DDEEWWEEYYGGRRAAMM An Official Publication of the John Dewey Alumni Association Fall 2014
Message from the Board of Directors John Dewey Alumni Association This is the last message from the current (2013-2014) Board of Mailing Address: Directors. The 2015 Board will be elected on October 18, 2014 at Brooklyn Central Post Office the all-class reunion event at Dewey. (See inside for more event P.O. Box 21593 and election details.) It has been our pleasure to serve the alumni, Brooklyn, New York 11202-1593 the faculty, and the current students of John Dewey High School for the past year. Website: http://www.johndeweyalumni.org/ This has been a remarkable year for the Alumni Association. Since this organization was revitalized in 2008, we have Email: championed the school, its history, and its future. Much of the last [email protected] five years was spent seeking to defeat proposals that would close [email protected] or divide our alma mater. We joined the school administration, students and faculty to actively campaign against a co-location
proposal that would have forced Dewey to share its facilities with Facebook: another high school, a plan that was defeated this year. www.facebook.com/groups/jdhsalumniassociation But while we have raised our voices in defense of the school itself, Twitter: @jdhsAlumni we have also turned more of our attention in 2014 to our members – the students and staff who made (and continue to make) the Dewey experience remarkable. Board of Directors 2013-2014 President Bunji Fromartz (1974) With the help of numerous alumni, several additional Facebook Vice President Adrienne Grande (1980) groups for former Deweyites have been created, and pre-existing Vice President Elsie Chan (Faculty) ones have expanded their circle of Friends, increasing our outreach and networking capabilities. Secretary Janice Deutsch (1978)
Treasurer Thomas Heinegg (Faculty) We have initiated this newsletter and hope to continue publishing Member Harold Kramer (1975) quarterly issues that bring our readers Alumni and Faculty Member Shirley Juste (1995) Updates, stories about memories of our members’ Dewey Days, reports on current school programs, member networking and Assistant Officers 2013-2014 advertising opportunities, and much more. Edmund Unneland (1981), Asst. Secretary Shirley Juste (1995), Asst. Treasurer We have increased our active presence in the school. Board members have attended student-centered events such as the Blood Audit Committee 2013-2014 Drive in February, the Parent Association’s fundraising Dewey Joseph Antonucci (Faculty) Disco Ball in March, and the orientation barbecue for incoming Eileen McGivney (1972) freshmen in June. We plan to attend the JDHS College & Career Dana Schnek (1974) Day on October 15 (see the Bulletin Board item on page 18) and are working on starting a student mentoring program in 2014-15. Deweygram Editor Janice Deutsch (1978) We are especially proud to have planned the upcoming celebration th of the 45 Anniversary of John Dewey High School inauguration. Send newsletter feedback to: See the multi-page article below (pages 7-10) for event details and [email protected] registration information. We hope to see you there. 1 Tell a Tale of Dewey Alumni Updates
We are interested in stories of your Dewey 1974
Days. What do you remember? David Bunji Fromartz is a practicing attorney with an office in Downtown . Your first day Brooklyn. Having recently seen an . Your last day (senioritis?) upsurge in the need for Elder Law (wills, . Mods, Bands, Cycles and other Deweyisms trusts, estates, etc.) among friends and . The craziest/funniest experience you had family, he has increased his practice in this . Sad/poignant experiences area, but his firm also handles real estate, . The S.O. Store family, matrimonial, commercial, and personal injury cases. . Course selection sheets He was also involved in a religious civil rights case in New . D.I.S.K.s Jersey. Bunji joined the JDAA when it was reinitialized in th . Clubs & Activities 2009 for the 40 Anniversary celebration of the John Dewey . Sporting Events H.S. and stayed on in 2010 to fight the threatened closure of . Performances & shows the school. He has served as president of our organization since 2013. . Publications
. Your favorite (or most unique) class
. Your favorite (or most unique) teacher 1977 . Country Fair (and other Dewey Days) . Signs of the Times (fads, news, events) Henia Shatz Stein is the author of Why My Father Ran (her . Changes (out with the old, in with the new) father's holocaust story) as well as numerous articles . Hanging out at ………. including “Lessons from a Homeless Man.” She has co- . Your most memorable AAAAARRGGHH! moment written Side By Side with her 12-year-old neighbor. Writing . Your most memorable WOO HOO! moment with someone from another generation really comes through . Your most memorable
Poignant, funny, inspiring and memorable stories
(from both teachers and students) will be printed in 1978 a future issue of Deweygram for all our members to see. (Watch for them in the Dewey Days column.) Michelle Greenberg Hutchinson has reinvented herself several times since By submitting your story, you are giving the JDAA graduating from Dewey in 1978. She permission to print it. All submissions are subject received her bachelor's degree from Clark University (Worcester, MA) and went on to to editing for space and content. receive her D.M.D. and M.P.H. from Harvard. After practicing dentistry for four If you refer to other students in your story, please years, she made a career change to education. She was obtain their permission to publish their names or, in adjunct faculty at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and the alternative, change their names (to protect any taught in public high schools in Georgia and online for the innocence and/or hide any guilt they might have Georgia Virtual School division of the Georgia Dept. of Education. In 2003, the entrepreneurial bug bit her and she had). Please put brackets or quotation marks around changed careers again, establishing Wordhelper.com, a pseudonyms. (continued on page 3) 2 Alumni Updates (cont’d.) Dewey Anthropology Pioneer Honored by United Federation of Teachers company that provides manuscript editing, resume preparation, and copywriting services. Michelle lives in Len (Weiner) Warner, who created and taught John Dewey Marietta, GA, with her husband, Bill. They have two grown H.S.’s ground-breaking Anthropology and Archaeology children, a son who is a firefighter/EMT, and a daughter courses, was recently honored by the United Federation of who is in college at the U.S. Naval Academy. Teachers for his dedication to education at the Staten Island
Beagle Learning
Center (SIBLC) for 1981 retired teachers and
his commitment to Robert J. White joined the U.S. Coast lifelong learning. Mr. Guard Reserves after graduating Dewey, Warner received the serving as a “weekend warrior” while Edith Potter/ Anne attending John Jay College of Criminal Reel Award at the Justice. He went on to become an annual luncheon of Emergency Medical Technician, rising to the UFT’s Retired Teachers Chapter on June 2, 2014 at the the rank of Lieutenant in the New York Hilton Hotel in Manhattan. His plaque reads: City Fire Department Emergency Medical Service. Since
1987, he has served at FDNY battalions in Manhattan, the The Edith Potter/Anne Reel Award Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, and is currently assigned to The United Federation of Teachers'' Retired Teachers'' Chapter the battalion which services all of the Rockaways. He th Is Proud to Present This Award To received a September 11 Rescuer Medal and the 2007 Leonard Warner Chief James Scullion Award for excellence in emergency In Recognition of his Dedication and Endless Energies medical service. Robert remains a member of the Coast Expended as an Instructor for the SI Beagle Learning Center Guard Auxiliary and credits his military training with and for his Commitment to Lifetime Learning helping make him a better officer and enabling him to keep his priorities straight on 9/11. He lives in the Lake Len Warner began his teaching career at Eastern District Ronkokoma area of New York with his wife Kathleen and H.S. in 1965 as a science lab specialist before getting his two awesome daughters, Colleen (18) and Lauren (17). own General Science and Biology classroom in 1967. In 1970, he transferred to John Dewey H.S. where he was convinced to write an Anthropology curriculum by his 1982 department chairman, Edmund Guilhempe. He has taught this and other subjects he is passionate about – Human Adair White-Johnson earned a B.A. in Evolution, Biblical Archaeology, Egyptology, Primatology, Psychology, an Ed.M. in School Ancient Rome, North American Indians – for nearly 45 Counseling, and a PhD. in Social years, earning a Teacher of the Year award and many other Foundations of Education. After accolades. working as a school counselor with at- risk middle- and high-school children for When he retired from the NYC Department of Education 25 years and receiving numerous awards in December 2000, he began teaching at the SIBLC, and in for her work as an educator, she founded The 2006 added the Blue Heron Park Nature Center to his list of Empowerment House where, as an "Empowerologist and instructional settings. At SIBLC, he just finished a lecture Life Strengthener," she coaches teens and women through series on the Plains Indians and is currently teaching life changes. She is currently an Associate Professor of classes on Roman History and Culture, The Origin and Education in Atlanta and the CEO of Johnson Tribe Development of Christianity, and Human Evolution. Publishing, which publishes her Get Over It! series of motivational and self-help books. Dr. White-Johnson has Len Warner is the author of a field guide for the Jamaica been married for over twenty-four years and is the “proud Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and co-author with his son Steven but tired” mother of five children. Her latest books, Get of Big Cats That Roar under the pen name Jamie Green. He Over It! How to Bounce Back with the B.E.L.I.E.V.E was also a consulting writer and editor for The Native System and Get Over It! How to Bounce Back after Being People of the Northeast Woodlands, an educational Diagnosed with Lupus will be released in October 2014. resource published by the Museum of the American Indian, and appeared in the pages of Biblical Archaeology Review Submit your Own Alumni Update at magazine. [email protected] 3 Teacher Feature: ROBERT SARNOFF John Dewey High School Department of Art (1969 – 1988) UFT Art Educator of the Year (1994) Lifetime Achievement Award (2014)
When John Dewey H.S. was about to be born, so was Robert Sarnoff’s first child. It was a time of change, but not, as it turned out, the one he’d imagined. Sarnoff had been contemplating leaving New York (and his teaching job at FDR H.S.) for Martha’s Vineyard, where he was up for a chairmanship. Then he heard Joshua Segal, Dewey’s founding principal, speak. Segal’s description of the planned school was “poetic.” It was “philosophical.” And in the end, it was irresistible. Sarnoff no longer wanted to go to Massachusetts. He wanted to go to 50 Avenue X.
“The whole concept was brilliant,” says Sarnoff, recalling the innovations that would drive the school. In the beginning, he didn’t give much thought to the longer days, shorter cycles, or On Canvas pass/fail system, being more intrigued by the idea of students learning at their own pace and teachers developing new curricula. Dewey’s arts program would include more traditional classes like painting, of course, but it would go beyond that to include instruction in filmmaking, cartooning, and even an interdisciplinary TV production class with the English and Social Studies departments. Sarnoff created each of these courses, while others wrote curricula in drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and photography. Their focus was not only on broadening the range of course options but also on revamping the approach to art instruction. They shifted the goals from ‘producing a product’ to ‘mastering a process,’ and they conceptualized that process from the student’s point of view rather than the teacher’s. (“Painting,” he would say, “is putting one drop of color next to another.”) In this way, Sarnoff was able to share his love of art with students of all
“Homeless” (or no) levels of preexisting artistic ability, which is why he ultimately became a teacher.
Surprisingly, neither art itself nor art education was Sarnoff’s intended profession. He began his studies at Brooklyn College as a pre-engineering student. After a year, he switched to accounting and got his B.S. degree. It was only after he worked for a couple of years as an accountant and then as a seller of accounting systems that he realized the field was not at all fulfilling for him. He needed something more stimulating.
“Csonka” “There is no richer, fuller, more beautiful way to spend your life than sharing your passion,” he says. He went back to college, earning a Masters degree in Art and Art Education from New York University. “I gave up my ledger books for sketch books,” and he never looked back.
That first year at Dewey, Sarnoff recalls, was like camp. It had a small student body and faculty, and it encouraged explorations of new territory in education. Despite the fact that Dewey was promoted as an academic and college preparatory program, the arts were far from neglected. They had three art teachers the first year, a relatively large department for the size of the school; within a decade, it would double in size. Sarnoff’s role would increase as well. In addition to teaching classes, he would become art editor of Streams of Conscience. In addition to writing curricula for “Ali” the school, he would do the same for the Board of Education, serving on citywide committees. He would become an advocate for art education, particularly when educational policymakers began to devalue and eliminate art programs in city schools. Sarnoff’s voice was raised in defense of art for its own sake. While others cited research that touted art (and music) as a means of improving student performance in reading and mathematics, Sarnoff declared that “art is not the handmaiden of other subjects. An English teacher doesn’t teach English to improve performance in art; neither does an art teacher teach art to improve the student’s performance in English.”
But of all Sarnoff’s memories from his Dewey Days, those from his classroom come through the strongest. “I taught in Room 272,” he says, recalling the room with a smile and describing its layout with remarkable precision some 20 years later. “We had a film set in back.” And in front? “Ye Olde Jetty” U.S. Postal Service Well… 4 matted print & cachet Teacher Feature: Robert Sarnoff (continued)
In Newsprint Sarnoff describes an exercise he did with his painting class in which he cut a picture into 1” x 1” squares and had the students replicate their little section of the larger image onto a 12” x 12” square. The sections would then be reassembled into the whole picture and put on display. In this particular recollection, the image created was the cover of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul album, and it was displayed on the ceiling for as long as Sarnoff was at Dewey. (He wonders if it’s still there.)
Sarnoff left Dewey to become an Assistant Principal in the Alternative High School system, working in a citywide program for homeless youth. He was drawn not only to the education and the economics of homelessness but to the stories. Homeless people of all ages came to figure From The Wave © 2002 the economics of homelessness but to the stories. Homeless people of all ages came to figure significantly in Sarnoff’s art, not just on canvas but on paper and film. He wrote a play about the homeless called “Men of Substance” and scripted, directed and filmed “No Rooms Lobby,” a short In Bookstores film which won a Best Docudrama award.
Those who studied film-making under Sarnoff will not be surprised to learn that he has written, directed, produced, and/or edited five films, including The ROMEOWs (Retired Older Men Eating Out Wednesdays), a film inspired by his 50th anniversary class reunion with his Brooklyn College buddies. They might, however, be surprised to discover that Sarnoff also appeared in front of the camera, acting in several independent films and in Industry Pictures’ Behavior.
Those who studied painting and sculpture with him might have expected that he’d have one-man art exhibits, but they may not have imagined that his works would end up in the art collections of Oleg Cassini, Cleavon Little, Eli Wallach, Arthur Ashe, and others; or that a painting he created to
Editorial Cartoons use as a teaching tool and later turned into a New Year’s card would be submitted to a postmaster by Sarnoff’s letter carrier and turned into a matted print and cachet (official seal) for the U.S. Postal Service. (A petition is pending to put this iconic image on a stamp.)
Sarnoff is the author of four books, including After the Fall: 9/11/11- A Decade at War, a compilation of 200 cartoons he wrote in the decade following 9/11 while working as an editorial cartoonist for New York’s oldest weekly paper, The Wave. He also penned instructional books for creating papier maché and cartoons & comics, and a humorous collection of travel tales and tips. (His best travel tip for readers? Forget the camera; bring a sketchbook!)
Travel Tales & Tips As an author, illustrator, actor, film-maker, cartoonist, and artist, not to mention a remarkable art educator and advocate, it is no wonder that Sarnoff has been honored this year by the Brooklyn College Alumni Association. Sarnoff was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award on September 14 at the annual luncheon and awards ceremony of the Brooklyn College’s Post-50th Alumni. It was a well-deserved honor.
Sarnoff agrees that he’s had a remarkable career, with a huge body of work to show for it. Creatively, he thinks of himself as a Renaissance Man. But none of the creative endeavors described above constitute his most important contribution or legacy. He is proudest of being a Family Man, of having been married for 47 years (to an English teacher he met while teaching at a Ideas & Techniques junior high school), of having raised a daughter and a son (an early childhood teacher and
artist/screenwriter, respectively), and being a strong presence for the two of his three grandsons On Film who live in New York. (The third lives in California.) Sarnoff’s latest role, he proudly declares, is On Film being Assistant Little League Coach for his grandsons’ baseball team. Sarnoff himself pitched on
the Brooklyn College baseball team for four years, co-captaining in the last, so he is up for the challenge.
Will he slow down? Will he actually retire? Will he ever stop creating? “No,” he says adamantly. "They'll have to drag me kickin' and screamin' off this road not taken. I'll be filming it."
“Brooklyn on a Plate” Visit www.robertsarnoff.com for more information. 5
More Deweyites in the Bookstore
Get Over It! How to Bounce Back After Hitting Rock Bottom for Teens
Adair White-Johnson (Class of 1982) won the 2014 Writers Award from the Georgia School Counselor Association for her most recent book on overcoming obstacles, building confidence, developing personal power, and achieving one’s maximum potential. The book teaches teens specific strategies and techniques to "Get Over" those things in life that can hold them back. The author brings her own life experiences, plus over 25 years of counseling middle and high school students, to these pages. The 25-Lesson Facilitator Guide can be used by educators to teach the students how to "Get Over It!" Read more at: http://www.amazon.com/Get-Over-It-Bounce-Hitting/dp/0989673332
Why My Father Ran: A Holocaust Survivor’s Courageous Journey
Henia Shatz Stein (Class of 1977), a second generation holocaust survivor, tells the story of her father Simcha “Sam” Shatz, who began running marathons in his sixties after being diagnosed with heart blockages and refusing surgery. Why My Father Ran is an inspiring tale of courage and perseverance – not only of a senior marathoner, but of the young boy he used to be, the boy who began his running in Bilgoraj, Poland, 1939. He ran from the Nazis. He ran from his burnt-out town. He ran in search of his missing family. He ran in search of a new country and a new life. But, he says, he ran because he could, and the lost souls of Bilgoraj could not. The author faithfully collected her father’s eyewitness testimony of life, death, and struggle in a time that will soon be remembered only in history books. She hopes her book will encourage other second generation survivors to listen to their own relatives’ first-hand stories before they are forever lost. Read more about this
book at: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Father-Ran-Henia-Stein/dp/1463796331
Side By Side Also from Henia Shatz Stein, with 12-year-old co-author Yehudis (“Hudi”) Bart, is this collection of poems and short stories meant to make you laugh, smile, and think … and to show how two different generations view life. The authors came together to share their writings and soon discovered that their thoughts and feelings were not as different as they anticipated. There is something in these pages for both the young and the young at heart. Read more at: http://www.amazon.com/Side-Volume-1-Henia-Stein/dp/1482670917
Your Card Here? Jay Rutkowsky, Class of 1974 Advertise your business or services to your fellow alumni.
We will publish member business cards (or similarly sized ads) in each Deweygram for $10.00. Your ad can be seen by thousands of former students and faculty around the country. The newsletter is delivered directly into member mailboxes and is available for viewing at the JDAA website. Links are posted at all Dewey- related Facebook pages. Each issue of our newsletter circulates for three months.
Email your business card to us at [email protected] (in .jpg or .doc format, if possible). Payment may be made to the John .jpg or .doc format, if possible). Payment may be made to the John Dewey Alumni Association by PayPal or check. (See our mailing address on page one.) 6 CCeelleebbrraattiinngg FFoorrttyy--FFiivvee YYeeaarrss ooff DDeewweeyy!!
You are invited to the 45th Anniversary ALL-CLASS REUNION on OCTOBER 18, 2014, 12:00 - 7:00 PM at JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL 50 Avenue X, Brooklyn, New York
Yearbook photo, 1989 All students and teachers, past and present, are invited to join us in celebrating 45 years of John th All students and teachers, past and present, are invited to join us in celebrating 45 years of John [20 Anniversary] Dewey High School. It will be a day of reminiscing, of catching up with old friends and teachers, of revisiting your old haunts, and recapturing adolescence. Purchase tickets at: http://JohnDeweyAlumni.eventbrite.com
Gourmet Buffet Entertainment
Food for this event will be ordered from Paul Evans Dewey alumnus DJ RAS (also known as Reggie Seel, Class of 1986) Catering, also known as will provide recorded music throughout the day, including the dance Tibbles, a Long Island- party later in the evening. Travel back through the decades with hits based caterer with nearly 40 (and some songs you might think of as misses) from the past. years of experience in party catering. There will also be live music performances from alumni such as R&B singer Jesse Reed (Class of 2004) and 70’s-style folk singer Bobby Flynn (Class of 1975). There will be a selection of meat, dairy and vegetarian Current Dewey Assistant Principal Frank Benpensata options, plus a spread of will bring back the music and showmanship of the desserts. 1970’s rock band, KIISS. [No, the photo to the right is not Frank; it’s Gene and company!] It will be a delicious day! If seeing your former classmates and teachers and revisiting your old haunts is not enough to set you laughing, comedy routines from Damon Rozier (Class of 1986) and Stacy Prussman (Class of 1988) will definitely get the job done.
See these and other performers at the reunion!
Paul Evans’ Brie with Fresh Berries and Candied Pecans Revisit some of the teachers and programs that made Dewey such a special school!
[Pictured item may not be an Presentations will be offered by Lou Siegel and Lane Rosen recalling the origins and actual reunion menu selection.] advances in Dewey’s pioneering Marine Sciences program. Anthropology and
Archeology teacher Lenny Warner (also known as Lenny Weiner) will take you back Food service will be outside Archeology teacher Lenny Warner (also known as Lenny Weiner) will take you back through the millennia to offer a portrait of “The Historical Jesus.” Council for Unity on the campus, weather through the millennia to offer a portrait of “The Historical Jesus.” Council for Unity members and Myth & Folklore students will recognize familiar settings, characters and permitting. In case of members and Myth & Folklore students will recognize familiar settings, characters and life lessons as English teacher and author Bob De Sena discusses his book, Chrysallia: inclement weather, we will life lessons as English teacher and author Bob De Sena discusses his book, Chrysallia: Princess of Possibility. (He’ll sign your copy if you bring it along! Order one at move into the students’ Princess of Possibility. (He’ll sign your copy if you bring it along! Order one at createspace.com/4372622) And social studies teacher Mike Lustig will revisit the days cafeteria. of his Hippie Weddings (and perhaps make a detour into Japanese culture). 7 AAllll--CCllaassss RReeuunniioonn:: OOccttoobbeerr 1188,, 22001144 (continued)
Purchase Tickets at: http://JohnDeweyAlumni.eventbrite.com John Dewey H.S Archives Explorations of Campus and School
JDAA Archivist Susan Savodnick Epstein (’74) has You can certainly stroll down memory lane by walking through compiled a huge collection of documents, artifacts, the Archives, but nothing will bring back your Dewey Days with photographs, videos, and other memorabilia from greater clarity than walking through the actual hallways, the history of John Dewey High School. Numerous classrooms, and campus. items from 45 years of Dewey will be on display in the school library on reunion day! Take a picture at the statue! Sit in the auditorium! Come and recall the days of 8 ½ x 11” program Pop into the gym! cards (22 mods), Energy Factory and “I Believe in Visit your old locker bay! Dewey” buttons, and Dewey jackets and t-shirts. Eat in the cafeteria! (Our food will be better.) Perhaps you’ll even catch a glimpse of one of those Stroll around the lawn and the field. awful gym uniforms. Sit on the front steps.
Scroll through decades of yearbooks on computer Wherever your memories take you, you can visit. screens.
Watch videos of country fairs, hippie weddings, and interviews & speeches about the early days of Dewey.
See copies of numerous publications created by the students and faculty over the years. (Remember Vanguard, Gadfly, Streams of Conscience, and Fireworks?)
All this and more will be on display at the reunion, Alumni & Student Creative Displays with computer monitors available to view the complete Archives website: Current Dewey students and all alumni are invited to display http://jdhsarchives.webs.com/ their arts, crafts, and other creative endeavors for the viewing pleasure of the attendees. Anyone wishing to contribute materials to our archives can contact Archivist Sue Epstein at If you are interested in showcasing your talent, please email us at [email protected]. A donation table will be [email protected]. Please indicate “Artist available at the event, but if you’d like your items Display Request” in the subject line. tagged for display on that day, please make arrangements with Sue in advance.
Thanks to All Our Donors! ♫ Dance to the Music ! ♫
The JDAA appreciates the generosity Toward evening, all guests will be and efforts of the alumni and faculty invited inside for a dance party. Grab a who have contributed their artifacts, partner or just tap your toes, shake your photographs, video footage and other booty, and sing along with nostalgic memorabilia to help make the JDHS tunes from DJ Ras. Archives so comprehensive, engaging and memorable! “Dance, dance, dance the night away.”
-- Van Halen We couldn’t do it without you! 8 AAllll--CCllaassss RReeuunniioonn:: OOccttoobbeerr 1188,, 22001144 (continued)
Buy Your Tickets Early and Save!
If you have not yet purchased your ticket(s), you may do so at http://JohnDeweyAlumni.eventbrite.com Aditional links are available at the JDAA website http://www.johndeweyalumni.org/ (under John Dewey’s picture) and at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/jdhsalumniassociation/ (in the pinned post).
If you have any trouble accessing these links, please send an email to [email protected]
The ticket price is $45 per alumnus or guest, $35 if purchased by September 23, 2014. Faculty admission is $35. An Eventbrite service charge will be added to all online purchases, and a supplemental fee will be charged for walk-in registrants at the door. Please register as early as possible.
Farewell to the Current JDAA Board Commemorative Merchandise of Directors, Welcome to the New One Business of a different sort will be conducted at the
merchandise tables at the entrance/exit of the campus. While this will be a day of celebration and fun, some business must be done. The outgoing JDAA Board of A survey has been in progress to identify the preferred Directors will take the opportunity to fulfill their final design(s) for t-shirts, hoodies, mugs and other items to obligations to the membership by providing a written report commemorate this event. If you have not yet voted, of the state of our organization in the event program. please do so before September 24, 2014.
You will also be presented with the opportunity to vote on As of this publication, the five design options are pretty the slate of new Board members for the 2014-2015 term of evenly weighted, so if you want to tip the balance in office (printed below) and, if you are so inclined, step up to favor of your own preference, please visit the survey site: join them in serving. If you are unable to attend the event in person, we would still like your voice to be heard. A http://bit.ly/JDRtshirt proxy form accompanies the slate of candidates below, and will be made available at our website, our Facebook pages, and/or your inbox two weeks before the election. Help Spread the Word!!
We have promoted this event on Facebook, through Those attending will get to meet the new (and old) Board We have promoted this event on Facebook, through e-mail campaigns, to multiple news media outlets, members in person and provide input and feedback as to e-mail campaigns, to multiple news media outlets, and in local neighborhood businesses. But Word of how we can make this the best high school alumni and in local neighborhood businesses. But Word of Mouth is always the best. Please tell all your friends! association ever. Mouth is always the best. Please tell all your friends!
Local Accommodations Local Accommodations Best Western (855-261-1567)
. Brooklyn Bay, 3001 Emmons Avenue, 718-769-5000 In the Summer Deweygram, we inquired whether out-of- . Arena, 1324 Atlantic Blvd, 718-604-7300 towners needed accommodations for reunion weekend in the . Gregory Hotel, 8315 4th Avenue, 718-238-3737 hopes of securing a discounted group rate for those attending our event. Sadly, we did not get a sufficient response to Comfort Inn (888-946-6224) obtain reduced prices from area hotels/motels. . Sheepshead Bay, 3218 Emmons Avenue, 718-368-3334 . Downtown, 279 Butler Street, 718-855-9600 th Visitors may explore available room, apartment & house . Sunset Park, 353 38 Street, 718-369-7171 rental options in private homes at AirBNB.com or check . Cruise Terminal, 17 Seabring Street, 718-222-3200 out these Brooklyn properties to find accommodations that Hampton Inn, 125 Flatbush Ave. Extension, 718-875-8800 meet their needs: La Quinta Inn, 533 3rd Avenue, 718-832-4747 Sleep Inn, 134 22nd Street, 347-415-8388 9 AAllll--CCllaassss RReeuunniioonn:: OOccttoobbeerr 1188,, 22001144 (continued)
Purchase Tickets at: http://JohnDeweyAlumni.eventbrite.com
Directions
John Dewey H.S. is located at 50 Avenue X, Brooklyn, ALL GUESTS MUST STOP AT THE New York. The main entrance to the campus is on REGISTRATION TABLES BY THE MAIN GATE th Stillwell Avenue between Avenue X and Bay 50 Street. TO CHECK IN.
By Mass Transit (Recommended) By Car Take the train (no longer the B train) to Bay 50th Street station. Exit to the right of the “token” booth and take the From the East (Long Island and Queens): right-hand staircase. [The D train connects with the F, Q, Take the Belt Parkway West to Exit 6 (Cropsey Avenue/ and N trains at Stillwell Avenue, one station away.] Stillwell Avenue), bearing right at the fork toward Stillwell Avenue. At the first traffic signal (Stillwell Avenue), turn Take the train to 86th Street station. Cross 86th Street left. The school will be on the right after the next traffic and enter West 8th Street (toward the apartment complex). signal. Walk approximately ¼ mile. (West 8th Street makes a slight right turn to become Avenue X.) The side entrance From the West (Manhattan and the Bronx): to the school will be on the left, just past P.S. 271. Take the Belt Parkway East to Exit 5 (Bay Parkway). Turn left at the traffic signal (Bay Parkway). Turn right at Bath The B64 bus operates through Coney Island, Gravesend, Avenue (approximately ¼ mile). Proceed approximately 1 Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, and Bay Ridge. It stops at the mile and turn right onto Stillwell Avenue. The school will intersection of Stillwell Avenue and Harway Avenue, less be on the left after the next traffic signal. than a block from the school. Parking The B1 bus operates through Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, Dyker On-campus parking is limited and may not be reserved. Heights, and Bay Ridge. It stops at 86th Street, near West Spaces are available on a first-come first-served basis. 8th Street, in front of a Mini-Mart. Cross 86th Street and Handicapped parking spots are available for those with enter West 8th Street (toward the apartment complex). appropriate permits. Walk approximately ¼ mile. (West 8th Street makes a slight right turn to become Avenue X.) The side entrance Neither the JDAA nor JDHS is responsible for damage or to the school will be on the left, just past P.S. 271. loss to any vehicle or vehicle contents. Owners park at their own risk.
ANNUAL JDAA REPORT GENERAL ELECTION
In lieu of a formal general meeting of the membership, The term of office for the present Board of Directors has the Board of Directors will take the opportunity to come to a close. The election of the new Board for the provide a report on the status of the organization to the 2015 term will be held at the reunion. Ballots or proxy members while they are gathered for the reunion. Any forms will be made available at the registration desk. member wishing to ask questions, address concerns, (See the election slate below on page 16. Seats are still make suggestions, or meet the leadership of our available if you would like to join the Board.) organization is welcome to speak with the Board at that time. (A schedule will be distributed with the Reunion For those members who are unable to attend the reunion Day program.) in person, a proxy form will be made available at our website (www.johndeweyalumni.org) on or after Inquiries or comments may be submitted in advance at September 21, 2014 with instructions for casting your [email protected]. vote. 10 DDEEWWEEYY DDAAYYSS:: TTELL A TTALE OF DDEWEY This column offers faculty and student alumni to share memories of their time at John Dewey H.S. Your story can be poignant, funny, sad, or inspiring. If it memorable for you, it is meaningful to us. (See page two for the parameters and procedures for submitting a tale of your own.)
Hanging Out Lost in Translation Lots of
I recall with fond memories hanging out on the grass on the I was a member of the Foreign Language Institute. For main campus. I remember loving every day going to those not familiar with it, you had to take one language up school. I was hardly ever absent, and cutting was to at least level four (literature/conversation) and another up purposeless. (I never could understand how the other kids to at least level two (pre-Regents exam). There were other would cut classes when they had all this free time!) language-proficiency and service credit requirements (e.g. tutoring), but we also had lots of foreign culture activities I had quite a few friends, but my best recollection is one of (e.g. International Foods Day) and extra-curriculars. One my classmates, Elaine. We had the most amazing time, of the latter left me with a uniquely “Dewey” memory. taking some classes together, checking out the "disco chicks" and the "disco dudes." Hanging out on the grass All the Institute kids were taken out to a restaurant. There while listening to friends playing their guitars and were only three rules for this event: discussing our very busy teenage lives will always be a (1) No English could be spoken at any time; memory I will fondly hold onto. (2) You couldn’t sit next to anyone who studied the same primary language as you; and My life has gone very differently from those carefree days, (3) You couldn’t talk directly to anyone who was not but such is life, and status quo would never be an sitting next to you; one of your neighbors had to acceptable destination. translate down the line, in whatever language was needed. I doubt any school could have given me all that Dewey did in those three years – great teachers, great choices of Imagine playing “telephone” in several foreign languages at classes, freedom, and space, with very few cares (except for once and you’ll get an approximate idea of the laughter, the homework). I am blessed; I was one of the fortunate ones. silliness, and the frustration of the evening – and you’ll understand why I still remember it 27 years later! Deborah C. Ashenfarb (Blejwas), Class of 1979 Janice Deutsch (Class of 1978)
In the Beginning: The Five Essential Elements of John Dewey H.S. This “tale” is excerpted from a speech by Joshua Segal, John Dewey High School’s founding principal, delivered at the 40th Anniversary Reunion event in 2010. He recalls the essential elements that went into the making of this extraordinary, experimental public high school. To see a video of the entire speech, please visit the JDAA Archives website at: http://jdhsarchives.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/16320064-dr-joshua-segal-first-principal-of-jdhs.
… Thank you very much. I am delighted to be here. whatever Dewey has accomplished is the result of the And considering that many of you were students, 15 or efforts of the students, the staff, and the Dewey family 16 years old, forty years ago, I'm delighted to be that followed, and they are to be congratulated. Forty anywhere. (laughter) …. years is a long time.
I am glad to see that after forty years the idea and the Now, a reunion is not the most serious time in the world, spirit of Dewey is alive and well. It means that we did but I was given a serious task. I was asked to speak of something right when we planned the school (applause) the five most significant elements that went into the … but more than that, it meant that everybody who creation of John Dewey High School because I guess I'm followed us did extremely well to reinforce whatever the only one old enough with a memory of what was planned at the beginning, so that all the credit for happened then. And, while my memory is still here, let me try to do it. The plan was to see if there are more opportunities that could be created in school, in a different way, to Right now, it's no secret that people are disenchanted, accomplish the same learning tasks that we tried to do in largely, in many places, with American education. … the previous way by locking everybody, lock-step, from At the high school level specifically, people talk about grade to grade, class to class, subject to subject. And the high dropout rates, poor grades, lack of discipline, idea then was Independent Study – that youngsters can unformed goals. And you know what? They were learn on their own, as well as in classrooms, and, some saying the same thing forty years ago, too. curriculum was designed for that also.
Forty years ago - well, actually, 45 years ago, the New The third thing that they wanted to do in a major way York City Superintendent, a fellow named Dr. Bernard was to make the school central; they wanted to make the Donovan, said, “Let's see if we can do something about school central to student's lives. They took what was a it.” There must be a better way, or a different way, to six-hour day and recommended an eight hour day.... not educate high school age youngsters. At that time, if you that any more time would be held under instruction but think we have troubles now with the war in Afghanistan, that there would be a provision made for Resource and a war in Pakistan, and the Gulf being polluted, there Centers, for other kinds of activities that could take place were troubles forty-five years ago, too. within a school building or within a school campus, and in that way accomplish the goal of making the school During the decade preceding the first class at John more central to youngster's lives; make it a place they Dewey, we had a president assassinated, and a would want to come and want to stay. They ended up presidential aspirant assassinated, a beloved civil rights recommending an eight-hour day; actually, the school leader assassinated, four students at a Midwestern day began at ten to eight and ended at ten after four. college killed during a demonstration, unrest in the streets, and riots in almost every major city in the United That was basically the plan: independent study, States but New York City. (We were fortunate that we individual progress, and an extended day where we had some leadership that helped us escape that.) could accommodate more than just original classroom learning. The plan then became the dream or vision. But, those were the times during which John Dewey was That was the first essential element. … planned. They were not comfortable or easy times, any more than times are easy or comfortable now. But I just The Students give you that as background to see what came as a result. The next thing we had, the second essential, we had to The superintendent asked a dozen high school principals have a student body. There was nobody here; we started in New York City to meet and try to formulate a pattern, with tabula rasa. The building was being constructed at a design that would eliminate most of what the problems the same time we were recruiting students. All we had were as they saw in the high schools. was a design and a dream. We went from junior high school to junior high school – where we could get in. He got a grant from the Hershey Foundation and sent Some of them wouldn't let us in; some principals feared these people away for two weeks during the summer, the school and what it might engender. But wherever we locked them up and said, as a result of those two weeks, went, we tried to recruit students by telling them what I want a pattern. And the pattern that came out the design was going to be, and, as a result, we ended up eventually became John Dewey High School. And, what in that first year with eleven hundred students who was that pattern? wanted to come to this school. …
The Design They were taking a chance, and their parents were taking One, the principal said there should be a way of every a chance because, really, it was an unknown. Could student going through his high school career at a pace there be a school without grades? And to commit that may or may not be the same as everybody else's. If yourself to eight hours a day? The superintendent also we all learn at different rates, and different ways, why do said he wanted John Dewey High School to represent the we lock everybody into a box and force them to do it at entire borough, and he wanted to mirror the ethnic the same time. So, they wanted something called breakdown of the average academic High School. There individual progress and, in the sense, that was part of the was no “average academic high school” but we became design. the average academic high school in terms of pupil distribution, and that was done through recruiting. … Another part of the design was called independent study. You know sometimes we learn – not sometimes, all the We had eleven hundred students and they were basically time – we learn outside of school as well as in school. 12 dedicated, hard-working, adaptable. They wanted the flexible, they were hard-working, they adapted to a school to succeed and if we learned anything in lengthened day. You know, an 8-hour day with kids is – education at all, if a school is to succeed, the students if you are not a teacher, you don't understand – it's pretty have to want it to, and if they don't want it, the school rough. And beginning in April of that year - '69 – they will not succeed. That first group wanted the school to planned the school. Basically, that skeleton staff succeed. planned the school.
Many students traveled an hour and a half each way to So now we had three essentials: we had the design, the get here. Some came from my old district up in North students, and the staff. Brooklyn in Bedford Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, some came from Brownsville, some came from East The Curriculum New York, some came from Downtown Brooklyn, but some travelled an hour and a half each way, and Next thing we needed was a curriculum. What is probably were never late. Curriculum? Curriculum is anything we design, any activity we design, any program we design, that has a There were also elements among the students of risk- specific educational end. It could be a textbook, it could taking, too. They were walking into an unknown, and be a course of study, it could be a syllabus, it could be a they were risk-takers. They understood that they were laboratory. It could be anything as long as it has an pioneers in a sense, and a lot would depend upon their educational end and, that summer, we wrote curriculum degree of success. And they took it very seriously. That for every discipline in this school, within a matter of first group set the tone for the rest of the school. months.
So now we have two essentials - the design and the And we also said, we are not going to restrict it to the students. building. So, that first year, we had classes of art … being taught at Brighton Beach. Youngsters were The Staff making sand sculpture and then covering them with plaster of paris because wood was expensive and stone Next, we had students -- I like to call them frisky, was expensive but sand was cheap. because they were. That first group, sometimes appeared to be every place at once ... The first Earth Day was celebrated in April of '69. Our students cleaned up Plum Beach – the entire school. An aside: you know the monument outside, I begged the Our biggest concern then was whether we should give architect, “Don't put a monument there; don't put a them a tetanus shot before they went there (laughter). It platform. If students want to protest, they have enough was not the cleanest beach in the world. avenues and venues enough to protest; we don't have to give them one.” And of course, I lost that battle. And We had Marine Biology -- the first High School in New many an afternoon, I would look out of the window of York City. (major applause) If you remember Marine the conference room and look at the monument and there Biology – – I remember the teacher that did it, a man would be a demonstration of some kind. It did not named Mr. Silverstein. He was a great teacher and had bother us; we thought there was something constructive much stature, but he didn’t have much physical stature. about it. But there are some high-rise apartments around And when he was in the water – you know, I used to and they would get upset sometimes, so they would call observe classes, and I went to the ocean (not in a bathing and let us know what was going on, as if we did not suit) – but I used watch him and while he was know. But, they were a frisky group. demonstrating the point at which a wave of oscillation becomes a wave of translation, I thought we’d lost him, Now, in order to channel that energy and direct it, we because I saw the stadia rod but I didn’t see him. needed a staff, and there was no staff. We had a skeleton crew that was appointed during the summer – But meanwhile, we did Marine Biology in an ocean, we actually during the spring proceeding the opening of the cleaned up a beach, we did sand sculpture, we did other school – the department heads of the major departments things outside the building because we said learning and some selected teachers – and these were volunteers takes place in a lot of different things. also; they also understood that if they were not happy at the end of the year, they could leave and go back to their So now we have curriculum, we have students, we have other school. staff and we have a design.
But they indeed were as adventurous as the students Community Support were; they understood that this was going to be different, that this was going to be challenging, but they were … We're coming close to the end - the fifth element. We had the support of a community about us. The Mayor, if you remember, visited our school the first year he was here too. I tried to dissuade him. I didn't want EWEY TTHHEESSEE AYS him to come to a school where there was no furniture in DD DD the auditorium, where the cafeteria was one that kids had to sit on the floor, but he came anyway. We had a WELCOMING THE CLASS OF 2018 Mayor who was interested in the school, a Superintendent who put a protective shield around the On June 25, 2014, John Dewey High School hosted a school to protect it from any kind of political Freshman Orientation Barbecue for the incoming interference that might happen. We had a local students for the 2014-2015 academic term. Hundreds of superintendent … the head of the local school board … a new Deweyites and their parents attended. superintendent in the high school office – all of these people supported the school. We had a Parents Association the first year. Not many schools have that either - a strong parents association in year one.
So, that we had those five elements which we felt would secure the school for the future, and, indeed it did.
Let me end with this, there has been some talk about some concern about the future of Dewey. Let me try a parable and then, I'm gone.
Before I came to John Dewey, I was Principal of Eastern District High School for six years; it was an old school. Information booths and displays were set up for many of … It was a very old building. The kids used to call it the school’s specialty programs, clubs, and academic The Castle or The Fortress because that was what it houses. Music and dance performances, and robotics looked like, and built before the turn of the last century. demonstrations provided entertainment while the guests enjoyed a vast spread of food. Walking about the building on my daily rounds, I noticed some fixtures in the walls and the ceiling that I The JDAA was on hand to assist. Board members Bunji could not identify and somebody told me that those were Fromartz (President), Adrienne Grande (Vice President), gas jets; that was gas. Because the school, while it was Janice Deutsch (Secretary) and Harold Kramer built with electricity, also had illuminating gas in case (Director) attended the event and helped with greeting the electricity failed; they weren't sure that it was going attendees, distributing orientation materials, preparing to last there. And I wondered, how do you turn a gas jet food trays, and directing visitors to areas of interest. on in classrooms, in an auditorium, in a gymnasium?
And I was told that a custodian used to come around The Alumni Association had its own table along the wall with a long pole. At the end of the pole was a hook, of program and club which he would use to pull a little ring on the valve to exhibits. Proudly allow gas to escape, and then he had a flint and steel displaying our banner mechanism and he'd push the handle, and the flint would and photos of the spark and the spark would turn on the gas, and you'd get school’s history, we light. distributed copies of And I said, my god, that's a wonderful thing to do. To our newsletter and be able – with a flick of the wrist or whatever action it is explained the lasting – to create a light, and then walk on, and knowing you memories, quality left a light behind, and then you have another one to do. education, and school spirit that has stayed with us after we graduated and prompted us to maintain an ongoing And, maybe, that is all of our jobs regarding John relationship with the school. Dewey High School, too. We all created a light. We're not there anymore now. On the other hand, there's a lot we can do to ensure that that light remains, and that light can be John Dewey High School.
Transcribed by Henia Shatz Stein (Class of 1977)
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John Dewey High School Students Help They were once abundant in our area, but vanished almost completely in the early 20th century as pollution, Revive Gravesend Bay’s Oyster Beds over-harvesting, disease and environmental hazards grew. New York City was developing, and as the Story by Ned Berke. Photos by Teri Brennan. population boomed so did the amount of sewage.
Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted from Bensonhurst Bean, July 3, 2014. The JDAA is not responsible for any Thanks to new regulations implemented in the late 20th inaccuracies in the reported facts. Read the online article at: Century, water quality has seen a dramatic improvement http://www.bensonhurstbean.com/2014/07/john-dewey-high- and researchers are finding that the area can once again school-students-help-revive-gravesend-bays-oyster-beds/ support the oysters, which were not just an environmental helper, but a staple of the New York City The waters around New York City were once home to a economy as it developed. thriving population of oysters, which served an important ecological role. After virtually disappearing in Restoration efforts began on a sizable scale back in the 20th century, several efforts are underway to bring 2009. As their initial pilot sites showed signs of success, the species back. organizations backing them began finding new sources of funding to grow the project – ultimately creating the Students of John Dewey High School Marine Science goal of bringing one billion oysters back to the harbor program are on the front-lines of the revitalization over the next 20 years. effort in Gravesend Bay, monitoring a collection of oyster beds off of the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge. The team of Dewey students were on-site in Bay Ridge last Wednesday, pulling in cages and doing their regular checkups. Their teacher, Lane Rosen, said it’s a great way to teach them about marine biology and ecology in a living laboratory in a hands-on way.
The cages are moored to the eco-dock attached to the pier, and students collect data on growth and development of the oysters, analyze the water and make observations that are sent to the Harbor School for further analysis.
Lane Rosen, right, with Dewey’s student scientists.
The school teamed up with the Harbor School’s Billion Oyster Project, one of the organizations leading the oyster reef restorations around New York Harbor. Oysters, which work like living water filters, are a vital component to improving the water quality around New York City, and the reefs they form protect the shoreline We look forward to the point when the reefs are not only by weakening waves and provide habitat to other marine self-sustaining, but able to be harvested (in a population- life. sensitive way) for fresh, tasty slurping. ------Any members who become aware of news articles about Dewey or its faculty, students and alumni are asked to forward the information to the JDAA at [email protected]. 15 JDAA ELECTION NEWS
The election for the 2015 John Dewey Alumni Association Board of Directors will be held at the all-class reunion on October 18, 2004. A ballot will be distributed to each association member at the registration desk.
For those members who are unable to attend in person, a proxy form will be made available on or after September 21, 2014 at our website: www.johndeweyalumni.org
It’s not too late to take a seat at the table!
If you are interested in being part of the governing body of the association, establishing goals and practices for the future of the organization, and contributing to both the school and the alumni, please submit your name, graduating class or faculty years, and a brief bio (as below) to [email protected] by October 1, 2014.
Meet the Candidates
Anyone attending the reunion will have the opportunity to meet the candidates in person, make inquiries, offer suggestions, and discuss issues of concern.
Here is a brief look at the future leaders of our alumni association:
Shelly (Michelle) Carrera (Class of 1984) earned a Master's Degree in Social Work from Hunter and now serves as a social worker for the Juvenile Justice Initiative program under the auspices of the Department of Youth and Family Justice. She works out of the Queens Family Court to seek alternatives to incarceration for youthful offenders. She is working with the JDAA Reunion Committee to plan the upcoming 45th Anniversary celebration of the school and is coordinating volunteers for the event.
Janice Deutsch (Class of 1978) has been a member of the JDAA Board of Directors since 2013 and previously served from 1989 to 1992. She holds the position of Secretary. She is also the creator and editor of the association's newsletter, Deweygram, and serves on the Communications and Reunion Planning Committees. After graduating from Dewey, Janice worked at the school as a paraprofessional before leaving to teach special-needs students at another Brooklyn high school. She helped plan the Class of 1978’s ten-year reunion. Janice currently works as a professional writer and paralegal, and she still resides in Brooklyn.
David Bunji Fromartz (Class of 1974) joined the JDAA in 2009. He helped plan the 40th Anniversary reunion in 2010 and is on the planning committee for the 45th anniversary celebration next month. In 2013, he became the president of the organization. Bunji is a practicing attorney with an office in Downtown Brooklyn. His firm handles elder law (wills, estates & trusts), real estate, family, matrimonial, commercial, and personal injury cases. He oversees the JDAA Legal Committee.
Adrienne Grande (Class of 1980) has been a practicing Physician Assistant for the past 20 years and was a biomedical research coordinator for ten years prior to entering the field of clinical medicine. She has been active in the JDAA for the last five years. She helped plan the JDHS 40th Anniversary Reunion in 2010 and is on the planning committee for the 45th Anniversary All-Class Event taking place this October. She currently serves as Vice President of the JDAA, co-chairs the Communications Committee, and is working with John Dewey’s Guidance Department to arrange for alumni volunteers to speak at the upcoming College Fair/Career Day with the intention of the JDAA facilitating a mentoring program at the school. 16 ELECTION NEWS (continued)
Thomas Heinegg (Retired Faculty) Following two years of teaching service in the Peace Corps in Malaysia, Tom was employed at John Dewey High School in the capacities of science teacher, Coordinator of Student Activities, and Director of the SPARK program from 1969-1979. The following 6 years he worked as the Director of Admissions at Parsons School of Design and was subsequently responsible for facilitating the creation of a two-year College of Art and Design in the Dominican Republic. Entering the business world, he was appointed Vice President of the New York Chamber of Commerce and held that position for 3 years. From 1989-2009 he served as an Assistant Principal and Principal in the Shoreham-Wading River, Great Neck, and Northport School districts. He has been a member of the JDAA Board of Directors since 2013 and currently holds the position of Treasurer.
Shirley Juste (Class of 1995) has been a JDAA Board member since 2013. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Stony Brook and her M.A. in Counseling from National University. She currently serves as Program Supervisor for Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens’ Open Door Psychosocial Clubhouse. She previously provided school- based counseling (VA), inpatient social work services in a psychiatric hospital (CA) and leadership to community-based group homes (VA and CA).
Rob Kanyuk (Current Faculty) earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetoric from SUNY Binghamton and Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Hofstra University. Robert has been a member the John Dewey H.S. English Department and community since 1993. He has served on Dewey’s School Leadership Team (SLT) and its United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Consultation Committee, in addition to serving as Dewey's UFT Chapter Leader. In 2009, Robert co-founded the “Friends of Dewey” coalition for the preservation and improvement of John Dewey High School.
Toni Gerardi Wofse (Class of 1978) served on the JDAA Board from 1989 through 1992 and helped plan the 10-year reunions for her graduating class and the three that followed. She remembers Dewey as a wonderful time in her life. Her senior-year work experience as a member of the Co-Op (work-study) Program led to two secretarial jobs after graduation. She then went on to earn her B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Brooklyn College and ultimately a Master’s in Education from Western Maryland College. In between, she taught third grade at St. Charles Borromeo School in Brooklyn Heights. After graduate school, Toni joined the NYC Board (now Department) of Education, spending one year as a speech teacher before switching to her current position as a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband Eliot and their three children, Ashley, Megan and Steven.
VOTING IN PERSON
Upon arrival the reunion, each member will receive voting instructions for either (a) completing a written ballot to be submitted at the scheduled election or (b) designating a proxy to vote on his or her behalf during the election meeting.
VOTING BY PROXY (DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE)
If you are unable to attend the reunion in person, or if you are present but do not wish to go to the polling place at the designated time, you may vote by proxy. Instructions for completing a Proxy Designation form are available at our website: www.johndeweyalumni.org/jdaa-proxy. This allows you to designate a representative to act on your behalf at the election, either in accordance with your specific directives or in his or her own best judgment. If you have any questions about this process after reading the instructions and form, please send your inquiry to the board at [email protected]. Proxy forms will also be available at the check-in tables at the reunion.
17 TTHHEE BBUULLLLEETTIINN BBOOAARRDD
Volunteers Needed for Reunion Day College & Career Day at Dewey
The 45th Anniversary Reunion Committee is John Dewey H.S. is hosting its seeking volunteers to ensure that the all-class 2014 College and Career Day on reunion event runs smoothly. Wednesday, October 15, 2014
We need help in the following areas: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Pre-event set-up All alumni wishing to attend and speak on behalf of their Registration tables for pre-registered guests profession should send their name, class, profession, Registration table for walk-in guests credentials, hours of availability, and contact information Merchandise tables to us at: [email protected]. Entertainment & Presentation set-up Please put "Career Day Volunteer" in the subject line. Runners & Floaters Participation is subject to the needs and requirements of Event clean-up the event coordinator at the school.
To volunteer, send your name, class/department, and availability to [email protected]. Alumni Seeking Former Dance Teacher
Please put Reunion Volunteer in the subject line. Over the years, many alumni have inquired about former
Dewey physical education (dance) teacher, Jeannie Meizner. She has clearly made quite an impact on all their Join the Deweygram Team lives (or at least their high school experiences) and they would love to get in touch with her.
If you like reading the Deweygram and are If anyone knows Ms. Meizner’s whereabouts, please ask interested in joining our production team, please her to contact us at [email protected] volunteer for the JDAA Newsletter Committee.
We are looking for any and all of the following: Writers Researchers/Fact-Checkers WWiinntteerr 22001144 DDeewweeyyggrraamm Typists WWiillll bbee PPuubblliisshheedd OOnnlliinnee Graphic Designers Assistant Editors The newsletter committee previously planned to print and Editors-in-Training mail our year-end issue to members who requested it, but it Technical Assistants seems more people are interested in receiving electronic Administrative Assistants copies than paper ones. The Winter Deweygram will therefore be posted on our website like the other issues If you can help, either permanently or on an published this year. If more alumni express a desire to issue-by-issue basis, please contact our editor, receive a print copy, perhaps the 2015 Winter issue will be Janice Deutsch, at [email protected]. delivered to street mailboxes. Please indicate Newsletter Committee in the To request a printed newsletter, send your street address to subject line, and specify the type of service you’d [email protected]. Please put “Newsletter like to provide. Request” in the subject line.
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