Page 7 - Norwood Spring 2019 Magazine

What is your family like?
In our house, we have Catherine (in fourth
grade), Chickie (in first grade), Mrs. Risen,
and me. We have a dog named Darby. I have
a brother whose family lives in Brooklyn,
New York. He has two kids. Mrs. Risen has
a sister whose family lives near Atlanta,
Georgia. She has two kids, too. My parents
live in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Mrs. Risen’s
parents live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Do you have any hobbies?
I like to garden during warm months, and
that takes up a lot of time. I also like to
work in letterpress printing, etching block
images and setting them with type, and
then printing them.

What is your favorite subject?
When I was a kid, I loved school. I enjoyed More about Mike...
all of my classes, but I have always loved to
read, so reading was probably my favorite. Before coming to Norwood, Mike was an English teacher at two
outstanding independent schools: Isidore Newman School in New
What do you like best about Orleans and Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. In addition,
your job? for five years, Mike served as an administrator, three of those as
By far, students are the best part of the job.
The amount of hard work each of you put school director, at a public charter school in Nashville. He holds
into each day is inspiring to me and excites a B.A. in English and philosophy from the College of William and
me to come to work each day. Mary, and a M.Ed. in human development and counseling from
Vanderbilt University.
What is your favorite food?
Tennessee-style pulled pork barbecue. Throughout his career, Mike has always embraced the elementary
years as an incredible opportunity to develop important foundational
Do you turn into a dragon at night? skills, to instill confidence and self-esteem, and to nurture a genuine
Not often, but when I do, I breath fire and love for learning. In fact, in his role as director of curriculum and
fly around.
instruction, Mike’s work has supported many important facets of
Do you eat lasagna with sour eggs? the lower school program and schedule. This includes differentiated
Sour eggs? No. Sour cream, occasionally. instruction, co-teaching in grades PK-2, Responsive Classroom, the
newly aligned and connected social studies curriculum, an intensive
Do you teach a class? review of our math program, and the introduction of the new
I used to teach a history class in the Middle Bridges math curriculum in grades K-5.
School, but now I teach a Life Skills class
in the Lower School with Ms. Bowman.
Mike also played a leadership role in recent report card revisions
in the Lower School, which provides a more comprehensive
Are you the grandson of
Queen Elizabeth? assessment of a student’s progress and performance. Additionally,
No, but my grandmother claimed we are Mike serves on the Administrative Team, the Principals Team, and is
descendants of Mary Queen of Scots. a member of the Diversity Leadership Council.

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