Reed Fellowship Goes to Bridget Doherty: Teaching with Purpose and Curiosity

When Bridget Doherty walks into a classroom, gym, or meeting space at Baldwin, she brings with her a rare blend of calm confidence, intellectual curiosity, and genuine warmth. It is this combination, along with her sustained excellence and deep commitment to students, that has earned her this year’s Reed Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, Baldwin’s highest honor for faculty.

 

Created to recognize full-time teachers who demonstrate a passion for exceptional teaching across all grade levels, the Reed Fellowship celebrates educators whose impact extends far beyond their classrooms. Bridget exemplifies that mission in every sense. A seventh-grade Civics teacher, eighth-grade Financial Literacy teacher, sixth-grade Dean, middle school volleyball coach, former National Park Ranger, mentor, and colleague, Bridget is someone who “gets things done,” always thoughtfully, always with grace, and always with students at the center.

Bridget’s path to middle school education became clear early in her teaching career. While substitute teaching across lower, middle, and upper school divisions, she quickly realized where she belonged.

 

“Middle school was my place,” she reflected. “Students are old enough to consider the outside world and their place in it. They’re open-minded, willing to consider other perspectives, and optimistic.”

 

That optimism, and the energy that defines middle school, continues to inspire her. While the age group is often described as chaotic or challenging, Bridget sees possibility. “I love their enthusiasm and the way they make connections,” she said. “They get so excited when learning clicks.”

Bridget has also worked as a National Park Ranger, an experience that continues to shape her teaching philosophy. The Park Service taught her that learning is universal and curiosity has no age limit.

 

“Whether you’re exploring fossils with young children or discussing the Constitutional Convention with adults, there are opportunities to learn literally around every corner,” she said. “You just have to find the spark.”

 

That belief carries into her work at Baldwin. Each year, Bridget proudly swears in third graders as Junior National Park Rangers after their National Parks project, ensuring students have a deep appreciation for history, nature, and place — especially the historical richness of Philadelphia.

In Bridget’s Civics classroom, students are encouraged to grapple with big questions: democracy, citizenship, justice, and responsibility. She believes middle school is the perfect time for this work. “Upper school can get busy,” she explained, “and being an engaged citizen is sometimes one of the things that gets sacrificed. Middle school is where students can pause and really wrestle with complex ideas.”

 

Her goal is not only content mastery but skill-building, including in the areas of media literacy, respectful dialogue, empathy, and confidence in using one’s voice. “I hope the girls I’ve taught stay involved in their communities, challenge injustice, trust their moral compasses, and of course, I hope they vote,” she said.

 

One of Bridget’s most beloved initiatives is the Grade 7 Immigration Project, an interdisciplinary collaboration with the English department. As a capstone experience, students research immigration stories and present their learning through writing, interviews, art, and other creative forms. The project asks students to confront essential questions of identity and belonging — most notably: Who gets to be an American citizen? Through this work, students learn to see complex issues through multiple lenses, developing both empathy and critical thinking.

 

Bridget’s influence at Baldwin extends far beyond academics. As a middle school volleyball coach, she teaches teamwork, resilience, and growth. Coaching, she says, allows her to teach the “whole student” and celebrate strengths that may not always surface in the classroom.

 

As sixth-grade Dean, Wyss Interdisciplinary Institute (I2) coordinator, mentor to new faculty, and trusted thought partner across divisions, Bridget is known for her reliability and generosity. She is the colleague who quietly fills gaps, steps in for car line or coverage, supports a nervous parent, or guides a new teacher through her first parent conference. She does so humbly, never seeking recognition, and always holding herself to the highest professional standards.

 

Her interdisciplinary work shines in programs like I2, where she co-designed innovative courses such as The Art of Nature’s Patterns. In partnership with colleagues, Bridget helped students explore Fibonacci numbers in pinecones, fractals in produce, symmetry in nature, and the golden ratio through art — blending science, math, art, and outdoor exploration into a joyful, hands-on learning experience that included hiking and canoeing on the Brandywine.

Despite the many roles she holds, Bridget makes it all look effortless. Those who know her understand the truth: she dedicates enormous care, time, and attention to everything she does. Her colleagues describe her as consistently reliable, deeply approachable, calming, collaborative, and endlessly thoughtful. Students see her as someone who listens, challenges, supports, and believes in them.

 

“I have the joy of seeing our students as they move up each year,” Bridget shared, reflecting on the growth she witnesses from fifth-grade visit day to eighth-grade moving-up ceremony. Helping students understand their world, their voices, and their capacity to make change is what drives her work.

 

The Reed Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching is a fitting recognition of Bridget’s lasting and profound impact. It celebrates not only what she teaches, but how she teaches: with purpose, curiosity, humor, and an unwavering commitment to her students and colleagues.

 

As for the fellowship itself? Bridget plans to do what she loves most: learn. With museums, long walks, history, and travel calling her name, a return trip to France may be just ahead. Wherever she goes, one thing is certain: she will return with new stories, new insights, and new sparks to ignite learning at Baldwin once again.