Tim Foster, Kimberton Farms School Class of 1983
As I get older, I find myself thinking more and more about that for which I am grateful. While I was only at Kimberton for grades 6 through 9, the experience changed my life. It cultivated my love of the natural world, my curiosity, my sense of self and place, and my feelings about the power of community and shared traditions. I believe educational experiences are defined by the people who surround you, and in the case of KFS, I was spoiled by the people who were my classmates and those who were my teachers within and beyond the classroom.
At the center of it all, really the curator of our educations, was Miss (then) Deborah Miller. She was extraordinary. She had such high standards and yet she met each of us where we were. And given who we were and where we were, this was no small feat! I will forever remember turning in my first main lesson book, and Miss Miller telling me that I would need to do it again. A DO-OVER?!? This, coupled with a big dose of encouragement along the way, was the impetus for me wanting to do my best work—in the classroom and then in my places of work and even in my own vegetable garden in Maine (with a big assist from the lessons of Mr. Eberle). The shared community values and the many teachers who took a personal interest in me made me want to be my best self.
When I was in elementary school in New York, I dropped a building block on a classmate’s head. My teacher told my mother I would never go to college. Kimberton changed all that for me, and I am forever grateful.
