English + Humanities

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Andrea Van Hagen

MS English
MS Learning Lab
MS Activities Director
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Andrea Van Hagen

MS English
MS Learning Lab
MS Activities Director

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
David Wagstaff

HS English/Humanities
MS Tai Chi
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David Wagstaff

HS English/Humanities
MS Tai Chi

DAVID WAGSTAFF was educated at California Institute of the Arts, Chapman College, and California State College at Northridge. He has been an educator for thirty-five years and holds teaching credentials in both California and Oregon. He is also a writer, director, and performer with an extensive resume of work that includes directing some twenty-five plays and three films, in addition to spending a decade as a rock vocalist. Before becoming the Dean of Students at Northwest Academy, he taught English Humanities, Screenwriting, Project Theater, Project Studio, and Tai Chi. He directed three Esprit productions and is the founder and artistic director of Northwest Academy’s Angry Pigeon Gallery. David has been at Northwest Academy since 1999.

dwagstaff@nwacademy.org
Doug Cornett

HS English/Humanities
HS World History
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Doug Cornett

HS English/Humanities
HS World History

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

English/Humanities Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

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Jada Pierce

English/Humanities Department Chair
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
John Babbott

English/Humanities (Interim)
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John Babbott

English/Humanities (Interim)

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

MS English
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Katie Staggers

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
Paul Martone

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
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Paul Martone

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

PAUL MARTONE is a published writer with an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Oregon, an M.A. in English from the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany, and a B.A. in English from the SUNY Buffalo. He was awarded the Walter and Nancy Kidd Fellowship from the University of Oregon, a position offered to one Graduate Teaching Fellow each year. At Oregon State University, Paul taught a variety of undergraduate courses. He joined Northwest Academy in 2008 and spearheaded the school’s Challenge Program, which allows juniors and seniors to earn 200-level college credits in English and writing at Portland State University. Paul has been with Northwest Academy since 2008.

pmartone@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

English + Humanities

English + Humanities

Andrea Van Hagen

Andrea Van Hagen

MS EnglishMS Learning LabMS Activities Director

David Berkson

David Berkson

MS English MS TheatreHS Theatre

David Schonfeld

David Schonfeld

HS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal ArtsSpanish

David Wagstaff

David Wagstaff

HS English/HumanitiesMS Tai Chi

Doug Cornett

Doug Cornett

HS English/HumanitiesHS World History

Jada Pierce

Jada Pierce

English/Humanities Department ChairHS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal Arts

John Babbott

John Babbott

English/Humanities (Interim)

Julie Ellington

Julie Ellington

World Languages Department ChairHS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal Arts

Katie Staggers

Katie Staggers

MS English

Paul Martone

Paul Martone

HS English/HumanitiesHS Liberal Arts

Revan Williams

Revan Williams

MS Social StudiesYearbook

Sharon Weir

Sharon Weir

MS Social StudiesMS Learning Lab

Challenging Academics and Intellectual Curiosity

a partnership of academics and the arts

Downtown Portland is our extended classroom

College Counseling

MS English
MS Learning Lab
MS Activities Director

MS English
MS Theatre
HS Theatre

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts
Spanish

HS English/Humanities
MS Tai Chi

HS English/Humanities
HS World History

English/Humanities Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

World Languages Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

MS Social Studies
Yearbook

MS Social Studies
MS Learning Lab