Palmer Trinity School

Marty Migliaccio C E L E BR AT I N G 3 7 Y E A R S O F T E AC H I N G Marty Migliaccio has been a beloved Palmer Trinity School teacher for many years. This year, as she begins her retirement, we wanted to look back on her career and celebrate her accomplishments. { Excerpts reprinted from 2009-2010 Aerie Magazine } What made you decide to become a teacher? In 1971, I graduated from high school and I was the first in my family to graduate from high school or go to college. At that time, despite the women's liberation movement, it was the tail end of the thinking that working women were teachers or nurses. Regardless of that thinking, I was going to be a teacher. I decided on History because when I was a junior in high school, I had a young teacher, Mr. Poindexter, who taught U.S. History. He was a really good teacher and made the subject interesting to me. Mr. Poindexter was the reason I eventually got a teaching degree in Social Studies Education. What was the best thing about your first year at Palmer? The strong, wonderful friendships that were created. Many of my best friends today were the people I met in my early years at Palmer. Palmer was a very small school, less than 400 students in the early 1980's and everyone knew each other. It was a very close knit community of parents, teachers, and coaches who worked and played hard. Classes were small and we had clubs, sports, and activity periods. There were many opportunities to get involved in many activities other than just the subjects you taught. What is your most memorable moment while you have been at Palmer? I think each year our graduation ceremony is beautiful and very heartfelt, but the graduation ceremony of 1992 was particularly special. My goddaughter Sarah graduated from Palmer Trinity in 1992. Her father, Mike Ferguson, was the Head of School at that time and as the students received their diplomas, each one put a red sticker heart on him. By the end of the graduation, he was covered with hearts and most of the audience was tearing up. Often at graduation, students do stupid stuff, but that year, it was very emotional and very significant for Sarah and her friends. The other memorable moment was when my daughter Lisa Migliaccio '04 took her first baby steps in the PTS gym. I was across the gym keeping the clock for a basketball game, so she wasn't even walking toward me! What makes Palmer Trinity unique in your opinion? In my opinion, it's the small classes, closeness of the community, and the gentle caring approach at PTS. Although we give the students the tools and push them hard to succeed, it is not the pressure cooker that many private schools are today. palmertrinity.org 26 FACULTY HIGHLIGHT

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