Marjie Gittis Katz, GED’90

by Karen Doss Bowman

As an educator, Marjie Gittis Katz, GED’90, knows firsthand the influence teachers have on children as learners.

“Teachers play a vital role in launching the academic lives of the children in their classes,” says Katz, a new member of the Penn GSE Board of Overseers. “They can have a positive impact on the way that a child’s whole educational career unfolds.”

Katz, who taught in elementary school for seven years, recalls her experience at Penn GSE as both practical and cutting edge. Her time spent engaged in scholarship was balanced with hands on learning opportunities in a real classroom setting with young students.

“As a Penn GSE student, it was incredibly rewarding to work with a classroom for the whole year and to get the feeling of carrying a group of kids through and seeing their improvement,” Katz says. “The teacher education program at Penn GSE took a groundbreaking approach.”

Even though she’s no longer employed as a teacher, Katz has volunteered in numerous capacities at the independent school her three children have attended. A member of GSE’s Benchmark Society and a Fellow in the University’s Benjamin Franklin Society—both for her support of the GSE Annual Fund—Katz recently established the Marjie Gittis Katz Scholarship Fund at Penn GSE to support future educators.

“Teachers are in demand right now, but it’s a hard job that doesn’t offer big financial rewards,” Katz says. “It’s a job where you have to really, really want to do something good in this world. So you have to show why this can be a fulfilling career and what kind of social impact educators can provide. Scholarship support will keep Penn GSE at the forefront, attracting the best and brightest to teach the next generation.”

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of The Penn GSE Magazine.