Peter Orlowski

Dean of Students, Middle and High School Teacher

peterorlowskismsvt.info

Peter has been in school his whole life except for a two-year break between his baccalaureate and the ten years in his doctoral program, two years he spent surfing, sailing, and hanging out on the beach playing volleyball. All that studying did not preclude some real-world experience however; while in graduate school, Peter worked at a Wall Street law firm, wearing various hats from researcher, to programmer, to paralegal, being involved in cases as varied as airline sales, Superfund sites, and death penalty cases. He has lived in Canada, Italy, and a half-dozen US states. Much of his time in school has been spent as a teacher, and in this time he has taught a wide variety of subjects, including Geography, History, Latin, Greek, Geometry, Algebra, Calculus, Logic, Philosophy, Theology, Psychology, Earth Science, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology… though his dream is someday to teach Literature. Though topics have varied, his approach is always the same: to be a student along with his students, leading with Socratic questions and exercises, teaching students by example how to think, not what to think. He has used this classical pedagogy with a great variety of students in a variety of places: a seminary, a public school, a community college, an independent private school, and for the past three years, here at St. Michael School.

When asked what brought Peter to St. Michael, he answers with a smile: “Audacious hope.” Steve Duchaney first pitched the idea to him three years before – the vision of a world-class school in an everyman’s town. Why should the best education be reserved for the elite? “Excelsior,” his how Steve put it. And why not resurrect the idea of a parish high school? At the time, Peter was busy working on the founding of another classical high school but he made a visit to Brattleboro to meet the team. Peter was impressed with the initial movements and over the next three years, he and Steve kept in touch and traded war stories. Eventually, Peter decided it was time to move on, so he took a second look at St. Michael to see what was happening, and that convinced him that this team was serious about “Excelsior”. Peter signed on that summer. After two years later in the job, Peter entered Mrs. Beam’s office. Where to from here? “We go big or go home” is how she put it. She was serious about that, and as a result St. Michael School just keeps getting better.

Audacious hope: the conviction that from the smallest of us to the biggest, we are made for greatness, but we were not made in vain; therefore, greatness is achievable. Daring, yes, but at St. Michael School, this optimism is no platitude for it is backed up by Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, an authentic classical liberal arts curriculum, solid moral and cultural supports, a tenacious team of dedicated educators, and a community of families that believe education matters. When asked where St. Michael will be in three more years, Peter laughs, “I cannot wait to see!”