Katie Duennebier

A Lower School Head Teacher at the Spence School, Katie has a Masters in Education in Childhood General and Special Education from Bank Street and over a decade of classroom experience teaching at the Chapin School, Brooklyn Friends School, and Waterside School. In her private practice, she has been a tutor to students in grades Pre-K – 8th for ten years, lending her expertise to academic enrichment, remediation and social-emotional wellness. Her sessions have run the gamut of Kindergarten admissions preparation to middle school History tests—and everywhere in between.

With Katie academic activities become collaborative play, not only to infuse fun into her sessions but to foster a sense of community and cooperation. She leans into emergent curriculum, inviting her students to expand and hone their skills by exploring their interests with her guidance and support. For Katie, finding a point of connection with her students isn’t just crucial in building an effective mentorship but in allowing them to feel seen and appreciated for who they are and where they stand.

Just as significantly, Katie centers her curriculum around core principles of mindfulness and the paramount importance of the mind-body connection. With her own background in meditation, she coaches students to observe and implement tools of self-awareness and become agents of their own success—whether they’re working on social studies or math or behavior management. Indeed, one of Katie's operating principles is that academic issues are seldom just about academics, but incorporate issues of agency, autonomy, and emotional self-regulation. That’s why, as a true believer in the whole-child approach, she partners with parents, teachers and counselors to co-create learning plans that are geared toward each student’s individual, highest growth.

Outside of the classroom, Katie is an avid writer, runner, crafter, and budding bonsai enthusiast. She spends most of her free time with her husband Andrew and two rambunctious cats at their home in Brooklyn, and delights in British TV mysteries, good books, and homemade ice cream.