Athenian Reinvigorates Itself Through New Faculty Additions and Roles

Annual changes in staffing are a fundamental part of any school. These changes include the arrival of new teachers and veteran faculty stepping into new roles.

“It's natural in an institution. And what I really appreciate is that there are lots of paths for people to innovate [at Athenian],” said new Dean of Academic Life Marty Rubio. “To keep fresh and innovate, whether it's in their own classroom, or taking on a new class or trying out a new role.”

Stephanie Kim, longtime Athenian math teacher and now Department Chair of Computer Science and Engineering, also thinks that change can be good to provide perspective.

“Sometimes if you have the same person teaching the same thing for a long time, they can sometimes forget what it looks like in other places. That’s why I always taught multiple different classes,” she said.

Meadow Davis, Head of the Upper School, is excited about the new additions to the faculty team.

Meadow said, “We have a really wonderful crew of new faculty this year who bring both deep experience in their fields and a strong desire to engage with our community in meaningful and impactful ways. They are connecting with students in the classrooms, in advisory, and in different activities that they have chosen to engage with. I am really excited to have each one of them on our campus and look forward to seeing the ways they will positively impact Athenian.”           

Naoko Akiyama, newly appointed Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEIS) at Athenian, is one of the new additions to the faculty team this year.

Naoko said, “The way that I approach [DEIS], is that it's about helping everyone, or building capacity around cultural competency, around being able to navigate difficult conversations, and being able to manage and recover from mistakes.”

 While Naoko is only just beginning at Athenian, she has over 30 years of experience in education, including DEIS work at other schools. Most recently, Naoko worked at Head-Royce in Oakland and the Urban School in San Francisco.

“I always knew about Athenian and I was always intrigued by Athenian and I think it was just great timing,” said Naoko.

Transitioning to a new school can sometimes be a difficult process. However, Naoko said that her transition to Athenian has been pleasant.

“I'm very motivated by people who are excited to build community. Already I feel like I've hit the ground running and I get to collaborate and talk with a lot of really interesting people,” she said.

Marty, on the other hand, who previously taught 9th grade World History, said it was hard to make the transition from that job to his new role.

He said, “I get really fulfilled by teaching that course, World History, and ninth graders in particular. It was hard to let go of that.”

However, he is excited to take on his new role as Dean of Academic Life.

Marty said, “But the reason why is because I'm really interested in the question of what a student walks out of school with, what you graduate with. Thinking about the experiences of transformation that you might have had going through the school, and I'd love getting people, a community of teachers, to talk about that.

“The big challenge for me is just to learn the ins and outs of what people are teaching. It’s a big body of knowledge.”

For Naoko, the most difficult thing to get used to at Athenian has been the schedules. She says it is difficult to meet with large groups of students and teachers because everyone has very different, very busy schedules.

Stephanie has also experienced a transition, taking over the role of Department Chair of Computer Science and Engineering from Megan Leich, who is now Dean of Faculty.

Stephanie said that the change has been fun but challenging. The hardest part for her has been figuring out the people in her department.

“Our department is like a mixed bag: it’s a random smattering of problem-solving people, and trying to find the through line has been a fun challenge,” she said.

In addition to her new job as Chair, Stephanie is also excited about participating in the Grading Practices group this year and hopes that they can identify ways Athenian can have a more cohesive student experience in grading across departments and classes.

Naoko also says she enjoys many parts of Athenian so far, especially meeting all of the students and her new colleagues. Her other favorite part of Athenian: the food.

“I like the food. I like having lunch. So the food is both delicious and I also like not having to make lunch,” she said.

Although he is excited about his new role at Athenian, Marty doesn’t plan on giving up teaching any time soon and will continue his Economics classes. He thinks Athenian’s flexibility is very beneficial to its growth.

 “That, to me, is a sign of a healthy institution that allows people to move and really do things the way they do. If people were always fixed in the same spot for long periods of time, that would at least raise questions like, 'Is there a way to shake it up a little bit?’” said Marty.

Meadow agrees, “I believe that change is a necessary, albeit challenging thing, within any organization, including schools. I think that when change is managed well and thoughtfully planned, it is largely positive. It provides the opportunity for new perspectives, allowing us to see things through different lenses and experiences.”