Our annual Azalea Festival weekend begins with a community celebration, ‘Zalea Bash, that benefits an important cause – faculty enrichment. When you purchase a live or silent auction item, or when you raise your paddle at the Bash, Landon is able to invest meaningfully in the professional growth of our faculty and staff. When our teachers engage in professional development, they can build careers at Landon and help our boys become the best versions of themselves. 

Read on to learn about some of the faculty enrichment experiences that donations have helped to fund, and buy your ticket to the Bash today! 

Matt Gaston and Kali Palmiotto are enrolled in the AISGW Emerging Leaders Institute, a program that provides future school leaders with coaching and mentorship. Most schools have one employee accepted into the program; this year, Landon had two. 

"It's definitely rejuvenated me as far as being an educator," Palmiotto said, who is the Form III Dean, an Upper School Science Teacher, and a Water Polo and Crew Coach. "The question, 'how is this benefiting the boys?' is always in my mind. I think that this program is helping me answer that question more." 

For Gaston, a Grade 6 Science Teacher, the program has helped him consider how key moments in the curriculum, such as the Grade 6 capstone project, align with the School’s promise. “What are we doing that not only serves our students, but also highlights the community we have, our mission and our values?” he said. 

"The investment from Landon reinforces my commitment to providing the best possible education and support to my students and the families I am working with, and it strengthens my connection to the Landon community as a whole," Palmiotto said. 

“It makes you feel really valued, and that the time and effort you’ve put into the relationships with the boys has a direct impact,” Gaston added. “I feel more confident and ready to deal with any challenges that come up during the year.” 

Mike Cooke - veteran Landon faculty member, assistant Landon Summer camp director, and now our inaugural 3D Design Teacher - participated in the Harvard Design Thinking Course, thanks to professional development funding. It’s been a brain changer and a game changer for Cooke. “It’s completely changed my thinking and approach to teaching,” he said. "Everything I look at, I ask myself, ‘why was it designed that way?’” 

He brings this mindset to his classroom every day, whether it’s working with Upper School students on woodworking projects that serve others or helping Lower School students build planter boxes for their outdoor classroom. 

“Landon has always been supportive of me. They have always said, ‘What do you need?’ and ‘How can we help?’ I want to be here, I want this place to succeed, I want the boys to succeed, and they see that.” 

Nicole Maggio - Millennial Chair in Information Technology – empowers teachers to maximize learning for their students in her role as our Educational Technology Specialist. To prepare for Landon’s transition to the Canvas learning management system, Maggio attended InstructureCon in Las Vegas, where she picked up ideas from other schools. “I want to make sure we are innovating along with everybody else but doing it Landon’s way.” 

Fast forward seven months later, when Maggio teamed up with Sean Nolan, Lower School Design Thinking and Middle School Art Teacher, to share Landon's innovations – specifically, how Canvas can support students as they learn to explore the world through a lens of empathy – at NAIS Thrive, the national conference for independent schools.  

"I think it’s so important that parents know that, when we go to these professional development experiences, we are locked in and engaged for Landon. We want to contribute to the community. We want to grow and learn and share.” 

Faculty enrichment funding has allowed Jamie Matthews '04, Middle School Math Teacher and Math Department Chair, and his colleagues to reimagine the math curriculum at Landon, from Grade 3 through Grade 12.  

“A lot of programs are ‘one size fits all.’ We are developing our math programs to make them the best for our students at Landon, students who want to be engaged in learning math.” 

From hiring a consultant to review the program and visiting other schools, to hiring two new math teachers and deploying new learning technology, the Math Department has been able to cast a wide net to discover what strategies help Landon boys succeed. The impact can be seen both in and outside of the classroom. Just one example – the Middle School Math Team won their first ever interschool math meet in April. 

Anna-Marie Bobart, Upper School Learning Specialist, was tapped to co-lead a faculty initiative on Assessment Design and Differentiated Instruction. Programming included collaborative discussions and mini workshops during Upper School faculty meetings and Late Start Wednesdays. “The training of faculty in how to develop and deliver content that is engaging to each student is really vital to providing an enriched and elevated experienced for our boys,” Bobart said. “The core to every teacher is wanting to make a positive difference in a student’s life. Creating a community where our teachers know our boys beyond the classroom is a huge piece to understanding how to identify their strengths and struggles and guide them towards becoming the best versions of themselves.” 

The work kicked off during last summer’s Pedagogy Week, a time dedicated for faculty members to reflect on the year’s challenges and successes with the vision towards even more exciting outcomes during the upcoming school year.

“We talk a lot about community here, and the dedication of our faculty speaks volumes of our commitment to our boys and the mission of our school. Creating designated times for us to put our heads together towards discussing how we can collectively continue to not only support but challenge our boys towards becoming the best versions of themselves is an effort that is fully supported by our administration," Bobart said. "Knowing that we are all working passionately and collaboratively towards a common goal of making Landon the best place that it can be is what makes the entire school experience here so special.”