News & Calendar
School News
2021
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April
Lessons from My Grandfather
During Morning Reports, members of the Emma Willard School community have a chance to share inspirational thoughts from their own life experience. In a recent talk, Helen S. ’21 shared the powerful lessons she has learned during this particularly difficult season of life.Read More -
Bridging Culture Through Music
Musical Synergy, a student run ensemble, integrates Western classical instruments with traditional Eastern instruments. Last month, Musical Synergy shared their first piece, “Jasmine Flower (茉莉花),” with the Emma Willard School community.Read More -
A Bold Choice
Finding the best fit for your high school years takes discovery, contemplation, and a considerable investigation. Emma Willard School has shared "Best Fit Days" with prospective students and their families in these past few days. We were delighted to offer many the chance to be on-campus to meet members of the current community and to have their final questions answered before choosing their new school.Read More -
Ashley Bennett, EdD to Lead College Counseling
Emma Willard School is pleased to announce the addition of Ashley L. Bennett, EdD as our new director of college counseling beginning with the 2021-22 school year.Read More -
Playing with Math
Last week at Morning Reports, Mathematics Instructor Alexandra Schmidt shared how her students are creatively using math outside the classroom and collaborating with other area students.Read More -
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Begins COVID-19 Testing at Emma Willard School
Two historic Troy institutions are teaming up to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Weekly surveillance testing of all Emma Willard School students, faculty, and staff is now being conducted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.Read More -
March
Winter Play: 10 Ways to Survive Life in Quarantine
As we passed the one-year milestone since the beginning of COVID-related restrictions, the Emma Willard School Theatre Department presented their second virtual production: 10 Ways to Survive Life in a Quarantine. Appropriately, our boarding students were watching from their own post-Spring Break quarantine.Read More -
One of 360: Lucia B. '24
Our “One in 360” series springs forward as we learn about ninth grader Lucia B. ‘24. Lucia is a boarding student who started her first year at Emma as a day student and the transition has been an experience unique to the 2020-2021 school year! Read below the jump for Lucia’s own words on art history, piano, poetry, and her favorite Emma tradition so far...Read More -
Women’s History Personified
More than 200 years ago, the bold and courageous Emma Hart Willard founded a school where girls would experience the same opportunities available to their brothers—to learn, to lead, to invent, and discover! Each year during Women’s History Month, we become acutely aware of contributions to women’s history all around us.Read More -
Recovering from Third Grade
During Morning Reports, members of the Emma Willard School community have a chance to share inspirational thoughts from their own life experience. In a recent talk, Ava S. '22 energetically and humorously shared her thoughts on perfectionism and how she “recovered from third grade.”Read More -
When Women Organize
The Fall 2020 edition of Signature magazine celebrated the visionary leadership of Emma Willard School alumnae across the decades since the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. One piece of this leadership came in the form of participation in the League of Women Voters. This Women's History Month, we honor the women who taught generations how to leverage the right to vote through the League of Women Voters.Read More -
Winter Art Show and Scholastic Art Awards
At Morning Reports on March 1, 2021, our community was treated to a selection of student works from the visual arts. In addition to the Winter Student Gallery we are honored to be represented by the work of students who received Scholastic Art Awards. Read on to explore the soundscapes, collages, paintings, and other examples of art from our current students.Read More -
Just the FACTS: A Crash Course on Structural Inequality in America
Last month, Emma Willard School welcomed Natalie Gillard, founder and facilitator of FACTUALITY, a crash course and interactive experience simulating structural inequality in the United States using data and statistics.Read More -
The Pursuit of Trivia
When Leah Friedman ’02 announced that she was going to be on JEOPARDY!™ in February 2021, she joined a distinctive group of Emma Willard School alums who have put their trivia knowledge to the test. The first Emma alumna to appear on the famous game show was Jane Erskine ’75 back in 1986. Since then, Liz Reardon ’73, Ann Doyle Thurlow ’74, Amelia Hershberger ’01, and now Leah have experienced the adrenaline rush of appearing on “America’s Favorite Quiz Show.”™Read More -
Learning in Process: Sharpening the Saw & Critical Friends
Read MoreDuring the 2020-2021 academic year, Emma Willard School faculty have been invited to participate in sessions designed to strengthen their teaching practices. These colleague-to-colleague events, “Sharpening the Saw” and “Critical Friends,” provide a space for faculty to share and learn from a greater collective of institutional knowledge. -
"Celebrating Black Joy": BLSU presents Black History Month 2021 Assembly
Each year, the Black Latinx Student Union (BLSU) hosts a packed assembly for Black History Month (BHM) to share important pieces of Black history and commentary on the experience of being a Black student at Emma Willard School. This year’s theme, ‘Celebrating Black Joy,” was woven through all of the skits, speeches, poems, and visual art presented over two days of celebration.Read More -
February
One of 360: Mika F. ‘22
Each of the 360 students at Emma Willard School has a unique story. They are truly one-of-a-kind. The Emma Willard community has students from 24 states and 36 foreign countries. Some are interested in technology and robotics, others are entrepreneurs and artists, musicians, writers, and athletes, historians and social justice advocates. We love hearing their voices and think you will enjoy meeting some of our unique students who are serving and shaping their world. This series of “One of 360” stories features these students and explores what makes them unique.Read More -
Rao Rumbles: What do you do when you feel like you're unqualified?
Head of School Jenny Rao learned early in her tenure at Emma Willard School how inquisitive students can be. They were curious about the then-new head of school and had all sorts of questions. Ms. Rao took their interest to heart and instituted Rao Rumbles, an opportunity for students to submit their questions to be answered (either by Ms. Rao or by a special guest) during Morning Reports. In a recent edition of Rao Rumbles, Ms. Rao answered the question, “What do you do when you feel like you’re unqualified?”Read More -
Speaking Up and Fostering Change
Doing justice to Black History takes more than a month-long celebration. In the latest issue of Signature magazine, Sarah Foster '17 shared the story of how she advocated for Black History curriculum at Emma Willard School during her time here.Read More -
Making an Impact: Gemma Halfi, Interim Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Gemma Halfi came to Emma Willard School in 2004 and has been making an impact ever since she stepped on campus. From houseparent to running the peer educator program to helping create a program known as Inner Journey to her current role as interim assistant director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Gemma has been working with students and employees modeling the values of community and connection.Read More -
Speaker Series: Sierra Crane Murdoch ‘05
This past Monday, Emma Willard School welcomed alumna Sierra Crane Murdoch ‘05 for a virtual Speaker Series event. Sierra is a journalist and essayist whose work concerns, primarily, communities in the American West: “I write about power and powerlessness and I write about the ways in which people resist or reclaim power then they have been denied it.”Read More -
The 21-Day Equity Challenge at Emma Willard School
Last month, Eddie Moore, Jr., PhD brought a spark of inspiration to Emma Willard School with his virtual keynote, “Why Keep Dreaming,” honoring the life of MLK and the ongoing battle for social change. Over the next three weeks, our internal community practiced effective social justice habits by participating in Dr. Moore’s 21-Day Equity Challenge.Read More -
A “Bigger Than You” Life
Recently, alumna Cynthia “Cindy” Abizaid-Rush '76 joined the current Emma community during Morning Reports to share inspiration from her own life experience. She encouraged us all to reflect on the impact that our actions make on those around us and recognized that what is within us is greater than our circumstances.Read More -
Academic Convocation and Announcement of Sara Lee Schupf Family Endowed Chair in Curriculum Excellence and Innovation
Emma Willard School marked the start of the Spring 2021 semester with Academic Convocation on Tuesday, February 2. The virtual ceremony opened with a musical performance from senior Bella B. ‘21, playing Frédéric Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude, Op. 10, No. 12.”Read More -
Signature Magazine Celebrates Visionary Leadership
In 2020, the United States celebrated the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, advancing women’s right to vote. With that milestone in mind, Emma Willard School dedicated this edition of Signature magazine to the recognition of those in the Emma community who have continued to provide visionary leadership over the past 10 decades since that landmark event.Read More -
January
One of 360: Trinity M. '23
Read MoreOur “One of 360” series continues into 2021 as we learn about Trinity M. '23. Trinity is a tenth-grade boarding student who returned to campus for in-person learning this January. Read more in Trinity’s own words on her classes and favorite Emma traditions: -
Why Emma? A Parent's Point of View
One value that is treasured at Emma Willard School is being yourself -- your full self. Whether a student or an employee, the freedom to be oneself creates a rich and robust community. Often the people who see this the best are parents. They can see their child thriving. They witness happiness, comfort, growth, effort, and often joy. One father, Hans, shares two reflections on how his daughter, Olivia M. '22 is experiencing Emma.Read More -
MLK Day Programming
Last Monday, Emma Willard School virtually gathered for the celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in accordance with Dr. King’s dual emphasis on global and local issues. Students, faculty, and staff participated in a day of presentations designed to create awareness of injustices facing not only our immediate community, but our shared world.Read More -
Faculty Reflection: MLK and the Necessity of Action
Read MoreWe continue to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We are pleased to share our final faculty reflection. Archivist/History Instructor Nancy Iannucci shared her reflection about Dr. King during an all-school assembly on MLK Day. Ms. Iannucci’s reflection quotes from his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" and discusses some of the connections that Emma Willard School had with Dr. King and others during the Civil Rights movement, thanks to then Head of School Bill Dietel. -
Faculty Reflection: MLK - Engaging in Tolerance
Read MoreWe continue to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We are pleased to share another faculty reflection. History Instructor Carol Bendall shared her reflection about Dr. King during an all-school assembly on MLK Day. Ms. Bendall’s reflection focuses on his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" and discusses the legal and moral responsibility of obeying laws. -
Why Keep Dreaming? Keynote from Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr.
Read MoreCelebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Emma Willard School started with a series of reflections and conversations that took place before the “official day.” Interim Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Gemma Halfi created a robust schedule that included Capital Region women activists, faculty reflections (Josh Hatala, Katie Holt, Bob Naeher, Drew Levy, Carol Bendall, and Nancy Iannucci) as well as a visit with Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., the founder and director of the White Privilege Conference (WPC). Dr. Moore, with a PhD in Educational Leadership, is also the founder of the Privilege Institute. The Institute offers research, education, and other resources including a peer-reviewed journal, “Understanding and Dismantling Privilege.” Dr. Moore spent the virtual day providing a workshop for faculty/staff and two for students before presenting his keynote presentation that is detailed in this post. Additional information about MLK Day itself will be shared in a subsequent post. -
Faculty Reflection: MLK and Creative Maladjustment
As we continue to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are pleased to share faculty reflections. History Instructor Drew Levy shared his reflection on Dr. King during an all-school assembly affectionately known as Morning Reports. Mr. Levy’s reflection focuses on a central theme that Dr. King discussed regarding how we live in our world.Read More -
Faculty Reflection: Drum Major for Justice
Read MoreAs we continue to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are pleased to share faculty reflections. History Instructor Albert P. and Newell Chair of Humanities Robert Naeher, PhD shared his reflection on Dr. King during an all-school assembly affectionately known as Morning Reports. Dr. Naeher’s reflection focuses on one of Dr. King’s last sermon’s “The Drum Major Instinct.” -
Catalyst Conversations
In celebration of the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Emma Willard School hosted an intimate four-night symposium highlighting Women of Color who have made invaluable contributions to the Capital Region through their work as activists, artists, and authors in the fight for civil rights, equity, and justice. This programming was one of several events curated for the school wide observance.Read More -
Faculty Reflection: MLK's I've Been to the Mountaintop
As we continue to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are pleased to share faculty reflections. History Department Chair Katharine Holt, PhD shared her reflection on Dr. King during an all-school assembly affectionately known as Morning Reports. Dr. Holt's reflection focuses on hope in dark times and has meaning for today as well as 1968.Read More -
Faculty Reflection: MLK's Poor People's Campaign
This week and next, Emma Willard School is featuring a series of events and conversations in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Director of Curriculum and Innovation Josh Hatala shared a reflection on Dr. King during an all-school assembly affectionately known as Morning Reports. This reflection focuses on what has become known as the Poor People's Campaign.Read More -
Signature Project: Structure of Influence
As a part of the Emma Willard School Signature program, students have an experiential learning opportunity to deeply explore ideas and interests beyond the classroom. For her project, Lia R. ’21 is in the second year of a two-year effort to create a documentary film focused on the art of storytelling.Read More -
Behind the Screens of Online Learning
Emma Willard School is pleased to have a student-run newspaper, The Clock. From time to time, we are honored to feature articles from the digital newspaper on our blog. Section Editor Eleanor A. '21 writes about what happens behind the screens in a digital teaching and learning experience.Read More -
Out of the Bubble: A Quarantine Memoir
As we step into a brand new year, we find ourselves reflecting on lessons we learned last year. During Morning Reports one morning last fall, Ivyann S. ’23 shared with our school community about some lessons she learned during her family’s COVID quarantine.Read More
Welcome to Emma Willard School, a private day and boarding high school for girls in Troy, NY, and a leader in girls' education for over 200 years.