Upper School math teacher Hayley Ganslaw is a new face on campus this year, already bringing strong energy and creativity to her classroom. After six years of teaching middle schoolers, she was ready for a change and found KO to be the perfect fit.
“I really liked KO because it’s a day school,” Ms. Ganslaw said, “because of how much community there is, and everyone is fully integrated with it. I also liked having the opportunity to change grade levels and have a little bit of freedom with what I’m teaching, so I can do what’s best for my students.”
This year, Ms. Ganslaw is teaching one section of Algebra 1 and three sections of Algebra 2. She is especially excited to focus on strengthening algebra skills, which she believes are the foundation for higher-level math. “Sometimes you’ll get to a calculus class where you can do the calculus, but you get tripped up by the algebra,” she said. “So I’m really excited to be working on some of those skills and trying to find ways to individualize them.”
In her classes, she also hopes to bring in more creativity. “I’m going to try to incorporate some more artistic and creative projects, because that’s something I’ve always loved doing,” Ms Ganslaw said. “Even just little things, like if you answer the question, you get to color a bow and have a mystery picture.” She mentioned that adding more creativity to math can potentially make it more fun.
Originally from Old Saybrook, Conn., she grew up in a small town, sticking with the same 100 kids from kindergarten through 12th grade, so she was looking for a need to switch things up after graduation. She attended the University of Wisconsin, then moved to New York City for graduate school at NYU. After experiencing life in new places, she returned to Connecticut to be closer to her family, who live in Avon.
As the oldest of her four siblings, who are aged 9, 10, and 16, Ms. Ganslaw constantly stays busy helping them out, all the way from baseball games to guiding her sister through college applications, as well as spending time with her youngest sibling.
Aside from just being in the classroom, Ms. Ganslaw has plenty of hobbies. She is an avid reader with a personal goal of finishing 50 books a year. Her lifelong dream is to have a library in her home, which she recently learned is defined as 1,000 books. “I’m at about 500 right now,” Ms. Ganslaw said, “so I’m about halfway to my dream.”
Over this past summer, she especially enjoyed reading “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
She also read “Assistant to the Villain,” which she described as a “satirical romance” that brought fun to traditional fantasy novels. “I like to read lighter books in the summer, but then as it gets colder,” she said, “I switch to thrillers and spooky stories.”
She also shared her love for arts and crafts and has even set up a craft room at home, hoping one day it can turn into not just a craft room but also a library. She mentioned that although she enjoys spending time outdoors, she is very much an indoor person with her indoor hobbies.
Since joining KO, Ms. Ganslaw has found herself drawn to the traditions and activities that make the community unique. “I’m excited about all of the student life events that happened and all of the different traditions,” she said. “Obviously, I love the math classes, but there’s so much more to KO.”
So far, she says her favorite part has been how welcoming everyone in the community has been. “Whenever you start a new job, there are all the meetings and things you need to do, but everyone has been so helpful and supportive and made it not feel overwhelming,” Ms. Ganslaw said. “I have a great math department; everyone is super helpful if I ever have a question. We’re all in there together, and someone’s always there to answer it.”
Whether she is solving equations in the classroom, cheering on her siblings, or reading, Ms.Ganslaw brings energy, warmth, and lots of creativity to KO. Ms. Ganslaw is continuing to look forward to building connections both inside and outside of the classroom. “I think so far my favorite thing about KO is just how supportive I’ve felt,” Ms. Ganslaw reflected.
