A Well-Lit Path: A Blog from Westtown School

Whitney Suttell & Linda Rosenberg McGuire

Whitney Suttell has taught history at Westtown School since 2004. Prior to that, she taught Middle School math and science at the Monteverde Friends School in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Whitney loves working with teenagers and spent over a decade living in and running a dorm of 60 tenth and eleventh grade girls. She is currently the Ninth Grade Dean at Westtown School. Whitney has a degree in History from Mount Holyoke College and a master's degree in Organizational Psychology from Teacher's College. She and her wife have two young sons in the Lower School at Westtown.

Linda Rosenberg McGuire is the Dean of Students at Westtown School in West Chester, PA. She is a parenting coach, consultant, speaker, and avid writer, providing insight, support, and education for parents and teachers who live and work with teenagers. For the past 12 years Linda has been employed in independent school administration, working with teenagers, parents, and faculty as a program director and a dean.Linda received her BA from Bowdoin College, her MSW from the University of New England, and her Master of Organizational Leadership from Nichols College.

Recent Posts

Boarding School: The Perfect Balance

Posted by Whitney Suttell & Linda Rosenberg McGuire on May 30, 2018

In her book, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood, psychologist Lisa Damour describes the familiar and emotional process  in which teens begin to separate from their parents, assert their independence, and latch on firmly to a tribe of their peers. Damour writes, “By the end of adolescence, we expect that [teenagers] will loosen their close ties to their families and strengthen their connections with their peers.” This process, while normal and necessary for healthy adult development, can be challenging for teens and their parents alike. Providing teens with appropriate ways to assert their independence and ensuring there is a supportive safety net is essential. For some families, boarding school provides the perfect balance of independence and support.

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Topics: Raising Resilient, Healthy Teens