by Barbara Salzman

It was 1984 and my disillusionment with teaching foreign language and special education told me that I might need to leave public education in order to grow and feel personally fulfilled.
I had already begun networking and thinking about a career change when, in July, I interviewed at Lincoln-Sudbury. The housemaster, Cathy Livingston, was so phenomenal that I decided to give public education one more chance...just one more year.
A few weeks later, I visited L-S to check out my new room which had been, in earlier days, a book storage area. As I walked down the empty corridor, trying to make sense of the missing ceiling tiles, worn out linoleum, and scattered buckets of rainwater from the leaky roof, I wondered what working in this strange-looking school would be like.
Where I had previously worked, the schools’ standard problems, decrepit ceilings and floors, were synchronous with its inner workings. I would soon find out that L-S was different: the neglected facade masked an incredibly rich educational landscape.
My very first day, I was amazed by then school committee chairwoman Lynn Donaldson’s inspirational message to the faculty: be creative and take risks. In the next few weeks I met some of the most brilliant, creative, and compassionate teachers imaginable whose passion and energy were emblematic of the intellectual stimulation of L-S.
The administration, in its wisdom, allowed many of the ideas, programs, and policies to be initiated by teachers and their collaborative work. This was a very exciting school in which to work.
As for special education, my beloved department, it was remarkable that as late as 1984, ten long years after the enactment of the Massachusetts Special Education Legislation, Lincoln-Sudbury had an extremely under developed special education program. Sounds rather paradoxical... but was it?
I believe that the lack of special education services was because so many students’ individual needs were already being met in mainstream programs and classes by teachers who were knowledgeable, flexible, and intent on making education work for everyone.
Programs such as Central (at that time it was housed off-site in today’s Fairbanks building), and Fundamental Education (a program within L-S designed to provide a smaller community as well as more structure and monitoring) served a variety of students.
Within the regular program, teachers then, as now, spent a great deal of energy trying to figure out how to reach all students. There was a constant interchange of ideas, methods, and strategies. We were eager to learn from each other as we strove to reach, teach, and connect with the individual student. This was the fertile environment I happened to land in.
As I saw it, my challenge was to not damage an already extremely effective (and highly unusual as my previous experiences taught me) educational program where the classroom teacher took ownership of educating all students. At the same time, I wanted to bring my expertise to those students who needed it. I considered this to be a very delicate and collaborative effort.
Reflecting on my experiences at L-S calls up memories of working with incredible people-students, parents, colleagues, and staff. There were two very special people that I would like to mention--Clare Mullen and Ed McCarthy.
Clare recently passed away, and in thinking back over my years at Lincoln-Sudbury, Clare’s memory is palpable. Clare and I worked together in the Learning Center for many years. Through her heart, wisdom, humor, integrity, and devotion she forged so many caring and supportive relationships with students. I certainly miss her.
I also miss another dear L-S colleague who passed away in 1989--Ed McCarthy. Ed worked in the math department, was TA president, and girls’ softball coach. Ed and I worked closely together with our mutual students; and while I taught Ed about diverse learning styles, he taught me the slope formula!
Looking back, there were many differences between L-S 1984 and L-S 2008; much of this is probably more a reflection of the time and larger cultural expectations than anything else. Back then there students had a lot more free time in their schedules and there was no MCAS.
Today, the Learning Center is not peppered with rain buckets; rather we live in a suite of beautiful classrooms. In addition, the special education services have grown to include a number of more specialized programs to support students. Although the academic expectations and pressures on students have grown, L-S continues to be a school with heart whose dedicated faculty is as passionate as ever.
So...I did stay at L-S for more than one year. In fact, twenty-four years later I am able to reflect on an incredibly fulfilling career. I was able to practice the great art of teaching at Lincoln-Sudbury, and my life has been enriched by the mutual exchange I shared with extraordinary students, families, and colleagues.