Winchester Thurston’s North Hills campus director is up for challenge

A newsmaker you should know

Laurie Vennes said she was born to be a teacher.

“I can’t remember ever not wanting to be a teacher. I would always play school. I’d come home from school, regrade my papers and line up my stuffed animals, and play school with them,” she said.

Mrs. Vennes may be right, teaching may be in her genes. Her father, Edgar Sagan, is the former dean of the School of Education at the University of Kentucky, where Mrs. Vennes received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

“When I received my degree, my dad had retired the year before, and when the dean went to hand me my diploma, he stepped back and my dad stepped up and handed it to me. That was something I will never forget,” she said.

In her new office, she has a photo of herself when she was in second grade with a chalkboard she received as a gift.

Mrs. Vennes is the new director of the North Hills campus of Winchester Thurston School in Hampton, a private co-educational school for about 90 children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Although she loves the classroom, Mrs. Vennes had just completed her master’s degree in December and was looking for a new challenge. After making the decision to move into administration, Mrs. Vennes said the next big decision was to look for a job outside of her home state of Kentucky.

“That was a big step for us, but there were only two independent schools in the area and they weren’t hiring,” she said of Lexington, Ky., where she lived with her husband, Will, and two sons.

After learning of the job at Winchester Thurston, Mrs. Vennes said she checked out the website and liked what she saw.

“This campus is a little slice of heaven. I am very big on environmental issues, and the outdoor classroom and space on this campus just fit my own philosophy,” she said.

Mrs. Vennes relocated to Pittsburgh July 1 and started her new job seven days later. She welcomed each of her students to campus with a handshake for the start of the school year.

“We have a tradition where we shake the students’ hands each morning as they arrive. I told them if I don’t address them by name, they need to remind me who they are. This morning [last Thursday], I had 5 for 5 with my first few students, so I am getting there,” she said.

In addition to getting to know her students and faculty, Mrs. Vennes and her family are getting to know the North Hills and Pittsburgh.

“We actually went to our first Steelers game this past weekend, and right after we moved all four of us went to the Jimmy Buffett concert. We never would have been able to see a Jimmy Buffett concert in Lexington,” she said.

Driving directions and some of the steep hills have taken a bit of getting used to, said Mrs. Vennes, but she loves her new home in Butler County.

“We have all the advantages of the city, but we don’t have to live in the big city. We really love it,” she said.

She is also looking forward to working with the faculty and students in utilizing their outdoor space and working on some joint programming ventures with the Winchester Thurston School in Shadyside.

“The faculty is so dedicated here. I’m just so very happy to be here,” she said.