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From the FREEP

A Visit From SRV Alumni

by Dana Marcus
Director of Admissions and Communications

We were thrilled to welcome several alumni back to SRV for the April 11 Parent Community Organization meeting. Karyn Payton, '88, Persephone Braham, '73, Beah Burger, '96, Summer Thompson, '01, and Rachel Fishman, '05, all returned to answer questions from current SRV parents about their transition to middle school and beyond after graduating from SRV.

Beah, an Anthropology major at Haverford College, went on to Westtown from SRV and shared that she was "grade hungry" upon leaving and very much enjoyed the challenges of homework and test taking. She found that she left SRV with an incredible amount of self awareness that has enabled her to forge meaningful relationships with her teachers and professors. Beah is now a research assistant in the Anthropology Department at Haverford.

Summer is in her junior year at The Baldwin School and is currently in the throes of deciding on which colleges to apply to next year. Summer commented that although her transition into 7th grade was challenging due to the fact that she entered Baldwin part way through their middle school, she "wouldn't have traded her 6th grade year at SRV for anything." She feels that SRV gave her the confidence to share her ideas and express her opinions no matter what they are. She also recognizes that while many of her peers view their teachers at "the enemy," she has always felt that her teachers (both at SRV and at Baldwin) were her partners.

All of the graduates commented on the fact that SRV prepared them well as conceptual thinkers and gave them an innate sense of motivation. While they enjoyed getting good grades (many were on honor roll, Beah was just invited to join Phi Beta Kappa), more importantly they found the need to really understand a topic, challenging themselves to overcome academic hurdles for their own sense of accomplishment as opposed to external factors like rankings, standardized test results or grades.

Persephone, now Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Delaware, and author of Crimes Against the State, Crimes Against Persons: Detective Fiction in Cuba and Mexico, shared that it wasn't until she was in college herself that she was able to exercise the intellectual muscles she grew at SRV. The ability to think critically, explore topics deeply and partner with teachers and peers was something she missed in the years between SRV and college. Persephone has returned to SRV with husband William, an architecture professor at Penn, and Hugh, who is in the 5-day preschool.

Karyn, another current parent (Savannah is in Hugh's class!), commented that she chose SRV for her children so they can have the same foundation she got in an environment that stresses individuality and independence. She appreciates the fact that SRV is still a place where children are excited about school and view it as a place for real thinking and authentic, meaningful work–a place where a real love for learning and preservation of childhood are highly valued. Karyn and husband, Lee, who teaches at William Penn Charter School, are both educators.

Rachel, the most recent graduate in the group, is now a student at Media Providence Friends School. Rachel and her mom, Carol, shared that it took Rachel "six minutes to adjust socially, six weeks to adjust academically, and six months to realize that the level of respect given to children at SRV looks different in other schools." Rachel is interested in providing current SRV sixth graders with an opportunity to connect with recent graduates to help allay fears they may have about moving on to their next school environments.

Several parents of graduates also attended the meeting and shared their experiences about the inevitable changes that occur beyond SRV (and throughout life), and how SRV prepared their children to meet those challenges and thrive as students and as people.

For more information about the meeting, contact Deborah Fineberg, PCO Chair; for more information on SRV alumni, go to the alumni portion of the web site or stop by the office anytime.