By Fran Denote
MS English, Director of Faculty Mentoring
Ask any faculty member at GFA what drew them to the school, and most often you’ll hear the word “community” somewhere in the reply. Many will agree that a visit to campus – even in the high-stakes context of a job interview – makes evident our shared value of community connectedness. Never has that value been more important as we embark upon a new sort of school year in a physically distanced, sterile setting. Welcoming 11 new teaching faculty members and seven new Lower School Associate Teachers this year, GFA continued its tradition of community-building and group learning with the school’s mission in mind during New Faculty Orientation in August.
From his first weeks at GFA, Head of School Bob Whelan has made the mission statement and core values central to the school culture by asking faculty members to memorize the words, and thus, to internalize them: GFA engages students as partners in an innovative, inclusive, and globally-minded community to prepare them for a life of purpose.
Joining a community is always a kind of leap of faith, a bid for acceptance and belonging. Two prominent ideas within GFA’s mission statement originate in the words, “partners” and “inclusive.” Just as we strive to engage with students in these ways, so too do we embrace new faculty members with partnership and inclusivity. How better to embody our values than to practice them with each other, as teachers?
Shanelle Henry, Director of Equity and Inclusion, joined the new faculty in their orientation once again this year to lead the venerated exercise, “The Story of Your Name.” Though this year’s first day of programming took place virtually on Zoom, Shanelle did not miss a beat. As an orchestra fills a silent hall, one by one, each rectangle in the grid of Zoom frames came alive through stories. From unusual spelling to WWII secrets to television ads, new faculty learned of each other’s uniqueness and celebrated the new community created within the confines of a screen. At the root of inclusivity is acceptance of differences; our new faculty cohort did just that as they got to know each other better through their names.
“A person’s name is to [them] the sweetest and most important sound in any language,” Dale Carnegie once said. Shanelle told the new faculty: “A person’s name is the greatest connection to their own identity and individuality. Our names and the process of being named may carry cultural, ancestral and/or historical significance. They can be reflective of family heritage and traditions, specific to an era or mark a moment in time. Studies have shown that failure to pronounce a name correctly has long-lasting effects and impacts the world view and social-emotional well-being of students, which, of course, is linked to learning.” Yet the same can be said about creating a supportive and safe community of educators.
The "My Name, My Identity" campaign urges educators to honor their students by promising to learn how to pronounce their names correctly. And, while the focal point of the campaign is on students' names, "My Name, My Identity" is also about building positive, inclusive school culture.
Kevin Coll, Upper School English teacher, also graced our presence on the second day of New Faculty Orientation. Faculty gathered in the beautiful outdoor Amphitheater to experience his masterful facilitation of a Harkness discussion. Once again, the mission and core values drew new faculty members together in conversation. “Do a close reading. What do you NOTICE about the language and syntax? Which ONE or TWO words resonate most for you, and why?” Kevin asked. Participants got to work annotating and sharing ideas. Each year, the conversation elucidates new and enlightening ideas, and this year was no exception.
Joining the fifth-grade team this year in the English classroom, Michele Ames has had the unique opportunity to attend New Faculty Orientation two years in a row – she covered a parental leave in the Upper School last year. “We benefit from others’ perspectives,” she said of the Harkness exercise. Though she had participated in the mission and core values Harkness discussion the year prior, Michele shared that she learned just as much, if not more, the second time around: “I...think a lot about how to incorporate the values into lesson plans, and I feel like talking about it with colleagues really offered some new insights that will be helpful in my planning.”
“One highlight for me of New Faculty Orientation was getting to watch experienced GFA teachers at work. Kevin Coll and Shanelle Henry ran group discussions...with poise and enthusiasm, getting us to build trust and learn from each other in less than an hour. It was master teaching on display––and a welcome preview of what we would get to do with our students in the year ahead,” reflected Megan Ruppel, a new Middle School English teacher. “I came out of both sessions energized, optimistic, and grateful to be here.”
Some of the most impactful professional learning puts the educator in the role of the student, allowing for empathy and reflection. Though virtual meetings certainly would not have been the norm in the past, the hybrid format this year provided a valuable firsthand experience for new faculty members who are or will be working with remote students at some point this school year. If anything, we proved together that with a little bit of innovation, it is not just possible, but easy to deliver on our mission, no matter how we see our students.