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Dr. Mara Koetke Joins Bronxville School as First Director of Curriculum

Aug. 6, 2014: A career in education wasn't always a given for Dr. Mara Koetke, the new, and first ever, director of curriculum for The Bronxville School. Although she grew up in a family of educators--her mother was a high school English teacher and her father a high school principal--Koetke said she "probably rebelled against that as part of my general rebellion against what my parents did."

As a liberal studies major at the University of Pittsburgh, however, Koetke enrolled in a course that required field experience in an elementary school and, she said, "That was it."

Koetke began her teaching career in and around the Washington, D.C., area and, in 1998, came to New York City to earn her master's and her doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University.

She considers the rigors and experience of writing her dissertation the exercise that equipped her to understand the critical thinking challenges students will face in 21st century education. "Compiling the research, creating a context from it, and then finding the individual question to add to that research very much parallels what students will be asked to do," Koetke said. "They will need to be familiar with a body of work, but then innovate and take that knowledge to its next level."

At this early stage in her position as director of curriculum, Koetke perceives her primary role as helping the district continue its transition to the Common Core learning standards and assisting in the annual professional performance review, the new evaluation process for teaching staff.

Beyond those mandates, however, Koetke hopes to work collaboratively with principals and teachers in providing them or directing them to whatever resources they need. "I've done everything," she noted, "from pointing principals toward resources to co-planning units with teachers." As a principal, she said, she maintained access to curriculum and instruction in terms of creating a larger vision as well as working with teachers to plan classroom instruction to realize that vision.

Koetke gained significant classroom and administrative experience in New York City public schools. She held the assistant principal position at the Anderson School, PS 334, a K-8 citywide magnet for gifted and talented students, then became principal at the Lower Lab School, PS 77, a magnet for gifted and talented students K-5. She comes to Bronxville after six years at Lower Lab.

Koetke is becoming familiar with The Bronxville School environment this summer. "One of the things that attracted me here is that it's a district, so it's larger than my New York City school building, but certainly smaller than the system I was a part of," she said. "I like that the central offices are located right on site with the three schools."

She looks forward to having the close proximity to Bronxville classrooms that will allow her to visit classes and work closely with individual teachers and groups of teachers on instructional projects. "I'll be able to get out to the classrooms, get in there to see how it's going, and see what kinds of resources might be needed to move projects and initiatives forward," Koetke said.

Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone observed that, in her short time in Bronxville, Dr. Koetke has already displayed keen insight in and strong grasp of the district structure and the processes needed to move the district forward. "I have been impressed by both her initiative and her sensitivity to the school's climate," Quattrone stated. "She has already opened up new opportunities for curriculum improvement."

Pictured here:  Dr. Mara Koetke, director of curriculum.

Photo courtesy Dr. Koetke

 

 

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