English + Humanities

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Andrea Van Hagen

MS English
MS Learning Lab
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Andrea Van Hagen

MS English
MS Learning Lab

ANDREA VAN HAGEN earned her B.A. from Willamette University and her M.A. in teaching at Seattle University. Andrea kicked off her career by helping to convert a large traditional high school near Seattle into three smaller schools, all while orchestrating English and advisory courses. She continued onto Mountain View High School in Vancouver until her eventual arrival at Northwest Academy. She enjoys writing, reading, running, and gardening with her family. Andrea has been with the school since 2012.

avanhagen@nwacademy.org
David Berkson

MS English
MS Theatre
HS Theatre
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David Berkson

MS English
MS Theatre
HS Theatre

DAVID BERKSON is the author of several plays, including The Penguins of Ithaca and War Paint: A Story of Family Life. David lived in the Bay Area for many years where he was Education Director of Marin Shakespeare Company, and Camp Director of Bay Area Shakespeare Camps. David’s professional acting credits include two stints with the national hit Shear Madness, Feste in Twelfth Night, and Jerry in Profile Theatre’s 2002 production of The Zoo Story. David has been with Northwest Academy since 2004.

dberkson@nwacademy.org
David Schonfeld

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
Spanish
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David Schonfeld

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
Spanish

David Schonfeld received B.A.s in Journalism and Spanish from Penn State University, where he was awarded the Eddie Nichols Award for Short Fiction and the Linda Martelli Award in Journalism, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. David has taught classes in both public and private school settings. He studied at the University of Alicante while in high school and has led numerous trips with high school students to Argentina. David’s writing has appeared on Tiny Mix Tapes and The Daily Collegian. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Spectrum Culture, an online magazine that covers music, film, books, and food.

dschonfeld@nwacademy.org
Doug Cornett

HS English/Humanities
HS World History
AAH Fitness
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Doug Cornett

HS English/Humanities
HS World History
AAH Fitness

DOUG CORNETT received a B.A. in English from Skidmore College, where he was awarded the Denise Marcil Prize for Fiction, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Portland State University. Doug has taught English at the university and high school levels. He has also worked in New York as an executive assistant at The Penguin Group and as a literary scout. He is an award-winning newspaper writer, and his fiction and poetry have appeared in various literary magazines. His interests include world mythology, American history and literature, and fiction writing. Doug has been with Northwest Academy since 2011.

dcornett@nwacademy.org
Jada Pierce

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

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Jada Pierce

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

JADA PIERCE has taught secondary and collegiate levels for the past ten years. She taught in Baltimore, MD, for three years with Teach for America and completed coursework at Johns Hopkins to become certified in secondary education. She earned an M.F.A. in poetry at the University of Oregon, where she taught poetry and composition courses. She taught English and journalism at Jesuit High School. Jada has been with Northwest Academy since 2008.

jpierce@nwacademy.org
Joanne Kim

Educational Assistant
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Joanne Kim

Educational Assistant

Joanne Kim earned a B.A. in History and Classical Civilization from the University of California-Los Angeles and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. While working on programming for a museum and archive of Cold War material culture, Joanne found she so enjoyed sharing her passion for the archival materials and their associated historical narratives with others that she decided to become a teacher and joined Teach for America. She completed her coursework to become certified in secondary education at Loyola Marymount University and taught social studies at the middle and high school levels in Los Angeles before moving to Oregon in 2019 to better commune with the electric green moss and daffodils of Portland. Joanne is also a ceramicist and enjoys singing in community choirs. Joanne has been with Northwest Academy since January 2020

jkim@nwacademy.org
John Babbott

English/Humanities
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John Babbott

English/Humanities

JOHN BABBOTT had a wonderful fall teaching 6th grade English while David Berkson filled in for Dan Dunning as director of the high school. A graduate of the New York City Teaching Fellows 2010 cohort, he has taught Spanish Language, Visual Art, and Latin American Literature and Film at the high school level, and later taught 6th-grade science at the San Francisco Day School. As a fiction writer, he is thrilled to be teaching his subject of choice to an incredible group of human beings. He’s excited for more time in the classroom at Northwest Academy. John has been with Northwest Academy since 2018.

jbabbott@nwacademy.org
Julie Ellington

World Languages Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
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Julie Ellington

World Languages Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

JULIE ELLINGTON has taught at the university, middle school, and high school levels for the past ten years in the U.S. and abroad. Her academic and professional credentials are in sociolinguistics, rhetoric and composition, literary theory, language acquisition, and world literature, which she earned at various institutions, including Oregon State University, Portland State University, Université de Poitiers, La Sorbonne, and the University of Tunis. When not in the classroom, Julie can be found writing or tending to her urban organic farm. Julie has been with Northwest Academy since 2006.

jellington@nwacademy.org
Katie Staggers

Dept Head for English/Humanities & MS English
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Katie Staggers

Dept Head for English/Humanities & MS English

KATIE STAGGERS earned her B.A. in English from Davidson College in 1998 and her M.Ed. in Secondary English Education from George Washington University in 2001. She spent four years at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and then moved to New York City where she spent five years teaching at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. When she’s not teaching English, she loves running, curling up with a good book and exploring all that her new hometown has to offer. Katie has been with Northwest Academy since 2015.

kstaggers@nwacademy.org
Revan Williams

MS Social Studies
Yearbook
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Revan Williams

MS Social Studies
Yearbook

REVAN WILLIAMS has a B.A. in Political Science and English from Swarthmore College. He is a proud alumnus of Northwest Academy (class of 2005), who is very happy to be back. His first experience as an educator was teaching Japanese to Pennsylvania elementary school students through a pedagogy program while still a student himself. After completing his degree, he went abroad to teach English in rural Japan. Revan teaches social studies in the middle school and advises the yearbook clubs. He has been with Northwest Academy since 2013.

rwilliams@nwacademy.org
Sharon Weir

MS Social Studies
MS Learning Lab
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Sharon Weir

MS Social Studies
MS Learning Lab

SHARON WEIR has taught all levels of social studies and learning lab at the middle school. She has an M.Ed. from Portland State University and a B.A. from the University of Oregon. Sharon brings an inquiry-based approach to the classroom. With a joint background in social studies and art history, she strongly believes in fostering student creativity and historical inquiry. Sharon has been known to race down Mt. Tabor in a PDX Adult Soapbox Derby car (“Best Art Car” – 2009) and explore the city with her two young children, Elliot and Maisie. Sharon has been with Northwest Academy since 2005.

sweir@nwacademy.org
Tamara Pellicier

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Tamara Pellicier

TAMARA PELLICIER joined Northwest Academy in 2019

tpellicier@nwacademy.org

Community Service

In addition to Community Service requirements in both the middle and high school, the entire school participates in service days during the year.

Service Day at The Audubon Society
College Counseling

Our College Counselor works with students to find schools that will be a good match for them. Northwest Academy graduates attend a diverse selection of colleges and universities across the country including Duke University, Bard College, New York University, and Rhode Island School of Design.

College application workshop
Middle school students are capable of far more rigorous work than they often experience

Middle school students are acquiring critical skills that will determine the caliber of work they do in high school and college.
Giving

The hottest ticket in town: Our annual auction features performances and art by Northwest Academy students. The event draws a broad audience of current families and community arts patrons.

Club Cabaret

English + Humanities

English + Humanities

Andrea Van Hagen

Andrea Van Hagen

MS EnglishMS Learning Lab

David Berkson

David Berkson

MS English MS TheatreHS Theatre

David Schonfeld

David Schonfeld

HS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal ArtsSpanish

Doug Cornett

Doug Cornett

HS English/HumanitiesHS World HistoryAAH Fitness

Jada Pierce

Jada Pierce

HS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal Arts

Joanne Kim

Joanne Kim

Educational Assistant

John Babbott

John Babbott

English/Humanities

Julie Ellington

Julie Ellington

World Languages Department ChairHS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal Arts

Katie Staggers

Katie Staggers

Dept Head for English/Humanities & MS English

Revan Williams

Revan Williams

MS Social StudiesYearbook

Sharon Weir

Sharon Weir

MS Social StudiesMS Learning Lab

Tamara Pellicier

Tamara Pellicier

Community Service

College Counseling

Middle school students are capable of far more rigorous work than they often experience

Giving

MS English
MS Learning Lab

MS English
MS Theatre
HS Theatre

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
Spanish

HS English/Humanities
HS World History
AAH Fitness

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

World Languages Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

MS Social Studies
Yearbook

MS Social Studies
MS Learning Lab