Cary Lecture Series: How Teachers Defend Democratic Education Today
Cultivating Changemakers: How Teachers Defend Democratic Education Today
November 1, 2025, 8PM
Education is an essential component of a healthy democracy. Nearly 400 years ago, Massachusetts opened our country’s first public school. But today public education is under threat. Books are being banned, teachers are being prevented from teaching facts, and an increasing number of students are experiencing threats to their safety, identity, and ability to thrive in school. Yet, educators continue to innovate, collaborate, and advocate. Join two award-winning Massachusetts teachers for a discussion about the state of education and learn about innovative and creative approaches to investing in students’ stories, identities, and voices.
Jessica Lander was recognized as 2023 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year while teaching history and civics to immigrant-origin students at Lowell High School. She is author of Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education, awarded the 2024 George Orwell Book Award for Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.
Dr. De’Shawn Washington was named 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year while teaching fourth grade in Lexington. He empowers students to read, dream, and lead. As a national advocate, scholar, and CEO of Cultivating Changemakers LLC, he champions equity-centered literacy and justice-driven education for lasting systemic change.
The Cary Lecture Series began as part of a bequest to the town of Lexington by two sisters, Susanna E. Cary and Eliza Cary Farnham. Their gift included the Cary Memorial Building, a scholarship fund for graduating seniors, and four free public lectures a year. The sisters were part of a prominent Lexington family that also donated the public library and Hastings Park, although they themselves never lived in town. They spent summers and holidays here at the home of their uncle, William H. Cary, but they grew up in Jamaica Plain and spent their adult lives in New York City. They named the bequest after their father, Isaac Harris Cary, a businessman and philanthropist.