In my 9th decade, I look back on a blessed, joyful, and rich life. I was the first- born child in the early years of WWII. We lived in Manhattan in an apartment building on 11th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. Our "twin" building was on 12th street with a common garden and play area for residents to use. I remember lots of play time there and learning how to ride a tricycle.

Kindergarten started at a local public school but one day, when I was bored, I walked out of school and went home. Shocked, my parents decided to send me to a more challenging private (parochial) school. That school still thrives and coincidentally one of my granddaughters is dating a young man who graduated from there five years ago!

When I was ten, the family--which now included my younger sister--moved to Forest Hills, Queens. My education returned to the public sector--PS 157, PS 175, Forest Hills HS, and City College (the upper Manhattan Campus of the City University of NY.) Much of my after-school teenage social time was spent as a member of a youth organization where I met my future husband, Shelly. This past January we celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary with our two sons, Stephen and Avi, their spouses, and other family members. We have been blessed with six grandchildren: Joshua, Zachary, Max, Ruth, Erica, and Sasha. In June we will be part of Joshua and Lindsay's wedding party!

Professionally, I started as a math teacher at the High School of Music and Art which was, at that time, located on the campus of City College. After a short maternity leave, I returned to M&A for three years and then another leave for son #2. While on leave I subbed at my alma mater, FHHS, where I met John Rodgers, math department chairperson. At the end of my leave I joined him to open a new high school, Beach Channel HS. The best time of those early years was spent in the classroom engaging and encouraging those young minds as they struggled and finally came to understand algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus!

When Murray Bergtraum HS opened, I was invited to join their math department as well as serve as program chairperson, scheduling classes. Subsequently, I became an assistant principal for Administration and Supervision at Jamaica HS and Middle College HS @ LaGuardia CC. Between Jamaica and MCHS I had the good fortune to work with Cece at the PSEN funded math program. Truth be told, I moved from school to school often because I felt it was more important with whom I worked than where I worked. At each school, with challenging assignments and professional colleagues, I learned and grew.

What better way to end my working years than joining Cece as co-director of the Middle College National Consortium!

Harold "Bret" Bretstein spent the years 1970-1991 in Intermediate schools teaching math and social studies. He held leadership positions, including chair of the math department and cluster leadership. In 1992, he joined the staff at International High School at LaGuardia Community College, where he taught Social Studies and wore many other hats until 2005, including: teacher-elected representative to the school governance committee, Chair of IHS personnel committee that oversaw all hiring and peer reviews, the teacher in charge of all after-school athletic activities, student government advisor, and union delegate.  From 2003-2013, Bret was an MCNC Associate in charge of Peer Review throughout many consortium schools. 

Richard earned a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree from Baylor University with majors in English and sociology. He also did graduate work at Baylor and earned his master’s degree in educational administration from The University of North Texas where he also completed some post-graduate work, pursuing a doctorate in higher education.

With almost four decades of experience in the education industry, beginning in 1981 in Tyler ISD, Richard served as a high school teacher, principal, new-teacher supervisor/trainer, and educational consultant throughout the state and nation. He was among the first adjunct faculty to teach in the Urban Education Division at El Centro College where he taught “Introduction to Educational Processes” and “Multicultural Education.” In May of 2019, Richard retired from serving as the Dallas County Extension Director for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, where he managed and supported Extension faculty and staff to provide community education programs for over 2.6 million citizens in Dallas County.

As a professional school educator, Richard was recognized by the U. S. Congress, state legislators, governors, and city officials. He was honored by former Texas Governor Ann Richards when he was named the founding principal of LACEY, the first school in Texas designed to help educate expelled youth. In 2002, Richard was acknowledged by former Texas Governor Rick Perry when his “at-risk” students at Middle College/Early College High School achieved a 100% passing rate on all areas of the state assessment. He also served as a panelist for Governor Perry’s High School Council. Former State Senator Florence Shapiro recommended Richard to advise the Texas Commissioner of Education on The Bill and Melinda Gates Early College Initiative in 2004. In 2005, Richard wrote the RFP to redesign Dallas ISD’s Middle College High School into the Wright L. Lassiter, Jr. Early College High School at El Centro College.

Named a “21st Century’s Most Promising Leader” by the Dallas Urban League Guild, Richard was named “Teacher of the Year” and “Golden Apple Award” finalist – identified in the top five among approximately 10,000 teachers in Dallas ISD. He was also named “The Most Outstanding Administrator of the Year” and “District 9 Principal of the Year” in Dallas ISD. 

In 2005 Richard established Davis Academic Project – a sole proprietorship and PSL3 – Project Student Leaders, Inc. – a 501(c)(3) non-profit consultancy to provide cutting-edge workshops for students, parents, educators, and business personnel. As an educational consultant with Guaranteed 4.0 Learning System, LLC., Richard co-delivered presentations at more than 40 colleges and universities across the nation. He served on the panel for educational modernization at West Point in NY and was a co-presenter at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. Richard also worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Jobs for the Future.” He provided professional services to the Simon Youth Foundation, the Texas State Teachers Association, the Texas Retired Teachers Association, The Middle College/Early College National Consortium in New York, the National Alliance of Black School Educators, the University of North Texas, Prairie View A&M University, and other organizations. 

I am Carolyn Hassall and I was the Director of the Boyce Campus Middle College High School, located on the Boyce Campus of Allegheny County Community College in Pittsburgh, PA. I retired from Penn Hills School District after 30 years and my Superintendent asked me if I would be interested in looking at a school for at-risk youth. He had heard about a program at the LaGuardia Community College in New York. I told him I would be interested. He asked if I would consider being the director of the school if everything worked out with the Boards of Directors from the Boyce Campus Community College and the four school districts that would be sending students. 

So we made the trip with a couple of Superintendents from two of the school districts and some department heads from the community college, and on the ride home we determined we should explore the idea further with all parties who'd be involved. 

Middle College National Consortium sent Chery Wagonlander as the coach for BCMC. From the very beginning, she was my angel on my shoulder. Without her help and the help of Cece and MCNC meetings I would have really struggled to get through the first year. 

I retired and bought a place in Fort Myers, Florida. I am a snow bird; I have a year round tan, some golf, pickleball, bocce, good food, and happy hours! No matter how old we are, life is short. I am now 82 and I am very proud of BCMC and our roll in helping our students bloom.

Kathy Moran taught Social Studies in New York City high schools for over thirty years.  After her first and short retirement she joined the Middle College National Consortium as a Research Associate. She quickly learned that ‘Research Associate‘ was an umbrella term for "Pitch in, learn new skills as you go, get this task done, a new one awaits." It could be scary,  yet often exhilarating and filled with purpose: the joy of meeting and working with wonderful people, and seeing the impact of Consortium initiatives on young people.

Since her second retirement, Kathy spends time travelling, book clubbing, needlepointing, desperately trying to learn Italian with disappointing results. Most of all, she treasures time spent with family and friends.

I have had the privilege of spending most of my professional career associated with Middle College.

After a few years teaching at a middle school and a high school in the Bronx, New York, I joined the faculty at a newly formed high school on the campus of LaGuardia Community College (CUNY) with the rather ambiguous name of “Middle College”. That began my forty-year association with Middle College.

I served as a teacher and counselor at Middle College before transferring to the second LaGuardia Community College high school, International High School where I served as an assistant principal and principal. Upon retiring from International, I spent the next eleven years as a coach and mentor for the Middle College Consortium.

What an honor it has been to serve with such incredible colleagues and mentors who have contributed so much to rethinking how we teach and support students.

Chery was the founding principal of Mott Middle College (MMC) in 1991 and served in that role for 25 years while also working with the Michigan Department of Education to open more middle colleges across the state. Mott Middle College is located on the campus of  Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan where it continues to this day as a lab school for the early middle college movement in Michigan. It was the 1st middle college in the state as well as the 12th in the nation but was notably the 1st in the nation to have garnered the support of the county’s 21 school superintendents with their agreement to send their own students to Mott Middle College - something unheard of!

Chery, born and raised in downtown Flint, served the Flint Community for over 50 years as teacher, counselor, and administrator for both public and private K-16 education as well as Executive Director of the Michigan Early Middle College Association (MEMCA). She was a charter member on the Executive Board for the Middle College National Consortium (MCNC) and served on many boards, such as: the Advisory Board for the Genesee County Action Agency, Program and Policy Advisory Board for the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University, the State of Michigan’s K-16 Committee of Scholars, Michigan Department of Education’s Middle/Early College Leadership Council as well as serving as adjunct instructor at Ferris State University and Eastern Michigan University. 

Chery holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science and a Masters degree from the University of Michigan, a Specialist degree from Oakland University and a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University. 

Chery has been the recipient of multiple awards: Athena International 2009 nominee, NCA Michigan 2009 Leadership Award, Delta Kappa Gamma International 1997 Dissertation Award, 1991 Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) Outstanding Principal Award, and the 2006-07 Southwest Early College Points of Compass Award. 

Mott Middle College’s mascot is the maverick which is defined as the following: a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way. This epitomizes Chery. She is a true maverick and through her passionate work and with her brilliant brain she changed the face of Michigan with her commitment to her 50 + years in education reform.