For Three Decades, Dorothy Garfield Has Helped Students Plan for What’s Next – Now It’s Her Turn
June 9, 2025
“Being at Wheeler for 31 years means I found a school with a philosophy of learning that fits my philosophy, and I am very comfortable with how the school teaches their students with learning differences,” says Middle School Academic Support Teacher Dorothy Garfield P’02, P’04, P’06. “I feel like this is a school that can be academically demanding while also understanding how kids learn – and that, in my opinion, is part of what makes Wheeler educationally unique. When I talk with parents about their children with learning differences and the parents worry, I say, ‘Your child is really in the best place. Wheeler is such a great school for kids with differences because the faculty here are so much more knowledgeable. They can meet the needs of their students.’”
Ms. Garfield also speaks to those parents from her own experience. She was a Chemistry teacher in a public high school three decades ago when her middle child, Sam [’04], was diagnosed with dyslexia. “His evaluation was very specific about learning strategies that he needed, such as Orton-Gillingham, and he couldn’t get those in his current school. Thankfully, we found Wheeler,” she says. “We looked at Hamilton and, of course, the teachers were certified in all of the strategies he needed. I also learned there was a middle school science opening, and I applied.” Wheeler offered her the job, and Dorothy and Sam came to Wheeler in 1994. The next year, her husband, Seth, who was also a science teacher, joined the Hamilton faculty, and their two daughters, Dianna ’02 and Kassie ’06, started as students. The whole family was at Wheeler from 1995 through 2002.
Ms. Garfield has now been here longer than anyone in her family, but she’s retiring at the end of this school year. What’s kept her at Wheeler for three decades, long after her children graduated? “Definitely the camaraderie in the faculty, and the connection with parents,” she says. “We’re all in this together.”
When she joined Wheeler to teach 7th-grade science, Ms. Garfield would spend the first semester focused on Chemistry and the second semester on Biology – two subjects which she really loves because they’re hands on. “We were always hands on in the sciences at Wheeler,” she reflects. “We have the equipment and always completed labs that reinforced the concepts taught.”
After teaching science at Wheeler for 19 years, an academic support position became available, and she thought it was a wonderful opportunity to move into a different role at school. Since then, Ms. Garfield has been a key contributor to students’ ability to flourish at Wheeler, whether in their current class or their next grade. So what, exactly, does academic support mean in middle school? “I see the middle school academic support department providing foundational skills for academic success,” she explains. “When students are in academic support, they get a little bit of additional push towards those foundational skills. I feel like we’re setting them up for success in high school or their next grade. That’s our goal, setting them up for success. It’s a very positive feeling, being able to teach skills that lead to accomplishments.
“For instance, I’m a huge fan of hard copy planners,” she shares. “I do a lot of explaining with kids about how beneficial they are, and I have kids who come back and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I was in Upper School for two weeks and I got a hard copy planner – you were so right!’ It makes me laugh in a positive way.
“But it’s other little things, too,” she adds. “It’s the one touch system, making sure that the papers that belong in a student’s binder are in the binder. Making sure papers are cleaned out and unneeded stuff is recycled. It’s organizational skills, and task initiation, and task ‘stick-to it-ness.’ These are skills students need for success as they advance. This time of year, we’re talking about setting students up for success in the next grade level.”
Ms. Garfield is now at the point in her career where some of those students whom she helped set up for success are coming back to her, not only to praise hard copy planners, but as Wheeler teachers or parents – sometimes both. “That’s one of the best things,” she says. “I think those continuous connections with people that I’ve taught, who either come back here or their children are here, is something I will miss the most. Seeing how kids have flourished and thrived.
“At one of the Hamilton School’s Mind Your p’s and q’s events, one of the alumnae came up to me and introduced herself, and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, I never would have recognized you, and I taught you science in 7th grade!’ And she responded, ‘I was so awful in science.’ I said, ‘No, you weren’t.’ And then I told her, ‘You know what I remember about you? I can close my eyes and still see you sitting at a middle school assembly, playing guitar and singing. You had the most beautiful, fabulous voice.’ And she said, ‘I can’t believe you remember that.’ But I did. I remembered her being a fine student, but I remembered her voice even more. This is what makes teaching so worthwhile.”
Ms. Garfield expects to find fun in different ways once she’s retired – most notably by getting to spend more time with her three grandchildren (a fourth is on the way). “My husband and I want to be present for them,” she says, “and then I also want to take time for myself. I’m a big gardener. I play tennis and have just started to play pickleball. And I like walking. I’m going to take time to do all of those things, but I don’t really have a plan, and I’m happy about that.” (That’s a big admission for such a big fan of planners.)
“I know I’m going to miss Wheeler,” she adds. “I honestly can’t believe it’s been 31 years. Sometimes I sit back and wonder, ‘Do I really want to leave?’ But it’s time.”
