‘16 Alumna Amanda Gorman to Speak at Presidential Inauguration
It is with great pride that we announce that ‘16 alumna Amanda Gorman is the Inaugural Poet of 2021. Amanda will present an original poem at the inauguration of our 46th President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, January 20.
An alumna who attended New Roads from Kindergarten-12th grade, Amanda has inspired us by devoting her considerable talents to promote values that were the bedrock of her education at our peerless school - intellectual depth and curiosity, creative expression, social justice, diversity, equity, compassion, environmental responsibility and activism. Her interview in Black Enterprise noted the influence of her New Roads’ education on her development:
In addition to her upbringing, Gorman attended New Roads School from K-12, which championed unorthodox thinking, encouraging students to go beyond basic regurgitation-based education practices and focus on tangible steps that center around creating meaning and doing. Her finals culminated in critical thinking, focusing on topics that included ways to change the world.
In another interview with The Bucknellian, Amanda discusses the role of New Roads in her drive to become an activist :
I went to a school called New Roads, from Kindergarten to 12th grade, and they really have a central philosophy of social and environmental justice that they raise you with throughout the curriculum. And so, from a young age, I was motivated by my pedagogical environment to think about my own knowledge and learning as an application for making the world a better place.
Amanda has become an individual of courageous character, which New Roads seeks to cultivate in its young people.
Our Elementary School Writing Specialist Shelly Fredman, who taught Amanda about writing and literature in Kindergarten, shares, “What a joy it was to watch Amanda’s excitement when I read to my class and something the author wrote resonated with her.” Upper School English teacher Alexandra Padilla says, “Amanda stood out from the beginning as a phenomenal young woman, writer, student, and activist. She was clearly a writer through and through and that was exciting to witness. Her enthusiasm for learning, for getting the most out of each and every discussion, each and every activity, each and every class, inspired me then, and she still inspires me. Her energy is electric. She is unstoppable.”
We are so proud of Amanda for raising her inimitable voice in service of inspiring America to fulfill its promise for all people.
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An alumna who attended New Roads from Kindergarten-12th grade, Amanda has inspired us by devoting her considerable talents to promote values that were the bedrock of her education at our peerless school - intellectual depth and curiosity, creative expression, social justice, diversity, equity, compassion, environmental responsibility and activism. Her interview in Black Enterprise noted the influence of her New Roads’ education on her development:
In addition to her upbringing, Gorman attended New Roads School from K-12, which championed unorthodox thinking, encouraging students to go beyond basic regurgitation-based education practices and focus on tangible steps that center around creating meaning and doing. Her finals culminated in critical thinking, focusing on topics that included ways to change the world.
In another interview with The Bucknellian, Amanda discusses the role of New Roads in her drive to become an activist :
I went to a school called New Roads, from Kindergarten to 12th grade, and they really have a central philosophy of social and environmental justice that they raise you with throughout the curriculum. And so, from a young age, I was motivated by my pedagogical environment to think about my own knowledge and learning as an application for making the world a better place.
Amanda has become an individual of courageous character, which New Roads seeks to cultivate in its young people.
Our Elementary School Writing Specialist Shelly Fredman, who taught Amanda about writing and literature in Kindergarten, shares, “What a joy it was to watch Amanda’s excitement when I read to my class and something the author wrote resonated with her.” Upper School English teacher Alexandra Padilla says, “Amanda stood out from the beginning as a phenomenal young woman, writer, student, and activist. She was clearly a writer through and through and that was exciting to witness. Her enthusiasm for learning, for getting the most out of each and every discussion, each and every activity, each and every class, inspired me then, and she still inspires me. Her energy is electric. She is unstoppable.”
We are so proud of Amanda for raising her inimitable voice in service of inspiring America to fulfill its promise for all people.
New Roads School is a college preparatory K-12 private independent school in Santa Monica, CA, serving over 514 elementary school, middle school and high school children from the greater Los Angeles area. New Roads School provides an inspired educational program from which an authentically diverse student population, mirroring the rich diversity of Los Angeles, develops a personal dedication to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS New Roads School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.