As the Middle School Dean, I have the incredible responsibility to work with students directly, engaging them in their social and emotional growth, supporting them with guardrails and celebrating them and their unique gifts. I joined Greene Street in 2018 as a 4th grade teacher and have been the Middle School Dean since 2022. The middle grades are truly a spectacular age group where young minds are eager, buzzing, and motivated to learn. These are pivotal years when students cultivate their core values and begin to identify their true selves.  During this time, we also see immense growth, testing of boundaries, and social experimentation. Our mission is to develop these scholars not only academically, but also in the realms of social emotional learning and caring for one another as a community. We are proud to have students who treat one another with kindness and empathy, uplift one another, create shared affinity spaces, and dive into community connections through work inside Greene Street Friends and in Germantown as well. 

We live and breathe our Quaker values through many activities. TORCH (Togetherness, Open-mindedness, Respect, Compassion, Heart) is our middle school Quaker leadership student government. TORCH students help to organize/host middle school assemblies and serve as class and grade representatives to brainstorm ideas and problem-solve issues. We also have weekly Middle School wide assemblies where 8th graders share essays or celebrate Middle School recognitions! Some staple middle school field trips also include an overnight trip to D.C, our 8th grade Costa Rica trip, Still Rise Farms, PEEC, etc. Parents and Caregivers also serve an integral part of our community and our student’s school experience. Last year, they helped teach our middle school wide CHOICES classes and run our annual end of year breakfast celebration for our Middle School.

Each grade also has a service focus weaved into their year (i.e: recycling, food security, reading buddies). Students have opportunities throughout the year to serve as leaders and take an active role in making meaningful contributions within their classrooms, grades, campus, and greater Germantown area. By developing stewards of our community at the local level, they will better understand the impact of their actions and learn to process the social issues affecting our country and our world. Our aim is to build scholars who are confident inside and outside the classroom, have agency, and are encouraged to share their gifts. There is no doubt that the pandemic has shaken our way of life, but it has also brought an opportunity for us to rebuild our community stronger.

I look forward to serving this community with transparency and joy at the forefront. Please don’t hesitate to reach out as we all navigate together as a community and help to keep one another accountable.