Ms. Norris

bnorris's picture
bnorris@ccscambridge.org
Phone: (617) 354-0047 x103
  • BA, University of Arizona
  • MS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • EdM, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Becki Norris was teaching college courses and serving as a volunteer high school tutor when she had an epiphany of sorts.

“I loved the 'light bulb moment' when I would see that a student had gained understanding of a difficult concept,” Ms. Norris says. “As I continued in graduate school, I realized that becoming a college professor would not allow me to be in the classroom as much as I wanted. So I decided to teach full-time.”

A founding faculty member at CCSC, Ms. Norris was appointed Lower School Principal in 2011.

“In my teaching career, I loved to take students who thought they were bad at math and science and help them to realize what great scholars they could be,” she says. “As a principal, I get to see the same transformations as students learn what will make them good citizens of our school and their broader communities. It’s the most rewarding job in the world.”

Ms. Norris, who holds masters' degrees from MIT and Harvard University, also has an undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona.

“My favorite teacher was Mr. Wilkey, my junior year physics teacher,” says Ms. Norris, who grew up in Yuma, Arizona. “He had the highest expectations of any teacher I’d ever met. He was so excited when he saw students understanding the difficult topics of physics. His excitement made students want to do well. He never talked down to us; rather, he taught us vocabulary (general “big word” vocabulary, not just physics terms) so that we could communicate as educated adults.”

She says Mr. Wilkey even allowed her to help teach his physics class during her senior year of school. “He had me reading Stephen Hawking and learning about special relativity and physics with calculus in a low-funded school that had no Physics AP class.”

Ms. Norris says she tries to inspire and encourage CCSC students in much the same way.

“Every student can be a scholar, but most don’t know how,” she says.“The job of every staff member at CCSC is to help each student find the key to unlock the scholar within.”