Faculty & Staff

Matthew Sudnik, history teacher, traveled to Germany this summer to participate in a study tour to promote education and cross cultural dialogue. He wrote a blog about his experience, which can be found below.

For the last two weeks of June, I traveled to Germany on a study tour for social studies teachers organized by the Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP). TOP is a public/private partnership supported by the Goethe-Institut in Washington, D.C as well as the Federal Republic of Germany Foreign Office, Deutsche Bank, Robert Bosch Stiftung, and Siemens. The mission of TOP is to promote education about Germany and to encourage intercultural dialogue. They fulfill this mission in part through six annual summer study tours to Germany for teachers. 

The theme of our tour was “21st Century Germany: Finding Solutions to Global Challenges.” In particular, we studied the German education system and explored the government’s policy of inclusion for refugee children in German schools.  In order to consider the diversity within Germany, we studied these topics in four cities – Dusseldorf, Wurtzburg, Chemnitz, and Berlin. Each city is located in a different state. In addition, we considered some of the lingering differences between the old East and West Germany. Although the country was reunified in 1989, economic, social, cultural, and political differences often align geographically with the old Cold War era demarcation. In an article from the Washington Post that I plan to assign to my students this fall, Rick Noack maintains that opportunities for employment and the indicators of good public health are severely lacking in the eastern states, those previously under the control of the East German government, the GDR. In addition, very few migrants and refugees live in the eastern states because there is little employment. However, anti-immigrant demonstrations and support for right-wing extremist parties are ascendant in the eastern states. One official told us that many citizens of those eastern states show more sympathy for Vladimir Putin of Russia than Germany’s own chancellor, Angela Merkel. Political polarization and conflicts occurring on the fault lines of culture are not problems for only the United States. These are some of the topics my students will consider in the political and cultural units of AP Human Geography. 

Each day of the study tour involved two or three professional meetings, lectures, or tours. Some highlights include our meetings with the Ministry of Education and Schools in North Rheine Westphalia as well as the region’s teachers’ union. In order to learn about Germany’s industrial history, we toured the Zollverein World Heritage Site in Essen, a region famous for Germany’s industrial age in the mid-19th century. My students will also tour this coal mine through my slideshow when we study this topic in the industrialization unit of AP Human Geography. 

While we were primarily studying contemporary Germany, there were also opportunities to tour more historic sites. My visits to a GDR prison in Chemnitz, the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial outside of Berlin, and Frederick the Great’s Sanssouci summer palace in Potsdam will all appear in slides and lessons in my 10th grade Modern World History classes.   Show Less

Five Madeira faculty awarded title of Master Teacher

Five Madeira faculty members have been awarded the title of Master Teacher. The Master Teacher designation was created with the generous support of donors, to recognize incredible teaching at Madeira. 

The newest Master Teachers at Madeira are:

• Dr. Stacey Boyette - Tyler and Talbot Cain Master Teacher
• Dr. Tulio Campos - Priscilla Payne Hurd II Master Teacher
• Heidi Freeman - Dottie and Earl Craig Master Teacher
• Sasha Newman - Ella West Freeman Master Teacher
• Jean Wright - Prince Charitable Trust Master Teacher

The description of an ideal Master Teacher is as follows: The Madeira School Master Teacher embodies what we are called to in our Mission Statement. He/she excels in all elements of teaching - planning and preparation, instruction, classroom environment, and professional responsibilities. Master Teachers develop an outstanding rapport with their students, treating students as diverse individuals who have their own passions, dreams, and intellectual potential, while never forgetting the teacher’s proper role as an adult. The Master Teacher’s classroom has an atmosphere of excitement and is expertly managed to encourage students to explore their interests, develop their abilities, act with self-confidence and compassion, and assume responsibility for their actions in the global community. Finally, Master Teachers demonstrate a strong commitment to lifelong learning.

In order to be considered for a Master Teacher title, faculty must submit a portfolio of his/her work in the fall, which is reviewed by all Department Chairs. The candidates are narrowed down, sent to the Dean of Faculty, and finally approved by the Head of School.

At a recent All School Meeting, the Master Teachers shared their personal paths to teaching with the community. Read a summary of their comments below.

Dr. Stacey Boyette shared her story of perseverance and determination. She was the first generation in her family to attend college. When Dr. Boyette realized she wanted to pursue teaching as a full-time job, she found it difficult at first, having been rejected by 12 schools. This minor setback did not stop her from pursuing and achieving her dream of teaching, however, and she accepted her first job at Georgia Southern University. After seven years, Dr. Boyette moved on and found her way to Madeira. Her messages to everyone: 1.) “Don’t have it all figured out!” 2.) “Prepare and plan - keep heart and mind open to suggestions.” 3.) “You will end up right where you are supposed to be.”

Dr. Tulio Campos did not originally intend to become a teacher. He was studying to be an engineer in his home country of Peru. After graduation, his first job was as a teacher and he immediately fell in love with the profession. He loved the personal interactions with the students and the fact that he could anticipate his students’ needs. Dr. Campos originally taught math, physics, and literature, but transitioned to languages because of his passion for them and his desire to teach a subject that can transcend cultures. “I believe the field of languages gives you plenty of opportunities to make connections, to consider new ideas, to imagine different worlds, and ultimately, to become someone else.”

Heidi Freeman ‘89 has a long and storied history with Madeira. After graduating from Madeira, she attended Northwestern University to major in Biology, where she had intended to go to medical school. As time progressed, she changed her mind and decided to pursue teaching. Shortly after graduating from Northwestern, she returned to Madeira and started what would become a long career at the school. She and her husband even got married on campus, behind the Chapel/Auditorium. “While I didn’t take the path I originally set for myself when I was younger, I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to try teaching. I fell in love with the profession that I’ve now been doing for 25 years. Along the way, I found that teaching is a give and take – I’m sharing my knowledge and experience and I’m always learning from others – both my colleagues and my students.”

Sasha Newman also had an indirect path to teaching. She fell in love with the arts at an early age, particularly visual arts and being onstage. When she was at Boston University, studying Design and Production, she learned about the design process and why it is so important to foster creativity and imagination. After working in London for several years, Mrs. Newman returned to the Washington DC area. She helped with a production of Alice in Wonderland at Madeira and found out how rewarding it was to work with the students. The following fall, Mrs. Newman became Technical Director and Set Designer. “I love being a teacher because I get to share my passion for the arts and impact students' lives in small and sometimes large ways. When a student enters my classroom or the scene shop, full of hesitation or fear, I make it my goal to help them push beyond their perceived limitation, to try and sometimes spectacularly fail, to pick themselves up and try again.”

Jean Wright seems to have been destined to become a teacher. As a young girl, she would prop her stuffed animals up on her bed and run classes for them. She was also the first in her family to go to college. Immediately after graduating from Ohio University’s Honors College, Mrs. Wright entered a Master of Arts in Teaching co-op program at Duke University. While she was in school, she was also teaching full time in Durham, North Carolina. It was in that setting that she discovered what a difference she made in her students’ lives. After five years, Mrs. Wright moved to Northern Virginia where she taught at McLean High School for 31 years. After a well-deserved retirement from McLean, she realized she was not finished with teaching and sought out a job at Madeira. Her personal philosophy is: “Make them believe it’s worth the effort. Even if the subject is hard I try to find a path for everyone to succeed. I am always there for my students and colleagues whenever they need me and I know it’s worth the effort!”   Show Less

Madeira teachers receive Class of 1966 Fund award

Dr. Stacey Boyette, science instructor, Karate Sensei, and Master Teacher, and Dr. Keith Ward, Chair of the English Department, were chosen as the first recipients of the Class of 1966 Fund for Faculty Support award.  The Class of 1966 Fund for Faculty Support was established in 2016 by members of the Madeira Class of 1966, in celebration of their 50th Reunion and affirming their conviction that the faculty and staff of Madeira were, and will always be, the School's most powerful educational asset.             To further Madeira's commitment to the personal growth of its employees, the Class of 1966 Fund is designed to provide annual grants that supports the intellectual, physical, or spiritual aspirations of a teacher, administrator, or other staff member. The grant enables an individual to pursue a particular experience or activity that will expand, deepen, re-shape, or inform his or her personal growth.   Examples might include a long sought-after travel experience, mastery of a fulfilling hobby, a pilgrimage of personal significance, introduction to a new area of learning, etc. The Class of 1966 Fund for Faculty Support emphasizes transformative personal endeavors, as distinguished from professional development restricted to employees' existing roles at Madeira. All full-time faculty and staff who have been employees of the School for a minimum of five years are eligible for a Class of 1966 grant. Written nominations from the adult community were submitted and applicants made a formal written request for grant funds. The winners were randomly selected in a live drawing during a faculty/staff meeting. Dr. Boyette plans to use her award to travel to Italy to study with an honored Karate Sensei, and Dr. Ward plans to take his family on a cross-country train trip to see family and experience the Canadian countryside. At the conclusion of their trips, they will share their experiences with the Madeira community via a short presentation. Show Less

By Andrew Sharp, History Department Chairman

It is fitting that in the year that Madeira is celebrating Co-Curriculum’s 50^th anniversary, Larry Pratt, a teacher who shaped so many Madeira students’ experiences on Capitol Hill, has rejoined Madeira’s faculty and is teaching a new generation of Madeira girls the importance of civic engagement. Larry’s connection to the Co-Curriculum program goes back to 1998, when he began at Madeira as a part-time teacher of Public Affairs, a class for juniors that met before they got on the bus to go their placements.   “Public Affairs was a real class,” recalls Larry, “with Junior Journals, tests, and a research paper. It was a lot of work for the students, but when they got to their offices on Capitol Hill they knew the issues and the system.” Larry went on to become a full-time member of the History Department and the leader of the junior Co-Curriculum experience in 2000. When we sat down to talk, it was shortly after another anniversary – the 15^th anniversary of September, 11. Larry vividly remembers the challenges of continuing the junior year Capitol Hill program in the subsequent weeks. “While parents saw the importance of showing the world we would not be stopped by these attacks, they were also concerned about their daughter’s safety.” Their concerns were heightened when Senator Tom Daschle’s office, a site where a Madeira student worked, received Anthrax in the mail. In a sign of the commitment to carrying on the Co-Curriculum Capitol Hill program, Larry traveled down to Capitol Hill with the juniors and spent the day there with them for the rest of the year. “I would spend my days stationed at the Senate Page School, [Madeira Parent Katherine Weeden was head of the school at the time] and visit Madeira girls in their offices to let them know somebody was there for them.”

After years of teaching his students the importance of civic engagement, Larry put his lessons into action. In 2012 he left teaching to establish and run Win the Future, Young America, a non-profit organization working to improve civic engagement and voter turnout among younger generations. Although it meant he no longer was in the classroom working with his students, Larry was living his call to action and serving as a model for his students. After four years of work, Win The Future, Young America was not building the wider audience it needed, and Larry was missing the conversations with students and teachers. In 2016, Larry returned to the classroom full-time, where he now shares experiences from his work with Win the Future, Young America. In addition to being an expert in voter turnout and participation, Larry also has learned important lessons. “The Madeira School value of ‘Resiliency’ resonates with me,” says Larry. “I know what it means to devote a lot of hard work yet not quite reach your goal, just like our students occasionally experience.”

Larry returned to the classroom at a time when Madeira is working to teach students the importance of civil dialogue, especially in the midst of the 2016 election. Head of School, Pilar Cabeza de Vaca, tapped Larry to serve as an advisor to both the Young Republicans and Young Democrats clubs on campus, and inspiring the Madeira community to model respectful discussions despite expressing passionately different views. While civil discourse was not always evident on the national stage, Madeira’s lecture series on the elections produced widespread engagement, thoughtful questions and a connection to the historic 2016 election. As a truly passionate teacher of history and government, Larry finds “every election season fascinating. The 2000 election, like this year, had its own fascinating moments. We had ‘hanging chads,’ the Supreme Court effectively determining the election’s outcome, and a former first lady becoming a U.S. Senator.” 

Navigating the terrain of the passionate political discussion is truly hard, but Larry believes necessary for students to be truly engaged in their world. “You have to exist in this community where some of your values may not match the values of the rest of the community. So, how do we avoid alienating some for their beliefs? We start by establishing we are all good, decent people, with good intentions.” To reinforce this idea, Larry has posted a sign above his whiteboard in the front of the classroom that reads "Judge Not,” a clear call for us to first seek to understand. In Larry’s view, the history classroom is the ideal place to learn these lessons. “There are plenty of people in history with views that challenge our own. We can practice what it is like to try to understand their views.”   

In 2011, Larry was part of a community wide committee tasked with distilling Madeira’s Mission Statement from several paragraphs to its true essence. The result, “Launching women who change the world,” has been at the center of Larry’s work with Madeira girls. Whether through Co-Curriculum or his history classes, Larry has helped “launch” countless young women who are civically engaged and know how to participate in civil dialogue - exactly what the world needs at this moment. Show Less