The Goal Is Having Fun At the 92nd Street Y
José Ortiz ’99, director of the teen center and 92nd Street Y after-school programs, says that his days really ramp up around 2:30 p.m. when children and teenagers from nearby schools start pouring in for after-school programs that run into the early evening. José directs the Y’s enrichment and community service–based programs throughout the school year. Three hundred school-age children and 1,500 teens participate in these programs. Every afternoon roughly 40 interns and community- service volunteers join the children to help out. “It’s busy,” José says. “I need to be...
Read MoreDogged Pursuit, Tactical Focus, and Taking the Long View
In early April of this year, I interviewed Brina Milikowsky ’96 about her work with Michael Bloomberg’s gun-control coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Shortly thereafter, the Senate rejected a bipartisan bill—supported by a strong majority of the American public—to expand background checks for gun buyers. Flanked by victims of the Newtown school shooting, an unusually angry Barack Obama described the defeat as “a pretty shameful day for Washington.” If our government couldn’t enact limited but lifesaving legislation that most of the populace thought was reasonable, how...
Read MoreCommon Sense and Core Values Drive Edgy Business Decisions
When Nai Ko ’00 joined his family’s company, he had already decided that conventional retail car sales was not going to work for him. With a degree in industrial engineering from Columbia, Nai was convinced that the business prototype could change. Fully committed to the family business his father had started in 1989, Ko Automotive Group, Nai broke new ground. He re-imagined the sales process and ultimately earned top customer ratings among Toyota dealerships in the nation. In addition, Wellesley Toyota’s new building proclaims the company’s commitment to sustainable practices. It is...
Read MoreWendy Millet ’86 believes that understanding connections–land, animals and people–is transformative
“Horse” was the first word that Wendy Millet ’86 ever spoke, according to family legend. This beginning could not have been more fitting. Wendy says “horse” a lot these days. A Northern California resident by way of Boston, upstate New York ...
Read MoreLiving in the Active Voice: Things Don’t Just Happen. People Do Things.
Adults at Milton—administrators, faculty and staff—are the architects of students’ experience. They work hard to provide a context that encourages a teenager to take ownership of his or her life: in the classroom, as a teammate, in a production, as a roommate. Taking responsibility for yourself is a prerequisite to sharing responsibility for others. These steps are developmental building blocks for leadership. Whether formally through elected office, or informally through attribution, leaders commit themselves to affecting the lives of those around them. “We want responsibility to...
Read MoreWhat They Think: Four students revisit the prospect and the reality of choosing to lead.
How did you come to the decision to run for office? I started thinking about it last year. Seeing Robert Bedetti and Casey Caine (head monitors, 2010–2011) and admiring them helped me realize that you have to step up. People are doing that for us, now, so we need to, as well. I saw Jess Li and Nick Maragos (head monitors) in action this year, and thought about the impact they would have on the School. I love meeting new people. I wanted to give back and get people excited about all the cool things here. —Cameron Milton helps you understand responsibility through your classes, which allow...
Read MoreService yields more than the predictable rewards
At Milton, community service is a choice, not a requirement. Students say this makes the commitment more meaningful. Every week more than 250 students use their free periods to volunteer in over 30 different organizations in the Greater Boston area. Students travel in small groups to tutor in local schools and centers, visit elderly in assisted living homes, and work with disabled children and adults. Some students return to the same placement year after year. We spoke to six of these students about their experiences—the challenges, the surprises and the lifelong influences. “Community...
Read MoreNew Evalutation Dynamics Get Results: K–8 Early Adopters React
Public debate about how to evaluate teachers still fuels talk shows, opinion blogs and cocktail parties. Perhaps the nationwide discussion is passionate because a teacher’s competence and skill affect student outcomes more powerfully than any other factor. Milton’s Strategic Plan prioritizes student experience, and that leads directly to building a top-notch community of educators. We depend upon teachers who are in touch with each other and the world, their disciplines, and up-to-date, effective practices. The Strategic Plan builds on Milton’s tradition of a strong faculty. Milton is...
Read MoreBoys’ Basketball Team Ended 2012–13 as League Champions
Milton fans burst into exuberant celebration as the boys’ varsity basketball team earned the Independent School League Championship title in a 54–53 win over Noble and Greenough. At the final buzzer, students rushed the court as players celebrated their victory, the first league championship in the team’s history. Both teams had strong records going into the game on Friday night, and Nobles led in scoring for most of the game. In the final 15 seconds, Milton had possession of the ball and was down by one point when Coach Lamar Reddicks called a time-out. “This team has been one of the...
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