Together . . . - Poly Prep Country Day School

Whether Big or Small, Poly
The Faculty Mentor/Mentee Program began several
years ago to help new teachers get acquainted with
the culture of the school and adjust to their new
environment. And just as Poly welcomes new teachers
each year, long-time faculty member Susan Beiles
welcomed a new position this year—dean of faculty.
In this role, she has taken on the Mentor/Mentee
Program and brings to it her years of experience.
“We want the mentor to be a safe harbor,” said
Beiles. “All new teachers have an academic mentor
in their respective departments, so the idea of the
mentor in this program is to provide new faculty
with someone who can help them get to know Poly
and provide a fresh perspective for the transition—
someone with whom they wouldn’t otherwise work
regularly.”
Beiles convened with Upper School head Bud
Cox and Middle School head Larry Patton ’82 to put
together this year’s pairs. One very successful match
is veteran Poly science teacher Bobbie Swain and her
mentee, English teacher Marisa Gomez. New to Poly
and to New York, Gomez arrived just last summer, not
long before meeting Swain for an introductory lunch.
“We met at Chadwick’s—my favorite restaurant,”
said Swain. “I was looking forward to the opportunity
to get to know Marisa and talk a bit about Poly before
school began. I was glad that we got along so well.”
This was Swain’s first year to formally act as a
mentor, but she’s no stranger to providing teachers
with much-needed assistance. This is her twentyfourth
year at Poly and her thirty-seventh year
teaching, so she has definitely had time to develop
strategies for managing the various aspects of the
job—an element that figured into Beiles’s plan.
“Our approach acknowledges that not all teachers
new to Poly need exactly the same thing, so we try to
pair people based on specific needs and strengths,”
she said. “Bobbie is very outgoing and is comfortable
sharing what she knows about Poly, and we thought
that would make her a perfect fit for someone like
Marisa, who has a lot of teaching experience but was
new to our school.”
At the start of the school year, Gomez was new to the
city, but she brought 14 years of teaching experience
to Poly. She came from Trinity Valley School, a K–12,
co-ed, college prep school in Ft. Worth, Texas, so
she was already familiar with the country day school
environment. She felt at ease with Swain immediately
and thought that their relationship exceeded her
expectations.
“I have been a mentor myself, both to brand new
teachers and to experienced ones who’ve come from
another state, so I can appreciate what Bobbie is
trying to do,” Gomez said. “I understand the need for
the relationship, and she does, too. It’s great to have
someone I can go to with questions.”
The two continue to meet regularly at the scheduled
monthly meetings required of the program, and they
sneak in a quick informal meeting from time to time.
Due in part to Swain’s help, Gomez felt she had settled
in perfectly to both her in-school and out-of-school
surroundings at the mid-year mark.
“Just before winter break I became comfortable
with the routine—all of it, the parts specific to Poly
and the other New York aspects, like navigating the
subways and walking everywhere,” Gomez said.
“Upon first coming here, I instinctively felt that Poly
was a good place for me professionally; I felt I could fit
in and contribute. I would say that Bobbie has been
great support for that transition.”
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