Choate recently announced changes to two of its department faculty heads, to take effect at the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year. English teacher Mr. Mark Gosztyla will replace Ms. Ellen Devine as English Department Head, and Spanish teacher Mr. Charlie Fuentes will replace Mr. Georges Chahwan. Both were selected by Dean of Faculty Ms. Katie Levesque with guidance from members of their respective departments.
Department heads manage the day-to-day business of their department. They collaborate with department members on curriculum initiatives, and organize professional development.
Mr. Gosztyla has been an English teacher at Choate for five years. He teaches sophomore English and a variety of senior English electives. Outside of the classroom, Mr. Gosztyla coaches cross country and track and field, advises a cohort of day students, and is an adjunct adviser in Lowndes. “Ms. Devine has overseen a number of awesome reforms … I am really excited to continue with the agendas that she started, as well as to take up some new agendas as far as curricular reform goes,” said Mr. Gosztyla.
Ms. Victoria Pierotti, a fellow English teacher, said, “Mark works well with everyone. He has a great sense of humor, and I am looking forward to him changing the old idea of what is proper and should be taught at boarding schools.”
Mr. Fuentes has been teaching a wide range of Spanish courses for the past six years. He also coaches Boys’ Varsity Soccer. Mr. Fuentes, he said, “concentrated on the SP400 series, working to decolonize the study of Latin American History while making connections to the Latinx Experience in the US [and] continuing to help students improve their language skills.”
Ms. Diana Beste, the Interim Head of the Language Department, said, “Charlie Fuentes is a great educator, a good listener, and a wonderful colleague. I am especially happy because it’s been a while since we had a department chair from the Spanish section, the largest language section at the School.”
Chinese teacher Dr. Carol Chen-Lin shared similar views, saying “[Mr. Fuentes’s] rich experience in diversity and inclusion and insights on the practices of language teaching are wonderful assets for our department.”
Both of the new heads are passionate about making their departments more inclusive for students, in line with the School’s wider efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion. “Overall, the goal of the [English] department is to have the way that we are examining literature as critical and creative thinkers take more of an anti-racist approach,” Mr. Gosztyla said. “There will be changes, whether it’s the types of assignments that are being assigned or the books that are being read. Hopefully, like the English language, the English department keeps changing. Hopefully, [the department] will feel like a place where students’ voices are heard more than they are now.”
This sentiment was reinforced by Mr. Fuentes, who remarked, “We’ve started work on many things that I believe are essential to language learning through equitable and inclusive practices that I am very much looking forward to continuing to incorporate.”
He added, “I am really looking forward to the opportunity to support both students in their language journey and colleagues in the department as they continue to look for innovative and engaging ways to present language and culture.”
