Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Seven New Faculty and Staff
Tappahannock (September 16, 2000) - Graduates of the nation's most selective colleges are among the eight faculty members and residential life professionals who have joined the staff of St. Margaret's School this year. They join an existing, veteran faculty of more than 25 teachers; the school's six most senior educators together have spent more than 150 years in the classroom.
St. Margaret's Welcomes Seven New Faculty/Staff: (front, l. to r.) Cathy Warren (Geography) and Natalie LaPrade (Algebra I); (middle, l. to r.) Anne Altaffer (Drama/Photography Club), Gabrielle Sulzbach (Dorm Head, Latané Hall) and Becki Eleftherakis (French); (top, l. to r.) Gayle Hicks (ESL) and Whitfield Mastin (Spanish). Not pictured: David Cook (English, Civics).
The school's new teacher program taps that expertise by pairing each of the recent hires with a more experienced colleague for informal mentoring. In addition, first-year faculty and staff receive ongoing guidance from their academic department head and support from members of their interdisciplinary teaching teams.
The new employees, who will teach or work in their area(s) of academic training, include an alumna and a former teacher who know the school well, plus individuals with applicable "real world" experience, such as a math teacher who was a software analyst for a top high-tech firm.
Anne Altaffer, an alumna who graduated in 1992, earned a B.F.A. in photography from the University of Montana this May. She will teach drama and sponsor the photography club. Additionally, Altaffer will work as a dorm counselor in Latané Hall and serve as an administrative office intern.
David Cook, a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in journalism, will teach eighth-grade English and civics. An experienced distance runner, he also will coach the cross-country team.
Becki Eleftherakis received her Bachelor of Arts in French with high honors from Middlebury College this year. She will teach all levels of French, including Advanced Placement, and work as a dorm counselor in Latané Hall.
Gayle Hicks, a new English-as-a-Second-Language teacher, received her B.S. in political science from Tuskeegee University in 1993. She is completing a master's degree in linguistics from Old Dominion University, and taught ESL courses at St. Margaret's earlier this year to cover for a teacher who was on maternity leave.
St. Margaret's 2000 Faculty and Staff on the porch of St. Margaret's Hall during school orientation held the last week in August.
Natalie LaPrade received her Bachelor of Arts in computational sciences from Hollins University in 1996. She earned her M.S. in computer science from Wake Forest University in 1998. Most recently, LaPrade worked as a user interface analyst for SAS Institute in Cary, NC. She will teach Algebra I and coach varsity volleyball.
Whitfield Mastin graduated from Davidson College this spring with high honors in Spanish. She will teach Spanish I and Spanish IV/V. Additionally, she will work as a dorm counselor in Latané Hall and as assistant coach of the varsity field hockey team.
Gabrielle Sulzbach comes to St. Margaret's from Mary Washington College, where she had been Assistant Director of Residential Life and Acting Student Activities Director since 1998. Sulzbach will be the new dormitory head for Latané Hall. She worked at two other educational institutions, Marshall University and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, prior to coming to St. Margaret's. In addition to her dorm responsibilities, Sulzbach will help plan and coordinate the residential life program.
Cathy Warren, a 1999 graduate of Williams College with a bachelor's degree in political science, worked last year at an internet firm in western Massachusetts. At St. Margaret's, she will teach geography and current events, and serve as assistant dorm head of Anderton House.
St. Margaret's is a 150-student boarding/day school for girls in grades 8-12 that was founded in 1921 by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Its mission, "Educating Young Women for Life," is reflected in a college preparatory curriculum and co-curricular activities that equip girls to face the technological, global, intellectual and societal challenges they will encounter in our rapidly changing world. For more information, contact Director of Admission Kimberly McDowell at (804) 443-3357.
