I want to begin by thanking you for the opportunity to be the next leader of this amazing school. Throughout the selection process, I was continually struck by the thoughtfulness and kindness of everyone I met. I am delighted to join such a caring and dedicated community.
One of the things which drew me to SMSOC was the strength of the relationships between students and faculty. It was clear walking through the building how much the students were loved and known. Every student I talked to approached me with excitement, expecting me to be interested in what they had to say (I was!) and also expecting to engage in dialogue with me. It is evident that students see the adults in the building as partners in their learning.
I believe that children are born wanting to learn and understand — they are curious and exploratory, with a drive to figure out how things work and where they fit into the world. Anyone who has spent time with a two-year-old in the “why?” phase of life knows that the educational drive of children is innate and immense. Children are also hardwired to ask big, searching questions about the nature of existence and what it means to be a human being, about right and wrong, about justice. Creating school environments that nurture the inborn curiosity of the child rather than squelching it has long been a goal of mine. I’m excited to join a community where the capabilities of children are foregrounded, where each child is given the opportunity and the tools to explore their world and themselves.
I’m coming to you from Visitation Academy, where I was the Academic Dean. My responsibilities included overseeing professional development and curriculum PK-12, as well as special programs and scheduling. Prior to that, I was the Middle School Coordinator at Thomas Jefferson School, where I also taught English, Latin, and Social Studies. I have also taught at St. Mary’s High School and Saint Louis University, where I received my MA and PhD in English with a focus on Tudor literature and historiography.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest reading books, climbing trees, and sometimes reading books in trees, not always with the best outcomes. I also played fastpitch softball, which led me to Willamette University in Oregon where I majored in English and History and also met my husband Leo. We live in Clayton with our three children, Margaret (14), Ellie (12) and Will (8), and our cat, Baptista. While many assume, given my educational background, that the children are named after characters in Shakespeare or historical figures, in fact it is only the cat who suffered that fate, as she is named after a character in the “mousetrap” play-within-a-play in Hamlet.
Thank you all for the warm welcome I’ve received in this community. I look forward to getting to know each of you!
