By Allen Wu (V)
This year, Pingry welcomes Ms. Sky Monroe to the English Department. She will be teaching English 9 and 10 as a maternity leave replacement for Ms. Mahida till February. After Ms. Mahida comes back from her maternity leave, Ms. Monroe will stay at Pingry as a permanent humanities substitute.
Ms. Monroe attended Barnard College, where she earned her B.A., and later received her M.A. in Teaching English from the Columbia University Teachers College. Prior to joining Pingry, Ms. Monroe taught at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and later taught AP/Honors English to sophomores and juniors at Bernards High School for 14 years.
When asked about her motivations for becoming a teacher, Ms. Monroe explained that she started off as a yoga teacher as a side job while she worked on her theater career. Later on, she was inspired to become an English teacher when she realized she could combine two of her passions: teaching and literature.
So far, Ms. Monroe has enjoyed her time at Pingry. “In making a shift from a long term position that I have had, it was something that I thought about very deeply. However, I am extremely glad that I came to Pingry.” Ms. Monroe credits her love for Pingry to the welcoming atmosphere of the community. She also enjoys the time that she spends with her colleagues and students, and the intellectual diversity that can be found in Pingry’s classrooms. As we move further into the school year, Ms. Monroe hopes to contribute to the Pingry community as much as she can.
Outside of school, Ms. Monroe continues to participate in theater. Ms. Monroe also has two daughters whom she loves spending time with. In addition, she is passionate about health and enjoys teaching fitness.