Upper School Dean Jamie Nestor will be leaving Poly at the end of this school year and will be heading to Pittsburgh, P.A. to lead the Senior School at Sewickley Academy. In the Head of Upper School Sarah Bates’ email of January 18 announcing Nestor’s departure, she said “Her incomparable blend of empathy, effectiveness, and excellence has inspired all those who work with her, as well as her lucky students.” Over the past 11 years, Ms. Nestor has served as a Middle and Upper School Latin teacher, an eighth-grade homeroom teacher, the dean of student life in the Middle School, the dean of student life in the Upper School, and an Upper School Dean. Below is a Q&A with Ms. Nestor. 

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at Poly?

“I’ve learned the importance of relationships, and I think I always knew that relationships are very important for building trust between students and faculty members or staff, but I think over the last six years in this dean iteration, I’ve learned how important for the student and even the relationships between faculty and students—for faculty understanding of the experience of the student and vice versa and how trust can be built. On a personal note, the relationships I’ve built here at Poly over the past eleven years, both with students and faculty, have been so meaningful to me and how it made me the person that I am today.”

What are some of your best memories at Poly?

“I still remember my first seventh grade Latin class that I ever taught—I had a really fun group of kids. I remember the proms I’ve attended very distinctly. I remember the first faculty meeting Mr. Barzdukas opened with over the summer. I’ve attended baby showers and weddings for my colleagues—those stand out to me so much, favorite memories of students coming back to visit after they’ve graduated, celebrating with students on successes in the classroom and with college acceptances.”

Why did you first choose to work at Poly?

“I had known about Poly for a while, because I attended graduate school at Columbia and one of the people in my class was married to the former head of school. I knew about Poly from her and after I finished graduate school, I moved to Connecticut to teach and I really wanted to come back to New York, specifically Brooklyn, because my now husband was living here and there was an open Latin position at Poly the year that I was looking.”

Why did you choose to depart from Poly?

“For a change, for an adventure, for the next step in my professional life. My family is really lucky that we have the ability to move with my partner’s job. It’s a new adventure—a bittersweet adventure.”

What is your favorite thing about Poly?

“Everyone always says the people, but it’s so true. I’ve worked in a number of different schools and nobody has made an impact on me the way that the Poly students and faculty have.”