Gabrielle Cummins
English teacher in middle and high school
After falling in love with France and its culture as a child, Gabrielle promised herself that she would return to live there. A decade later, she seized the opportunity to study in Paris and obtained her Bachelor's degree in comparative literature and philosophy.
Afterwards, Gabrielle returned to the United States to pursue a master's degree in creative writing in Boston, Massachusetts, during which time she began teaching writing and literature classes to high school and undergraduate students. Based on this experience, she decided to return to her hometown of Los Angeles to pursue a career in teaching, where she earned a certification from the state of California and a second master's degree in education from Antioch University. Most recently, Gabrielle taught at a private, progressive, Dewey-based elementary school in Los Angeles between 2017 and 2018. She focused on observation, and the development of exciting thematic lessons focused on students and their learning. These methods allow students the freedom to ask questions, explore, and direct their educational experiences with their appetites in mind. During her experiences as a teacher and in the research for her dissertation, Gabrielle focused on critical pedagogy, philosophy, and psychology. She has studied the origins of existentialism in progressive education and in particular how to enable students to better understand and assert freedom in school, while remaining responsible members of a community. This innate tension between the individual and the group and how it plays out is an important dynamic that she is passionate about.
She recently returned to Paris and is really excited to join the team at La Lab School. She finds the environment perfectly suited to continue her work with children.