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The BEF's October board meeting, which was a potluck dinner held at the home of gracious Board member Erin Meyer and her husband Nat, featured presentations on two fascinating grants. First, BHS math teacher Julia James told the Board, Advisory Board, and staff members present about her grant-funded trip to Nicaragua, where she studied Spanish and prepared to lead a student trip to teach math to younger students in the Dominican Republic later this year. Her experience in the restrictive political climate of Nicaragua was profoundly impactful, as were the connections she made with her instructors and local people she got [...]

At our first Board meeting of the 2024-25 school year, BEF Board members were thrilled to hear from Driscoll librarian Anne Reid and art teacher Olivia Reyelt, who received a Teacher grant this year to create Driscoll's Year of the Turtle! Their grant began with a trip to Costa Rica over the summer, where Anne and Olivia worked with local wildlife conservation teams to record turtle breeding activities and help endangered sea turtles navigate safely between the beach and the ocean. It will continue all year long as turtles infuse life at Driscoll with a new energy and joyfulness - the [...]

This month, the BEF Board was thrilled to hear from BHS Spanish teacher Erica O'Mahony about her recent trip to Colombia. Erica's grant, entitled “Cartagena: Afro-Latino History and Culture in Colombia," took her to Cartagena over April vacation. She took many tours while there, having prepared for her trip with extensive research into the history of African enslaved people, freed slaves, and the communities they built in and around Cartagena during the nineteenth century, both in cooperation with white Creoles and Indians, and in isolation. She interviewed many local people, recorded examples of local Afro-Latino language, art, and dance, and returned [...]

At our February Board meeting, BEF leaders were thrilled to hear from 2024 grant recipient Joslyn Vendola. Joslyn teaches math in the EXCEL program at Brookline High School (and is the 2022 winner of the BEF's Caverly Award for Excellence in Teaching!) and she received a 2024 grant along with several colleagues to design a drivers' education program at BHS, specifically seeking to break down existing barriers to getting a driver's license that are related to cost and to accessibility that exist for students with financial or learning challenges. Joslyn and her colleagues have taken the drivers' education course and become [...]

At our January meeting, the BEF Board heard from BHS social studies teachers Roger Grande and Astrid Allen about their trip to Puerto Rico this past summer. Along with BHS colleagues Stephanie Hunt and Emily McGinnis, Roger and Astrid received BEF funding to explore the impact of colonialism and climate change on Puerto Rico's culture, ecology, and industry. They immersed themselves in history, agro-ecology, and culture in diverse settings ranging from the city of Old San Juan to the El Yunque Rain Forest. The BHS educators hope and are planning to translate their learning into a trip designed for students in [...]