Two new honorary chairs were recently announced by Head of School Melissa Soderberg. Jessica Sneeringer has been selected as the W. Boulton Dixon Master Chair in Art and Art Appreciation, and Chris Bolognese has been awarded the George S. McElroy ’32 Master Chair in Math. These honorary chairs both receive sterling silver lapel pins to wear at formal school events, a monetary award and three years of extra funding for professional development.
Jessica has been a teacher at Columbus Academy since 2005. In addition to directing our concert band to a Superior I rating at this year’s OMEA Large Group district competition and our jazz ensemble in its first-ever performance at the Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival last fall, Jessica serves as musical director for Athena Brass, an all-female international band featured in Brass Band World magazine following its outstanding performance at the 75th Annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago (listen to her interview about the “highly successful and influential organization that has also enjoyed considerable artistic acclaim” by clicking here). Jess currently leads the Columbus Community Jazz Band and the Columbus Youth Jazz Ensemble and was the director of the Central Ohio Brass Band for 16 years. She performs with many local groups such as the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra and the Central Ohio Symphony and has subbed with many other ensembles including the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. More recently, she served as a clinician at the Columbus City Schools Jazz Fest 2022 and will be an adjudicator for the North American Brand Band Association (Alabama) and the International Women’s Brass Band Conference (Texas). The Dixon Master Chair was held previously by David Block, Scott Neal and Lloyd Cicetti.
“Being recognized for the hard work is both humbling and overwhelming,” said Jessica, who plans to use her award funds here at school to bring in guest artists and clinicians to work with her band students. “I keep telling people that I have the best job in the world. It’s a privilege to be able to teach our incredible students and work alongside amazing colleagues!”
Formerly named the 2016 Central Ohio High School Math Teacher of the Year and the 2017 State High School Math Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Chris was a 2021 state finalist for the Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He’s the co-founder and facilitator of the Columbus Math Teachers’ Circle – an organization for mathematics teachers to engage in rich mathematics as a form of professional development – and serves as a national mentor to new teachers’ circles. Chris was formerly our PreK-12 mathematics department chair and editorial panel chair for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) national journal The Mathematics Teacher. He was selected as one of 40 teachers out of over 800 applicants to be a Desmos teaching fellow in 2019 and was also selected as a Siemens STEM Institute fellow in 2012. Chris serves on the American Mathematics Competition editorial panel, where he writes and edits math contest problems taken by tens of thousands of high school students nationwide each year. He often presents at state and national conferences and is currently attending the NCTM’s regional conference in Indianapolis, where he will lead a workshop on “Exploring Mathematics Teachers’ Circles with Rational Tangles” tomorrow morning. The McElroy Master Chair was previously held by John Detrick ’53, Larry Booth, Mark Daubenmier and Michelle Platt.
“It is truly an honor to be recognized by the school in this capacity, especially among so many reflective mathematics and computer science teachers,” Chris stated. “I want to thank my wife Emily and my parents Barb and Glen for their unending encouragement. Academy has been so supportive in allowing me to try different ideas in the classroom, and I am so appreciative for my students to explore these new methods with me. My professional development funds will be utilized to support travel to various conferences such as the upcoming Phillips Exeter Anja S. Greer Conference on Mathematics in Technology scheduled for June 2022.”
