Academics
Upper School

Director's Blog

Latest Blog Post

List of 1 news stories.

  • Upper School Director's Blog: March 2020

    As a child, I was diagnosed with an illness, the particulars of which I don't remember, but the treatment for which remains clear: I had to stay in my bed, and I wasn't allowed to touch any of my siblings. (There were eleven of us in our big, ramshackle Victorian house, and I was the youngest of all.) I must have been a sad sight when three of my brothers came in and announced that we were going to play Star Trek. On the far side of the room, their bunk beds became the bridge and the transporter room. I, in my bottom bunk, ran the engine room. They pretended to speak through improbably futuristic screens and communicate through handheld devices, and I said things like, "The engines are running." I could see them and hear them, but I couldn't be with them. At the time, it felt like punishment on their part. Only later did I realize what it really was—their gesture of kindness.
    Read More

Upper School Director

Dr. Joel Coleman has more than two decades of experience in teaching, coaching and independent school leadership, serving most recently as Upper School Head at St. Paul’s School in Maryland. In that role, he led several curriculum initiatives, including spearheading changes to the school’s International Baccalaureate program, creating and implementing a K-12 departmental review cycle, and overseeing updates to the upper school’s science, math, arts, and philosophy curricula. As part of this work, he partnered with upper school faculty to create a portrait of a graduate and better define standards of teaching excellence at each grade level. In addition, Dr. Coleman piloted K-12 instructional coaching and mentoring for the faculty and worked to further align curriculum and faculty development with the school’s mission.

Gill St. Bernard's School

P.O. Box 604, St. Bernard's Road, Gladstone, NJ 07934  |  908-234-1611
Gill St. Bernard’s is a private, coeducational day school for students age three through grade 12, located in suburban New Jersey. Each of the three school divisions provides a rigorous, meaningful, and age-appropriate curriculum, and all students benefit from the environmental learning opportunities that exist on our 208-acre campus.