24 new faculty have joined Andover for the 2024-2025 school year. From coaching Varsity teams to living in the dorms with students, the new community members shared their excitement for the upcoming year as well as the unique benefits of working at Andover.
Many of these newcomers are a part of Andover’s Teaching Fellowship program, a program for those with little or no teaching experience. For one to two years, Teaching Fellows teach two classes a term and serve as House Counselors and coaches. They are also paired with an academic mentor, attend seminars, and meet with other teaching fellows to improve their pedagogical skills. Rachel Conley, Teaching Fellow in Chemistry, elaborated on the benefits of teaching fellows learning together as a cohort.
“I have learned a tremendous amount about [the other teaching fellows], their teaching styles, and their leadership. It’s really nice to be a part of the Fellowship program because I have other fellows who are going through the exact same thing as me, despite [the fact that] they might be in Theater or English or different disciplines than I am. There is a commonality that we are all able to share and work together as one team, and that then transcends into how I teach,” said Conley.
For many teachers, the arrival of new faculty brings new perspectives to their department. Marcelle Doheny, Instructor in History, noted how new faculty members’ diverse backgrounds often lead to novel developments in departmental teaching.
“Some new faculty come here with a lot of teaching experience, and some people come new as teaching fellows, and they are both good because they refresh everything we know and they help us with new ideas because you can get stuck in your ways. What happens inside departments is we’re discussing courses and we’re discussing ideas. We certainly do [discuss] in the history department, so when we have new teachers come in… they come up with new ideas and new activities,” said Doheny.
When asked about their favorite parts of Andover, new teachers highlighted Andover’s small class sizes and school spirit. Lorena Corbelli, Teaching Fellow in Biology, pointed out how teaching at Andover is a mutually beneficial experience.
“Something I really love about Andover is that it’s an intentionally diverse community. I come from a background that is very diverse, and I feel like I can learn a lot from students from all around the world. I think in the classroom, it’s not just me teaching students. The students are also teaching me. I am looking forward to learning a lot from them, especially on how to be a good teacher to them and how to adjust in the classroom to help students,” said Corbelli.
Merrilee Mardon, Deputy Head of School and Dean of Faculty, spoke on how the hiring process aims to mirror the intersectionality of working at Andover. With the triple threat system, where most faculty teach, coach a sport, and are house counselors or complements, the school searches for candidates who can contribute to the community in a multitude of ways.
“When we hire, we are looking for people who love kids. They have to want to work with teenagers. That is number one in addition to expertise. When somebody comes to interview, they are meeting with the Dean of Students team, the Dean of Studies team, Linda Carter Griffith [Associate Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, and Wellness], and a variety of other department members. So we are also trying to understand how somebody will love and contribute to our diverse community and being with kids outside of the classroom is part of what we are looking at,” said Mardon.
Mardon noted that Head of School Raynard Kington and other administrators are looking for ways to optimize all aspects of students’ experiences at Andover. With the increase of high-level sports and highly specialized classes, hiring in the coming years may look different.
“In the 1980s, 1990s, and even the early 2000s, the complex of club sports and professionalization of youth sports did not exist as it does today. So the demands on high-level coaching, so our varsity-level coaching, are very different than they were… Looking forward to the future we are looking at changing our model. We do not have any answers right now because it is complicated, but Dr. Kington has acknowledged that the triple threat is not sustainable for the future. I expect that in the coming year or two we will have some different approaches to hiring.” said Mardon.
