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HomeNewsArchivesKAYE KNOEPFEL STEPPING DOWN AT ANTILLES

KAYE KNOEPFEL STEPPING DOWN AT ANTILLES

June 8, 2001 – Antilles School will lose a long-standing and much-admired faculty member and administrator when Kaye Knoepfel retires at the end of this school year after 21 years of service.
Knoepfel, who is head of the middle and upper schools, "is the heart and soul of the school," Antilles headmaster Mark Marin said. "Kaye and I see eye-to-eye with regard to education," he added, "and we both believe that children must be raised with solid values — to be honest, caring and tolerant."
Working together for 20 years, Marin said, the two have developed an "almost unspoken sense of communication."
Before moving to the Virgin Islands with her husband, Richard, Knoepfel ran a cooperative nursery school and worked in a program for juveniles in need of supervision. She began her career at Antilles teaching first grade and eventually became dean of the faculty at the private school before assuming her current position.
As head of the middle and upper schools, Knoepfel has had wide-ranging responsibilities. She started the student community service outreach program. She has been adviser and college counselor to many of the seniors and moderated the senior class and several clubs. "She has been integral in maintaining the spirit and morale of the staff," too, Marin said.
And now, it's going to take two people to take her place. According to Marin, enrollment has nearly doubled during her tenure, and the increase in both students and school facilities justifies a sharing of responsibilities. Jay Buckley, a former Antilles science teacher, will become the new head of the middle and upper schools, and Mike Harrigan, also a science teacher, will become the assistant head.
Knoepfel's contributions have been recognized in two ways at the school: First, an Antilles tuition scholarship has been created in her honor, with the school committed to matching outside contributions. (The scholarship fund endowment already exceeds $25,000, thanks to donations by faculty, staff, parents, trustees and alumni and the school matching money). Second, the entryway to the middle and upper schools has been named for her.
Although St. Thomas will remain their home, Knoepfel and her husband plan to spend more time at their second home, in Vermont. "This will be the first time we'll see the leaves in 20 years," she said. She also plans to spend more time expanding her local business, Nannies in Paradise, which provides babysitting services to residents and visiting families.
She'll still be contributing her efforts on behalf of Antilles, too — helping the school through the re-accreditation process, which requires a yearlong self-study.

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