Meeting Laura Riley in the Middle
Three really is the charm. Just ask the next middle school head, Laura Riley, and she is quick to explain that 21 years ago was a near miss for her. While she was third choice for a teaching position some two decades ago, she was the obvious first choice when it came to finding the perfect fit to lead Hammond’s middle school.
A young newlywed with a degree in special education, Laura was seeking a teaching position following several years as a director of children’s ministries. Notes from that fateful first interview at Hammond read like a report card: good with kids, weak on content, misspelled strawberries, third choice. Lucky for us, third choice became first choice and Laura went on to make her mark at Hammond in and out of the classroom. After an exhaustive and thorough search to find the best fit for Hammond, she was recently named to the middle school position being vacated as Andy North becomes head of school this summer.
In addition to serving as chair of the history department, Laura was instrumental in creating and implementing our signature program in public policy and social change. She has served as mentor and coordinator for the new faculty program for the past 10 years, and has taught every grade in middle and upper schools except 5th, 7th, and 9th. Her quick wit, and a teaching style to which students can relate, have made her a classroom favorite.
To Laura, Hammond has been a grounding force upholding her through life’s ups and downs including an international adoption, a miracle birth, and a family health crisis. “The Hammond family has always been there to cheer me up or cheer me on.” Referring to Hammond’s red vehicle stickers she notes, “I consider myself part of what I like to call the fellowship of the red sticker. When I pass a car on the road, I realize they are a friend and fellow Skyhawk, and that I have either taught their children or will teach their children. For me, those red stickers symbolize a sense of the familiar.”
Among Laura’s more humorous memories are teaching during some of Hammond’s more fabled stories such as the day a squirrel shut down a transformer on campus, teaching over months of noisy theatre construction, and a campus lockdown due to a fox roaming the nearby neighborhood.
Having spent so many years in the classroom, Laura is quick to note that she will miss teaching. “Working alongside students in a class is magic. That factored into my decision and is one of the things I will miss most. I’m looking forward to finding other ways to grow and connect with students.”
Laura is excited about this next step in her professional career and noted, “the middle grades are an integral part of a student’s education and require thoughtful and creative responses to their unique needs. We have an amazing faculty in place and I am honored to be working alongside this group of professional, many of whom I have taught with before. I look forward to embarking on this journey with such a talented team at a place I love.”
