Our Exceptional Faculty
As we delve into the second semester, I want to pause and take a moment to reflect on our exceptional teachers. Our teachers are at the heart of what we do, and they are masters at building connections with their students and unlocking their potential.
Research shows that things like motivation, attention, and creativity increase when children feel happy and comfortable. Our faculty work incredibly hard to understand their students as individuals—identifying their strengths, passions, and challenges—and then to use that knowledge to support learning in the classroom. From the beginning of the year, our faculty encourage students to think about who they are as learners and then use that information to identify the tools the students’ need to be successful.
Here are just a few examples I’ve seen recently of how our faculty build connections and create a welcoming and nurturing environment so our Dragons can thrive:
- Utilizing flags from different students’ backgrounds in a lesson on fractions;
- Creating lesson plans that reflect students’ hobbies;
- Incorporating an international student’s native language into Morning Meeting and into a Word Wall to increase classroom participation;
- Staying after school to help students with their work and their essays for the high school application process;
- Creating clubs to share common interests with students – crocheting, Irish dancing, anime, science fiction, and fantasy book club;
- Attending games and performances, both at WES and outside of WES, to remind our students that they are always willing to “show up”; and
- Continuing to provide an exciting learning experience for students in the classroom while simultaneously teaching those in quarantine.
Feeling safe and connected in a classroom is the first requirement for students to learn. In such a personal and supportive environment, our students take risks because they are not afraid to fail. They collaborate because of the positive relationships that are built, and they persevere because of the support they are given. I am truly grateful for each one of our talented teachers and everything they invest in our students.
Danny Vogelman
Head of School
