Dr. J’s Departure: Chemistry Teacher Leaves Mid-Year

On March 13 Upper School science teacher Dr. Jaqueline Spivey, known on campus as “Dr. J,” decided to take a leave of absence. While most students “thought it would be a maximum of two weeks,” on April 21 Upper School Head Ricky Lapidus informed Upper School members that “Dr. J chose not to return to school.” When asked, Lapidus said that he cannot divulge any personal information about her leave.

Although a leave is an option all employees have, as it’s written in the employee handbook, it’s an extremely unusual option for teachers to use in the middle of the school year. Teachers who have been here for years claim this has only happened three times in the last 10 years. If faculty members decide to leave the School while under contract, especially before the summer, a 60-day notice is requested, but in this case Spivey left her class without official notice and never came back. 

While students in Organic Chemistry, a senior science elective, understand her absence is not their fault, many feel “partially responsible” for her leave. They had what they considered a well-intentioned conversation minutes before her leave where they asked for a class syllabus and weeksheet to clarify expectations for lessons and assignments.

Jasmine Khalil, a senior who will be on the Pre-Med track in college, explained, “Dr. J’s abrupt leave made it hard to internalize the new material with sub after sub.” She continued, “It [was] even more stressful because a lot of us [in the Organic Chemistry class] want to pursue STEM or Pre-med in college, and a basic understanding of organic chemistry will help all of us in the future.”  

Senior Aaron Kopelnik, a dedicated STEM student who plans to major in Biology at Washington University St. Louis, also found the situation stressful. He said, “The transition was crazy, and I was especially stressed because I want to pursue science in college, and taking Orgo was supposed to give me a foundational background.” Additionally, Upper School chemistry teacher Stella Glogover’s Teacher’s Assistant, Sophie Scherer, said, “Ms. Glogover expresses to me that she is even more stressed and trying her best to keep up with her new classes.” 

Nobody doubts Spivey’s knowledge of the material, or her care for her students. Rather, people are curious about her intended impact on the School’s community. Leaving abruptly has required lots of significant adjustments from the Upper School’s professional community.

Along with coordinating short-term coverage of Spivey’s classes, several science teachers have had to take on additional courses in order to make sure Spivey’s classes were adequately covered for the remainder of the year. Courtney Duke, the Upper School’s Assistant Head, has also taken on the role of 10th grade dean in addition to her teaching and administrative duties.

All in all, the transition has been extremely hard for all parties involved, but students, faculty, and administration have expressed hope that Spivey is doing okay and that her presence is very much missed on campus.