Bidding Farewell to Ms. Beau
By Sophie Gvenetadze ’28
Ms. Kathryn Beaulieu (or Ms. Beau for short) fulfilled her longtime wish of teaching high school students as a full-time profession when she joined the Milton Academy Arts Department in the fall of 2024, but over the past two years, she has found far more than just a teaching position. As Ms. Beau’s Penn Fellow program comes to a close, she reflects on the experiences and vibrant community that made her time at Milton meaningful.
“I taught at a public middle school for three years prior to coming here,” stated Ms. Beau, “and it was a good learning experience to start off teaching there; but, middle school definitely wasn’t for me.” Her reasons for wanting to teach older students include a hope to connect more personally with students and a desire to teach more complex topics, which seem easier with high schoolers, as “most of the time they are choosing to be in that class.” Looking to complete a master’s degree and transition to working with high schoolers, Ms. Beau believed working at Milton would be an opportunity that checked all her boxes. “As I didn’t have any previous experience with boarding schools, I was coming into this blind, and it had also been a while since I had taught high school,” added Ms. Beau when reflecting on her post-bachelor’s student teaching.
Commenting on the rigor of Milton arts courses, Ms. Beau shared that “starting off in the classroom was tough because the classes are so much more intense than what I had been teaching, so it was challenging…and I was learning alongside my students.” She also remarked positively on Milton’s class sizes, adding that “having smaller classes has been great” and helpful for working one-on-one with students.
Ms. Beau has been a dedicated and beloved dorm parent in Hallowell House, and her experience was largely pleasant as she “had never gotten to see [her] students in their everyday lives…and it was great [for her] to see kids feel confident and comfortable speaking to teachers in a more social environment.” She has especially valued the chance to connect with students beyond their academic commitments, noting that “working with the yearbook club and being around campus in general to get to know students I might not have otherwise gotten to meet personally has been really cool.”
When reflecting on the parts of Milton she will miss most, Ms. Beau mentioned that she was especially grateful for “the close community…where people are really great thinkers, and everybody cares a lot about each other”; “I think teachers have their own community over here which is really nice,” she added. Ms. Beau has found working at Milton to be incredibly rewarding, acknowledging that she “has learned a lot about teaching and how [she] might structure future classrooms.” Residing in Upton House is “a perk [she] will definitely miss” as she was able to get to and from her classes in a matter of minutes.
As a student who started at Milton in the same year as Ms. Beau, I got to know her well through my Class IV Visual Arts class and the dorm environment, and I have always found her presence to be uplifting, enjoyable, and helpful in both academic and non-academic settings. On behalf of the entire Milton community, I wish Ms. Beau success in her future teaching endeavors and am confident that her positive presence will be appreciated wherever she chooses to continue her career!