Pacific Oaks Is

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL

SPRING 2011

Paciﬁc Oaks is Rising A Time of Renewal

INSIDE: MEET THE PRESIDENT OUR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE ONE ALUMNA’S JOURNEY DEPARTMENTS SPRING 2011

3 AROUND THE OAK & IN THE YARD Burgess Lecture, Children’s School Spring Event, a new president, and more. FEATURES

COVER STORY

7 PERSPECTIVES Faculty discuss issues facing American education today.

12 PACIFIC OAKS IS RISING Embarking on an era of renewed energy, unbridled optimism, and a broadened vision, Paciﬁc Oaks charts 24 LIVING THE MISSION its path toward the future. An alumna’s journey to success; Carlson family reﬂects on its multigenerational attachment to the Children’s School. 14 OUR PAST A Proud and Storied History

20 OUR PRESENT American Education Today

28 RINGS OF THE OAK 22 OUR FUTURE Play as an essential path to early A Vision for Tomorrow learning: a photo essay.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 1 Around the Oak & In the Yard

JULIE OLSEN EDWARDS Edwards Delivers Burgess Lecture

For more than 40 years, the annual Evangeline Burgess Memorial Lecture Series has provided an opportunity for distinguished leaders in the ﬁeld of early childhood education to address the Pacific Oaks community. This year was no different. On April 28, Julie Olsen Edwards joined the ranks of speakers with an address at the Pasadena Convention Center titled, “New Understandings of Anti-Bias Education for the 21st Century Child: Addressing the Development of Competence, Courage, and Compassion.”

CO-AUTHOR OF THE National Asso- of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers; delivered last year’s lecture on the ciation for the Education of Young and a family child care home pro- occasion of her retirement. Children’s new Anti-Bias Education vider. A recipient of many awards, The Burgess Lecture was established for Young Children and Ourselves she served on the national board of in 1968 to honor the memory of Pacific with Professor Emerita Louise Derman- NAEYC and numerous committees Oaks’ first president Evangeline Burgess, Sparks, Edwards has been on the and commissions. who helped establish a vision for the ECE faculty of Cabrillo College since The evening also included a mayoral College that emphasized the importance 1971 and served as department chair proclamation issued by Pasadena mayor of early childhood education. The inau- for 25 of those years. An award win- Bill Bogaard, and remarks from President gural lecture was given by Milton J.E. ning writer, editor, and consultant, Tamara Rozhon; event sponsor Alicia Senn, M.D., a prolific author and former she also has worked as an elementary Procello Maddox, executive director of director of the Yale Child Study Center, school teacher and reading specialist; the Avery Dennison Foundation; and and has remained a much-anticipated a children’s center director; a teacher Professor Emerita Dr. Betty Jones, who event for the College.

SPRING EVENT BOOSTS SCHOLARSHIP FUND Left: Auctioned artwork from Adventure Yard. Right: Matthew Monahan, Lara Schnitzer, and Jenny Levy.

MORE THAN $56,000 WAS RAISED for the Paciﬁc Oaks Children’s School Scholarship Fund at the annual Spring Event, a Spanish- themed “Fiesta Sevillana” held March 18 at The Castle Green in Pasadena. Co-chaired by Kim Apodaca and Sonia Yagura, the event featured a silent and live auction with items ranging from a trip to Spain to a campout at Paciﬁc Oaks to artwork created by children in several yards. The children have extended the spirit of giving by selling notecards printed with their artwork to raise funds for Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims. “Fiesta Sevillana was a huge success thanks to the numerous parent volunteers who contributed their time, talent, and enthusiasm to this special event,” said Director Jane Rosenberg. “Everyone worked tirelessly on behalf of our scholarship fund.”

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 3 Around the Oak & In the Yard

Sharing Perspectives Across the Globe

Paciﬁc Oaks opened its doors to visiting Peruvian students and faculty in February, providing both groups with a glimpse of higher education in another country, and taking the ﬁrst step toward an increased emphasis on internationalization at the College & Children’s School.

Academic Dean Linda Clowers discuss- chance to view education from varying es American education with visitors. perspectives.” The opportunity for the exchange came about as a result of Pacific Oaks’ ties with The Chicago School of Pro- fessional Psychology (TCSPP), which has partnered with UPC to provide reciprocal global exposure for students and faculty. Both TCSPP and PO are affiliates of TCS Education System, a nonprofit organization that provides ongoing support and resources for its member institutions, and is committed to providing international programming in the form of student and faculty exchanges, field experiences, academic partnerships, and international community service activities. Going forward, PO plans to leverage the UPC partnership and similar VISITORS INCLUDED four students within cultural contexts, the opportu- relationships to extend its commitment and three faculty from Universidad nity to bring our students and faculty to social justice and diversity to the Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) together with their counterparts in global arena, and to provide both stu- in Lima, Peru. other countries is a natural fit,” said dents and faculty with opportunities for “With our emphasis on understand- Dr. Tamara Rozhon, Pacific Oaks pres- international travel and cross-cultural ing education and human development ident. “The visit gave all participants a service experiences.

For proof that Paciﬁc Oaks Children’s School has won the hearts of families throughout the San Gabriel OUR BLUE RIBBON Valley, look no further than the Pasadena Star-News . The newspaper’s 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards, PRESCHOOL which honor local organizations and businesses, named the Children’s School the Best Preschool in the San Gabriel Valley. Executive Director Jane E. Rosenberg accepted the certiﬁcate on the school’s behalf.

4 SPRING 2011 Answering the Call

A “Call to Service” issued late last year by U.S. Education Secretary teachers as part of the Obama Administra- Arne Duncan has led to a proposed partnership between Pacific Oaks tion’s vision of improving achievement in low-performing schools. Currently only 7 College and LA’s Best, a nonprofit organization that provides after-school percent of public school teachers in the programming for children throughout Los Angeles. United States are minorities, in contrast to one third of the children they teach. In Los Angeles, where 73 percent of public school children are Hispanic, the need for Latino DUNCAN’S CHARGE —to dramatically children in 180 Los Angeles elementary teachers is particularly evident, and it is this expand the number of teachers of color to schools, primarily in neighborhoods vul- shortage that the partnership between PO educate the nation’s increasingly diverse nerable to gangs, drugs and crime, and at and LA’s Best wishes to address. The College’s K-12 student population—hit home with schools with the lowest student test scores. designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution the two organizations, both of which are The organization is staffed by child care and its expertise in preparing educators and committed to diversity and to providing workers and volunteers, many without human development professionals positions it a bright future for American children. A teaching credentials and with academic well to provide the needed services. new partnership has emerged from this backgrounds ranging from high school “We are thrilled to partner with Pacific shared interest, and plans are under way diplomas to some college work. The goal of Oaks on this project, which will prepare to provide LA’s Best after-school staff the partnership is to provide coursework teachers who are uniquely qualified to with professional development opportunities that leads to a teacher credential and, even- instruct students who are most in need,” that will better prepare them to help children tually, a bachelor’s degree. said Carla Sanger, LA’s Best president and achieve academic success. In his Call to Service, Duncan under- CEO. “Our goal is to develop a workforce LA’s Best provides academic enrich- scored the need to prepare more highly of effective future educators who readily ment and recreational activities for 28,000 qualified African-American and Latino identify with the students they serve.”

STAY CONNECTED SAVE THE DATE! PLANS ARE UNDER WAY to launch the new Pacific Oaks Alumni Association, which will connect alumni, students, and parents in lifelong relationships with one another and Pacific Oaks. The Alumni Association will provide educational, social, and networking opportunities to retain and strengthen friendships developed at Pacific Oaks. Alumni of the College & Children’s School will be NEW WEBSITE welcome at all Alumni Association-sponsored activi- IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE ties. Please save the date for one of the first events— information about this and more upcoming news and events, please send your current email and the Pacific Oaks Family and Heritage Reunion on Sat- LAUNCHES mailing address to alumni@pacificoaks.edu. urday, September 10—to celebrate the proud heritage

and exciting future of the Pacific Oaks community. The IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING celebration will bring together alumni, faculty, staff, how you can become involved with the Alumni pacificoaks.edu friends, and family of the College & Children’s School Board, contact alumni@pacificoaks.edu, call for an afternoon of food and fun. 626.529.8091, or visit pacificoaks.edu. Follow Pacific Oaks College & Children's School on Facebook

PACIFICOAKS.EDU 5 Perspectives

ROUNDTABLE

Education in America and Abroad

IS THE U.S. FALLING BEHIND IN EDUCATION? That depends on who you ask. We gathered Paciﬁc Oaks College & Children’s School faculty, staff, and alumni to share their opinions on why the United States is behind other countries and what can be done about it. The conversation included Dr. Aki Ohseki, Department of Teacher Education; Dr. Tim Sundeen, Department of Human Development; Dr. Olga Winbush, Department of Human Development; Jane Rosenberg, executive director of the Children’s School; and Kathy Ramirez (M.A. Human Development), adjunct instructor, Pierce College and 2008 graduate of Paciﬁc Oaks.

VOICES: STATISTICS SHOW THE U.S. IS FALLING unquote, statistics of student learning WE DON’T HAVE, SUPPOSEDLY, THE PEOPLE WHO BEHIND OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN EDUCA- between us and other countries is not KNOW HOW TO DO IT. TION. DO YOU BELIEVE WE’RE BEHIND? also taking into account the systemic racism and classism issues that had always DR. WINBUSH: They say we have to out- DR. WINBUSH: I think it depends on impacted the U.S. educational system that source work because we don’t have the minds whose deﬁnition of “behind” it is. When may not impact those other countries in that can do that. They also know the cultural you measure certain aspects of learning, the same way. powers do not, in my estimation, search in whoever is in power will measure it in places of color or working class to see if the terms of their value and norm system, DR. SUNDEEN: The U.S. hasn’t had to minds are there because from what they say, which means a lot of times those outside of put itself under a lot of pressure to learn, there’s a limited few there, too. their value or norm system are not going to whether you are looking at science or math This idea that we are lagging behind in be ﬁtting in the measurement. Having said or language. Most non-U.S. students have sciences is also very indicative of what has that, I do think we are in an educational robust foreign language learning programs. been systematically stripped away in terms crisis in this country. People learn English much more than the of pedagogy and schools. We’ve gone from a We do have issues in learning around other way around because that’s the way place of progressivism, where children were math, we do have issues in learning around for them to become competitive. When the given pedagogy and curriculum where they literacy, we do have issues in learning United States has been an industry leader, could critically think, problem solve, and cre- around sciences and social sciences. But as unchallenged for a long time, the pressure ate—a good scientist has to be creative—and for this crisis that we are in, it’s also been is off to do well, to necessarily achieve in they have to be allowed to problem solve and very systemic. It has built up over years those areas. do it in a group. We have stripped all of that because the United States was famous for out of our educational system in the last 15 not investing in education like other coun- VOICES: WE SEEM TO BE FALLING BEHIND, PARTICU- years to a point now we have a narrow script tries. They do invest in education, and LARLY IN MATH AND SCIENCE. THE REALITY IS THAT of literacy and math, and there’s no room for so what we see in terms of these quote, WE ARE OUTSOURCING WORK OVERSEAS BECAUSE a child’s thought processes.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 7 Perspectives

“ You can invest more, you can increase the RAMIREZ: We’re seeing this major push-down effect in working with young children, birth standards, and you can expose more at an through 5. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and it’s getting scarier and scarier for parents. Par- earlier age. But if you don’t cultivate the desire ents don’t know what to do at this point. I think to acquire more, if you don’t make it relevant they get locked into what they hear, “My child by kindergarten needs to know this and this to kids as they get older, are they going to and this and this.”

really care where Zimbabwe is or what the DR. WINBUSH: It’s a fear that parents have, Pythagorean Theorem is?” but it’s a fear that has been perpetuated by the media, by systems of power. If your child doesn’t read by the time they’re 3, they’re not going to get into Harvard. A whole lot of money is being made in textbook companies and things like Baby Can Read. It’s very much a class, race, ROSENBERG: I would say it even starts in early economic system driving our education. We childhood. That process of inquiry and of critical have adopted this idea that testing is the only thinking is so critical for children, that just way to measure how a child learns, and now we having children memorize facts and trying to want to test 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds. dispense information and having them repeat it doesn’t mean that any learning has occurred. VOICES: HOW MUCH TESTING SHOULD WE DO? I think one of the major faults in our educational system is that children are no longer DR. OHSEKI: Part of the crisis that you talk excited about learning. It’s no longer an active about has to do with who’s making the decisions process where children are really engaged. about what counts. What counts as knowledge? I think it kills that spirit of inquiry and that What counts as success in school? People who curiosity and that sense of wonderment that’s are making those decisions are not educators; so important to learning that has to happen they are not people who are in the classrooms. DR.OHSEKI in the early years and has to be encouraged They are not seeing a child engage in the throughout a child’s education. inquiry process and have an “aha” moment. They are not the ones who are the teachers VOICES: SHOULD WE EXTEND THE AMOUNT OF TIME IN who are collaborating together and trying to SCHOOL FOR PLAY AND INQUIRY? figure out, “How can we better serve these children? How can we better our teaching prac- ROSENBERG: I think it’s how you’re pri- tice through reflection, through inquiry circles oritizing the time in school. Children are as adults?” So I think that the people who are unfortunately, today, in elementary schools, making the decisions are making them based having very little time for play. Most of the on what is happening societally, politically, time is preparing for the tests. Schools today which, if you look at the history of education, is are being built without playgrounds, without cyclical. Whatever is happening in the world, in outdoor environments for children to go out the country, is reflecting. and explore. Children can’t sit at a desk all day doing paper and pencil work and be excited DR. SUNDEEN: There is a push to academize DR.SUNDEEN about learning. earlier, and part of the universal preschool

8 SPRING 2011 push is that kids should start getting this stuff these are schools that I feel would be great earlier. When we look at a lot of these countries for you.” But that starts at the earliest level as that are doing better, probably one of the biggest saying, “I can see that you can do this.” This variables is they spend more time in school. is at 3, at 4, and when they are learning how When you talk about science and math literacy, to walk, when they are learning how to talk, you’re talking about content rather than skills when they are learning how to get along with or critical inquiry. one another. They are learning to problem- It’s not necessarily having content stuffed solve on their own and figuring that out and into you, but it’s about your willingness to not having somebody scoop them up every single acquire content. time that they fall down, but letting them work You can invest more, you can increase through that process. the standards, and you can expose more at an earlier age. But if you don’t cultivate the DR. OHSEKI: I also think it has to do with desire to acquire more, if you don’t make it whose voices are heard. I think a good teacher is DR.WINBUSH relevant to kids as they get older, are they informed by the children, and that’s who informs going to really care where Zimbabwe is or their practice—children and families with whom what the Pythagorean Theorem is? So, looking they work. Teachers then need to have a space to at the countries, I have to think that it’s more collaborate. It’s a reciprocal process of co-con- than just longer school days. structing knowledge and what it means to learn It’s also about the way learning is commu- and what school should be about. nicated and who’s held accountable. We don’t have a lot of respect for the job that teachers do DR. WINBUSH: There was a book I read a in this country. while back called Children of the Mill . It looked at a, actually back around the early DR. WINBUSH: We’ve got a system right now, 1920s, school in Gary, Ind., that had a pro- and it doesn’t work because we're put into this gressive school system based on Dewey. They corporatized model of education with the idea talk about innovative approaches of science. that this works in a corporation. Workers are It was a new town at the time, and there were going to change. Child development, the way issues with the water system and the flies ROSENBERG children develop, it’s very holistic. It’s all over that were hanging around. So the teacher the place. What they take in today might not took the kids out to begin to statistically look click for them until two years down the line. at how many flies are gathering, what kind Then they have, “Oh, yeah. Aha,” and then they of flies, what they do, how many are in this act on it. But we are saying, “Well, you’ve got neighborhood, that neighborhood, and that to perform well on this test. Make scores so our neighborhood. Reading about flies, researching school gets funding, it doesn’t get closed, and flies, seeing what happens where the flies we go charter.” were congregating, what was also happening to the water system when they were doing VOICES: HOW CAN AN INSTITUTION INNOVATE WITH that. This was done with third, fourth, and LIMITED RESOURCES? fifth grade kids. Then the kids produced a report which they took to the city council. RAMIREZ: I think we need to have people in That’s innovative. places strategically throughout our educational system who are able to look at each individual DR. SUNDEEN: We’ve seen a lot of different child and say, “This is what I see in you, and strategies that try to raise test scores. I think RAMIREZ

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 9 Perspectives

“ Schools today are being built without playgrounds, without outdoor environments for children to go out and explore. Children can’t sit at a desk all day doing paper and pencil work and be excited about learning.”

tests are useful, and they do reflect something example from the Rio Grande Research Center real. I think that a good education that’s nurturing in Texas. This is a border immigrant commu- and enriching, as a byproduct, will likely be nity, very much historically disadvantaged. reflected in testing. It shouldn’t be a way to catch They have taken this assets-based approach, you. We do know one of the issues with No Child bringing the kids skills and having them con- Left Behind is accountability. People feel like if tribute to the learning process. I think a part schools don’t make the grade, that they are pun- of it is to bring a kind of a small-school orga- ished with reorganization and upsetting the apple nization, these different educational units cart. That negative accountability flows down- within the larger school where students can hill so administrators blame teachers, and then focus seems to make a big difference. They are teachers blame the parents. Somehow there has succeeding by traditional measures, college to be a way of recognizing that even students or attainment, how many are going to college, families or communities that are quote, unquote, what kind of schools are they going to. Very, disadvantaged actually have something to con- very successful. tribute, and that we can somehow accommodate for that in that classroom. ROSENBERG: And the same models don’t necessarily work in every community. DR. WINBUSH: We need to have a lot of other forms of assessment out there. I think the powers DR. WINBUSH: You have to have that commu- that be are going to have to come to terms with the nity dialogue, you really do. fact that a lot of these standardized test scores are really tests of socioeconomic class and status. DR. SUNDEEN: I think in general, smaller schools, which again is harder to achieve with VOICES: WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP WE SHOULD TAKE TO funding—where relationships can be built and START TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM? maintained—that seems to be really important in terms of students not falling through the cracks ROSENBERG: One thing is to fund education. but being viewed as individuals.

DR. WINBUSH: Second, it would be nice to be DR. OHSEKI: There’s a community of deci- able to have a dialogue and look at early child- sion-makers rather than the decisions being hood process. It would be nice to bring in a lot top-down. I think that’s important, too. of early childhood educators to sit down at the table to collaborate and discuss and share with RAMIREZ: I think ultimately giving people a voice, the powers that be about what early childhood so at least they feel like they are able to voice their education is all about. concerns. Whether it’s the other teachers that are in that dialogue, whether it’s the administrators, DR. SUNDEEN: I don’t think it has to be lim- the parents, or the children—at least that voice ited to early childhood. I’m thinking of the is being heard.

10 SPRING 2011 Laurels A summary of faculty publications, accomplishments, and research

IN HER NEW BOOK, sional place in the ongoing battle National Association for the Respecting Babies: between science and religion. Education of Young Children A New Look at (NAEYC) Conference: Dr. ReGena Magda Gerber’s RIE Booze, Dr. Olga Winbush, and Approach , Ruth Anne Two faculty Cheryl Greer-Jarman presented Hammond draws on were among on “Developing Appropriate her extensive experience working the present- Classroom Pedagogy Based on with infants, toddlers and families to ers at the 2011 the Learning Styles Used in African- re-examine the Educaring™ philos- California American Families.” ophy that encourages caregivers to Association for the Education of understand babies’ communication Young Children (CAEYC) annual and to treat them as intelligent beings conference: Dr. Susan Bernheimer Dr. ReGena Booze , faculty mem- capable of solving many of their own collaborated with Dr. Jing Babb ber in the Human Development problems. Hammond has used her on a paper and workshop, “The Department, has been named a work with Resources for Infant Edu- Many Faces of our Non-Tradi- finalist in the 2nd Annual Jewels carers (RIE)—which evolved while tional Students: Addressing the of Pasadena Women of Distinc- she studied under long-time Pacific Needs of Diverse Populations tion Awards. Sponsored by Oaks faculty member Gerber— Entering Early Childhood Edu- the Pasadena Star-News and throughout her career. Her book cation .” Ruth Anne Hammond Rose Magazine , the awards— will be distributed to all 1,700 Early presented a session, “Attachment and the gala at which they are Head Start programs in fall 2011. Caregiving: How RIE’s Approach announced—spotlight women To support that rollout, Hammond Leads to Self-Regulation.” who have made extraordinary will address the Birth-to-Three Insti- contributions to the Pasadena tute in June. Her workshop will be community. titled “Respecting Babies, Respecting Dr. Bernheimer also presented a Adults: Educaring Works Both Ways.” workshop and paper, “Inclusion of NonTraditional Students in Institu- In addition to her tions of Higher Education: A Theoretic presentation at the Faith, Theology and Frame,” at the 2010 Reconceptualizing NAEYC meeting, Dr. Psychoanalysis: The Early Childhood Education Interna- Winbush conducted Life and Thought of tional Conference in Portland, Ore. a workshop for the Harry S. Guntrip , a Long Beach Charter Schools, book by Dr. Trevor “Magic Circle: Conflict Resolution Dobbs traces the influences and Pacific Oaks and Problem-Solving With Children” struggles that Harry Guntrip, a College was in August 2010. British psychoanalytic therapist and also well rep- Congregationalist minister, faced resented at as he sought to establish his profes- the 2010

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 11 PACIFIC OAKS IS RISING —heading surely and steadily in conflict resolution, and a belief in the intrinsic worth of every a direction that builds on its storied past and positions it at the human being—into children at the earliest possible ages, sowing vanguard of education and human development across the life- the seeds of the adults they would become. span. After an uncertain few years in which faculty, staff and Those principles—never dormant but often struggling to maintain alumni worked to chart the institution’s direction in a rapidly their centricity as Pacific Oaks sought to rethink its path to the evolving higher education landscape while also preserving the future—have now reclaimed their unquestioned status as Pacific aspirations that had so clearly defined the college for more than Oaks College & Children’s School faces the years ahead with six decades, the seesaw has steadied. The small College that renewed optimism and a bold plan for the future. established its place as a leader in progressive early childhood “Our formula for the future is simple,” says Dr. Tamara Rozhon education in the 20th century has emerged in the 21st with who, after serving three months in an interim capacity, was named renewed momentum and an expanded vision for the future. president of Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School March 1. The philosophy that guided seven Pasadena families in estab- “We will leverage our remarkable past and restore the good will of lishing the Pacific Oaks Friends School in 1945 and, 14 years later, our community, revitalize our academic enterprise, professionalize in securing regional accreditation for a higher education program our business practices, improve our student services and—most that would train early childhood educators remains unchanged. As of all—diversify and expand our program offerings, so that a new Quakers and pacifists, these families emerged from World War II generation of children, parents, and students can benefit from a with a determination to instill their ideals—equality, peaceful Pacific Oaks education.”

A RESURGENCE OF OPTIMISM

From the earliest days, Pacific Oaks College and N\\dgcfp\[XZk`m\c\Xieè^kf\e^X^\jkl[\ekj [\ekj#\dYiXZè^Xe[c\X[è^èefmXk`m\giXZk`Z\j Pacific Oaks Children’s School were institutions [ì\Zkcpèk_\ìfne\[lZXk`fe#Xg\[X^f^`ZXc è\[lZXk`feY\]fi\k_\pY\ZXd\k_\efid% of renown, embracing and leading innovative XggifXZ_k_Xk_Xjfecpi\Z\ekcp]fle[`kjnXp practices in education. èkfdfi\dXèjki\Xdèjk`klk`fej% These pioneering initiatives represent more than a N\[\m\cfg\[ÇXe[`dgc\d\ek\[ÇXeXek`$Y`Xj reminiscence of years gone by. They are the bedrock N\\dYiXZ\[k_\ZfeZ\gkf]jfZ`Xcaljk`Z\Xe[ Zlii`Zlcldp\XijY\]fi\dlck`ZlckliXc\[lZXk`fe of the new Pacific Oaks, rising from a cornerstone Xggc`\[`kkfk_\ZcXjjiffdY\]fi\`knXj]Xj_`feXYc\ Y\ZXd\k_\Ylqqnfi[k_Xk`k`jkf[Xp% carefully laid by devoted founders and tended by the kf[fjf% N\\ogcfi\[nXpjkfi\XZ_flkkfle[\ij\im\[jkl$ generations of believers who followed.

12 SPRING 2011 THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 13 “Let’s dare to dream for our children better than we have yet known, and to implement our dream with sound family patterns and meaningful daily life within our school.” —Molly Morgenroth, founder and first director of the Children’s School

OUR PAST:

he story of Pacific Oaks College & During World War II, a group of Quaker Children’s School begins in 1906, when women turn to each other for support while their T two sisters open an orphanage in La husbands, as conscientious objectors to the war, Loma House that eventually becomes a teacher’s serve in work camps. Once reunited and inspired college called Broadoaks. As the U.S. government by their pacifist beliefs and increasing emphasis begins to address critical social issues for mothers on the importance of education, the group and children through laws that increase financial develops a vision of lifelong learning that begins assistance and strengthen licensing requirements with children and extends to adulthood, a dream for operating child care centers, the school merges that moves closer to reality when a property in with Whittier College, a Quaker institution, Pasadena becomes available. while continuing to educate aspiring teachers Sources for the timeline that follows included a Pacific Oaks history with a nursery school for hands-on training. written by Peg Witt, news articles, and college catalogs from 1963–75.

14 SPRING 2011 PACIFIC OAKS IS

Meet Our Founders RISING

EDWIN MORGENROTH earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and served as vice principal of South Pasadena High School. His wife, MOLLY , had a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin and had been the in-service training director for federally funded nursery schools in Los Angeles during the Depression. She becomes the ﬁrst director of the Children’s School.

EDWIN SANDERS had a master’s degree from Haverford College. Sanders had just been released from a year in prison for his refusal to go to war. Both he and his wife had been instructors in Oregon’s Paciﬁc College. PACIFIC OAKS U.S. CLARENCE (MIKE) YARROW had a doctorate in political science from Yale. As director of a soon-to-be closed Civilian Public Service Camp for conscientious objectors, Yarrow had taught at the University of Mississippi 1920s Russian and Allegheny College before the war. His wife, MARGARET , was a teacher psychologist Lev

at Paciﬁc Ackworth Friends School. 1920 Vygotsky theorizes that play facilitates PHILLIP WELLS was a doctor and graduate of Stanford Medical School, and cognitive develop- his wife, MARGUERITE , was a nurse. ment in children.

ALICE AND JOHN WAY were also Stanford graduates and teachers at 1930s/1940s Pacific Ackworth Friends School. Several notable European human ROBERT YOUNG, who was the first to learn about the availability of the development intel- Broadoaks campus, was a CPA. He served as a business consultant and auditor for lectuals, including Pacific Oaks. ASENATH (KENNIE) YOUNG became chair of the Personnel Erik Erikson and Committee and member of the Executive Committee. Peter Blos, escape prosecution by WILLIAM AND JEAN TAYLOR Nazis and come to the United States.

1945 World War II ends.

1945 Seven Quaker families buy Broadoaks School from 1946 The National Whittier College for $33,000 and found the new Pacific School Lunch Act Oaks Friends School. Rooted in Quaker values of community, is created. equality, simplicity, and non-violence, the school opens with 10 teachers, 65 children, and the active participation of their 1952 Voters parents. Molly Morgenroth becomes the first director. approve an amendment to 1940s/1950s In the post-war era, Morgenroth and her the California successor, Evangeline Burgess, who becomes director of the constitution that Children’s School in 1949, define a vision to make early child- requires private hood education a viable and vital profession. schools, churches, and veterans 1951 Recognizing the increasing demand for nursery schools groups to sign an in Southern California and taking the first step to establish “oath of non-dis- An Early Commitment to Social Justice the College, the Board of Trustees establishes a two-year loyalty” in order to program for the preparation of nursery school teachers in obtain tax-exempt TRUE TO THEIR COMMITMENT to peace and social justice, the founders 1951 and hires Abigail Eliot to direct the Teacher Education status. break a covenant in place to keep the neighborhood white and Christian, and Program in 1952. hire Taka Nomura, a Japanese American woman who spent two years in an Philosopher John internment camp and worked in its nursery school, as a founding faculty 1952 The founders become embroiled in a McCarthyism- Dewey, whose member. Although she and her husband had relocated to Illinois, the Nomuras inspired state amendment that requires private schools theories about moved back to California after the war ended. Nomura worked for 19 non- to sign an “oath of non-disloyalty” to receive tax-exempt education and consecutive years at the Children’s School and wrote an illustrated book, Taka status. They ultimately sign the oath but protest with a democracy pioneer Tips—Building Blocks for Parents that outlines ways parents can encourage statement of opposition and file a lawsuit to recover back progressive educa-

their children to behave. taxes in 1956. The amendment is overturned in 1958. 1952 tion e`orts, dies.

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1954 Brown v. 1959 After five years of offering classes through UCLA, Pacific Oaks receives Board of Educa- accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC),

tion outlaws school 1954 which recognizes its child development bachelor of science degree. Evangeline segregation. Burgess becomes the first president.

1960s Interest in “The strength of the program lies in certain intrinsic values adult development, aging, and devel- chief among which is the development of an understanding opment across the of human relationships. The Friends’ philosophy of worth life span grows following longi- of individual personalities pervades the whole School. The tudinal research conducted by Uni- development of a fine sense of self-direction and sensitivity versity of Chicago toward the values in human relationships was evident professors Bernice Neugarten and in these students.” Robert Havighurst. –Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 1959 1962 The first federal matching funds earmarked 1961 The name is changed to Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School EVANGELINE for Aid to Families (Founded by Friends). BURGESS with Dependent Children (AFDC) 1963 The Children’s School serves 150 families while the College draws students President child care services from a variety of backgrounds, including college transfers, married women, teachers, are authorized and international students from countries as far away as Japan, Norway, Taiwan, & Visionary and linked to adult Korea, England, Australia, Kenya, and India. work and training RENOWNED FOR HER LEADERSHIP, Evangeline Burgess programs. 1965 In March, the federal government invites Pacific Oaks to conduct training for joined Pacific Oaks in 1949 to succeed Molly Morgenroth Project Head Start over the summer, as one of 200 colleges and universities that as director of the school and defined the scope and vision 1964 President trains 44,000 prospective teachers. The College is also awarded a $101,685 for Pacific Oaks. She became president of the College after Lyndon B. Johnson federal anti-poverty grant to establish a Head Start site on campus. it opened in 1959, and even hosted graduation ceremonies signs the Economic at her home. Opportunity Act, Following the death of Evangeline Burgess, Pacific Oaks founder Edwin C. Morgenroth Under her leadership, the College added programs which establishes becomes the second president. to prepare nursery school teachers. She also initiated Head Start, the school’s first research programs and established the a new federal 1965-1972 Pacific Oaks houses Head Start’s Regional Training Office, which coor- cooperative master’s program with nearby colleges. She program designed dinates all Head Start training projects in Southern California and the Southwest. remained president until her death in 1965. to give low-income “She was truly at the peak of her professional energy, families access to excitement and involvement in early child education, participat- early childhood ing in, and influencing the national conversation and agenda education. when she died very quickly of ovarian cancer in 1965 at the age of 52,” says Priscilla Gamb, her daughter. “She lived and 1965 The Ele- breathed Pacific Oaks.” mentary and Burgess trained at Broadoaks School and received a Secondary Educa- B.A. from Redlands University. Following her death, President tion Act provides Richard Nixon bestowed a posthumous honorary doctorate federal funding to from Whittier College in 1965. In 1968, Marianne Wolman schools while for- established the annual Evangeline Burgess Memorial Lecture bidding a national Series, which remains a tradition at the College.

curriculum. 1965

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1968 The annual Evangeline Burgess Memorial Lecture is established, 1967 The Educa- and the inaugural lecture, “The Spirit of the Times in Childhood tion Professions

Education,” is delivered by early childhood expert Milton J.E. Senn of 1968 Development Act Yale University. is announced and provides funding to 1969 E. Robert LaCrosse Jr. becomes the third president of Paciﬁc help train “persons Oaks after leaving a research position at Harvard Graduate School of who are serving Education. or preparing to serve as teachers, 1970 New B.A. and M.A. degree programs in human development administrators, replace the B.S. in child development degree based on the philosophy or educational that teachers must understand themselves and the whole life continuum specialists in insti- to more effectively serve children and families. tutions of higher education.”

“The faculty tries to help students gain a sense 1968 The Bilingual Education Act proof who they are as persons, and a sense of how vides funding for they can relate constructively to other peo- the development and implementa- ple. There is concern here for the quality of tion of innovative human relationships.” bilingual programs.

—Mio Polifroni, faculty member 1970 The Ryan Bill, which man- dates the California 1970s The Children’s School adds a primary school through Multiple Subject third grade and a day care center. Each age group has its own Teaching Credential, yard arranged along “Shady Lane” to show the children their is signed into law. past and future destinations. Standardized testing is used to measure school performance and “The major appeal of Pacific Oaks is the attempt scores are reported it makes to honor children by respecting their con- to the government and public. cerns, needs, and interests. If the place works, it works because the same principles which govern 1971 The Com- prehensive Child our efforts to serve children govern our efforts to Development Act serve each other.” is passed by the U.S. Congress. —David Burke, parent One of the Act’s co-authors, Marian Wright Edelman, 1971 Pacific Oaks extends its early childhood development programs founds the Chil- to Seattle. These programs grow until 1992, when Pacific Oaks Northwest dren’s Defense

becomes an ofﬁcial branch of the campus. 1971 Fund.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 17 P A C I F I C O A K S T I M E L N E

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1972 California 1973 The College catalog reports new trends in the student body: a Governor Ronald decrease in the age of the average student, and an increase in the number

Reagan signs the 1972 of male and minority students. “Riles Plan” into law, which expands 1977 Elizabeth Herrick becomes the fourth president of Pacific Oaks. At the early childhood College, marriage, family, and child counseling classes begin and become a spe- education into cialization in the Human Development master’s program in 1980. public schools. 1978 Pacific Oaks Teacher Education Program is approved to offer California Brazilian educator teaching credentials for elementary grades. Since then the College has Paulo Freire writes added credentials in special education, bilingual education, and others. Pedagogy of the Oppressed , a seminal work that favors the use of “There’s nothing more exciting than to see a child dialogue and open grow. It’s like watching a flower unfold.” communication —Marianne Wolman, between students faculty member and teachers as a way to raise consciousness of oppression. 1982 Extending the reach of its programs, Pacific Oaks Northern California opens in the San Francisco area and offers human development courses. 1974 Supreme Court expands rights of students with limited English skills, ruling that “I can start digging a hole here and before too long the kids are taking the tools out of my hands. We’ll they should have equal access to find a stone and crack it open so they can see its whole history inside. It’s like I’m leading them in a education. discovery. Part of it is just being a kid yourself. When I was a kid I never got answers. But I’ve never

1975 U.S. Con- stopped learning and teaching and working.” gress enacts the —Russell Dawson, former maintenance supervisor Education for who built many of the structures at the Children’s School all Handicapped Children Act (now called the Individuals with Disabilities Educa- tion Act) to ensure that children with disabilities have access to education. The ﬁrst Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is awarded. The credential is a government- funded initiative to improve the quality of child

care. 1982

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1983 “A Nation at Risk” is released

1983 by President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education, pointing to severe under- performance of American schools.

1990 In what’s considered the nation’s ﬁrst comprehensive child care legislation, U.S. Congress passes The Child Care and Develop- ment Block Grant, which supports low-income working families and enhances child care quality and availability.

2001 No Child Left 1985 Katherine Gabel becomes the ﬁfth president. 2000 The M.A. in Marital and Family Therapy: The Latina/Latino Family Behind legislation Studies Specialization launches to address the diverse mental health increases federal 1986 The Research Center opens, supporting early childhood research and needs of Hispanic children and families. The Jones/Prescott Institute for funding for educa- becoming an umbrella for several programs, including The Center for the Early Childhood Education opens to foster programs and initiatives that tion and ushers in Children of Incarcerated Parents, Advancing Careers in Child Development, reflect the most current thinking in early childhood education and pro- standards-based and The Partnership Project. fessional development. reform.

1988 The College establishes a Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling master’s 2001 The American Association of Colleges and Universities 2008 President program after the California State Board of Behavioral Sciences raises the recognizes Pacific Oaks College with a Special Commendation for Obama pledges licensing requirements for the counseling profession. Distinguished Achievement in Undergraduate Education for its increased invest- unique teaching/learning pedagogy. ment in early 1989 Professor of Human Development Louise Derman-Sparks and the childhood A.B.C. Task Force write Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young 2009 Responding to several years of declining enrollment and increased education but Children , published by National Association for the Education of Young scrutiny by WASC, the board votes to seek a merger with another school. as of 2011, the Children (republished by Teachers College Press in 1997). The Task Force reauthorization includes PO faculty Dr. ReGena Booze and Cheryl Greer-Jarman. 2009 Cindy Carter becomes the seventh president of Pacific Oaks. of the Elementary and Secondary 1993 The College launches a satellite campus in Visalia and, during the next 2010 As a means of ensuring its historic focus and to position itself for a Education Act decade, opens several others to broaden educational access. financially viable future, Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School becomes (a.k.a. No Child an affiliate of TCS Education System, an entrepreneurial, not-for-profit Left Behind) 1995 Pacific Oaks celebrates its 50 th Anniversary. enterprise dedicated to training professionals in applied fields to use their remains pending knowledge and skills to serve the greater good. and other education 1996 The College launches an online distance learning program with three programs such as classes, drawing students from Vermont to British Columbia to Hong Kong. 2011 Tamara Rozhon becomes the eighth president, ushering in a new era the Early Learning of growth and renewed commitment to the Pacific Oaks values of inclusion, Challenge Fund are

1999 Carolyn Denham becomes the sixth president of Paciﬁc Oaks. social justice, and the unique worth of every human being. 2011 still unfunded.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 19 OUR PRESENT:

nce touted as the best-educated nation in the world, the United States—by many accounts—has slipped Where does the U.S. stack up compared with its peer O into mediocrity. President Obama has called for our countries? According the Programme for International country to regain its footing by 2020, labeling access to high- Student Achievement (PISA), which measures the suc- quality education as the “new civil right.” cess of students in 34 developing countries, American Despite millions of federal and state dollars spent on 15-year-olds rank: closing the achievement gap, the chasm remains. In 2009, the difference in 8th grade reading performance between th th th low-poverty vs. high-poverty schools was 34 points on a 25 17 14 500-point scale. In math, the gap was 38 points. èk_\nfic[ èk_\nfic[ èk_\nfic[ The path that Pacific Oaks has forged—a route that in math in science in reading began in the seminal post-World War II years and now leads resolutely toward its envisioned status as a leading school of education and human development—is best understood when teaching experience with academic content and professional viewed in the context of what is happening in American courses. They also underscored the need to attract more education today. Many of the issues identified as deterrents diverse cohorts of teacher education students. to educational excellence in the United States have been Positioning itself as a leader in education, Pacific Oaks integral to the College’s progressive approach. will draw upon the expertise of faculty and the growing body of research to train educators—particularly teachers of Preparing Better Teachers. A report issued in November color—who can significantly improve academic performance 2010 by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher and instill a love of learning in all children. Education (NCATE) proposed that the current system of American teacher education be “turned upside down.” The Importance of Starting Early. Among industrialized Experts serving on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical nations that make up the G-8, the United States and Canada Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning rank last in the area of early childhood education. Ameri- specifically recommended making clinical practice a center- can 3- and 4-year-olds are, by and large, less likely than piece of the curriculum and interweaving opportunities for their counterparts in France, Italy, Germany and the U.K

MEETING THE NEEDS OF DIVERSE LEARNERS WHY A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH JUST CAN’T WORK

ąŗŗ -'4ŗ*) ŗ$)ŗ!*0-ŗ#$' - )ŗ'$1$)"ŗ$)ŗ/# ŗ ąŗŗ *- ŗ/#)ŗŗ/#$- ŗĜ÷ùĸĝŗ*!ŗ''ŗ#$' - )ŗ ąŗŗ/$*)2$ Āŗ(*- ŗ/#)ŗöôĸŗ*!ŗ#$' - )ŗ U.S. was born in another country or live in a household headed by a single in Head Start speak a language other was born to recent immigrants. parent. than English.

ąŗŗ$.+)$.ŗ*)./$/0/ ŗ*) ĕñ!/#ŗ*!ŗ/# ŗ ąŗŗ *- ŗ/#)ŗöüôĀôôôŗ#$' - )ŗ'$1 ŗ$)ŗŗ#*0. - ąŗŗö÷ĸŗ*!ŗ#$' - )ŗ" .ŗôĕúŗ'$1 ŗ$)ŗ nation’s young children (ages 0-8) hold headed by a same-sex couple. poverty. and are projected to be a quarter of all young children by 2030. ąŗŗ *- ŗ/#)ŗõúĸŗ*!ŗ#$' - )ŗ )/ -ŗ.#**'ŗ Sources: U.S. Census, Child Trends Database, Williams with one or more emotional, behavioral, Institute, National Center for Education Statistics, ąŗŗõùĸŗ*!ŗ#$' - )ŗ- ŗ!-$)ĕ( -$)ÿ or developmental conditions. Early Head Start Information Report.

20 SPRING 2011 PACIFIC OAKS IS

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“A world-class education is a 64% of U.S. children are enrolled moral imperative—the key to in preschool programs. securing a more equal, fair, and just society…” —PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Of the seven G-8 countries for which to reap the beneﬁts of a formalized learning program information is prior to kindergarten. And yet, substantial evidence available, the United documents the profound effects—both cumulative and States ranks 6th in the delayed—that such early experiences have on a child’s development and learning. The National Association percentage (64%) of for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) leads children ages 3 to 5 the movement toward such universal opportunity, and envisions a time when “all children will have access to enrolled in center-based

a safe and accessible, high-quality childhood education 100% 77% 97% 84% 84% 64% 44% N/A education programs. that includes a developmentally appropriate curriculum, US knowledgeable and well-trained program staff and edu- UK Italy Japan Russia France

cators, and comprehensive services that support their Canada health, nutrition, and social well-being, in an environment Germany that respects and supports diversity.” Pacific Oaks was established to provide the high- quality early childhood education that is at the heart of the NAEYC vision. Its programs in human development and teacher education have been driven by this goal and, even as it expands its focus across the lifespan, early WHY? childhood education will be central to all that Pacific Oaks is and does. Lec`b\k_\L%J%Xe[:XeX[X#dfjkè[ljki`Xc`q\[Zfleki`\jZfej`[\i XZZ\jjkf\XicpZ_`c[_ff[\[lZXk`fekfY\XjkXklkfipi`^_k]ifdX^\ Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners. The P-12 *%@e France Xe[ Italy, dfjkÇ`]efkXccÇ]Xd`c`\jkXb\X[mXekX^\ population filling today’s classrooms defies easy f]]i\\#^fm\ied\ek$]le[\[gi\jZ_ffcgifîXdj Y\^èeè^XkX^\ definition or categorization. Students are black, white, )è=iXeZ\#Xe[]fi\`^_k_flijX[Xp#('dfek_jXp\Xiè@kXcp %@e Latino, Asian and multiracial; they speak English fluently or not at all; they live in traditional two-parent Germany # kindergarten _XjY\\eXc\^Xc\ek`kc\d\ek]fiZ_`c[i\e households, with single parents, same-sex parents, X^\j*kf-jèZ\(00-Xe[#n_`c\gXi\ekjXi\\og\Zk\[kfZfeki`Ylk\ grandparents or foster parents; their families span the kfk_\Zfjk#]\\jXi\X]]fi[XYc\Xe[YXj\[feX]Xd`cpËjèZfd\% socio-economic spectrum; some have disabilities, others Dfi\k_Xe0'g\iZ\ekf] Japanese Z_`c[i\eXkk\e[Xkc\Xjkknf don’t. Meeting the needs of these students—in ways that p\Xijf] youchien c`Z\ej\[gi\jZ_ffc #n_`Z_`j_\Xm`cpjlYj`[`q\[ embrace and celebrate their individual differences and YpjkXk\Xe[cfZXc^fm\ied\ekj%K_\ United Kingdom f]]\ij]i\\ prepare them for a lifetime of multicultural interac- _Xc]$[Xpelij\ipjZ_ffcZcXjj\jkf*$Xe[+$p\Xi$fc[jXe[dXb\jk_\ tions—is critical to education today. Yet many teachers Early Years Unit XmX`cXYc\]fiZ_`c[i\e*kf,%K_\cXZbf]Xeèjk`klk\[ continue to struggle with this challenge, offering only a ]iXd\nfibfiXZf_\i\ekè$jkXk\jkilZkli\]figi\$Zfdglcjfip superficial approach to non-majority life circumstances, jZ_ffc$X^\Z_`c[i\e_Xjc\]kk_\ United States jkil^^cè^kfb\\g or ignoring them altogether—often because of their own lgèk_\\Xicp\[lZXk`feXi\eX#_fn\m\i%K_i\\gifîXdjZlii\ekcp discomfort or lack of training. Since its founding, Pacific Oaks has placed equality m`\]fi]le[è^Xe[Xkk\ek`fe1?\X[JkXik ]fiZ_`c[i\eè]Xd`c`\j and individual worth at the core of the education it k_Xk]XccY\cfnk_\gfm\ikpc\m\c #gi`mXk\[XpZXi\Xe[gi\jZ_ffc provides. Known for the ground-breaking anti-bias gifîXdj#Xe[glYc`ZjZ_ffcjgèf]]j#gi`dXi`cp]fi+$p\Xi$fc[j% curriculum that emerged from the work of its faculty, it has long set an example of how children should be Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2008. taught and how teachers should be trained.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 21 OUR FUTURE:

he centerpiece of Paciﬁc Oaks’ of academic offerings, with plans under to students who transfer in with 60 or steady forward momentum is a way for new programs, delivery formats more undergraduate credits. The master’s T set of values that have remained and locations and, more fundamentally, will carry an emphasis in leadership constant for six decades and a bold a broadened scope. An institution and administration. The Human Devel- vision that is currently being crafted with a strong history of preparing pro- opment programs continue to focus on as part of a community wide strategic fessionals to work in early childhood working with people at all ages and in planning process. Driven by the Board settings, Paciﬁc Oaks will now extend a variety of settings, and share many of of Trustees, the work has involved its focus across the lifespan through their distinguishing elements—including individuals from all constituencies— programs in education, human devel- its use of an anti-bias curriculum and its faculty and staff from both the college opment and family studies. focus on oppression and advocacy—with and children’s school, alumni, parents, the new programs in education. students, and trustees—and will result NEW DEGREE PROGRAMS. A B.A. and in a proposed set of strategic goals, an M.A. in Early Childhood Education INVESTMENT IN ACADEMICS. Pro- to be presented to the full board for (ECE) have been developed by faculty viding an academic home for the ECE approval in May 2011. The goals, like and are currently awaiting approval degrees, along with the existing teacher the mission and vision they support, from the Western Association of Schools education credentialing programs, is a are expected to be bold. and Colleges (WASC). Like the existing School of Education. This addition to At the heart of Dr. Tamara Rozhon’s B.A. in Human Development, the pro- the infrastructure allows education “formula for the future” is an expansion posed bachelor’s degree will be available faculty to focus on developing and

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" Pacific Oaks is known for the impact that it has had on the field of early childhood education through our human development programs. It is time to develop degrees that will specifically prepare graduates with the methodology to teach in ECE classrooms and assume leadership positions in early childhood settings.”

— DR. LINDA CLOWERS, DEAN OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

fine-tuning programs that respond to the degree-seeking students, Pacific Oaks is ambassadors through their work, through challenges facing American education exploring ways to increase internally funded their continued scholarly endeavors, and today. A School of Human Development financial aid. We will launch new fellowships, through their ongoing use of their Pacific and Family Studies will complete the scholarships, and assistantships in the fall, Oaks education to make lasting improve- academic infrastructure, incorporating including a Children’s School Fellowship. ments in the world around them. Many new the Human Development B.A. and M.A. initiatives target this critically important con- programs, along with the master’s in FACILITIES. To address deferred maintenance stituency: an Alumni Association, a Heritage Marital and Family Therapy. realities and to use existing space most effec- Day Reunion planned for September 2011, tively, a long-range facilities planning process and this magazine— Voices , a publication for ONLINE CAMPUS. An Online Campus has is under way. In the meantime, administrative alumni and friends of Pacific Oaks College & been established to provide students with offices have moved to the Eureka Campus in Children’s School. a choice of delivery formats and to respond an effort to position student service offices to the rapidly growing cadre of prospective in close proximity to students. The Westmo- BRINGING US TOGETHER. We are seeking students whose work and family respon- reland Campus continues to house Alumni new ways to revitalize and further strengthen sibilities preclude their attendance at Relations, Institutional Advancement and the historic link between the Pacific Oaks on-ground classes—and who are seeking a the Infant-Toddler program of the Children’s College and the Pacific Oaks Children’s means of completing degrees on their own School, and to provide a venue for classes, School. Two halves of a whole, we share the timetable and in their own homes. Both seminars, and events. values of our founders and a past that new early childhood education degrees will celebrates the intersection between teaching be offered in a 100 percent online format STUDENT SERVICES. Pacific Oaks’ children and preparing the professionals as well as a completely on-ground format. recent affiliation with TCS Education Sys- who work with them and their families. We While Pacific Oaks has offered online tem, a nonprofit educational enterprise are exploring new business and academic courses in the past, the College’s recent dedicated to training professionals in relationships that will take advantage of our affiliation with TCS Education System will high-level applied fields—allows the col- shared experience and our mutual goals. make it possible to expand online offerings lege to leverage expertise that is frequently quickly and efficiently, to ensure that unavailable to small institutions. These PARTNERSHIPS. As we fortify the internal course quality mirrors that of on-ground resources—in areas such as admissions, reg- connections that give our institutions classes, and to provide students with the istration, financial management, and human strength, we also are looking outward—to robust technology infrastructure and 24/7 resources—offer the potential for increased the local and professional communities, and support they need to succeed academically. efficiencies and more streamlined adminis- beyond. Partnerships will propel our steady trative and academic services. movement into the future. We will renew NEW STUDENT AID OPPORTUNITIES. linkages that served us well in the past, and Recognizing that the high cost of education can ALUMNI OUTREACH. Alumni represent our identify new ones that enhance our oppor- provide an insurmountable obstacle for many most precious resource. They serve as our tunities to impact the world around us.

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 23 Living the MissionMission

1 . R N E O I A T L I A Z Z A I T L I A O

U N T

Journey

5 Steps to a E

N L

A Transformation

A A

O . .

4 4 N

SARAI KOO

M.A., HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (2006)

. G

K D N E L O W

1 | REALIZATION 2 | EXPLORATION 3 | KNOWLEDGE 4 | ACTION 5 | ACTUALIZATION Koo is teaching pre- She volunteers with The experience inspires Koo starts MAPS 4 MAPS 4 College partners school when she Stand Up for Kids, a her thesis, Homeless College, a holistic with Baldwin Park, Calif., realizes the best way national organization Youth: Succeeding in organization that has where just 5 percent of to help young children that helps homeless School . Among her find- already helped more the population has grad- is to “teach the teachers,” children, and starts ings: basic necessities and than 3,000 students uated from a four-year and enrolls in the tutoring a 15-year-old a mentor are critical, prepare for college and college, and reaches out Human Development boy, showing up to his and educators should life through college to girls in middle school. program at Pacific sessions every week never count out students counseling, financial Koo pursues a Ph.D. in Oaks. “There are with food and clothes. who seem hopeless. literacy and communi- education at Chapman cracks and holes in In one semester, he “Educators need to be cation skills, personal University on the rec- people’s lives. I want goes from earning C’s, aware not only of the development, and aca- ommendation of thesis to help them become D’s, and F’s to A’s and bright students. There demic preparation. “We adviser Dr. Greg Tanaka. whole.” B’s. “I decided educa- are vast opportunities provide access and a She still keeps in touch tion is the gatekeeper. for those who they think pipeline for people to with the homeless stu- You need to get skills, aren’t going to make it.” improve their lives.” dent, who graduated from knowledge, and high school and plans to opportunities to return to college. “I see move forward.” hope in students who have personal issues and problems and know that with help, they can make it.”

24 SPRING 2011 Family Ties COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL INVOLVE 3 GENERATIONS OF CARLSONS

One day shortly before Annie Salvati was about to start Paciﬁc Oaks Children’s School, her mother, Lizzie, her aunt, Katie, and her uncles, Bobby and John, all took a walk from their parents’ home in Pasadena to the very same preschool that they had attended four decades earlier.

who is Katie’s son and enrolled in La Tierra real,” Lizzie says. “I think kids have chemistry, Three generations of the Carlson family—Maureen Carlson, her daughter Lizzie Salvati, and Lizzie's Yard, are not the only children with par- and when you’re at a place like Pacific Oaks son Sam—walk down Shady Lane. ents who went to the Children’s School. you develop adult-like friendships.” Jane Approximately 15 families a year are Rosenberg agrees. “At the risk of over senti- second-generation alumni, says Director mentalizing, I believe that friendships which Jane Rosenberg. begin at Pacific Oaks often last forever. This “Every year our families share special interconnectedness is the heart of our memories of their time together,” she says. Children’s School,” she says. “The fleeting times go by quickly, but the Perhaps the biggest reason why the school memories created here last a lifetime. Most sees so many multigenerational families is the parents want their children to share those way it instills a passion for learning in each same treasured remembrances.” child. Katie and Lizzie’s mother, Maureen Although Pacific Oaks has undergone Carlson, was a human development professor some changes since the first generation of at Pacific Oaks College who later served Carlsons attended—the Children’s School on its board of trustees (see page 26). To stopped offering classes through third Maureen’s surprise, each of her four children grade, and began full-day child care and wrote on their college applications that they part-time afternoon programs to support owed their personalities, in part, to their the scheduling needs of working parents— nursery school. “Pacific Oaks Children’s the reasons why alumni parents like Lizzie School was a formative influence on my and Katie want their own kids to go to the children’s development,” she says. Children’s School are rooted in the positive “It gives a foundation for a love of experiences they had there. “I love it like learning,” confirms Katie, a psychiatrist who you love a person,” Katie says. “I didn’t works with the homeless in Los Angeles. “I have to wonder or worry. It adds a special feel that it inspired me and all of my siblings connection between me and my son.” to continue to learn and be active and a voice AS THEY STROLLED down Shady Lane, mem- As a former student and now a parent, in our community.” ories flooded back—of digging into the Lizzie appreciates how the school fosters This is already evident in the second enormous sand pile that transformed into creativity and freedom for children to learn generation of Carlson children. When whatever their hands and minds wanted in a safe environment. She has seen her Lizzie’s daughter, Phoebe, entered kinder- to make it, of curling up with friends and three children gain self-confidence, inde- garten this year at a new school, she was reading books on an inviting hammock pendence, and the ability to relate well to the youngest student not only in her class, filled with comfortable pillows, of drinking other children—skills that continue to help but in the entire K-12 school. “Pacific Oaks Japanese tea on Multicultural Day, of them succeed in and out of the classroom was a huge factor in why I wasn’t worried exploring the wooded Arroyo Seco nearby. as they grow older. “They have a comfort in about her transitioning into a big school,” “The memories were hitting us,” their own skin,” she says. “They can make she says. “She loves school. That’s the big- Lizzie Carlson Salvati recalls. “At that choices for themselves and have the confi- gest message.” moment, I thought, ‘this is going to be dence to do what they want to do.” the greatest thing’ and made the connec- Both Lizzie and Katie also developed THE CARLSONS ARE NOT THE ONLY FAMILY TO RETURN TO tion between Annie attending the school close, lifelong friendships at the Children’s PO GENERATION AFTER GENERATION AND IN A VARIETY OF and my own childhood.” School, and have seen their children do the CONTEXTS. EMAIL YOUR MULTIGENERATIONAL STORY TO Now age 11, Annie, her siblings Sam, 9, same, even after they graduate and attend [email protected]. and Phoebe, 5, and her cousin, George, 4, different schools. “Those friendships are

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 25 Living the Mission

An Advocate for Education

Maureen Carlson joined the Pacific Oaks faculty in 1964 News & Notes with a passion for education that would never waver throughout four decades of involvement with the institution —as a faculty member, as a Children’s School parent, as a trustee, and as a donor. Share your professional or personal news with former classmates and friends! Submit class notes for the fall 2011 issue In all these capacities, her decided to leave teaching and motivation for devoting time go to law school in 1975. at voices@pacificoaks.edu by July 15, 2011. and money remained the same: Combining her interest in child a desire, she says, for the College development and law, Carlson to turn out teachers who could became a court-appointed teach in public education and attorney in the Superior Court of 1967 | ELSPETH BENTON (FR) of Santa Rosa, Calif., published reform it with developmentally Los Angeles and handled cases Crucial Time , a mystery set in a Pasadena child care appropriate education. “I had around child abuse, family law, center. education in my bones,” she says. and divorce. “I had a commitment to public Although she no longer 1978 | SUSAN LAKKIS PERRY (M.A. HD) of Los Angeles, writes education and Pacific Oaks had taught at the College, Carlson’s a blog on creativity forpsychologytoday.com called a commitment.” involvement with Pacific Oaks “Creating in Flow.” When she first arrived at only grew. As a professor, she the College from the Harvard had been the faculty represen- 1984 | MARK SMITH (B.A. HD) has worked as a public Graduate School of Education, tative on the Board of Trustees. school elementary teacher for the past 26 years in both President Lyndon Johnson’s War After she stopped teaching in California and Hawaii. on Poverty was just beginning, 1976, she served as a board and Pacific Oaks was about to member for 21 years and as 1989 | LINDA ANNE HOAG (M.A. HD) of Los Angeles, has play a role. In 1965, a Head Start board chair for three years. worked as a therapist in Counseling Services at the site and training program was During her tenure, the California Institute of the Arts since 1997. She’s also established on campus, and the College continued to expand a certified instructor of Constructive Living, and College graduated numerous programs in Seattle and San studied nonviolent communication with Marshall students who went on to work Francisco, to open satellite Rosenberg last summer. in Head Start programs and campuses throughout California public schools. to increase the accessibility of a 1995 | LINDA STUPIN ANGEL (M.A. MFT) of Pasadena, Calif., Carlson taught human devel- Pacific Oaks education, and to wrote I Should Have Known Better: Seven Steps from Me opment classes, and later her grow its research efforts. to We , about her dating experiences after her husband’s children, Katie, Lizzie, John, Although she no longer serves death. Learn more at linda-7steps.com. and Bobby all attended the Chil- on the board, her passion for dren’s School (see page 25). “I education is evident. Carlson still 2000 | EFRAT MAZIN (M.A. MFT) of Visalia, Calif., completed was proud of the College’s adher- wants to see the College do more her Psy.D. in clinical psychology with a concentration in ence to Quaker values that the to educate teachers who will forensic psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute in founders of Pacific Oaks imple- teach in public schools. She has 2005 and is studying for a license. She currently works at mented,” Carlson said. “The fact remained connected to Pacific Coalinga State Hospital. that there was a college and a Oaks for the past 11 years, as children’s school dedicated to the five grandchildren attended the 2001 | GILA LEHAVI BROWN (M.A. HD, TCred) of Sherman teaching of non-violence…there Children’s School, the last of Oaks, Calif., started her own practice as a parent coach aren’t too many colleges like that. whom, George, is currently there after teaching middle school. “I work with parents It was a special place to work.” beginning his own educational to help them better understand child behavior so that But when the counterculture journey. “It’s in the Children’s they can respond and communicate to their kids more reached the campus and Carl- School that you see the empha- effectively and more peacefully,” Gila writes. son felt the school had become sis placed on the importance of less academically rigorous, she every child,” she says. 2002 | MARY JO BOYD-PRINCE (B.A. HD) of Sierra Madre, Calif., has worked with children and their families since graduating from Pacific Oaks. In 2009, she and her

26 SPRING 2011

DEGREE ABBREVIATIONS 2005 | ILSA GOVAN (M.A. HD) of SARAI KOO (M.A. HD) started educate them on the health, Seattle celebrated the two-year MAPS 4 College, a nonprofit eco-awareness, and social anniversary of her business, organization that helps students aspects of community gardening. HD Human Development Cross Cultural Connections, graduate from high school, This fits with one of her clinical MFT Marital Family Counseling which performs diversity train- attend and graduate from interests—the therapeutic use TCred Teacher Education Credential ing for schools and organizations college, gain job readiness of “near nature” and gardening. using information that she skills, find a satisfying career, She welcomes contact at FR Friend learned at Pacific Oaks. and acquire life-sustaining [email protected]. skills (see Journey, p. 24). KELLY SHAVER (M.A. HD) received 2007 | SHAUN-ADRIAN FLATT husband welcomed their daugh- tenure and the rank of asso- LILLIE PARDO (TCred) of Los CHOFLÁ (M.A. HD) of Sacra- ter, Violet, which inspired her to ciate professor at Brevard Angeles writes that after mento, Calif., is an adjunct become a certified birth doula. Community College, where she teaching kindergarten for faculty member and course Mary Jo welcomes contact at teaches online, face-to-face, four years at the Los Feliz developer at National Hispanic [email protected]. and hybrid courses. “PO has Charter School for the Arts, University/Laureate Educa- changed my life, and I am so she started teaching kin- tion, where he creates courses 2004 | Child Development thankful,” she writes. “I truly dergarten at the Larchmont in child development and early professors ADRIENNE WEBSTER love what I do.” Charter School West Holly- childhood education. He also SEEGERS (M.A. HD) of Sonora, wood last fall. teaches in Pacific Oaks’ Human Calif., and KATHY SULLIVAN (M.A. 2006 | NOEMI ABDESSIAN Development/Distance Learn- HD) announce the opening of (M.A. HD) works as a social MARIA SHUFELDT (M.A. MFT) ing Department. the new Child Development worker and teaches part time of Montrose, Calif., is part and Family Care Services at California State University, of a project working to establish 2008 | AYDEE SALAS (B.A. HD) Center at Columbia College Los Angeles. She credits Pacific multiple community garden writes articles about early child- in Sonora, Calif. Oaks College for her success. sites for Pasadena residents and hood for examiner.com.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AT WORK TISHA MARINA BERNARD, M.A. IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT STUDENT What happens when a student is excluded from a half have been bullied themselves. “I have worked with table in the cafeteria? What can someone sitting young people most of my life,” she says. “Bullying is so at that table do to help? As an anti-bullying trainer out of control. I felt it needed immediate attention.” with the Safe School Ambassadors program, Tisha As she nears her 50th training with Community Marina Bernard works with 11- to 18-year-olds Matters, the organization that runs the program, around the country to identify problems like this in Bernard credits her Paciﬁc Oaks education with their schools and come up with solutions. “People truly preparing her for this role. “It has been my don’t look at them as contributors to society so education that has trained me, not just academically, when you give that power to them in a positive but in the vocabulary and in the ability to work way, they really step up to the plate,” she says. with all walks of life. When I’m interacting with a Bernard felt a personal responsibility to take on diverse group of students, and I’m watching myself bullying after discovering how pervasive it is. One peacefully make that happen, I’m seeing what I recent study found more than half of high school learned at Paciﬁc Oaks in action. I’m seeing lives students admitted to bullying someone while nearly transformed before my eyes.”

THE MAGAZINE OF PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE & CHILDREN’S SCHOOL PACIFICOAKS.EDU 27 Rings of the Oak A HISTORICAL PHOTO ESSAY

Playing to Learn

The toys may have changed, but the philosophy is the same. Play is more than fun; it is the way children absorb information, understand concepts and relationships, and make sense of the world. At Paciﬁc Oaks Children’s School, where we provide a healthy jumpstart on a lifetime of learning—and at Paciﬁc Oaks College, where we prepare early childhood educators for tomorrow—play is, and has always been, integral to our curriculum.

28 SPRING 2011 Sound Off

Some of our youngest children share something really important that they learned at the Children’s School

I learned…

…that worms don’t like bread or sushi. …how to make a new friend. …how to solve problems by myself. …to tie my shoes. …how to be kind and use my words. …that it’s not okay to hide at clean-up time. …that when my friend is sad to give them a hug. …that school is no place to worry. 5 Westmoreland Place Pasadena, CA 91103-3592