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Dr. Kathleen Vandiver; Lexington, MA:
 “I
think being a sixth-grade teacher is one of the most challenging
things I’ve done even as a Ph.D. because usually what an
advanced degree gets you just covers a very narrow field. And
so, one of the pleasures and challenges, actually, of teaching
sixth grade is that you have to learn a lot of background information
about all sorts of subjects. So, I’ve enjoyed a lot, learning
about astronomy and geology. And learning to know the names of
my plants. Because as a cellular immunologist, it’s really
a different world.”
School at a Glance:
William Diamond Middle School
Lexington, MA
Enrollment: 694
Average class size: 24
Ethnicity:
79% White
13% Asian
6% African American
2% Hispanic
Percentage of Students receiving free or reduced-price lunch: 4% versus
a state average of 29%
Kathleen Vandiver teaches sixth grade science at
the William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, MA, an affluent
suburb of Boston. Diamond Middle School’s 700 students
perform well above state averages on state tests, and only 4%
of them receive
a free lunch. Diamond consistently ranks among the top middle
schools in Massachusetts.
Kathleen has a Ph.D. in cellular biology and,
prior to becoming a teacher, worked on developing new instruments
in biology. All that changed when she accepted an
invitation to teach a small unit on the immune system to her son’s
fourth grade class. “I enjoyed it so much that it made me
think about teaching, which I hadn’t considered beforehand.
It was a real turning point.”
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Teacher & School
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