Paul Phelps to retire after 30 years at EA

Amanda Paolino ’15: After 30 years of teaching and coaching at the Episcopal Academy, Paul Phelps will be putting down the chalk and hanging up his whistle for the last time this year. The current Upper School math teacher and JV boys tennis coach recently announced his retirement for this spring, ending his 45 year teaching career.

Phelps, originally employed at Friends’ Central School, moved to EA in 1983 after being offered a position as a math teacher for both the Middle and Upper School. This began Phelps’ long run within the EA community as an educator and a mentor to many. He described his interest in math growing throughout his high school years alongside of his love for history, stating that “math always came the easiest to me, yet my passion for history is still present and evident in my J-term course on Teddy Roosevelt.”

During his time here, Phelps not only played a key role in the classroom, but also on the courts, on the fields, and even in the gym. Having played basketball himself in high school and college, Phelps coached both boys varsity and JV basketball when he first came to Episcopal. This preceded his coaching of the 9th grade boys soccer team as well as the boys varsity football team. As the years went on, Phelps gained an interest in developing an intramural program of sorts to accommodate for students with varying abilities. He explained, “It was not until the late 80s that I took an interest in putting together a fitness program in the spring for students. Because of the lack of a real weight room, I began offering weight training as well as a number of intramural programs, such as basketball in the fall for wrestlers and ice hockey players.”

Phelps currently coaches the JV boys tennis team in addition to helping out with the fall fitness program. Nevertheless, looking back, Phelps indicated that his “favorite sport to coach will always be basketball, as it was my personal favorite to play when I was in high school and college.” Yet, as he articulated, “All sports build character when you take risks and put yourself out there.”

As the school year is beginning to come to a close, Phelps stated, “I will always remember the camaraderie I felt when I first came to Episcopal. It was only a few years after Mr. Hess and another teacher from Friends’ Central moved to EA that I came to teach and began to enjoy the sense of community on campus.” When asked what he will miss most about Episcopal when he leaves, he said, “I am most happy when I am in the classroom. I will truly miss the classroom experience and most of all the interactions with my students.”