About Ms. Hale

My name is Laura Hale and I’m excited to be a new member of the Leigh community for the 2025-2026 school year teaching 3-D Design 1. Over the course of my career, I have served both public and independent schools in a variety of roles: general educator, visual arts educator, school board member, development committee member, program coordinator, and Dean of Students. I have taught the youngest learners to those just beginning their college years. These experiences have deepened my understanding of organizational complexity and enriched my perspective on the most effective approaches to academic and social-emotional learning.

I graduated with a B.F.A in Painting and Drawing with a minor concentration in Sculpture from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California the same year the movie Titanic was released. After a handful of years in the classroom as an art specialist in the Mountain View Whisman School District, I earned my K-12 Multi-Subject teaching credential through the Cal State TEACH program. I returned to graduate school in New York earning a Masters of Art Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University and finally a Single-Subject teaching credential in Art a decade later. Along the way I have had the good fortune to be trained in Understanding By Design [UbD] by Grant Wiggins, awarded AP Studio Art certification from the College Board, have earned conflict mediation expertise from Services that Encourage Effective Dialogue and Solutions [SEEDS], Berkeley, and have trained in restorative discipline with Ron and Roxanne Claassen of Discipline that Restores.

I’m from the Bay Area, a third generation German-American, have one whipsmart college-aged daughter, two enormous house cats and love to learn. While I bring a big personality into the classroom, I am a quiet homebody at heart. I complete Wordle, Connections, Strands and the Mini crossword puzzle from the New York Times, in that order, each morning before my day officially begins. 

Educators who have made the greatest impact on me are those who connected on a personal level. I will always remember my twelfth-grade Humanities teacher, Mrs. Cheatham. After I had performed poorly on a test about architectural antiquities, she invited me to sit with her during a passing period. In a conversation as relaxed as sharing coffee, she asked me to talk about the material. To my surprise, I was able to articulate much more than the test had revealed. Her empathy and belief in my potential left a lasting impression. Her commitment shaped the kind of educator and leader I strive to be.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle