Careers, Life, and Yale Thursday Show: Yale Alumni Educators on Lessons from the Pandemic

Graphic: Yale Alumni Educators on Lessons from the Pandemic

Among the greatest challenges of the pandemic has been the disruption to in-person education, which involves both academic standards and social engagement. On Wednesday, July 13, a panel of four dynamic educators will offer their perspectives on learning during the pandemic, which will include insights as to what parents and guardians can do to address children’s needs and to ally with teachers.

Fellow educators can join Jessica Bialecki ’08, Mike Fishback ’01, Orly Friedman ’07, and Claudia Portogallo ’17 PhD to compare notes about their experiences. Have we learned anything to the good? Is there a path forward that builds on the hard-won lessons? Are there scenarios in which education can actually be improved?

This event is co-sponsored by the newest Yale alumni shared-interest group, Yale Alumni Educators, which is for those involved with education of any sort as well as for those interested in education issues.

Speakers

Jessica Bialecki ’08

Jessica Bialecki is a native New Havenite, who has recently returned to her home town to be executive director of Creating Kids Childcare Center and the Connecticut Children’s Museum. Previously she had been with the New York City Department of Education, last serving at senior director of policy, Division of Early Childhood Education.

Mike Fishback ’01

A Whiffenpoof during his time at Yale, Mike Fishback is a social studies teacher and curriculum coordinator at Almaden Country Day School in San Jose, California, where he also sponsors a Gender and Sexuality Alliance. He previously taught humanities at High Tech High, an interdisciplinary project-based charter school in San Diego.

Orly Friedman ’07

Orly Friedman is the founder of Red Bridge, a school in San Francisco that teaches students a sense of agency by setting goals, working together, reflecting, and owning their learning. She has been entrepreneur-in-residence with Transcend, a nonprofit focused on school innovation and innovators, and was the Head of Lower School at Khan Lab School.

Claudia Portogallo ’17 PhD

Claudia Portogallo has a PhD in Classics and Classical Language from the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Dedicated to including emotional intelligence as a part of education, she is a boarding school mentor and teacher at Sankt Afra at Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a state-sponsored boarding school for exceptionally able and talented young adults.