Dear Upper School Students and Families,
I am grateful to join and welcome you to the Upper School 2021-2022 school year.
When I accepted this opportunity from Head of School Kim Samson, it was a leap of faith given that I never visited campus, my family was leaving the tropical climate of Honolulu, and we would need to travel across an ocean and most of the country. But after a number of Zoom interactions with the Beaver community, I had no hesitations that this would be a great fit. I do not know of a school that had an easy time over the last 18 months. However, my conversations with members of the Beaver faculty demonstrate that the faculty and staff were nimble, and did what was needed to provide the best educational experience they could for their students. During a time when existing cracks worsened in many schools, the flexibility and willingness to keep students at the core of a great learning experience emerged as the prevailing belief from Beaver’s team of exemplary educators.
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I am eager to meet all of you. Whether you are a family that is new to Beaver or one that is returning for a new year, I have something to learn from all of you. We know the student experience was challenging last year and while we don’t want to dismiss that there were new realizations and improvements upon previous practices, it is important to reconvene a strong community and enhance the power of the relationships that have made Beaver such a special place for over a century. There is still work that remains around social justice, belonging, wellness, and enhancing best practices for teaching and learning. The ability to be malleable is a crucial part of our toolbox and something we will all continue to practice. Understanding that these mindsets were so prominent at Beaver led me to want to be part of the same community.
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I was born and raised in Oklahoma to immigrant parents who valued education. After changing my college major multiple times, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up so I thought teaching would provide a good buffer until I really figured it out. Thankfully I figured out that school was what I liked and where I could find the joy that I wanted.
I started my teaching career at the Haverford School located just outside of Philadelphia, where I taught Upper School Math, Science, 8th grade Spanish, and coached football. I spent my next four years in the Cleveland area at the Hawken School, teaching Upper School History, Humanities, coaching football, and taking on many other school-related responsibilities. I next had the opportunity to teach at Punahou School, where I started off teaching high school Social Studies and coaching. While I never stopped teaching, I did move into a senior administrative role as the Director of the Wo International Center, which was focused on K-12 global education and global citizenship. Before coming to Beaver, I founded and led the Shanti Alliance to provide programming and support to schools around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. After stops in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Honolulu, I am grateful to my wife, son, and two dogs for accompanying me to take on the Director of Upper School role at Beaver.
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I look forward to seeing you all walk into the foyer, greet your friends, converse with your teachers, return to your co-curricular activities, and work to rebuild and re-strengthen the Beaver Upper School. I am grateful to Kim Samson, Kader Adjout, Tiffany Smith, and all the wonderful adults who have helped me with my transition.
I hope you all enjoy a wicked (I’m trying to learn the local lingo) summer and find your own opportunities to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate for when we can see each other in September.
Sincerely,
Director of Upper School
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The first day of school is Thursday, September 9
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