6
LETTERS
maintenance projects, with an eye on the
least disruptive time of year for students
and faculty (not to mention the longest
stretch of cooperative weather).
At Sheldon, the familiar pre-cast con-
crete fa
ç
ade on the building’s pond-
facing side had deteriorated over many
years due to water infiltration and ex-
posure to the elements. It took cranes
to carefully lower the existing concrete
globes – each weighing in excess of two
tons – that adorned the building’s front
entrance. The original pieces were used
to create a mold to replicate the vintage
fa
ç
ade.
Also receiving significant attention
this summer was the Schoolhouse, where
workers replaced approximately 500
leaded windows with energy-efficient
versions. Lead caning was then applied
to the window exteriors to duplicate the
original look.
On the lawn of the Schoolhouse, ela-
borate staging was erected for a con-
struction crew to recreate the spire that
sits atop the building. Over the years,
water infiltration had caused rotting of
the wood structure underneath the vin-
tage spire’s copper cladding. Similar to
the Sheldon globes and the Schoolhouse
windows, the spire was refaced to mimic
the look of the original structure. Work-
ers reused as much of the existing ornate
copper fa
ç
ade as possible when replac-
ing the spire. The familiar weathervane
was reinstalled at the conclusion of the
project.
Another major summer project trans-
formed the Upper, where the servery
underwent a cosmetic upgrade. The new
look includes an Ashfield stone floor,
with stone quarried in Western Massa-
chusetts, new wood cabinets and coun-
tertops, and a slightly modified layout to
enhance functionality.
Penn Residency Masters in Teaching Fellows
Samuel Crihfield
Maxwell Gordon
Katharine Laco
Ishiaka Mansaray
Lina Feuerstein
Harvard ’11
Carnegie Mellon ’12
Davidson ’11
Macalester ’11
Carleton ’12
Humanities
Humanities
Mathematics
Physics
Humanities
Twenty-four teaching fellows and
their mentors gathered at St. Paul’s
School with faculty from the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania from October 5
to 7 to engage in a series of intensive
sessions about the practice of teaching.
Five fellows – Samuel Crihfield,
Max Gordon, Katharine Laco, Ishiaka
Mansaray, and Lina Feuerstein – are
in their first term at St. Paul’s as part of
the initial year of the Penn Residency
Master’s in Teaching program (PRMT),
a first-of-its-kind collaboration be-
tween the University of Pennsylvania’s
Graduate School of Education and a
consortium of the nation’s leading
boarding schools. The program was
conceived and developed by SPS
Rector Mike Hirschfeld ’85 and Aca-
demic Dean Lawrence Smith.
Other participating schools include
Deerfield Academy (Mass.), the Hotch-
kiss School (Conn.), the Lawrenceville
School (N.J.), Milton Academy (Mass.),
Miss Porter’s School (Conn.), and North-
field Mount Hermon (Mass.). Casey
Kelsey ’06 is a first-year teaching fel-
low at Deerfield.
The weekend at St. Paul’s was the first
of three scheduled for the 2012-13
academic year. The second is slated for
January 25-27 on the campus of Hotch-
kiss School while the final session of the
year will take place at Miss Porter’s from
April 12 to 14.
Conducted by Penn faculty and faculty
mentors from the seven-school consortium,
sessions at St. Paul’s included topics that
explored reflective practices, pedagogical
content practices, and the history and
culture of boarding schools.
Perhaps most palpable over the week-
end was the depth at which the fellows
are studying the art and practice of teach-
ing in the distinct world of boarding
schools, contemplating student engage-
ment and motivation, how to assess
student performance, and examining
models of teaching and learning in
terms of what might make them suc-
cessful in a real classroom setting.
Penn faculty member Frances Rust
spoke of the value of the cohort of
fellows and mentors at the seven
schools, noting that it helps teachers
see themselves as part of a profes-
sional learning community.
In addition to the upcoming school-
year sessions at Hotchkiss and Miss
Porter’s, the fellows will be reuniting
again next summer at the University
of Pennsylvania for a week of intens-
ive workshops. They will be joined
by up to 25 new first-year fellows at
that time, creating a group of 50 in the
PRMT program overall.
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