Meet the Teacher

                                     (Sadly, I am retiring in June of 2023. Hopefully a new A.C.E. teacher will post their biography soon!) 

                                                                        Amy Duke

I have been teaching at Ottoson Middle School for twenty-eight years. I grew up in Duxbury, MA, graduated from Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, MA and then from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Philosophy. I received my M.A.T. (Master's in the Art of Teaching) with a Social Studies concentration from Brown University. My first teaching job was at Duxbury High School. 

My husband and I originally moved to Arlington because it was an affordable place to live when my husband started graduate school. We have stayed and raised our four children here because of Arlington's wonderful sense of community.  I was home with children for some years, and when I returned to teaching I began with a part-time Arlington Elementary A.C.E. teaching position. That job led to a part-time Ottoson A.C.E. teaching position (at the time, Ottoson A.C.E. was a 1.5 position) and then I became the full-time Ottoson A.C.E. teacher in 1999. 

I am so happy that Arlington continues to support the A.C.E. program. Every year I receive notes from many of my students expressing their appreciation for the class. I strongly believe that academically-able students have "special needs" that deserve time and attention as much as the needs of any other type of student. I am grateful every day to be able to guide and learn from with my wonderful students.