Loch Gallagher
Fourth Grade Math & Science Teacher, Lower School STEM coordinator
A native Vermonter, Loch went to high school at St. Mark’s School in Massachusetts, attended the Claremont Colleges in California, and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in history. He earned a master’s degree in education with a focus on STEM from the University of Cincinnati. He began his career at a large public school in inner-city Los Angeles, then moved to Carlthorp School in Santa Monica where he taught science and launched an innovation lab program. Loch also led experiential education opportunities for students at Carlthorp, including trips to Costa Rica and Washington, DC. and a service learning program. Father of two Aspen Country Day School students, Loch joined the faculty in August 2020.
What brought you to this school?
My wife Emily and I had been living in Los Angeles and decided to spend a year living abroad and homeschooling our children. When COVID hit, we had been traveling for eight months — across the U.S. for five weeks, showing our two daughters this country before going overseas — then Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand. We were headed to Europe for another four to six months, but then suddenly had to get home to the states when everything started shutting down. We flew across the international dateline on March 17, so we had two St. Patrick’s Days in 2020.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An explorer. I still do.
A teacher who influenced you?
I had a wonderful teacher in Kindergarten and First Grade. Her name was Mrs. Happy. Really. She had a wonderful laugh that I still remember. Also, I lived in New York City in Seventh Grade when my parents were getting divorced, and I had an amazing teacher named Mr. Imbelli. This was at St. David’s School. I recently had dinner with him and it was important for me, as a grown man, to be able to look him in the eye and say “thank you for recognizing that I was having a hard time and for looking out for me.”
A challenge that you see this school helping to address?
My hope is that Aspen Country Day helps develop critical thinkers because the amount of information being thrown at us these days is astounding, and kids need to be able to filter and make sense of it. It is so important for people to think on their feet and to compare what they hear with their own knowledge and direct sources. Also, ACDS has a unique opportunity to plant the seeds of environmental stewardship in our students. Along with outdoor ed skills, students can learn the individual and collective responsibility we all share to ensure the preservation of incredible natural spaces, both locally and globally. That is so important!
Favorite place on campus
The greenspace in front of the Castle Creek building.
Something surprising about Aspen Country Day School?
All the doughnuts!