Lifetime Membership is the most distinguished recognition vested in individuals who have been teachers, administrators, or staff at a member laboratory school. They must have been members of IALS under that school for at least ten years and have retired from their laboratory school's college or university.
Life membership grants the recipient full status as an active IALS member. This special status entitles them to receive all mailings and notices and allows recipients to serve on committees. Furthermore, yearly dues for life members are waived, and they receive reductions in registration fees. A person holding this title is a voting member on all matters pertaining to our organization.
Congratulations to our new lifetime members!
Members who will be vested with the most distinguished recognition of our association are:
Dr. Kathryn Kaiser
Dr. Kathryn Kaiser's career began as a special education teacher and developed into a curriculum researcher and urban school leader. For the last twenty years, she served as a school leader at The School at Columbia University, creating curriculum and providing professional learning for college students and elementary school teachers. She has offered extensive coursework in Pedagogy and Diversity, Educational Technology, Social and Emotional Learning, Education Leadership, Integrated Curriculum, Design Thinking in Schools, Concept-Based Curriculum, and Child Development. She has collaborated with educators and leaders in all regions of the United States as well as in Japan, India, Turkey, China, Cuba, Europe, and Israel.
Jean Bird
Jean Thompson Bird grew up in Pittsburgh, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in Child Development, and earned teaching certification through Chatham University in Pittsburgh. She taught in the Carnegie Mellon University Children's School for seven years after graduating. Jean continued to work part-time at Carnegie Mellon University in research at the Center for University Outreach for the DASH project (Developmental Approaches to Science, Health, and Technology) while staying connected to the Children's School as a parent and substitute teacher. She returned to the Children's School staff twenty-two years ago and has been teaching the Older 4's class full time since 2005. Music, woodworking, inquiry science, and exploring books and stories are some of Jean's favorite activities to do with children. Jean is active in the mission and outreach work of Waverly Church, including teaching early childhood classes. She especially enjoys co-producing and performing with youth and adults in the Waverly Opera House melodramatic musical shows that raise funds for youth programming. Jean's husband, Jim, is a retired Clinical Laboratory Scientist and continues to enjoy his lifetime hobby of playing guitar and bass, often accompanying Jean in leading music sing-a-longs for young children. Jean and Jim's three daughters, their partners, and three beautiful grandchildren center their lives. Two daughters and a grandson fondly remember the Children's School as alumni. Jean has been an active member of the International Association of Laboratory Schools for almost her entire career, attending and presenting at regional and annual conferences. She joined the IALS Board in 2011 and has served as Secretary since 2019.