Giving Matters
The Impact of the Carroll Annual Fund
January 2021
In This Issue
- Why Your Gift Matters to Carroll
- Teacher Training: When pedagogy and educational technology meet, magic happens
- NAIS - People of Color Conference
- VIDEO: Elizabeth Quansah, Recipient of The Angela Wilkins Fellowship for Teachers of Color
Giving Matters Issues
Thank you, donors!
Carroll’s need significantly increased in 2020 as COVID-19 impacted everything from how we teach to where we teach. Our heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who helped us meet these unprecedented times and continue to serve our community by contributing to The Carroll Annual Fund.
By December 31st, we raised $655,573 towards our goal of $1.325M from 300 donors - 146 of which were Alumni and Alumni Parents. Thank you all for your continued support of Carroll! Our fiscal year ends on June 30, 2021 - so if you haven’t made your gift this year - there’s still time!
Why Your Gift Matters to Carroll
Kelly Fantegrossi, Director of Annual Giving
We consistently hear two important questions from our community: “Why should I give to Carroll?” and “Does my gift really matter?”
These are important questions. Founded on the belief that children with language based learning differences deserve a school that teaches them in the way that they learn best and in an environment that respects and values each student’s potential, Carroll has been an innovative leader and made a difference in countless lives for over 54 years. Supporting the Annual Fund is one way that our community is strengthened and everyone can make a difference.
Why give?
- Your family’s life has been changed by Carroll. Where would you be, where would your child be, where would your grandchild be - if not for the impact that Carroll has had on their learning, sense of self, and ability to self-advocate?
- You want other children to have access to the opportunity to become the best version of themselves. We know that children with dyslexia look at the world differently and that the future requires new solutions. Your gift changes lives while making a difference for us all.
- You believe in the teachers and tutors at Carroll who are lifelong learners that engage in ongoing professional development specific to their teaching so our students can be successful. The investment you make in Carroll is realized in our high-quality faculty.
Does my gift matter?
- Yes - ALL gifts matter. Last year alone, with the support of 635 donors at every level, $1.309M was raised to keep the school strong and prepared to meet new challenges.
- Your gift matters this year, more than any other. The costs of keeping Carroll open during the pandemic are greater - additional faculty, increased health and safety protocols, and increased technology needs. COVID has tested our ideas about teaching, learning, health, and safety - your support helps us continue to think creatively and thoughtfully and ensure that each child is getting what they need to learn.
The gratitude, joy, unexpected paths, and new opportunities unlocked by Carroll are stories we often hear from families. A few reflections from current parents are shared here about why they support Carroll. (We’d love to hear what inspires your support. Share your reason for supporting Carroll.)
I have a happy child who’s learning loads and now thinks of himself as smart. And that’s just after 4 months in the midst of a pandemic! All this is proof enough for us that Carroll is a very special place ... and that’s why we give to Carroll.
-Jeanne DeSanto
Why I Give to Carroll
Somehow you have accomplished the seemingly impossible: to keep our kids learning and enjoying school even during COVID! You were thrown a curveball of epic proportions, and you have handled it with grace and a truly impressive display of brain power, determination and discipline. We are so fortunate to be part of the Carroll School community.
- Tim and Kathleen O'Donnell
Teacher Training:
When pedagogy and educational technology meet, magic happens
When Carroll leadership transformed its teacher professional development strategy a few years ago, little did they know that a pandemic was going to disrupt the way teachers teach. To best educate children with dyslexia, Carroll developed five core training courses that all faculty are required to complete within their first five years:
- Pedagogy: How to Teach
- Orton-Gillingham Principles
- Whole Child: The Social-Emotional Side of Language Based Learning Differences
- Data-Informed Instruction
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
When developed, these courses assumed teachers and students interacting together in a physical classroom/tutorial setting. Then Covid hit and schools went remote in March 2020. As Carroll often does, it moved quickly and built a remote learning program to continue its mission. As the pandemic continued through the summer, leadership released its hybrid learning plan for Fall 2020 (part in-person, part remote).
Academic leadership knew that in order to be successful in this approach it would also need to transform (again!) teacher training and ultimately how our teachers teach, both in-person and remotely. And that’s how Pedagogy and Educational Technology met and magic began to happen.
Led by Carroll’s expert Ed Tech duo -- Colin Meltzer and Jamie Fisher -- a new series of courses were crafted and a training format was established to leverage and share best practices. The School had already invested generously in new technology, such as: Pear Deck, Kami, Seesaw, Soundtrap, WeVideo, Classlink, EdPuzzle, and more. Now, it needed to show teachers how to incorporate them into their classrooms … in a Carroll way.
Jamie Fisher explained, “We had this unique opportunity to do what the Ed Tech team always wanted to do -- to develop a training program that brings educational technology more fully into the classroom. There are so many great tools that enhance the learning experience for students and not just for remote learning times. We hope the tools and strategies teachers are learning this year will continue to be used when on-campus learning fully resumes.”
Teachers choose 2 courses from the following selection to complete over the academic year:
- Google Foundations
- Remote Tutoring
- Interactive Digital Content
- Pre-recorded Content
- Implementation Models
- Assessment, Feedback, and Reflection
The magic? Well, that’s what happens in the classroom. Here are examples from two of our expert teachers.
Christopher Craig-Comin
Upper School English & History Teacher
"When Carroll went remote last spring, one of the largest challenges that I encountered was how to monitor students’ reading and make sure that they are actually engaging with their text. I use Kami extensively, in both English and History, to solve this problem as it allows me to view student work, whether remotely or on campus, and see that they are highlighting text, actively annotating, and effectively comprehending text. When connected with Google Classroom, I can comment directly on student work and quickly grade student work without having to track down readings for 20 students. My overall feeling is that student connection with reading has actually increased in my classes since we have gone to the hybrid model and began using Kami for reading and notetaking."
Patrick Pate
Lower School Music Teacher
"In music class, one strain of my curriculum has always been to teach students the basic skills of digital music production. Making beats provides a more culturally relevant music experience for students (they can make music like they hear on the radio). For years, we have used shared iPads to make music on the program GarageBand but this year it is not possible to share materials. This summer, I discovered Soundtrap - a web-based tool similar to Garageband - that students can access anywhere they are by logging into their school Google account. Our amazing technology department helped me set up the website so that all of my students can access it. The results have been amazing. Giving students the ability to work on the songs at school and at home has allowed them to go much deeper into audio production than we typically could in class. Soundtrap in my music class is an example of a silver lining from remote learning, and one that I hope to continue when we get back to business as usual!"
Why I Give to Carroll
This was not an easy semester for anyone -- but the Carroll Faculty and Staff made magic happen. From technology to academics to mental and physical health, Carroll was on top of it all.
-Dan and Brenda Kostyk
NAIS People of Color Conference
Among the many things that The Carroll Annual Fund supports each year are professional development conferences for our Faculty. This year, four Carroll educators participated in the 2020 NAIS - People of Color Conference (PoCC) to further their understanding of themselves and the work of DEI at Carroll.
At its core, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work is about acceptance - what do we accept, what should we not accept, where do we feel accepted, who do we accept, and where do we have unconscious beliefs that are keeping us from accepting ourselves and others? With a rich history spanning more than 30 years, PoCC is unique among professional development experiences in the national education landscape. PoCC equips educators at every level, from teachers to trustees, with knowledge, skills, and experiences to improve and enhance the interracial, interethnic, and intercultural climate in their schools, as well as the attending academic, social-emotional, and workplace performance outcomes for students and adults alike.
Reflections from Osa Osagie
For Osa Osagie, Director of Equity and Inclusion and 5th Grade History Teacher, one of the most powerful moments was the introduction given by a speaker to open The NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), which is a parallel conference to PoCC for independent school student leaders (grades 9-12). Osa shared that this opening speech, which focused on the theme for the students’ conference this year, articulated many things she had been thinking about the importance and value of DEI work for our community.
"2020. Wow, we really have no words. It's the perfect storm as private schools took out PPP loans in the midst of pandemics, protests and presidential elections. What if our schools responded to the pandemics of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and xenophobia like we responded to COVID-19? What if we made people cover their mouths to protect others from their anti-diversity statements that infect the environment and attack the heart and lungs of our work? What if we asked people to check themselves for symptoms of oppressive thoughts and aggressive actions before you came on here? What if we did active contact tracing and checked in with everyone who may have been impacted by negative incidents on campus and looked constantly at the data and trends? And what if we were constantly checking and cleaning our environment, sanitizing it for the social health and well-being of all?”
"I was truly moved by this idea of treating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work as a Public Health Issue. How would we respond differently? What if we gave the same kind of urgency, care, and consideration to issues of difference in the way that we are doing with COVID?” In thinking about how this conference furthers her work as a leader at Carroll, Osa shared, “One of my good friends commented that we mandate first aid training for our teachers and staff because it's a lifesaving skill. DEI training is also a lifesaving skill and the quote emcompasses that thought. It compels me to think, how do we make that idea more real in everything we do at Carroll?”
Reflections from Demi Wu
For Demi Wu, 4th Grade Math Teacher, the PoCC was part of a year of firsts for her. As a new teacher this year, Demi joined the Carroll Faculty during a pandemic and took part in this conference for the first time. A native born Tawainese who has spent more than half of her life in cultures other than her own, Demi appreciated the opportunity to reflect with other Asian Faculty members through PoCC affinity groups about what it’s like to teach in the United States and also retain your own cultural perspective
“Though racism and social injustice occurs everywhere in the world, the United States is more diverse than many other countries. I learned a lot about how to approach specific topics of difference in ways that are appropriate for younger students as well as hearing many perspectives on how difference shows up in a school environment. At Carroll, I’ve been so pleased to discover the openness with which diversity and current events are being addressed in our Professional Learning Communities. This conference gave me more insight into how I may be able to add to these conversations and how to explore ideas on how to think differently about our teaching.”
Reflections from Nicole Siverls
“This year’s PoCC was an affirming experience that both validates the DEI work currently done at Carroll, as well as challenges us to GEC even better,” shared Nicole Siverls, Lower School Science Teacher. “One take-away from the conference that I found intriguing was the idea of DEI vs. DEJ. This year, POCC held its first Social Justice Summit: New Decade/ New Destinies.. Dr. Khyati Joshi was among the keynote speakers and during the Summit, she used the term DEJ, or Diversity, Equity and Justice. I was reminded, as a result of the conference,that we are privileged as members of an independent school community. Our independent school is a vanguard of innovative thinking. How do we use our privilege to make an impact? Ms. Osagie, our beloved DEI expert states that DEI is a philosophy as well as an action. DEI is needed in content areas beyond history. In science, DEI is connected to the need for representation as well as concern for environmental issues. I've been thinking about how I can bring a DEJ lens to the science classes I teach in the lower school, as a result of PoCC.”
Spotlight on Elizabeth Quansah
Recipient of The Fellowship for Teachers of Color
In an effort to address the greatest need of each child, we recognize that diversity and inclusivity are essential to a child’s learning experience, as are great teachers. That's why we've established Fellowship for Teachers of Color within the Angela Wilkins Graduate Program that provides two teachers of color with a full scholarship for the collaborative residency-based masters degree and licensure program in Moderate Disabilities PreK-8 & 5-12 with Lesley University.
Hear from Elizabeth Quansah, one of our first scholarship recipients, about her experiences in the program and the opportunities that the scholarship affords.
Why I Give to Carroll
Carroll’s faculty and staff soldiered on through a series of unanticipated and critical challenges all while keeping the same goal of giving each child what they need. This year more than ever we are grateful for all that you do. Because of you our Carroll kids will not be behind. If only every child could go to a school like Carroll!
-Emily Lyons
Thank You Donor Advised Fund Donors!
Thank you to all our donors this year, including those that made their gifts through their Donor Advised Fund (DAF)! Each and every gift has made Carroll stronger, more resilient, and more responsive than ever. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, 2021 - so if you haven’t made your gift this year - there’s still time!
Want to learn more about making your gift via a Donor Advised Fund, Stock Transfer, or Planned Giving? Contact Naomi Hitchcock.