Meet Michelle Heaton, who teaches science and is our community service coordinator. Michelle and her husband, Gardner, have three children: Owen, an eighth grader at Fenn; Winter, a sixth grader at Nashoba Brooks, and Jackson, a Fenn fourth grader.

Q: What drew you to Fenn five years ago?

A: The sense of community here and Fenn’s focus on the “whole boy.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Fenn?

A: My time teaching boys in and out of the classroom. They have great energy and a natural curiosity that is well suited to science and service.

Q: Do you also participate on a committee or school-wide effort, and if so, why is this work so important to you?

A: In my work with service learning, I believe learning how to care for others and the world around us is the most important thing we can teach our boys. Our relationships with others and our environment are what inevitably define us as humans. 

Q: What do you hope boys will come away with from your classes?

A: A sense of who they are as learners and how they connect to the world around them, both scientifically and as active global citizens.

Q: What has Fenn done for your son?

A: Fenn has given Owen confidence and a much better understanding of his learning style; it has been a wonderfully safe place for him to grow and push himself.

Q: What are your passions and interests outside of Fenn?

A: I love the outdoors (I used to be a professional mountain guide) and spend my free time being active on the ocean and in the mountains—hiking, skiing, stand-up paddle boarding, and running. I also love to travel to explore the world. A recent trip to South Africa was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. Being connected to nature is really important to me.