Peck's Mission in Motion: Jennifer Price '86

IN THE SUMMER OF 2018, Dr. Jennifer Price ’86 became the fourth Head of School at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, MA. Known informally as BB&N, this co-educational day school, like Peck, is one of the top independent schools in the nation. Price embraced the opportunity to return to her roots and work in an independent school after almost 20 years of highly acclaimed service as a teacher, housemaster, principal, and, ultimately, a superintendent of schools in the Massachusetts public school system.

Price’s inspiration for entering the field of education actually began during her formative years at Peck. “There is no doubt that Mrs. [Betty] Marsh was an instrumental part of my choosing education as a career,” she related. “Mrs. Marsh was the most influential person in my entire education’s trajectory.”

Marsh’s influence on Price extended well beyond the classroom. She is quick to point out that her early years at Peck were quite difficult personally, and that Marsh was an early adopter of the “whole child” approach to education. Marsh cared as much for Price’s social and emotional well-being as she did for her academic success.

Price attended Peck as a Kindergarten student but then relocated to England for two years. She returned to Peck for her third-grade year and that’s when she had the pleasure of studying with Marsh for Grades 3, 5, and 6. During what became a rocky period in her young life, her parents divorced and her beloved classmate and good friend Andy Gaffney passed away. With two sisters at home (aged one and three), Price assumed responsibilities and pressures well beyond her age.

Price remembers, “Mrs. Marsh was a true advocate and supporter. She and my mother had a deal. If I had a rough night, my mother would call Mrs. Marsh and I would be given a ‘mental health day.’ She was not only an excellent teacher but she understood that if kids are not able to be fully present at school due to other reasons, those needs have to be addressed as well.”

Alumna Jennifer Price's sixth-grade class, taught by Mrs. Betty Marsh.

Placing students at the forefront and extending her concern beyond the classroom has been the hallmark of Price’s storied career. She has dedicated her life’s work to mentoring students, fostering teaching excellence, and championing the student-centered experience.

After earning a degree in public policy from Princeton University and a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in education from Boston College and Harvard University, respectively, Price entered the public school system as a teacher of history and a coach of softball and field hockey. While working at Maynard High School in Massachusetts, she was twice named Teacher of the Year. She went on to become principal of Newton North High School where colleagues and families praised her for her “pioneering mindset, which guided the implementation of an innovation laboratory, professional learning communities, a black and Latino scholars’ program, and a first-generation college mentoring program.”

At the apex of her public school service, Price served as Superintendent of North Andover Public Schools. Nearly 5,000 students across eight district schools benefited from her care, dedication, and attention. She was celebrated for implementing initiatives that bolstered rigor in the classrooms, professional development for faculty, and diversity and inclusion among students.

Price believes she can build on her work in the public school sector with even more focus in an independent school setting. “I did not get into education to perpetuate the societal inequities that already exist. And I strongly believe independent schools can do that work,” she explained. “I believe we have a societal obligation to open our independent schools to a wide variety of kids—a diverse group of kids. I also believe we are preparing all of our students to live and thrive in a diverse society, and if we don’t create that for them within their education or their formative years, how are we going to expect them to be able to work and live in a global, international, diverse space—and hopefully lead in that space when they leave us?”

Price believes that the ability to work collaboratively with your colleagues and to work across disciplines is paramount to a culture of teaching excellence. She often asks herself, “Are we supporting kids socially and emotionally so that they can bring their authentic selves to school? Learning is a progression, and often the best learning comes from your challenges, not your successes. In my life, it has been the challenges that have made me stronger professionally and as a leader, not the stuff that came easily. This harkens back to Peck. After my parents divorced, I received financial aid from Peck. I see that as an incredible investment in my future. Peck was a transformational experience for me, and education should be transformational— it should take kids who need additional support and, through education, transform their lives.”

“I left Peck very empowered as a young woman,” Price explained. She found this empowerment not only through the interest Marsh showed in her overall development but also through support from Ms. (Ann) Van Voorhis in girls athletics and her wonderful woodworking teacher Dr. Lenno Mbaga.

Price feels there was nothing like woodworking at Peck to teach students to persevere. “When a student breaks a board they must exercise patience and persistence,” she explained. “They are often collaborating on projects and every student is allowed to progress at their own level, which is what we now call differentiated learning. Usually, there is a final product at the end of a unit that the student can display. All of the aspects of learning that we now consider instrumental were modeled then.”

Price’s commitment to perseverance and learning from adversity were brought to an extreme test on September 11, 2001. Her mother and step-father were tragically killed on United Flight 93, only 18 days after the birth of her first child. Though the years following that horrific event were shadowed by bouts of private grief, confusion, and anger, she found strength in her partner Katya, her children (eleventh-grader Charlie and eighth-grader Elsie), her dedication to students, and the support she received from her community.

“At the time, the Peck community reached out in a very supportive way, and although I couldn’t respond at the time, my family was incredibly grateful for the support we received,” she recalled. “The Peck community supported us for many years afterward, and I will always be grateful.”

Price paid all that support forward by ultimately becoming a president of the Families of Flight 93, an organization dedicated to sustaining a permanent memorial to the victims of the United Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, PA. In an interview 10 years after the September 11 attacks, she stated her main motivation for becoming more public in her grief was that she found solace in her connection to others and the simple mantra that you can, “Think of others and do a good turn every day.”

Jennifer Price is Peck’s mission in motion. She is a profound example for Peck students through her life-long commitment to the transformational power of education, her perseverance and strength in the face of obstacles, her dedication to equity and inclusion, and her daily practice of consideration of others.