New Teachers at Hawken!
As we enter the new school year, Hawken has once again expanded tremendously. Not only are the most students in history enrolled at the Upper School, but Hawken has welcomed a large number of new faculty and staff into our community. Here are a few interviews summarizing the first impressions some new faculty members have of Hawken:
Nick Cheadle - Mr. Cheadle is a key member of the planning committee for the Mastery School, and is excited to have the freedom to explore new ideas and be creative in its design. When Mr. Cheadle is not innovating new ways for students to learn, he teaches Spanish classes at the Upper School, where he loves the collaborative environment and is eager to engage with the student body. He feels that everyone has been very helpful, and he encourages students to come chat with him. Before Hawken, Mr. Cheadle taught at Western Reserve Academy, and he has spent the last 2 years working on his Ph.D. in second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon.
Josh Nugent - The Boys Basketball program has a bright future this year with Mr. Nugent as the new Director of Operations and Head Varsity coach. Mr. Nugent comes from St. Edward High School, and he is teaching Algebra 2 this year. He is excited about the push for mastery learning and for students to “get away from worrying so much about scores,” allowing them to focus more on truly understanding the course content. Mr. Nugent appreciates the support and enthusiasm for welcoming others around the building.
Katie Lupo - Ms. Lupo is ready to transition back into teaching Upper School students. When she first came to Hawken, she decided to work at the middle school to be close to her children, who were younger at the time. Originally, Ms. Lupo was drawn to Hawken because of the emphasis on helping students realize their strengths instead of focusing on their mistakes. She “wants to be at a place that is going to take some risks.” She loves the enthusiasm of students and faculty at Hawken. Before Hawken, Ms. Lupo taught at a boarding school in southeastern Pennsylvania and at a public school in Massachusetts. This year she is excited to teach Humanities 9 and Humanities 10 Lab, as well as experience some intensives.
Josh Cracraft - Mr. Cracraft feels like he has been welcomed into the Hawken community because of the kind and friendly nature of the students. He realizes this is what most schools aspire to be, but people at Hawken “walk the walk, it’s not just talk,” and feels that Hawken is “different in a way [he] can’t articulate.” He has previously worked at many high schools, but moved to Cleveland a year ago because of his wife’s job. In the past year, he worked for independent consulting education non-profits. Mr. Cracraft loves the physical space of Hawken because of its beauty and location. He is teaching Humanities 9 this year.
Jason Bratten - The Boys basketball team has not one, but two new coaches this year, with Mr. Bratten joining us as the Varsity Assistant coach. He comes to Hawken from St. Edward High School with Mr. Nugent, and he is looking forward to improving the team and providing a more structured organization. Mr. Bratten teaches Geometry and AP Statistics, and he especially loves the concept based learning in Geometry. He likes how “everything is about showing that you actually understand the concept” which allows people to not get caught up in grades. He is interested in learning more about Hawken’s culture, which he describes as “focused on learning and moving forward.”
Kyra Mihalski - Ms. Mihalski is excited to be at Hawken this year because of the friendly and welcoming environment. Her first impression of Hawken is that everyone is intensely passionate about their work, but especially about their extra-curriculars. She loves the way everyone seems to be “all in” no matter what they are working on. She has previously worked at Cleveland State University. This year she is excited to teach the concert band and the string ensemble, as well as work with the Hawken Pep Band and the pit orchestra for the winter musical.
Kevin Moy - Mr. Kevin Moy hails from Boston, Massachusetts (yes, he is a Patriots fan) where he taught at Milton Academy. At Hawken, Mr. Moy teaches biology and chemistry. In addition to working in the science department, he also hopes “to get involved as much as [he] can in the Performing Arts,” whether that be in the form of helping with the musical or being the advisor of Dance Club. Mr. Moy loves the humorous atmosphere of Hawken, especially the jokes in morning meeting. He is looking forward to the new experience of intensives, which he is both nervous and excited for.
Brian Huser ’09 - Mr. Huser is excited to be back at Hawken, this time as a teacher. He taught at a charter school in East Oakland and has worked in university settings. He received his Master’s degree in education from Stanford, and was studying for his PhD, but decided to come back to Hawken instead. Mr. Huser believes in getting to know his students as people outside of the classroom. He wants to “make math feel like more of an exploration for people and to feel like something that they’re intrinsically curious about.” For this reason, Mr. Huser is very excited to be teaching Quantitative Reasoning this year. He will also be helping with the Engineering macro course in the fall, and teaching Precalculus in the spring.
Lacy Chick - Dr. Chick has been involved in Hawken’s STEMM program since January. She is passionate about outreach to get more young women involved in science research and STEMM fields. She has been a research mentor to Hawken students engaged in the STEMM program, and has also worked at a Tennessee public high school as a teacher’s assistant and researcher. Although this is her first time working at a private high school, Dr. Chick has already realized “teachers and administrators really care about the students much more than at colleges.” This year, Dr. Chick will be teaching AP Biology, Chemistry, Marine Science, and will be the lead instructor for the Science Research classes and the STEMM program.
Cindy Zhao - Ms. Zhao has traveled halfway across the world on her way to Hawken. Last year, she moved to Cleveland from China, and then worked as a counselor at multiple universities. This year she is Hawken’s newest Chinese teacher. As a teacher, she hopes to make her students love Chinese and develop a new perspective, which she believes is “the most important part of learning any language.” Being new to Hawken, she loves how nice and helpful everyone has been, and she appreciates the wonderful welcome Hawken has given her.
Welcome to some of the newest members of the Hawken community!