Dr. Binger, continuously an integral part of the Phoenix Country Day School community, is retiring after five years of teaching, mentoring, and leading. The many achievements of Dr. Binger are unknown to many, although they will forever leave a lasting impact on the students and faculty of PCDS. Everyone, including Dr. Binger herself, dreads the final goodbye before her departure to North Carolina. Her choice to leave saddens the community, although she believes it’s the right time to move on to a new chapter of her life to be with her family and serve her community with as much compassion and joy as she does at PCDS.
Dr. Binger, originally having grown up in Memphis, Tennessee, lived in Washington, DC, for 14 years before moving to Arizona to teach at PCDS. Having taught at two schools prior, she was beyond prepared. Having read the mission statement of Phoenix Country Day School, she knew it was an institution she wanted to join.
Originally teaching Biology, she soon worked her way up the ladder to the position she holds today. Unexpectedly (to her), she was soon offered the role of “Dean of Faculty,” a position new to PCDS after she proposed the idea and was nominated by Mr. Rodin, Head of School. She continued working diligently until her promotion to Head of the Upper School in 2020. Her many contributions over the course of the next five years have left an everlasting impression and impact on the students and faculty members of PCDS.
Her favorite thing about her role at PCDS is interviewing and hiring new faculty members because she enjoys “bringing people into the inner workings and circles of PCDS.” With help from the Deans of Upper School, all candidates are taken on a tour around the school for an entire day, also allowing students to meet these new candidates themselves during a short lunch meeting or in-school activity. She is proud of the united community that this addition to the hiring process has offered to PCDS, and continues to strive to find new ways with which to promote such togetherness.
In Dr. Binger’s opinion, her favorite personal contribution to the community would have to be the student travel that she has arranged. She felt it was important to the overall learning experience, and “so impactful for a student to embed themselves in community service, into the community itself, and to experience cultures that they may have never experienced otherwise.” Travel allows students to learn new cultures and curricula through an entirely different lens. She is proud of how this has enabled the school to form long-lasting relationships with outside communities and schools from all over the world. Dr. Binger hopes that, moving forward, these trips will continue to blossom and progress, allowing the students to gain more opportunities and knowledge around whatever skill or class they choose.
Dr. Binger says that her favorite thing about Phoenix Country Day School is its overall uniqueness and the value of individualism. She reflects on this, saying, “It’s the way that no one is afraid to be themselves. No one is afraid to show that they love physics or that they love calculus; no one is afraid to show that they love the saxophone or piano. No one is too cool for school.”
Moving forward into the next chapter of her life, Dr. Binger knows very much that she will miss the PCDS community and thanks them for all that they have done for her: “Leaving PCDS will be such a hard thing for me—this is such a tough choice to make, and I am leaving an entire chapter of my life to start anew.” She plans to focus much of her time on community service and volunteering, thankful for the opportunity to give back.
Wishing to leave one piece of advice for all who follow in her footsteps, Dr. Binger says, “Never underestimate the impact of little things, those small acts of kindness or just being yourself.” And, to the next Head of the Upper School, she advises, “Stand back and observe, don’t come in with an agenda before you actually know this community.”
Dr. Binger, we wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life and thank you for all that you have done for us at PCDS. Wherever you go next, we hope it appreciates you just as much as Phoenix Country Day School does. Thank you, Dr. Binger!