Antioch School scholarship fund honors past teachers

• By Reilly Dixon
• Published: May 7, 2026

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For an educational institution that’s 105 years old, the Antioch School has had consistently few teachers over the decades.

That’s because they tend to stick around for many, many years, School Manager Nathan Summers said.

“The teachers at The Antioch School are its cornerstone,” he said. “They are the holders of the school’s philosophy that childhood should be preserved. By tending to be here for decades and learning from their predecessors, they uphold the continuity of the program and approach.”

Summers continued: “Their roles are almost sacred, so we’ll take any chance to honor their narratives.”

Former Antioch School teacher Chris Powell. (Photo courtesy of the Antioch School)

A new chance to do that emerged this spring, as the Antioch School honors a new slate of former teachers in the school’s only scholarship fund — the Beloved Teachers Scholarship Endowment, which provides dollars to prospective or current students in the name of some of the school’s most cherished educators.

Joining the ranks of past Antioch School teachers and local legends Kit Crawford, Pat Dell, Jeanie Felker, Bill Mullins and Bev Price are four new fund “inductees”: Brian Bogan, Shirley Mullins, Chris Powell and Ann Guthrie.

“So much of students’ experiences here are tied directly to the experiences they had with these teachers,” Summers said. “Having a fund in these teachers’ names gives people the chance to directly honor the people who had an impact in their lives — and to support students who want that same impact.”

Local music teacher Shirley Mullins in 2020. (Photo by Megan Bachman)

A little about the four former teachers named in the scholarship:

Shirley Mullins was an adored music educator, who taught many generations of village and Antioch School children. She spearheaded a string-based curriculum for several decades at the school, and worked alongside her husband, Bill, who was also instrumental in students’ day-to-day experiences. “From her deep passion for music and education, we are all beneficiaries,” Summers said. Mullins died last summer.

Ann Guthrie retired from the Antioch School two years ago after 36 years leading the nursery program. In the classroom, she was known for her deep patience, calm and keen insight into children’s needs. “One of her most incredible skills was the ability to fade into the background of the classroom — to be available and present, but to be an observer like Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey,” Summers said.

Brian Bogan taught art and science at the school for about 20 years until his retirement four years ago. With a background in environmental education and experiences as a naturalist, Bogan frequently brought his children outside, and when he couldn’t, he’d bring the outside indoors. His lively storytelling would enrapture students.

Before her retirement ten years ago, Chris Powell was the older group teacher for nearly three decades after taking the reins from Bill Mullins. As Summers put it, she had “that perfect balance” of letting kids make mistakes and helping them solve problems.

Former Antioch School teacher Brian Bogan. (Photo courtesy of the Antioch School)

Summers and the school’s development director, Chris Westhoff, said they encourage any former student or parent of a student who reaped the lessons and love from these past teachers to consider making a donation to the Beloved Teachers Scholarship Endowment, and to specify the name of the educator in whose name the donation was made.

“Elevating these individuals and simultaneously supporting students captures the real spirit of what this place is,” Westhoff said.

The Antioch School bills itself as the oldest democratic school in the country. It was founded in 1921 by then-Antioch College President Arthur Morgan as a teacher-training laboratory for the college’s students. There was to be “close, open-minded observation of the children, with a molding of the school program to suit the children’s needs, rather than forcing them to fit a rigid and artificial curriculum,” according to a school history.

The Antioch School continues to embrace this student-led model. Classes are divided into nursery, kindergarten, younger group (approximately first through third grade) and older group (typically fourth through sixth). Presently, there are 56 children enrolled.

Former Antioch School teacher Ann Guthrie. (Photo courtesy of the Antioch School)

Tuition for full-time students, regardless of age, who wish to attend the whole school year — September through May — is $11,725. Part-time tuition for nursery children or kindergartners is $7,347.

Summers noted that this tuition covers school supplies, morning and afternoon snacks, field trip costs — which are frequent, Summers said — and an occasional guest performer.

Westhoff joked that tuition also covers computer costs. (There are none at the Antioch School, he and Summer boasted.)

Scholarships, like the Beloved Teachers Endowment, help defray those costs and, in doing so, allow the Antioch School to keep its classrooms populated with children of all kinds of backgrounds.

“We don’t want finances to be a barrier,” Summers said. “We want our school to be available to everyone who thinks it’s best for their children. At the same time, so much of the education that happens here happens between peers. And when kids of different backgrounds come together, then the entire experience is enriched.”

Summers said that last year the Antioch School was able to dole out roughly $80,000 in scholarship funds. The most an individual received was $4,425, or roughly 37% of the cost of full-time tuition.

Scholarships are entirely need-based, Summers said, with families seeking funds having to provide to the school such financial information as documents detailing taxes, assets, debts, medical expenses and general family costs.

The Antioch School is currently enrolling students for the 2026-27 school year. To learn more, go to http://www.antiochschool.org

To donate to or learn more about the Beloved Teachers Scholarship Endowment, go to http://www.yscf.org/the-antioch-school-beloved-teachers-scholarship-endowment

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