The threads of learning

Imagine a quilt. When a student walks onto campus for the first time, her Harpeth Hall story is just a single square of fabric. As each day passes, her quilt grows — new colors and patterns stitched together to create something bigger, more complex, and beautiful. This is how her story takes shape.

“I like to think of ourselves as gaining a new piece of fabric from each Harpeth Hall faculty member that crosses our path,” senior Larkin Wilson said during the annual Faculty Appreciation Assembly. “Some pieces of fabric are larger, representing a close bond or a teacher who inspired a new passion or a favorite subject. Other pieces are smaller, representing a mentor who was a short part of your Harpeth Hall experience. What remains consistent about every piece of fabric is that it serves as a lifelong testament to the devotion and belief that the Harpeth Hall faculty has in its students.”

At Harpeth Hall, teachers are the threads that hold every story together.

It is not uncommon to see teachers stitching in extra time with students — working together on hard equations before the day starts or running a Mock Trial practice in the Bullard Bright IDEA Lab long after school has ended. Harpeth Hall teachers show up for students. They show up on the weekends to cheer at a lacrosse game or in the audience of the middle school musical. Whatever our students are doing, their teachers are there to support and encourage them. The Harpeth Hall faculty are weaving each student’s quilt together, year by year and square by square until her quilt becomes whole and uniquely her own.

“As you continue your journey here… I encourage you all to do some reflection on who has donated to your individual quilt, and please let them know what that contribution has meant to you,” Larkin said.

“As for me,” she continued. “I have a couple of highlights: Thank you for your passion and dedication to your respective fields. We are all better humans for it, and you all teach us every day that being interested and passionate is cool.

Thank you for your time, for showing up early and staying late to help students with complicated concepts, or early morning workouts, or devoting a day of your life to set up for a high school prom like it was the Met Gala, or chaperoning trips across the world just so that we can have that remarkable life experience. Thank you for choosing a career in which your success is measured in the success of others. You all are our heroes. Thank you.”

Each spring, during what is known as the students' favorite assembly, faculty members are honored with words that capture and reflect the impact each educator has on Harpeth Hall.

During the assembly, Ms. Hill recognized two faculty members with the school's highest awards for teaching.

Middle school science teacher Corri Calandra received the Heath Jones Prize for the Promise of Excellence in Teaching. Upper school world languages teacher Jenny Jervis was honored with the Lulu Hampton Owen Chair for Excellence in Teaching.

Director of the Upper School Frances Fondren-Bales and Director of the Middle School Elizabeth Ecker '00 joined in honoring faculty and staff members who have been at Harpeth Hall for 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years. Ms. Hill also recognized upper school world languages teacher Jingli Jurca, who is retiring this school year. As each name was called, students rose to their feet in cheers, filling the room with sincere gratitude.

“To all our faculty and staff - I thank you,” Ms. Hill said. “You exemplify compassion and understanding and always challenge us to continue learning and inspire us to be better.”

Heath Jones Prize for the Promise of Excellence in Teaching

Corri Calandra received the Heath Jones Prize for the Promise of Excellence in Teaching. This prize is dedicated to A. Heath Jones, a teacher and academic dean at Harpeth Hall from 1984 to 1996. Harpeth Hall awards this prize annually to a full-time teacher who has had five years or less of classroom experience and has taught at Harpeth Hall for at least two years.

Ms. Calandra always has a smile on her face. “Her energy and positive attitude can brighten any space - whether it is her classroom, the pod, the hall or on the field.” Ms. Hill said. Her enthusiasm and passion for science is contagious, and her students love her humor in and out of the classroom. “From the cell project to the bridge project to Biztown to upper school lacrosse, [Ms. Calandra] has made an impression in just two short years.” Congratulations, Ms. Calandra!

Lulu Hampton Owen Chair for Excellence in Teaching

Jenny Jervis received the ​Lulu Hampton Owen Chair for Excellence in Teaching. This recognition is awarded annually to an outstanding member of the Harpeth Hall faculty who demonstrates excellence in scholarship, an unusual ability to communicate with students, excitement about teaching and learning, a commitment to the moral and intellectual development of students, and dedication to the life of the school. The appointment is for one year and carries with it honor, remuneration, and a Harpeth Hall chair, which serves as a symbol for this award.

Ms. Jervis arrived at the Faculty Appreciation Assembly straight from competing at the Boston Marathon, where she set a personal record — a perfect example of her determination and focus. As a teacher and coach, Ms. Jervis is always there to support each student and athlete to reach her full potential. She is a department chair, Winterim trip leader, sponsor of an honor society, member of the Cum Laude Society, member of the discipline committee, and teacher extraordinaire, and she gives her all to each role while making it seem effortless. “One student recently described [Ms. Jervis] as ‘kind, passionate, and easy to approach,’ and went on to highlight how she makes the learning of a language so active that her students cannot not learn it,” Ms. Hill said.

Wishing Ms. Jurca Well

With her easy smile and warmth, Jingli Jurca has brought joy to learning at Harpeth Hall for the past 18 years. As an upper school world languages teacher, Ms. Jurca shared both the harmony and complexity of the Chinese culture with students and the Harpeth Hall community.

“Jingli Jurca is so much more than a Chinese teacher to so many of us. To our upper school students, she represents inner joy, humility, gratitude, and a beacon of light that will always emanate …,” Ms. Hill said. “To our faculty, she is a friend, an example, a supporter, and a ray of hope for all of us.”

One of Ms. Jurca’s most well-known classes was about the Chinese Revolution, which she taught both to students during Winterim and to members of the broader school community as part of Winterim for Adults.

In a news article about Winterim’s global studies classes, Harpeth Hall student Louisa Wang shared what it is like to walk into Ms. Jurca’s class.

When students enter Jingli Jurca’s classroom on the first floor of Wallace, they are immediately greeted with a classroom that speaks volumes about its teacher. Dark brown shelves to the right of the door are full of framed photos of Ms. Jurca with various students at violin recitals, on Winterim trips to Taiwan, and everything in between.

On the pale blue walls hang a map of China, inspirational quotes, and a bulletin board, home to multiple different clippings of news stories, images, and quotes related to China: Images from the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Mao’s Great Famine, facts about the Chinese Cultural revolution, all of which are severely censored in China today.

According to Ms. Jurca, who teaches a Winterim class on the Chinese language, learning about a country’s culture and history is necessary to learn a language.

Ms. Hill uplifted that same message when honoring Ms. Jurca during the 2026 faculty appreciation assembly. “…Ms. Jurca has brought our community closer and reminded us that learning a language is a vital part of understanding and respecting a culture and the rich history of people across the globe.”

Ms. Jurca’s kindness, gentle presence, and love for her students will be missed. We wish her all the best.

Harpeth Hall congratulates our faculty and staff on these career milestones

10 years
Grace Barbieri, middle school social studies teacher
Patti Collins, accounts payable manager
Amy Emerson, middle school science teacher
Ben Fulwider, upper school social science teacher
Maureen Hill, instructional coach
Adrianne Jacobs, upper school social science teacher
Katie King, middle school world languages teacher
Leigh Mantle, resource librarian and archivist
Laura Nelson, world languages teacher
Matthew Pyles, middle and upper school choir teacher
Dina Stevenson, upper school learning specialist
Jessie Yancey, upper school English teacher

15 years
Jennifer Perry, upper school science teacher
Rachel Van Dyke, middle school English teacher
Jerard White, upper school world languages teacher

20 years
Donna Green, SAGE Dining
Lisa Hall, associate director of admission
Kim Himes, middle school math teacher
Renee Holt, SAGE Dining
Fran Maddox, director of counseling
Susan Timmons, upper school librarian

25 years
Elizabeth Castleman, upper school world languages teacher
Justin Dover, technology director
Bonnie Moses, upper school social science teacher
Gary Schott, upper school science teacher

30 years
Jackie Powers, upper school English teacher