By Ruth Kramer ’18, Contributor
Country Day students may not know the relatively new intern program, but we are aware that there are new, young teachers around every corner. The intern program is for college graduates that would like to become full time teachers at Country Day. The program gives the intern teacher classes and plenty of room to experiment with how they would like to teach. Some students may remember Mr. EJ Mitchell, last year’s intern. This year, the newest addition to the intern program is Ms. Kyle Scully.
Ms. Scully is very happy to be a part of the program and is excited to begin her teaching career here. Coming back to Country Day is like coming back home for Ms. Scully, who was a student here her whole life, Kindergarten through 12th grade. After graduating in 2008, Ms. Scully majored in English at DePaul University in Indiana and is currently working on her Masters in Secondary Education at Xavier University.
Ms. Scully also spoke of her experience and what really compelled her to come back and teach at Country Day: “I’m really into sports and Pat Dunn told me that [the school was] looking for a middle school girls’ lacrosse coach. I also saw EJ Mitchell and he told me of his experiences. After he left, Hirsch told me to interview for a job here. I was already familiar with the environment, the culture, everything. I had no clue I would be back; it just kind of happened last spring.”
Being new to the school and new to the classroom would be a little stressful for anyone, let alone a new teacher. But Ms. Scully believes that Country Day allows you to test the waters before you are given a whole grade to teach. She said, “I have my own advisory and three classes instead of a whole class load, which is good for a teacher in training because it’s not too much pressure.”
Ms. Scully is also very eager to experiment with her teaching style. She noted, “I don’t really have a teaching style yet. I just like to have everyone engaged and have a fun atmosphere for learning.’” And for Ms. Scully there’s an added bonus…All of the middle school teachers! Already, she says that, “All the middle school staff is really nice and helpful. They are helping me to become a better teacher.”
Overall, Ms. Scully is very happy to again be a part of the Country Day community, just in a different way. Now teaching sixth grade Social Studies and Global Connections, Ms. Scully looks back on her own experiences at Country Day saying, “My most exciting experience was probably my junior year when my tennis partner, Christie Linder, and I won the state championship for doubles.’’ Now that the days of being a student are over, the days of being a teacher are right ahead for Ms. Scully. One day she’d like to teach an English class, because she’s more comfortable with the subject, as it was her major in college. But right now, Ms. Scully is, “really glad to have this opportunity here [at Cincinnati Country Day].” Who knows, maybe for those students interested in education our teachers could become our teaching mentors.
