Whitney Newton

Departments and Positions

Upper School English

Credentials

Pomona College, Bachelor of Arts
The University of Michigan, Master of Fine Arts
Stanford University, Master of Arts

Biography

Since coming to Menlo in 2012, I’ve spent most of my time teaching English Foundations 1 because I’m addicted to that contagious freshman energy. But I love balancing out my course load with a couple of deep-dive senior seminars that allow me to observe firsthand how far all our students come between their first and last years of high school.

Prior to coming to Menlo, I taught courses in composition, rhetoric, and business writing at the University of Michigan, where I also received my MFA. I’ve been in love with teaching since day one, but after riding the adjunct roller-coaster for a few years, I started to have serious doubts about the skewed priorities of university teaching (where research > reaching students). I decided to take a NOLS semester for Outdoor Educators and enrolled in a Master’s program at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, hoping to eventually join a healthy, student-centered learning community where I could share my deep love for the outdoors. In Menlo, I found just what I was looking for.

When I’m not buried beneath a pile of papers, I enjoy marveling at my fierce and wild daughter, experimenting in the kitchen, torturing myself with yoga, and unplugging from civilization every chance I get.