4 minute read
Alumni Leaders in Education
ALUMNI LEADERS IN
In this section, we pay homage to our alumni making their mark in the field of education as teachers and administrative leaders. The early learning experiences of many of our alumni at Nashoba Brooks School helped them discover their passions and talents, which they, in turn, brought back to the classrooms. We applaud them for their accomplishments in educating and inspiring the next generation of student leaders.
ALUMNA RACHEL FRENKIL ’04: A PASSION FOR LEARNING AND LANGUAGES
ALUMNA RACHEL FRENKIL, currently in her eighth year of teaching Spanish, loves working at Gann Academy. She credits her early years at Nashoba Brooks School as the spark for her career path in education. Additionally, it was in Grade 4, studying French, when she discovered her natural aptitude for learning languages.
Rachel’s mother encouraged her to learn Spanish at a very young age, and she grew up in a bilingual home. “I loved Spanish because of my family but Nashoba Brooks School showed me I could be very successful in languages in general because I was so good at French. It came very easily to me,” said Rachel.
After graduating from Concord Academy, Rachel attended Colby College where she traveled to Buenos Aires for six months to study abroad.
“After graduating from Colby College, I worked at the Pomfret School where they were willing to send me to Spain for a week, Madrid and Barcelona. Then I got my masters in Spanish (with a concentration in literature) from Middlebury College over the course of 4 summers.”
Reflecting back, Rachel states: “Nashoba Brooks showed me what a rigorous and great education is all about. Looking back [my experience] made me want to get involved in education. I am passionate about using authentic materials and applied grammar to create meaningful and engaging lessons for my students. My classes are communicative and student-centered.”
DREW JAMESON TG’90: JOURNEY FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER AND PARENT AT NASHOBA BROOKS
DREW JAMESON HAS BEEN TEACHING at Nashoba Brooks School for the past five years, but he is also a very proud alum.
“I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid!” he says, “but part of that was because my science teacher Mr. Webster made me interested in science.”
Despite his early love of science, Drew went on to attend Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts, where he studied creative writing, and Reed College, where he majored in English and wrote a creative thesis. After working in publishing for several years, Drew earned his master’s in education through the Teach Next Year program at UMass Boston.
At Nashoba Brooks, he puts his extensive writing background to use teaching Grades 4 and 5 reading and writers’ workshop classes. This year, he also served as a Grade 4 co-homeroom teacher.
In all of his endeavors, Drew embodies the School’s motto: Work hard. Play fair. Be kind. Reach out. Whether preparing for readers’ theater, inspiring students to learn to love to write, partnering with his co-teachers in homeroom, or taking in the many joys of weekly assemblies, Drew brings his all to everything he does.
Drew credits his early years at Nashoba Brooks with helping to discover the importance of finding balance in our daily lives: “Nashoba Brooks taught me that our feelings and emotions, our inner lives, are real and important. That helped me to form positive relationships, and to look for fulfillment in things beyond just comfort or money.”
KAITLYN GILES MCHUGH ’02, NEW ASSISTANT HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
HAD YOU ASKED Kaitlyn Giles McHugh as a Grade 5 student at Nashoba Brooks School what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have given three distinct answers—an architect, a lawyer, or a marine biologist. Kaitlyn thinks back fondly on her early years at Nashoba Brooks. As a student, she recalls learning about each country in the world, cataloging lima bean growth as part of her plant project, and running the one-mile race with classmate Jevan Jammal ’02, now director of admission at Nashoba Brooks.
After college, Kaitlyn shifted her plans from law school to becoming a Teach For America corps member. “I found the work of educators to be so deeply grounded in community and character development,” Kaitlyn reflects, “which has always felt to me like critical and important work.”
After Teach For America, Kaitlyn became a part of the founding group at Excel Academy Orient Heights, part of a public charter school network. She taught math and led the fifth grade team before becoming the dean of curriculum and instruction. She has spent the last five years in that administrative role working on revising the curriculum, leading professional development, and creating an equitable, adaptable, and rigorous academic program for students.
Now, Kaitlyn has stepped into the role of assistant head of the Middle School. She is looking forward to partnering with other teachers to get girls excited about STEAM fields. Kaitlyn points out that women are needed in more leadership roles and in key areas of study, and she looks forward to helping the young women at Nashoba Brooks “step out into our diverse and evolving world with the confidence to pursue any opportunity or career they set their minds to.”
