Our Faculty

Teaching the art of Learning

DEBBIE REILLY

“There are so many great things about being a kindergarten teacher at Dalton!” says DEBBIE REILLY, one of Dalton’s five kindergarten teachers. “We have an amazing group of families who have chosen Dalton because they believe in and respect the philosophy and values of the school.

Then, there are the children!

Kindergartners are old enough to ask really wonderful questions that lead us to unexpected places, but they are also young enough to be in awe of and positive about the world around them.

Their insatiable curiosity takes us to increasingly deeper levels of inquiry and learning. Everything is food for thought as they wonder about things that are very real in their lives and society. My job is to create the environment to facilitate these inquiries and encourage growth. The work of problem solving, collaboration, making connections, understanding math concepts, communicating through speaking and writing, takes place every day in every activity we do.” Teaching was a career change for Ms. Reilly, who received her Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, her Master’s degree from Bank Street College, and has been a faculty member at Dalton for over two decades.

After selecting Dalton for her own four year old daughter many years ago, she experienced Dalton first-hand and decided to leave the corporate world, attend graduate school, and become a teacher. “I love teaching here. Dalton does for its faculty what it does for its students; it encourages us to follow our passions, and bring this excitement into our classrooms. It’s a dynamic school that respects the individuality, autonomy, and creativity of students and teachers alike while it also focuses on creating a successful community in each house, each division, and school-wide.”

SHOBANA RAM

Shobana is not only a skilled teacher, but she is also an accomplished performing artist. Melding her two passions, the students in her class benefit from her expertise with young children as well as from her experience as a singer and a classically trained Indian dancer. “I love teaching second grade,” states Shobana Ram, “The children are at the stage where they come in with gems of knowledge about the outside world. They are hungry to learn and so extraordinarily curious to know more. By second grade they have the skills to understand the world and to make meaningful connections. My role as a teacher is to continue to inspire them to explore. At the same time I can bring my commitment to the arts to my children and Dalton encourages me to do so.” Born in southern India, Ms. Ram attended New York City public schools, graduated from The University of Virginia, and then received a Master’s degree in International Educational Development from Teacher’s College at Columbia University. Having worked at the Ford Foundation, Ms. Ram decided to change her career path from implementing policy to teaching, thereby creating a grassroots opportunity to work personally with children and families. “I was drawn to Dalton for its deep commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and social justice. As a first-generation immigrant myself, I can bring personal experiences to my students and help to make our conversations about different cultures and awareness of stereotypes more real to them. It is very important to me, as well as to Dalton, that they learn how to be inclusive community members and understand that forming relationships with all different kinds of people enhances us all.”

NEIL GOLDBERG

Archaeology does not tend to be taught in elementary or secondary schools. However, DR. NEIL GOLDBERG is Dalton’s Resident Archaeologist at the First Program and Middle School. He believes that archaeology enables children to learn about the world and is a wonderful way to teach both humanities and science. “Archaeology is ideal for young children because it actively engages them and builds upon observation skills that they have already learned. Children of this age haven’t yet been acculturated to the school culture and the way you learn for a test. They all come on an equal footing because none of them have had previous archaeological experiences. Archaeology is about discovery, finding things that nobody has found before. Mystery is involved as well as fascination with the past.” Dalton students experience archaeology in third grade during a multi-week hands-on dig based on their social studies curriculum. In sixth grade they participate in the Archaeotype program, a computer- simulated archaeology unit, created by Dalton faculty, that is part of the sixth grade history study.

DAVID MacENULTY

Chess does such extraordinary things for children.” states DAVID MacENULTY, Dalton’s chess “ teacher. “We all know chess is a ‘brain game’ that helps develop a huge range of thinking skills – pattern recognition, logical sequencing of ideas, categorizing and classifying information, defining and anticipating problems, and creatively overcoming obstacles – but there is also an enormous emotional component to chess. There can be a lot riding on every move. When children have completed a chess tournament, they feel they can handle just about anything. Confidence, a belief that you can succeed, is essential in everything we do. The chess kids are very confident, and I have no doubt they will be very successful in most everything they do. They learn how to balance their skills with their emotions, and that will make them very valuable players in the broader arena of life.”

After years teaching in the public schools, and then as Director of Program Development at Chess-in-the- Schools, Inc., Mr. MacEnulty came to the First Program at Dalton to teach chess to even the youngest Daltonians in kindergarten. Today, Dalton’s young chess teams consistently win championships at local, state, and national tournaments.

“Dalton kids are amazing to teach. They grasp concepts so quickly and they already know that making mistakes is perfectly okay because they are taught at Dalton that this is how one learns. Dalton students are encouraged to take risks and you can see this when they are in front of the chess boards—they are phenomenal chess players!” Mr. MacEnulty emphasizes ethics and integrity in his classes. “I teach the children that no chess trophy or reward is worth losing one’s integrity.” He praises the strong support that he receives from all constituencies for Dalton’s chess program. “I love teaching here. At Dalton, all the pieces fall into place.”

MD, ALICIA REID

Growing up in Baltimore, MD, ALICIA REID remembers as a child, wanting to become a cardiologist when a beloved relative became ill from congenital heart disease. Dr. Reid later decided as a young woman that she would indeed dedicate her life to the sciences. A graduate of Virginia Union University, she became interested in biomedical research. This focus evolved into a passion and Dr. Reid pursued and received a Ph.D. in Cellular Physiology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Working in a laboratory over the summers during her postdoctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell, Dr. Reid trained numerous students and it is there that she discovered a deep love for teaching. She shifted careers and became a Teach for America fellow in NYC, instructing middle school students in science for nearly six years, an experience for which she is most grateful. Searching for a more progressive learning environment, Dr. Reid eventually found her way to Dalton where she is currently a faculty member in the Science Department, teaching younger Middle School students as well as instructing a biology course in the High School. “I love the wonderful sense of community at Dalton. It is a purposeful community that embodies such a high level of excellence. I work among an amazing team of faculty members and have collaborated with individuals both within and outside of the Science Department. There is so much openness at Dalton to be creative. We are actually encouraged to experiment and try different approaches when we design the science curriculum, which is not necessarily the case in many other schools. I thoroughly enjoy putting these practices into my classroom. The Dalton Plan and specifically the Lab structure are remarkable. I think they should be modeled in schools throughout our country.”

AMANDA SCHOLLENBERGER

Teaching is an extraordinary way to share one’s passion, a terrific opportunity to bond and connect deeply with others, both children and adults.” AMANDA SCHOLLENBERGER’s particular passion is medieval history, and she explores this era with her seventh grade students as a Middle School history teacher. “I love tapping into the energy of this particular time in world history with the young people in my classes as we explore the forces that shaped the modern world. The learning environment at Dalton is about striking a balance of freedom and providing a foundation of excellence. The Assignment is my favorite part of the Dalton Plan. The Assignment is a living, organic document that provides wonderful flexibility and enables me to tailor the curriculum to the needs of the children. It is always open to the influence of the students, and their perspectives and input often help to interpret the scope and sequence of the given material. Dalton students are wonderful to teach. They are incredibly inquisitive, enjoy engaging in intellectual conversation, and love to apply what they learn. These are ‘take charge’ kind of kids. You give them a little and they take off and love to go above and beyond the subject matter. Provided with appropriate framework and guidance, Dalton students are very independent and do ‘go forth unafraid.’”

INANNA DONNELLEY

Being the eldest of five sisters is a feat in itself and when they all follow you to the same school that is a family story with a lot of Dalton memories! Today INANNA DONNELLEY is a faculty member in Dalton’s Middle School and teaches seventh grade math. A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Donnelley believes that her Dalton education set her up for success at college. With a father who was a professor at The New School, an emphasis on teaching and education was prevalent in her home. After graduating from college, Ms. Donnelley returned to the First Program as a co-teacher. She later received her Masters from The University of Chicago and taught at The Chicago Latin School before returning to New York City to teach briefly at The Brearley School. When her son began kindergarten at Dalton, Ms. Donnelley returned to the fold and joined Dalton’s Middle School Math Department. “I love teaching and I absolutely adore Dalton students. Our kids are so motivated and are extremely interesting young people. We have such a diverse student body and they bring a multitude of different experiences to the table. I truly enjoy learning right along with them. Those “aha moments” abound at Dalton and there is such excitement, energy, and buzz in the classroom each day. There is never a dull moment (in a great way!) at Dalton.

“It is a joy to be able to show my students that there is not always one right answer to a math problem and if there is, there are multiple ways to arrive at that answer. We present them at first glance with an unfamiliar problem, require them to tap into what they know, let them develop a game plan, collaborate with their peers as resources to tackle the problem, and then move forward with the challenge. Dalton students have a real comfort with risk taking and develop resilience in marvelous ways. They embrace challenge and understand that they do not need to be guaranteed success in order to try out a strategy. They know that risk taking and failure do not define them but rather are opportunities for growth and learning.”

MALCOLM FENTON

West Africa and New York City might seem to be worlds apart, but not so to MALCOLM FENTON. A faculty member and a former department chair in the Science Department, Dr. Fenton holds a Ph.D. in Geology and Archaeology. After years of conducting scientific research, and then running a hiking company in the Alps, Dr. Fenton found his true vocation as a teacher at Dalton. Reflecting back to his own early learning experiences, first in a one-room student- centered school in West Africa and later in a very traditional parochial school in the Republic of Ireland, Dr. Fenton is still struck by how similar Dalton was to his beloved early education. “What’s different in a school like Dalton is that students are encouraged to seek out answers by themselves, thereby making them confident, self-motivated learners. Learning is serious business but it should also be joyful. “We’re a community of explorers and learners at Dalton. What sets us apart from other more traditional schools is that we provide appropriate freedom and at the same time we foster the responsibility that promotes growth in young people. Dalton students aren’t afraid to challenge opinions and to search for their own conclusions. All these traits will help our students take active and productive roles in an increasingly complex and demanding world.”

LINDA HANAUER

"The Dalton community respects and supports a strong visual arts program. Dalton is unique in that the art teachers are working artists. As colleagues, they provide wonderful ideas and support,” says LINDA HANAUER, Chair of the Art Department for the Middle School. One such colleague is LOTUS DO BROOKS, who teaches watercolor and drawing to both Middle School and High School students. After instructing art students of all ages in Boston, she settled into teaching at Dalton. She has remained at the school for many years, deeply committed to Dalton’s arts program. “I truly believe that the skills we teach in the art studios at Dalton transfer to other parts of the students’ lives, to their other subjects, and everyday living. The way we teach visual arts involves perception and a great deal of creative problem solving, and this becomes a fun way of learning. The Dalton arts program is unique not only in terms of its vast array of courses offered but also because it is not just for talented students or those with leanings toward the arts. The art studios are places where young people have the opportunity to excel.”

DAVID RUBIN

Many people remember camp days filled with s’mores and mosquito bites. DAVID RUBIN credits his summers as a young boy at the Usdan Camp for the Arts on Long Island as the very place where he was provided with the freedom that enabled him to develop his passion for art. As he matured, Mr. Rubin expanded his artistic interests with a deep love for film, improvisational theater, art history, interdisciplinary studies, and cooking, and he brings that multi- faceted approach to his teaching of ceramics at Dalton.

“I believe in the transformative power of physical, first hand experiences. In the ceramics studio, students have the opportunity to work materials with their hands and to integrate their mental and physical experiences in real time. In this day and age of increasing technological advances, this kind of engagement is more vital than ever. In building a dialogue with the clay, where an individual seeks to change and affect form, you have to listen and respond to what the materials are telling you. There are opportunities for ambition and humility; the studio demands you provide room for both. For me there is something performative in teaching, similar to my experiences in improvisational theater. There are those times when my ideas and approaches are extremely successful and those times when I learn from my mistakes, just like my students. The art studios at Dalton provide a safe place to take risks, to fail, and to build the resilience to try anew. My greatest reward is realized when my students emerge on the other side of those struggles. They come to learn that their work is unique and special to them and that is profound. Assisting young people to discover their voice, delve into their reserve, and ultimately to find their way, is what teaching is all about.”

LORI LANGER DE RAMIREZ

Seniōra LORI LANGER DE RAMIREZ remembers being enthralled as a youngster by the sound of languages as well as by learning about different cultures—senior year in high school was a favorite time when she studied four languages simultaneously! With her doctorate from Columbia, Dr. Langer de Ramirez taught in public school on Long Island, quickly rising to the Chair of the Language Department and the ESL Program. At Dalton, as Director of World and Classical Languages and Global Language Initiatives, with its many responsibilities, she admits that teaching Middle School students is a favorite part of her job. “Dalton students are extraordinarily insightful, creative, and full of fun. They are risk takers who possess a unique ability to examine issues from so many perspectives. They keep me on my toes everyday! “I love the Dalton pedagogy that includes Lab so I can unwrap a topic with an individual student and provide the depth not as easily attainable in the classroom. This sets Dalton apart from other schools. “Until I arrived at Dalton, I honestly did not know schools like ours existed! From the very first moment I entered through Dalton’s doors, I was so impressed by Dalton students’ incredible friendliness and curiosity. schools energized by Dalton’s environment, Dr. Langer de Ramirez states, “There is a special energy at this school. One can feel a spark just walking down the halls. My colleagues are fascinating and inspire me because they follow their many passions. What a terrific gift to be in a school where the administration encourages you to generate ideas and create a program from the ground up.” Dr. Langer de Ramirez’s goal for the Language program at Dalton? “A long and strong sequence of languages beginning early at the First Program so that children possess sound proficiency and intercultural skills.” Her vision for Global Initiatives? “Students should have varied opportunities to go around the world doing important work. Cultural visits are fine but we need to attain the next level with students involved in service and academic work with students in other countries. That is how one develops true empathy.”

SLOAN WARREN

SLOAN WARREN, one of the leaders of Dalton’s extraordinarily successful robotics program, had a plan for his life career: he would be a research scientist like his father and then retire one day and be a middle school and high school physics teacher. Happily for Dalton a detour occurred that brought him to 89th Street. Now he teaches robotics in the High School, Computer Science in Middle School, and individualized design classes.

Growing up in Princeton, NJ, Dr. Warren demonstrated early interests in both acting and exploring the workings of the human brain. He pursued his passions in college as a double major in Physics and Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania as well as acting while at the university. Dr. Warren went on to receive his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Yale University and was on his way to a post-doctoral position at Columbia University when his college friend and now current Dalton colleague, Charles Stewert, convinced Dr. Warren to join him for a few months at Dalton to help with Dalton’s new robotics program.

The challenge of developing a robotics program at Dalton was enticing because robotics was a unique opportunity to provide students with difficult and interesting problems that require them to find solutions.” Dr. Warren eventually made the difficult decision to leave research and academia and seize the challenge to develop a comprehensive robotics program at Dalton. “I love teaching at Dalton. The precepts of the Dalton Plan are all about students needing to be engaged in what they are learning and giving them the freedom, time, and resources to dive into something in an authentic way. This approach is baked into the ethos of the school. Students learn from trying and failing and trying again....it’s the way to truly prepare young people to be successful in life after graduation. Dalton faculty do not dole out information or solutions. Teachers treat students with great respect, but almost as peers when approaching a challenging problem together. I love the fact that my students question me and I have personal learning moments all the time. By the time students reach High School, they know they are capable of accomplishing really interesting things and expect exciting problems to solve. We hold the bar high at Dalton. We cultivate a learning environment that gives students opportunities and challenges and they absolutely seize them in a very impressive and powerful way!”

ANDREW GLASSMAN

There are great courses in Dalton’s English Department I’d like to take,” says ANDREW GLASSMAN, holder of an Endowed Chair in English and Chair of the High School English department. Dr. Glassman, who graduated from Boston University with his M.A. and Ph.D. in English Language and Literature, finds Dalton an unusually lively environment. “There’s a great intellectual vigor and boldness here,” he says, “an interplay of minds. Highly educated colleagues and very bright, ambitious students create an atmosphere that is stimulating and productive. Students face a challenge that stretches their awareness. At the same time, teachers learn as we teach —and that’s an ideal situation for everyone.” Those statements, dating from the late 80’s, hold true today, as Dalton remains progressive and stimulating. In addition to core courses such as Literature and Composition, Introduction to Poetry, Introduction to Drama, and American Literature, Dr. Glassman has taught a range of senior electives, including Russian Fiction, Modern American Poetry, Romantics and Moderns, Shakespeare, Literature of Social Protest, Modern Stoics, and Fiction from India. “Literature,” he says, “presents a fusion of philosophy and art. Like philosophers, writers evaluate human experience. Like artists, writers sharpen our perceptions and evoke our feelings about experience. Looking at literature through both perspectives, students should be able to see their lives as part of a larger search.”

KEVIN SLICK

How does one best have a conversation with a group of students? What is the most effective process of communicating and “ engaging young people, fully investing them in the history of ideas?” Fortunately for Dalton, KEVIN SLICK decided to further explore these questions teaching High School students rather than those in university.

With a double major in History and Fine Arts from Bard College, and a Master’s degree in Modern European History from Binghamton University, Mr. Slick has taught in the High School History department for over a decade. “I have found a rich, collaborative, and intellectually engaging atmosphere here at Dalton with great energy and engagement among my colleagues.” Mr. Slick’s courses include World History, American History, Fundamentalism, and Contemporary Art History. “Teaching here is quite extraordinary; the administration at Dalton has great trust in us and the courses we design are satisfying for both the teachers and the students at Dalton. Teachers can take great risks as they design their courses and the faculty is always looking at new research and trying to find innovative ways to tap into core ideas. Faculty constantly reflect upon Assignments – they are the foundation for our collaboration. We revise them regularly as we think deeply about the curriculum and the Assignments’ developmental appropriateness for our students. Young people at Dalton have great brains and are so curious about the world of ideas, and while it is important to craft strong intellectual beings with excellent skills we also want to pay close attention to these young adults’ individual needs. “Lab enables us to always be accessible to our students and provides a lively, dynamic, safe environment for students to have comfortable conversations with their teachers. The Dalton environment allows for a great sense of playfulness in classrooms and in Labs. While the work is demanding, it is important to try to keep the students well grounded, thinking about community, ethics, and their place in the broader world. It’s never dull at Dalton; it’s always lively with a good deal of laughter.”

MICHELE VIARD-ANDRE

Mademe VIARD-ANDRE, a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a Master’s degree from New York University, is the former head of Dalton’s Middle School and High School Language Department and currently teaches Spanish in both divisions. She states, “When I first started at Dalton almost forty years ago, it was love at first sight and the honeymoon is not over! I love the freedom that is given to teachers to create courses and develop their own curriculum. Guided by the students’ motivation, interest, and determination, Dalton faculty constantly re-evaluate what and how we teach. We are always seeking new ways, new methods and practices that we can adapt to our courses. Another thing I cherish most about my teaching at Dalton is the continuity we have. It is wonderful for a Global Language teacher to see students grow and learn over many years. I can follow my students from when they take their first steps in their language acquisition to when they reach the advanced levels and can actually express themselves with ease and study and appreciate the literature and the culture of another people.” Wearing many hats at the school, including being faculty advisor to the Human Rights Club, and a longstanding participant in the Faculty/Staff Diversity Committee, Ms. Viard cares especially deeply about being a House Advisor at Dalton. “This is what makes Dalton a very unique school. I love the bond that is established among students in the ninth–twelfth grades. This small community functions like a family. It is a very important aspect of the Dalton Plan. I remain attached to my advisees years after they have graduated.”

GORDON CAMPBELL

"GORDIE" did not plan to be a teacher and certainly not the primary architect of Dalton’s STEAM program. Growing up in a farm town near Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Campbell attended the University of Michigan pursuing a history degree and finished Columbia University with a degree in educational software. After years of working as a computer programmer at Columbia, he started to think about a second career teaching history. When first asked by Dalton to teach computer science, Mr. Campbell balked but was enticed with the opportunity to be independent and to use his creativity to build a new Comp Sci Department. “I love teaching computer science because its culture is always changing. It is multi-disciplinary. Computer science, engineering, technology – they are philosophical domains and one has to think in different ways all the time. I am never done.”

“Teaching at Dalton is an incredible experience. I love the latitude and independence this school affords me to build something exciting. The school is extremely supportive and has allowed me to grow this department along with my vision. Dalton thrives on innovation and truly embraces the idea that we might fail and that is okay. It encourages faculty and students to make mistakes, to take chances, and to gain perspective from those mistakes. Helen Parkhurst set us up right: we always know we’re not there yet. We can always do better and better. Every day is a litmus test.”

LISA BRIZZOLARA

Fortunate for Dalton, LISA BRIZZOLARA decided that a career in research and working in a molecular and cell biology lab was not her calling. Trading her studies towards her Ph.D. for an additional Master’s degree, this one in teaching, Ms. Brizzolara first taught science to middle school children in the Bronx before coming to Dalton. As Director of High School STEM, Ms. Brizzolara states, “I have never fallen in love as fast as I have with Dalton. I am a part of this school and Dalton is a big part of who I am. It is a place where colleagues continually inspire each other. Indeed, the faculty is most extraordinary. We all work so hard to make our science program the best it possibly can be. Ours is a handcrafted deliberate inquiry-based program where we use established national science guidelines to determine a curriculum that is all about what science knowledge and skills students need to know before they graduate. We teach differently at Dalton: faculty here act as facilitators who do not “deliver” the information to the students, but rather it is the students themselves who generate the questions, develop an approach to gather data about the questions, and come to their own conclusions. Young people here learn to use the scientific method with great confidence. So many schools use the inquiry method only until fourth grade but Dalton utilizes this approach throughout students’ entire Dalton science experience. “I loved creating Dalton’s Science Research Program along with a colleague. We have placed scores of students in research labs around New York City who are doing substantive research, a good deal of which has been published. So many of our students receive awards and are finalists and semi-finalists in national science contests. Dalton students do not shy away from challenge. They know who they are and they are comfortable taking risks just as the faculty do….it’s the way we all learn at Dalton.”

TEDDY FRISCHLING

When Ivan the Tiger, Dalton’s mascot, appears at sporting events and other school gatherings, it is very possible that it is TEDDY FRISCHLING who is inside that costume, enthusiastically “high fiving” students of all ages with his giant tiger paws! Director of Athletics, Mr. Frischling began his Dalton career over 40 years ago as a kindergartener at the First Program. The youngest of three boys, his brothers and he all attended and graduated from Dalton. To this day Mr. Frischling can recount endless memories of each of his teachers from the First Program through High School and remembers his Dalton experience as being “magical.” “What is quite special at Dalton is that every student finds something in which he or she excels. I was an athlete and found my niche of success in physical education and team sports. I played almost every sport at Dalton including basketball, baseball, football, and soccer. From the time I was young, I thought, rather naively, that if I was on a Dalton team, it was so special and important that I could go on to play for the Knicks! As I matured I did learn that this might not be the case but the coaches made all of us feel that being a member of a Dalton team was the biggest athletic stage one could be on!” A graduate of Connecticut College, Mr. Frischling was hired as an Assistant Coach of Men’s Basketball at Cornell University and later returned to New York City where he first worked at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School and then returned to his alma mater. In a short time Mr. Frischling became the Director of Athletics at Dalton striving to reach his goal of creating an athletic program similar to what he experienced as a youth. “I put so much of myself into our athletics program because I remember what it meant to me. I become emotional after almost every game because I care so deeply for our students and feel such immense pride in what our athletes achieve. While our goal is to have successful, competitive teams, at the same time we want to have as many students participate as possible.”