Photo Courtesy of the Choate Archives
After 39 years at Choate, Associate Head of School Ms. Kathleen Wallace will retire at the end of the school year. From teaching to coaching to advising, Ms. Wallace has served in many roles in her time at the School. Over the years, she has been the Dean of Academic Affairs, Science Department Head, a science and French teacher, a form dean, and a coach to both field hockey and basketball. She was appointed to what is now known as the Associate Head of School in 2008.
She has played a role in the creation of multiple signature programs, including the Science Research Program (SRP), the Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) signature academic program, and the Environmental Immersion Program (EIP) at the Kohler Environmental Center (KEC).
Ms. Wallace said, “It felt really good being impactful, making positive changes on the academic program at Choate, in a way that still exists today and sets an example for other institutions.”
In recent years, Ms. Wallace has also served as the Choate community’s primary contact for reports of sexual misconduct.
Head of School Dr. Alex Curtis said that it “takes a very special person to make a safe place for people who have lost trust and faith in this school.” He added, “I don’t know that anyone will ever know how much she did in that capacity and how much we owe her, as an institution, for that work.”
Dean of Students Mr. Mike Velez ’00 commended Ms. Wallace’s composure and her indefatigable work ethic. “She has been a source of consistency and reliability in all the roles she has served,” he said. “As the school pivoted in several directions, she has been a steadying force.”
Ms. Wallace has long balanced her administrative duties with those in the classroom. If she isn’t leading dissections in her anatomy classes, she might be advising day students or students living at the KEC.
Alua Tulbassova ’21, who studied anatomy and physiology with Ms. Wallace during the 2019-2020 school year, said, “She was super encouraging in terms of speaking up even if you’re not one hundred percent sure of the answer, and I think it helped me in how I approached all my other classes.” She went on, “I just genuinely felt like she cared.”
Many former students declared her their role model. Aarthi Katakam ’21 said, “Ms. Wallace’s anatomy class was the best class I’ve taken at Choate.” She recalled an evening chatting casually with Ms. Wallace at the KEC. “She really listened to my thoughts about a future career in lab science, and she was very encouraging,” Katakam said. “Something I lacked growing up in elementary and middle school was female STEM teachers and having Ms. Wallace be such an advocate for women in STEM and kids in STEM was really nice.”
As Ms. Wallace prepares to bid farewell to Choate, she says she will miss the students who have shown incredible dedication to their studies and the faculty and staff who have displayed tremendous excitement for their work on campus. Ms. Wallace says that she plans to take some time away from the business of boarding school life to relax with her family, catch up on reading, and pick up soccer again.
“I love Choate, and I love working here,” she said. “I’ll miss the place, but I’m looking forward to what comes next.”
