In late February 2020, I was in Park City, Utah participating in a week-long convening as a part of my fellowship with the Pahara Institute. Leaders from across the country were gathered together to discuss topics related to equity, innovation, and educator sustainability. None of us were focused on the spreading coronavirus and cataclysmic events that would soon unfold. There were so many other more pressing issues and more relevant concerns from the presidential election scheduled for just over eight months from then to questions about college access to ideas for reimagining high school.
Even after returning to DC and after the WHO characterized the outbreak as a pandemic, few of us (as educator leaders and policymakers) expected that we would be directly impacted by this new virus. When we pivoted to online instruction in the third week of March, I remember us thinking that our lockdown would probably be for a couple of weeks and life would likely return to “normal” soon after spring break. As we look back two years later, after quarantines, isolations, shutdowns, closures, drive-by parties and funerals, and disruptions to learning, to the economy, and to family structure, I wonder how we could have been so naive.
How have the past two years changed us? Have any of those changes been positive? And, if so, can they be sustained? At a minimum, many of us have seen that it’s possible to be resilient in a crisis. And people (including policymakers) now seem more willing to take mental health concerns seriously. As a result of recent investments by the city, we will soon have a new behavioral health clinician joining our team. Many of us have also learned how to practice self-care in new ways. Latin initiatives like our Wellness Days and early release days are likely here to stay. There seems to be a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the value of community and connection. Those outside our walls appear to have come to a realization that we have long embraced: “People matter.” And, we at Latin have also accepted an important role that technology can play, as we have transitioned to a “one-to-one” school.
While we know that the pandemic is not over, we have seen sufficient progress (including in the rate of vaccination in our student body and the steady decline in positive new cases) to consider how we might begin to unwind some of the restrictions that we have had in place for the past two years. We will discuss this in more detail at next week’s Latin Cafe.
There is also much to look forward to this spring. Our Council on Diversity and Equity (CODE) will resume meetings after spring break, so please let me know if you are interested in being a part of the work of this team. We are also looking for hosts for both in-person and virtual Bacchanalia parties, critical for us to raise money for our Faculty Fund; we hope to get many volunteers. Finally, we are honoring some important milestones in the life of our community including a 10-year alumni reunion for our first graduating class and a celebration of our Sweet Sixteen year. We look forward to these opportunities to celebrate this Spring.
At Washington Latin, we view education as an end unto itself, with each new idea, concept, or theme helping students further develop their humanity. I am overjoyed because we have so many alums who have returned to work here. In today’s letter, I want to share a sampling of graduates’ post-college experiences, especially in educational settings or grad school.
Not surprisingly, considering our school’s credo “discite servaturi,” many students choose to continue developing their education by focusing on service to others. Many have pursued education, counseling, and social work after college. Class of 2013 graduate Sarah Washington, earned a master’s in social work from Columbia University. One of our middle school counselors, Avant Griffith (‘13) earned her master’s degree in School Counseling from Trinity Washington University. Middle school dean Dayla Tucker (‘13), earned her master’s degree in social work from Fordham. Christiana Bockarie (‘12) completed her master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Aacha Gregg (‘16) is pursuing a master’s degree in student affairs and higher education at Miami University.
Others are indulging their curiosity about history, language, culture and politics with an eye toward changing the world or gaining a global perspective. Desmond Austin-Miller (‘13), earned his master’s degree in oral history from Columbia. Ali Malik (‘12) is currently attending The School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Tim Hursen (‘13) is in a master’s degree program from George Washington continuing his studies of Arabic, a passion he first acquired as a student of Mr. Porcelli at Latin. Sylvie Ashford (‘17) is continuing her education in international policy at Stamford University in a masters program. Nathan Hanshew (‘16) is attending American University’s School of International Service as a graduate student within the Ethics, Peace, and Human Rights Program.
The sciences continue to be an area of passion for former Latin students. Angel Huynh (‘13) has recently completed a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Masters at Georgetown and is starting a job at the National Institute of Health. Marvin Browne (‘12), after teaching math at summer school here a few years ago, is completing a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA, and his classmate Shakilur Rahman earned a master’s in engineering from Virginia Tech. Micailah Guthrie (‘16) started a master’s degree in public health and community health sciences at Tulane this year. Sam Anderson (‘17) is studying atmospheric sciences at Indiana University Bloomington.
Still other former Washington Latin students are considering a future in leadership and pursuing degrees to help them develop self-expression, organizational skills, and other leadership skills. Jennifer Jimenez (‘13) earned a master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University. Marissa Johnson (‘14) earned a master’s in nonprofit leadership at U Penn. Solomon Hassan (‘15) is studying industrial organizational psychology at the University of Maryland, while his classmate Yahaira Galvez is studying creative writing at the same school. Finally, Dominique Cravens (‘17) started law school at Washington & Lee University.
While we are confident that these students will use their education in the future to change the world, lead, analyze, connect and serve, the simple act of studying and building knowledge is reward enough.
We sat down with a few of our longtime African American faculty members to reflect with them about their experiences at Washington Latin as teachers, and how their identity and personal experiences have helped inform and inspire their practice in and out of the classroom.
Reading specialist Brittany Lee-Bey applied to Washington Latin in 2016 after meeting some of our high school students on a Learn and Serve trip to Zambia. She was inspired by the analytical and creative way these Latin students spoke and wrote. “I liked how they seemed like thinkers who thought deeply about what they were there for,” Ms. Lee-Bey said. Though Ms. Lee-Bey had originally considered going to law school after majoring in government and black studies at William & Mary, she was motivated by the desire to share her love of reading with children. Ms. Lee-Bey was particularly taken by the school’s focus on literacy when she was first interviewed. After learning about Dr. Diana Smith’s decision to obtain an additional adolescent literacy certificate after completing her doctorate at UVA, Ms. Lee-Bey was inspired to complete a second master’s degree in reading instruction there as well. The chance to share the work of diverse authors with students has always been an area of joy for Ms. Lee-Bey. Right now she is reading the book Patina by Jason Reynolds in her sixth grade class. “I want to inspire my students to read by seeing themselves in the texts. Having these conversations about cultural nuances has been great, and I didn’t feel like I had those kinds of conversations as a student growing up in Fairfax County.”
Seventh grade history teacher Mr. Wills joined the school in 2015, but was already familiar with some of the long-time Latin teachers. He had taken a summer course at Ford’s Theater on the Civil War with former eleventh grade history teacher Tom Hagerty and had actually taught fifth grade science teacher Ebony Dorsey’s older sister, who was a 6th grader at Nannie Helen Burroughs Elementary at the time. “I met Ebony Dorsey, when she was in 3rd grade,” remembers Mr. Wills. “She would come into my classroom and read the books. I recognized her and I remembered her when I joined the school though I had not seen her for so many years.” Mr. Wills, a native of Washington, D.C., says his own personal experiences in local public schools and his Philosophy major as an undergraduate at Catholic University inform his practice as a teacher. “My own personal journey helps me connect to people I embraced as role models,” said Wills. “People like Henry Louis Gates, Martin Luther King, Cornel West, and jazz musicians like Duke Ellington.” He is also inspired by his parents’ work in local civic organizations to integrate his childhood neighborhood of Hillcrest. “They taught my brother and I the importance of service, of being an engaged citizen, of respecting the laws of the country. They also taught us how to protest in a positive and nonviolent way, so that people will listen to you,” recalls Mr. Wills, who tries to share the same message with his students.
Sixth grade civics teacher and history department chair, Lawrence Staten, was also drawn to Latin by his personal background in classical education and his commitment to the community. Staten attended St. Paul’s School in Baltimore where he learned the Socratic method and then majored in political science, astronomy, and theater at Vanderbilt. He learned about Latin from family friend and former head of school Martha Cutts, and joined the school in 2010. After working on two federal political campaigns, and as a lobbyist and a public policy researcher, he feels that the classroom at Latin allows him to combine his interest in history with his flair for the dramatic. “I take a great deal of joy in bringing history to life for students who never had the experience before,” says Staten. “Latin allows me to bring my authentic self to the classroom. One of the things I try to focus on is how African history and African American history is a core part of history itself. We start our [6th grade Civics] course by looking at the origins of civilization in Africa, and weave the narrative throughout history, about the role of the Islamic empires and how they saved the classical traditions after the fall of Rome. It shouldn’t be siloed to the month of February, it needs to be constantly told throughout the academic year.”
Washington Latin’s annual celebration of African American history and culture is well underway. Teachers across the school are focusing on the achievements of African American scholars, artists and scientists and encouraging students to think critically about how these heroes from the past inform our present life and experiences. Below is a sampling of some of the exciting work happening this month.
In Mr. Bane’s fifth grade English class, students are immersing themselves in an online “Museum” exhibit entitled “28 Epic Days of Black History.” Each day’s journey links to a reading about a literary or historical figure, from Oprah to Maya Angelou, to the “Harlem Hellfighters” (part of the 269th infantry in World War I). The class is also watching the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” analyzing the identity of the Laurence Fishburne character named Vinny.
In eighth grade English, Ms. Breitman and Ms. Haywood started a six-week research project on Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes. The project involves reading 10 of Hughes’ poems, researching his personal life and the historical context of his words, and writing an analytical essay about the hidden aspects of his life that are revealed through his poetry. Librarian Sereena Hamm developed a specific digital Library Guide for students to access sources for this project. In eighth grade history, Mr. Byrd’s students are also doing research and making slideshows of their findings.
In the Upper School, Mr. Yonker’s Latin classes are engaged in a study of African American Classicists, starting with Dr. Anna Julia Cooper, the namesake of Washington Latin’s new campus opening in 2022. His class will also study Helen Maria Chesnutt, a Latin teacher in Cleveland, Ohio, who taught Langston Hughes; West Indian classicist Edward Wilmot Blyden, who was a professor at Liberia College; and professor John Wesley Gilbert, who attended the American School in Athens, and who produced the first map of Ancient Eretria.
Our study of African American history is not limited to the humanities. Ninth graders in Mr. Torrence’s physics class will write research papers on African scientists and their contributions to their respective fields of learning. This will happen in the last two weeks of the month after students participate in the science fair. And beginning today, I am launching a series on Twitter entitled #blackatlatin. You can use the hashtag or follow me @WashLatinHOS.
Of course, the study of African American leaders, artists, and writers is not limited to the month of February. Students in ninth grade English started the year reading an Afrofuturistic text “Binti” by Nnedi Okorafor, followed by Chinua Achebe’s novel about pre-Colonial Nigeria, “Things Fall Apart.” Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders each read books in the first semester by African American author Jason Reynolds, and students in eleventh grade history study the Civil Rights movement in the spring. Seniors engage in a spring research project on racism and the justice system.
Our value of and commitment to diversity is grounded in a classical mission that embraces diverse experiences and perspectives. Through this study of African American artists, classicists, writers, activists and scientists, our community is better able to make meaningful connections in the modern complex world.
When Bill Clausen started teaching Greek I in the fall of 2015, he and Dr. Smith felt that adding a second classical language was the logical next step for our school. Mr. Clausen, who joined Washington Latin in our second year, teaches Latin and humanities courses, and chairs both the Classics Department and the Classical Committee. There are many reasons to study ancient Greek, especially to have a deeper understanding of the themes of truth, goodness and beauty at the heart of our program. Those interested in ancient Greek literature, including mythology, ought to have the opportunity to read some of these texts in the original language. And Ancient Greek is the foundation of many English words.
In December of 2016, Howard Moore, who was the head of classics at multiple schools in the U.K., joined the school and took on the Greek classes. Now Washington Latin offers Greek I, II, and III, with a current junior preparing to be our first Greek IV student next fall. Before teaching at Washington Latin, Mr. Moore taught Latin, Greek, and ancient history in the U.K. and Australia, with classes as large as 28 to 30 students. While there are only nine students enrolled in the three Greek classes at Washington Latin currently, this allows the classes to be particularly intimate and do more intensive language study.
Students read the Athenaze textbook to learn vocabulary and understand aspects of Greek religion, politics, and literature. As students progress through the Greek program, they have the chance to read more challenging texts like Plato’s Apology and Xenophon’s Hiero. As in all Washington Latin classes, students in Greek have also had Socratic seminars on topics like what makes a myth. Several students enrolled in the Greek program have had the chance to continue their studies of classical languages through the Paideia Institute’s programs in Greece and Rome during the summer.
There were many intersections between Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and peoples in both North and Sub-Saharan Africa. I have been exploring some of these in daily tweets in the last couple of weeks. (You can follow me @WashLatinHOS). We have also had a hallway display about some of the prominent black classicists. A public speaking contest, that we are launching this week, will be named in honor of one of those classicists.
The fact that the experiences of all people are not always celebrated or even recognized led to the establishment of Black History Month. Last week I tried to argue that American history needs to account for the people and stories of all America, not just those in power or those who represent a selective subset. As such, not only do we need to work to make our curriculum as inclusive as possible, but I would also urge families to visit various museums, galleries and historical sites in our city to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of a “fuller human experience.”
That said, this happens to be a time of year when people might be receptive to learning about or discussing issues and ideas related specifically to African Americans. Below, I will share a few resources with you and encourage you to explore them throughout the year and not just during the month of February.
Each year since 1928, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which was founded by Carter G. Woodson, has provided a theme for Black History Month. This year’s theme, “Black Migrations,” offers the opportunity to discuss issues related to human migration and mobility, in this country and beyond.
Click here to access an archive of newspaper front pages from important dates in Civil Rights history. This site from The New York Times also includes other resources, such as lesson plans, crosswords and current materials. The Adolescent Literacy site offers access to video interviews, online museum displays, poems and much more. Smithsonian Education’s Black History Month Teaching Resourcesfeature various collections, from ‘The Blues and Langston Hughes’ to ‘Harlem Renaissance: A Reading List’. There is something for students of any grade level here. This Black History timeline from Biography follows African American history in the United States from 1619 to the present. The Biography site also includes a huge collection of other resources, about African Americans and people from a variety of other backgrounds.
If you follow me on Twitter, you can see that I have been tweeting about the black experience in the classical world. You can follow the string of tweets at the following hashtag: #BlacksinClassicalWorld.
