COURTNEY PIERCE, a former learning support case manager and teacher at Hong Kong International School, was recently appointed as the inaugural Dr. Dana Gurney Learning Support chairperson at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington. The position was created with a $100,000 gift from Susan O. and David A. Brown in honor of Gurney, the school’s longtime director of learning services who retired at the end of the last academic year. The fund, the school says, will help ensure a pathway for all students no matter their learning profile.
What attracted you to want to become St. Andrew’s director of learning support?
St. Andrew’s Chapin Tradition of service, action and inclusion, along with [its] guiding principles, were what initially attracted me to the school. As a lifelong special education teacher, the school’s values of inclusion and community were very important to me, and I experienced it when I visited in March for my interview – the community at large was very warm and welcoming. Specifically, the director of learning support position held the opportunity to grow my leadership skills, be involved in helping to design and implement a residential program that supports diverse learners, and to have a larger impact on students’ educational lives.
What is your goal for the school regarding learning support? My overall goal is to continue the amazing work that … Dana Gurney accomplished over her time at St. Andrew’s. St. Andrew’s has a very strong learning support program, and I would like to work with the team to strengthen our program offerings, develop our co-teaching model and support classroom teachers in their understanding of and skills in teaching students who are neurodiverse.
What areas at St. Andrew’s do you feel need increased student support and how will you assist the school in responding to those needs? I am excited to work with the learning support team to build and solidify our co-teaching model, where learning support teachers partner with content teachers to plan lessons, deliver differentiated instruction and tailor learning to the needs of the students in the classroom. … I am also looking forward to the continued growth of our Wolf Academy program, which provides increased speech and language and occupational therapy support embedded in the classroom environment for students who benefit from those supports.
What did you learn while teaching internationally and how will you apply that to your work with St. Andrew’s? I’ve learned that being vulnerable and placing myself in unfamiliar situations has helped me grow in my resilience and empathy. Having students from all over the world in my classroom has modeled how humans can overcome differences in culture or religion and work together toward a common purpose. Being more patient with myself, expanding my comfort zone, and appreciating the experiences and viewpoints of people from different backgrounds has pushed my growth, both personally and professionally.
