Before coming to D-E, History Department Chair, Arika “Ari” Easley-Houser taught at Rutgers Prep and several colleges and universities, including Montclair State University and New York University. A socio-cultural historian focused on United States history, she received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University and a certificate in school management from the Harvard Business School. She was recently selected for a National Association of Independent Schools Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads. Now in her third year of heading the department, Easley-Houser speaks to the importance of historical inquiry for students and how the history curriculum must reflect and respond to the diversity of students. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sunaya Mueller ’22, Teen Vogue
Sunaya Mueller ’22 has been a journalist for more than six years. Beginning as a member of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps. in middle school, Sunaya found her beat as a writer. She found, a passion for telling untold stories from teens and upcoming changemakers....
Catalina Mahe ’22, Parnassus
Parnassus is a home to many. Integrating disciplines like visual arts, foreign language, and English, senior Catalina Mahe ’22 is ecstatic to be one of the lead editors for the magazine. As a prospective ninth grader, Catalina saw it as an opportunity to expand her...
Rachel Brainin, Librarian, 3rd Grade Teacher, D-Escribe
Our youngest ones have so much wisdom to offer us. Former librarian and now 3rd grade teacher, Rachel Brainin carries on the legacy of Sheila Sienicki and maintains the publication’s spirit. Rather than having students strive to be published, D-Escribe is an open...
Darby Lee-Stack ’23, D-EcoNews
Amidst a busy hybrid year, rising Junior, Darby-Lee Stack ’23 saw an opportunity when she joined the Upper School Environmental club. Inspired by other established student publications like Parnassus and Calliope, Darby learned from ground-zero how to publish a...
Meredith Garcia, “Apocalyptic Lit”, “Globalization, Literature, & Film”
Meredith (“Mimi”) Garcia had the unique challenge of teaching “Apocalyptic Lit” amidst the COVID-19 hybrid year. Still, the central questions of the course remained, “Will the apocalypse bring total annihilation, transcendence, bloodthirsty zombies, or all of the...
“Throw your precious opinions out the window!”
That philosophy guides the Ethics Department Chair, Sr. Joseph Murphy, for his first-time tenth grade students. Sr. Murphy explains that, “they [students] think of opinions somehow like it's property that they ‘own it’ somehow, but they really don't own it fully until...
Stephen Bailey, “Beyond Empire”
The genesis of “Beyond Empire” comes from a personal place. As a first-generation American of Trinidadian immigrants, who came to the US amidst Trinidad’s independence from the UK, Stephen Bailey finds that it is imperative to trace these stories. The central...
Richard Blanco, Poet A D-E Middle & Upper School Assembly April 7, 2021 In Recognition of National Poetry Month
English Department Electives “Up Close”
With dedication and care, the English department faculty strive to expand students’ worlds through literature. Literature is a point of genesis and inspiration. Faculty members Stephen Bailey and Meredith Garcia speak on their excitement for this year’s electives.










