Alumni
Former Falk Student Teachers Look Back
Taylor Rose Cole spent her time at Falk
Laboratory School in Kevin Goodwin ’ s first- and second-grade classroom and with Danya Lang and Katie Spence in learning support . After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education with a Bachelor of Science in 2020 and a Master of Education in 2021 , she began working at Pressley
Ridge , a school for children with emotional and behavioral disorders . She serves as a special education teacher in a classroom of first- and second-grade students .
One of Cole ’ s favorite memories from Falk is teaching a photography unit , during which she led students around Pitt ’ s campus and later printed and hung the students ’ work .
“ The thing I liked the most about Falk was how kind and supportive everyone was ,” she says . “ I didn ’ t have to fit a role or hide any parts of me when I came to school . I got to go there and be who I truly am .”
Cole credits Falk with setting the groundwork for her creativity as a teacher .
“ I spent a wonderful year teaching very bright middle schoolers at Falk . The year was a formative teaching experience at a very special school .”
Ann Waldman
“ I learned that it ’ s possible that the things I love about life , I could bring into my career ,” she says . “ That ’ s what I really learned when I was at Falk , and I took that with me .”
Ann Waldman served as an assistant teacher during the 1970-71 school year . She recalls , “ I spent a wonderful year teaching very bright middle schoolers at Falk . The year was a formative teaching experience at a very special school . We later sent our children to a very similar school , Catlin Gabel School in Portland , [ Oregon ].” ■
Falk Student Alumni Reminisce
Betsy Hills Bush , Class of 1974 , writes :
“ I was so glad to receive the first issue of En Avant and to see Rob , Kathleen , and [ their ] father Bob Marshall on the cover . I was a classmate of Rob ’ s from first through eighth grade [ and ] a good friend of all the Marshalls — Rob , Maura , and Kathleen — through high school and our college years , and I still keep in touch with their parents today .
“ The Falk experience just gets better and more amazing in hindsight . We were encouraged to think creatively , to be interested in the world , and to explore many different avenues . We were all nerdy in some way , and that was totally cool .
“ Other aspects that I have come to appreciate : We had very diverse classrooms . I always had Black friends . We were not only friends in school , but we went to each other ’ s houses for birthday parties , etc .— NOT a typical experience in Pittsburgh . I remember when Martin Luther King Jr . was assassinated , I was in Mrs . Mary Jo Reisinger ’ s class in first grade , and they brought in the television and we watched the news , and we talked about it in class , particularly about the riots unfolding in Pittsburgh and other cities , which we all watched on the news in the evenings .
“ And as it pertains to theater , Falk ’ s musical productions were examples of color-blind and diverse casting . I well remember Earl Child ’ s Tevye in ‘ Fiddler on the Roof .’ He was only in ninth grade but fully embodied Tevye ’ s humor and pathos . I once asked Bob and Anne Marshall if Earl was as good in the role as I remembered , and they assured me he was . Kudos as well to Donald Mushalko , the music teacher , for his amazing job directing the productions each year . He was better than we knew or really appreciated at the time .
“[ I have ] so many memories . Thanks for bringing it all back .”
38 EN AVANT | 2024 ISSUE