Belmont Hill has recently bolstered its Office of Academic Support Services with the additions of Mrs. Parris, who arrived in the spring of last year, and Mrs. Albin, who just started this fall. They are working with Ms. Richards, Director of Academic Support Services, and they will be coming to school at different times to tutor students. Both Mrs. Parris and Mrs. Albin have a great deal of experience and will be great assets for the Belmont Hill community.
After growing up in New Jersey, Mrs. Parris attended Bucknell University and Douglass College of Rutgers University. Before coming to Belmont Hill, Mrs. Parris founded and directed for 27 years the Academic Support Program at Phillips Exeter Academy, where she worked with her husband, a math teacher at Exeter. Mrs. Parris also knows several languages and excels at teaching study skills. Mrs. Parris moved to Watertown to be with her daughter, husband-in-law, and granddaughter, and although she was not seeking out a job, Ms. Richards persuaded her to come work at Belmont Hill. So far, Mrs. Parris is liking life working at Belmont Hill and feels welcomed by our students and faculty.
Mrs. Albin grew up right here in Belmont, next door to Charles Jenney, a former Belmont Hill teacher and writer of the iconic First Year Latin textbook which is still used at Belmont Hill. After a brief stint in dentistry, Mrs. Albin received a degree in education from Boston University. Since college, Mrs. Albin has done many different jobs, including working at Rivers (at the same time as Mr. Armstrong), working at Concord Academy, and running a private tutoring practice. Mrs. Albin is especially adept at helping students with dyslexia, as she has studied the Orton-Gillingham Approach, a strategy for tutoring students with dyslexia. Mrs. Albin, as with Mrs. Parris, has had a great start with Belmont Hill aside from the challenge of orienting herself to her new school and describes her experience as “wonderful: wonderful people, terrific boys, great faculty, great staff.” Hopefully, Mrs. Parris and Mrs. Albin will continue to enjoy their time at Belmont Hill, and we are certainly lucky to have them.
