Head of School Edward Kim has announced that two teachers have been granted sabbaticals for the 2012-13 school year.

Dallas Crow will focus on poetry and narrative nonfiction, two genres that challenge and nourish him in different ways. He plans to complete enough poetry for a second chapbook and to travel to both Montana and Oregon to work on several pieces of narrative fiction inspired by writers such as John McPhee, Tom Wolfe and Susan Orlean. He plans to attend the Association of Writers & Writing Programs annual conference in Boston as well as a writer’s workshop in the spring or summer. Among other goals, Dallas hopes that his work can serve as a model for his students and to create a narrative nonfiction elective for the English department.

Mary Jane Curran will spend a year in projects that combine her deep interest in aboriginal cultures of the Americas and her commitment to service. She will continue her study of Spanish in order to accomplish a volunteer work project with Awamaki, an organization in Peru that places volunteers to work with women who are learning traditional Incan weaving techniques and establishing self-sustaining businesses. She will also devote time to furthering her involvement with College Bound, a program designed to support high school students in North Minneapolis. Mary Jane  hopes that at the end of the year she will be able to bring back things that will help our students stretch their understanding of the issues of poverty and the luxury of privilege.

Said Mr. Kim, "Their proposals combine study and travel in a completely mission-appropriate manner, and I have no doubt that both they and their students will benefit greatly from what they bring back to Breck."