Kate Youngdahl-Stauss, Granville, came to teaching later in life. She called it her second career following a career in film and TV. She is still writing documentary films, some of which have aired on PBS, and plans to continue her work in the film industry following her retirement from teaching English at Harwood Union High School. Youngdhal-Stauss holds a BA from Trinity College, an MA from Middlebury College, and is finishing up her Master of Letters at the Breadloaf School of English in Middlebury. She has taught at Harwood for the past eight years after teaching at Whitcomb Junior/Senior High School in Bethel and a couple of long-term substitute jobs, including at Harwood.
The National Honor Society advisor at Harwood, Youngdahl-Stauss is perhaps best known for her work facilitating the Harkness leadership class at the school, which has received national attention and even a Silver Magna Award from the National School Boards Association. Youngdahl-Stauss, along with Kathy Cadwell, has helped pioneer the use of the Harkness pedagogy at Harwood, which encourages student-led inquiry and dialogue.
“Harkness is a constructivist pedagogy that gives them the tools to help each other unpack” a text or other topic of discussion. “It’s the privilege of seeing our young people develop their own voice. It’s watching the growth of a student thinking they can never read Shakespeare having that lightbulb moment,” she said. “I’m very proud of the work of the Harkness leadership class,” which is an elective comprised mostly of sophomores. “It’s a great model of teaching,” Youngdahl-Stauss said. “It gives them more agency in learning.” She said she always has a student co-teacher while she helps frame the conversation and chooses the text to explore. “These kids are really digging deep by themselves, talking to each other. They do that with Hamlet and Faulkner” and other complex texts. “That is very exciting,” she said.
“I love discussing literature with students. Even reluctant readers can get there with the right support. They enjoy seeing themselves and new worlds in literature. It’s a great joy to read with young adults.” She said she also enjoys working with older students on college essays.
Youngdahl-Stauss also said the Socrates Café, where students and community members engage over a question using the Harkness model, has been a highlight of her time at Harwood. The Socrates Café returned to Harwood in December after a hiatus during COVID, and most recently held a discussion in May.
“Teaching AP Lit is an endless joy for me,” she said. “I’ve had many years of really wonderful groups of students I’ve seen grow.” She also enjoys teaching American Lit to sophomores. “I like being in the classroom with kids. Harwood is an excellent high school. It has highly professional staff who are well-educated, really qualified.” Her own kids graduated from Harwood in 2008 and 2010. She noted the spirit of the school is unique. “I think it’s marvelous,” she said.
Youngdahl-Stauss will be working on a film this summer as part of her Master of Letters degree.
