Sven Carlsson

Mr. Sven Carlsson is the current Middle and Upper School Director of Curriculum and Instruction and a former Upper School math teacher. This means that he manages and creates curriculum for the Middle and Upper Schools. One of the most important factors of his job is being able to communicate with other teachers and adults. Mr. Carlsson enjoys finding challenges in everything and the excitement that comes with that.

"My job isn’t to design curriculum for other people to use, but to partner with them instead, to have conversations with teachers about how they’re teaching. ... As Director of Studies, I try to give back more than I take, and I’ve found incredible warmth and openness from my adult colleagues.”

He grew up in New Jersey in a town called Chester, and has an enriching family life. He went to a prestigious college prep school, and later attended Harvard and Columbia. His father is the person who got him into math. They exchange math problems for fun and to show love to each other. Outside of school, Mr. Carlsson does martial arts. He currently practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxes, and he used to do Taekwondo and Karate. Mr. Carlsson also speaks five different languages: English, Swedish, German, French and Japanese. At home, he enjoys playing with his rabbits Chewbacca (Chewie), who likes to chew people's pants, and Rampage. Mr. Carlsson likes playing video games such as Assassin’s Creed. Additionally, Mr. Carlsson loves “couch time,” which is watching TV or talking with his wife, Sue. He says that he loves spending time with his family, but wants to spend more time with Sue. She and Mr. Carlsson have joked about opening a Taco Bell franchise together because they love Taco Bell.

In college, Mr. Carlsson worked as an SAT tutor. He has always taught math. He used to tutor in the summers for eight hours a day. Mr. Carlsson thought he was going to go work at the State Department, but changed his goal to being a math teacher after doing so much tutoring. He taught in a classroom for 14 years as a math teacher before becoming the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. When he was younger, Mr. Carlsson thought he would be a diplomat. He was an East Asian Studies major at Harvard.

When he first got the offer for the job he has now, Mr. Carlsson says, he was hesitant about doing it, but his friend said that it would fit him perfectly. He was worried that he would not meet the expectations of the job, but his colleagues believed in him and kept encouraging him to do it. He now has the job and enjoys it very much. As a former Upper School math teacher, he naturally likes the school’s strength in STEM fields. Being a former Upper School math teacher gives him the ability to discover ways to help people find what is important to them.

Mr. Carlsson's favorite part of his job is that he has so much flexibility and can go where he wants to watch how different kids grow and develop as students. He says that every time he walks into a classroom, he learns something new, like a student does. For example, he might go into a twelfth grade French class to observe, and then might go to a seventh grade math class, and so he ends up learning a lot. Mr. Carlsson says he has a different relationship with teachers in the Upper and Middle Schools. Since he used to be a math teacher in the Upper School, Mr. Carlsson already knows the Upper School teachers particularly well. He has been surprised by how kind and warm the Middle School teachers have been to him, since he had not worked with them before. He says that he loves the curiosity, passion, and humor of the Middle School, but thinks the Upper School is amazing too.

"Because we’re a progressive school that’s a fluid experience, [going from Middle to Upper School] shouldn’t feel like an awkward teleport to a different experience; it should feel like a continuum, like one story that gets told over seven years."

Mr. Carlsson said that technology affects his job positively, like how the iPads are a great tool for the student’s school work. He gets to school at 7:15 in the morning, and will usually leave between 5:00-7:00 in the evening. He added that because he isn’t a teacher anymore, he doesn’t have to come to school really early to find parking because he doesn’t have an 8:10 am class every day. One of Mr. Carlsson’s biggest worries about his job is that he would take more than he gives to the community. He is always conscious of this balance. His wife Sue always gives more than she takes in life, he said, so he wants to follow this good example. This is a good message to keep in mind as we go about our everyday lives.

It was a joy to get to interview Mr. Carlsson. He was really friendly and welcoming throughout the entire interview process. We are glad we know how much he does for the school and what an interesting person he is.