12/20/18 1:52 AM WINTER 2019 WINTER Girlhood

After years of social gains and with bright futures within within futures with bright social gains and of years After

? middle school girls for so difficult things still are why reach, HARVARD ED. MAGAZINE HARVARD ED. HED09-FOB-Cover.indd 1

HARVARD ED. WINTER 2019 Harvard Ed. Winter 2019

ContentsWinter 2019 Features

28 WINTER 2019 � ISSUE N 162

Editor in Chief Monumental Effort Lory Hough A public boarding school provides a home away [email protected] from home for some of D.C.’s most at-risk students.

STORY BY MIKE UNGER Creative Director, Ed. Patrick Mitchell MODUS OPERANDI DESIGN MODUSOP.NET

Contributing Writers Andrew Bauld, Ed.M.’16 Professor Nancy E. Hill Joshua Jenkins, Ed.M.’15 Mike Unger

Illustrators Laurent Cilluffo Evgeny Parfenov Cristina Spanò

Photographers 20 Jason Grow Jonathan Kozowyk Girlhood Chris Mueller Ekaterina Smirnova In many ways, girls have made great gains. Walter Smith So why then are things still so difficult for them once they hit middle school?

Copy Editors “You can’t generalize on nationality. STORY BY LORY HOUGH Marin Jorgensen I’m not a threat.” Abigail Mieko Vargus NAJWA ELYAZGI, ED.M.’19

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Harvard Graduate School of Education Office of Communications 13 Appian Way Cambridge, MA 02138 © 2019 by the President and Fellows of 36 Harvard College. Harvard Ed. magazine NEWS + NOTES FROM APPIAN WAY is published three times a year. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Libyan student faces a travel ban, p. 4 � DACA works p. 6 � Dis- Departments School Assignment rupting the gender binary, one mani at a time, p. 8 � High school How Boston’s bold attempt to increase equity CONVO. — READER FEEDBACK 2 4 journalists find a place to share stories, p. 10 � Recess returns with and reduce student travel time by giving families knitting needles, p. 15 � The making of Senior Lecturer Junlei Li p. GRAD. — ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES 43 smarter options didn’t quite work.

16 � What Tina Grotzer, Ed.M.’85, Ed.D.’93, is reading, p. 18 GROW JASON CILLUFFO LAURENT SMITH; WALTER KOZOWYK; JONATHAN DEVELOPMENT 49 STORY BY PROFESSOR NANCY E. HILL Cover photograph by Jonathan Kozowyk

HED09-FOB-TOC.indd 2 12/20/18 1:04 AM HED09-FOB-TOC.indd 1 12/20/18 11:09 AM Harvard Ed. Winter 2019 Behind the Cover Convo. Lory Hough, Editor in Chief JOIN THE CONVERSATION: SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO [email protected]

It’s the story that keeps on connecting. “The Other Self,” this girl in women, and feeling her 1 written by EDY JULIO, ED.M.’18, for our summer 2018 issue, Past Tense absence or her hidden presence. continues to get thoughtful comments from readers. One And it may be that women, in the reader, from Zimbabwe, wrote, “It’s important for us, as educators, In the magazine’s fall 1991 issue, name of being good women, have to understand the ‘cultural’ influences that our students have. In my Carol Gilligan, a former professor been modeling for girls her repu- context, in Africa, I have worked with children from war-torn coun- at the Ed School and co-director diation, teaching girls the neces- tries. We underestimate the effects of trauma, what is then regarded of the Harvard Project on Women’s sity of a loss or renunciation.... as ‘normal,’ as well as the general human need to survive through Psychology, Boys’ Development, Perhaps there is a new cycle that, behavioral adaptation.” Another reader wrote, “As a tenacious ad- and the Culture of Manhood, wrote once beginning, will break up an vocate of student voice, I’ve found that children, adolescents, and “Joining the Resistance: Psychol- old impasse in women’s develop- adults often don’t realize the complexities that live inside them; the ogy, Politics, Girls, and Women.” ment and affect men as well. If 3 selves that go undiscovered until they have the opportunity to write, Here’s a brief excerpt: women and girls can stay with responding to pieces of themselves they’ve never questioned, pro- “Like a film running backwards, one another at the time when girls ducing multiple identities and choices related to how they have or women teaching girls arrive at the reach adolescence, girls’ playful- can experience the world.” moments of our own resistance ness and irreverence may tap the and come up against our own solu- wellsprings of women’s resistance. My son started middle school two years ago, so I know a lot of One of the wisest comments we received about the “Stu- tions to the problems of relation- And women, in turn, taking in girls’ middle school families. Since then, I’ve been swapping stories 2 dent Activism 2.0” story in the fall 2018 issue: “Vote!” ships which girls face. Then as embodiment, their outspokenness, women, we may encounter our own and their courage, may encourage with parents: Which sixth-grade teachers are tough. How Have you ever wondered which Ed. stories have been read reluctance to know what we know girls’ desire for relationship and complicated the school schedules seem to be with rotating days 3 online the most? We decided to track the magazine from Jan- and come to the realization that for knowledge, and teach girls that uary to December 2018 and come up with a top 10 list. Some such knowledge is contained in our they can say what they know and and off-team classes. We’ve talked about super-heavy backpacks of the stories that made the list didn’t surprise us — everyone loves own bodies; and may discover that not be left all alone.” to read about troublemakers and being bored, right? And with the we have succumbed to the tempta- and what level of independence makes sense at this age. Much election grabbing lots of media attention this year, the federal gov- tion of model perfection by trying of the talk has been ordinary, the regular conversations many ernment story coming in at number 2 made sense. It also didn’t come to be perfect role models for girls CONNECT WITH ED. as a surprise that seven of the 10 stories were recent, from issues pub- and thus have taken ourselves out parents and caretakers of adolescents have. But I also noticed lished during 2017 and 2018. What was surprising is that three of the of relationship with girls — in part that some friends — gutsy women with great jobs who are stories that made the list are not recent — from 2012 and 2015. With- to hide our own imperfection but TWITTER.COM/HGSE HARVARDEDUCATION. out further ado, here are the top 10 most-read stories during 2018: also, perhaps, to keep girls from TUMBLR.COM leaders in our city — had stories about daughters struggling to feeling our sadness and our anger. 1 THE TROUBLEMAKERS (WINTER 2018) THE ONE TIME PIE “Women teaching girls may fit in or feel good about themselves. Some of the stories involved 2 WHEN IT COMES TO EDUCATION, THE FEDERAL DOESN’T MAKE SENSE also discover that we are harbor- GOVERNMENT IS IN CHARGE OF ... UM, WHAT? (FALL 2017) FACEBOOK.COM/ ISSUU.COM/HARVARD social media — group chats that left a daughter crying or a fun HARVARDEDUCATION EDUCATION 3 BORED OUT OF THEIR MINDS (WINTER 2017) ing, within ourselves, a girl who In our last issue, we made a Instagram photo that made a girl wonder what she had done 4 WHAT’S WORTH LEARNING IN SCHOOL? (WINTER 2015) lives in our body, who is insistent mistake in using a pie chart 5 NO MORE SINK THE SUB (WINTER 2017) on speaking, who intensely desires to display fourth-grade wrong to not be included. In person, I noticed once-spunky girls 6 THE OTHER SELF (SUMMER 2018) relationship and knowledge, YOUTUBE.COM/ MEDIUM.COM/ reading assessment infor- HARVARDEDUCATION @HARVARDEDUCATION 7 DO MIDDLE SCHOOLS MAKE SENSE? (FALL 2012) and who, perhaps at the time of who suddenly seemed extra self-conscious. Hadn’t we gotten mation by race. As you may 8 POOR, BUT PRIVILEGED (SUMMER 2017) adolescence, went underground or have noticed, our numbers past this, I thought? With everything we know about adolescent 9 ARE YOU DOWN WITH OR DONE WITH HOMEWORK? (WINTER 2012) was overwhelmed. It may be that really, really added up! INSTAGRAM.COM/ LETTERS@GSE. 10 PARENT, ADVOCATE (SUMMER 2018) adolescent girls are looking for LUONG TONY ISTOCK HARVARDEDUCATION HARVARD.EDU development and gender, why were girls still struggling? x

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Locked In

WHEN A TRAVEL BAN KEEPS YOU NEWS + NOTES FROM APPIAN WAY FROM GOING HOME

STORY BY LORY HOUGH

NAJWA ELYAZGI, ED.M.’19, arrived in Boston on August 22, after spending the summer, reluctantly, 450 miles away in Virginia. It had been three months since she had graduated from George Mason University. Her original plan had been to go home after graduation — to her parents’ home in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. She was beyond excited to attend a cousin’s elaborate six-day wedding and be there for her sister when she had 4 her baby. She was going to go on hajj, a 5 pilgrimage to Mecca. “I was expecting a cheerful summer,” she says. But none of that happened. In June, with her bags packed and awaiting one form from the Department of Homeland Security, Elyazgi learned that the United States Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s right to ban people from certain countries from entering the United States. One of those countries was Libya. Elyazgi knew that if she flew home after graduation, she might not be allowed to come back to the United States to start her year at the Ed School as part of the Human Development and Psychology Program. It wasn’t the first time her ability to pursue an education in the United States had been in jeopardy. In January 2017, while on a layover in Turkey on her way back to George Mason after the holiday break, Elyazgi was stranded at the airport. “The same day, the travel ban was approved,” she says, referring to the first travel ban Trump imposed for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. She was not allowed to board the plane to Dulles International. p

Photograph by Jason Grow

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When a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s ban a few days later, Elyazgi hastily booked another flight back to Virginia to finish her last few months as an undergraduate. Now at the Ed School, she is again in limbo. “I can stay in the United States legally; I just can’t Why DACA Works leave,” she says. She also can’t have relatives or friends from Libya visit her — visitor visas for Libyans are not IMMIGRANT STUDENTS WITH DACA STATUS HAVE AN EASIER being granted to the United States. More than likely, TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD, STUDY FINDS when she graduates in May, she’ll have to repeat what she did at her George Mason graduation: During the ceremony, while in her cap and gown, she’ll have to STORY BY GRACE TATTER FaceTime with family and friends in Tripoli. “It’s a sacrifice,” she says, “but I’ve been waiting to be part of Harvard for a long time, so I couldn’t refuse the chance.” One thing isn’t in limbo: She knows that after she graduates from the Ed School, she will — finally — head home. She already has a job lined up with the Ministry of Education, which offered her scholarships to attend George Mason and Harvard after she earned the highest grade point average among all Libyan students the year she graduated from high school. “I will be working on designing a better education system,” she says. “Right now the system is very old- fashioned, based on memorizing information. Class- rooms have boards and chairs only, and the curriculum is dense but dry and hard to grasp. I will be working oday, if you’re a young cling the effects of the policy The interviewees discussed But for all its speed in help- local and state governments are “Some of our respondents 6 with colleagues on designing a new education system immigrant who received since it went into effect in 2012. how, once they were document- ing students integrate into soci- focused on restricting immi- didn’t reapply for daca in cer- 7 for the long term and modifying the current one for im- Deferred Action for Child- ed and given access to new jobs ety and achieve independence, gration. In California, undocu- tain areas and they’re strained in mediate application.” hood Arrivals (daca) status, you The Findings and spaces, they were more se- daca has limitations. mented immigrants can obtain ways they weren’t before, espe- Until then, Elyazgi is happily settling in to her sec- may be working an internship. Gonzales and his co-authors de- cure in their identities. daca al- For one, its benefits have not professional licenses and driv- cially thinking about that double- ond semester after a warm welcome to campus. You may be applying to medical scribe adolescence for undocu- lowed previously undocumented been felt to the same degree across ers’ licenses, even without daca. edged sword and their responsi- “I was embraced with love and care even upon my school. Or you may be planning mented immigrants as “a waking youth to obtain drivers licenses, the United States. Local context But in states like South Carolina bilities to their families and their arrival to Cambridge,” she says. “I have received emails a trip to see a cousin get married nightmare,” a time when young open bank accounts, and get jobs shapes both the legal limitations or Georgia, a daca beneficiary worries about their family mem- full of support and help from all the faculty members at this weekend. But next month, people realize that the goals that gave them financial indepen- and the daily experiences that im- might be the only person in their bers,” Gonzales says. the Ed School, as well as many of my peers. Upon my or next year? It’s all uncertain. they had thought possible are, dence, rather than the low-wage, migrants and undocumented peo- family authorized to work or While the courts decide the arrival, everyone from the Office of Student Affairs to President Donald Trump or- in fact, out of their reach because dead-end jobs that undocument- ple have. In another paper, Gon- even drive. fate of daca, and Congress de- all my professors welcomed me and made me feel like dered the end of daca more than of their immigration status. He ed immigrants are often forced to zales and his co-authors note that “This is a double-edged sword,” cides whether or not to create I am home and not alone. I wish that every Libyan stu- a year ago. Since then, its survival described this uncomfortable take. Having daca status came daca recipients who live in places Gonzales says. “In one way, you federal legislation that would re- dent receives the same greetings as I, and sees the true has relied on court decisions, with awakening in his 2015 book, Lives with other benefits, too, like a like New York, where daca recipi- can see that daca has benefited form immigration, a lot is left up American manners. We come here to get an education. members of Congress unable to in Limbo. When daca began, it greater sense of belonging. ents can get a tuition break to state not only the little over 800,000 to state and local policymakers, You can’t generalize on nationality. I’m not a threat.” come to an agreement on immi- unlocked previously unavailable Among recipients who were schools, have entirely different ex- [daca beneficiaries], but also who can pass laws that make it gration reform. The most recent rites of passage to students who older than 21 when they became periences than recipients who live their family members. In other easier for immigrants to thrive. court decision to extend daca’s immigrated to the United States daca holders, the program al- in places like Georgia, where they ways, it’s really tethered daca “The climate is also really im- period in purgatory came in Au- without documentation. For stu- lowed them to pursue dreams are legally prohibited from re- beneficiaries to their families. It’s portant,” Gonzales says. “You’ve gust, when a Texas judge ruled dents able to gain wider access deferred. Younger students were ceiving in-state tuition, and are in added another layer of burden.” got an opportunity for schools that daca can continue for now — through the program, the night- able to stay on the trajectory en- fact banned from attending some and community institutions to WISE WORDS although he warned it will likely mare was largely over. joyed by their documented peers, postsecondary institutions. An Uncertain Future play a really important role in be deemed illegal in the long run. To understand more about heading toward the types of job What’s more, the federal gov- Right now, the status of daca creating places of belonging, And yet, even while its fu- the program’s impact, Gonzales opportunities that would allow ernment still blocks daca re- itself is precarious. Gonzales is providing opportunities, provid- “The Greeks wrote about it. ture is uncertain, daca’s results and his colleagues analyzed in- financial independence. cipients from receiving federal beginning another round of in- ing resources, for immigrant stu- are not. When it comes to help- terviews, conducted in 2015, of “daca in the short term is, I financial aid. It offers no relief to terviews to see how the current dents and their families.” Shakespeare wrote about it. ing the immigrant students who 408 beneficiaries of daca, ages think, inarguably the most suc- students’ family members and climate around immigration is have used the program transi- 18–32, about their experience cessful policy of immigration offers the students themselves no affecting daca recipients. They It’s in the Bible.” tion to adulthood, daca works, with their new immigration sta- integration we’ve had in the past path to citizenship. This means started seeing a shift as anti- Senior Lecturer RICHARD WEISSBOURD, ED.D.’87, director of the according to newly published tus and how it affected their tran- three decades. It’s provided a that the opportunities daca has immigrant rhetoric from the 2016 Making Caring Common Project, on a powerful emotion that par- research from Professor Roberto sition to adulthood — things like boost to immigrants and their conferred can be a mixed bless- presidential election became re- ents can help kids deal with: jealousy. (The Washington Post) Gonzales, who has been chroni- being able to work. families,” Gonzales says. ing, especially in places where flected in federal policy. READ REPORT: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED

Illustration by Cristina Spanò

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Right on the Nail

A TEACHER DISRUPTS THE GENDER BINARY STARTING WITH A FABULOUS MANI

STORY BY JOSHUA JENKINS, ED.M.’15

8 9 s a child, I liked pink, play- silence queer and questioning myself at school. For example, I So far this school year, the ed dress-up in my moth- kids (like me all those years ago). enjoy a nice manicure and play- headlines have already shown er’s skirts, dressed as the Without education around gen- ful paint job but had never dared a fourth-grader who committed AIE Conversations wicked witch from The Wizard der and sexuality, we will con- to do it since I assumed it would suicide after coming out. Queer More than 100 eductators from the Arts in Education com- of Oz on Halloween (twice), held tinue to raise children, who, like create unnecessary attention. visibility is important. So, this munity gathered in early October for a two-day summit my pinky out for chocolate milk me, are always on guard about This was a lost opportunity to be school year, my nails are fabu - to paint, create, and continue the conversations they had — and cherished — when they were students on Appian — the list goes on. I also liked how much they can be them- a model for queer youth who are lously painted, and for the first Way. Much of the talk revolved around questions such as: biking, camping, fishing, and selves. I see my own students on looking to see adults living hap- time in my career, a photo of my What role should artists play in the fight for justice? How playing in the dirt. Still, the cost guard about the colors they can pily or to be someone at school partner and our two dogs sits on will these reponses impact the system where artists oper- of my affinity for pink and play- like and the games they can play, who will support them. my desk. I am disrupting what is ate? And how do we really move the needle? ing dress-up, despite my affinity and that is not the reality I want So last June I had my nails “typical” gender performance, for things we typically associate our children living in. painted rainbow polka dots for and thus I stand out as a queer with “boys,” reductively cast me At school one day, a student pride month. The mani was educator for students who may as the “sissy boy,” which resulted made up an excuse for why the quite the conversation piece. be queer or questioning. On the in social punishments like exclu- toy in his pocket was purple. Many gave compliments, and other hand, my outness is a win- sion and bullying. That’s how the A group of fourth-graders had an equal number had questions. dow and a conversation starter hegemony of the gender binary loudly commented on my bright Some second-graders said, for others to learn more. It is one works: You’re not “normal” if pink sneakers, pointing to one “Boys can’t have painted nails!” action I can take, one nail in the you’re a boy and you like some another. “Look at him wearing When I told them that people coffin (okay, 10 nails), to help “girl” stuff. As an adult, I learned girls’ stuff!” Hearing how en - can style their hair or wear what- disrupt the binary of gender that to fake it when I felt I had to but grained the gendering of colors ever clothes they feel comfort- pervades some of our practices started to wonder, why should I? and clothes was made me real- able in and flashed my nails, in schools. But just as important, My aim is not to guilt teach- ize how much we needed to dis- most agreed. The next day, one I’m a happier teacher when I look ers who have relied on the binary rupt the gender binary if we ever student who was insistent boys down and see my nail art. It feels of gender; it is invasive and takes hoped it might indeed get better. could not paint their nails came like me. In teaching, we talk a lot work to act outside of it. How of- Starting with me. to me and said, “I guess you’re about modeling. I finally feel like ten might we hear “boys against As I reflected on my teach- right. I saw a boy on the train I’m modeling “be yourself.” girls in today’s spelling game” ing practice and my position as with green nails!” My nails sud- and not question it? However, it a queer educator, I realized that denly played two roles: personal JOSHUA JENKINS IS AN ELEMENTARY

is these subtle aggressions that I was hiding authentic parts of enjoyment and teaching tool. SCHOOL TEACHER IN NEW YORK CITY. ED.M.’15 BIAGI, JULIET

Illustration by Cristina Spanò

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High School Insider HOW ONE ALUM, WITH THE HELP OF A MAJOR NEWSPAPER, IS GIVING STUDENT JOURNALISTS AND WRITERS A PLACE TO SHARE THEIR STORIES

STORY BY LORY HOUGH

OLLY HEBER, ED.M.’18, knew Giving young people a plat- news stories, fiction, cartoons, she was working with tal- form to be heard gets to the heart and videos. Two college interns, ented students when they of why the project was started, both alumni of the program who picked apart her resume during a Heber says, and high school stu- are now pursuing journalism ca- job interview. dents are responding. Since the reers, lightly edit the pieces for Heber was in her last semester project began in 2014, more than typos and to fit Associate Press at the Ed School, finishing class- 3,000 students have contributed. style, which the Times follows. es in the Education Policy and “It’s an era where young peo- “The interns might reach out to Management Program. She was ple are finally feeling heard, or a writer and say, ‘here are three trying to land a job as the proj- trying to be heard,” Heber says. ways you could improve this,’” 10 ect lead for High School Insider, a “The point of the program is to Heber says, but student journalists 11 journalism project started by the do just that — let students feel really drive the work. The excep- Los Angeles Times that gives stu- they have a voice and can share tion is when a teacher takes this on dents an online platform to pub- their perspective. I don’t think we as a class project. “The teacher will lish their work. do that enough in classrooms or work more closely with students, “I was interviewed by two in the general world. If you read helping them fine-tune their piec- rounds of students before I ever the pieces students have written, es before they get published.” Even met a permanent staff person at most have really powerful per- then, stories are “unfiltered and the Times,” she says. “It was the spectives about what’s going on unadulterated.” only job I interviewed for where in the country and the world.” The project also hosts a youth they put young people in front of For example, a student wrote a journalism conference, a student the interview process. They took piece while her school was in the advisory board, and a paid sum- it very seriously.” That included middle of a lockdown. mer internship for eight students giving her advice on her resume. “This student didn’t know why at its California offices. Eventual- Now eight months into the they were on lockdown,” He- ly, Heber wants to help teachers job, Heber has fully become part ber says. “The teacher wasn’t find ways to teach media literacy. of what’s called “the fam.” She in the room to tell them. They Until then, she says a highlight of says it’s an exciting time to be didn’t know if there was an ac- her job is going into classrooms to supporting young journalists. tual shooter. This student took introduce students to the project. “Many of our students who notes as she was in the situation “I love seeing the one or two contribute say they don’t have then wrote the piece later. It was kids who hang on to every word I an outlet at their schools,” she so terrifying for her. With High say or hang out after to ask a ques- says, citing the decline in school- School Insider, there’s an oppor- tion,” she says. “I’m looking for- sponsored newspapers. Some tunity for young people to share ward to seeing those kids slowly schools have switched to digi- what’s going on in their lives.” start to post their stories and then tal only. “The students think no Students can get involved in grow into leaders of the program one is reading the digital school two ways: individually or as part itself. That means they’re mov- papers.” Publishing on the High of a journalism or English class. ing from finding their own voice School Insider site, under the Heber sets them up with a Word- to learning to share it with others Times banner, widens readership Press account, and they contrib- and then to becoming advocates

CREDIT HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT and reach significantly. ute pieces to the site, including for youth voices more broadly.”

Photograph by Chris Mueller

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5 EASY STEPS TO: STUDY SKILLS

Helping Early Daniel Haack, Childhood Ed.M.’19 When DANIEL HAACK was growing up on a dairy farm outside Madison, Wisconsin, Educators dreaming of becoming an actor or director or TV news host, he was also always writing. De-stress Screenplays and short stories, mostly. They were always epic — fantastic tales where his superheroes went on sweeping adven- tures. It makes sense then that his first book, Prince & Knight, published last May, would be the same kind of story — but with a twist. Modeled after a traditional fairy tale, in Haack’s book, a prince roams the country- side with his parents looking for a fair lady to marry. In the process of trying to defeat a dragon threatening his village, the prince meets a knight who helps him when he falls, and the two quickly realize they are perfect for one another. Haack, who has spent the past few years heading up marketing for StoryBots, a digi- 12 tal learning program for kids that includes a 13 popular television show on Netflix (and for which Haack won an Emmy), isn’t the first author to write an LGBTQ-friendly picture book for kids. But, he says, most don’t feature people. “A lot of other books in this space have ondering how early ularly teaching young children, is wrong. Disengagement from place. What have you always animals as main characters — penguins childhood educators can is also demanding in a physical, the teaching community or in the loved about working with young and bunnies,” he says. “One of the main de-stress and not burn emotional, and intellectual way classroom can also be a sign that children and their families, and things I decided before I wrote the book was out? With the help of the Mind- that too often goes unrecognized it’s time to check in.” what are the short- and long- that it was going to have human characters.” fulEC project, which she start- and inadequately supported. And term goals for your work? Find Human characters show kids from gay ed with two Harvard Kennedy teachers must be prepared to re- 3 Find community. Now. meaning in your work.” families that their parents “are just as capable of being the brave hero and worthy School students while at the Ed spond, often on their own, to so “At MindfulEC, we strongly be- 3 of being in love” as anyone else, he says. He School, former preschool teach- many different scenarios during lieve that social networks and re- Take time for yourself. also hopes that these universal, accessible er EMILY WIKLUND, ED.M.’18, offers the day, and the resulting fatigue lationships provide an essential “It’s important to develop a daily themes of love and adventure resonate with five tips. can lead to burnout.” role in preventing or addressing self-care practice or habits that kids who don’t know anyone who identi- stress. Teachers who have ac- bring calm between (inevitably) fies as LGBTQ (or at least anyone who has 3 Recognize the struggle. 3 Recognize when other cess to a community of support stressful moments. This can in- come out to them). “It’s just as powerful for “Many career fields are stress- teachers are at their break- have a go-to system for affirma- clude yoga, mindful walking, those kids as for someone who sees a family member in the stories.” ful, but the teaching profession ing point. tion, reflection, and solidarity. or even mindful eating, which Although Prince & Knight (and a second stands out because it sits right “Many of the symptoms of burn- They have someone or a group includes noticing and savoring book coming out in the spring, Maiden & at the intersection of high de- out or unhealthy stress may not of people they can talk to after a textures and flavors. During the Princess) are still considered “unique” fairy mand and low professional sup- be obvious to others, but signs of stressful day, and in talking they school day, which can feel hec- tales because of their twist, he hopes this port. Part of that professional fatigue, difficulty concentrating might get ideas about how to re- tic, teachers can find quiet spots isn’t always the case. support relates to pay. The aver- or attending to tasks, edginess spond next time or simply some during breaks, engaging socially “One of the coolest things for me in this age wage for early care provid- and irritability, sadness, or de- positive acknowledgment that with colleagues over lunch or at process has been seeing how many straight parents are buying the book for their kids,” ers is just above $10 per hour. tachedness and isolation could things will be okay.” the end of the day. Self-care and he says. “I’m really excited for the point Another part relates to profes- indicate that a teacher is having strong community bonds aren’t where the books offering nontraditional sional learning opportunities, trouble. Frequent unexplained or 3 Reconnect to intention. luxuries; they’re essential com- leads become a dime a dozen and aren’t so training, and time for planning illness-related absences can be “Ask yourself why you wanted ponents in providing quality ex- defined by the lead characters.” LH and self-care. Teaching, partic- a definite sign that something to become a teacher in the first periences for children.” lh

Illustration by Cristina Spanò Photograph by Jonathan Kozowyk

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The Story of RECESS the Unlikely Children’s Book Tony Jack, Author Knitter

STORY BY ANDREW BAULD, ED.M.’16

nce upon a time there was spent a career focused on inno- book. Reimers speaks to Filom- Baum-Snow, “a very critical a professor. His name was vative global education policies ena in both English and Spanish, reader,” he says. “She gives me Fernando Reimers. Profes- and programs as a professor at something he says he did to show wonderful feedback.” sor Reimers lived in Cambridge, the Ed School and director of readers a bilingual home. Former students have also re- Massachusetts. He taught at the the International Education The main themes of the first sponded positively. One visited Harvard Graduate School of Ed- Policy Program. He’s also a pro- book are observation, empathy, recently from Mexico, bringing ucation. He spent his days work- lific writer and editor, producing and perspective. As Reimers Filomena drawings from their ing with students and writing more than 20 books, plus scores writes through Filomena’s voice, children. “You’ve made it when many books for adults. of journal articles, on the impor- “You can learn a lot about the your former students’ children But at home, Professor Re- tance of developing 21st-century world if you observe and listen. make art like that,” Reimers says. 14 imers had an idea. He wanted to skills in students. Observing is not just looking or Other fans have shared the 15 write a book for children. He de- So it came as a surprise when seeing, and listening is not just book, which has been translated cided the book would be about a Reimers’ latest writing wasn’t hearing. To observe you have into 10 languages, in classrooms very special friend of his named on global education, or for adults, to think about what you see and and other educational settings. Filomena. but a personal story about his 12- hear. You have to ask questions.” There are also 10 schools in six Filomena, the parakeet. year-old parakeet. Reimers says some of what countries in which older stu- REIMERS, ED.M.’84, ED.D.’88, has “I can’t explain why I did he’s learned in his career has dents read the books to younger it,” Reimers says on what drove found its way into the story, in- students. The second book in the him to write a picture book. “I cluding the focus on early liter- series, Filomena’s Friends, came remember sitting at my kitchen acy and intergenerational obser- out last summer; the third in De- table with 60 papers to grade vation that came from a book he cember. Reimers laughs that his early in January and wondering published last year. family members are his biggest how the bird saw the world. I be- “Language development and fans but are also quick to remind gan to write this story from the literacy are so important to par- him that he lacks children’s lit bird’s point of view. This simple ticipate in society in inclusive credentials. That’s exactly what act made me very happy.” ways,” he says. While those makes writing Filomena such a From that initial question topics might be appropriate for joy, he says. emerged The Story of Filomena. graduate students, it could be a “Like any creative process, It’s the first in a trilogy featuring bit heady for young readers. But we’re only partially aware of the an observant blue parakeet that Reimers has had the best test forces that get us to do what we joined the Reimers household as market, sharing Filomena with do. I want to do something I’ve When Assistant Professor Tony Jack’s partner got tired of being asked to knit things for him, she made a smart a pet for his two young sons. faculty colleagues who in turn never done and learn everything decision: She taught him about purl stitches and casting on so he could make things himself.  Reflecting on his In the book, as in real life, have shared the book with their about it,” he says. “It makes me first attempt, he says, “I was so nervous that I would mess up. She had to get me a vodka spritzer.” That was the boys have grown up and children and grandchildren. feel like a child.” Christmas 2017. Since then, Jack has started listening to CraftyPlanner podcasts. He frequents Gather Here and left the figurative nest, leaving “One of the wonderful things other craft shops. He thinks about color combinations. In fact, he’s gotten so into knitting that he’s no longer afraid ANDREW BAULD, ED.M.’16, IS to pull out the needles and yarn in front of others, especially when he’s traveling, which he does often as he crosses Filomena behind with Reimers when you have a community of A FREQUENT CONTRIBTOR TO ED. the country sharing his research on low-income college students.  “Flight attendants recognize me now,” he says. and his wife, ELEONORA VILLEGAS- colleagues is people step up and “One of the flight attendants told another, ‘Our friend in 1B is a knitter,’ when she recognized me but could not place REIMERS, ED.M.’84, ED.D.’88. give you ideas,” Reimers says. my face immediately. I also have people come up to me in the airport to ask me what I am making.”  So far Jack has The simple story includes One of the fans of Filomena is knitted scarves, his latest in pastels, but plans on tackling a blanket and washcloths. Eventually he’ll try his dream READ OUR FEATURE ON JACK several surprisingly high Professor Catherine Snow’s 7- READ MORE: THEADVENTURESOFFILO- project: a quilt.  “We bought a sewing machine for the house and have a crafting corner in the loft,” he says. “That FROM THE SUMMER 2017 ISSUE:

concepts for a children’s year-old granddaughter, Juliet MENA.SQUARESPACE.COM/ YASTREBOVA TANYA will take some time though. I want to get knitting down pat before switching.” LH GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED

Photograph by Jonathan Kozowyk

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Where were you born? I love teaching and working with est communicators on behalf of Missing grown-ups. children and families. He could talk I was born in Shanghai, China. It about any thorny issue with almost Something? was during the tumultuous final What did you want to be “when any audience and help people to years of the Cultural Revolution. you grew up”? see and feel what children and My parents, like millions of young families need. He was my role It’s not easy to stay on top of all the news stories out there, despite our best efforts. We get it. So we decided college students, were in govern- It was either a physicist (both my model to find and communicate to give you a list of recent pieces on the Ed School’s ment-mandated exile in distant parents are, so all the dinner sto- what is “deep and simple” in work web page (gse.harvard.edu) that you may have missed farmlands. I grew up in different ries they told me were about Ma- and life in a world that noisily but should circle back and read. Trust us. THE MAKING OF places and different households dame Curie, Albert Einstein, Rich- screams “shallow and complex.” largely separated from one or both ard Feynman) or a teacher (both 3 The Power of Conversation of my parents. I came to the United my parents also taught during their This “deep and simple” idea led to JENNY WOO, ED.M.’18, created a fun card game for States when I was 16. exile and after their return). the Simple Interactions program parents, caregivers, and teachers to use to help support children’s social-emotional learning. Senior you started. Lecturer What’s a childhood memory that Why major in computer science? 3 Building a Strong School Culture had a lasting impact on you later Fred Rogers’ motto for his own Associate Professor Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell offers Junlei Li as an adult? As a stereotypical Asian immigrant work was “deep and simple is far six steps that principals can use to help shape a child, I was expected to major in more essential than shallow and school’s culture. As my living situation fluctuated as something like computer science. complex.” I wonder, What is deep 3 a young child, the one continuity But I loved the humanities. My par- and simple about each of us who The Magic of Bluelaces Theater (video) MELANIE GERTZMAN, ED.M.’18, talks about Bluelaces that stayed in my life was listen- ents thought that humanities were are passionate to make gentle the Theater Company, which she founded to bring immer- ing to nightly radio broadcasts not for immigrants like me with a life of this world for children, fami- sive, multi-sensory theatrical experiences to audiences of Western classics over dinner. limited grasp of language and cul- lies, and communities? We can al- with autism and other developmental differences. People are often influ- Few people had TVs back then in ture. Their proof was that I got a ways remind ourselves, and those enced by the teachers China, and there were only a few B freshman year in psychology around us, to look for the deep and 3 Preventing Sexual Harassment at School they had growing up. radio stations (like the early days 101, which tarnished my otherwise simple amid all the shallow and This collection of pieces from the Usable Knowledge initiative looks at how schools and families can navigate Junlei Li certainly was, of radio broadcasting in America). all A/A- transcript. But the real rea- complex that surrounds us. but in the “if I ever issues of gender equity and consent and help young This was how I got to know David son is probably related to my child- 16 teach, I won’t teach that people learn about healthy relationships. 17 way” kind of way. He did Copperfield and Les Misérables. I hood desire to teach. One thing I You kept the name of the pro- become a teacher, after identified with the experience of learned from computer science is gram, Simple Interactions, simple. 3 A Four-Day School Week? a circuitous route that the displaced orphan who relied how to debug a complex system A look at what’s gained and what’s lost when school started with computer on the kindness of neighbors, that is not working. That’s part of Yes. We don’t want people to think districts give students and employees every Friday off. science and ended with teachers, and distant kin. So it was what I do now with child-serving they have to be experts in order to him finding Mister Rog- 3 8 x 8: Bold Ideas from Faculty (videos) natural that my wife and I decided social systems. interact with children well. Also, EdCast, Round Two ers as an adult. Now at For the fifth year in a row, faculty have 8 minutes to adopt two children, and I spent while we aim for relationships, the the Ed School, Li talked In our winter issue three years ago, we listed some of the most interesting to present their research and their work to brand new to Ed. about working at a lot of my professional life working You first discovered Mister Rog- only thing we really have control leaders in education (and beyond) who were interviewed on the Ed School’s students at orientation. the Fred Rogers Center and learning in orphanages. ers’ Neighborhood as an adult? over is how we interact in every podcast series, the Harvard EdCast. With at least 250 interviews now under for Early Learning and moment. And the plural form of its belts, we thought we’d highlight some of the popular podcast’s more Children’s Media, Les What’s a childhood memory that When one grows up in a country “interaction” means that we all de- recent and memorable guests. Mis, and staying simple. had a lasting impact on you as a of more than one billion people, velop based not on one Hollywood- researcher and educator? and one is taught by family and style moment, but the patient, 3 Nicole Hockley, founder, Sandy Hook Promise 2/7/2017 society that the only way to dis- incremental accumulation of posi- 3 Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist 2/23/2017 I have the vivid memory of sitting in tinguish yourself from the other tive, humanizing interactions. 3 Tommy Chang, then-superintendent, Boston Public Schools 4/26/2017 class in fourth grade as a teacher billion is to be exceptional, there 3 JOHN MERROW, ED.D.’73, former PBS News Hour stood on the raised teaching plat- isn’t much room to accept “being Finish this sentence: I love what I education correspondent 8/17/2017 form haranguing the entire class themselves.” That, of course, was do because… 3 JOHN PERROTTI, C.A.S.’85, director, Massachusetts Safe WISE for misbehavior or incompetence. Mr. Rogers’ message. He would Schools Program for LGBTQ students 8/28/2017 WORDS I remember thinking at that exact say that no one can truly learn and … my hope for the world is 3 John King, former U.S. secretary of education 11/15/2017 moment that someday I hope to grow without being accepted and renewed each time I get to see, 3 Cornel West, professor, philosopher, activist 1/25/2018 teach, and when I do, I would be welcomed for exactly who they film, show, and talk about what 3 Elmo, lovable Sesame Street icon 2/7/2018 the opposite of whatever I was are. It was a shock to my system to helpers do for children and families “I’m very optimistic 3 experiencing. Later, I realized that I hear that message, but it certainly through simple, everyday human Dr. Ruth Westheimer, therapist, sex educator 2/14/2018 3 about what I’m seeing don’t quite have the stamina to be has made a huge difference in the interactions. Carol Dweck, professor, mindset guru 3/15/2018 a full-time K–12 teacher. However, kind of parent I strive to be. 3 Minnijean Brown-Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine 6/20/2018 around the country.”

In a Q&A, Senior Lecturer KAREN MAPP, ED.M.’93, ED.D.’99, He became your role model. discusses how more school districts are recognizing LISTEN TO AN EDCAST WITH LI ABOUT SIMPLE INTERACTIONS: GSE.HARVARD. the importance of deep partnerships between families

Fred Rogers was one of the great- EDU/EDCAST HERE LI CREDIT JUNLEI TO LISTEN TO THESE AND MORE: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/EDCAST and school staff. (The 74)

Illustration by John Doe

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ON MY BOOKSHELF TEACHERS BRIDGING CHILDREN AT THE CENTER BEFORE SHE SLEEPS DIFFERENCE: EXPLORING Betty Bardige, Megina Baker, Bina Shah IDENTITY WITH ART and Ben Mardell Marit Dewhurst Described by Kirkus Reviews as Calling themselves tour guides, authors “a novel that is in explicit conversation Tina Grotzer, Ed.M.’85, In her new book, MARIT DEWHURST, BETTY BARDIGE, ED.D.’83, and Project Zero with The Handmaid’s Tale,” Before She Sleeps ED.M.’03, ED.D.’09, a professor at researchers and investigators Megina by journalist and writer BINA SHAH, ED.M.’94, Ed.D.’93, Principal Research City College of New York, looks at Baker and Ben Mardell give readers an USING GRAMMAR TO IMPROVE focuses on a world devastated by war, the the ways that educators can use art inside look at Boston Public Schools’ WRITING: RECIPES FOR ACTION Virus, and gender selection, where young to better understand how our dif- early education programs for preK and women are sent to indoctrination camps, Scientist ferent identities tied to race, class, kindergarten students, including how the Sarah Tantillo forced to become mothers, and required to take on multiple husbands. Men hold all the culture, gender, religion, ability, program was built in the city, early results, In her third book since graduating power. There are the resisters, of course, the sexual orientation, and nationality examples of success, and challenges and from the Ed School, SARAH TANTILLO, women who live in a hidden collective called WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is shape who students are and how barriers faced. But the book isn’t all theory , offers what may seem like ED.M.’91 the Panah, women who refuse to be wives and the story of a young girl, Liesl, growing up in a foster family in Nazi Germany. they move in the world. She writes, and policy — the authors eavesdrop in just a grammar instructional manual “The ability to understand our classrooms, at community events, and instead go underground in order to be free. She steals books, each of which are significant to her learning. It chronicles but is, she says, “secretly a book students, their families, and their during staff meetings for the city office about how to teach students how her growing awareness of the broader political context, including why her communities is imperative if we aim that oversees the programs. Children at to write clearly.” And that matters foster family is hiding a man of Jewish faith in their basement. It is hauntingly to facilitate empowering learning the Center not only tells the story, but, as because writing clearly seems to be written and compelling in how it juxtaposes Liesl’s innocence, hope, and experiences.” the authors write, “shows the program in a problem for many students, she action,” too. resilience to the horrific events of the time. says. Tantillo doesn’t waste time with the easy-to-follow book, starting WHAT DREW YOU TO IT? My mother grew up during World War II in Nazi Ger- with a critical chapter for instructors many. She was four years old when the war started and so was oblivious to called “What should we STOP doing?” and including sections on helping the broader events around her. With nine children in her family and her father students who are not at grade level, in hiding to avoid Nazi orders to join the army, her parents focused on trying factors that affect how well we write, to feed them. During my own childhood, I struggled to understand what the and what we should be teaching from war meant for my mother growing up but also felt guilt that my grandparents kindergarten through high school. TRANSFORMATIVE SCHOOLING didn’t do more. The book has helped me to consider what they understood Vajra Watson 18 from day to day and how it differed from what we know looking back. VAJRA WATSON, ED.M.’01, ED.D.’08, director of research 19 and policy for equity at University of California Davis, FAVORITE BOOK TO ASSIGN TO YOUR STUDENTS? Fires in the Minds by Kathleen writes about the ways that schools can become more Cushman. It is an important reminder that while we focus so heavily on de- racially inclusive. As a case study, the book follows ef- signing curriculum for kids, giving them agency and trust can yield incredible forts made over five years by the Oakland Unified School outcomes. District to join forces with community organizers, teach- ers, parents, religious leaders, neighborhood elders, and FICTION OR NONFICTION? This is hard to answer. I read a lot of nonfiction students to launch the Office of African American Male because it fuels my work. I find it hard to stay put because I have conversa- Achievement and attempt to disrupt underachievement. “Altogether,” Watson writes, “a school district and a com- tions in my head with the author and often end up wanting to write. I love munity joined forces to resurrect possibility.” reading Atul Gawande because the ideas are compelling, but the narratives are powerful and engaging like fiction.

FAVORITE PLACE TO CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK? The hammock, where I can hear the birds and insects all around me.

NEXT UP: Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration by Keith Sawyer. I am really interested in concepts related to “group flow” and the dynamics that enable it. So much of what we focus on and reward in the world relates to individual accomplishment; we have yet to develop structures that fully explore or recognize the power of collaboration and collaborative flow.

FOR A FULL LIST OF BOOKS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED. IF YOU’RE PART OF THE ED SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND YOU’VE RECENTLY PUB- LISHED A BOOK, LET US KNOW: BOOKNOTES@GSE. HARVARD.EDU

Photograph by Ekaterina Smirnova

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20

GIRLHOOD

After years of social gains and with bright futures within reach, why are things still so difficult for middle school girls?

STORY BY LORY HOUGH PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN KOZOWYK

Illustration by John Doe

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the better opportunities — middle school girls were still suffering. Some even felt it was getting harder. “I’m not surprised, no,” Burnham says. “There’s been a lot of progress made, but the cultural pres- sures are still insane. And culture is what leads you at that age, I think.” Especially, it seems, for girls. “Girls in middle school are hitting the culture in very ferocious September, The New York Times came out with a ways,” says NIOBE WAY, ED.D.’94, a professor of devel- story with a promising opening paragraph that opmental psychology at New York University and made me happy: “Girls have been told they can be author of several books, including Deep Secrets. anything they want to be, and it shows. They are It’s more like a collision, actually. Although girls seizing opportunities closed to previous genera- and boys are both affected negatively as they move tions — in science, sports, and leadership.” into adolescence, boys tend to lose their way later, And then I read the second paragraph: “But and often in less self-directed ways. (This, I know, they’re also getting another message: What they could be its own feature story.) For girls, the transi- look like matters more than any of that.” tion to middle school is usually when they start to The piece came on the heels of a slew of recent grasp what society really expects from females. research that showed a rise in depression and anxi- Burnham saw this when he was prepping for ety and a dip in confidence for girls, especially as his movie, as he watched hundreds of adolescents’ they enter middle school. Friends were telling me vlogs online. Girls tended to talk about their souls, stories about their struggling daughters, particular- boys about things like video games. ly around social media and feeling left out. Around “I think our culture forces girls to ask deeper the same time, a group of us saw the movie Eighth questions of themselves earlier than boys,” he says. Grade, about an apprehensive 13-year-old girl en- “I feel like our culture asks boys ‘What do you like during the last week of middle school. As we left the to do?’ and asks girls ‘Who are you?’ I think there’s theater, several of the women immediately started an immense interior mental pressure put on girls,  RESOURCES talking about their own middle school experiences so ‘deep’ is kind of their starting point. You can’t 22 — how uncomfortable they felt, how horrible it was. not be deep when you’ve been buried. It’s also a 23 They talked about scenes that resonated with them. very specific time in life, and girls are mentally and “I think there’s an immense interior mental pressure put on girls, so ‘deep’ is kind of I remember thinking: Wait. Have things really emotionally maturing a bit quicker at 13 maybe.” their starting point. You can’t not be deep when you’ve been buried.” not gotten better for girls? My friends were in mid- LYN MIKEL BROWN, ED.D.’89, a professor at Colby Col- dle school 25, 30 years ago. As The New York Times lege and author of several books on female develop- BO BURNHAM, DIRECTOR, EIGHTH GRADE article pointed out, girls today are seizing oppor- ment, says part of this is “the kind of increased per- tunities previously unavailable to them. They are spective-taking that happens at early adolescence, more likely to sign online petitions and volunteer. where girls start to see how others see them and the They are doing better academically, outperform- importance of performing as the right kind of girl.” ing boys in English and language arts, and often in Who they once were when they were 8, 9, 10 — con- math. Women outnumber men in college, especial- fident, sure, spunky, even bossy — “isn’t okay, and ly women from low-income and minority families. what they thought was true is no longer true.” The Crisis of Connection: Roots, Consequences, and Kayla, the protagonist in Eighth Grade, was smart, Simone de Beauvoir wrote about this in The Sec- Solutions (2018) creative, and kind. ond Sex back in 1949: “Girls who were the subjects EDITED BY NIOBE WAY, ALISAH ALI, So why was she also painfully awkward and of their own lives become the objects of others’ CAROL GILLIGAN, AND PEDRO NOGUERA seemingly friendless? Why haven’t things gotten lives. Girls stop being and start seeming.” better for middle school girls? And why, I won- The pressure that comes from this understand- dered, are we still having these conversations? ing, this transition from subject to object, disori- ents — and changes — many girls as they move out of elementary school and into middle school. In started talking to academics and develop- 1991, when the groundbreaking study Shortchang- I mental psychologists. To guidance coun- ing Girls, Shortchanging America was released by selors and parents, to friends and cowork- the American Association of University Women ers and middle schoolers. I pulled out some of my (aauw), 60 percent of elementary-age girls said books from the early 1990s, when I first dipped they were happy the way they were; 67 percent of into this subject, when girl struggles were first be- boys said the same thing. By middle school, those ing studied in depth. When headlines in The New numbers had dropped for both genders, but signifi- York Times read, “Confident at 11, Confused at 16.” cantly for girls overall: to 37 percent, with 56 percent Almost no one I talked to, including Bo Burn- for boys. (The report found that black and Latinx Powered by Girl: A Field Guide for Supporting Youth ham, the director of Eighth Grade, was surprised girls fared much better: 59 percent of black middle Activists (2016)

that despite the progress made — the better grades, school girls said they were happy the way they were; LYN MIKEL BROWN HERE CREDIT

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54 percent for Latinx girls.) Unfortunately it hasn’t ne way this shows up: anxiety and depres- gotten better. In 2018, pollsters from Ypulse and the O sion. A 2017 study in the journal Pediatrics Confidence Code for Girls found that between the found that between the years 2005 and ages of 8 and 14, girls’ confidence levels fall by 30 2014, adolescent depression rose steadily, but par- percent. At the lowest point, at age 14, boys’ confi- ticularly for girls. For boys, the prevalence of a ma- dence is still 27 percent higher than girls’. jor depressive episode increased from 4.5 percent Professor Martin West found similar confidence in 2004 to 5.7 percent in 2014. For girls, it increased drops for girls when he surveyed 400,000 Califor- from 13.1 percent to 17.3 percent. nia students to see how social-emotional learning CHESSIE SHAW, ED.M.’98, a counselor in Massachu- develops from fourth grade to senior year. While setts, sees the anxiety at her middle school, espe- girls have a higher level of self-management and cially once girls reach seventh grade. self-awareness compared to boys, he found that “Seventh grade is when I have seen some girls their self-confidence begins lagging in sixth grade start to question their academic abilities and in- and only starts to increase in high school — almost telligence. This is especially true in math and sci- the opposite of boys that age. ence. It’s also when a lot of anxiety and self-harm “Boys’ confidence in their ability to succeed behaviors come to light,” she says. For example, “I academically peaks in sixth grade and then declines definitely see the most cutting in seventh grade. steadily through 11th grade,” West says, citing the It’s often around feeling that they aren’t doing well report, “but the total drop in confidence between enough in school or that they aren’t ‘good enough’ fourth grade and eighth grade for boys is less than in some way.” By the end of eighth, some girls re- one sixth as large as the drop for girls. And girls’ gain their confidence, “however, for another small- confidence continues to fall at a faster rate than that er group, it’s when real mental health difficulties of boys through 11th grade.” start to entrench — suicidal ideation and attempts, It’s why we start hearing once self-possessed experimenting with alcohol and drugs and sex.” girls saying “I don’t know,” in contrast to boys, She sees a lot less of this self-destructive behavior who start to say, “I don’t care.” (In fact, Way writes with girls of color — a pattern that is consistent with Deep Secrets: Boys’ in her new book, The Crisis of Connection, boys do the 1991 aauw research. “There is definitely rela- Friendships and the Crisis care, especially about friendships, which more re- tional aggression between girls of color, but it doesn’t of Connection (2011) NIOBE WAY 24 semble the plot of Love Story than Lord of the Flies.) appear to result in as much anxiety and self-doubt as 25 Brown made the “I don’t know” connection in white girls,” she says. “Students of color who par- while she was studying gender issues at Harvard ticipate in the Metco program” — a Massachusetts in the late 1980s and early 1990s with former Ed program that sends kids from underperforming to School Professor Carol Gilligan. She was also work- higher-performing school districts — seem to “have ing on a seminal book, Meeting at the Crossroads: a strong support group in each other. I wonder if this Women’s Psychology and Girls’ Development. outside-of-school support group is what, in part, “Girls were wondering, Is it safe to say what I shields them from some of the depression.” really think? I’m not sure. Better to hedge my bet So is it actually harder to be a middle school girl and play ignorant,” Brown says. “We heard a big today? Rachel Simmons, author of Odd Girl Out, increase in ‘I don’t know’ responses at early adoles- thinks that in some ways it is, in part, paradoxically, cence from girls who were pretty open and outspo- because of the gains women and girls have made. ken just a year earlier.” “We hope for girls to be smart and brave and in- This struggle to stay connected to their selves, to terested in stem fields, but we still expect them to Raising Their Voices: The Politics of Girls’ Anger (1998) say what they think and feel, has been referred to be sexually attractive and have a witty and appeal- LYN MIKEL BROWN as girls “losing their voice” although Brown prefers ing online presence,” she told ParentMap in 2018. “Girls in middle school are hitting the culture in very ferocious ways.” a different word to describe this major transition. “No matter how many achievements they accrue, NIOBE WAY, ED.D.’94 “I like ‘crisis’ rather than ‘loss of voice,’” she they feel that they are not enough as they are…. We says. “We found girls really struggle and often re - haven’t really upgraded our expectations; we’ve sist at this time, and they don’t lose their voices as just added on to the old ones.” much as they take them underground.” This “crisis These expectations pile on the pressure. “Add of connection,” as Brown and Gilligan call it, forces this ‘role overload’ to the fact that girls continue to girls to make a choice. need to please others first and be likable,” Simmons “Can they stay with themselves and what they says. “Girls are still raised with a psychology that feel and think and know and go out of sync with the is trained to think about other people before them- world,” Brown says, “or get in sync with the world selves. This all is a real recipe for unhappiness.” but not with themselves?” The 2018 Ypulse Confidence Code poll found When this happens, the struggle can be too hard that more than half of teen girls feel pressure to be for girls to understand at this point in their devel- perfect, while three in four worry about failing. Be- Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of opment, Mary Pipher writes in Reviving Ophelia. tween ages 12 and 13, the percentage of girls who Adolescent Girls (1994)

“They become overwhelmed and symptomatic.” say they’re “not allowed” to fail increases by a stag- MARY PIPHER HERE CREDIT

Illustration by John Doe

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gering 150 percent. Included is the pressure to phys- there, but more have to do with playing Fortnite and There are also a lot of veiled insults and inside school, nervous and self-conscious, and at home, ically look a certain way. In a survey of 1,000 young less about the anxiety that develops after reading jokes that get shared, she says. “Because the post- alone, confidently making self-help videos. Was people by Plan International, about three-quarters group texts that border on bullying or feeling left er has a much larger audience on social media, this ability to create two selves a bad thing? of girls 14–19 said they felt judged as a sexual ob- out after looking at photos on Instagram. Feeling any little mean joke can balloon into a much big- Burnham doesn’t see it that way. ject or felt unsafe as a girl. Half said they had heard excluded certainly isn’t new, but back when I was ger event and can quickly go from involving five or “There certainly is something sad about not be- boys making sexual comments or jokes about girls that age, if you weren’t invited to the mall, you rare- six girls to almost the whole grade. There are also ing able to embody the ‘you’ you want to be in real every day. One third said they heard similar com- ly found out, or you found out days after. And per- lots of group texts with sometimes up to 50 kids on life,” he says, “but I’m glad Kayla has a place where ments from men in their families. haps most crucial: No one else shared your humili- them. Kids will delete and block each other and she feels comfortable being confident, or pretend- As CATHERINE STEINER-ADAIR, ED.M.’77, ED.D.’84, a ation because only the people involved knew about say mean things to each other constantly on these ing to be confident, which to me is just as good. I clinical psychologist who has written extensively the slight (or perceived slight). Nowadays, seeing chats. When a parent or I say something like, ‘Just think we adults often think of the Internet as a place on body image and eating disorders, told NPR in photos online of your friends at Starbucks without take yourself out of the chat,’ they won’t. The chat where kids are severely judged, which is true, but it 2018 after the Pediatrics depression study came you is immediate and very public. All of your other is too much a part of their social life. If they left it, is also often the only safe space kids have to express out, women and girls are “still continually bom- friends see it, too. Cell phones, writes Simmons, they feel like they wouldn’t have any friends, so they themselves honestly, whatever that word means.” barded by media messages, dominant culture, hu- have become the new bathroom wall. endure the comments and constant fights.” Weinstein agrees with Burnham. mor, and even political figures about how to look EMILY WEINSTEIN, ED.M.’14, ED.D.’17, an Ed School As one mom of two middle school daughters “My interpretation was that Kayla was figuring — no matter how smart, gifted, or passionate they postdoctoral fellow who studies the digital lives of acknowledges, giving up popular apps isn’t easy. out who she wanted to be, and she was in the pro- are.” Celebrities are fat shamed. Supermodels are young people, says this has a real impact on adoles- “I believe that Instagram is evil for middle school, cess of learning how to express that identity,” she told by presidents they are no longer 10s. Entertain- cent relationships. and yet I understand that not having access to so- says. “While Kayla didn’t initially feel comfortable ers like Beyoncé are dubbed “fierce” but never look “Teens in my interview studies describe how cial media can hamstring a teen socially,” she says. raising her voice in offline settings, her YouTube Eighth Grade features Elsie Fisher, anything but amazing and sexualized. the real-time nature of social apps means that a Fri- who was nominated for several Although her eighth-grader’s coping strategy when channel provided an outlet to start practicing. And JOEY WADDY, ED.M.’13, C.A.S.’14, a counselor at a day night can be immediately ruined,” she says. “If awards, including a Golden Globe she sees photos and feels left out is to put the phone then this practice did transfer to her offline life. -Re preK–8 school in New Orleans, says girls don’t al- you learn by word of mouth on a Monday that your for best actress. away, she can’t seem to stay away. “Oftentimes she member the karaoke scene?” ways know what to make of these images. friends hung out without you, you probably still just blindly scrolls through liking everyone’s stuff In that scene, which Burnham has said he con- They are “struggling to match the person they enjoyed your own weekend. In contrast, learning because that is what you are supposed to do and sistently likes the most, Kayla volunteers to sing felt they were or wanted to be with the examples of about exclusion in real time on Instagram can dou- Meeting at the Crossroads: how you get likes back,” she says. “She also rarely karaoke at a birthday pool party with the cool kids celebrities and social media influencers,” he says. bly disrupt your social connections because it makes Women’s Psychology and Girls’ posts her own pics. Her profile is nearly empty. It’s that her dad basically gets her invited to. It was her Development (1992) Brown says these powerful messages hit girls you feel disconnected from the people who left you LYN MIKEL BROWN too stressful for her, and her fear of rejection or em- triumph, her resister moment, her time to resurface just as their own bodies are changing physically. out and it can interfere with your experience of con- CAROL GILLIGAN barrassment is intense. I get that; I’m the same way.” her voice, even if she was ignored by the other kids. 26 “While boys’ bodies become larger, associated necting with the people who you’re actually with.” Another mom reluctantly agreed to let her And that brings us to the good news for middle 27 with strength and power, still in our culture girls’ Today’s apps are also more demanding than daughter get an app called musical.ly, which lets us- school girls: Things often start to get better by high bodies become associated with risk and constraint they were, even just a few years ago. As Burnham ers make videos set to music. She thought she was school. “When I ask teens and young adults if they and warnings,” she says. “Don’t walk home alone at told npr when talking about his early career mak- shielding her from Instagram and Snapchat issues. ever feel left out related to their social media use, night. Don’t be alone with boys or drink with boys; ing YouTube videos,“When I was on social media, “I can remember one morning when she was get- one vein of responses I hear is that they used to feel be sure you know what’s in that cup; be the sexual it was, like, MySpace, which was, OK, post a pro- ting ready for school. I went in to check on her and this way, when they were in middle school or new gatekeeper; don’t dress like a slut. Adults at home file picture of yourself and list some of your inter- she was sitting on her bed in tears,” she says. “As to social apps,” Weinstein says. “Even older high and school give once-outspoken, often gender- ests and list your friends. And now it’s Instagram, we talked and I dug deeper, I realized she had been schoolers describe the experience as something bending preteen girls messages about how to be- Twitter. ‘What do you look like? What are you on musical.ly, seeing a girl in her grade making a that was more of an issue for their past selves, back have in order to be liked and fit in, how not to come thinking?’” he says. “Those are really baser, deep- video.” To her daughter, this girl was perfectly before they figured out who their true friends were off as mean or bitchy, how to avoid harassment and er, stranger questions. And the way kids interface dressed with hair and makeup just right. Her daugh- or how to navigate fomo” — fear of missing out. assault or getting written up by the dress code.” with it, I think, changes the way they feel about the ter “went on about how she didn’t have cute clothes And there are definitely resisters — the girls who Boys get rules, too, she says, but the rules don’t world and themselves.” Making Connections: or wasn’t as pretty or fit or popular as this girl. As a collide with culture after elementary school but constrain in the same “relentless” way. “Even the Shaw says this goes beyond just feeling left out, The Relational Worlds of mother, this broke my heart.” And all of this hap- find a way to stay confident and sure. The girls who best advice they get — be polite, be respectful to especially with everyone curating what they post Adolescent Girls at the Emma pened before the school day even started. don’t go underground, or at least find a way to bur- Willard School (1990) girls, know your developing physical power, don’t online by picking only their best photos or altering EDITED BY CAROL GILLIGAN, row back. As Brown says, “They’re [Parkland activ- hurt others — isn’t close to the same policing girls photos with fun, flattering filters. NONA LYONS, AND TRUDY HANMER ist] Emma Gonzalez. That’s who they’re looking to. receive. It also assumes their power in the world.” “Of course selfies are designed to make the ocial media itself isn’t to blame for how girls They’re not playing the game. And although girls subject look in their best light,” she says. “Seeing a S today are feeling. I know that. It’s not the and women are still making their way through ineq- picture online can feel even worse than if the unin- apps themselves that are the problems — uitable systems,” the system is shifting of late with hich brings us to what truly has changed for vited happened upon them in person.” it’s how they are being used. I also know they can the #MeToo movement and the Women’s March. W middle schoolers since we were kids: social Social media also allows people to say and do be used in positive ways, especially for girls who Waddy sees more resistance now, too. media. Given that girls spend more than 90 things they might not in person. normally feel silenced. Elsie Fisher, the actress who “The one enouraging thing I’ve seen is more minutes a day on social media, compared to boys at “The alleged ‘beauty’ of social media is that you plays Kayla in the Eighth Grade movie (and who was and more of my students becoming passionate 52 minutes, according to Common Sense Media in can be anything and anyone,” Shaw says. “Howev- in eighth grade when the movie was filmed), told about these types of social justice issues,” he says. 2015, it’s not surprising that reports have surfaced er, how it plays out for most kids is feeling it’s OK Vulture last summer that while the Internet gives And, as Brown points out, “more than ever, we citing the negative impact social media could be to say and do lots of things one would never do in LOOKING FOR TOOLS AND STRATEGIES space to cyberbullies, it also gives space to people see women having one another’s backs, and that’s having on adolescents, especially girls. Beyond real life. Most boys would never ask girls to lift up YOU CAN USE TO HELP ADOLESCENT who don’t feel confident taking space. a huge shift. Girls are watching and trying to make GIRLS — AND BOYS? GO TO WWW.GSE. the reports, it’s also what I’m hearing from friends their shirts in real life. However plenty do online. HARVARD.EDU/UK. “It can be used for amazing things,” she says. sense of it all. The important thing is that they see helping their kids navigate technology. There are Most girls would never say such mean things about The Second Sex (1949) LISTEN TO AN EDCAST WITH LYN MIKEL After I watched Eighth Grade, I thought about there are different perspectives and points of view fewer complaints from parents with boys. They’re a classmate to their face, but they do online.” SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR BROWN: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED the spaces that Kayla created: floating through and that the power is shifting. That’s freeing.”

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28

A public boarding school provides a stable home away from home for some of D.C.’s most at-risk students.

STORY BY MIKE UNGER PHOTOGRAPHS BY WALTER SMITH CREDIT HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT

Illustration by John Doe Illustration by John Doe

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DENISE MILES, ED.M.’05, who’s been at Monument since It’s dinnertime at the Langmaids. it opened four years ago. “We have the opportuni- ty to really influence all aspects of a student’s life. When I was a high school principal, I often said if I could just rent the house across the street and give them a place that’s stable and quiet, where they can do homework and not have to worry about taking care of siblings or what’s going on in the neighbor- hood or anything else, then we could really move them further faster. Here we can be working on life skills with them, and they’re getting counseling, and house parents are doing academic support in the evening. They’re learning 24 hours a day.” The lesson right now is one of socialization and manners. K. listens to Langmaid and alters her be- havior both because he and his wife have estab- lished a culture of respect in the household, and because she wants to rack up core values points. “We earn them by being kind to one another, be- Just four of their eight girls are home on this Thurs- ing respectful to their daughter, the dogs, the house, day night in October, so things are relatively calm. and doing what we’re supposed to do,” another girl Relatively. tells me. Home is a third-story suite at Monument Acad- When I ask about their favorite snack food, three emy, the charter boarding school in Washington, girls answer in chorus: “Ice cream!” D.C., where Paul and Joy Langmaid work as house Allowing kids to scarf down a bowl of cook- parents. Their “kids” are seven middle school ies and cream after school is a brave move for any girls with varying levels of social and emotional parent, let alone one living with a basketball team- challenges from some of the poorest sections of the worth of middle schoolers. 30 city, and their own 3-year-old daughter, Micaela. “They know if they can’t handle their sugar, then 31 When I walk into the home — the term that’s pur- they can’t buy ice cream anymore,” Paul Langmaid posefully used at Monument — I’m greeted by Paul says. “We’ve had a couple of girls that tried and and the family dogs, Midas and Lucy. In the kitch- failed, and that’s okay.” en, where there’s debate raging over whether to prepare ravioli or something, as one of the girls puts it, less “gross,” I say hi to a seventh-grader, who onument academy is the brainchild of ignores me and retreats into the bedroom that Emily Bloomfield, an economist who served she shares with a roommate. Langmaid excuses as an elected member of the Santa Monica- himself and follows her. A few seconds later they Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, emerge, and K. (her first initial) walks up to me with and later on the D.C. Public Charter School Board. her right hand extended. It stemmed from a personal situation she encoun- “Nice to meet you,” she says, a shy smile creep- tered in which her aunt and uncle-in-law took cus- ing onto her face. tody of their two young grandchildren. Such is life at Monument, an innovative school She wondered what their futures would hold that is attempting to educate — in all senses of the if they entered the foster care system or were ad- word — some of Washington’s most traumatized opted, so she began examining statistics. What she children. More than 80 percent of the school’s 130 found horrified her. Students in the foster care sys- students have been involved in the child welfare tem move homes one and a half to two times a year, system — including foster care or temporary remov- destroying relationships with friends and teachers; al from their homes — at some point in their lives, they’re twice as likely to drop out of high school; and data show that they are half as likely to grad- and only 2 percent earn four-year college degrees. uate from high school on time as their peers. On “I thought that was not acceptable,” Bloomfield average they have attended at least three schools says. “Considering that roughly 25,000 kids age out prior to Monument, but none of them has attended of foster care every year [in the United States], and a school like Monument, where the overwhelming it will cost the government $8 billion for the next six majority of students live during the week. (All stu- years of their lives, it’s a staggering waste of money dents go home on the weekend, to their foster fami- but an even more staggering waste of lives. I began lies, parents, or caretakers.) to think, Is this an inevitability?” “There aren’t many schools that work with She started researching what does work for chil- this population of students,” says Head of School dren in foster care, and discovered that personal-

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ized education and a relationship with a caring There’s an important skill to be gained by having adult are key. Life skills that they often miss, like to navigate the family dynamic.” cooking and financial literacy, also are important. Bloomfield put together a white paper and shared it with educators, policy experts, and legal advocates oused in a former elementary school around Washington. Her idea was based loosely on less than two miles from the U.S. Capitol, the Milton Hershey School, but unlike the renowned Monument has already threatened to out- Pennsylvania institution, she designed Monument grow its physical space. Narrow halls mean students to be a weekday-only boarding school, in part to (70 percent of whom are male) are sometimes too avoid the appearance of institutionalization, and close for comfort, which can lead to confrontations. in part to get buy-in from parents and caretakers. Despite the fact that words like “kindness” and She and cofounder Marlene Magrino submitted the “mindfulness” are painted on the otherwise sparse- school’s charter application in February 2014, and ly decorated white hallway walls, violence is a real- it was approved that May. After a year of planning ity here. Mulhern was punched by a student last the school opened for fifth-graders in August 2015. year. Another tried to stab Miles with scissors. It’s added a grade each year since, and now has fifth “Adolescents in general know exactly where through eighth. As a charter school, it receives ex- your buttons are and will poke them on purpose to tra financial support from the city, and is around 90 elicit a response,” Miles says. “But our kids are es- percent publicly funded. pecially skilled at that and often are looking for the According to the National Alliance for Public conflict because that’s what they’re used to.” Charter Schools, about 3.2 million students attend Still, both stress that aggressive behavior is a 7,000 charter schools in 44 states plus the District manifestation of trauma, not the core of who a child of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Despite that, is. Dealing with disruptive situations, even in class- says KAY MERSETH, M.A.T.’69, ED.D.’82, a senior lecturer es that average only 12 students, is difficult. Staffing at Harvard and former director of the Ed School’s has been among Monument’s biggest challenges. Teacher Education Program, the popularity of char- “Finding people who can do this kind of work is ter schools has been waning in recent years. tough. It is not how teachers have traditionally been “There was tremendous growth, and they’ve run trained,” says Mulhern, who previously worked at 32 into a little bit of a buzz saw with people suggesting the U.S. Department of Education as director of 33 that they’re re-segregating the schools,” she says. the Investing in Innovation Fund. “Part of my job “I get pretty frustrated with the criticism because is developing partnerships and residency programs the good ones are trying to provide an alternative where we can have individuals come in and build for kids who have lousy choices.” their capacity to create a pipeline for ourselves, but That was exactly Bloomfield’s aim. Creating also a pipeline where Monument outside of the charter school framework folks can go do this “ I get pretty would have been an impossibility, she believes. in other schools. But frustrated with “Charter schools are meant to be places where the criticism, I don’t have a simple you can incubate an idea and try a really new thing,” because the good answer in terms of the she says. “We never could have done this in a tra- ones are trying people and the train- ditional public school setting because of the whole to provide an ing. We are living in it idea of boarding and using our budget in such dis- alternative for and figuring it out.” cretionary ways. Our first year we did so much revis- kids who have As Mulhern gives ing of schedules, job descriptions, programming, all lousy choices.” me a tour of the aca- these things that are really hard to do when you’re demic space, after- working in a more [rigid structure]. We could be school activities like really nimble.” sports, dance, cooking, Bloomfield envisioned a school that enrolled a and chess are taking place. During the week, Monu- high number of students in foster care, but there’s ment students almost never stop learning. Among been a movement in Washington away from placing the staff of more than 100 are 11 on the well-being kids into that system. In June 2016, D.C.’s Child and team, which provides behavioral, emotional, and Family Services reported 1,020 kids in out-of-home therapeutic support. In addition to their academic placement, compared to 1,676 four years earlier. curriculum, every student at Monument receives “Some of the outcome data around foster care two hours of weekly instruction on mindfulness, is shocking because you think, Oh, if we get the emotional regulation, and distress tolerance. kids out then they’re going to do better,” says SHANE In the third-floor student wellness lounge, com- MULHERN, ED.M.’02, Monument’s president. “But un- plete with beanbag chairs, an exercise bike, and less they’re in physical or sexual jeopardy in terms colorfully painted walls, Mulhern stresses the im- of abuse, it’s better to keep them with the parents. portance of the school’s psychologists, counselors,

CREDIT HERE CREDIT They do far better. The reality is family is family. and social workers.

Illustration by John Doe

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“There’s so much we don’t know in terms of sup- also quite satisfying. Denise Miles started at Monu- porting students who have had adverse life experi- ment as a house parent. Denise Miles Emily Bloomfield

ences,” he says. “Running a $1.5 billion initiative at “It took us several months to build the trust and HEAD OF SCHOOL COFOUNDER AND CEO the Department of Education is a cakewalk com- the culture in our home to where they knew they pared to this. It is humbling every day. But I have were safe, they knew nobody was going into their never worked with a more talented, committed bedroom to mess with them,” she says. “They could group of adults. This team and what they do on a come home, relax, do their homework, do different day-to-day basis and what they’re willing to do for activities. Once you establish that culture in the children, they’re the heroes of this work.” home, you see the decompression happen, and then Because the school is relatively new, lots of out- you see it during the day as well.” come data is not available. But its 85 percent reten- Perhaps not surprisingly, students who board tion rate is impressive considering its enrollment is more consistently tend to do better at Monument more than 50 percent special needs, as compared to academically than their peers who don’t. (Board- about 12 percent in most other charter schools, Mul- ing isn’t required, but it is strongly encouraged and hern says. Homelessness is also a growing problem. widely done.) Students must read for 30 minutes Perhaps as a result of gentrification in Washington, each night. about 35 percent of Monument’s students this year J. is a seventh-grader in her third year at Monu- are homeless (which includes living in a hotel, shel- ment. During the week she lives with the Lang- ter, or with relatives). maids, an arrangement she enjoys. “These kids have experienced a lot of trauma in “I do miss my mom sometimes, but sometimes their lives, so the challenge is creating a structured we argue and I think it’s better for both of us to have academic environment that caters to their specific our own space,” she says. challenges because trauma presents differently in That students shuttle between two worlds — each individual student,” says Zenon Mills, who Monument and their often less-stable home — cre- teaches fifth- and sixth- ates a challenge for house parents like the Lang- grade special educa- maids. Their rules and strict structure often don’t tion. “I had a student “These kids have exist for the kids outside their home, making for experienced a lot who, the first time he a sometimes rocky readjustment period after the trauma in their lives, 34 saw me, said I was his so the challenge weekend. When the students arrive back on Sunday 35 favorite teacher ever. I is creating a struc- afternoon, they can be upset because they fought have another student tured academic with a family member — or because they enjoyed Shane Mulhern who, no matter what I their time at home and didn’t want to leave. A Typical Day at Monument environment that PRESIDENT do, it’s incredibly diffi- caters to their spe- At Monument, the challenges for staff are huge; 7–7:30 a.m. wake up, chores, and showers cult for me to connect cific challenges the jobs are so much more than nine-to-five. What to him on a one-to-one because trauma makes it worthwhile? 7:30–8 a.m. breakfast together as a home presents differently level. He needs a lot “One of the students who was in my home is 8–8:25 a.m. complete chores, goal setting, and head to advisory more social reinforce- in each individual one of our brightest students,” Miles says. “He told student.” ment. And that’s pretty me when he was in fifth grade, ‘My second-grade 8:30–9:10 a.m. whole school is in advisory with members from well- standard — seeing that teacher told me I was the angriest person she’d being, operations, academics, and student life. Student groups are centered around DBT steps (dialectial kind of spectrum.” ever met.’ He would upend furniture, run out of the behaviorial therapy), such as distress tolerance He credits the school’s boarding model for pro- classroom, and he was in fights constantly. He’s an viding kids with a stable emotional and social envi- eighth-grader now and hasn’t been in a single fight. 9:10 a.m.– typical school day that includes lunch, recess, 3:30 p.m. two electives, and core content classes ronment that helps them in the classroom. When They’ll be typical eighth-grade adolescent push- Mulhern uses his key card to open a door that leads back, but there’s none of that aggression, for the 3:30–4:15 p.m. dismissal, return to the homes, relax, have a snack, to student life homes, it’s as if we’ve entered a dif- most part” — attributed, she thinks, to the the small, and prepare for the evening ferent world. Paintings of palm trees line the walls; close-knit atmosphere at Monument and to mean- 4:15–7 p.m. family meetings in the home for students, welcome home banners decorate front doors. The ingful collaboration with his mother and grand- chores, and meal prep, while others attend extended- smell of Italian food wafts through the air. mother. “He’s looking at selective high schools now day activities outside of the home, including Girls on Each home comprises a common open space and really sees himself as a student with the oppor- the Run, Lego League Robotics, Cooking Matters, and African dance that includes a living room, large dining table, and tunity to do what other good students are doing, kitchen. Students share small bedrooms that have which is not the person that he was four years ago.” 7–7:30 p.m. dinner together bunk beds and the bathrooms are also shared, dorm At the Langmaids, K. has transformed in the 7:30–8:30 p.m. homework, showers, chores, family meetings, style. Paid house parents, who are usually a married hour since I arrived. She’s talkative and engaged in or house activity together such as games, crafts, couple (like the Langmaids) or two individuals, run the conversation. As I prepare to leave, she thought- or time in the gym the household. They have their own room and bath- fully thanks me for visiting her home. 8:30 p.m. begin prep for bed and 30 minutes of nightly room within the suite. “Thanks for having me,” I reply. “It was a plea- required reading Coexisting with up to 10 middle school students sure meeting you.” Then homework continues. is certainly not a job for those who lack patience. 9:30 p.m. lights out It can be exhausting and emotionally draining, but MIKE UNGER IS A WRITER BASED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

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How Boston’s bold attempt to increase equity and reduce student travel time by giving families smarter options didn’t quite work — but could.

STORY BY PROFESSOR NANCY E. HILL ILLUSTRATIONS BY LAURENT CILLUFFO

36 ‘‘ Good 37 Schools Close to Home’’

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less experience, and higher teacher turnover, char- many families face in trying to access high-quality schools. And one of the acteristics that make it difficult for children to re- primary drivers of inequities is the legacy of historic racial and economic ceive an education that sparks creativity and critical thinking and prepares them for their future. One major barrier is the persistent racial and socioeconomic inequities Like many districts, Boston Public Schools — af- ter failed attempts to solve such segregation and in- equities through busing policies — turned to “con- trolled” school choice policies to give parents the option to send their children to schools outside of their neighborhoods. Depending on how you look at it, this either put the onus on parents or it empow- segregation — and continued residential segregation today.” ered them to select schools. School choice policies are not new. They have been used as a means to provide families with school options that are not directly tied to their neighbor- hood of residence. At the individual family level, school choice policies enable all families to choose schools that match their interests and needs, espe- cially providing lower-income families with options beyond the neighborhood school. At the district level, school choice policies can trigger market pro- cesses that help districts determine which schools are more or less attractive to families and to guide districts in replicating schools that work for fami- lies and that families want. With all school choice ARENTS WANT ACCESS to high-quality policies, parents make choices at the time of regis- schools close to home. School districts and society tration, often ranking several schools. When more at large want children to have access to high-quality parents choose a school for their child than there are 38 education that prepares them to be good thinkers seats available, a lottery system is employed to de- 39 and to contribute to and succeed in society. termine who gets desired seats. If we know what parents want and what society In practice, in a given school district, it is rare that needs, why is this so hard to achieve for so many market pressures are triggered through school choice districts across the country? policies that result in opening new schools at the rate One major barrier is the persistent racial and so- or of the type that the market pressures demand. In cioeconomic inequities many families face in try- the end, all students are assigned to a school. How- ing to access high-quality schools. And one of the ever, it may not be the school the primary drivers of inequities is the legacy of historic parents wanted either in quality racial and economic segregation — and continued or in curricular emphasis. residential segregation today. By the mid 20th cen- There are at least two trade- tury, schools in the United States were racially seg- offs that must be maximized regated in the South by law and de facto segregated for school choice policies to ef- in the North, with vast inequities in the quality and ficiently ensure access to high- in the resources of schools that served blacks, com- quality schools. The first is trans- pared to the schools that served white children. The portation costs. The more options landmark case Brown v. Board of Education deemed families have outside of their such separate and unequal schools as unlawful. In neighborhood, the further chil- fits and starts and with significant resistance and dren will travel to school, with challenge, school districts began to inch toward de- significant costs to the district for segregation, in part as a means to ensure equitable buses and significant burden to access to high-quality schools. children and families in commut- Today, however, cities across America remain ing time. Second, districts must largely segregated, residentially, along race and so- balance the number of choices cioeconomic status lines. This has often resulted in they give families. Giving fami- continued de facto segregation across schools and lies more options, when not all of

significant inequities across race and socioeconom- the options are considered high ic status in access to high-quality schools. Nation- quality, actually increases the ally, Latinx youth now attend the most segregated likelihood that families will pick schools, followed by blacks. The schools these stu- lower-quality schools and that

dents attend have fewer resources, teachers with their children will be assigned to PHOTOGRAPHY MABRY HOPE

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them, especially if these lower-quality schools are search Initiative on whether hbap reduced inequi- combined with a policy that provides families with closer to home. ties in access to high-quality schools and whether it school options based on their residential address In Boston, the district’s original controlled choice A View from Inside achieved the goal of reducing travel times and dis- and distances around their residential address (their policy, created in 1988, attempted to maximize MEG CAMPBELL, C.A.S.’97, WAS A MEMBER OF THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE tance for families compared to the former policy. neighborhood) — resulted in significantlyhigher lev- WHEN THE REVAMPED ASSIGNMENT POLICY WAS PUT IN PLACE. SHE SHARES SOME choices for families. It divided the city into three OF THE COMMITTEE’S THINKING, AND HER HOPES, AT THE TIME. That is, did it reach its goal of providing families els of competition for seats in Tier 1 schools for fami- large zones, and families could choose any school with access to good schools close to home? lies in historically marginalized neighborhoods. in their zone, plus any school that was within a mile There were two main findings. First,hbap short- The result? Because of residential segregation of their home. While providing parents with many AS A LONGTIME BOSTON EDUCATOR , school leader, former Boston Public Schools (BPS) ened commutes for families. Gains in reducing dis- along racial and ethnic lines, blacks and Latinxs options beyond their neighborhood, it did not ac- parent, and member of the Boston School Committee facing a vote to change how tance traveled were largely achieved by shortening had a quarter or a third of the practical access to top count for the costs of transportation, both as part of children had been assigned to district schools for more than 20 years, I couldn’t help the longest commutes. However, despite the shorter tier seats as their white and Asian American coun- the district’s budget and in terms of the real burden but consider the opportunity before us. distances, the policy did not recreate “neighborhood terparts. They had fewer top tier seats among the for families. The costs and burdens of transportation In 2013, the lottery-based assignment system in place — where more than 120 schools.” One might expect that shortening com- school options to start with, and they had more chil- were formidable. And even still, there remained sig- schools were divided among three zones — had not changed in 20 years. On aver- mutes means that children living in the same neigh- dren competing with them for those seats. age, families seeking kindergarten seats faced more than 20 options for elementary nificant racial and economic inequities in access to borhood are more likely to attend the same nearby More concretely, families were equally likely — schools of varying quality levels, some located near their homes, and some not. high-quality schools. The task of crafting a more predictable assignment system for families was placed schools. However, that was not the case. There were across ethnicity and neighborhoods — to choose a In 2012, Tom Menino, then mayor of Boston, in the hands of the mayoral-appointed external advisory committee, a group compris- no reductions in the number of schools that neigh- high-quality school as their first choice. However, expressed what many families were feeling — that ing 27 BPS stakeholders — parents, principals, teachers, students, and community borhoods sent their kids. This is likely due to several black students, especially, were far less likely to be families want “good schools close to home.” At Me- representatives, as well as current and former school committee members. A new things. In one way, this is likely due to families pick- assigned to their first choice and as a result were nino’s urging, Boston Public Schools set out, in a policy would allow the rare opportunity to directly respond to feedback from families ing schools that were closer to them, but not neces- more likely to be administratively assigned to a highly public process, to reengineer its school choice across every neighborhood. sarily the same school as their neighbor. In another school their parents did not pick and were ranked This feedback was critical in shaping support for the proposal to alter the existing and assignment policy to maximize access to high- three-zone assignment plan into a different, algorithm-based system where families way, as competition for some neighborhood schools at the lowest-quality tier. Blacks are severely over- quality schools that are close to home. The new as- would have greater predictability and more students would have shorter bus rides to increased, students were assigned to schools further represented in the lowest tier schools and under- signment policy, which went into effect in 2013 and their respective schools. Transportation issues in the BPS pose significant challenges away. Lastly, because the benefits in commute times represented in the highest-quality schools. is still in place today, was developed by researchers and come at personal and financial cost. Bus rides were up to 60 minutes each way were largely due to reducing the longest commutes, at MIT and was both a bold and clever attempt to in- and, on particularly bad days, extended to 90 minutes or more with traffic or foul rather than an overall benefit, only some students crease equity and reduce traveling times. It created weather. Ten percent of the BPS school budget — in excess of $100 million — was were attending schools that were closer to home or universal minimum access to high-quality schools spent on transportation, among the highest in the nation. presumably in their neighborhood. These concerns carried great weight, as did the profound issue of variance in based on quality rankings of schools on a four-tier school quality across the district. In the midst of this process, a handful of community Second, and perhaps most important, hbap did 40 system and proximity to families’ homes. groups asked the school committee’s external advisory committee to postpone any not increase equity in access to high-quality schools. 41 Simply, parents may choose from a list of schools assignment changes until all of the district’s schools were operating at comparable In fact, in many cases, hbap exacerbated existing in- that prioritizes quality and proximity. Based on a quality levels while others pushed us to move ahead with a system of assignment that equities. In considering the number of high-quality parents’ address, parents’ school options include would address the transportation and predictability issues first. To respond to these schools families had access to across racial back- the two closest Tier 1 (highest-quality) schools, concerns, the new algorithm would provide each student with a “choice bucket” of ground and neighborhoods, blacks, Latinxs, and schools ensuring that all students, regardless of neighborhood, would have access the next four closest Tier 1 or Tier 2 schools, then those living in predominantly low-income, ethnic to schools rated at the top of a quality tiering system — regardless of distance — as the next six closest Tier 1, 2, or 3 schools. The list well as schools closer to home. Nearly all members of the external advisory com- minority neighborhoods had access to fewer high- of school options is then rounded out with schools mittee (20 out of 27) backed this proposal, which ultimately passed, but the charge quality schools among their options, compared to AKEN TOGETHER, the results are that are within a mile radius of the families’ home, to the district to improve schools lacking in quality was made clear by the external whites, Asian Americans, and those living in wealth- disturbing, especially for a policy designed to in- schools with special programs, schools that siblings advisory committee and the school committee, which voted 6 to 1 to approve the new ier neighborhoods. crease equity. attend, and schools that the district calls “capacity” assignment plan on March 13, 2013. And not only were there fewer high-quality As we’ve found, a controlled school choice pol- schools — schools that are larger, close to home, and Then-Mayor Thomas Menino joined with then-Superintendent Carol Johnson to schools on the “choice lists” of blacks, Latinxs, and icy that was designed to provide all families with ask the legislature for bold reform to jumpstart improvement in schools performing often Tier 4 schools. These “capacity” schools can below optimal standards — granting principals greater autonomy, including hiring those living in low-income neighborhoods, but the high-quality schools, based on an equitable num- meet the district’s need to assign all students to a flexibility and longer school days. That legislation faced considerable resistance, in- high-quality schools that were on the lists tended ber of schools from which families can choose, only school. Each family’s list of school options is tailored cluding from the Boston Teachers Union, and it never came to fruition. As a result, our to be smaller in size — they literally had fewer seats makes sense in a city that is not segregated residen- to their address and to their students’ needs. This great hope for the schools to receive necessary interventions and support to make available. tially and for which the distribution of high-quality algorithm, called the Home-Based School Assign- rapid improvement was not realized. What we found is that inequities in the number of schools is more equitable across neighborhoods. ment Program (hbap), is innovative; it attempts to As Professor Nancy E. Hill notes in a recent interview on the Ed School’s website high-quality schools and in the size of those schools Unfortunately, this is not true in Boston — or in maximize both shorter commute times and qual- regarding her research on Boston’s school assignment plan, “The policy was suc- among families’ choice options were only part of most urban centers. Whereas the new policy had cessful in enrolling students closer to home. This was especially true for elementary ity, with a goal of ensuring access to high-quality school students. This improvement was largely driven by a reduction in the number of the problem. the good intention of increasing equity in access schools for everyone. By providing families with a students who travel the farthest distances.” Three characteristics of Boston neighborhoods to high-quality schools, it neglected to account smaller list of schools from which to choose and en- But, she added, “This inequitable distribution of quality schools existed prior to also interacted to create the perfect storm of in- for the realities of variations in school size, in con- suring that high-quality schools are among the op- the policy, but the policy did not improve upon it.” creased inequities under the new policy: 1) Boston centrations of school-age children across neigh- tions, it assumed that families would pick the high- It will take a sense of moral urgency combined with bold and brave steps at the neighborhoods are both racially and economically borhoods, and in the uneven distribution of high- quality schools, and that students would be assigned city and state level to ensure that every child in Boston receives a high-quality educa- segregated; 2) Neighborhoods with higher concen- quality schools. tion. We owe every child and family nothing less. to them more equitably. This policy was put into trations of black and Latinx families have a higher Whereas our policy evaluation examined issues place in 2013 for the 2013–14 school year. MEG CAMPBELL, IS THE FOUNDER AND HEAD OF THE CODMAN ACADEMY concentration of school-age children; and 3) The at the school and neighborhood level, we cannot Four years later, Boston Public Schools invited CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL IN BOSTON. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE BOSTON SCHOOL locations of high-quality schools are not evenly lose sight of what this means in the real world. To- COMMITTEE FROM 2012 TO 2016. my colleague, Northeastern University Associate distributed across Boston neighborhoods — that is, day, real children living in Boston do not have equal Professor Daniel O’Brien, and me to conduct an in- high-quality schools are more likely to be located in access to high-quality schools. Real parents are try- dependent evaluation through the Boston Area Re- wealthier neighborhoods. Together, these factors — ing to navigate a school assignment system and get

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the best school they can for their children. Black and schools and charter schools often are more agile in NEWS + NOTES FROM OUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY Latinx children, many of whom are already disad- their ability to experiment and replicate high-qual- vantaged in other ways, face greater competition ity schools in urban neighborhoods. But, for char- to get into high-quality schools. The deck is already ter schools especially, quality varies tremendously stacked against many of these children, and this across schools, and it is difficult for parents to know policy has made it harder for them to get the educa- how to navigate them, especially while they are tional foundation they need to succeed. also navigating the school choice process in a district Our identification of the problems associated like Boston. with the policy points to logical solutions, many of And many charter schools serving lower-income which are underway. The easiest of the solutions is black and Latinx youth engage in highly structured, to fix the math: adjust the policy to account for com- often zero-tolerance behavioral polices that are not petition for seats as an indicator for equity, rather consistent with the kind of environment that pro- Grad. than number of schools. We are already pursuing motes creative thinking and a restorative, redemp- options to help Boston Public Schools adjust the al- tive orientation to behavior that we expect of high- gorithm to account for competition. quality schools. Although many of these highly struc- The underlying problem, though, is that a school tured schools may be able to produce higher grades, choice and assignment policy alone cannot make test scores, and graduation rates than their lower- much progress in solving inequities in access to quality public school counterparts, they are not pro- high-quality schools when there are too few high- viding independent, critical, and creative thinking quality schools in the neighborhoods that need skills and a sense of autonomy, as well as purpose- them. Rearranging school assignments without in- driven, goal-oriented thinking that will guide stu- creasing the number of high-quality schools merely dents through college and into a meaningful life. rearranges who has access to high-quality schools The Boston Public School district implicitly and and who is left out. The harder and more important explicitly knows that high-quality schools are ones solution is to focus intensely and purposefully on that have strong ties to their neighborhoods. This increasing the number of — and widening the distri- is why a key goal of the hbap policy was to bring bution of — high-quality schools across the district. children closer to their homes and recreate neigh- “ If I have one strength, While this is a harder problem to solve, it is ulti- borhood schools. Increasing the distribution of or two strengths, it’s mately a problem we know how to solve. We know high-quality schools means that those schools can 42 seeing a path forward 43 what high-quality schools look like. We know the become embedded in the neighborhoods in which and then empowering kinds of schools we want children across our nation they are located, creating partnerships to support to attend. students and give them access to community ser- people who work for High-quality schools are schools that show im- vice, internships, and valuable job training. me to go down that provement in learning and engagement with learn- As the district is engaged in the BuildBPS initia- path and work hard ing. High-quality schools help students who have tive, where it is allocating significant resources to and execute well.” fallen behind, and they challenge students who rebuild dilapidated schools and open newer schools JEFF RILEY, ED.M.’99, DURING A have mastered material. with the goal of increasing the number of high- HARVARD EDCAST IN 2015, WHEN HE High-quality schools have rich and engaging cur- quality schools in the district, I hope the district will WAS THE RECEIVER OF THE BELEA- ricula and extracurricular activities that support stu- pay attention to the evaluation of the Home-Based GUERED LAWRENCE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN MASSACHUSETTS. IN dents’ interests and identity development. They are School Assignment Policy and target those resources JANUARY 2018, RILEY WAS NAMED encouraging youth to think creatively, critically, and to the communities where there is greatest need, to COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION IN THE BAY STATE FOLLOWING THE DEATH synergistically, and to analyze and solve problems. create the kinds of schools where all of our children OF MITCHELL CHESTER, ED.M.’88, High-quality schools have the ability to connect stu- can thrive. I also hope districts across the country ED.D.’91, WHO HELD THE POSITION FOR NEARLY A DECADE. dents and families to resources outside of school to facing similar inequalies in access to high-quality help students come to school ready to learn. schools will take a careful look at their policies to en- High-quality schools have guidance counselors sure equitable competition for seats. However, even that help high school students not only plan for col- more, I hope districts across the nation will redouble lege, but also plan for meaningful careers that might their efforts to increase the number of high-quality not include college. They create spaces where stu- schools in the communities that need them. Doing dents can make mistakes and learn from them — to so not only better serves the students in those com- fail a class and be able to take it again without clos- munities, it better serves our nation, which needs our ing doors to college opportunities based on gpa. next generations of youth to be well educated and THE BOSTON AREA RESEARCH INITIA- High-quality schools are places where students are able to think globally, critically, creatively, and ana- TIVE (BARI) IS AN INTERUNIVERSITY COLLABORATION BETWEEN RESEARCH- empowered to take leadership responsibility, be- lytically — to solve the challenges that face us and to ERS AND THE CITY OF BOSTON TO come civically aware and engaged, and practice de- envision a better world. CATALYZE CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH THAT IS OF SCIENTIFIC IMPORTANCE cision making so they are prepared to make tough NANCY HILL IS A PROFESSOR AT THE ED SCHOOL AND A AND POLICY RELEVANCE. DANIEL decisions outside of school and into adulthood. DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST FOCUSED ON ADOLESCENT O’BRIEN, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND SO- NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL It has been difficult for districts to quickly CIOECONOMIC STATUS IN SHAPING PARENTING BELIEFS AND OF PUBLIC POLICY AND URBAN AF-

replicate their highest-quality schools. Private PRACTICES IN SHAPING YOUTHS’ PLANS FOR THEIR FUTURE. FAIRS, IS CO-DIRECTOR OF BARI. HERE CREDIT

Illustration by Evgeny Parfenov

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2009 to 2017, was named last based retained search, leader- forming Early Childhood Education 1956 IN MEMORY summer as a university professor, ship development, and executive in the Boston Public Schools, a 1940-49 Jane Roland Martin, Ed.M., re- considered to be Harvard’s highest outplacement firm. He is a regular Harvard Education Press book, cently wrote School Was Our Life: faculty honor. Established in 1935, contributor to Psychology Today. with two members of Project Zero: KATHERINE BOMBARA, G.S.E.’46 Remembering Progressive Educa- university professorships allow fac- Megina Baker and Ben Mardell. (See ELLEN DIMING, M.A.T.’47 tion, based on stories and recol- ulty to teach and pursue research page 19.) NEIL ATKINS, M.A.T.’49 1979 lections from former students of at any of Harvard’s schools.

1950-59 the Little Red School House in New Neal Baer, Ed.M., gave the Harvard Peter Smith, M.A.T.’60, Ed.D., wrote York City. Medical School Class Day Com- Free-Range Learning in a Digital LOUISE BEECY, ED.M.’50 1978 mencement address, “What Mat- Age. (See page 47.) JOSEPH SMITH, M.A.T.’53 Ruth Schwartz, Ed.M., is an as- ters?” this past May 2018. He is the GEORGE MOORE, ED.M.’54 1973 sociate professor at the Quinnipiac executive producer and show run- PATRICIA PANTALEONI, M.A.T.’54 1984 WILLIAM QUIMBY, M.A.T.’54 Bill Littlefield, Ed.M., retired last University School of Education, ner of the Netflix television series, SANDRA FROMM, M.A.T.’55 summer after nearly 35 years in where she directs the Master’s Designated Survivor, which will Norman Smith, Ed.D., president JANE MONTGOMERY, ED.M.’56 public radio, including 25 years Program in Instructional Design. premiere in the spring of 2019. emeritus of Wagner College and BEVERLY MORRISON, ED.M.’56 hosting Only A Game on WBUR, the The focus of the program is on the Elmira College, was the recipient ROBERT PICKETT, M.A.T.’57 NPR affiliate in Boston. He is the design and development of effec- of the 2018 American Associa- 1981 ELIZABETH DRACHMAN, M.A.T.’58 author of several books, including tive digital resources for learning. tion of University Administrators’ MONIQUE SPALDING, M.A.T.’58 Take Me Out and Only A Game. For She writes that she is still married Helaine Daniels, Ed.D., relocated to Trachtenberg Award for Outstand- RALPH CHRISTENSEN, M.A.T.’59 39 years, Littlefield taught English to Jack Lew, a former United States Lagos, Nigeria, to serve as dean of ing Leadership in Higher Education. FRANCES SMITH, G.S.E.’59 at Curry College, where he also treasury secretary from 2013 to the new Africa Institute for Leader- Smith was also a keynote speaker served as writer-in-residence. 2017, and living in New York City. ship and Public Administration. at the organization’s annual leader- 1960-69 ship conference. ANTHONY NERI, ED.M.’60 Larry Stybel, Ed.D., is a licensed 1976 1983 RAYMOND WILKEN, G.S.E.’60 psychologist. A year after he Dan West, Ed.D., published his THEODORE LYMAN CLAPP, Martha Minow, Ed.M., former dean graduated, Stybel founded Stybel Betty Bardige, Ed.D., recently co- memoir, Causeway to a Bigger G.S.E.’61 In October, Ban-Ki Moon, former secretary general of the United Nations, dropped in on of the Harvard Law School from Peabody Associates, Inc., a Boston- wrote Children at the Center: Trans- World, in August 2018. LETITIA GRAYBILL, ED.M.’61 a class being taught by FERNANDO REIMERS, ED.M.’84, ED.D.’88. Moon was at Harvard for SPOTLIGHT 44 NANCY HUGO, M.A.T.’61 2010 Worldwide Week, a weeklong celebration of the university’s involvement throughout the 45 world. Moon is a 1984 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School. RODERICK JACOBS, ED.M.’61 1987 ROBERT O’CONNELL, M.A.T.’61 , was awarded EDMON LUKE JR., M.A.T.’62 Monty Neill, Ed.D. FRANCIS SAND, ED.M.’63 Through transformative the 2018 Deborah E. Meier Hero in ELEANOR SCHNEIDER, ED.M.’63 Education Award in November. Neill lished Bush–Obama School Reform: Institute and former Virginia secre- Statistical Association. Students in JEAN HOEGGER, ED.M.’64 retired this past fall as executive Lessons Learned with Harvard Edu- tary of education, has been named grades 7 to 12 are asked what they WILLIAM EDY, ED.M.’65 adult learning, we elevate director of FairTest: The National cation Press. The book is co-edited executive director of the Center for “notice and wonder” about a New SHIRLEY FRANT, ED.M.’65 Center for Fair & Open Testing. with Michael McShane, director of Advancing Opportunity in Washing- York Times graph in which they can JAMES MARKS III, ED.M.’66 national research at EdChoice. ton, D.C. “see themselves.” Teachers moder- MARYROSE ROGOLSKY, ED.D.’66 ate the discussion, encouraging student learning. 1988 SARAH WHALEN, ED.M.’66 students to think deeply about the 1991 1996 CHARLES O’REILLY, M.A.T.’67 Lynn Butler-Kisber, Ed.D., recently statistics in context. SUSAN LLOYD, M.A.T.’68 wrote Qualitative Inquiry: Thematic, Sarah Tantillo, Ed.M., recently pub- David Kahle, Ed.M., vice president Narrative and Arts-Informed Per- lished Using Grammar to Improve for information technology and 1998 1970-79 Explore more than 90 programs spectives. Writing: Recipes for Action. She chief information officer at Tufts SERAH-ROSE LUKALO, ED.M.’71 has written two other books, The University, passed away last May. Jay Gabler, Ed.M., works at Min- BENNETT BARNES, ED.M.’72 for early childhood, K–12, and Elizabeth Fideler, Ed.D., published Literacy Cookbook and Literacy and Kahle also taught for 18 years in nesota Public Radio’s The Current, CAROLYN EDWARDS, ED.D.’74 Margaret Pearmain Welch (1893– the Common Core. (See page 19.) the Ed School’s Technology, In- where he co-hosts a new podcast: BARBARA LISTON, ED.M.’78 higher education professionals. 1984): Proper Bostonian, Activist, novation, and Education Program, The Current Music News. The pod- MARY RAWSON, ED.M.’78 Pacifist, Reformer, Preservationist including, most recently, an Ad- cast is a rundown of what’s going 1992 in 2018. Fideler is a research fellow vanced Design Studio class. on in the music world from drama to 1980-89 at the Center on Aging & Work at Matthew Gravel, Ed.M., was named important industry developments SHIRLEY BLOOM, C.A.S.’80 Boston College and a trustee at the dean of academic initiatives at to discussions of new releases. 1997 GAILA GULACK, ED.M.’81 Framingham Public Library. Springfield Technical Community Col- MARK CANNER, ED.M.’82 lege in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sharon Hessney, Ed.M., curates, Roberto Rodríguez, Ed.M., former ANNE COTTON, ED.M.’72, writes, and moderates “What’s deputy assistant to President ED.D.’82 1990 hgse.me/ppe_ed Going on in This Graph,” a free Barack Obama for education, has HELEN GLIKMAN, G.S.E.’82 1995 DORIS NORMAN, ED.M.’83 Rick Hess, Ed.M., director of educa- weekly feature of the online New been named president and CEO of ALIETTE VERNOOY, ED.M.’83 tion policy studies at the American Gerard Robinson, Ed.M., a resident York Times Learning Network in the national nonprofit Teach Plus,

JILL ANDERSON JILL Enterprise Institute, recently pub- fellow at the American Enterprise partnership with the American located in Boston.

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and Society. As part of the fellow- Purnima Vadhera, Ed.M., joined the Zakiya Smith Ellis, Ed.M., a former 2006 IN MEMORY ship, she is compiling, editing, and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School senior adviser in the Department of designing the Creativity-based Cur- in Framingham, Massachusetts, Julia de la Torre, Ed.M., was Education and in the White House ONE ON ONE WITH PETER SMITH VICTOR MCKENZIE, C.A.S.’80, riculum Guidebook on Immigration. this school year. She previously named the first female leader of under the Obama Administration, ED.M.’84 served as principal at Norwood High the Morristown Friends School was appointed secretary of higher BRUCE STEPHENSON, ED.M.’89 School, Maynard High School, and in New Jersey. Previously de la education this past summer for the eople are often penalized based on how that there was a wide variation in quality within the 2004 P the Arthur D. Healey K–8 School, all Torre served as head of the upper state of New Jersey. they learn, not on what they know, writes academy. But as advanced knowledge becomes 1990-99 Jeffrey Chan, Ed.M., is an as- in Massachusetts. school at Greenhills School in Ann PETER SMITH, M.A.T.’70, ED.D.’83, in his new book, increasingly important in the 21st-century world, as H. PETER AITKEN, ED.D.’91 sistant professor at Singapore Uni- Arbor, Michigan, and executive Free-Range Learning. Using real-life stories, Smith the ways to gain knowledge and experience multiply 2008 ROBERT SNOW, C.A.S.’93 versity of Technology and Design. director of Primary Source, a non- describes what he calls “knowledge discrimina- exponentially, and as credible ways to validate 2005 GWANG-JO KIM, ED.M.’84, His book, Urban Ethics of Anthro- profit focused on global education Caitlin Lowans, Ed.M., was named tion” — this idea that knowledge is valued based learning are developed, the reputation and per- ED.D.’94 pocene, was published in 2018. Jake Kaufmann, Ed.M., was and citizenship. artistic director of THEATREWORKS on where you’ve learned something, not on how well ceived value of the degree will be further disrupted. DAVID KAHLE, ED.M.’96 appointed this past summer as Colorado Springs, a professional you know it and can apply it. This past fall, Smith, a MARGARET KEILEY, ED.M.’89, ED.D.’96 Manuel Rustin, Ed.M., teaches director of financial aid at Harvard Heather Harding Jones, Ed.M.’00, theatre attached to the University former Vermont congressman and founding presi- You write that our society has an enormous CHARLES BRYANT, ED.M.’98 history, government, and econom- College. He had been associate Ed.D., a senior program officer at of Colorado Colorado Springs. dent of California State University Monterey Bay and amount of capacity that is being ignored. THOMAS HAMMOND, ED.M.’98 ics in the Arts, Entertainment and director of financial aid and a the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda- the Community College of Vermont, spoke to Ed. That is the consequence of knowledge discrimina- Media Academy at John Muir High senior admissions officer since tion, is moving to the Charles and Vajra Watson, Ed.M.’01, Ed.D., about life-learning and the status ladder. tion. Consider these three things. First, we know 2000-18 School. He also teaches a hip-hop 2005. Lynn Schusterman Family Founda- recently published Transformative that the average adult spends more than 700 hours MARY BILLINGTON, ED.M.’12 studies course. He received one of tion as director of policy and Schooling: Towards Racial Equity in Why do we undervalue personal learning but re- a year in purposeful, non-postsecondary learning. five 2018 Teachers of Excellence Louie Rodriguez, Ed.D., is the asso- public understanding. Schooling. (See page 19.) ward “only educational attainment”? That’s more than 10 hours a week. Second, we know Awards last spring by the Pasadena ciate dean of undergraduate edu- There are a few exceptions to that rule. The simple that, on average, when learners have their prior Unified School District. cation and an associate professor answer, however, is that from the Reformation for- learning assessed for advanced standing, they save 1999 2007 2009 at UC-Riverside’s Graduate School ward, the academy set the rules for what constituted more than a semester’s time towards the degree. Brian Anderson, Ed.M., assistant Barbara Selmo, Ed.M.’94, Ed.D., of Education. Last spring, he was Mayme Hostetter, Ed.M., national Varina Bleil, Ed.M., took a new academic quality and content. And when fewer than Third, we know that approximately 90 million Ameri- professor at the University of Illinois was promoted to assistant vice also named chair of the school’s dean for Relay Graduate School position as executive director of 10 percent of the population had baccalaureate cans have a high school diploma but no college at Chicago in industrial design was president for graduate admissions educational leadership, policy, and of Education, has been named the Los Feliz Charter School for the degrees, most of the jobs available did not require degree or certificate. If we assume that a third of selected to be a fellow in the U.S.– at Lesley University in Cambridge. practice program. its next president. Arts in Los Angeles. Prior, she was what colleges were offering and, frankly, the eco- those people have at least one semester’s worth of 46 Japan Creative Artists Program by executive director of the Ameri- nomic gap between those with degrees and those knowledge and ability from personal learning, using 47 the Japan–U.S. Friendship Commis- can Youth Symphony, also in Los without was far less than it is today. semester credit hours, that is 360,000,000 credits sion and the National Endowment Angeles. worth of knowledge. Although awarding the credit for the Arts. And the job world has changed. would be a one-time deal, the economic value to Ashton Clemmons, Ed.M., was The employment world has changed dramatically in the individual and the economy would be ongoing. Education elected to the North Carolina state the last 80 years, with increasing numbers of jobs Conjecturally, that untapped capacity constitutes SPOTLIGHT 2000 2010 legislature this past November. requiring, through professional or legal means, spe- billions of dollars of value that is withheld from the Rose DiSanto, Ed.M., was a Com- needs cific degrees or certificates. There has been ongoing economy and the lives of the people involved. munication Arts Magazine design Jackie Davis, Ed.M., published DIY debate as to whether this trend was entirely neces- annual national juried competition Circus Lab for Kids, a do-it-yourself sary or simply a convenient way to “sort” people. As Are things changing? award winner in the spring of 2018. more people book on how to build a circus in the “sorting” escalated, personal learning became, That’s what Free-Range Learning is about. The early She is the principal and founder of your backyard. Davis is a movement more explicitly, a casualty. Now, the “emerging revo- part of the book uses the words of learners who were DiSanto Design in Philadelphia. like you. education teacher and serves as ex- lution” is disrupting that traditional set of assump- left behind to describe the turning points in their ecutive director of the Flying Gravity tions and the sorting system. lives that drove them to seek a transition. They also Heather Miller, Ed.M., recently pub- Circus in New Hampshire. She is speak movingly about the kinds of services, includ- lished Prime Time Parenting. (See Help us find also a mime who worked at Disney Talk a little about college-based learning. ing assessment of personal and other prior learning, fall 2018 issue, page 8.) and created a circus arts curriculum College has evolved from a privilege to a necessity in that adult-friendly colleges gave them. others who share for Pine Hill Waldorf School. the years since the GI Bill was enacted. In this process, the degree increasingly became a “signal” to employ- What can educators do to help with this? 2003 your passion Marit Dewhurst, Ed.M.’03, ers and other third-party observers that the holder That’s a tough one because high schools are so Nina Fiore, Ed.M., founded the for education. Ed.D., has a new book, Teachers had more advanced knowledge and capacity than much more highly regulated and politicized on an Astoria Film Festival in Astoria, New Bridging Difference: Exploring the nonholder. And the “status ladder” within higher ongoing basis. My own belief is that less reliance on York. She also launched a series of Identity With Art, with Harvard education further differentiated the quality signal. And, testing and more focus on project-based learning workshops on filmmaking, science, Education Press. (See page 18.) since there was no alternative way to determine quality that sees assessment as a pedagogy which helps art, and engineering that are offered at scale, the academic world’s status prevailed into the learners reflect on the learning and application in the local schools. 21st century. would be a step in the right direction. I also think 2010 that using technology to “flip” the classroom, thus Lynn Glixon Ditchfield, Ed.M., hgse.me/refer_ed Kristin Skare, Ed.M., founded the Isn’t it easier to “measure” a college degree? freeing up in-school time for group work and using was awarded a Vision Fellowship Boston Latvian Chorus in 2015. She Historically, yes. And the “meaning” of a degree homework time to review content via technology, to attend The European Graduate is also the director of the Neighbor- had cultural acceptance even though we all know would be a positive step forward. LH School’s Division of Arts, Health, hood Rocks Choir in Boston.

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2011 Barbara Elfman, Ed.M., gradu- LONG LETTERS ated with a certificate from the Last fall, just as Bridget Terry Long was stepping into her new role as dean of the Institute of Nonprofit Practice Core Ed School, alumni were asked to send messages of congratulations to her. We read Leadership Program affiliated with the Jonathan Tisch School of Civic through some of the many responses and pulled out a few of our favorite lines. Life at Tufts University. She is an administrator with the Black Hole “Dear Dean Long.” It is so great to write I can think of no better person to lead Initiative at Harvard University. that salutation! —Joshua Dieterich, Ed.M.’07 HGSE. Everyone in our cohort still talks Anna West, Ed.M., won Louisiana about you and how much we loved your State University’s 2018 Distin- I would never pass up a chance to tell class. — Abigail Hays, Ed.M.’05 guished Dissertation Award in Arts, Dean Long how amazing she is! The Humanities, and Social and Be- future of the Ed School is in good hands. You are one of the main reasons I havioral Sciences for her doctoral —Angela Boatman, Ed.M.’08, Ed.D.’12 decided to attend HGSE and one of the dissertation, “In the School, Not of main reasons I enjoyed my time there so the School: Co-Performing Critical Very excited for the future of education. much. — Gilbert Bonafe Jr., Ed.M.’14 Literacies with English Amped.” Keep pushing HGSE and the world to grow. — Robert Keeley, Ed.M.’18 I can’t wait to see where you take HGSE! 2012 Cheers! Hooray! Awesome! — Emily Almas, Thank you for being such a strong cham- Ed.M.’09 Moira Pirsch, Ed.M., earned a Ph.D. The alumni council (left to right): bottom: SONA JHO, ED.M. ’97; TIMOTHY BEGAYE, ED.M.’93, ED.M.’97, ED.D.’04; HANNA RODRIGUEZ-FARRAR, ED.M.’05, ED.D.’13, chair; CLAUDIA BACH, ED.M.’91, ED.M.’92, ED.D.’94; pion of college access and success in 2018 from Columbia Univer- SPOTLIGHT . top: ; , vice chair; sity’s Teachers College. Pirsch also AEC ROBIN MOUNT, ED.M. ’79, ED.D.’94 EURMON HERVEY JR., ED.M.’96 AUSTIN VOLZ, ED.M.’13 for all students. Congratulations on I love this quote from Linda Hogan of ALEXANDRA LIGHTFOOT, ED.M.’89, ED.D.’98; DANIEL VELASCO, ED.M.’12; HAL SMITH, ED.M.’95, ED.D.’00; received an Excellence in Teaching your new role as dean! — Emily Weir Foley, the Chickasaw Nation: “Walking. I am ELEONORA VILLEGAS-REIMERS, ED.M.’84, ED.D.’88; ELAINE TOWNSEND-UTIN, ED.M.’16; DILARA ALIM SAYEED, Ed.M.’13 Assistance Award from Columbia listening to a deeper way. Suddenly, all ED.L.D.’15; USHA PASI, ED.M.’85 48 and an Outstanding Dissertation my ancestors are behind me. Be still, Award from AERA. As another woman of color, I can say, they say. Watch and listen. You are the “This has been a long time coming!” result of the love of thousands.” Don’t lic Schools and director of leader- of Portland. There he will lead a specialist. Prior, he worked in de- — Patricia Wright, Ed.D.’76 worry. The dean role can be lonely, but 2013 ship development for the District of new unit, the Office of International velopment at the Ed School. thousands are rooting for you. Nancy Gutiérrez, Ed.L.D., was Columbia Public Schools. Education, Diversity, and Inclusion. One of my favorite memories from HGSE — Teresa Rodriguez, Ed.M.’96 named CEO and president of the was when I got to sit in your office for 2017 NYC Leadership Academy. She Dilara Sayeed, Ed.L.D., left her 2014 what I thought was typical office hours Congratulations to the woman who in- began her career as a teacher and job to work full time on vPeer.com, , spoke in Andrew Nalani, Ed.M. but ended up being an insightful chat spired me to learn as much as I could, principal in her hometown, East San Darienne Driver, Ed.M.’06, Ed.D., a professional learning platform September at the Gates Founda- about behavioral economics over coffee. be the change I wanted to see, and Jose, California. superintendent of Milwaukee Public that matches professionals tion Goalkeepers event. The event You are such a warm and welcoming Schools, will become chair of the to mentors online. Sayeed devel- coincided with the 2018 U.N. Gen- pursue the dreams I always wished. presence. — Sari Wilson, Ed.M.’16 Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario, Ed.M., board of directors for the Council of oped the idea at the Harvard eral Assembly. Nalani’s personal Remember, “Earning your Ed.M. in nine won a 2018 Catherine Behrend the Great City Schools. i-lab while a student at the Ed narrative focused on the role of months is just like having a baby!” Fellowship from the 92nd Street Y School. (See news story online, transformative education in acti- May your tenure be fruitful and your en- — Scott Flanary, Ed.M.’10 in New York City. The fellowship is a J.D. LaRock, Ed.M.’04, Ed.D., is pres- gse.harvard.edu.) vating youth’s potential, especially thusiasm remain high. We are cheering program for rising female leaders in ident and CEO of the Commonwealth in Sub-Saharan Africa. you on across America and the globe. I stand in full solidarity with you in your visual arts management. Corporation, a quasi-public authority — Barbara Termaat, Ed.M.’88 triumph, as well as the work we have 2016 focused on workforce training efforts 2018 before us. — Taharee Jackson, Ed.M.’01 Raquel Jimenez, Ed.M., recently in Massachusetts. Prior, he worked Flossy Azu, Ed.M., moved to Ghana Congratulations from one of the school’s won a Ford Foundation Predoctoral at Northeastern University. and is working as director of alumni Christopher Calderón, Ed.M., oldest and proudest alums. Now 96. I am so proud to see a woman of such Fellowship to support a three-year relations at SOS-Hermann Greiner recently began teaching at Jesuit — Norman Boyan, Ed.D.’51 stature and experience leading our study of young artists and creative James Talerico, Ed.M., was elected International College. High School in Portland, Oregon. school! — Emily Coalson-Stamets, Ed.M.’13 learning communities, specifically to the Texas state legislature this I am so excited for you. You will bring so in Lynn, Massachusetts. past November. , started , and Rachel Hanebutt, Ed.M. Sarah Engle, Ed.M. Bene much knowledge and compassion to the Confi, an online website that offers Webster, Ed.M., were finalists You were my favorite professor in 2001 role of dean. Here’s to a wonderful future Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed, Ed.L.D., is expert-approved advice on sensi- for Teach For America’s Social In- as I began my degree program! 2015 the superintendent of Hopkins tive health issues. novation Award. They also won a at HGSE!— Julie Marie Wood, Ed.M.’92, Ed.D.’99 — Andrea Stewart, Ed.M.’03 [Minnesota] Public Schools. Prior, Eduardo Contreras, Ed.M.’08, Ed.D., fellowship from 4.0 Schools (Tiny she was associate superintendent was promoted this past summer to Ryan Helling, Ed.M., recently joined Fellowship) to support the pilot of

of Monterey Peninsula Unified Pub- assistant provost at the University Google as a university programs their organization, UsPlus. ED.M.’18 CENTER, ELI

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