By Karen Mills, Literary Thinking Faculty and Faculty Development Coordinator

I believe that one of the best ways to show learning is to teach what you have learned to someone else. In order to explain content, one must first understand it; in order to teach a skill, one must first be able to do it. Teaching what one has learned can reveal understanding, competence, and areas for growth.

Members of the Eastside Prep faculty have been teaching and refining our practices for, cumulatively, hundreds of years. EPS students benefit from our “unconscious competence” (mastery) in the complexities of the teaching profession and our specific disciplines. Several years ago, Head of School Emerita Terry Macaluso decided that we might also have something to offer to a wider audience. Show others what we know, in a sense, to enhance our own teaching practices and help others do the same.

This year the EPS community is doing just that with our new offering, the Resident Teacher Program (RTP). Over the course of the school year, EPS faculty members and administrators will share their collective knowledge of the teaching profession with a small group of teaching residents (Residents). Residents will learn the complexities of the profession through mentorships, observations, Seminars, co-planning and teaching opportunities, and relationships they build within the EPS community. Current faculty will learn, too; as they reflect on and explain their own practices to Residents, they will inevitably refresh and refine their processes. The reciprocal relationships built into the RTP will enhance the practice of everyone involved from Residents and faculty members to administrators and students.

MEMBERS OF THE EPS FACULTY HAVE BEEN TEACHING AND REFINING OUR PRACTICES FOR, CUMULATIVELY, HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

Just like teaching, the RTP is complex, with many programmatic and personnel elements at play. The program runs the length of the school year and pairs Residents with current senior faculty members (Mentors). Residents shadow Mentors as they design lessons, teach classes, and provide feedback to students. Residents also attend Seminars—taught by current faculty members and administrators—that provide information on elemental teaching topics such as adolescent development, building relationships, classroom management, designing lessons, and differentiation. In addition, Residents observe in other classrooms, participate in extracurricular activities, and prepare to gradually shift from co-teaching with their Mentors to full-time classroom ownership by the end of the year.

In this inaugural year, two Residents will blaze their paths through the program. Diana Gonzalez-Castillo completed a bachelor’s degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Williams College in June 2023. Her campus leadership focused on issues of race, gender, and socioeconomic class. Diana is a lifelong learner, thrives in community with others, and looks forward to this new challenge to lead, guide, and be part of the EPS culture.

Noah Ching (EPS Class of 2014) graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Environmental Studies and has since worked in the legal profession while coaching EPS Ultimate Frisbee teams. Time spent working with young athletes inspired him to switch careers; he
applied to the RTP to help students “achieve their goals and build confidence in their abilities” as a teacher, mentor, and coach. His connection with and faith in his Ultimate players will serve as a natural starting point as he begins his teaching career.

A HOST OF EPS FOLKS WILL GUIDE THE RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, STARTING WITH MENTORS SPECIALLY SELECTED FOR THEIR EXPERTISE IN THE CLASSROOM AND IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DISCIPLINES.

A host of EPS folks will guide Residents throughout the year, starting with Mentors specially selected for their expertise in the classroom and in their respective disciplines. Elena Olsen and Stephen Keedy, both Upper School English faculty members, will mentor Gonzalez-Castillo. Olsen has been teaching English in the Upper School at EPS since 2006 and is also a writing coach in the College Counseling office; Keedy began his EPS career in the English discipline in 2012, recently extending his skills into college counseling as well. Science teacher Katie Dodd will mentor Ching. She arrived at EPS in 2009 and has taught science across a multitude of grades. All Mentors are excited to be part of the RTP, specifically eager to “welcome new faculty and staff into our culture and community,” share the “experience and knowledge gained” over the course of their own tenures, and “get an outside perspective” on their own teaching practices.

The RTP is designed and run by the Academic Design Office, which consists of Matt Delaney (Director), Krista Henningsen (Academic Design Coordinator), and me in the newly created position of Faculty Development Coordinator. Together, we work to provide Residents and Mentors with the content, materials, and opportunities they need to learn from one another.

I could not be more enthusiastic about the new program, the young professionals we welcome to our school, and the benefits that our entire community stands to gain from this venture. Please join us in welcoming the Residents to our community and to the teaching profession.