Teacher, coach, advisor, and so much more, Ms. Wallace is departing after four years at Belmont Hill. Since arriving on campus in 2022, Ms. Wallace has been a positive influence on every aspect of Belmont Hill. She has taught 9th-, 10th-, and 11th-grade English, including Advanced English for upperclassmen; assisted and coached varsity alpine skiing and 9th-grade soccer; advised The Panel; and co-led Belmont Hill’s Advanced Action Research program.
Within her first few years at Belmont Hill, Ms. Wallace established the highly regarded free reading program, reserving 10 minutes before every English class for students to sit, relax, and read. According to Will Greenhill ’28, “Having 10 minutes at the start of every class to just relax and dive into a book was both soothing and rewarding. Being able to pick what you read and then spend the next couple of months chipping away at the goal of finishing your book helped develop a sense of commitment, and finishing the process with a book talk shared with your classmates was a perfect way to wrap up the reading journey.” In her 4 years at Belmont Hill, despite her reputation as a strict grader, Ms. Wallace has become known to many kids as one of the best teachers at the school and, to many of them, the best person to come to with any writing questions. As Elan Libman ’28 says, “It’s a hard class, but it forces you to improve… and that’s something that really helps in the long-term.” As a teacher, her classes have been described as fun, engaging, challenging, and unbelievably beneficial for every student. Students that have been in Ms. Wallace’s class for two consecutive years report that they have improved the most in her class.
In the AAR program, Ms. Wallace has helped Dr. Tift lead groups of juniors in finding problems in our school and solving them, culminating in a trip to UPenn to give a speech in front of five other schools and a chapel talk to the entire upper school. Students who have been members of the AAR program agree that Ms. Wallace’s involvement (and leadership during Dr. Tift’s sabbatical year) significantly contributed to the students’ success in their UPenn and Chapel presentations. Ms. Wallace has also helped out with the Panel in the same way. As co-head of The Panel with Ms. Zener, Ms. Wallace is always at every meeting, keeping people focused and making it an enjoyable place to work, and she continues to inspire new authors in every issue. On the slopes of alpine skiing, Ms. Wallace was ever-present, getting bibs out, setting up food with the parents, and cheering for each boy as he raced down the mountain. Last but not least, Ms. Wallace has helped lead Summit Scholars, teaching young boys from families with demonstrated financial need during this yearlong Saturday program.
Ms. Wallace will continue to teach English at the prestigious 450-year-old Harrow boarding school in England, where Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Never Give In, Never, Never, Never” speech during World War II. Notable alumni include: King Hussein of Jordan; both Kings of Iraq, Ghazi I and his son Faisal II; the current Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani; and Ali bin Hamud of Zanzibar. The Harrow School, like Belmont Hill, is an all-boys school that requires all students to dress formally.
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Ms. Wallace and extend a big thank you for everything she has done. Ms. Wallace wants to let the boys know that “I have loved Belmont Hill’s culture of hard work, pride, and excellence, and I will miss working with the boys and my colleagues here!” Thank you, and we wish you the best at Harrow, Ms. Wallace!
