The Puzzle: Blog

Name:

Colleen A. Krivacek, PhD

Where do you teach?

Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA

What do you do there (i.e., what subject do you teach, what sport do you coach, do you live in a dorm or supervise a club, etc.)?

As new faculty, I teach Advanced Biology and Chemistry, coach crew and squash, am on a dorm team, and live in a house on campus.

What is a typical day like for you? Please feel free to be as specific as possible!

Ok, you asked for it!

Zero Dark Thirty: The alarm goes off.

Zero Dark Thirty + 18 minutes: Two snoozes this morning. Seated dinner followed by

Vespers followed by Faculty Meeting last night. The boarding school evening trifecta. Thank goodness I didn’t have dorm duty on top of that. Oh, it’s Tuesday? Dorm duty tonight.

6:15am: Emerge fresh, in school dress, my marathon shoes laced and ready to go. Put together lunches for 14-year-old eighth grader and 11-going-on-17 fifth grader. Wonder if Fluff is a nutritious choice for the fourth morning this week. Add carrot sticks and call it a wash.

6:30am: Quick walk with the dog. Campus is quiet, sky beginning to brighten. My favorite part of the day. Woman’s Best Friend and Mother Nature are terrific company.

6:50am: Wake up offspring. Poll breakfast preferences. Put cereal anyway and remind them that if they got up five minutes earlier we would have time to eat breakfast in the dining hall.

7:00am: Serve breakfast to disgruntled fifth grade daughter, and remind her that she has her riding lesson this afternoon. She perks right up. Go back downstairs to re-wake up teenage son.

7:15am: Re-re-wake up teenage son.

7:35am: Grab backpacks and head to bus stop. Wish offspring a fabulous day. Head to work. On foot.

7:37am: Arrive at work (the commute is THE BEST). Make sure my hamster, Rosalind Franklin, has survived the night. Pop her in her hamster ball so she can run around with the students.

8:00am: Bell rings to start first class. The magic begins.

11:25am: Head to chapel, reflecting on the three riveting classes I taught this morning. My favorite hymn is posted on the board, 711.

12:00pm: Seated lunch with advisees, six freshman girls. We talk about the moving and brave chapel talk we just heard from a junior, what dress Maddie should choose for the homecoming dance, and whether or not they are prepared for their Odyssey test. They feel not. Pep talk time.

12:35pm: Back at it for afternoon classes. As I head back to my office to grade AP Bio tests, I overhear a few of my students talking as they leave the science center. “I never thought AP Bio would be so fun!” Mission accomplished. Spend free periods setting up lab for tomorrow.

2:00pm: AP Bio students come to tutorial for extra help. Turns out riveting lectures were also slightly confusing. Sorry kids, sometimes I get so excited about DNA I go supersonic. My bad. Lab tomorrow to make it all better.

2:30pm: Weekly meeting for new faculty. Dean’s office: yellows, greenies, and weekend leaves, oh my!

3:30pm: Head back to my house, greet offspring, and promote initiation of homework. Change into spirit gear, grab dog, and head out to the tennis courts to watch my advisee crush her opponent at tennis.

4:30pm: Race back to my house. Pack daughter, saddle, and bag of carrots into car and head to the barn. As I watch her take a course of fences on her horse, I think about how much I am going to miss watching her ride once crew season rolls around and I am back in the coaching gig. Stop for ice cream treat on the way home to prolong the moment.

6:30pm: Gather the rest of the family and head to the dining hall. Asian rice bowls on the specialty bar! YUM.

7:00pm: An hour of QT with the family before dorm duty. It is decided that sushi will be an essential part of the upcoming weekend.

8:00pm: DORM DUTY! Wrangle 48 freshmen into their rooms, doors open, cell phones in the hall. Seniors and juniors wander in and out. Check in with advisees. Turns out they were right about theOdyssey test, certain of failure. Another pep talk. A group of AP Bio students stop by to assure me that DNA is, in fact, the BEST MOLECULE EVER. Just as I suspected.

9:59pm: Brace yourself.

10:00pm: PANDEMONIUM! Freshman pour out of their rooms into the halls, yelling, giggling, running, packing as much togetherness into the 30 minutes before they are consigned to their rooms for the night. Pizza is delivered and devoured. Chaos.

10:30pm: Freshmen back into their own rooms. A group of seniors camp out in the common room with me. I know they are procrastinating and that I should tell them to finish up their homework, but I’m enjoying answering their questions about my days in college.

11:30pm: Final round. Everyone should be in bed, lights out. And they are. All 68 of my little chickens are tucked into bed. They look so young and sweet under their duvets. And then I recall the look of savage victory I saw in their eyes when they came from behind to win their field hockey game, the look of support and encouragement when they were cheering on the boy’s soccer team, the look of determination when they were taking their AP Bio test. Oh, no…

11:50pm: Back at home, finish grading AP Bio tests.

12:45am: Fall in to bed exhausted. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find time to work out. Drift off to sleep smiling and happy, wondering how I got so lucky as to have this career, to live and work at such an amazing school with such incredible young men and women. I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

Is this your first time working in a boarding school?

No, I previously worked at Brooks School in North Andover, MA.

What drew you to a boarding environment?

I attended boarding school, so my first experience was from the perspective of a student. I am a graduate of Emma Willard School, and I know firsthand the difference a dedicated teacher can make in the life of a child. My teachers had such an impact on all aspects of my life and helped guide me to the person I have grown up to be. It is my dream to be that teacher, advisor, or coach, and to make that kind of a difference. I still communicate with my teachers from high school, and several of them have become good friends and mentors.

After working the past few years in a day school, I realized that it did not give me enough time with the students. My job is so much more rewarding when I can get to know the whole child. I feel like I am a more effective educator and can more easily teach to the needs of each student. I want to be on dorm at night. I want students to be at my house making brownies on the weekends. I want to drive them to the mall, or take them on a service trip to Belize. My children have grown up with hundreds of big brothers and sisters. It is a very special experience, and you make friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime.

What is your favorite place on your school’s campus?

I am pretty new to campus, so it is currently a toss-up between my own house and the chapel. I love my new home; it is cozy, quiet, and less than a two-minute walk to both the dining hall and my classroom. I also love the chapel. It is a beautiful space, but what happens there is the best part. I am not particularly religious, but the speeches, performances, sermons, and music brings a sense of unity and camaraderie to the school that makes it a haven in the frenetic pace of boarding school life. Oh, and the dining hall. The dining hall ROCKS!

What advice would you give to candidates hoping to work in a boarding school?

Working at a boarding school is extremely demanding. But it is one of the most meaningful and rewarding careers I can imagine. Be prepared to have your students wind their way into every aspect of your life and your heart. Be prepared to be involved in the life of kids who are not your students, but who you will get to know and love anyway. Be prepared for the good, the bad, and the unimaginably horrible. You will work harder and wear more hats at work than you ever thought possible. You will survive until the next vacation, and summer is long enough to recover and look forward to it starting all over again. And in the end – it is not a job. It is a life. And your life will be richer for it.

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