Chloe Islam ’26 | Cora Sgaramella ’26
After 16 years of service, Anne Barr, Upper School English Department Chair, stepped down from her position as faculty advisor of The Scholium. Will Newman and Anna Safford, Upper School English teachers, the Scholium’s new faculty advisors, plan to bring both unique perspectives and optimistic mindsets to the EA newspaper. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, says that “[the new advisors] are going to be fantastic for the Scholium.”
Photo Courtesy of Gianna Trala ’23
Newman received their MFA (Masters of Fine Arts), at CUNY-Brooklyn College. Newman explains that “teaching is the only job that [they] have ever deeply enjoyed, and in this way, [it] has functioned like a vocation.” Newman believes that their experience in teaching college students English Composition at CUNY-Brooklyn College prepared them for teaching high school English, as they understand what skills will be necessary in the future. Likewise, last year, Newman periodically substituted for EA as well as Agnes Irwin and Shipley.
While Newman has engaged in various types of writing throughout their career, such as short stories, plays, hybrid work, and creative non-fiction, poetry is their utmost passion. As for their background in journalism, Newman was involved in both culture and music journalism, even writing for VICE, a pop culture website.
As a faculty advisor for the Scholium, Newman visualizes their role as a “guard-rail” that will follow up on the students’ ideas to “help make the abstract concrete.” They want to encourage an open mindset to the writers and editors of the Scholium. Barr praises Newman’s attitude about Scholium, remarking that “they are really excited about Scholium and Episcopal, and I am sure that they will be very eager to get to know students.”
Safford is starting her second year at EA, teaching World Literature and American Literature, as well as coaching girls water polo and softball. She graduated from EA in 2009 and found her passion for writing in graduate school when she was involved in critical and creative writing. During the pandemic, Safford taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania until she began to look for opportunities at EA. Safford explains that “due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Penn was pretty much fully virtual for a year and a half [2020-21]. I was mostly teaching adults and missed that 1-on-1 interaction with students.
In addition to her extensive background in teaching, Safford also brings an impressive array of journaling expertise to her new position. As an EA student, she was a writer and editor for the Scholium and later worked on Penn’s Newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvannian as a sports writer and editor. In addition to having newspaper experience from highschool, Safford has had professional journalism experience as a writer and content manager for the Philadelphia Inquirer for three years as well.
Safford explains that, in her first year as the Scholium’s advisor, she wants “to build a strong community of trust and ambition.” She also comments, “Newspapers are about relationships. We [the Scholium staff] all have to know that we are rowing the same boat, pushing on our own oar, and pulling [the newspaper] in the right direction.”