In the life cycle of a school, we take pride in welcoming new students and, on June 15th, we will be celebrating the achievements and accomplishments of our eighth-grade graduates. Just as we support this transition for our students, we are also attuned to the growth and development of our faculty and staff.
Schools are a place where people – both students and faculty – lay roots, flourish, and discover their wings. At Park we nurture and value relationships, traditions, and growth. Ours is a dynamic community that shares a collective commitment to providing a strong academic program for every child. While we enjoy the benefits of talented faculty here at our Park, we also celebrate their next steps. Please join me in sending good wishes to the following faculty and staff who will be pursuing new opportunities around the globe:
FACULTY & STAFF WHO ARE PURSUING NEW OPPORTUNITIES:
Cecilia Bonnabeau (Math Teacher, 1 year of service) is returning to New York City.
Danny Chin (French Teacher, 1 year of service) is getting married in June and is moving to Maine. He’ll be joining the faculty of North Yarmouth Academy as an upper school French teacher.
Valerie Foster (Assistant to the Division Heads, 2 years of service) moved to Western Massachusetts earlier in the year and is working at Williams College.
Elaine Hamilton (Math Department Head, 11 years of service) will be teaching math at Beaver Country Day School.
Cynthia Harmon (Head of School, 23 years of service) will be on a non-academic calendar for the first time since she was 4 years old. She will be the new Chief Operations Officer at Northstar Asset Management.
Beth Holzman (Kindergarten Assistant, 3 years of service) will be spending time carpooling her eldest daughter, Sydney, to The Rivers School, managing the secondary school process for Maya, as well as enjoying being a mom to Chase who will be in the Upper Division.
Maren Kelsey (English Teacher, 2 years of service) will be teaching English at Winsor School.
Rena LaRusso ’04 (Director of Alumni Relations, 4 years of service) moved to Sydney, Australia this winter.
Cicely Morris (Grade II Teaching Assistant, 3 years of service) is pursuing a lead teaching position.
Jessica Niebuhr (Grade II Teacher, 9 years of service) will be getting married in July 6 and is moving to Texas.
Sue Seufert (PE Department Head, 7 years of service) will return to the Brearley School in Manhattan where she will be the head of the Physical Education Department.
Liza Talusan (Director of DE&I, 3 years of service) will continue her practice as a consultant, facilitator, and strategic advisor of DE&I initiatives at schools and organizations across the country.
Jorge Vega (Director of Technology, 8 years of service) will be the Head of Instructional and Information Technology at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Cambridge.
Mark Vialva (Music Teacher, 4 years of service) is moving to the Washington, DC metro area to provide private instrumental lessons with Learn Now Music, Inc. He aspires to land a high school band director position.
FACULTY & STAFF WHO ARE CHANGING ROLES OR TAKING TEMPORARY LEAVE IN 2018-19
Peter Bown (Grade III Teacher) will teach Grade II in 2018-19.
Julianne Damaskos (Kindergarten Teacher) will be on maternity leave until November 2018.
Patricia Espinosa (Pre-K Associate) will be shifting her time to working exclusively at ASP.
Jeannie Hahn (Kindergarten Teacher) will be on maternity leave for the 2018-19 year.
Alice Lucey (former Upper Division Head) will return from sabbatical and will serve as the Upper Division Advisory Coordinator, the Upper Division Admission officer, and as a faculty evaluator.
Paul Newmark (Grade III Teaching Assistant) will become a Grade III classroom teacher.
Susan Segar (Lower Division Literacy Specialist) will be working part-time as the Literacy Specialist for Kindergarten and Grade I.
Karen Siegel (Director of Finance) will be working part-time.
NEXT STEPS FOR 2017-18 TEACHING APPRENTICES:
Jared Berg will be teaching sixth grade history and English at The Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland.
Ali Felman will be teaching middle school language arts at the Synergy School in San Francisco.
Courtney Grey will be the Grade III Teaching Assistant at Park while attending Boston College’s Graduate School of Education.
Sarah Hasselman will be attending graduate school in education at Tufts University.
Meg Poterba will be teaching middle school science at Dexter Southfield School.
Julia Rothschild is planning on attending graduate school in psychology for the academic year 2019-20 school year, and her job search for 2018-19 is in process.
Please know that I am incredibly grateful to each of these individuals for their contributions to the Park community. While we will miss seeing them around campus next year, I am equally excited to know that they will be sharing some of the Park magic with their new communities.
Sincerely,
Cynthia A. Harmon
Head of School
