Erin Calkins Joins Northwest Academy Staff

Erin Calkins is the newest math teacher at Northwest Academy, replacing Karen Meister.

Although Calkins sent her resume to the school last April, she was not hired until the week of Jan. 13, when positions for teaching the middle school geometry and pre-calculus classes opened.

“Good math teachers are hard to come by,” Mary Folberg, Head of School, said. “So we are delighted to have Erin with us.”

Despite being at Northwest Academy for only a week, students say that they feel like Calkins has helped their classes immensely.

“We really needed her,” Sarah Hatcher, a sophomore, said. “We were pretty far behind before she came, and her way of taking notes is really helpful.”

Calkins was looking for work on the West Coast because it offered many activities and opportunities she was interested in.

“Portland was irresistible; the greenery, mountain views, access to great running, cycling and skiing, proximity to the ocean and the ease of traveling throughout the city all drew me in,” Calkins said.

Calkins was born and grew up in Canandaigua, NY, a small town just outside of Rochester. Calkins studied public health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. While attending Johns Hopkins, Calkins earned her masters degree in teaching secondary mathematics. During Calkins’ college career, she decided to educate children to benefit the community.

“Going to college in Baltimore allowed me to witness the many challenges the city faces,” Calkins said. “I decided I wanted to make a difference in Baltimore and felt that starting with the youngest generations was where I could be most effective.”

In Calkins’ spare time, she enjoys running, playing with her two dogs, reading and cooking. She is currently training for her sixth marathon.

Her predecessor, Meister, taught middle school geometry and pre-calculus at Northwest Academy for almost five years. Meister had private matters that forced her to move out of state.

“(Meister) was very sad to leave you guys,” Folberg said. “It was the last thing she wanted to do.”