Valuing Our Teachers

The Key to Our Students' Success

At Pinewood School, the secret to cultivating exceptional educators lies in our commitment to saying “yes” to teachers’ ambitions, fostering their personal and professional growth, and embracing them as valued members of our community. Pinewood’s culture of trust, support, and unity helps nurture passionate teachers who are dedicated to their students.

When it comes to creating a positive environment for our teachers, Head of Middle Campus Brynn Hambly says, “It’s about creating a culture of saying ‘yes,’ a culture of valuing faculty as professional decision-makers, a culture of trusting teachers that they know what is going to be the best for every student.” Pinewood looks for ways to inspire teachers to grow–and gets passionate educators in return.

“Whether it’s instructional practices, learning about better ways to support students, keeping up to date with DEI work, or attending the latest AP trainings, our teachers never have to worry about the school being reluctant to support their ambitions and dreams to grow,” adds Head of Upper Campus Gabriel Lemmon.

Pinewood is a place that says ‘yes’ to having experiences that are good for the teacher and for the student,” agrees Upper Campus English teacher Eric Schreiber. For him, that is taking advantage of Pinewood’s support of professional development opportunities. Over his past eight years at Pinewood, he’s taken a course on adolescent literature at Stanford, a compassion cultivation class at the Stanford School of Medicine, a trip to New York City’s Broadway Theater District, and a social-emotional learning workshop. All of these experiences increased not only his expertise, but his motivation to keep becoming a better teacher. “The compassion cultivation course was exceptionally useful. You have to be a patient and centered person to be a teacher. Helping myself become a more balanced and mindful person has had clear benefits in the classroom,” Schreiber reflected.

Others feel supported by Pinewood’s warm and welcoming community. Says Lower Campus art teacher

Jordan Maliski, “I’m so grateful and thankful to be a teacher here at Pinewood. It means a lot that I’m not just an art teacher; I’m part of the family here.” The community of faculty and staff strives to support each other through ups and downs. All three campuses have a Sunshine Committee, a group of faculty and staff who look to celebrate not only birthdays, but important milestones and rally around members of the community who may be going through a tough time. Recently, the Sunshine Committee celebrated Assistant Head of Upper Campus Haley Hemm and Upper Campus social studies teacher Sam Jezek’s wedding with custom cookies from Bates Bakes. The communications team also puts out a monthly bulletin dedicated to celebrating the personal and professional achievements of Pinewood faculty and staff.

Adds Hambly: “I am a mom of two Pinewood students, I am a teacher, and I am an administrator. There is nowhere else I’d rather be than Pinewood School.” Surely a lot of us will say “yes” to that. •