Name: Dr. Bancroft
Subject: Upper School English
Hometown: Houston, Texas
College: Texas A&M University (BA), University of Texas-Austin (MA), and University of Houston (PhD).
Hobbies: Writing (!), reading, running (and weight lifting), watching films, listening to music, going to art museums, cooking, traveling, seeing friends and family, spending time with his spouse and cat.
Favorite Writer (at the moment): Annie Ernaux
Dr. Bancroft is coming from The Pennington School, where he taught 10th and 11th grade English. Before that, he taught 11th and 12th graders at Mercersburg Academy. Dr. Bancroft chose Agnes Irwin because he believes, “The future is female (and, in [his] opinion, the present),” and he’s most looking forward to meeting and interacting with its students. Dr. Bancroft wants us to know that no, he has never played basketball (when you see him, you’ll understand).
Name: Mr. Bolden
Subject: Middle School English; Upper School History
Hometown: My hometown is Philadelphia, PA. I was born and raised here and am a true “city boy!”
College: Penn State (BA), Southern University (JD), Rosemont College (MA), Saint Joseph’s University (MS)
Hobbies: Travel, weight lifting, swinging kettlebells, watching movies, and house projects
Favorite Song: “It Never Rains in Southern California” by Tony! Toni! Toné!
Mr. Bolden is coming from Penn Charter to teach English and History at AIS. He has worked at Holy Child School at Rosemont in the past, and his experiences working with students who went on to attend AIS is part of the reason he chose to teach here. He was also drawn to AIS because of its “excellent reputation for rigor, its welcoming community and its respectful and kind faculty and student body”. This year, Mr. Bolden is most excited to form new relationships with the faculty, his students, and his advisees. He wants students to know: “my mantra is ‘control what you can when you can,’ and life is a blessing, so LOVE life!”
Name: Dr. Desai
Subject: Upper School Physics and Math
Hometown: Amarillo, TX.
College: University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin
Favorite animals: A tie between octopuses and whales/cetaceans. (He believes with some more time to evolve and long enough lifespans in the wild, octopuses could outsmart us. He also finds it fascinating how whales and dolphins developed when mammals returned from the land to the ocean. Whales are also incredibly emotive and communicative.)
Hobbies: Playing video games; he just finished The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which he enjoyed “thoroughly from start to finish.”
Having attended UPenn, Dr. Desai’s return to Philadelphia—a city which he loves despite its cold winters—is a return to home. Dr. Desai just defended his PhD thesis at the University of Texas at Austin in particle physics theory, and is excited to join the AIS community, as his impressions of AIS have been overwhelmingly positive. He states, “the students [he] interacted with are fantastic, the faculty and staff have all been stellar and empathetic to [him], and [he] observed that the students and the faculty and staff all develop close bonds and take active roles in guiding and helping each other.” Additionally, he appreciates how the school’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and fostering a sense of belonging aligns with his “values and philosophies on what an educational experience ought to be.” His sense is that every AIS student “will graduate as confident and strong women who can make great impacts in the world,” and now as an AIS teacher, he looks forward to having “the chance to add something to those impacts, however small.” In short, he thinks the people here are phenomenal, and is eager to learn everything he can from everyone. He is especially excited to share what he enjoys with the community and to learn about the passions of others at AIS. Lastly, he believes he has a “weird sense of humor, [so] if you have jokes, funny quips, anything mildly amusing, [he]d love to hear them.” Though he’s looking to improve his skills, he’s interested in comedy and writing. In general, he likes learning, and would love for you to “share a laugh, a story, a poem, a neat factoid, whatever!”
Name: Miss Gupta
Subject: Upper School Science
Hometown: Bethlehem, PA
College: Drexel University
Hobbies: Tennis, Volleyball, Hiking (or most anything outdoors), Audiobooks, Baking, Sewing/Quilting
Favorite Food: Nachos (Miss Gupta says, “I’m on the hunt to find the restaurants with the best nachos!”)
This is Miss Gupta’s second year teaching; she spent her first year teaching in the Columbia Borough School District, where she taught a variety of subjects from Chemistry and Ecology to Physical Science and Forensics. Miss Gupta is “excited to be a part of the collaborative and uplifting AIS community.” She was drawn to AIS because of its growth mindset culture and motivated students. She wants students to know that she is eager to hear their ideas on how she can grow as a teacher. She says, “I’m always open to suggestions for activities or discussion topics!”
Name: Ms. Hanson
Subject: Upper School English
Hometown: Lexington, Massachusetts
College: Williams College (BA), Cambridge University (MPhil)
Hobbies: Jogging, reading, hiking, meditating, writing
Favorite Sport: Ms. Hanson’s favorite sport to watch is college softball.
Ms. Hanson is coming to AIS from St. Andrew’s boarding school in Delaware. She says that “the contagious energy and curiosity of the students in the 9th grade class [she] taught during [her] campus visit” inspired her to teach at AIS. She thinks that students should know that because she had a very serious concussion a few years ago, students may not see her in busier environments like “a bustling cafeteria or a loud dance floor”. Still, Ms. Hanson loves to get out and about to go jogging, hiking with her partner, or to play with her dog Ernie. She is also learning French, but she says she is still very new at the language. Ms. Hanson can’t wait to meet the students at AIS this year. She says, “I’m looking forward to sharing my love of literature and my sense of its vital role in our world, laughing with [my students], and learning from them!”
