One of the pillars of GFA’s Strategic Direction Lives of Purpose is that Deep Learning Begins with Belonging. In an effort to encourage all students to see a place for themselves, the school seeks to “strengthen our external connections by expanding programs that engage parents, alumni, volunteers, and the broader community.” One way to connect learners with the world beyond Beachside is to bring talented contributors to speak, learn, and work alongside us. 

On February 8 and 9, New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Jerry Craft spent two days immersed in GFA’s learning environment as a Hartwell Visiting Fellow. The author of “New Kid”, “Class Act", and the upcoming “School Trip” spoke at assemblies to all divisions, held an evening event for parents, conducted writing and drawing workshops, met with small groups of students, signed books, and dined with our faculty of color. The success of his work is evident in his books being honored with the Newberry Medal, Kirkus Prize, and Coretta Scott King Award, yet Craft was quick to remind students that he did not always consider himself a writer or reader.

“One of the things I have always loved to do is draw. I would get out my paper, pencil and draw my everything, my whole world which was superheroes. My teachers in seventh and eighth grade thought that comic books would rock our little brains but they didn't realize that a lot of us, we built a pretty good vocabulary. They felt like real books were like a steak dinner and comic books were like donuts or something.” 

Craft shared the “stress” that he said he felt as an African American boy and later man watching movies depicting black characters that were down on their luck or headed towards tragedy. The anxiety of knowing that for many of these characters the other shoe was always about to drop encouraged him to write a different kind of narrative, with a different type of character, in a very different format – an educational graphic novel. 

“As a young African-American boy born in Harlem who grew up in Washington Heights, the books that I saw that had anyone that looked like me, my mirrors were either history or misery, right? They would not buy life at all. Not that the books on Martin Luther King or Frederick Douglas and Harry Tubman are not important – they are. But where were the books I could escape into?”

Parents need not be fearful when their children read the books Craft explained. He depicts “African-American characters, kids of color, living happy lives. They're not the weight of the world on their lives.” After the success of his early graphic novels and his collaboration with Scholastic, Craft set out to break records with “New Kid.” Its images and words not only portray characters combating bullies, facing their own fears, and grappling with young adolescence, they also come from a wide array of backgrounds. 

If seeing yourself in literature creates the confidence to take chances, it is recognizing when to push on what makes those leaps into success stories, which Craft shares with students of all ages. 

“There are times in life when people are going say you can't do something. But you know it's a good idea. I look at this as steps up the ladder. Each step got me close to my goal, which is making books that I wish I had when I was a kid,” he said. Because of this determination, GFA students were treated to two special days with an award-winning author and illustrator who is redefining how stories are told and who they are told about.

Founded in 2018 to honor outgoing Head of School Janet Hartwell, the Hartwell Visiting Fellowship aligns with the value GFA places on the life of the mind as well as the application of knowledge that fuels science, arts, government, business, social enterprise, environmental responsibility, and more. The program allows us to bring distinguished speakers, innovative thinkers, and dynamic teachers to campus for extended periods of time to work with our PreK-12 students and enhance our already robust curriculum; deepens our Inquiry projects, providing a distinctive and distinguishing aspect of our current offerings; and elevates the profile of the school and enhances the student experience. 

We were thrilled to be joined on January 26th by New York Times bestselling author, CBS News contributor, and former GFA Coyle Scholar, Dr. Lisa Damour, Ph.D. Dr. Damour’s work and bestsellers Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls have provided practical guidance to students, parents, and teachers. Lisa’s visit with us landed a few weeks prior to the February launch of her book, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents.

Recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association, Dr. Lisa Damour co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, writes about teenagers for the New York Times, appears as a regular contributor to CBS News, and works in collaboration with UNICEF. 

Dr. Damour serves as a Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and has written numerous academic papers, chapters, and books related to education and child development. She maintains a private practice and also speaks to schools, professional organizations, and corporate groups around the world on the topics of child and adolescent development, family mental health, and adult well-being.

Dr. Damour graduated with honors from Yale University and worked for the Yale Child Study Center before earning her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. She has been a fellow at Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and the University of Michigan’s Power Foundation. She and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters.

Hartwell Visiting Fellow: Hara Woltz

This fall GFA welcomed its second Hartwell Fellow, Hara Woltz. As an artist and scientist, Woltz’s work focuses on “the destruction and conservation of ecological systems through a variety of visual media,” according to her website. Through collaborative projects and solo work, she focuses her work on the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment. 

While on campus, Woltz worked with all three divisions to help them draw connections to the beauty of nature around them. Down at Burying Hill, or out in the fields at GFA, she worked with students on building their observational skills (looking at weather data and taking inventory of the objects, textures, sounds, and colors around them), asking big questions about ecological systems, and turning those kills into robust arts-based inquiry. Woltz’ goal was for students to connect details to a big picture, and a big picture to details. 

According to Woltz, “I believe that keen observational skills are fundamental building blocks in the development of resonant artistic and scientific work.  Weaving together science and art, this weeklong exploration offered students an opportunity to develop critical thinking and notational skills by combining ecological research and artistic practice.”

A field researcher by training, Woltz has collected ecological data on-site in New Zeland, Ecuador, Melanesia, and many other worldwide locations. She uses her biological findings to inspire her works of art, which have been showcased as private and corporate collections, and as installations, like her work with Sotheby’s and Storm King Art Center. 

Click here for photos from Woltz's visit.

Grammy-Winner Charlie Hall '92 Shares Notes on Kindness, Compassion, Connection

Last week, GFA students got the lesson of a lifetime from rocker alumni Charlie Hall ’92, Grammy award-winning drummer for the band The War on Drugs. Hall was the inaugural Janet Hartwell Fellow and spent four days speaking to and engaging with kids at all grade levels. Highlights of his visit included assemblies with Middle and Upper School students focused on life’s twists and turns and the importance of peer-to-peer networking, workshops with music classes, songwriting seminars with literature classes, and a drum circle with GFA’s youngest learners. 

“The time Charlie spent with our kids, faculty, and community reminded us all that the most important experiences in our lives are about connections — between people and with ideas,” said Bob Whelan, Head of School. “That spirit of connection defined Charlie’s experience as a student at Greens Farms Academy nearly 30 years ago, and it still holds true at GFA today. We feel deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to learn with and from such a remarkable person.”

Hall reminisced about the uniqueness of the GFA experience throughout the week. “A big part of my upbringing here was playing in bands with people who were six or seven years older than me. That is something that we have here that is really special, that broad range of people to connect with,” he said. In addition to all that he shared with students, Hall reiterated what a learning experience returning to Beachside Avenue was for him. “As much as I'm here this week to share my stories and share my music, I'm here to hear your stories and hear your music,” he said. 

Throughout the week, Hall listened to a host of students' music and spent time in several performing arts classes. "Charlie has a remarkable and touching generosity of spirit in speaking with students," remarked Performing Arts Department Chair Rex Cadwallader. "I'm sure that what we all will take away from Charlie's residency is his kindness, humility, and passion for music."

Hall certainly left his impact on several current GFA students, one of who is a musician and senior Avery Duer. "This past week, Charlie Hall really stressed finding different mentors, and I can say that he has definitely become one of mine. His ability to connect with people and bring them together is unmatched and my conversations with him showed me his incredible sense of empathy, which is a clear embodiment of the spirit of GFA," Duer said. 

"It is quite difficult to fully explain the extent of Mr. Hall's impact on me, but to put it fairly simply, he has reminded me of why I love music as much as I do and triggered huge inspiration within me, and for that I am very grateful."

Hall spoke with the Upper School about music as the "connective tissue" that binds him to the critical people in his life, and his talk demonstrated that this "horizontal networking," as he called it, has been a guiding principle for him throughout his life and career. “This generous spirit is, to me, the foundation of our community at GFA,” said Andrew Jones, Head of the Upper School. 

To cap off his week at his alma mater, Hall was celebrated with GFA's Distinguished Alumni 2019 Award. Click here to watch his acceptance speech. The evening continued with Hall, joined by more than 20 fellow alumni from the classes of ’82 to ’96 (as well as three current students and Head of School Bob Whelan on guitar), as an all-alumni band to headline reunion festivities. The ensemble band played hits like “Ooh La La,” “Into the Mystic,”  and “Whiter Shade of Pale,” among many others to the largest reunion group the independent school has gathered in recent history. 

To see the full album of photos from Hall's visit back to GFA, click here.