"The Highlight of a Teacher's Life"

April 25, 2007

Andrew '07 and Holli Hamner, who taught Andrew in the fourth grade

"When it comes to teachers, there's nothing more special to hear than a 'thank you'," said Tom Hassan, Assistant Principal, when presenting the five teachers invited to Exeter as part of the Honoring Earlier Educators Program. This brand-new program honors teachers who have "made a significant difference in the life of an Exonian before he or she got to the Academy," said Hassan. The five visiting educators – selected from a pool of fifty nominations – came to Exeter for a three-day visit, "shadowing" the students who had nominated them, attending classes, meeting with Exeter faculty, eating in the dining halls and generally soaking up the Exeter environment. 

"I love the approach of the Harkness table," said Donald Neff, after attending a Physics and Mathematics class. "Students ask and answer their own questions. It's great to see instructors use this process." Neff teaches fifth grade at the Findley Elementary School in Beaverton, Oregon, where class sizes typically run to thirty students, and there's nary a Harkness table in sight. Neff was nominated by Scott, a lower, who was delighted to be able to show his teacher around campus. "I remember Mr. Neff as a very caring teacher. He told us we had to be very disciplined. He rewarded us when we did well." Scott maintains that Mr. Neff's influence, with its focus on discipline, helped lead him toward the decision to attend Exeter.

Holli Hamner visited Exeter from South Carolina, where she works as an instructional coach. "It's amazing," said Hamner. "The whole experience. It's the highlight of a teacher's life." Hamner had no idea she'd been nominated or chosen until she opened the letter announcing her honor. "It is very affirming professionally," she said. Hamner taught Andrew, an Exeter senior, when he was in the fourth grade at Sara Collins Elementary, a public International Baccalaureate World School in Greenville, South Carolina. Hamner sees a lot of similarity between her school and Exeter, because "they share a philosophy of student ownership of their learning." For Andrew, it felt "a bit surreal" to show his fourth grade teacher around the Academy. "It's strange for me to realize how long ago it was, and how far I've come."

The other educators honored this year are: Josh Frost, who was nominated by four Exonians for his teaching at the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham, New Hampshire (Frost has since moved to a new school, the Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts); Jacob Roth, from the Jim Hill School in Jackson, Mississippi; and Gretchen Schuster, from the John Sells Middle School in Dublin, Ohio. 

All five honored educators leave Exeter with the knowledge that they made a significant difference, and that their old charges are in an exciting educational environment. And at least one, Neff, takes home another special memory: a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.