By Mark Silver, Head of School
They sat down, one after another, in front of the microphones. We were nearing the end of our penultimate Middle School Reach Beyond Block session, and I had invited students to share their thoughts as part of a podcast. The students, a mix of 5th-8th graders, were all part of WIFTTY – Women in Finance and Technology Teaching Youth – one of the first Reach Beyond Block’s co-designed by students and teachers. Scott Center Director Annie Makela and the students had first started talking about the idea last summer, and I had then been fortunate enough to help Annie and Secondary School Counselor Eden Maisel co-lead the experience with the students.
Over the previous few weeks, the students had conducted a series of podcast interviews with an array of impressive women from the technology and finance industry. They had interviewed women executives from a variety of major companies, including Apple, Netflix, Visa, Walmart.com and Google. The women played myriad roles in these companies, from product management to talent acquisition to legal counsel to hardware to real estate, and had come from backgrounds that included a former member of the Obama White House and Department of Justice and even a Hillbrook alumna from the Class of 1997. Some of these women have students at Hillbrook, while others were neighbors or family friends that had been invited to participate by members of the class.
Each participant received an invitation email from one of the students and then follow-up to help facilitate their participation in the session. Upon arriving in the classroom, the women were ushered to the “hot seat” in front of the podcast equipment, and the students then launched into the session. A host would introduce the speaker and then two students would conduct the interview. Every single woman remarked at the high quality of the questions. Note-takers and photographers worked around the room throughout the interview. Standing back and watching, I felt like I was truly in the middle of a professional podcast studio. It was a powerful example of practicing core academic skills – writing, speaking, critical thinking – in a real-world setting.
Now, as we neared the end of the session, we invited the students to step on the other side of the microphone and answer a question themselves.
“What were your takeaways from this experience?” I asked the group.
Listening to their reflections, the many educational benefits of Reach Beyond Block came into focus.
Students have the opportunity to be leaders and designers of their own learning
As a school, we place student choice and engagement at the center of the learning experience throughout the day. Reach Beyond Block takes this commitment and brings it to life in inspiring new ways. Fourth graders, for example, have been participating in a problem finders unit as part of their recent Reach Beyond Block cycle. Small groups identified problems around campus and then sought to design and implement solutions, all related to better sorting our trash, recycling and compost. One outcome was a small group of 4th graders teaching 1st graders about the five R’s of waste management (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot).
WIFTTY was one of the first Reach Beyond Block’s to be co-designed by students and adults, taking the idea of choice and engagement to an even higher level. One student spoke about how impactful it had been to design the experience, “working with all of these awesome girls and Ms. Mak and watching it come to life.” She noted the increased ownership they had for the experience, and how inspiring it had been during this block to have a group of women respond to their invitations and “help us pursue our dreams and give us the tools and advice we need to get there.”
Students are provided windows and mirrors into the lived experiences of others that help them make sense of who they are, how they fit into the broader world, and how they can make a difference now and in the future
Several students shared the power of hearing and seeing women leaders share their stories. For the girls, these women offered helpful mirrors into their own lives. One girl noted, for example, that had she had been struck by a comment a woman had made about the fear of failure. “I could relate to that,” she said. “I’m always that person who kind of thinks I know the answer but is worried it’s wrong and so I don’t raise my hand.” Hearing a woman executive name that fear and explain how she overcame it in her own life offered reassurance and the inspiration to take a risk next time she finds herself in that situation.
For the boys in the class, it was a moment to see a window into an experience different from their own. One boy had been struck by a story about pay inequity when one of the women shared that she saw it herself when she moved into a managerial role and saw the salaries of her team for the first time. He noted that this story made him want to do something about that when he grows up.
For other students, it was the visual power of seeing women, including several women of color, share their stories. As one student said: “[The interviews] helped me see that I can be in tech and finance when I grow up. Before I’ve seen CEOs of companies, and they are all white men. And I’ve been like, ‘Help, what am I doing here?’ After hearing all of these women talk, I think it really is possible for me.”
Extended members of the Hillbrook community have an opportunity to engage with students in meaningful ways that truly make a difference
One of the unexpected benefits of Reach Beyond Block has been the opportunity for different members of the Hillbrook community to support our efforts. Across JK-8, we have invited multiple parents, alumni, and other individuals to share their work and their stories. People have provided expertise in so many areas, including law, science, public service, media, professional athletics, agriculture, and education, opened doors for field trips and connections with parks and wildlife preserves, courts, technology companies, local universities, and non-profit services, and shared their insight into local culture and history. It has been inspiring and humbling to see the breadth of talents within our community, and it has developed relationships and provided role models for students that have truly made a difference.
In the end, listening to our students’ voices, I was once again reminded of the power of our reach beyond programming, including Reach Beyond Block, to change student’s lives. This experience affirmed for our students that their voices matter and provided tangible role models to help them believe that they can realize their dreams.
I invite you to listen to the podcast to hear more from Annie and the students, and also to listen to portions of the podcasts the students created from their interviews.
Reach Beyond Block provides an opportunity for mixed-age groupings based on interest, a space where parents and other community members can share their expertise and wisdom, and where groups of adults, including senior leaders, teachers, and staff members, can collaborate together and with students to pursue topics that matter to them. It challenges us to continually revisit the questions, “What matters to me and what am I going to do about it?” and breaks down the wall between school and the real world. It is, in short, a space that combines skill-building and real-world experience, and that represents one of many times when we are truly at our best.
