Students are all familiar with the “why Groton?” question; however, we rarely think about the teacher admissions process, and what makes our faculty come to Groton. To find out, The Circle Voice has interviewed five new faculty members about why they chose Groton and what they hope to achieve here. 

Chaplin Allison Read, coming from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, will be replacing Mr. Birney as chaplain. Our morning chapel program and the defining spiritual aspect of our school particularly inspired her. In an email sent to the Groton students and faculty, Chaplain Read expressed her “passion for building communities,” which she hopes to bring to Groton. 

In the English department, Mr. Joe Martinez will be joining us from Avon Old Farms, an all-boys boarding school in Connecticut. Before teaching English and coaching varsity soccer, Mr. Martinez worked as a trader in Manhattan. The GRAIN initiative, small community, and captivating chapel talks caught his eye while visiting and researching Groton. Mr. Martinez also described the “palpable energy in the Schoolhouse that I wanted to be part of.” Finally, he is eager to share his favorite short stories with his 3rd and 4th form students and get back to coaching soccer. 

Ms. Allyson Taylor will be teaching Honors Algebra II and AP Computer Science. Before coming to Groton, she spent a year as a teaching fellow at Greenwich Academy, so this will be her first year as an independent teacher. Groton stood out to her mainly because of the friendly faculty and staff. She notes that her interview was “one of the most relaxed and positive I had.” Ms. Taylor is excited to meet the students and contribute to a community that inspires her.

Ms. Louisa Ebby will begin her first year as a teaching fellow, having graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts last spring. While touring the Circle, she felt the same warmth of a small “supportive community” as she had felt in college. She will be teaching Calculus B and will be an assistant coach for girls’ lacrosse.

Coming from Maine, Ms. Ida Cortez, also a math teaching fellow, will be teaching Honors Precalculus. “I loved the focus on students and the school’s warm and welcoming environment,” wrote Ms. Cortez. “I am so looking forward to class starting; the beginning of the year is always a time of excitement!”

The science department will welcome Ms. Claire Hawkins, who just graduated from Brown in Providence, Rhode Island. There, she studied Physics and is eager to “help students feel enthusiastic and confident about physics” in her Advanced Physics: Mechanics course this year. Visiting Groton, Ms. Hawkins was “charmed by the students and faculty I met” and “excited for a truly snowy winter.”

In addition to these new teachers and teaching fellows, the school will be hiring two new admissions officers —Ms. Katie Kreider and Ms. Kellie Walsh— and new Director of Human Resources Peter McGillicuddy in the business office. If you see any of these new faculty members, be sure to make them feel at home!