Jennifer Cohen - Vermont Commons School Skip to main content

Jennifer Cohen

English Instructor - Appointed 2004

Graduate Degrees

  • M.A. in Theology, Harvard
  • Master’s in Teaching English, University of Washington

Undergraduate Degree

  • B.A. in English and Theology, University of Notre Dame

Activities in College

  • Officer in Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns
  • Neighborhood tutoring volunteer
  • Singer in Harvard’s gospel choir
  • Participant in semester in Mexico

Honors and Awards

  • Graduated Magna Cum Laude

Best VCS Moment

Attending Morning Meeting. I love seeing all of the students together and watching them share their talents with the community.

Inspirational Quote

“There is beauty in the pathless woods…” —Lord Byron

Hobbies and Interests

Staying connected with my kids, walking with friends and my dog, reading, cross country skiing, biking, cooking

Brief Biography

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended an independent all-girls prep school from 5th grade until high school graduation. After earning a B.A. from Notre Dame, I lived in Puerto Rico for a year and taught first grade in a poor mountain village. I was then ready for a big city and moved to Seattle where I taught English at Seattle Preparatory High School. Later, I returned to the East to attend Harvard Divinity School and to find Jonathan, who was in his last year of medical residency. We married and moved to Seattle where I received my Master’s in Teaching English. After teaching at the University of Washington, the International School of Minnesota, and Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, I found myself back in Burlington where we have raised our three children.  They are grown now and have moved away, but we continue to love living in Burlington, close to the mountains and lake.

Scholarship. Community. Global Responsibility.

Students emerge from their time at Vermont Commons School intrinsically motivated to seek out their role for improving the world, with the skills and competencies to do so.