Shaping the World Today FY 2024-25 Fayerweather Street School Impact Report

Empowering World Shapers

By Kim Ridley, Head of School

I am appreciative, humbled, and heartened by the way the Fayerweather community continues to show up in support and solidarity. One of the things that makes Fayerweather such a unique experience is our commitment to our mission and, by extension, to one another. Because of the support you’ve given in time, talent, treasure, and testimony, Fayerweather is able to provide a truly exceptional educational experience to students who are learning to forge their own knowledge paths and, in the process, shape the world around them. When I walk through the doors of Fayerweather and see students immersed in the transformative power of working and learning together, I feel my own concerns about the world begin to melt away. Every day, I witness what becomes possible when an educational environment centers on human capacity, curiosity, and growth. When children are given the space to learn through hands-on experiences, to explore boldly, to create with purpose, and to imagine without limits, they thrive. It is in these moments that I am reminded why our mission matters so deeply. Fayerweather is not simply preparing students for the future; we are empowering them to shape it. And together, as a community rooted in care and possibility, we ensure that this extraordinary learning continues to flourish.

Your gifts open worlds of possibility, connection, and wonder. They provide our teachers with meaningful professional development that fuels innovation and growth. They offer students support beyond what tuition alone can provide, ensuring that every child is fully seen, known, and nurtured. Your support and belief in Fayerweather’s mission are not abstract gestures of goodwill; they are the driving force behind countless moments of discovery, empowerment, and transformative change. Each gift becomes part of the lived experience of our students and educators, shaping who they become, how they learn, and the impact they will one day make in the world.

Your gifts have sustained the school since 1967 and will continue to be the reason the school impacts students well into the future. All of this is to say: thank you. These words feel insufficient to express the scope of our gratitude, but sometimes the simplest words are the truest. And so, thank you.

2024-2025 Donors to the Solid and Strong CommUNITY Fund by Class

The support from our current families makes possible the kinds of life-changing experiences and future-building magic that sets Fayerweather apart. Thank you!

Overall Current Parent/Caregiver Participation: 94%

PreK | Ashley & Annie | 99%

• Kurt Armbrust and Holly Careskey
• Yin and Liyin Chen
• Kendra Field and Khary Jones
• Liz Leiwant and Josh DaPonte
• Yasmin Safdie and Deb Lolai
• Kyle and Pat Satterstrom
• Elissa Spelman
• Shengtao Wang and Jie Bai
• Catherine Wright

Kindergarten | Tara & Sean | 99%

• Anonymous (4)
• Asya and Ronald Calixto
• Zach Hirschtritt and Sarah Perkins
• Adria Karlsson
• Andrew and Anna Lee
• Stan Lewicki and Laura Menucci
• Becca Pollock and Wolf Marnell
• Nate Silver and Kristina Fenn Silver
• Matthew Sohm and Elizabeth Brogden
• Nina You
• Manuel Zepeda and Katherine Jong

1-2 | Alex & Phoebe | 98%

• Anonymous (2)
• Kurt Armbrust and Holly Careskey
• Li Costa Xavier Burke and Chris Burke
• Sara and Victor Gehling
• Jessica and Nicholas Hausman
• Rahul Khara and Lulu Liu
• Liz Leiwant and Josh DaPonte
• Abby and Matthew Murphy
• Marc Oliveras and Mireia Torella
• Paul and Marlena Penta
• Marin and Masanao Yajima
• Natalie and James Zahniser-Word

1-2 | Tracey & Abby | 100%

• Anonymous (3)
• Adrian Barkus
• Emi Barkus
• Elizabeth and Matthew Bean
• Joshua Buresh-Oppenheim and Rachel Hirsch
• Asya and Ronald Calixto
• Christian Baillet and Gabriela Schlau-Cohen
• Henrik and Lydia Hagtvedt
• Edo Berger and Kate Haviland
• Seoungmin Kang and Jaegak Kim
• Sandra Law and Ben Ho
• George Locke and Lizzie Stark
• Daniel and Michelle McHale
• Marc Oliveras and Mireia Torella
• Paul and Marlena Penta
• Rebecca and Ramsay Ravenel

3-4 | Diana, Nabia, Aaron, & Sharon | 99%

• Anonymous (2)
• Elizabeth and Matthew Bean
• Carolyn Bloomberg-O'Brien and Timothy O'Brien
• Kenroy Cayetano and Karina Davis
• Bobby Cohanim and Laura Major
• Nicole Clouse and David Danese
• Nicole Freedman
• Sara and Victor Gehling
• Jessica and Nicholas Hausman
• Kate Haviland and Edo Berger
• Rob Hesketh and Anne Sarkalahti-Hesketh
• Adria Karlsson
• David Klotz and Elnaz Menhaji-Klotz
• Jenny and Peter Kuliesis
• Emi Larsen White and Eli White
• Andrew and Anna Lee
• Sayra Lucero
• Mike and Sarah MacGillivray
• Rob Mark and Becky Evans
• Benjamin Schneer and Elizabeth Segran
• Jeannie Seidler
• Nate Silver and Kristina Fenn Silver
• Stacey and Mark Versavel
• Manuel Zepeda and Katherine Jong

Sunshine Club

In acknowledgment of donors who have given consecutively for five years or more, we are excited to announce the creation of a new form of recognition: The Sunshine Club. Thank you to those supporters whose continued support of Fayerweather helps us stay shining bright, year after year.

• Anonymous (8)
• Amy Abelove and Ric Bowen
• Chris Abouzeid and Kathy Crowley
• Amy Armstrong and Adam Limb
• Elizabeth and Matthew Bean
• Carolyn Bloomberg-O'Brien and Timothy O'Brien
• Emily Bowler and Jen Brennan
• Michael Bowler and Annie Peterman
• William Braunlin and Cathy Siebold
• Jeff Cleary and Alissa Cardone
• Nicole Clouse and David Danese
• Max Cohen '00 and Antonio Savorelli
• Cynthia and Ted Cohen
• Cecilia Cole Pizzurro and Daniella Pizzurro
• Marianne and Michael Collins
• Patricia Cortes and Felipe Bohorquez
• Amy and Ethan d'Ablemont Burnes
• Steve D'Amato and Katherine Wolff
• Deidre Deegan and Mahmood Firouzbakht
• Charan Devereaux and Andrew Ott
• Ben Dunlap and Melissa Feuerstein
• Julie Ebin
• Ann Eggleston
• Anne Eisner and James Taff
• Anne Ellsworth
• Rebecca Evans and Rob Mark
• Jennifer and David Falk
• Genie and Dov Fogel
• Deb Gettelman and Rob Koelzer
• Gita and Peter Givertzman
• Margaret Ann Gray
• Sonya Green and Jason Wadsworth
• Emily Grove
• Margo Guernsey and Miguel Montero
• Abhijit Gurjal
• Rachel Hirsch and Joshua Buresh-Oppenheim
• Shawn Hockert and Miranda Elmorsi
• Keri Hughes and Grant Godfrey
• Adria Karlsson
• Jennifer Kay.Goodman
• Rebecca Lowenhaupt and David Meshoulam
• Maria Aliberti Lubertazzi and David Lubertazzi
• Tina and Christopher Mack
• Laura Major and Bobby Cohanim
• Annika Malmberg and Steven McCarroll
• Erin McLaughlin and Eric Masunaga
• Elnaz Menhaji-Klotz and David Klotz
• Karen '84 and Justin Miel
• Barbara and Richard Moore
• Meredith Moore
• Abby and Matt Murphy
• Michael Patti and Nicole Lamy
• Daniella Pizzurro and Cecilia Cole Pizzurro
• Courtney and Donovan Quinn
• Elma Quinn
• Rebecca and Ramsay Ravenel
• Kim and Robert Ridley
• Joe Ronayne and Mireya Nadal
• Rowan T. O'Riley Foundation
• Glorimar Ruiz-Mercado and Manuel Molina
• Carolina and Bryan Sadowski
• Benjamin Schneer and Elizabeth Segran
• Jeannie Seidler
• Janelle Smart Fisher and Mark Fisher
• Starr and Phil Snead
• Niall Stephens and Talaya Delaney
• Lia Taniguchi
• Lauren Stewart and Ben Vigoda
• Mary Weitzel and David Halfpenny
• Dorla White-Simpson
• Julie Winslow '87 and Ned Regina

Thoughtful Problem Solving

By Scot Oxholm, Unit Math Teacher

Over the summer I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Building Thinking Classrooms. BTC is a framework for how to structure a math class in a way that encourages kids to engage in thoughtful problem solving as they learn new concepts and procedures. It comes from the book by the same name by Peter Liljedahl, who ran the workshop I attended.

In the book, Liljedahl outlines 14 practices that he sees as helpful to building a culture of thinking in the classroom. Today, I want to focus on the first three of those practices: Giving students thinking tasks, having them work in visibly random groupings, and using vertical non-permanent surfaces to do that work. When students have a chance to participate in and contribute to a culture of thinking inside the classroom, they gain access to the tools and experience to cultivate this culture in their lives outside of school. At its core, this is central to what we do at Fayerweather.

3) Vertical non-permanent surfaces: Another goal of building a thinking classroom is to get kids to dig into the work without getting hung up on trying to immediately get to the correct answer. Through his research, Liljedahl found that when given a thinking task, the shortest time between getting the task and writing down their first idea happened when students were working at whiteboards. (The reason for the longer descriptor is to emphasize that the work can happen at other surfaces as well, such as a window.) Because what they are writing doesn’t feel like as much of a commitment as writing an idea down on paper, students are more willing to try things out even if they are unsure of whether their initial ideas are going to work. Over the first month of school, I’ve definitely seen the impact that working at the whiteboards has had on students as they’ve been more willing to dig in quickly as they approach new tasks. Having students working at whiteboards has other advantages: It allows me to more quickly see which groups are on track and who might need a thoughtful hint or question in order to help them to move forward. It also allows for the mobility of knowledge between groups. Both by checking in with nearby partnerships and by simply noticing what other groups have done, groups who are feeling stuck can get an idea about how to move forward.

What I appreciate about these approaches, and what I hope is evident in them, is how they dovetail nicely with the educational frameworks we’ve built at Fayerweather. As opposed to “traditional” approaches to teaching math, this structure meets students where they are, honoring their own curiosity and encouraging them to seek out pathways of their own to find answers to their questions. And they do all of this not in isolation but in community, learning from, teaching, and relying on one another to solve problems and build something bigger. If we want students to see math as something with practical, everyday significance – and I do! – then it starts by modeling the kinds of creative and thoughtful ways they’ll engage with it throughout their lives.

2024-2025 Donors to the Solid & Strong CommUNITY Fund

2024-2025 Board of Directors | 100%

Once more, Fayerweather's Board of Directors demonstrated their commitment to Fayerweather and its mission through 100% engagement in gifts to Fayerweather's Solid & Strong CommUNITY Fund.

• Amy Abelove, Vice Chair
• Carolyn Bloomberg-O'Brien *
• Melanca Clark
• Max Cohen '00, Clerk
• Ben Dunlap, Treasurer
• Mark Fisher
• Shawn Hockert
• Khary Jones
• Becca Lowenhaupt
• Eric Lowenstein *
• Steve McCarroll
• Elisha Meyer '97
• Daniella Pizzurro
• Courtney Quinn, Chair
• Glory Ruiz
• Lauren Stewart
• Lia Taniguchi, Member At-Large
• Mary Weitzel
• Elisabeth Williams *

* Denotes Faculty Directors

Special Projects & Funds

The following donors provided special gifts to support tuition aid, our library, the Horizon Fund and professional development, endowment, and other special programs and projects at the school. Through their gifts, our school can send teachers to professional development in support of students with a range of learning profiles, accelerate place-based learning programs at all grade bands, support work around mapping and expanding our science curriculum, and underwrite additional costs of our first ever Unit trip to Puerto Rico. Thank you to these friends who have gone above and beyond in supporting the school.

• Anonymous (2)
• Richard Burnes
• Bobby Cohanim and Laura Major
• Anne Eisner and James Taff
• Anne Ellsworth
• Jess and Nick Hasman
• Jaegak Kim
• Rahul Khara and Lulu Liu
• Michael Patti and Nicole Lamy
• Rowan T. O’Riley Foundation
• Select Equity Group

A Fresh Foundation for Play: Fayerweather's New Turf Installation

After more than a decade of daily use, the Fayerweather Street School playground has received a major upgrade—new turf designed to create a safer, cleaner, and more durable play surface for students. The previous turf, installed during the playground renovation of 2013–2014, served the school community for eleven years. Over time, however, natural wear and compacted substrate material led to poor drainage, uneven surfaces, and growing safety concerns.

According to Plant Operations Manager Rob Lee, the decision to install new turf was driven by both age and condition. “The old surface had become ridged, lumpy, and hazardous,” Rob explained. “We also learned that the original base material was too fine and not permeable enough to handle rain, snow, and runoff.”

Recognizing the need for improvement, the facilities team conducted a study and solicited bids. After selecting a contractor, the project was officially approved in January 2025. The installation process was extensive, requiring the removal of hundreds of yards of compacted stone and gravel. These materials were replaced with a carefully engineered layering of graduated stone sizes, ensuring long-term stability and effective drainage beneath the surface.

The result is a playground that not only looks better but performs better. The new turf provides a cleaner, more resilient surface that can withstand New England weather and the energy of Fayerweather’s students.

The yard is already paying dividends, both aesthetically and practically. “It certainly looks a lot nicer,” Rob noted, “and the kids seem to be enjoying it very much.” And now, Fayerweather's yard is ready for another decade of exploration, exhilaration, and joy.

A More Connected Future: Fayerweather's Move From Blackbaud to Veracross

Garrett Nichols

This year, Fayerweather made a significant and strategic decision that will shape the daily experience of students, families, and staff for years to come. After more than a year of research, conversations, and planning, the school committed in January to transition from Blackbaud, our longtime student information system, to Veracross, a platform designed to unify school operations and streamline communication across our community. While the process will unfold in phases through 2026, the benefits are already coming into view.

Why We Chose a New Direction

When Fayerweather adopted Blackbaud years ago, the hope was clear: a centralized system that could consolidate the many tools needed to run a school. But over time, it became clear that the platform could not meet essential needs. Even fundamental tasks, such as generating progress reports, required Fayerweather to create its own workaround tools. “As much as we tried to make Blackbaud work for us, the features we relied on weren’t satisfactory,” shared Ray Giles '95, Fayerweather's Director of Information Technology. “And nothing had improved meaningfully in recent years.” Veracross offered something different: a promise of true integration, flexibility, and a user experience that keeps pace with the needs of a dynamic school.

The Road to Transition

The timeline for Fayerweather’s transition is shaped in part by the rolling renewal schedule of Blackbaud’s individual modules. Admissions and enrollment management modules will be online by June 2026 and a new website is in development to be launched at the same time. This will be followed by the donor and alum relations module during the 2026–27 school year. Behind the scenes, one of the most complex challenges has been ensuring data moves cleanly and accurately between systems. “Blackbaud’s reporting tools make it difficult to extract information cleanly,” Ray explained. “We’ve been working carefully to transfer years of data—people, relationships, enrollment histories—into Veracross so the new platform has the accuracy and continuity our community depends on.”

Better Tools for Teaching and Learning

Even in these early stages, teachers and staff are already experiencing meaningful improvements in their day-to-day work. Teachers now have:

• Immediate access to classroom and grade-level distribution lists
• Professional newsletter templates for weekly class updates
• Streamlined attendance tools and one-click access to parent contact information
• Simpler pathways for entering progress report data

Families are benefiting too, with smoother processes for signing up for conferences and navigating school information. These early wins reflect the larger mission behind the transition: to remove friction, reduce duplication of effort, and allow teachers and staff to focus more fully on students and learning.

Building a More Accurate and Connected System

With progress reports now generated through Veracross, the school is seeing improvements in the accuracy of student schedules and academic data. Security and reliability remain strong—matching Blackbaud—but with far greater promise for long-term growth and alignment. “This transition really delivers the potential of a one-stop shop for our community,” Ray emphasized. “Families will be able to apply, sign enrollment contracts, manage Extended Day and Summer Arts registrations, buy play tickets, view student schedules, read progress reports, update contact information, and much more—all in one place.”

These early wins reflect the larger mission behind the transition: to remove friction, reduce duplication of effort, and allow teachers and staff to focus more fully on students and learning.

Looking Ahead

At its core, this shift to Veracross is about strengthening the connections that make Fayerweather such a vibrant community. With a more intuitive, unified system, the school is building an infrastructure that supports better communication, clearer access to information, and a more seamless experience for families and staff alike. In the coming years, as additional modules come online and the new website launches, this investment will continue to grow—enabling Fayerweather to meet the evolving needs of its community with intention, clarity, and ease.