Faculty News and Appointments Physics teacher Dr. Emma Mitchell is the co-author (along with Ujjwal Raut, Benjamin D. Teolis, and Raúl A. Baragiola) of a paper entitled “Porosity effects on crystallization kinetics of amorphous solid water: Implications for cold icy objects in the outer solar system” published last fall in Icarus. (www.journals.elsevier.com/icarus) Emma writes, “[the paper is] about changes to the molecular structure of amorphous solid water on icy objects in the outer solar system based on laboratory work that I did. The results can be used to interpret data being relayed back from various space missions, and is especially relevant to moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. This work was funded by a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship and a NASA Virginia Space Grant Consortium Fellowship.” History Department Chair Jennifer Pelletier P’20 attended the Foreign Policy Association’s (FPA) 2017 Great Decisions Teacher Training Institute in June 2017 in New York City. High school teachers from across the country who have demonstrated a commitment to international education were invited to participate. Programming at the Institute included strengthening skills in teaching global affairs; exploring ways to expand international studies in the classroom; and the development of International Studies curricula. The program included lectures given by university professors, journalists and U.N. ambassadors. The mission of the Foreign Policy Association “is to serve as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding, and informed opinion on U.S. foreign policy and global issues. Through its balanced, nonpartisan programs and publications, the FPA encourages citizens to participate in the foreign policy process.” Teachers from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico were in attendance.
Science Department Chair Dr. Suzanne Piela P’22 was awarded a highly competitive Ambassador Fellowship by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). At Walker’s, Dr. Piela teaches equine science and coteaches Walker’s Small World Initiative Biochemistry course with Dr. Julia Sheldon. Dr. Piela spent five days in the summer of 2017 at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta where she engaged with CDC public health scientists on exploring current public health issues and honed her skills on effective teaching strategies for public health content, including the development of public health STEM lesson plans. Dr. Piela is spending this academic year in a distance-based professional development arrangement where she will continue to collaborate
with CDC personnel on lesson plan development and also play an active role in the development of resource materials for middle and high school teachers nationwide. Dr. Piela also was chosen to attend a five-day hands-on professional development program in summer 2017 with The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, CT. The “Teaching the Genome Generation” program aims to provide high school teachers with content knowledge, teaching strategies and resources needed to enhance student learning in genomics and personalized medicine. Participants engaged in molecular biology and bioinformatics experiments and explored the social, ethical and legal implications for personal genetics.
Julia Sheldon P’20, ’23 and Carol Clark-Flanagan P’93, ’97
Long-time faculty members, Carol “Clarky” Clark-Flanagan P’93, ’97 and Julia Sheldon P’20, ’23, have been named as the School’s new co-deans of faculty. In this new role, the co-deans are responsible for overseeing the academic vision of the School by working closely with school administrators, department chairs and faculty to ensure its implementation through a review of the class offerings, student achievement goals and methods of evaluation. The co-deans also work with the associate head of school on hiring and evaluation as well as overseeing the ongoing professional development of the faculty.
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