Amanda Palmer ‘20
Each year since 2016, the D’Ambrosio Fellowship has awarded special recognition to those teachers at the Episcopal Academy who go above and beyond. Here at EA, students are fortunate to have highly qualified teachers to help them grow in mind, body, and spirit, and the Fellowship aims to recognize them. Kris Aldridge, a member of the first class of Fellows, says, “I would say the intent of the Fellowships, as set up by the D’Ambrosio family, is to give teachers the opportunity to reflect on teaching excellence and to think about what it means and how to nurture it.”
The Fellowship tasks selected teachers toward creating a project that will benefit and inspire educators everywhere. So far, these projects have included an informative website and a video. Computer Science Department Chair Matthew Memmo explains his collaborative video project, noting, “Because we saw ourselves as student-focused, we made a video that asked students from grade two or one up to grade twelve how they thought teachers showing emotional intelligence to them has made a difference.” Aldridge, who worked on a website for the Fellowship, says, “what we did was to create a website that identified the qualities of an excellent teacher. Then, we interviewed colleagues of ours who we thought demonstrated those qualities, and had them talk about how they pursue that quality in the classroom.”
This year, the fellowship was awarded to 5 members of the EA faculty with two being from the Upper School, US Science teacher Kelley Bethoney and US English teacher Christopher McCreary.
Dr. Bethoney is an extraordinary Biology and Anatomy teacher, a faculty advisor to almost all the Upper School Science clubs, and, of course, an enthusiastic cyclist. Most students who had freshman Biology with Bethoney agree that her excitement for her class is inspiring. When asked about her favorite part of teaching, Bethoney answers, “Working with students and seeing them get excited about science, especially if they never liked the subject before.” Camilla Stapleton ‘19 remembers her biology class as one of the highlights of her freshman year. She says, “Dr. Bethoney sparked my love for science!” Raeleen Keffer-Scharf ‘20 comments, “Doc B is so passionate about everything she does. She loves helping students and bringing her real life into her teaching.”
McCreary, a fabulous Literature teacher and accomplished poet, has been an essential member of the English Department for the past thirteen years. Students who have taken McCreary’s courses agree that his love of his craft is evident in his teaching. McCreary is an incredibly dedicated teacher that truly enjoys his work. He says, “For me, teaching is all about the day to day engagement that you don’t get to have necessarily if you are a professor. But also, the really, really great thing is seeing people change over years. Right now, I am teaching seniors who I taught as freshman. It’s really great to see how sophisticated their thinking and writing has become over four years. And this is really the only place you get to see that.” Ainsley Shin ‘20 says, “In class, he allows us to be creative and expand on our ideas. He knows his material and he obviously loves teaching us.” Emma Humann ‘19 comments, “Mr. McCreary is an incredibly dedicated and open-minded teacher. He’s always willing to listen to his students and advisees and brings a unique and welcoming presence to EA.”
When asked about their initial reactions, both teachers were surprised. “I had no idea it was going to happen,” says McCreary. “It’s a big honor. I have been here 13 years, it’s nice to be recognized. I think there are a lot of great teachers here and there are dozens of people that deserve recognition. I don’t think I am anything special in a way, but it is really nice and makes me feel good.” As Aldridge summarizes the Fellowship induction and project process, “It’s intimidating, but in the end I think it was very worthwhile and a whole lot of fun.”