Capitol Hill Day School

We asked Kathryn Lanouette ’93 to tell us how and why she found herself in a teaching career in which she draws on the field education program and integrated curriculum of her days at Capitol Hill Day School. Even after we peppered her with questions about her life and education, Kathryn still was able to say: “It was actually a lot of fun to answer these questions and reflect on my time at CHDS as well as how my teaching career has evolved!”

After you graduated from Oberlin, did you intentionally look for teaching positions?

My interest in teaching actually evolved slowly. Right after graduation, I worked as a Park Ranger in Olympic National Park. In prior summers, I worked as a ranger in the White Mountain National Forest in NH and developed a love for hands-on conservation education in remote settings.

When the National Park Service job ended in the fall, I returned to Washington, DC, and started working for The Trust for Public Land (TPL), furthering my interest in resource conservation work, albeit in an urban setting. I enjoyed this job but missed the on-the-go dynamic of ranger work, as well as interacting with so many different kinds of people on a daily basis.

By chance, I learned of an opportunity to work as a substitute teacher at CHDS with Bobbe in the Pre-K classroom. I was instantly struck by how much I enjoyed working with children! I especially liked the intellectual challenge, unpredictability, and creativity demanded of working with young children.

I decided to pursue full-time teaching to see whether I really liked it as a future profession. I researched mentored teaching opportunities at a variety of schools and ended up moving to New York City to work as a 3^rd grade associate teacher at an independent school in the Bronx.

What is your current position at The Town School? What kind of school is it, and what attracted you to it?

Prior to coming to The Town School four years ago, I worked in both classroom and museum education settings. My teaching experiences in 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade classrooms and at the Bronx Zoo solidified my passion for education, both in school and museum settings. When I learned of the Science Specialist position at The Town School, I jumped at the chance because it spanned such a wide range of ages and offered a genuine opportunity to continue the hands-on, inquiry-based learning that I had learned at the Bronx Zoo and throughout my master’s degree program.

As the Lower School Science Specialist, I teach Science to 1^st through 4^th grade students; from the lifecycle of insects and plants to the water cycle and outer space, it is an exciting curriculum that constantly keeps both me and my students engaged. I also design the 1^st through 4^th grade science curriculum, and work with the 5^th/6^th and 7^th/8^th grade science teachers to formulate a cohesive science curriculum that builds sequentially throughout all grades. Combining classroom instruction and curriculum development is an exciting challenge, requiring a simultaneous micro and macro view of students’ scientific learning.

The Town School is a nursery through 8^th grade independent, co-educational school that educates about 400 students. Located in New York City overlooking the East River, it beautifully balances traditional and innovative education philosophies. The school motto – “Let there be joy in learning.” – embodies a lot of the faculty’s approach to teaching and learning.

In addition to my work at The Town School, I am also an Adjunct Instructor at Bank Street Graduate College of Education. I am currently teaching a semester-long course called Science For Teachers, a graduate workshop designed to teach teachers how to teach science. The class focuses on Pre-K through 6^th grade instruction and curriculum design. I’ve been enjoying encouraging and supporting new teachers as they begin integrating the city’s science-based field resources into their own curriculums.

What prompted you to pursue a graduate degree in Childhood Education and Museum Education at the Banks Street Graduate College of Education?

I pursued my M.S. Ed. in Childhood and Museum Education for two reasons. First, Bank Street is one of the few schools in the country offering a program in both Childhood and Museum Education. It simultaneously prepares you for two professional roles: that of a classroom teacher in 1^st through 6^th grade, skilled in making effective use of museum resources; and that of a museum educator knowledgeable about children and schools. The museum component seemed particularly compelling given my Field Education experiences at CHDS and my work in the National Park Service. Second, Bank Street has a reputation for progressive, innovative teaching, especially in the elementary and middle school grades. I was interested in learning more of the theory and practice behind innovative teaching techniques and had heard Bank Street was a great place for this.

CHDS Field Education Director Lisa Sommers told us your paths crossed philosophically and physically!

As a graduate student, I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. One day, I was having lunch with a friend and as I was leaving, I saw Lisa Sommers at another table with a friend! I stopped and we chatted about educational endeavors, both past and present. It was great to catch up and share the different ways that Field Education was informing my own teaching and interests.

Tell us about a particularly memorable CHDS field trip.

From visiting a tile making artist and sketching animals at the National Zoo to touring Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Center and drawing the architectural features in the surrounding neighborhoods, there are so many memorable field trips that come to mind.

One trip that stands out was a Paul Taylor dance performance at the Kennedy Center. In preparing for the trip, Lisa Sommers’ sister, a critic for the Washington Post talked with us about the nuts and bolts of reviewing a dance performance. Sitting in the front row, I can still recall sweat flinging off the dancers’ bodies as they moved across the stage in a combination of pure athleticism and art. Throughout the performance, we all jotted down our impressions, later using our observations to write reviews of the performance. I liked that we got to practice being reviewers and that the subsequent writing assignment felt directly connected to the real world outside the walls of the Dent Building.

What lessons or principles have you carried from CHDS to the Town School?

I think the most fundamental lesson I’ve carried with me is the importance of integrating curriculum at multiple levels. For me, learning seemed to make the most sense when it was approached from numerous angles. For example, a research project on animals involved visiting the National Zoo, sketching the animal, building a 3-D paper mache model, researching it in the library, and ultimately writing a report about that animal. Each experience added another layer of understanding.

What are the rewards and challenges of integrating field resources into the science curriculum at The Town School?

There are three main challenges: scheduling, transportation, and identifying quality field opportunities. Scheduling and transportation represent logistical challenges that often require inventive problem-solving and lots of prior planning. One way I’ve handled this is to look for ways to bring science-related field resources into the classroom. For example, a week after my 2^nd grade science classes visited the New York Botanical Garden, they skyped with a NYBG botanist, asking follow-up questions and learning in greater detail about his specific research, all from the lower school science lab!

The biggest challenge is ultimately identifying individuals, programs, and institutions that extend the science curriculum in meaningful ways. Finding resources that directly enrich the science curriculum, maximize hands-on learning, and offer authentic scientific experiences takes lots of research.

Even with these challenges, it is well worth it because carefully selected field education opportunities have added exciting depth and breadth to the science curriculum. My science students have visited the New York Botanical Garden, video conferenced with the Bronx Zoo, participated in a Liberty Science Center workshop on matter, and talked with the editor of Scholastic's SuperScience magazine. They delighted in the "realness" of these experiences, exclaiming that "It was so cool to talk to a real plant scientist about plants!" or "I liked watching hard stuff like metal melt before my eyes!"

Margaret L. McKenzie is a visiting researcher and Boren National Security Fellow at the American University of Kuwait. Margaret gives public and guest lectures at the university, and will continue her research until August 2015. She will complete her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy specializing in Security Studies and Environmental Resource Policy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Margaret received her mediation certification last year and mediates in Boston small claims courts. She has served as an advisor and consultant on issues related to education and the environment for various international agencies and organizations. To date, she has worked with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Institute of Intergovernmental Relations (IIGR), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), as well as community-based groups in Canada, Jordan, Palestine, and other areas. Her current research is focused on desalination and aims to understand the policy implications of innovation and technology transfer to the water/energy nexus. Margaret speaks English and French, and is studying Arabic in Kuwait.

David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), a major federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. For more information, go to www.borenawards.org.

After CHDS I attended Maret and then Tufts University. While I was at Maret, I started studying Chinese and traveled to China for the first time. At Tufts I majored in Chinese and architecture. I studied abroad spring semester junior year in Beijing, China. Last year after graduating, I moved to Foshan, China to spend a year teaching English to 3 and 4 year olds at an international kindergarten. I just moved back home to the States last month and am now applying to graduate programs for architectural 3D modeling.

I always felt prepared for even my most difficult classes at Maret. Also my interest in China definitely started at CHDS when we studied China in 5th grade.