On April 12, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont toured Andover’s campus and met with about 25 students and faculty on the Learning Steering Committee in the Shuman Admission Center. As the Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), Senator Sanders hoped to learn about student and faculty experiences at Andover to investigate potential improvements to the American education system, according to Tracy Sweet, Chief of Communications.
“Students shared personal stories of how they came to Andover from places around the United States and abroad and why many consider our campus their second home. They talked about their academic pursuits, connections with teachers, athletics and arts, and their jammed schedules. This led to a frank discussion about mental health and ways students cope with the pressures of a high-achieving community. They also described Andover’s commitment to knowledge and goodness and asked how they can use their Andover education to influence change for a greater good,” wrote Sweet in an email to The Phillipian.
Senator Sanders arrived at Andover after visiting Harvard University. Prior to the discussion in Shuman, he received a campus tour from Student Ambassadors Ella Kowal ’25 and Murathime Daisley ’26. Beforehand, the select students were informed that a Senator was visiting campus but did not know which Senator. Daisley recalled her reaction when meeting Senator Sanders.
“I got a text from the admissions office that I would need to give a tour… They said the tour I was giving was [for] a special guest, and they couldn’t tell me before because of privacy reasons, but that it was going to be the Senator of Vermont… I was speechless. In all honesty I just wanted to call my parents,” said Daisley.
After her tour with Senator Sanders, Kowal expressed her gratitude for the educational opportunities at Andover. Emphasizing her appreciation for her teachers, she and Senator Sanders discussed the facets of Andover that distinguish it from other schools in the country.
“Whenever I give a tour, it always reminds me how lucky I am to go to this school. That was especially clear when I was touring Sanders. We talked about part of what makes this experience so amazing is the teachers, and that teachers truly care about their students and that’s such a privilege. I think I don’t take enough time to appreciate my teachers. Getting to blab about my teachers for ten minutes on the tour with Bernie Sanders was pretty incredible, and made me realize how appreciative I am of the work they do,” said Kowal.
The event functioned as an open discussion, with Sanders responding to and posing questions to students and faculty. Attendee Stephanie Curci, Instructor in English and a member of the Learning Steering Committee, reflected on the privileges and accessible resources that the Andover community enjoys.
“[Senator Sanders] was interested in what made us special. I think part of it is probably tied to his questions of equity. The campus has strong teachers who are part of the community and whom they see across the day (as opposed to the reality that many public school teachers can’t afford to live in the communities in which they teach). The students have small class sizes, access to good food, physical and mental health care, learning support structures, good financial aid, housing and privacy, etc. We’re obviously more than that too, but it struck me that our ‘Andover Bubble’ is the U.S. with (perhaps incredibly) good social safety nets. It’s worth thinking about for us and our students,” wrote Curci in an email to The Phillipian.
One of the students invited to meet Senator Sanders, Ryan Lam ’24, commented on Senator Sanders’ insights into the current education system and its issues. Pointing to the salary gap, Lam noted that teachers are often underpaid and undervalued.
“One question that I asked was, ‘what’s the greatest problem in our education system right now?’ [Sanders] said it’s simply that we don’t care enough about education. If we paid teachers in public schools the same amount we paid corporate executives, then obviously the quality of education nationally would greatly increase. It’s not fair that public school teachers should be devalued by society,” said Lam.
Similarly, Mario Calvo ’24 identified poor treatment of teachers as a core factor behind inequity in school systems. He echoed Senator Sanders’ call to action.
“The value of having good, motivated teachers to help students [is] very vastly under-appreciated throughout the country. Especially at schools such as Andover and other prep schools, there’s not enough awareness of these issues that really do affect underprivileged communities… In reality, what this world really needs today is good teachers. It’s these people that can really make an impression on these vulnerable communities and have the opportunity to uplift these underrepresented communities in our society… Senator Sanders says that, [in] a place like this, with students as motivated as they are, it’s people like us who do have the chance to make a change in our society,” said Calvo.