Marisa McAuliffe

Tenure: 28 years

Positions held at GA:

• Kindergarten Teacher (18 yrs) and Kindergarten grade Level Coordinator (5 years)
• Lower School Spanish teacher (10 years)
• Lower School World Language Coordinator (9 years)

School Wide Committee Membership:

• Diversity Task Force
• LS Committees
• LS Diversity Representative to faculty
• Several LS interviewing committees
• Kast Grant Recipient 2010, 2011
• Professional Learning Committee groups

Honors Conferred:

• Outstanding Achievement Teacher Award, 1994
• Outstanding Achievement Teacher Award, 2010

Why Marisa Stayed:

• Supportive environment
• Feeling respected by administrators and faculty members
• Being part of a team of excellent professionals
• Opportunities to grow and become a more enriched professional
• Opportunities to become a stronger leader
• Opportunity to establish a Spanish program in the LS

Lasting Memories:

• Wonderful, life-long connections to students, parents and faculty members
• Involvement in Diversity committees
• Being part of “The Faculty of Color” member group
• Being a mentor to newly hired Mandarin teachers (2013-15)
• The Graduation line

Memories from Teaching Kindergarten:

• Reading story books to students
• Teaching my students to learn to read
• Opportunity to co-teach and share ideas
• Opportunity to develop new Kindergarten curriculum
• Playground fun times
• Spanish club with US/KTK Spanish
• Creating Gingerbread houses
• Parental volunteers and involvement
• Field trips
• My adorable guinea pigs

Memories from teaching Spanish:

• Teaching an adult Spanish review class/Participating in an adult play called “Los 3 Cerditos” (3 little pigs)
• Providing reports to the Board to promote the new Spanish program
• Providing students with culture of Latin American countries
• Involving parents of different Spanish cultures as speakers in my classroom and at assemblies
• Making sure students experience a wide variety of Spanish foods from Latin countries
• Feeling rewarded when students comprehend and speak the language

Marisa is thankful for:

• Opportunity to lead the kindergarten team
• Opportunity to create new k-curriculum
• Opportunity to provide a foundation for and also establish an innovative and new elementary Spanish curriculum
• My children’s attendance/education at GA
• My children’s excellent faculty members

Memorable Quote:

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” - Ayn Rand

Marisa’s Gifts to the Community:

• A robust, creative Kindergarten program
• A thriving Lower School Spanish program
• The model of a lifelong learner
• A generous community member
• A strong Latina
• Participation on many GA committees as well as on the boards of local and national associations
• A warm and welcoming mentor to many young teachers
• A Spanish teacher to not only many young children but to numerous GA colleagues as well

What Rich Schellhas will remember about Marisa:

"How extraordinarily fortunate we have been to have a teacher like Marisa, a unique soul who has fulfilled two exemplary careers at GA – first as a Kindergarten teacher and then as the inaugural teacher for our Lower School Spanish program. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Marisa’s Spanish classes, and I have always delighted in her energy, wonderfully strong language teaching skills, and her desire to share her culture and the culture of the Spanish-speaking world with our students. Marisa has been a pioneer in many ways at the Academy, and I will truly miss her chutzpah, her courage, her passion for teaching, and her dedication to our craft."

Next page of life:

• Spending more time with my grandchildren
• Traveling
• Teaching Spanish to adults
• Using Spanish to translate, possibly in the medical field
• Subbing and tutoring

What Marisa will miss the most:

• The friendly smile of many Lower School students
• Many friends/ faculty members
• Warm and caring environment