Welcome to Episode 19 of The Darlington Podcast!
Our host today is Rebekah Kinney, professional development coordinator. She's joined by Justin Bruce, Upper School learning specialist, and Andrew Beckman, middle grades science teacher. They'll be chatting about ways that they have personally benefited from the professional growth opportunities afforded to them at Darlington and look ahead for even more ways to creatively enhance the student experience.
Darlington is fortunate to benefit from the Thatcher Faculty Development Fund and the Carla & Leonard Wood Distinguished Faculty Fellowship to assist with professional growth. Each year, faculty members have the opportunity to submit proposals to receive funding from these endowed grants. A committee reviews the proposals and decides which will be funded for the next academic year.
Justin has served as a learning specialist at the Upper School since 2016 and has nearly a decade of experience in education. He holds a B.S. in Collaborative Special Education from Auburn University, a Masters in Special Education Adaptive Curriculum from the University of West Georgia and an Ed.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. He is married to Elizabeth (Collier) Bruce ('03) and they have two daughters, Annie Ruth ('31) and Rosie ('34).
Andrew has taught science in the middle grades since 2017. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from The University of Alabama, where he most recently served as a chemistry tutor and lab researcher. A Presidential Scholar at Alabama, Beckman loves working with young people. During college, he tutored Spanish-speaking children in English-speaking skills and mentored a middle school student on topics like work ethic, study habits, and academic goal setting. He also spent two summers working at the university's cross country camp.
The Darlington Podcast is a collaboration between the Communication, Advancement, and I.T. teams, and is hosted by various members of the faculty and staff. Episodes are released each Thursday morning and available on most podcast platforms (search for The Darlington Podcast in your podcast player). Once new episodes are posted, you'll also be able to find them at www.darlingtonschool.org/podcast. Please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so that you'll get the latest episode each week!
The Darlington Podcast intro music was written and performed by Elliot Luitweiler ('22) and Katherine Davidson ('22). Carson Raymond, director of major gifts, lends his voice and editing and production is handled by Jennifer Collins, content manager.
If you have ideas for future episodes or have any questions about The Darlington Podcast, please email communications@darlingtonschool.org.
