July 2025

Dear SMASH Families,

Check out the hour-long July 3rd “Free Range Humans” podcast episode entitled “A School That Feels Like Family - Welcome to SMASH”
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/a-school-that-feels-like-family-welcome-to-smash/id1571981852?i=1000715605258

Here is an excerpt of the podcast episode description. 

“SMASH isn’t new - it’s been doing things differently for over 50 years, emphasizing multi-age classrooms, social-emotional learning, looping, and strong adult-child relationships. Jessica Rishe (principal) and Malika Boyer (6th grade teacher) share how the school cultivates trust, responsibility, and belonging across all grade levels — and why it still stands out even as others catch on to ideas like project-based learning and social-emotional learning. "Highlights from the conversation include: how multi-age groupings shape student growth and leadership; the importance of a fully informed and integrated parent population; why respect goes much further than titles and first names; how SMASH builds a culture that encourages staff to stay…”

In May 2025, SMASH hosted educational leaders researching schools that create a culture of passion and purpose for students and adults. It is exciting that the researchers plan to include SMASH as an example in their upcoming book.  They spoke with our students and teachers and looked at how we set up our physical learning spaces.  In June, they interviewed SMASH middle school teacher Malaika and me for their podcast.  

Here is the bio for one of the May visitors: 
Jal Mehta is professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A sociologist by training, his work focuses on how to remake the industrial-era school system into a modern learning organization that creates passion and purpose for both students and adults.  Mehta is the co-director of the Deeper Learning Dozen, a community of practice of districts and states across the United States and Canada that are seeking to remake themselves for the future. He works with teachers, schools, districts, states, and provinces in the United States and around the world, seeking to cull wisdom from leading practitioners and share it with the field. He is the co-host of Free Range Humans, a podcast about "making schools fit for human consumption."

I am proud to be part of our school that is committed to creating a culture of care for all children and adult learners. Wishing everyone well this summer.  Don't forget that the 25-26 school year begins on Thursday, August 21, at 8:30am!

Enthusiastically yours,

Jessica