Our Wildwood, Volume 54

GOOD TO KNOW Useful information about and for us

program across Los Angeles Unified

What started as a bold idea has blossomed into a quarter-century commitment to the future of education. As Wildwood School marks 25 years as a K-12 school, the Wildwood Outreach Center celebrates its own milestone as a globally recognized center for educators to share best practices, enhance student learning, and spread Wildwood School’s mission and philosophy to schools worldwide. “When Wildwood opened its middle and upper school campus in 2000, the Board of Trustees held a parallel vision—to create a lab for the future of education,” says Steve Barrett, director of the Wildwood Outreach Center. “The goal was to share Wildwood’s innovative, research-based approach to teaching and learning, exchange ideas with global thought leaders, and support both public and independent schools in building learner-centered communities.” Since its founding, Wildwood School faculty and administrators have hosted, mentored and ​facilitated learning for more than 1,000 participants in 18 states and eight countries. In the past several years, the Outreach Center has extended the Systems Thinking

MOST RECENTLY, THE WILDWOOD OUTREACH CENTER HAS CREATED AN OUTREACH FELLOWSHIP FOR WILDWOOD FACULTY, THANKS TO A GENEROUS DONATION FROM THE CYNTHIA AND GEORGE MITCHELL FOUNDATION.

School District schools and developed enhanced curriculum internationally, adding ​client schools in Asia, E​ urope, and the Middle East. Most recently, The Wildwood Outreach Center has created an Outreach Fellowship for Wildwood faculty, thanks to a generous donation from The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. As Outreach Fellows, Wildwood faculty

have the opportunity to spend two years immersed in professional development, research, and learning— all with the goal of developing programming that can then be shared with other educators, at Wildwood and beyond.

Phil McFarland Announces Retirement

After 23 years at Wildwood, Community Programs Director Phil McFarland joins Middle School Humanities Teacher Becca Hedgepath (see article on page 42) in announcing his retirement at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Phil began his career at Wildwood as the history teacher for the school’s very first senior class. For the past two decades, however, “Mr. McFarland,” as he is known by students, has been synonymous with Wildwood’s signature upper school internship and community involvement programs. In this role, he built and nurtured an expansive network of internship sites throughout Los Angeles and beyond, helping generations of students connect their learning to the wider world and discover their passions beyond the classroom.

Do you have a favorite story or memory of Phil to share? Send it to news@wildwood.org!

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