPROVED! Check out our new website at thelittleschool.org.
THE LITTLE SCHOOL • EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES SPRING 2022 • 21
2812 116th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 425-827-8708 info@thelittleschool.org thelittleschool.org