Latin School of Chicago

Background: Hogan with seniors at the 2004 graduation. history courses and Mandarin Chinese as a language option in 1998. Like a number of his predecessors, Hogan was supportive of faculty innovation – especially when it led to distinctive programming. In 1995, the team-taught interdisciplinary Humanities course was introduced to the curriculum as a requirement for all ninth grade students. The class combined history, social studies, literature, art history and criticism, theater and studio arts to provide students with a core knowledge that would inform their course work throughout high school and beyond. A number of independent schools across the country went on to follow in Latin's footsteps with their own Humanities programs. (In 2005, Humanities was replaced by the interdisciplinary Global Cities course). Another distinctive program that started during the Hogan Years was Latin's Initiative for Ethics (LIFE), which grew out of student interest and student efforts in 2003. Over the last decade, LIFE has brought dozens of nationally prominent speakers to the school including journalists, policy makers, activists, academics and authors. Deb Sampey, who came to Latin as a physical education teacher in 1986, accepted the position of middle school director in 1994. Under Sampey's dynamic leadership, the program with its focus on the specific needs of middle-school-aged students flourished. Ultimately, she also oversaw the building and completion of a new middle school and the creation of a fifth grade middle school program. As the school was marching toward the new millennium, the board of trustees and Hogan focused on programming in the areas of math, science and technology. The presence of technology and computers in particular brought about much change at Latin during the '90s. In only a few years, Latin went from a school that had been making gradual progress in the area of technology on a limited budget to one with one of the most sophisticated networks in the independent school community. Hogan was thrilled to announce in November 1995 that the school's T-1 Internet connections and website were fully online and that Latin was one of the "few independent schools in the country operating a super-fast T1 connection." Anne Hobbs arrived in 1991 to work in the Development Office (at the time located in a pre-renovation lower school annex). Distinctive programming like the Ellis Island Experience began during Hogan's tenure. "Working on the family history project in eighth grade was one of my most memorable experiences at Latin. It was 1988, and I chose to write about my grandfather, who was sick at the time. I was stressed because I had never done anything so extensive, and it was very personal to me. My project ended up being 75 pages. It was a massive thing, and I can remember doing all the corrections and footnotes by hand. I still keep it on a shelf in my office. My grandfather died the next fall, but we still have all the tapes and transcripts of my interviews with him – something that is very meaningful to my family. It is pretty remarkable that I teach eighth grade history at Latin now and assign the family history project every year. It has changed over time, but it is still a big part of my life." – Rob Wellen, Class of 1992 alumnus and eighth grade history teacher. LATI N SCHOOL OF CHI CA GO 113

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