Long Trail School opened the 2018-19 school year with renewed excitement and energy. The faculty greeted the arrival of three new colleagues.
Luke Krueger has joined the English department. Luke has taught in a number of colleges and most recently was employed at Green Mountain College as the Director of Residence Life and Housing. He is a published playwright with a BA from Miami University-Ohio and an MFA from Arizona State University.
Sean Dempsey comes to Long Trail from the Okemo Mountain School. Sean earned a BS in Environmental Geoscience from Boston College and a Master’s in Education from Arizona State University. This year he will be teaching Long Trail’s younger science students.
Ernie Luikart returns to LTS to teach science and math. Ernie has a BA from Wesleyan University and completed a Masters in Structural Geology at Montana State University. He has spent many summers doing field paleontology and geology for the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the Rockies. Ernie discovered his own love of teaching while a graduate student in Montana, and went on to teach chemistry and Environmental Science at Cape Cod Academy before moving to Vermont with his family.
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, Long Trail embraces the IB learner profile for its faculty as part of the school community. In the faculty, LTS supports lifelong learners who are knowledgeable and principled communicators. A complex program requires regular professional development to stay current with IB trends and changes. This summer, Long Trail sent Jen Rosenthal, Kim Rizio, MaryBeth O’Donnell and Kim Murphy to week-long training sessions on SL Chemistry, SL Literature and Language, and Community, Action, Service (CAS) programming.
Long Trail’s faculty are caring, reflective and balanced thinkers. Their choices for summer exploration and relaxation underscore their understanding of the importance of refreshing themselves for the rigors of the next academic school year. Colleen Fiore, Support Services Chair, traveled to Paris and Rome, NY in order to soak in the culture of France and to enjoy a classic film festival. Anna Bean, LTS Drama teacher and the Director of this fall’s production of Urinetown, spent some quality time “among the amazingly beautiful flowers at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor” with her mother. LTS Arts Chair Anharad Llewelynn took an artistic adventure to Spain and France along the Mediterranean coast as she reconnected with a colleague from LTS’ Spanish exchange school and traveled “the same steps taken by Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Dali, Cezanne, and so many more as we wound our way through Collioure, Aix en Provence, and Lavendou, France.” Upon her return, she spent time with family and friends along the Atlantic coast. Science Chair Scott Worland traveled to Mexico in August and had the unique opportunity to dive with both sea turtles and whale sharks. The whale shark dive was a top bucket list item for Scott’s mother who joined them for this experience and who shares a love for the ocean and its amazing creatures. Like many of her colleagues, Mathematics teacher Jody Sanderson embraced time with family by camping and visiting York, Maine. History Chair Tess Kahn took a honeymoon to England, Scotland and Finland. In Europe for more than two weeks, she had some great historical adventures. She visited the medieval city of York, the ruins of Fountains Abbey and a Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall among other sites. Tess went to Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, visited many museums and attended some pre-Fringe festival shows. Upper School Music Director Geoffrey Gee, Kimerer LaMothe, and their five children (including Jordan LaMothe and Jessica Gee, both LTS ’13; and Kai LaMothe LTS ’23) performed their original musical Happy If Happy When in July in New York City, as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The family was accompanied by Marc Edwards (LTS ’16) on bass and guitar; and stage managed by Walker May (LTS ’19).
Head of School Seth Linfield is proud to serve all of the LTS faculty, new and returning: “Any school is only as strong as its faculty. Our program’s reputation soars beyond the stunning Green Mountains because of our faculty’s talent and dedication. We are resolutely committed to investing in our faculty’s well-being and professional development so that our faculty can in turn always do their best work in teaching and inspiring our students.”