Ashoka
Mission Hill School
At the heart of Mission Hill is a curriculum that integrates academic, intellectual, artistic, social, emotional, and civic growth. This is accomplished through focus on five habits of the mind, including viewpoint: which requires a great deal of imagination and empathy cultivated through the study of thematic topics over a four-year rotation. Started by Deb Meier, the first educator to receive a MacArthur Genius Award, Mission Hill is a model school for the small schools movement and for democratic learning. Mission Hill also has a philanthropy and social entrepreneurship program, a program to role-play responses to dilemmas, and a writing program, through which middle school students publish a book about the experiences of local workers.
Kathy D'Andrea
Kathy joined the Mission Hill School and a community of passionate educators who believed great things are possible. Founder Deborah Meier helped her to strengthen her voice and taught Kathy the importance of sharing knowledge. Now Kathy thinks of herself as a social entrepreneur who is dedicated to collaboration and sharing information. Sharing what Kathy knows is at the core of what she does. It is imperative that we as teachers mentor other teachers. Teachers visit her classroom from all over the world. Kathy presents at and organizes conferences. Kathy has worked with the school district, led professional development, and been a part of documentaries.