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Watkinson School

Tag: faculty

  • A Commitment to Community

    A Commitment to Community

    Watkinson School is pleased to recognize that Upper School Head Ryan Reese (of Simsbury) has been named as the Director of Recreational Soccer for Simsbury Soccer Club. Reese coaches boys varsity soccer for Watkinson alongside Danny White, another long-time coach for Simsbury Soccer and the club’s current Technical Director. 

    A multi-sport athlete himself, Reese still competes in distance running, triathlons, basketball, soccer, and skiing. Reese played highly competitive basketball throughout high school and college. During his 8-year tenure at Watkinson, Reese has coached varsity soccer and basketball. Less than a decade ago, Reese moved to Simsbury and wanted to get involved with local sports. A father of two young athletes, he has coached Simsbury Youth Basketball for players ages 5-10 and with Simsbury Soccer Club across the U5-U8 divisions. He is now happy to serve on the club’s board and collaborate with the club’s leadership.

    “Helping kids learn to love sports from a young age and begin to understand fitness and competition brings me a lot of joy. Those first few years of development are amazing to experience alongside players. Both my parents were incredibly active in my hometown and gave a lot of themselves to that community. I think this is my way of being able to do that here in Simsbury.” 

    Watkinson applauds Reese’s continued commitment to student-athletes beyond the scope of Watkinson’s athletic programs.

    To learn more about Watkinson School or its private school athletics program, schedule a visit.

  • Watkinson Welcomes

    Watkinson Welcomes

    Director of Development Thomas Murphy and Boys Varsity Tennis Coach Max Schweitzer

    Watkinson School, Hartford’s oldest independent day private school for grades 6-12/PG, is pleased to welcome Thomas Murphy (West Hartford) as its new Director of Development and Max Schweitzer (West Hartford) as its new Boys Varsity Tennis Coach.

    Murphy grew up in West Hartford, where throughout middle and high school he lived just a mile away from Watkinson’s campus. He comes to Watkinson from the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, a need-based college scholarship fund in Norton, MA, where he spent the last eight years working in fundraising, development, and alumni relations, most recently as the fund’s Director of Development. During his tenure the organization saw record growth in the endowment, continued expansion of unrestricted major giving and annual fund programs, and the creation of brand new alumni engagement opportunities, which centered on a growing career resources program along with a restructuring of alumni networking events. 

    Having attended Northwest Catholic for high school and having earned a degree in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University, Thomas is passionate about working in education, and has seen firsthand how philanthropy and education work collectively. “Education has always been incredibly important in my family, and thus I’ve been so fortunate to spend the last eight years raising money for need-based scholarships to help young people attend college,” Thomas said. “I have been so warmly welcomed by the faculty, staff, and students at Watkinson, and I look forward to working with the phenomenal team on campus to create bigger, bolder scholarship opportunities for families, broaden the school’s incredible alumni engagement programs, and continue to establish legacy giving options for our amazing students, parents, and alumni.” 

    Schweitzer brings decades of tennis experience to Watkinson as both a player and a coach. In 2017, Schweitzer founded a private tennis coaching business and has worked with over one hundred kids and adults, providing both technical help and strategic advice. Additionally, Schweitzer is the assistant director at the Nike Tennis Camp at Mount Holyoke College, the largest sleepaway tennis camp in the country. He will be entering his sixth year at the camp this summer.

    A West Hartford native, Schweitzer competed in USTA tournaments in New England and beyond during his youth. His success on the court led to his eventual recruitment to Clark University, where he was a 4-year varsity starter in singles and doubles. At Clark, Schweitzer obtained a master’s degree in interpersonal communication and received the Russ Granger Award for outstanding academic and athletic achievement in his class. 

    Schweitzer is excited to bring his philosophy of “leading by example, respecting one another, and utilizing the power of two-way communication” to Watkinson. 

    Watkinson School’s mission is to develop in our students the power to shape their lives and the world around them. Come see for yourself at our next info session for prospective families.

  • Watkinson Appoints New Director of College Counseling

    Watkinson Appoints New Director of College Counseling

    Watkinson School is proud to announce Emily Parker as its next Director of College Counseling. Emily comes to Watkinson after 13 years in the college admissions world. For nearly the last decade she has been the Associate Director of Admission at Brown University, and prior to that she was the Senior Assistant Director of Admission at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A veteran member of the New England  Association for College Admission Counseling volunteer leadership, Emily has been a guiding force in planning New England regional conferences, most notably chairing the annual conference in 2021. She is both universally well-respected by her peers and has a network of college connections that spans the globe. Head of School Teri Schrader adds, “I am excited and confident that our students will benefit enormously from Emily’s ability to advise them from her unique perspective as a college admissions insider.” Emily will succeed Terry Ullram in Watkinson’s college office and will visit campus several times prior to graduation, allowing both students and faculty to meet her before her official start day of July 1.

  • Jessica Dickens Featured in CT Women’s Art Show

    Jessica Dickens Featured in CT Women’s Art Show

    Watkinson School, a private school in Hartford, CT, is pleased to announce that Technology & Communication Support provider Jessica Dickens has been selected to be a featured artist in the Connecticut Women’s Art Show on April 24, 2022. In its fifth year, the showcase is curated by CT Philanthropist Margaret Patricelli and is presented in her home as a benefit to the Hartford Public Library.  

    Jessica is an accomplished jewelry artist and designer whose creations are distinct. She describes, “my jewelry collection is inspired by abstract, organic designs that are bold and unique. I create jewelry by marrying colors and textures that seem an unlikely pairing to create eclectic designs that capture attention. Each wearable art piece becomes an extension of the person and speaks to the unique beauty we all possess.”  In addition to doing a significant amount of custom designs for individual clients, Jessica’s work has been featured on Jewelry Television (JTV) Jewel School, Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine, fashion show runways, and arts and crafts festivals. She recently published “The Lone Wolf Jewelry Designer’s Guide to Business Art and Life.”

    The other artist featured in the 2022 show is abstract painter and alumni parent Sandy Welch. Both artists are giving a portion of all proceeds from the show to the Hartford Public Library. Attendance is by invitation only.

    Because of COVID-19, the showcase last happened in 2019 and sculptor Marilyn Parkinson Thrall was the featured artist.  

    For more information about the CT Women’s Art Show, please contact info@watkinson.org.

    Watkinson School, a private school for grades 6-12/PG, is Hartford, CT’s oldest co-ed independent day school. To schedule a tour of our private school and to see what our students, parents, and alumni have to say about their experiences at Watkinson School, click here. Our next info session for prospective families is May 5 at 9am.

  • CT Private School Science Department Chair Helps The Cause

    CT Private School Science Department Chair Helps The Cause

    Watkinson’s Science Department Chair Jean Kracke reflects, “In tough times if I can do something, that helps me.”

    It makes sense that during the COVID-19 crisis, Kracke’s response was one of action. 

    Her younger brother is the finance person at New York’s Columbia University Irving Medical Center who shared with her that the pandemic is crippling hospitals financially as elective surgery is a major source of income for hospitals. Kracke’s brother has 4 children and he has spent many days handing out masks to his hospital department heads. He has shared with her that there is no way to get enough protective gear to help the medical professionals who need it.

    Kracke’s good friend is an obstetrics nurse who further overwhelmed Kracke’s thinking when she shared that symptomless patients are unknowingly exposing nurses.

    Initially, this stark reality made Kracke, “..want to curl up on a couch.” Then her instinct to help kicked in.  

    She joined a Facebook group, called Sewing Facemasks for Farmington Valley, which has 875 members as of 4/1 and so far has donated 1255 facemasks.

    Kracke’s hope multiplied when she learned that people are finding ways to reverse engineer N95 masks, which block 95% of particles from getting through. She says, “People are making them with 3D printers and then reverse engineering the front.”

    Kracke uses the 3D printer at Watkinson all the time; this is when she kicked into action. “Because I know how to use the printer and we have the supplies at the school, I got to work.”

    She connected with a technologist at Manchester Hospital who is asking people with 3D printers to print faceshields. She then joined a group of 3D tech people who are trying to get 20,000 faceshields to an area hospital group in the next 20 days. Kracke reports, “I can print two at a time and it takes 10 hours for the pair.”

    Her contact at the local hospital is also awaiting approval from the CDC on a part that can be 3D printed that turns one ventilator to serve two people.  Once that approval comes, Kracke expects to fabricate those as well.

    “So far, I have printed 22 faceshield frames and I am about ¼ way through the filament material Watkinson had on hand. I expect I will run out of the 3D filament in the next week or so. Right now, filament is backordered.  

    If you have a 3D printer of any size or have access to filament, please contact Jean.

    Assembled and ready to donate!

  • Upper School Head Published – Watkinson Private High School

    Watkinson’s Head of Upper School Ryan Reese was recently published in the University of Chicago’s Journal of Education, Schools. He co-authored an article called, “School’s the Right Place for Love, or Why We Keep Teaching” with Charles Logan from Ohio State University and April Peet Vos from the Maple School in Northbrook, Illinois.”

    In the article, these three educators 12 years into their careers discuss what they’ve learned about teaching. The educators, all of whom attended the same undergraduate institution and completed their student teaching together, begin by reflecting on their training experience and how it prepared them (or didn’t) to face the daily challenges of the classroom. The conversation turns to significant failures, proudest moments, and the vital role creativity plays in teacher longevity before settling on reasons these educators keep teaching despite the fact that more and more people are leaving the profession or avoiding it altogether. By the conversation’s end, a message of hope emerges, one that identifies imagination and community as fundamental to a teacher’s long-term success.” — from journals.uchicago.edu

  • Jess Testani Named Athletic Trainer of the Year

    Jess Testani Named Athletic Trainer of the Year

    Our incredible trainer, Jess Testani was recognized today by the Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA) as the secondary school Athletic Trainer of the Year! The award, given annually since 1994, is given to one trainer in all of Connecticut for outstanding contributions to the Athletic Training profession in Connecticut.

    The Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA) strives to improve the quality of health care for athletes, patients, clients and individuals and enhance the profession of Athletic Training, through leadership, education, and cooperative efforts with other organizations and allied health professions.