Pictured above: Delivery of the new reading curriculum to Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica
In honor of Jenny Rowe’s careful stewardship of Friends School of Portland, the FSP board donated a large reading curriculum - known as Level Literacy Intervention - to another Quaker school which Jenny shepherded over years: the Monteverde Friends School (MFS), in Monteverde Costa Rica.
Jenny’s work - and the gift itself - speaks to a long legacy of connection and understanding between Quaker schools around the globe. I’ve been a witness to a few of these intersections: I attended the Cambridge Friends School, worked as a middle school teacher under Jenny’s leadership in Monteverde in 2001, and now our daughter Nora attends FSP as a 6th grader. The connections are abundant! And I’ve been lucky to know Jenny from the perspective of teacher, school parent, and friend.
“Someone who lives their Quaker values the way Jenny does, it’s just huge,” said Melody Guindon, who’s been a Kinder teacher at MFS since 1996. “That everyone is equally valuable and valued… from there we go on to the care of the environment, and the care of our school and property, and whatnot, but first and foremost is this respect and care for each other.” Jenny brought all of these aspects together, Melody explained. “It’s just priceless to have someone who has all those qualities as a leader.”
Melody praised the stability, kindness and care that marked Jenny’s leadership throughout her 6-year tenure at MFS. “I always felt comfortable coming to her with anything that I needed to, and I felt supported and understood and heard - what you really want as a Head of School.”
Lise Wagner, clerk of Friends School of Portland’s board shared, "As Head of School, Jenny shepherded us through major changes and growth, with grace and compassion. We believed that the best gift we could give in her honor was to lend a hand to our friends in Monteverde, to help them move forward out of the pandemic. We were grateful that Jenny honed her skills in Quaker leadership at MFS and brought them to us!"
This connection will be reinforced through teaching this new literacy curriculum at MFS.
The support arrives at a timely moment. As MFS Sub-Director Maggie Fatovic explained in an email, “Many of our students are not native English speakers, coupled with almost a year of hybrid and virtual school, students were falling behind in their reading skills in English.” The new LLI training program will allow teachers to support a large number of students. “Because the program comes with complete lesson plans and prepared materials, teachers have very little to prepare for LLI. This makes teachers' lives so much easier!”
Both Melody and Maggie spoke about their gratitude for the donation and their excitement in getting started. “That’s a very significant contribution to hopefully helping many, many students in the future,” said Melody.
As we celebrate Jenny’s lived Quaker values and kind, considerate leadership, it’s wonderful to know that the spirit of her leadership continues across curricula, schools, and connections.
Jenny Rowe during her time as Head of School of Monteverde Friends School with her daughter, Clara.
Jones Franzel, former Monteverde Friends School teacher and mom to FSP sixth-grade student pictured with her family.