Longtime Watershed educator and administrator, Hannah Nelson, has been selected as Midland School’s next Head of School! Hannah will begin her new position on July 1, 2024. A Watershed educator and administrator for 14 years, Hannah has had a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of students and families – Watershed is truly grateful. And we are thrilled for her to take this exciting next step in her career! The generosity and passion for experiential education which Hannah has shared with Watershed will be continued next year and beyond as she leads Midland School in Los Olivos, CA in its journey.
We sat down with Hannah to learn more about her time at Watershed, her professional journey, and her plans for the future.
You’ve been a teacher and administrator in schools across the country for 23 years! What originally called you to education and what has kept you in schools all this time? Tell us about your journey.
Wow. Great question. I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey through education lately. I first knew that I was interested in education in high school when I was debating between education and medicine. I love science, learning things, and helping people; one day I woke up and it just clicked. I wanted to be a science teacher. My first education experience was in Philadelphia with Americorps in a program called City Year. There I worked with a number of different schools around the city doing after school programming and community service. It was through this program that I gained my love of community service. A few quotes that stand out to me from that time are: “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.”(Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead, Ph.D.). I know them by heart and they help keep me grounded. After teaching for a few years I went back to school and got my Masters in Education. I was so curious about how people learn and how we can make learning accessible to everyone regardless of the topic or an individual’s learning strengths or challenges.
This was when I found Watershed. I remember so clearly the first time that I visited. It was right after their big spring fundraiser which had been held at a climbing club. All of the students were working on putting BackJacks into a fifteen passenger vehicle. It was like watching a small group of high school students solve a 3D tetris problem. All of the students were so kind and invested in the community. I sat in on a council (where students sit in a circle and respectfully share their thoughts and feelings in regards to a prompt) and they were discussing real-world issues, intense feelings, connecting with each other and I just knew that this was where I wanted to be. Watershed was so young then, back in its second year, and I am so appreciative to Jason Berv and Sumaya Abu-Haidar for their vision and actualization of this special place. Being at Watershed is honestly one of the main reasons I have stayed in education all these years. I have been given the opportunity to create my own classes, to know students on a deep level, to travel around the country and the world, all while connecting to current events and making a difference outside the walls of the classroom. It is real-world learning at its best and it keeps me motivated to share this style of learning with as many people as I can.
It sounds like you feel you’ve learned a lot at Watershed! Is there anything else you feel you’ve learned during your time here that you’ll take with you to your new school?
Honestly, Watershed has been the inspiration for my Leadership Journey. It has allowed me to constantly reflect on my practice, think about how to make it better, and always come back to what is going to be best for students. A couple big things that are both the reason why I came to Watershed and what I will bring with me are:
The importance of a strong community. Community culture is something to be nourished and cherished. I am so thankful for my time in being a part of an incredibly strong community.
Using proficiency levels or feedback rather than averaged grades.
Real-world learning: getting out into the real world, talking with real people, and incorporating that into what students learn.
Travel! I am so impressed with Watershed’s unique ability to get out into the community. When I was teaching, I was out in the field an average of 40 days a school year. 40! Most of the countries I have visited I have traveled to with Watershed. Each one has given me a unique view of the world, how I fit into it, and how I can help to make it better.
Over the years, your work has brought you into the top levels of school leadership. What are you most looking forward to in your upcoming role as the Head of School at Midland?
I feel like Midland is a conglomeration of all of the things that I have valued throughout my life. When I was young, I was obsessed with horses. I grew up loving plants, gardening, and cooking. I have been striving towards student agency, and now I am so entwined in the world of academic leadership. Midland has all of these things, rolled up into one amazing, beautiful school. I am moving to a community that has just under 3,000 acres, a barn with horses, a ten acre farm that feeds the school with a farm to table program, a jobs program that involves every student in running the school…and I get to be a part of it all. I am thrilled. (Also, my commute is about 150 ft! Way better than the diagonal. Ha!)
What are you and you excited to explore in your new state of California?
Oh gosh, California is such a huge state. I am really excited to get to know the whole state. I love that California has everything: mountains, beaches, huge forests. I want to visit as many state parks and national parks in California as possible. I am also really excited to get to know California cheeses and wines.
You’ve been at Watershed for a long time, Hannah! What are some key moments that stand out for you- things you feel you’ll carry with you beyond Watershed?
I have so many amazing memories from Watershed. Some of the most vivid memories are traveling with students and teachers, from canoeing the route of Lewis and Clark, traversing the Copper Canyons of Mexico, hiking the fjords of Iceland, to trying to find the opening scene of “Of Mice and Men” in California. To be honest, it’s not the destinations that make those (and so many more) memories fond. It's the people I was with, the unexpected adventures, the problem solving, the forming of deep relationships. I feel so fortunate to have been with the absolutely best teaching partners and colleagues during my time here. Everyone is welcome to come and visit me any time. We can go on some new California adventures together.
