Meet Sandi Crozier, Elementary Librarian

In the mid-1990s when Sandi Crozier and her husband were looking at independent schools for their daughter, they toured many but only applied to one.

“That’s because I could visualize my child at Wildwood. I could imagine it. There was no ‘just in case’ option for us,” Sandi says.

What Sandi couldn’t have known at the time was that Wildwood would become her school, too. In 1998, Sandi was hired as an associate to assist the Director of Development. More often than not, however, she found herself running into the hallway to help young students pick up dropped book bags and tie loose shoelaces, and soon realized her desire to interact more with children.

Wildwood students are inquisitive information seekers who know how to own both their strengths and their stretches. They don’t want information handed to them; rather, they want to learn how to find the information and become part of the search.  - Sandi Crozier, ELEMENTARY LIBRARIAN

Her teaching career was born four years later, as an associate teacher for 3rd grade. Eventually, she became an associate teacher for 5th grade language arts and then the lead teacher for 5th grade language arts, a position she held for 12 years, before returning as 3rd grade lead teacher.

For the 2022-2023 school year, Sandi adds yet another title to her extensive Wildwood resume —that of Elementary Librarian—a natural fit for this voracious reader.

“I’m an avid reader,” says Sandi. “I read a lot of elementary-level books, partly so I can recommend them to my students, but also because I really enjoy good writing for younger people. When I taught 5th grade, I usually had one student every year who stayed toe-to-toe with me, reading-wise. We would talk books, and the student was always ready for my next recommendation. So much fun!”

After so many years and positions at Wildwood, Sandi feels that no matter where she is on campus or what role she is taking on, she is always among friends.

“I love how the teaching community at Wildwood becomes part of your family,” Sandi says. “We’re not just colleagues. We all have our hearts in what we do and know one another very well.”

As the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Curriculum Coordinator, Sandi engages with K-12 faculty on implementing Wildwood’s DEIB Scope and Sequence into the classroom. It’s a role she approaches with humility and a beginner’s mind.

“Wildwood’s DEIB work is so important and meaningful to me,” says Sandi. “I feel like I grew up here doing that work. It has helped me be a better adult and a better human. I started learning it right from the beginning, because inclusiveness and seeing things from multiple perspectives has always been part of Wildwood’s promise.”

Sandi believes that Wildwood students are inquisitive information seekers who know how to own both their strengths and their stretches. They don’t want information handed to them; rather, they want to learn how to find the information and become part of the search.

“My job is to give my students ample opportunity to find things out for themselves,” says Sandi. “I want to help them strengthen their observational skills and notice nuances in both situations and people.”