Ashwood Waldorf School is pleased to announce that prominent educator Nancy Harris Frohlich has joined its Board of Trustees.
It was a chance encounter with a 12-year-old Ashwood student that led to Frohlich’s association with the 28-year-old independent school.
Each year, Ashwood participates with other area schools in the student art exhibition at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. While attending the exhibit, Harris fell into conversation with Michael Frampton, then a Fifth Grader at Ashwood Waldorf School and one of the student exhibitors.
Impressed with Michael’s ability to talk about his artistic process, Frohlich decided to attend a presentation at Ashwood featuring the school’s Eighth Grade Projects. These annual projects integrate art, technology, engineering, writing, and design within the context of a yearlong mentoring relationship with a professional in the field of endeavor.
Frohlich, a lifelong proponent of art in education, recognized a kindred spirit in her encounters with Ashwood. “Art inspires kids to become adventurous thinkers,” Frohlich reflected in her blog. “It teaches them to plunge into problem solving, breaking the whole into manageable parts. It invites them to apply and deepen their understanding in virtually every curricular area—in particular in math, engineering, and science.”
A teacher and educator since 1972, Nancy Harris Frohlich has a Master of Education in Child Development from Tufts University.
Frohlich was head of school at The Advent School, Boston, for 17 years. During her tenure there, she oversaw major renovations to the classroom facilities, developed and documented the curriculum, founded the school’s early childhood program, and established after-school and summer programs.
Prior to her work at The Advent School, Frohlich served for 20 years at the Charles River School as director of studies, coordinator of lower grades, and teacher of first and third grades. From 1979 to 2012, Frohlich directed teacher workshops in thematic education for schools.
In 2013 Frohlich founded ArtWorks, “a center for research and collaboration to promote the teaching of thinking through art.” She is an advisory board member at the Charles River School and The Advent School.