Elizabeth Peterson '11
Winchendon, Massachusetts, United States
The Winchendon School
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I teach math and theatre at a boarding high school in Massachusetts. I graduated from Wheaton College (MA) in 2015 with a double major in Mathematics and Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and I have been working at the Winchendon School since my graduation. I am currently a dorm parent, a math teacher, a theatre director, a yearbook adviser, and a music director; and I have been the varsity basketball assistant coach.
I teach four sections of Precalculus and one of Engineering. I love where I work, and my school is always looking for new teachers, especially now as we are expanding with a new school opening in Brooklyn, NY in Fall 2018.
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My current career was very much an extension of my time at Westover. At Westover I had the opportunity to take many great courses, including AP Calculus BC with Mrs. Pollina and AP English Language with Mr. Coffin. Those AP credits helped define my college majors, and I spent four years at Wheaton with confidence in my academic ability because of Westover. I also left high school realizing that not everybody had the opportunity to have math teachers as wonderful as the ones I had at Westover, so I resolved to become a high school math teacher to carry the light and enthusiasm that I received from my many excellent teachers and help provide others with the same opportunities I had.
My favorite course I took at Westover was one called "New Perspectives" with Allie Hildebrand, Mr. Harvey, and Shamus Weber. We focused on one specific piece of art, music, and literature that shattered preconceptions about their respective fields. This course influenced how I ended up combining my interests throughout college and now in my own teaching; I am an interdisciplinary teacher and incorporate many different subjects in my math lessons, which is something our school strives for, but is also a model that I am familiar with from my own education at Westover and Wheaton.
I am happy to talk to any current student or alumni interested in teaching at a private school. I am currently directing plays in addition to teaching math and engineering courses, and I am always learning more about building a theatre program, designing curriculum, and experiential education. My theatre focus is in directing musical theatre and Shakespeare.
I haven't been in the field for very long, as this is only my third year teaching high school, but I have been blessed with so many opportunities for professional development and living abroad, and I would be thrilled to share any expertise I have gained in my subject areas and in my field.
