Hi! My name is Judd Olshan. I grew up in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia but have spent most of my life in New England and Upstate New York. I love being outside and active in both work and play. I am a lifelong educator, most recently teaching at Syracuse University and SUNY Cortland, and earlier at Nature’s Classroom. Much of my academic achievement was inspired from encouraging my own students to challenge themselves and reach for difficult goals, academic or otherwise. My professional life has been dedicated to supporting and creating educational possibilities outside of traditional classroom settings and methodology. I’ve taught kindergarten all the way to college age students. Meeting students where they are and encouraging the use of their own interests to explore more fundamental subjects is important to me. I am empathetic to the plight of students who find themselves unable to fully participate in traditional schools, especially those neurodiverse children who have so much potential but find themselves experiencing trauma in circumstances that highlight weaknesses instead of strengths. Hampshire Country School immediately caught my attention as a school that aligns with my hope that school can be a positive part of anyone’s childhood given the right setting and teachers. A strong connection to nature, agriculture, and hands-on teaching are all aspects of educational life here that help create possibilities for successes, build good educational and social experiences, restore self confidence and trust, and bring students in from the margins. I’ve been so impressed with the community here and the location is gorgeous. Hampshire Country School is a place I want to support and help grow stronger than it already is. There is an important mission here at HCS. I'm proud to be a part of this organization and eager to work with our many partners to fulfill that mission. |
