New Staff Spotlight: Ms. Burge

Gabrielle Ketchum (10-2) and Valeria Schuster (10-3)

Photo courtesy of Ms. Burge

After Ms. Mistry went on a sabbatical last year, in February, a new substitute teacher, Ms. Colleen Burge, came to Masterman to temporarily fill the vacancy. Now Ms. Burge has transitioned to teaching middle school and is here to stay. We interviewed Ms. Burge to find out more about her new experience as a 6th-grade math teacher, and her journey prior to Masterman.


Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, which is in Bucks County.


What was your favorite school subject growing up?

I liked math because no one would really bother me.  I was pretty shy, so any sort of subject where there is enough creativity where you are being vulnerable — even if writing a paper in English isn’t that deep — I didn’t feel comfortable.



What brought you to Philadelphia?

I went to Temple, and then after Temple was when I moved to New York, and I was there until COVID. I graduated from Temple in 2013, so I was [in New York] for a while. So I moved home because of COVID honestly, but I am happy to not be in New York anymore, it was too much. 


What encouraged you to start teaching?

I majored in psychology and was kind of lost I guess, with no clue what to do. There are so many directions to go in… I moved to New York, and I worked in Reality Television (my first job out of college)… and it wasn’t like all the trashy kind, it was like documentary stuff too, but it just felt useless. That’s when I started looking into social work or teaching— I was going to go into herbalism, like random stuff. I liked tutoring a lot. I started doing that for free, like volunteer work, and then I found a program where I could do my masters, and it was subsidized, so I did that in New York.


Have you taught anywhere before Masterman? If so, what grades/ subjects?

Yeah, I taught in New York for five years and I taught high school math. I moved home because of COVID, and I reconsidered if I wanted to teach because the school I had taught at was really hard. I got a sabbatical position at Friend’s Select, and I was like “oh, sweet, it’s kind of awesome,” that was my first experience with 6th and 7th grade, and then I came here.


How was your experience of teaching during the pandemic?

So from March 2020 to the end of that school year, I taught remotely, and it was rough. Kids weren’t showing up, like some kids I don’t even think had computers at home, nobody knew what was happening, and it was kind of scary, but then I didn’t teach for the full next school year.


What is one thing you hope all your students are able to learn from you?

If they read this, they’ll laugh. I hope that by the end of this year, hopefully sooner in all of my future years, I hope that it's by the end of the first week, that they learn that kindness is not a weakness. Respect nice people. But that's not really learning it from me. Also, like to believe in the best in people, and you know, how to treat people.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Burge

Do you have any pets?

Yeah, I have two cats named Cheddar and Manchego. We call them the Cheese Boys. I always say even if it’s weird—you probably shouldn’t put this in— but if I could give birth to cats, it would be them, they have orange and white fur.


Favorite Color?

I was recently thinking about this. I think it's teal right now.


Favorite Song/ Singer?

Florence and the Machine is like, my All-time Favorite.

Favorite place you’ve visited?

I like exploring everywhere. I have been to lots of cool places and love them all for different reasons, but I feel the most at home, I guess, when I visit Ireland. Even though red hair and freckles aren't that rare in America, I’m like, “Oh, everyone looks like me.”


Favorite hobby/ hidden talent?

I am an Irish dancer, I mean I guess not “am” an Irish dancer, but I was for 25 years.