By Joan Roller
Over the course of her 30-year Tabor career, Connie Pierce has worked with French students at every level, from eager freshmen experiencing their first exposure to a foreign language to aspiring senior scholars delving into the complexities of AP French Literature. Regardless of the level, her goal has always been to encourage students to develop not only their language skills, but also their individual personalities and identities as world citizens.
One of the key components of her teaching philosophy is that classrooms should have no walls. Using this philosophy, she has helped her students grow academically and personally through trips to the opera, to the theater, to French lectures at local colleges and trips to Paris during Spring Break. Tabor’s French student exchange program also stems directly from Connie’s belief that students should learn from other students as well as from their teachers.
A world traveler herself, Connie has brought back ideas and material for her classes from time spent in Belgium, Morocco, Canada, and France. In all of her work at Tabor – from coaching on the Tabor tennis and squash courts to new faculty dinners and advisee soirees in her home – Connie has personified the ideal independent school person; her impact has been felt far and wide.
We will miss her legendary energy and the inspiration she has been to her students and colleagues for the past three decades even as we look forward to hearing of her new adventures. No doubt they will be numerous!
