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Academic Coaches

The ACs are here to help all VSSA students. They work in classrooms alongside teachers and you can find at least one of them in the Think Tank or a Study Hall during every period every school day. Respective areas of expertise:

Here is a link to the Academic Coach daily schedule for the fall trimester on tab 1.
They will help students establish the executive functioning skills needed to:
(i) get ahead before travel,
(ii) catch up on work,
(iii) chunk work into manageable segments so that students do not feel overwhelmed, and
(iv) think in terms of not just when work is “due” or tests or quizzes are taking place, but also when they are going to “do” the work or “do” the studying.  
They are all also able to provide feedback on written work.
Take advantage of the many ways that they are available to support your students!
Gwen's Contact Information:
(617) 803-0290
 
 

THE COACHES

Taylor F. - Born in Toronto, Canada, Taylor spent most of her childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. During her junior year of high school, she had the privilege of serving as a page for the House of Representatives. Following this, Taylor chose to spend her senior year as an exchange student in Southern Norway. These formative experiences instilled in Taylor the importance of diverse learning opportunities and settings.

While completing her bachelor's degree at Virginia Tech, Taylor discovered a passion for teaching through her job as a swim instructor. After graduating in 2014 she moved to Colorado where she pursued a master’s in education from Adams State University. For the past seven years she has worked in Colorado public schools. First as a language arts teacher and later as a special educator. Throughout this time, Taylor has continued to find joy as a part-time swim instructor.

Excited to join SSCV, Taylor brings with her years of experience helping students achieve their goals both in and out of the classroom. Her background as a special educator provides the unique skill set required when coordinating with classroom teachers to support students with organization, academic skill, and grade level content. Taylor is driven by a desire to help students grow into happy, healthy, and successful adults.

Seth F. - Seth brings a life-long love of skiing and more than 20 years of public education experience to the Vail snowsports community. 

Born and raised in the Mount Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire, Seth earned a journalism degree from Syracuse University in 1996, and then spent five years in Jackson Hole as a full-time PSIA ski instructor and outdoor educator. He returned home to New Hampshire to complete his M.Ed. in secondary social studies from Franklin Pierce University, and spent two decades in public education, mostly as a social studies teacher, in a rural high school of about 400 students. His passion for history inspired many students, and he also taught government/civics, economics, psychology, and geography. As a teacher, Seth spent countless hours helping students with essay writing, supporting arguments with evidence, and honing writing skills to pass their AP exams.

This Academic Coach position is a perfect melding of all of his interests, and Seth is excited to share his enthusiasm for learning, skiing, and life with our student athletes at VSSA.

David L. - Originally from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, David honed his skiing on the "big" hills of suburban Detroit. When the snow stopped falling, he spent his summers as a lifeguard/swim instructor at youth camps in Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Education his passion for skiing led him to Lake Tahoe. After a few incredible seasons in Tahoe, David began a corporate career in operations and logistics management which led him to San Diego, CA and then on to Austin, TX. He found his way back to the mountains in 2012 and has been here ever since!

After spending the last few years in hospitality managing properties in Vail and Keystone, he rediscovered that he wanted to pursue a career that utilized his background in education, specifically for an opportunity to work with developing athletes.

David looks forward to using his broad skill set and experiences to assist VSSA students in achieving success in and out of the classroom!

Edward L. - Edward joined Ski & Snowboard Club Vail in 2022. As an Academic Coach, he works with Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy students on high level STEM topics (science, technology, engineering and math), and success strategies for continuing their education throughout their lives.

Edward, with over a decade of experience in education, brings a diverse set of experiences to his work at SSCV and VSSA. His background in outdoor education and ski race coaching helps him to understand his students' passion for the outdoors and physical challenges. Experience teaching in a formal classroom, including AP level sciences, allows Edward to work with students and teachers on high level concepts. Edward also operates a small business, SNO Education, that offers private stargazing and other educational consulting in the High Rockies of Colorado.