Many Marksmen have had to assume positions of leadership, whether by replacing an injured starter on a sports team, leading a club when its former president graduates or creating a Quizlet study set for other members in his class.
Marksmen, however, are not the only members of the school’s community who are called on to accept additional responsibility at a time of need.
When Interim Head of Lower School, Fine Arts Department Chair and drama instructor Marion Glorioso-Kirby and Chinese instructor Janet Lin stepped down from their roles as junior class sponsors, two faculty members were needed to fill their positions.
Math instructors Amy Pool and Sherry George rose to the occasion, combining their knowledge and experience to lead the Class of 2025.
As a former class sponsor, Pool says she felt obligated to support her fellow faculty members who stepped down as sponsors.
“It’s hard to step down,” Pool said. “You build such close relationships to the class in a unique way, maybe with exceptions to your advisees or the students you teach.”
Pool admits that she and George have different personalities, but she believes that their individual approaches to issues help them solve problems and come up with innovative ways to move the class forward.
“Sometimes I’ll just react,” Pool said. “[George] is even-tempered. She’s very thoughtful. She likes to step away and pause and consider. And that’s a good balance to my energy. I also think that ultimately, even though we don’t necessarily come with the same idea to begin with, we’re both also open enough to hear the other one’s position and consider it and reach a consensus.”
Pool believes the work required to lead a class as a sponsor has affected the mental health of many former sponsors, including herself.
“In the 13 years I’ve been here, turnover happens,” Pool said. “People do it for a while, and it’s a lot of hard work and people enjoy it. And then after a while, they say, ‘Okay, I need a break from this.’ We’ve had former teachers who did it for a while, stepped away for quite a few years and then came back and did it again. I think change is natural, but I do have to say I didn’t expect I would be back here.”
George believes Pool’s experience is a valuable tool for leadership.
“I can ask her, ‘What have you done in the past?’ She’s actually taking a lot of the lead and doing a lot of logistics for stuff because she’s done it for years,” George said. “It’s easy for me because I’m working with Mrs. Pool.”
Despite dealing with the added workload, Pool believes the school community has supported her strongly and consistently throughout her teaching career.
“Someone just walked by the window–I was having a rough morning this morning–and just gave me a thumbs up as if to ask, ‘Are you doing okay?’” Pool said. “We all have a different kind of cycle to our emotional rhythm and emotional fortitude. I’m someone with a great deal of resilience, but I just feel overwhelmed right now. But people have been incredibly supportive, not just this year, but other years as well. They’ve been supportive of me through a lot of different challenges. And it’s not just the faculty, the students have been supportive as well. They’ve pitched in when I needed help.”
Despite hearing mixed reports from other teachers regarding the Class of 2025, George feels strongly that the grade’s reputation in the past does not affect their current actions.
“I dislike the idea that there’s a reputation,” George said, “because people are building it up to be more than what it is. I’ve heard it from students in ninth and 10th grade. There’s some mistakes, obviously, that some students have made in the past, but the class is not that. The class is a bunch of talented, smart and awesome guys. When you talk about reputation, I think it’s selling people short. Everyone grows.”
George says she never questions or second-guesses her decision to become a class sponsor.
“I love the class,” George said, “and if there’s a need I can help, why wouldn’t I?”
