When Brad Whitehurst first arrived for his interview at Nightingale twenty-four years ago, he was greeted at the front desk by Mrs. Smith, who miraculously remembered his name when he returned weeks later. It was an initial spark of warmth that felt a world away from the business trade associations of Washington, D.C., where he had spent his twenties lobbying for construction subcontractors. In his gut, he had always known he wanted to teach, a conviction that solidified at age thirty when he left the corporate world behind to pursue his master’s degree in English.

Before finding his permanent home on 92nd Street, Mr. Whitehurst spent seven years honing his craft at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s, a K–8 school in New York City. While he loved his time there, a deep desire to teach at the high school level and engage with literature at its absolute highest peak eventually guided him to apply to Nightingale.

By the time he walked through the blue doors,

he had already earned his first master’s degree at Georgetown University and was actively pursuing his master of letters (M.Litt) from the renowned Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Hired by the legendary John Loughery—whom Mr. Whitehurst called “one of the biggest gifts of Nightingale”—he stepped into a community where he felt not only a profound sense of welcome, but an intellectual environment where he and his students could thrive.

Nearly a quarter of a century later, as he prepares to step away from the Schoolhouse to enjoy a well-deserved retirement, the Nightingale community is left reflecting on the monumental legacy of a master educator who quite literally helped shape the humanity of generations of students.

“English as a discipline is an expansive, overambitious discipline in a lot of ways,”

Mr. Whitehurst reflected. “You’re trying to inculcate values and skills simultaneously—reading closely, analyzing texts with perceptive insight, and speaking and writing clearly and concisely. But more broadly, I think English class is about cultivating a student’s humanity at the largest level.”

There is zero question that teaching English is Mr. Whitehurst’s absolute calling.

“It’s the pleasure of the text. It’s the pleasure of the language in reading and writing. It’s endlessly fascinating. It’s a versatile, powerful instrument that we should all learn to wield well.”

To look at the syllabus Brad Whitehurst built over twenty-four years is to see a collection of literary masterpieces treated not just as curriculum, but as living partners in the classroom. For Mr. Whitehurst, the true joy of the profession lay in finding texts with absolute staying power—and then watching his students, whom he routinely and respectfully addressed as “scholars,” encounter them for the very first time.

For Class VIII, it was the profound moral resonance of To Kill a Mockingbird, while Class IX brought the enduring brilliance of Romeo and Juliet. For Class X, it was the compact perfection of The Great Gatsby and the moving, independent growth of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. And for upperclassmen, it was the mysterious, beautiful prose of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.

“The first time I was to teach Faulkner, I thought, ‘How in the world are high school seniors going to understand this?’” Mr. Whitehurst laughed. “And I was totally unprepared for how readily they liked it. We read the weird opening chapter describing Darl walking across

a cotton field, and they were hooked. They were hooked instantly.”

That ability to open up daunting, intimidating texts and make them deeply accessible was paired with a famously calm classroom presence.

“He had such a calming presence as a teacher,” Ariana McGinn ’15 remembered. “The second he walked into the room, everyone’s pulse seemed to lower—unless, of course, he was carrying a pop quiz under his arm. I’ll always remember the passion he brought to teaching, his perfect, tiny handwriting, and the methodical care he put into planning the syllabus. By the end of eighth grade, I had a mastery of commas and sentence structure that has stayed with me throughout my life. Because he worked so hard to hammer those fundamentals into my brain, writing became instinctive enough that by tenth grade, I could break the rules with confidence.”

For many of his scholars, that perfect balance of high expectations and deep grace was transformative. Anna Tarassishina ’09 recalled joining Nightingale in Class IX and being entirely confused by a poor grade on an early English paper. After her mother pushed her to begrudgingly execute a full rewrite based on Mr. Whitehurst’s meticulous marks, she discovered something unexpected.

“To my surprise, this interaction changed our relationship, and my relationship with writing overall,” Anna shared. “He was really kind and gracious about it, and it made me want to be better moving forward. In college, I always breezed through writing essays, feeling very confident in proper essay form and etiquette. I know this was in no small part due to Mr. Whitehurst’s rigor and dedication.”

That dedication was equally felt by Zoe Sperduto ’22, who entered Class IX facing a tough adjustment to Nightingale English. “Mr. Whitehurst took time with me to help me learn proper writing conventions and how to formulate a strong paper,” she noted. The true magic happened when their paths crossed again two years later in his Modern International Literature elective. “I felt all his work with me come to life. I will never forget when he told me how much growth he had noticed in my writing since he first taught me—the comment instilled a confidence in me I had been lacking before. Since then, I have worked to improve my craft throughout college working as a writing tutor.”

Later in his Nightingale career, Mr. Whitehurst took on a new challenge, adding art history to his repertoire. For him, the leap from literature to canvas was entirely natural. “I view teaching art history as analogous to teaching English,” he says. “The text is visual, not literary, but in many ways you’re doing the same thing. You’re analyzing text, developing critical thinking skills, and writing. The content is different, but the skill set is transferable.”

That visual expertise made him an instrumental leader on the Class IX London trip, an excursion he embarked upon a record-setting thirteen times. Whether guiding students through the halls of British museums or watching them present their final Painting Project, he found a perpetual source of renewal in their eyes. “It’s like teaching Romeo and Juliet dozens of times. It’s only new because of the students. It’s refreshed each year because of the students.”

“I will never forget practicing my Painting Project presentation with him,” Zoe Sperduto ’22 added. “He will forever be an icon of Nightingale to me and every other student whose paths he has crossed.”

The profound impact of his visual arts curriculum bloomed beautifully in his advanced art history elective. For Sasha Wolf ’24, enrolling in the class as a senior was simply a leap of faith to try something different.

It ended up redefining her entire future.

“It is entirely thanks to Mr. Whitehurst that I am an art history major and am considering pursuing opportunities in the visual arts post-grad,” Sasha revealed. “Not only was the class itself one of the highlights of my Nightingale experience, but it also taught me I had a passion for studying visual art that I may never have realized. Mr. Whitehurst taught in an engaging manner, encouraging small class discussions and debates. He was knowledgeable and passionate about the artworks he taught. In my college art history courses, most of the works I recognize are thanks to the foundational art historical education he provided.”

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While his impact inside the classroom is historic, his presence as a colleague, mentor, and steady institutional anchor in the faculty work room is equally irreplaceable. English Faculty Member Laura Kirk ’94 noted that Brad was the person colleagues turned to when they needed a safe space to navigate the complexities of teaching.

“As I got to know Brad, I realized I could ask him pretty much anything—any large or small question, a question I felt shy or embarrassed about, or share a story of an off-moment in class, a misstep on my part,” Ms. Kirk shared. “Brad was always there: patient and calm. He listened attentively...Time and time again, Brad provided inspiration and steadiness, support plus room to learn and grow through trial and error. He would back me up whenever I needed him to and reassure me when I needed reassurance.”

When asked what he will miss most about his day-to-day life on 92nd Street, Mr. Whitehurst’s answers are simple and grounded: “Schmoozing with my English colleagues in the faculty office. Meeting one-on-one with struggling students, and watching them light up as they realize what they can do. Getting excited to teach a book again, because it’s new for the students.”

As for his parting advice to the next generation of educators stepping into the Schoolhouse? It is a characteristically bold and beautiful defense of the discipline he loves.

“The universal value of the humanities is timeless, and it will last,” he said. “There is nothing more important than teaching English. There are a lot of things that are just as important in this building, but nothing is more important than the teaching and learning that happens in English class. That’s an amazing gift to be able to say and believe to your core.”

Now, after twenty-four years of giving his all to Nightingale, Mr. Whitehurst is ready to embrace what he calls “the gift of time.” He looks forward to tackling his massive “to-read” pile, lingering over a second or third cup of morning coffee at home, and simply enjoying exactly where he is without rushing.

When asked if he has a final message for the generations of Nightingale students who sat in his classrooms, his response is filled with the same humility that defined his tenure:

“Thank you for giving me a fulfilling professional life.”

Thank you, Mr. Whitehurst. For all that you have given to Nightingale and all that your scholars will continue to give to the world beyond the blue doors.