1999 - The Willows Reaches Out!

It’s Tuesday night. Across Los Angeles, Willows students are packing not one, but two lunches for the next day. First a sandwich! Then an apple! Maybe a cookie for dessert! The next morning, both lunches make their way to The Willows. One lunch stays in the backpack for lunchtime; the extra goes in a bin just outside the classroom door.

This Tuesday night “extra lunch” routine is a tradition for many Willows students. They’re packing the extra lunches for PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), a non-profit organization that The Willows has partnered with since 1996. The lunches are delivered every Wednesday to the PATH facility in West Los Angeles, and PATH employees distribute them to individuals living at the facility, who are going out on job interviews and gradually working their way out of homelessness.

“Community service and service learning have always been integral parts of The Willows experience,” explains Head of School Lisa Rosenstein. “In The Willows’ early days, we wanted to find an ongoing project that offered kids a regular opportunity to do something tangible to help others. Every child can make a lunch – and we’ve found it to be a great way for kids to learn that there are many different ways to reach out.”

Every Thanksgiving, The Willows community also comes together at their annual Community Day to help PATH. Students bring in donations of travel-size personal care items – soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste – and the children gather with their book buddies in every classroom to assemble toiletry bags that are delivered to the PATH residents.

“There’s a great vibe in the building on the morning of our Community Day,” notes Lower School Director Terri Baird. “The kids love getting together with their book buddies, and as they decorate and assemble the toiletry bags, they can see the results of their hard work. It’s also a great reminder to the kids to be grateful for all the day-to-day routines that they may take for granted, like being able to take a shower or brush their teeth.”

Over the years, The Willows has reached out to the community with a number of school-wide projects. The Willows has partnered with Magnolia School, a nearby public elementary school, on many occasions. Service projects have included a “dictionary drive” to supply new classroom dictionaries, mural-painting for exterior building walls on the Magnolia campus, and establishing a garden. “The focus on hands-on activities has been a great way to bring together current students, parents, and alumni, with projects where everyone can contribute,” says Lisa.

The Willows has also made a concerted effort to reach out to nearby Culver City. “From our very earliest days, Willows kids were participating in the annual Ballona Creek cleanup,” remembers Terri. More recently, The Willows has joined with Culver City to support the Police Department’s Juvenile Diversion program, an innovative, highly successful, hands-on program that helps mentor at-risk teenagers. The Willows’ Tech Department is also helping to coordinate donations of old laptops to the Culver City Police Department, who distributes them to needy families in the area, to the Culver City Youth Center, and to nearby Farragut Elementary School, which is part of the Culver City School District.

Community service is personal at The Willows, even when the school is reaching out internationally. In response to this winter’s tragic earthquake in Haiti, two Willows parents helped to coordinate the “Ten Things for Haiti,” project, in which Willows families brought in staples and essential supplies to be transported to Haiti, including rice, beans, and baby formula. “Watching The Willows community come together to help others is both inspiring and gratifying,” says Lisa Rosenstein. “It sets an incredible example for our children in terms of what it means to be a citizen in our global community.”

Growing by Leaps and Bounds: Willows II

A typical 15 year-old looks strikingly different from his or her infant self – and The Willows is no exception.

Visit The Willows’ campus today and you see the art, science, and tech rooms in Willows II, the library in Willows III, the gym and the theater in Willows IV. These all play a vital role in each current student’s day – however, none of these existed in The Willows’ earliest days.

“It (The Willows) was small, but it was cozy!” remembers Lower School Director Terri Baird. “Our first year, we started with 92 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. There were individual classes for DK, kindergarten, first, second, and third grades, and a combined fourth/fifth grade class.”

From the School’s founding in 1994 until the fall of 1998, Willows I (which currently houses DK-2nd grade, plus administrative offices) was all the campus there was: six classrooms, the library, administrative offices, a staff lounge and the atrium. That was it!

“We had our all school meetings and our holiday singalong in the atrium,” recalls curriculum coordinator Carol DeNardo. “We also held our ‘museums’ in there, when we put together displays for the parents at the end of our thematic units.”

In the next couple of years, enrollment grew. Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, each fall, The Willows welcomed two classes of kindergarteners – which meant that as each year progressed, one of the grades added a whole new section of students.

“It was a tricky proposition,” says Lisa Rosenstein. “In year two, we added a kindergarten section. In year three, we added a first grade section; in year four, a second grade section, and so on. The danger with such fast growth is that in hiring so many new teachers, you can lose the essence of the school’s culture and mission.”

The Willows’ model for two teachers per classroom evolved as an answer. “With two teachers in one classroom,” explains Lisa, “they would have at least one year to work together closely, establish the curriculum, and build a collaborative rapport. Then, when it was time to add a section, the two teachers could split off into their own classrooms but still know each other and the program well enough to hold onto the team teaching model.”

The growth of the student body was outstanding news; where to put all the students was the question. “Before the end of our first year, we were searching for extra space” notes Lisa. “We knew that before long The Willows would be bursting at the seams.”

And the seams were bursting!
By the fall of 1997, The Willows parked two trailers on the playground: one to house the brand-new middle school (which consisted of 34 students in grades six and seven) and the other for the School’s library and first tech lab.

“The trailers were leaky,” Terri remembers, “and got crowded, but we made the best of what we had.”

Hope was on the horizon!

In 1996, The Willows leased a property just behind Willows I on Warner Avenue. Architects drew up plans, and The Willows embarked on the arduous process of building out the old warehouse on the site. “I remember that groundbreaking,” recalls Greg Blum ’98, one of the first students in the middle school. “All the kids got to take turns hitting the side of the old warehouse with a sledgehammer!”

Space at last!

In the fall of 1998, Willows II opened, boasting seven new classrooms, a huge multi-purpose room, a tech lab, a science lab, and an art room with a specially designed sink. “Once the art room was built, I loved being able to put up displays and create an atmosphere for the students to walk into,” says art teacher Susannah Funnell. “Our tradition of starting each semester with a still life celebrates the space we have for exciting installations and construction.”

Back then, Willows II was home to 3rd-5th grade down one hallway, and the middle school down the other hallway. “We were so excited to be in the new space,” remembers Jane Lewine, who taught 3rd grade with Erin Sullivan that year.

Chess anyone?

When they first set up their room, Jane noticed a 3 foot-by-3 foot cement square in the center of the classroom floor – an odd remnant from the construction process. Rather than trying to mask it, they repainted as an oversize chess board, and that fall, all their third graders learned how to play chess, using game pieces they created with Susannah in the beautiful new art room.

Twelve years later, you can still find that checkerboard on the floor (it’s now a middle school classroom) – a fun reminder of Willows II in its earliest incarnation!

Walking in Paul Revere’s Footsteps: The Fifth Grade Visits Boston

In the spring of 2008, The Willows’ 5th grade embarked on a brand-new adventure: a five-day trip to Boston, Massachusetts.

The brainchild of the fifth grade teachers, the trip fit perfectly with the 5th grade study of the European settlement of North America, the Colonial period, and the American Revolution.

Every fall for years, The Willows’ fifth grade had welcomed a “Guest Pilgrim” to their classroom. A costumed historical interpreter from Plimoth Planation, a living museum in Massachusetts that recreates the village of Plimoth in the late 17th century, visited and talked with the children about life during his time period.

“The students loved the Pilgrim visits,” says fifth grade teacher Jane Lewine, “but we always imagined how wonderful it would be if our classes could see Plimoth Plantation for themselves and have a much deeper understand of colonial life in New England.”

With the assistance of a former Willows faculty member now living in Massachusetts, the team planned a trip to Boston that dovetailed with their yearlong curriculum. The journey included a walking tour of the Freedom Trail; a kayak trip down the Concord River past the Old North Bridge; a visit to Old Sturbridge Village, a living museum depicting American life in the 1840’s; and, of course, a trip to Plimoth Plantation.

“The kids loved it,” says Jane. “One of the absolute highlights was the kayak trip. It took forever, but with aching arms and huge smiles we arrived feeling strong, brave, and incredibly accomplished.”



Seventh grader Louie G., ’08, who went on the first trip, agrees. “ I loved the Boston trip! It was great that we were studying the pioneers of our country, and we were like the pioneers for the trip. I especially liked Sturbridge Village, with all the old buildings - it was just like a cool rendering of an old New England village. It felt like I was actually there, back in the time period.”

Rolling Down the River: The 8th Grade on the Colorado River

For many years, the traditional end-of-year excursion in the 8th grade has been the famed Colorado River Trip, a completely self-supported journey down the Lower Colorado River.

Students paddle approximately 35 miles down the river in two-person canoes, transporting their own food and gear throughout the journey.




The trip can be strenuous, with the hot desert temperatures (often as high as 100ºF in mid-May) daunting, but the beauty of the surroundings and the excitement of the challenge make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The trip is really a culmination of the eighth graders’ entire Willows experience,” notes Middle School Director Doug Klier, who has chaperoned the trip for nearly a decade. “They’re away from the distractions of their everyday lives, and they have a final opportunity to bond as a group and reflect on the experiences they’ve shared over the years. It’s really incredible.”

On the Road with The Willows

Sea Lions and Dolphins and Sharks, Oh My!

Imagine waking up one morning to find one of your roommates staring you right in the face. Disconcerting, perhaps – and, especially so, if your roommate is a Great White Shark!

For a Willows’ second grader, it’s simply one of the unusual perks of the traditional overnight trip to Sea World. This trip - a highlight of the second grade curriculum since 1997 – celebrates the students’ yearlong study of the oceans.

Each May, the children trek, via bus, to San Diego and spend the night on the Sea World grounds, sleeping in rooms that house sea animals. Kids and teachers arrange their sleeping bags on the floor and fall asleep (or not!) to the glow of the aquarium tanks. The next morning, children tour the park and enjoy some of Sea World’s famed animal shows.

Amy Dugré and Maura Visconsi were the second grade teachers in 1997, that first year. “We had been talking about wanting to do this trip all year,” remembers Amy. “Maura made contact with a friend of hers who worked at Sea World, and once Lisa learned that it was an established program with good supervision, we decided to go for it.”

“It really was amazing,” Amy adds. “They had a specialized curriculum that integrated with everything we were doing. And the best was being able to enjoy Sea World after the park closed.”

Embarking on an overnight adventure with such young students might seem unusual, but at The Willows, it’s part of the teachers’ focus on integrated learning experiences at each grade level. From second grade on, each student has the opportunity to participate in a trip that connects with the curriculum.

The overnight trips often provide those “aha” moments for students, when their classroom learning comes alive and takes on a new significance. Perhaps this moment occurs on the third grade trip to Big Rock Creek Camp, when a student lying on his back, gazing up at the stars discovers the Orion constellation . . .

or maybe it’s on the fourth grade trip to Astrocamp, when students work underwater with their classmates to assemble a structure with plastic building materials and truly understand what it feels like to be an astronaut working in a low-gravity environment.

Seventh graders travel even further afield, visiting Washington, D.C., as they study American history. Students explore the Smithsonian Museums on the Mall, visit the city’s monuments, and day trip to one of the many historic sites outside the city.

“I especially loved the Library of Congress,” notes Jacob G., a current student, who was a member of this fall’s excursion to the nation’s Capitol. “The entire book collection was amazing, but I was astounded by the art. It covered the place from head to toe. Sculpture, mosaic, architecture, and painting—it was all there waiting for everyone and anyone.”

“I loved the Lincoln Memorial at night,” adds seventh grader Sophie K. “The view of the reflecting pool was so beautiful. It was also fun to see Steve point out that there was a mistake in the engravings on the wall.”

The trips support the curriculum, but also allow students to build independence in a safe setting. For many students, The Willows’ overnight trips are the first time they spend any significant time away from home and family.

Back in 1998, Tori Storosh, ’02 participated in the third grade’s first overnight trip to Big Rock Creek Camp. It was her first time sleeping away from home, and she was incredibly anxious. “I remember my teachers being extremely supportive and understanding of my troubles and fears. They tried to make it as fun for me as possible, and it was really nice of everyone to be so caring. I think that says a lot about the community that is formed at The Willows.”

 Reflecting on the decision to commit to overnight trips at almost every grade level, Lisa Rosenstein says, “It was a natural decision for us. Our curriculum emphasizes experiential learning – we want our children to understand first-hand those connections between the classroom and the world beyond.”

 “Plus,” she adds, “The shared experience of these trips is priceless. As our students grow older and move through the Lower and Middle School, they’re able to look back and remember all the adventures that they’ve had as a group. It’s just one more element that binds them together as a community.”