Next year there will be some very apparent absences in Choate’s faculty, as several current teachers will complete their final year at Choate in June.

To this date, 16 faculty members have notified the school of their intentions to depart at the end of this year.



The Departing Faculties

Leaving the math department are David Quarfoot, or “DQ” as students affectionately call him, and David Doster. DQ currently heads the computer science courses at Choate. There has been some speculation that the Computer Science program will be discontinued next year with the loss of DQ.

Math Department Head Elisa Currie assures us that the Computer Science program will not be discontinued. The Math Department is currently in the process of interviewing potential candidates. Currie acknowledged that DQ and Doster are leaving big shoes to fill, but she is optimistic that the department will find someone to move up into those positions.

Next year, DQ plans to attend graduate school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. While there, he will pursue a Masters of Science (MS) degree in Mathematics. This program will last two years, during which he will spend much of his free time on the ski slopes. DQ said, “I hope to get some good ‘pow’ days in on the slopes at Park City.”

Afterwards grad school, DQ indicated that he may continue on to get a Ph, D., go back to teaching, or take a job completely unrelated to teaching.

Taylor McDonald ’08, one of DQ’s BC Calculus students, says, “I will certainly miss DQ’s presence in the classroom.”

Mr. Doster, on the other hand, will continue teaching next year at a day school. He plans to teach at the Collegiate School in New York City. Collegiate is K-12 Boys’ school in the Upper-West Side.

The language department will lose five of its current faculties. Katie Jewett will replace current Department Head Scott Mattoon and will take his position as Head next year. Scott Mattoon indicated to The News that he plans to leave because his wife has recently received an incredible opportunity in Oregon; consequently his family must relocate.

Marc Minogue ’09, one of Mattoon’s current AP French students, kindly said, “Mattoon has been a wonderful teacher, and I will be sad to see him leave.”

Katie Jewett is returning to Choate after taking a leave of absence for two years to move to Japan with her family. She will be returning to Choate to teach two sections of French as well as serve as Head of Languages. She plans to live in the new dorm.

Also leaving the Language Department this year are French teacher Scott Kelly, Spanish teacher Marta Escartin, Japanese teacher Chikae Tonosaki and Chinese teacher Michelle Yang.

Two much respected English teachers will be retiring at the end of this year—Mr. Konthath Menon and Ms. Ann Nesslage.

English Department Head Mr. Cyrus Cook said, “Given their combined—and astonishing!—70 plus years of service to this school and the fact that both served significant tenures as Department Head, I don’t think I exaggerate in saying that their retirements mark the end of a significant era in the life of English studies at Choate.”

This year will culminate Mr. Menon’s 44 year tenure at Choate and 52 year career as a teacher. He currently resides in Wallingford but has served as an adviser in many dorms on campus. Besides his teaching English and humanities elective courses, Mr. Menon chaired the Behavior and Ethics Department for three years (now HPRSS) and chaired the English Department for five years. Outside of working in the English and Behavior and Ethics Departments, Mr. Menon conducted a writing workshop that helped students who needed help in writing, advised the Choate Indian Association, lead community service activities on campus for more than twenty five years, and coached soccer, crew, and gymnastics.

Mr. Cook explained, “In losing Mr. Menon, the community loses its finest avatar of the beauties of the English tongue itself. Anyone who has had a class with Mr. Menon or attended a meeting in which he is present can testify to his elegant way with words and to his extensive and precise vocabulary. To borrow one of his favorite words, I know that we will all miss his ‘perspicacity.’ More than anything else, though, Mr. Menon is a role model for teachers as he perfectly balances being intellectually demanding with being warm and supportive of his students.”

Many students have benefited from Mr. Menon’s teaching. A current English 200 student of Mr. Menon’s, Caroline Baiznet ’10 said, “I was very lucky to have Mr. Menon in his final year of teaching. He is one of the most interesting people I know—I was especially impressed by his knowledge of so many languages. His standards have really challenged me to improve my writing.”

Mr. Menon said, “What I will remember most fondly about this place are the students and their curiosity and fairness.”

After leaving Choate, Mr. Menon hopes to continue to travel extensively, attend local cultural activities, listen to Western and Eastern classical music, attend courses at Yale, read avidly, and play Scrabble. He says that students will continue to see him in town as he plans to remain a resident of Wallingford.

Ms. Nesslage first arrived at Rosemary Hall in 1966. She has been with the school ever since and will end her 42 year term at Choate and 44 year career in teaching this June.

Outside of teaching English courses, Ms. Nesslage has chaired the English Department and the Faculty Committee. She has also advised both girls’ and boys’ dorms and has been the longtime faculty advisor to THE LIT, Choate’s literary magazine.

Mr. Cook said, “With Ms. Nesslage’s retirement, we lose our beloved ‘den mother.’ No one cares more about her students and about the lives of her colleagues, young and old, than Ann. Always an innovator in the classroom, Ms. Nesslage’s eclectic electives over the years (such as Celtic Lit), and her creative assignments (such as the good and evil project in English 200) will be hard to replicate. And then there’s THE LIT. Ms. Nesslage has practically personified creative writing at Choate for decades. I am pleased that we have the very capable Dean Easton in the wings to carry on this program next year, but I am sure that Ms. Nesslage’s spirit will forever hover over those wonderful solstice readings and coffeehouses.”

One of her senior students, Elli Foster ’08 said, “Ms. Nesslage is one of the most, if not the most, compassionate teachers on campus. She understands the sort of sacred quality of learning. Her maternal inclinations have made all of her students feel welcome and comfortable and because of this she will be deeply missed.”

Ms. Nesslage said, “I’ll miss my colleagues and talking in the department room and dining room and I’ll miss students and advisees and classroom moments. I’ll also miss the campus and watching people stop by to play with Ceilidh, my lab puppy—and she’ll miss everyone and everything!”

Next year, Ms. Nesslage plans to move to Maine with her puppy and therefore will not see many Choate students. She says, “If I survive the move, I’m looking forward to watching and listening to the loons on the pond in Maine and to having some new adventures.”

Current Gables house advisor and HPRSS teacher Carey Turnquest plans to leave Choate after completing his first year at the school with the HPRSS department.

From the Art department, long time faculty Paul Tines will be ending his tenure as Executive Director of the Paul Mellon Arts Center and Arts Department Head. Paul Tines has had a significant impact on Choate’s art department, most notably in shaping the Arts Concentration Program into what it is today.

The director of the summer school and math department faculty, Jim Irzyk, will be completing his final year this June. Mr. Irzyk has been the head of the summer program for about 17 years now and has shaped it from a more old fashioned summer school into a more focused program.

Outside of academics, Mr. Irzyk has served as the Head Varsity Football and Head Varsity Girls Softball Coach for 15 years. He has also coached Boys’ JV Basketball.

Mr. Irzyk has been appointed President of Iona Prep School in New Rochelle, NY. In this position, he will head the school of 750 high school boys.

Mr. Irzyk said, “My departure is bitter sweet but this is a wonderful opportunity for myself and my family.”

The college office will be taking a huge hit this spring as current counselor David Olins plans to leave along with current Director of the College Office Dean Jacoby. College counselor Tina Grant will step up to take on the Director role next fall, however the college office is still looking to fill two open counseling positions.

College counselor from the St. Mary’s Institute Michelle Mason was confirmed to fill Jacoby’s position; however she notified her change of plans to pursue a degree at Harvard instead.

As reported in a previous News article, Mr. Olins will be going to Green Farms Academy next year and Mr. Jacoby will be working at Albuquerque Academy this fall.

Mr. Jacoby explained the reasons for his leaving: “During my two years at Choate, I felt myself moving further and further away from the things that I felt most passionate about professionally—individual work with students—and personally—playing a meaningful role in the life of my daughter and spending more time on issues surrounding Native American Indian communities (I volunteer some of my summer to work with Native high school students as they contemplate college). I hope that I will be able to go back to school part time (U of NM has a fantastic Native Studies/American Studies program) and can explore broader options within the school community such as coaching and teaching.”

From the Athletics department, Choate will lose Assistant Director Gary Dormandy and Director of Sports Information Chris Milmoe.

The Dormandys have decided to relocate to Schaghticoke in upstate NY, just outside of Troy. They are building a small ranch house on some farm land with many great views.

“The move is totally family motivated,” Dormandy explained. His wife is a nurse and already has a couple of job offers, and he hopes to get into public school teaching—hopefully as a physical education teacher in an elementary or middle school.

Dormandy has been longtime coach of the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball squad and has led the team to many successfully seasons. Dormandy has also maintained a high standard in the athletic department for many years, and his colleagues will certainly miss his organization and leadership.

Mr. Milmoe will assume numerous positions at the St. James School in Maryland this fall: Assistant Athletic Director, Head Varsity Football Coach, and Head Varsity Wrestling Coach.



Finding Replacements

Each year, Choate receives about 1,000 applications from teachers and faculty members looking to be hired by Choate. Choate uses Carney, Sandoe & Associates, a placement agency, to find candidates and advertise. Of the many applicants for each position, only three are brought to campus to interview and teach a class. Department heads observe and take notes so that later they may compare and contrast all three candidates, and the best candidate is selected for the position.

In addition to using the placement agency’s services, current Choate faculty members also go off campus to hiring forums so that they may find candidates and interview them all at once.

We at The News wish all of the departing faculty members the best of luck in their new endeavors.