The entire Greene Street Friends School community grieves the loss of beloved Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Kathie Bowes. Kathie had an immeasurable impact on so many of our alumni, their families, her colleagues, and the very fabric of Greene Street Friends School.
Head of School Ed Marshall penned some reflections for a memory book from Greene Street Friends that will be given to Kathie's family. If you have photos or reflections about Kathie, please email them to Lindsay in the Development Office.
It was in 2001, 20 years ago, and a newly enrolled parent made an appointment to see me. I wasn’t sure what the meeting was about, but GSFS had decided to rebuild the old art room into a second pre-kindergarten, and we had advertised for a lead teacher.
This was my introduction to Kathie Bowes.
We met in my old office, now Ryan’s. She said that she had selected GSFS for Lucy because she loved the school and was super interested in the lead teacher position. She wanted to hear more about our program, our vision, and our plans. She told me about her work in the Bronx, her philosophy of education, and her approach to four and five year-olds, as well as their parents. Her energy was strong, kind, and wise. Our conversation may have lasted half an hour, and we were doing a search. But after she left, I had little doubt who would get the job.
Kathie’s classroom emitted a hum of positive productive activity, whether it was blocks or dress-up. Ever the proponent of inquiry, Kathie helped her students notice things, like the yellow-bellied sapsucker coming each year to drill rows of little holes in the sugar maple outside of her room. An early adopter of new initiatives of our mission, Kathie played a lead role in welcoming transgender students and their families to GSFS. She could think long term, a consummate designer of curriculum, all the way to very short term, fantastic in emergencies.
Outside of her classroom, Kathie was an endless contributor. She chaired our self-study for the 2010 PAIS accreditation. She co-organized the Meeting-School retreat on clerking. She sang in our faculty/staff/parent acapella group. She helped initiate the Germantown Scholars program with the John Wister School. She and Andy hosted our back-to-school faculty/staff gatherings. She served on our Board of Trustees. She volunteered at Horizons. She advocated at community meetings in Germantown for the growth of GSFS facilities. Kathie was everywhere.
Looking back, what I remember and feel most --- Kathie’s kindness, wisdom, integrity, and laughter --- never changed over these twenty years. She was full-on for life and for people. She was all about the whole child, the whole teacher, the whole school, the whole community, the whole world.
We are deeply saddened to lose Kathie so soon, and grateful for her many gifts to us.
In sorrow,
Edward Marshall
Head of School
