We “Know What They Did This Summer!”

California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and … Japan?!

About a dozen Brooks faculty members spent part of their summers expanding their expertise, while exploring the country and world, during professional development and adventure activities that they say will enhance all that they offer to students this fall.

“I had the opportunity to attend the Early Career Summer Institute at the Klingenstein Center through Teachers College at Columbia University,” said History Teacher Laila McCain (above). “This program brought 69 independent and international school early career educators together to explore pedagogy; consider assessments and feedback in our particular discipline groups; and discuss SEL and DEIB in our home groups. It was life-changing for me and I look forward to bringing back all that I learned and implementing it in my classroom this year!”

McCain recently received a McVey Grant — given by the school to “support, further and enrich teaching and work at Brooks” — but she didn't use it for this two-week-long, graduate-level program hosted at The Chauncey Center in Princeton, NJ. She is using the support for an M.Ed in Educational Leadership and Policy at Boston College. "I just started it and will grow on the skills I learned this summer," she said. 

Additional learners include:

• Advanced Placement teachers — Two AP Psychology Teachers, Chair of Science Department Laura Hajdukiewicz and Science Teacher Alexandria Sacco, spent five days sharing ideas, lessons and best practices in small workshop groups at the AP Summer Institute training conference at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont. AP Spanish Literature Teacher Nieves Rios-Moya (below, 2nd from right) did her seminar at Manhattan University in The Bronx, NY.

• Winter Term “Guardians of the Sea” class instructors — PADI instructor Hajdukiewicz led Sacco and Science Teacher Peter Moccia through a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Rescue Diver course in Sebago Lake, Maine.

• History teacher Chris Slaby — During the four-day “Oceanic Melville: Fourteenth International Melville Society Conference” at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point in Groton, Conn., in June, Slaby took in some teaching and presented his own research on the Indigenous history of the Atlantic and Pacific worlds from the perspective of cultural and literary history.
   
• Chair of the History Department Michele Musto and Spanish Teacher Chelsea Clater — In preparation to launch the first cohort of the peer-led National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) at Brooks, the pair participated in a week of training at Dominican University of California in San Rafael this July. They presented on their experience back at Brooks during opening-week faculty meetings (below).
   

• Science and Self in Community Teacher Shami Bery — For multiple months, Berry engaged in IDEO's online “Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate” program, which focuses on developing the skills and understanding of design thinking.
   
• Student Affairs and Health & Wellness Directors — Just before the start of summer, Chair of the SIC Department Ashley Johnston, Director of Student Affairs Ingrid Knowles and Director of Psychological Counseling Kimberly Cratty participated in the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE)’s day-long, Health and Wellness Conference in Norwood, Mass. The group dove into workshops focused on behavioral health, student success, physical health and other wellness topics.

Three Brooksians also received Murphy Grants, “to enable members of the Brooks School faculty to enjoy vacation privileges not otherwise available to them:”

• Science Teacher Michael Dixon (above), who jetted to Japan for 10 days in July,
   
• Assistant Athletic Director and Coordinator of Strength & Conditioning Jason Price, who traveled with his family in Europe from Amsterdam and Brussels to Normandy and Paris,
   
• Director of Student Health Stephanie Savarese, whose vacation plans are still in the works. She did some professional development, though, attending a two-day Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners Conference in Westborough, Mass., in May.

Dixon’s journey to Japan was part personal curiosity, part teachable moment. The educator brought along his wife, Crystal, and two of their six sons: Tilon and David, whom he says have some Japanese language skills and lots of love for Anime.

“One reason I chose to go to Japan was because of my interest in [the technique of] Total Quality Management, which impacted Japan’s quality in the auto industry after WWII, and its impacts on American education and implications on inner-city education,” he said.

Walking more than six miles a day, when they weren’t on a bullet train, the family took in a variety of experiences from visiting Mt. Fuji, a bamboo forest, castle and palace to feasting on hot pot Kobe steak and bunking in a ryokan (a traditional inn, featuring straw mat flooring, paper walls and futon mattresses on the floor) while donning yukata robes.

“We even saw a studio that offered Flamenco dance lessons, which reminded us of Shinobu Price ’94, who was an exceptional Flamenco dancer and shared her gifts during culture months [at Brooks],” he said. “It was an extraordinary trip getting to see and experience much of what makes Japan unique, modern and traditional.”

“Overall,” he added, “We had a great time, learned a great deal about Japanese culture and gained a greater appreciation for it, as well.”