A Warm Welcome to New Faculty

The NFI program is a five-day orientation in mid-August that brings new faculty and staff to campus and up to speed on everything Masters — from the Harkness teaching method and navigating technology to mission-driven pedagogy and meetings with student leaders.

“One of the things that's always exciting about NFI is that it's truly interdisciplinary,” shared Jason Hult, dean of teaching and learning. “You have physics teachers learning from English teachers learning from Spanish teachers, and that's really nice to see.”

Hult worked alongside Arlene Casey, upper school math teacher and pedagogical coach; Lynn Salehi, associate head of middle school; and Miriam Emery, English Department chair. He said he was moved by the talented group’s passion and energy as they gathered during their workshops in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.

“People are inspired by this new IEC space and thinking about how to bring together Harkness learning, inclusion and technology,” he said. “It's exciting to see the way the different sessions build on one another.”

“Working with this group of new faculty was a great experience,” Casey said. “One of my favorite moments of the week was our panel discussion with six upper and middle school students. They gave such insightful advice to the new faculty about how to navigate teaching at Masters.”

For Melissa Edwards, new upper school dance teacher, the week was an enlightening experience. “We didn't just listen to administrators talk at us,” she said. “Masters has done an amazing job of welcoming me and making sure I'm not just thrown into the deep end right off the bat. We really got to work with the material and integrate it within ourselves and the community we're building.”

Lauren Napper, new health and wellness teacher in the Middle School, agreed. "I think NFI was helpful in allowing me to better understand the culture at Masters," she said. "I was able to feel confident in how I structured my first lessons because I had learned a bit about Masters’ students and how they engage."

 

NFI also put to rest first-day jitters for new upper school languages teacher Aaron Dean. “There's always a lot of moving pieces whenever you come to a new school,” Dean said. “With NFI, I've been able to ask all the questions that I have, and everything's been explained to me in an easy, digestible way that's allowed me to go into the start of the year a little calmer and confident.”