From Learning to Leading: Gaynor’s Senior Educator Program

The Senior Educator Program was conceived through Gaynor’s 2017-2021 strategic plan, as a way to retain great educators and develop long-term career paths that support the school’s overall curriculum goals. The three-year program, taught by Assistant Head of School Jill Thompson and Director of Lower Division Donna Logue, covers three areas of study: understanding individual learning differences, curriculum development, and organizational leadership.

The first cohort of the Senior Educator Program graduated in February 2022 and started mentoring novice Gaynor teachers this fall. Mentors and mentees were carefully paired to ensure the new teachers felt welcomed and confident in their new roles by providing them with moral support, guidance on teacher responsibilities, and a primer on “Gaynorization.” The mentors have been instrumental in providing layered support for novice teachers, as well as modeling distributive leadership at Gaynor. Distributive leadership is a style of leadership in which decision-making and problem-solving are shared among team members rather than being concentrated in a single leader or group of leaders.

“Special education schools across the nation have inquired about Stephen Gaynor School’s Senior Educator and Mentor Programs, and this school year, the dream we envisioned to provide layered support to new teachers and distribute leadership opportunities has come to fruition,” Ms. Thompson said.

The second cohort of senior educators graduated in December, and will begin their mentorships in August 2023. This spring, they are collaborating with Gaynor’s leadership team on an audit of the writing curriculum and an analysis of the audit to determine strengths and gaps. This work will lead to a summer curriculum project aimed to evolve Stephen Gaynor School’s continuum of writing skills and content across divisions. Congratulations to our most recent graduates: Erika Bentsen, Mollie Book, Dionne De Lancy, Lindsey Rappaport and Audrey Schaefer!

The Senior Educator Program accepted a new group of educators to the Senior Educator Program this past September: Joyce Macedo, Erin Montgomery, Caroline Sugg and Catherine Thomas. Their anticipated graduation date from the program is June, 2025.

 Back row from left: Dr. Scott Gaynor, Erika Bentsen, Mollie Book, Dionne De Lancy. Front row: Audrey Schaefer, Lindsay Rappaport

 Clockwise from top left: Joyce Macedo, Caroline Sugg, Erin Montgomery, Catherine Thomas