Princeton Day School Welcomes New Faculty and Staff

Of special note, Dr. Lee Rosenberg will serve as the school’s first ever Scientist in Residence in the Upper School, joining PDS after the spending the past 13 years teaching at Princeton University. At PDS, Dr. Rosenberg will teach a science elective to our seniors based on his legendary “Genes, Health, and Society” course at Princeton, and will partner with other science teachers, give occasional lectures to the community on topics of scientific interest, and mentor Upper School students interested in pursuing careers in science and medicine (more information on Dr. Rosenberg below).

In addition, Princeton Day School is pleased to welcome Jon Ostendorf, who will serve as the school’s Chief Information Officer as part of the Leadership Team. Jon comes to PDS from the Hotchkiss School, where he served as Director of Information Technology Services for the past 8 years. He has his Bachelor’s from Cornell and is a technology leader who has been successful in both the K-12 public school and independent boarding school environments.

In the Lower School:

• Erik Hove, 4th grade teacher, joins PDS from The International School of Stavanger in Stavanger, Norway where he has been teaching for the past four years as both a first grade teacher and fifth grade teacher. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and his Masters in Elementary Education from Lesley University.
• Casey Upson, Reading Specialist (LS and MS), comes to PDS from Princeton Public Schools, where she served as a K-5 literacy coach. She is a graduate of Penn State University, and has a Masters from Columbia’s Teachers College in Children’s Literacy and Educational Leadership.
• Dawn Bocian, 1st grade assistant, has recently held teaching positions at University League Nursery School and Crossroads Nursery School. She is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. She is also a parent of two PDS students.
• Maureen Gargione, 2nd grade assistant, comes to PDS with several years of experience as a classroom assistant in the Hopewell Valley School District, most recently at Toll Gate Elementary School. She is a graduate of NYU.

In the Middle School:

• Nichole Foster-Hinds, 6th, 7th and 8th grade math teacher and coordinator for Math Counts program, comes to us from Montclair Kimberley Academy where she served as Math Department Chair and Middle School math teacher. She has a Master of Divinity degree with a Concentration in Business Ethics, Globalization and Religion from Princeton Theological Seminary as well as a Masters in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management from Penn State.
• Channing McCullough, Grade 5 Music and Beginning and Advanced Band, comes to us from Forsyth Country Day School in Winston Salem, NC where she was the band director. Channing holds a Masters in Teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Karen Stolper, 5th and 6th grade art teacher, is an experienced and award-winning illustrator and fine artist. Her work has appeared in national publications throughout the country such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and Business Week magazine. Karen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Parsons School of Design.
• Tanner Campbell, Middle School Homework Club Advisor and Floating Substitute Teacher, joined the Middle School last year as the Homework Club Assistant, and also spent a greater part of the year teaching Health and Physical Education. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from West Chester University.

In the Upper School:

• Marc Beja, music teacher in both MS and US teaching 6th grade music; conducting two choirs in middle school and two choirs in upper school, as well as Madrigals, 8th Notes, and the Women’s Choir, and serving as vocal director for the 8th Grade Musical and the Upper School Musical, comes to us from Harvest Collegiate High School, where he was a founding music teacher, instrumental in creating the choral music, musical theater, and piano curricula. Marc has a Bachelor’s from NYU, with a double major in Journalism and Music Education, as well as a Masters in Vocal Performance, and an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from NYU Steinhardt.
• Chip Cash, AB Calculus and Geometry, comes to us from Stuart Country Day School, where for the past 16 years he has served as Chair of the Math and Computer Science Department. Chip received a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from the University of Delaware and a Masters in Teaching from the University of Louisville.

• Laura Kenny, Accelerated Geometry and Algebra II, comes to PDS from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy outside of Philadelphia, where since 2008 she taught Calculus, PreCalculus, and Geometry to students in Grades 9-12. Laura majored in both Math and Womens’ Studies, earning her undergraduate degree from Colgate University, and earned her Masters in Education from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
• Reuben Loewy, US Journalism Seminar and co-advisor, The Spokesman, has enjoyed a fascinating professional career, with expertise in corporate communication, branding, and international journalism. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, earning a B.A, Economics and Political Science, and then attended the London School of Economics, earning an M.Phil, International Relations, summa cum laude. He is the proud parent of two PDS students.
• Cynthia Michalak, Associate Director of College Counseling, comes to PDS from the Princeton University Office of Admissions, where she worked as an Admissions Officer and Assistant Director of Admissions. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, earning an A.B. in Art & Archaeology, with a concentration in Art History and the Visual Arts and a Certificate in Urban Studies.
• Chris Rhodes, 9th Grade World Studies course and 10th Grade American History, comes to us from Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, where for the past 7 years he has taught a rich variety of courses in the school’s History Department, including AP US History, World History, the Atlantic World, and Constitutional Law. Chris did his undergraduate work at Princeton University, earning a B.A. in American History, and then earned both a Masters degree and a Law degree from the University of Wisconsin.
• Lee Rosenberg, Scientist in Residence, joins us after the spending the past 13 years teaching at Princeton University. Before he joined the faculty at Princeton, he served as President of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and from July 1984 to September 1991, Dr. Rosenberg was Dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenberg received B.A. and M.D. degrees, both summa cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin.
• Olivia Rutigliano, English, joins us this fall after completing both her B.A. in English and Cinema Studies and her M.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.