Will The House Always Need an Overhaul?

Each year on November 16, we recognize the birthday of Simon's Rock founder Elizabeth "Betty" Blodgett Hall. Betty changed education with the radical idea that curious and independent adolescents deserve a new path to college in a fast-changing world. We celebrate the birth and the legacy of this remarkable educator with Founder’s Day, and we hope you’ll join us for the first annual Founder’s Day Lecture. 

Joan Countryman is a former member of the Simon's Rock Board of Overseers. She formerly served as the Head of Lincoln School in Providence, RI, a position she held for 12 years until her retirement in 2005. Following retirement, Ms. Countryman was a consultant and Founding Head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, and led the Atlanta Girls’ School.

Previously, Countryman had served as Assistant Head for Academic Planning and Director of Studies at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia where she taught mathematics for 23 years. Ms. Countryman currently chairs the Board of Friends Center City Philadelphia Retirement Community. She has several publications, including Writing to Learn Mathematics (1992), “Is Gender an Issue in Math?” in Math and Science for Girls (1993), and Black Images in American Literature (1977). Joan Countryman grew up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and was the first African-American graduate of Germantown Friends School. She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, a Master’s from Yale University, and studied at the London School of Economics as a Fulbright Scholar.

Can't make it person? Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89381147004