Every year begins with a transition as former teachers say their goodbyes and new faculty join the ranks. This year, Madison welcomed 28 new staff members into their community.

Madison hired Megan McKnight as a librarian after the retirement of former librarian Alice Pleasants. McKnight went to high school and college in North Carolina but moved to the DMV area to attend graduate school. McKnight has been working as a librarian for 15 years, but this is her first year working with high schoolers. 

“I wanted to work at Madison because I wanted to work with Ms. Liebman,” McKnight said. “I’ve known her for a while and was ready to try something new, so I was excited to see that there was a librarian opening here last spring. The library is beautiful and I’m so lucky that I get to work here. The stairs all the way up to the third floor are going to get me in excellent shape too.” 

Along with McKnight, a new French teacher was added to the language team at Madison. Born in Germany, Silvia Baage lived there until she graduated high school, at which she moved to the United States. Baage went to McDaniel College and earned a double bachelor’s in French and Spanish. For her graduate studies, she went to the University of Maryland. Baage started teaching during grad school, but took a break from it in 2022 when she moved to Reston, Virginia.

“I am very happy to be back in the classroom now,” Baage said. “Learning a language is challenging but I want to make it interesting, interactive and fun. If we tackle this challenge as a team, we can succeed and all learn from each other.” 

Because her childhood was spent in Germany, this year was Baage’s first time being in an American high school. She came to the United States to go more in depth with her study of languages, but she ended up finding a greater connection to others through language-learning as well.

“I had heard great things about Madison but I didn’t really consider coming back to teaching until I spoke to our vice principal, Ms. Fasik,” Baage said “We met in person two days later and I knew I had found a new home at Madison. I am surrounded by colleagues who care and I noticed that from the very first day. I found many personal notes and swag colleagues had left in my classroom. Everybody has been very kind with their time to help me get set up and to help me transition.” 

Special education teacher Zoe Dyer had a close connection with Madison before she was hired this year. Having grown up in Oakton and graduating from Madison in the class of 2018, Dyer was excited to be able to work with staff who she once had as a student. 

“I fell in love working in special education while I was a registered behavior technician,” Dyer said. “I worked with little kids, ages 3-12, that are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I worked with them on communication as well as managing behaviors. I loved the teaching side to the therapy I did with the kids so I decided to move on and become a special education teacher.” 

Dyer attended Christopher Newport University, but after getting the opportunity to work at Madison, she didn’t hesitate to come back.

“The community Madison has built over the years is one you don’t normally see at other schools,” Dyer said. “The support and encouragement the student body has for each other is powerful.”