Enhancing Two of the Central Pillars of Primary Day: Teaching & Learning
Neil Mufson, Head of School
Neil Mufson, Head of School
As I have become familiar with Primary Day this year, gotten to know the faculty and students, seen the program in action, and reviewed past accreditation reports, I came to believe that two central areas of school life could significantly benefit from even greater, more detailed attention: the curriculum and faculty development. After all, along with the school’s culture, what is more important than teaching and learning?
While our program is wonderfully strong, over the course of the year I saw that we need to “create” the time to very thoroughly review and refine it. A school’s curriculum, while always rooted in its mission, is organic, ever-changing, and always aimed at improvement. An apt metaphor is that of a garden, which also needs careful planning, mindful nourishment, and on-going maintenance.
Similarly, our teachers are true masters, yet in a profession like ours whose essential goal is to enable lifelong learning, we need to make certain that the school itself reflects lifelong learning. As part of that, any school’s teachers should continually be able to learn from relevant research, reflect on their practice, refine their approach and materials, and engage in meaningful coaching and professional growth.
However, when I was realistic about all that our current faculty and staff have on their plates, I came to realize that no one, myself included, had the time to take a deep dive into teaching and learning in the focused way I outline above. Thus, in the winter and as I prepared this year’s budget, I worked with the Board of Trustees to make it possible to fund a new position for 2022-23: Director of Teaching and Learning.
As I searched for someone to assume this role at Primary Day, I was excited by the possibilities. While I will still be integrally involved with all of these important facets of the school, I looked for someone who loves the PK-2nd grade age-group and will
- get to know each child, family, and faculty member;
- lead curriculum review, refinement, development, and documentation;
- ensure that the curriculum has no gaps or overlaps, is well aligned within and between grades, and meets or exceeds the requirements of all the schools in which our students enroll in grade 3;
- further develop our capacity to differentiate teaching to best meet the needs of all students;
- promote meaningful and sustainable faculty growth, collaboration, mentoring, coaching, and evaluation;
- and work directly with students to support and enrich their learning.
While the job description became ambitious, I undertook a search that stretched as far as Brazil. As I conducted my preliminary interviews, I met one candidate who stood out from all the others. I invited her to campus to meet with our faculty and staff. As I got to know her better through several conversations and spoke to her references, I became convinced she offered the right experience and skills to take on this new role.
Thus, I am pleased to announce that Sammer Eghtesadi will join us this summer as our first Director of Teaching & Learning. Extremely personable and engaging, Sami comes to us from the Langley School, where she has served as the Lead Kindergarten Teacher and has undertaken many administrative tasks. She also was an assistant teacher at the McLean School and served for a number of years as the Head Counselor for Grades 1 & 2 in Holton Arms’ summer program. Sami earned her B.S. from Radford University and M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Marymount University. I know you will enjoy meeting her in the new school year, and I thank you in advance for the welcome I know you will extend to her.