meet mary koles.

Mary serves as academic coordinator for SpiderSmart Learning Center of Bethesda, where she feels lucky to do everything she loves—teach, plan curricula, and see all of her amazing students and parents every week! She is finishing her Masters of Fine Arts in fiction and poetry at American University, where incredible mentorship led her to win the Gerald Stern Poetry Prize. With a dual degree in English and Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University, she taught Junior Honors English at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, where she also served as ESL director for grades 9-12 and freshman basketball coach. After moving to Philadelphia and becoming the grateful recipient of a UPENN Fellowship for ESL Educators, she taught Freshman and Sophomore English at Franklin Learning Center, a blue ribbon public high school. After teaching abroad in Seoul, Mary returned to the DC area to collaborate with owner Jeannie Jung to create what is now the Bethesda center. Mary can think of nothing more inspiring than SpiderSmart’s educational ethos and any time spent with her inimitable friends and family.