The Waverly School is a progressive school in Pasadena, California, spanning young kindergarten through high school.

Notes from the Farm: My Favorite Day

October 24, 2011

Last year, Katie asked me, “Mom, when Joe and I are at school, what is your favorite day of the week?”  (Her favorite day:  PE-and-Music-with-Michael- and-Josie day.)  I thought a little.  “Wednesday, definitely, Wednesday.”  On Wednesdays, Maki Lou and I had been routinely catching up on chores at the farm.  We’d go down after dropping [...]

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Rebecca Takes On Twilight

October 17, 2011

Two summers ago, I felt the need to see what all the fuss regarding the Stephanie Meyers Twilight series was about, as so many of my students were abuzz with obsessive fandom or vitriolic criticism—or sometimes, strangely, both. I opened the first novel, and two weeks, three books, and 1,700 pages later, came up for [...]

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Waverly Middle School–It’s Here!

October 3, 2011
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Waverly Middle School Sneak Peek

September 27, 2011

It’s done! We’re ready to go! Just waiting for a few more city inspections and a few more turns of the broom.

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Fifteen Things I Like About You

September 21, 2011

I like teaching high school students because… I can come to school the day after watching American Idol or Project Runway and go over every song or dress or emotional meltdown with a handful of students. When she was assigned on essay on the Bluest Eye, one student said the pedophile made her so angry, [...]

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The Farm: Autumn Plans

September 19, 2011

The hot days are upon us, and Waverly Farm, not being planted for summer crops, is a dry and dusty, forlorn looking place.  Even Cheri’s incredible tomatoes are winding down.  And everything along the front fence—ripped out and barren looking.  Sad, sad, sad.  But the new school year is beginning, our young farmers have returned…  [...]

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What Lisa Learned

September 13, 2011

This is what I have learned from my second major pass through middle school (the first being in the early ‘70s): • Most middle school students don’t mean to be disorganized. It’s just that their lockers and backpacks tend to reflect their explosive and creative inner landscapes. • Middle school students often have an inordinate [...]

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Happy New Year!

September 7, 2011

January 1st has never meant much to me.  I usually spend the night before at home, I go to bed before midnight, and I rarely make resolutions.  I’ve spent my life in schools – nineteen years as a student, twelve as a teacher, and thirteen as a head of school.  I know that the real [...]

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