Paul Archer is new to the Marlborough community, teaching 9th grade English and advising the UltraViolet. He has taught both Latin and English for about 30 years, at The Hotchkiss School, The Laurel School, Crossroads School, and Dutchess Day School. Most recently, Archer taught and was the dean of the class of 2015 at Milton Academy in Massachusetts for seven years. Once his wife became the head of The John Thomas Dye School, a move to the West Coast was necessary. Archer’s passions include cycling, tennis and teaching. When Archer was young, he took a bike trip down the coast of California and absolutely loved it. He tries to find routes that he can enjoy by himself, away from the view of his students. “You just don’t want to see a middle-aged man in tights, right?” Archer remarked.
Mark Chitjian, an air quality consultant and husband of Director of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian, currently teaches chemistry and Exploring Science I as a maternity leave substitute for science instructor Khanichi Charles, who will return to the School next semester. Chitjian has been a Marlborough parent for nine years to Sydney ’14 and Ryanne ’11. Chitjian grows his own food to cook and serve to his family and enjoys hiking and backpacking. In the past, he has gone on backpacking trips up to 17 days long but now sticks to shorter hikes with his new dog Diba, named after Nelson Mandela, whose tribal name was Madiba. The Chitjians got the dog right after Mandela’s death.
Max Duncan learned about a job opening in the History Department through his fiancée, Visual Arts Instructor Chelsea Dean. Duncan, who teaches 9th grade Global Studies and Middle School debate, previously taught a class about horror films at Marlborough Summer School and worked as the head of 8th grade humanities at Crossroads School. Before teaching, Duncan worked in Philadelphia on the production of many horror films and television shows. Later, he decided it felt more natural to switch his career to teaching because he was sick of “working with fifty year- olds who behaved like fifteen year olds.” Duncan loves teaching and has been drawn to it his whole life because he is the oldest of seven kids. As the oldest child in his family, he can sew, cook, clean and change diapers. Duncan said that he can pull a piece of spaghetti through his mouth and out his nose; he couldn’t swim until five years ago when he taught himself; he is missing a front tooth (you have to look carefully), and he is from Berlin, Germany.
Paul Fang taught physics at Valley Christian High School for 12 years and has always had a passion for science. A newlywed, Fang enjoys watching basketball, playing chess, swimming and going to the movies with his wife. Fang is fascinated by the way things work. He once went skydiving with a bunch of other physics teachers, and a group of them decided to strap acceleration probes to their chests, allowing them to actually collect data points while dropping from thousands of feet in the air!
Mary Fish began her time at Marlborough last spring, teaching AP U.S. History while History and Social Sciences Department Head Mike Rindge was on paternity leave. She has since transitioned into the English Department and is teaching 7th and 8th grade English. In college, she majored in social studies education with a minor in English education. For the past eleven years, Fish has taught English and history abroad. She has taught in Japan, Kuwait, and her home country, Canada. In her spare time, Fish loves to travel, read historical fiction and nonfiction and partake in community service. A proud Canadian, Fish grew up on a farm and has participated in the butchering of chickens and has helped birth calves.
Darren Kessner began teaching at Marlborough last spring. This year, he is teaching Precalculus Honors, Geometry Honors and Computer Programming, as well as helping coach the Middle School Robotics Team and mentoring the Computer Science Club. Kessner found out about the position last year, when he contacted Mathematics Department Head Chris Talone about teaching computer programming classes. However, when a mid-year opening was available, Talone contacted him to teach precalculus while Kessner finished up his doctorate. Kessner recently finished his Ph.D. in bioinformatics at UCLA. Outside of his busy work life, Kessner loves to juggle. Whenever he meets a juggler, he asks to learn a new trick. He enjoys playing on his adult hockey team, skiing and snowboarding and doing yoga. Kessner has a daughter who currently attends Marlborough, Emma Kessner ’19.
Matt Riddle worked at the Center for Early Education as the assistant facilities manager before coming to work as the Head Facilities Manager at Marlborough this fall. According to the job description, his position eccompasses “multiple disciplines, alongside the job of ensuring functionality of the environment by integrating people, place, and process.” Even though he was not looking for a job, he came across the position and decided that he “had to go for it.” He loves that he gets to work with the facilities staff and says that they are the reason he feels comfortable here at Marlborough. Outside of Marlborough, Riddle loves “being a family man.” He has two daughters and a son. He also loves to surf and play music, and he used to be in an indie band named Wundermao. Now, Riddle sticks to playing the mandolin.
