Faculty Farewell

GIL TALBOT

Leaving Her Mark

Assistant Head of School for Residential Life Jenny Karlen Elliott ’94, P’22, ’24 embraces new opportunity

BY ALLYSON IRISH

Imagine this: Your 8-months-pregnant squash coach is driving the team to the nationals in Connecticut. But she accidentally drives to the wrong location. There’s 20 minutes before the match starts. What to do?

Many people would panic. Or miss the match. Or freeze. Not Jenny Elliott.

“Jenny snapped into problem-solving mode and rallied us all to get back into the van so we could race to the other venue,” says Midori Ishizuka ’11, now a PA history instructor and assistant girls’ squash coach. “We were a fierce force as we pulled up to our proper venue, just a few minutes before the match. Jenny and I laugh about that now.”

This anecdote encapsulates many of the qualities that colleagues, students, alumni, and players say make Elliott special. During her 12 years at Andover, Elliott brought to her work a combination of perspectives as an alumna, parent of two PA students, girls’ varsity squash coach, house counselor, history teacher, advisor, and—if that was not enough— assistant head of school for residential life and dean of students.

At the end of this academic year, Elliott is moving on from PA to become the head of student and academic life at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut.

“Jenny is fierce—the positive kind of fierce—with her commitment to everyone in the Dean of Students’ Office, to her classes, to her team, to Andover. She cares deeply and unwaveringly and has a reservoir of strength, energy, and fierceness that enables her to love, teach, coach, connect, and care like few people I have ever met.”

—Kate Dolan, assistant dean of students and residential life—and Elliott’s former house counselor and field hockey and lacrosse coach

Elliott has lived and worked for most of her life at boarding schools—Andover, the Stevenson School in California, the Westminster School in Connecticut, and soon, Choate. What is the appeal?

“I love the messiness and the magic of boarding school life,” Elliott says. “These places are built on the elasticity of human motivation, energy, and curiosity. It’s hard, but we do our best work when we stretch.”

Stretching, striving, and coaching have been hallmarks of Elliott’s tenure—along with her seemingly limitless

DAVID FRICKE energy and positivity. Her former boss, Andover’s 15th head of school John Palfrey, says one of the things he most admires about Elliott is her focus on improvement.

“Jenny is a lifelong learner. She is always trying to get better at just about everything,” Palfrey says. “While self-confident—and with good reason— she is fundamentally deeply humble. That carries over to her commitment to seeking improvement on behalf of the community.”

Colleagues say that Elliott’s compassion for others is important and appreciated. Raj Mundra, now dean of studies, previously worked with Elliott in the Dean of Students Office. Mundra says he is particularly impressed with the way Elliott handles hard conversations, especially those involving students and disciplinary actions.

“Jenny always operates from a position of compassion, especially during these difficult situations. But she also brings a quality of light, optimism, and positivity, which means a lot when you are embroiled in serious issues,” Mundra says. “Jenny is always concerned about others’ emotions, and she is very attuned to this. She has almost a Spidey sense instinct of how others are doing around her.”

As she reflects on her Andover career, Elliott says she is proud of creating spaces for students where they can feel comfortable, take risks, and practice. After all, school is a place for learning.

“I truly love practice and coaching, whether on the squash court or in the classroom. I tell my kids often to go ahead and take risks in practice and with your teachers and classmates,” Elliott explains. “It’s OK to make those mistakes. If you’re not going to try really going for it in this space, you will never grow or win.” 

YOON S. BYUN

Elliott is excited about future opportunities with Andover. She plans to remain enthusiastically involved as an alumna and parent and hopes to continue collaborating with her Andover colleagues.

A THOUGHTFUL AND FUN COLLEAGUE

Now president of the MacArthur Foundation, former head of school John Palfrey knew Jenny Elliott in a variety of capacities, co-teaching a history course with her and enjoying time on the squash court as the assistant girls’ varsity coach.

“The part of my workday I most cherished at Andover was coteaching U.S. history in Sam Phil with Jenny,” says Palfrey. “We had great students every year. And team teaching, while not exactly an efficient model, is much more fun than solo teaching. Jenny is a deeply thoughtful classroom teacher, she prepares as well or better than anyone I have ever seen, and she cares about each and every student’s development. It was truly a joy to be her colleague in that classroom—it made consistent, yearlong teaching possible for me as head of school to partner with her in this way.

“And then if fortune smiled on me, I would be able to jog over to the gym and pretend to add value as an assistant coach to the girls’ varsity squash team—with Jenny as the real coach. There was never once a time that I saw her without a huge smile on her face at the courts. Just as in the classroom, Jenny had every player on her mind, from the girl at the top of the lineup to the girl struggling to keep the last spot on the ladder.”