7 minute read
FACULTY PROFILE: KAREN KOZA
Libraries are magical places. They offer every kind of intellectual satisfaction. Mystery and resolution. Question and answer. Ambiguity and certitude. Fantasy and fact. All the incontrovertible knowledge and experience a person could want, served up alongside the space for curiosity, questions, and exploration. Valley School’s library, however, is exceptional beyond the contents of its books. At Valley School, we have Karen Koza. She is the guide who leads children toward understanding, helps them make connections between disparate texts, and inspires them to reach their fullest potential as readers, writers, and people.
Karen Koza has been at Valley School since 1989—first as a 5th-grade teacher, and now, since 2012, as our Librarian. If you ask around about her, you’ll get a diverse array of stories from students, parents, alumni, and her colleagues. One of the times she reached out; one of the times she leaned in; one of the times she was patient; one of the times she was proud; one of the times she listened; one of the times she spoke up.
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It doesn’t take long to identify the common threads in the memories people are so eager to share about Karen. Generally, they can be distilled down to, “I felt cared for,” I felt believed in,” “I felt inspired,” and “I felt known.” Karen has a special gift for making people know they matter. Her students feel her care and support behind them. According to one student, as he reflected on his time as Karen’s advisee, “It’s like having a secret weapon in your back pocket. When Mrs. Koza believes you can do it, you believe you can do it.”
— KAREN KOZA
In her role as Librarian, Karen is a teacher to every child in the school. And she shows up for each of them in big and small ways. A few weeks ago, when a 4th-grade girl made her way into Valley School’s library on the first morning after our Distance Learning stint, Karen was interested in more than the book return: “Wait! How are you? Did you enjoy the holidays? How is your dance going? When is your recital? Remember, you have to give me the date so I can be there.” The girl beamed at the inquiry, and gushed about her upcoming competition, her expression revealing the joy she felt at the opportunity to share her passion with her teacher.
Everyone knows that teenagers can be particularly challenging to reach. But for Karen, they’re almost a specialty. A grateful parent explained, “She has an astonishing understanding of the adolescent mind. When she was working with my son, she was able to push him toward his true capabilities. Her expectations were high, but never unreasonable. She wanted him to be his best, not anyone else’s. She helped him realize and achieve his own goals.”
Karen’s colleagues also admire the way she connects with students. Gail Hugo, Valley School veteran 1st-grade teacher explained, “She has a distinct gift for looking at a student and seeing beyond a specific behavior or learning difficulty. She artfully peels away the surface layers in order to discover what exactly isat the core, and develops a succinct plan for each individual. Among her many gifts, it is clear that Karen loves her students and advisees unconditionally, sees the intrinsic value of each person, and strives to help each become his/her own best self.”
For Karen, a child’s “own best self” isn’t necessarily a matter of grades. “It isn’t only ‘A’ students who set the world on fire,” she says. Karen believes that the world is enhanced by all kinds of minds and talents and endeavors, and that each child reaches developmental achievements at their own appropriate and authentic pace: “Praise the effort, not the results. They’ll get there. Normal looks like a lot of things when it comes to child development.” Across all grade levels, she supplements her academic teaching with emphasis on character. She leads by example, both personally, and via the texts she teaches. She explains, “you can’t just tell a kid, ‘be a good friend.’ You need to inspire them to be a good friend.” Ethan Hawke’s Rules for a Knight, Karen Levine’s Hana’s Suitcase, and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe are among the books Karen has incorporated into her curricula, and which offer children positive character traits—like patience, honesty, resilience, humility, courage, and discipline—to strive for in their own lives.
Conversations in Valley School’s library often lean toward the real-life application of the values children identify in books. Karen reminds her students that in everything they do they’re making choices. “I want them to learn to lead conscientious lives, both for themselves and others. There’s opportunity at the intersection of a book and a child. Any book instills values, so when selecting books for children, we’re selecting for our future, and we’d better make good choices.”
— EVERYONE
Karen’s library celebrates the unique stage of life that is childhood. It’s a warm and engaging space. She welcomes the hum of children’s play, creativity, and growth. That’s not to say though, that her curricula aren’t rigorous. “In any education, kids want substantive stuff. They want meat they can relate to, and they have to be able to ask questions.” Karen shows Valley School students their input has value. They learn that they’re capable of grappling with—and offering valuable solutions to—serious problems.
One of the tools Karen makes available to her students is the power of self-expression. She knows the efficaciousness of language, and encourages children to advocate for themselves, speak their truths, and be comfortable with who, what, and where they are. One Lower School teacher recalls that, “several years ago, Karen was the 5th-grade teacher of Maggie Elder, who had recently been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. It was an unprecedentedtime in our school. Karen worked with Maggie to pen her own story, Learning to Live with What You Have. She spent time with Maggie at her home to help her craft it. In true Karen style, she exacted the best from Maggie by encouraging her to check punctuation and choose powerful wording. This book has since become Maggie’s legacy. In addition to helping Maggie, Karen also helped the rest of the class confront the reality of Maggie’s situation. She taught them how writing can be an effective tool for dealing with difficult situations; she gave them a voice.”
Karen has a special aptitude for reaching toward others to see, hear, and accept them for who they are. Sometimes, in education environments, the loudest voice in the room gets the most attention. And certainly, those who make themselves accessible are easiest to know. Karen, however, listens for the quiet voices, too. Last year, when an introverted Upper Schooler showed an interest in poetry, his quiet artform might have gone unnoticed. But not under Karen’s watch. She introduced him to a local author who’s written for the New York Times and contributes regularly to Pittsburgh Quarterly. They began to work together after school on a weekly basis, developing his craft and confidence. Soon thereafter, a 5th-grade girl joined them. She learned to use writing as a means of revealing herself. When schools closed due to COVID-19, that usually-reserved girl employed her new skills to express her confusion about living in a “disrupted pandemic world.” By recognizing the opportunity to make a meaningful connection for these children, Karen gave them what may turn out to be a lifelong gift. That’s one of the beautiful things about Karen; she sees possibility everywhere, and she strives continuously for the excellence she knows is obtainable for her students.
Learning requires security and support. So, when a group of gleeful Lower School students bursts forth with adulations, telling you, “Mrs. Koza is a really great teacher, aaaaaand she’s our friend, too!” you know they are set up for success. When Karen’s colleagues repeat the sentiment again and again—“She is an insightful, faithful, talented, and committed educator and friend”—you see that she is a gift to the whole of our community. And though she claims to be the fortunate one, “to be a part of this truly incredible place,” we all know “it’s good people that make good places,” and that Karen is one of the people who makes Valley School the very best of places.
