By Ava Kotsen (IV)
This fall, Pingry welcomed Mrs. Kathryn Smoot; she will teach two blocks of World History 9 and 10. She joins Pingry with thirteen years of experience teaching in public schools; she most recently taught at Florham Park Middle School, and worked in Bellevue, Washington and New York City prior to that. Mrs. Smoot is a graduate of Boston University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree. Additionally, she earned her MA in Teaching from New York University and MS in Educational Leadership from Baruch College.
In her freetime, Mrs. Smoot enjoys spending time with her family; they often go for hikes or bike rides, or go geocaching. She also enjoys cooking up new recipes, solving puzzles, and reading science fiction and fantasy books. A particular love of Mrs. Smoot’s is traveling. After she graduated college, she spent a year traveling in Europe. One of her favorite trips was the cross-country road trip her family took from Washington to New Jersey when they moved here; along the way, they visited numerous American landmarks, monuments, and national parks, including Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.
Mrs. Smoot is excited to be at Pingry and teaching high school again, as she finds that high schoolers suit her personality best. She looks forward to getting to know the students and faculty and eagerly anticipates the day when she can finally meet them without masks. Welcome Mrs. Smoot!