New Faculty and Staff

Spanish Department Head Samara Spielberg and Spanish Teacher Camilla Iturralde are giving a workshop this February for the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey titled “Inspiring Changemakers: Intentional Empathy & Intercultural Competence through Storytelling.” Srta. Spielberg and Srta. Iturralde will discuss human connection as a tool to combat self-promotion and superficial relationships and how to cultivate caring changemakers of tomorrow.

Trumpet Teacher Thomas Verchot was commissioned to make a video of solo trumpet music for the Ostrava Center for New Music in Ostrava, Czechia. Thomas has been associated with this center since 2008. This video was published on July 29, 2020 and was recorded at home. In the video, Mr. Verchot narrates a description and performs four pieces composed by major avantgarde composers of the 20th/21st century: Giacinto Scelsi, Stefan Wolpe, Olga Neuwirth, and Elliot Carter.

New Faculty & Staff

Caroline Gwin R.N., C.P.N.P. School Nurse Caroline Gwin received her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Penn State University before going to New York City where she worked at Weill Cornell Medicine in the General Pediatric Unit. Nurse Gwin went on to Columbia University to become a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (C.P.N.P.) with a focus on primary care. Nurse Gwin is an independent school parent as well.

What inspired you to become a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and what was it about working in a school setting that appealed to you?

I’ve always wanted to work with children in some capacity. I thought I wanted to be a teacher. Throughout adolescence, I realized that I’d like to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps and become a nurse. My grandmother was instrumental in my life in many ways.

I love everything about pediatrics. I love relating to children. We focus on developmental components, growth, and the bonds developed between parents, kids, and their primary care providers. Developing a healthy relationship is so important because so much is built on trust and rapport. Our work as nurses is about education, prevention, treatment, and caring for children and their families while celebrating growth. Doing all that in a school setting is so important and even more so in the context of this pandemic. At AllenStevenson, we are all learning and implementing best practices in how to keep the boys who will be in the schoolhouse healthy and safe.

Keisha Lavia Kindergarten Teacher Keisha Lavia went to school in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where they use the British educational model, and started teaching right after her A Levels. After teaching at her former high school for two years, Ms. Lavia migrated to the United States where she worked as a nanny for many years. It was this work with children that inspired her to return to school to pursue a career in education. Ms. Lavia subsequently received her associate degree in early childhood education from the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lehman College. Ms. Lavia is currently pursuing her master’s degree in childhood education from The City College of New York.

Why do you enjoy teaching kindergarteners, and do you have a particular lesson you enjoy teaching?

Kindergarten is the threshold into formal education, and it is such an important year for students. The children are building skills that they will carry with them throughout their educational journey. It is satisfying for me to see them begin to develop into themselves and grow over the year. Watching them grow is incredible—it is just an amazing time developmentally.

I love teaching social studies because this is how students relate to their community and society and the world around them. This curriculum helps them become more thoughtful individuals and more responsible citizens. I think that is key. We have to teach these lessons early so they can develop and grow and be successful in all things later in life. Social studies opens our boys up to be more thoughtful and compassionate people. These lessons teach them empathy … and we all need that in this world.

In teaching my lessons, I try to get a lot of feedback from my children. I put out a question and ask them what they know about it. I get them involved and participating and encourage them to research on their own—maybe ask mommy or daddy when they get home and report back on their findings the next day. I do not like to feed students information in the form of lectures only because I want them to take ownership of their learning and seek information. I want them to enjoy learning and have fun.