This year, the Potomac community bids farewell to one of our most experienced and highly regarded teachers: Ms. Anne Nightingale, who has taught English 11, multiple senior electives, and served as an Upper School advisor since 2013. She is also the former chair of the English department. Ms. Nightingale is beloved by her students and fellow teachers for the passion and care she brings to class each day.
“Ms. Nightingale retiring is really bittersweet for me,” said Mr. Ritt, her partner on the Honors English 11 team. “She’s been a mentor and…has been very patient with me.” He will miss in particular her “experience and sense of perspective. She recognizes all of the things we talk about in a literature class about the complexity of the human experience, and puts that into practice.”
Beyond their relationship as colleagues, Mr. Ritt said that “her friendship has been really meaningful” to him. “Her willingness to drop everything and center someone else’s needs is remarkable,” he continued. “If you ask Ms. Nightingale how she’s doing, she’ll say, ‘How are you doing?’”
Anaahita Kaashyap, a senior who has had Ms. Nightingale for the past two years in both Honors English 11 and Advanced Masterpieces of British Women’s Literature, echoed this sentiment. “Ms. Nightingale is one of the sweetest teachers I’ve ever had,” Anaahita said. “She’s genuinely looking to make her students succeed and help them choose the right path…and she is the most funny and heartwarming person I’ve ever met.” She also appreciates Ms. Nightingale’s honesty as a teacher, adding that “[Ms. Nightingale] won’t fluff her comments on your essay. If it’s bad, she’ll tell you it’s bad. But she’ll work with you to make it the best it can be and make sure that you’re going to your full maximum potential.”
On a personal note, Ms. Nightingale has truly inspired a love of literature and of learning in me this year in Honors English 11. She has always pushed me to be the best I can be, holding me to my own high standards rather than letting me get away with the bare minimum. Whether it’s making herself available for an emergency Zoom editing session at 8 pm on a Saturday or stopping in the hallway to print out extra AP Literature practice, she’s always been there for me. With her unfailing support and incredible expertise, I have truly become a better reader and writer, and I have cultivated a new appreciation for the art of literature. Ms. Nightingale’s genuine passion for the works we read in class comes through in each and every lesson, and her enthusiasm is part of what inspired my interest in writing as a career.
“[Ms. Nightingale’s] influence on…probably hundreds of students at Potomac…has been profound,” said Mr. Ritt. “I think that’s really the testament to a person’s character.”
“I’m sad that she’s leaving the Potomac community,” Anaahita reflected, “but I know she’s left a great mark and impression on all those who have had her.”
Ms. Nightingale, thank you for a truly life-changing year. Your legacy in the minds and hearts of the Potomac community will rival that of Charles Dickens himself.
