This Spring, The Webb School bid a fond farewell to two long-admired members of its community, Fine Arts Faculty Janet Linton and Math Teacher Lea Anne Windham, who announced their retirement earlier this academic year after a combined 58 years of service to the School.
Recognizing Janet Linton: A Beacon of the Arts
Looking back to the year 2000, when she first joined The Webb School community as a part-time choral director, Janet Linton describes a small school with vast potential to blossom in the arts. At that time, however, little opportunity existed for the gifted musicians, thriving actors and artists who walked the School’s halls. “We had all this talent and nothing to offer these kids,” explains Linton.
That was until 2005, when Albert Cauz became head of school. “He really wanted a Fine Arts Department,” recalls Linton.
The headmaster extended an invitation to Linton to chair Webb’s inaugural Arts Department after seeing her interaction with the choir students while traveling together on the road. Leaving her teaching position at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Linton poured her heart and soul into establishing the Fine Arts program known by Webb students and alumni today. “Mrs. Linton’s legacy at Webb extends far beyond the choir room, setting the musical cue for an entire community,” says one former student, John Newman ’09.
Linton notes just how important the arts are for discovering both humanity and oneself. “It is the goal of the Fine Arts faculty to bring out the very best in our students,” says Linton. “I can’t tell you how many students have just suddenly lit up when they’ve discovered this new part of them; their enjoyment of something, their ability to learn and express themselves in a different way.”
When asked what she considers her greatest achievement, Linton notes hiring dedicated, talented faculty who helped her build such a strong program. “They’re generous with their talents and really encourage the students. That’s why we have what we have,” she says.
Looking toward strings as the best possible offering for a small school like Webb, Linton invited her former colleague, Susan Mullen, from MTSU to join her in developing the program. Together, they grew the program from seven violinists to over 80 musicians at one point, with many going on to play in all-state and mid-state orchestras as well as honors orchestras and to join community and college orchestras.
From the implementation of a more professional theatre program and the creation of a brand new piano lab to the introduction of drawing, painting and pottery classes, the arts at Webb continued to grow, eventually finding their new home in the Lundin Fine Arts Center in 2007. “The Piano Room was the shower room, the General Music Room was a locker room, and there was a swimming pool in the Ceramics Studio,” Linton describes the converted athletic facility from memory.
Despite the passage of time and changes that have occurred, Linton continues to value the meaning of “community” at Webb. A longtime organizer and contributor to the School’s annual Service of Lessons and Carols, she loves seeing her colleagues—turned friends—perform side by side with students on stage.
“It just makes my heart so happy. I don’t even need to hear them sing great because that’s not what it’s about,” she jokes while letting out one of her very contagious laughs.
“[Mrs. Linton’s] dedication and encouragement helped cultivate a lifelong love of music, performance, and bringing joy to people that I continue to enjoy and carry with me into adulthood,” says Tommy Zhuo ’19, a piano student at Webb for four years.
“Her time at Webb will be remembered for her enthusiasm, warmth, humor and genuine care for both her students and their art,” adds Newman.
Lea Anne Windham Touches Countless Lives in and Outside of the Math Classroom
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
These words, written on a poster in Lea Anne Windham’s McClurg Hall classroom, set the tone for her 32 years at The Webb School. Whether teaching typing and lower-level directional coding in the 7th and 8th Grade Computer classes she encountered at the start of her career, or focusing purely on Middle School Math, Windham challenges every student to connect abstract concepts to real-world movement and experience. “I love it when kids discover how things work. I like to point out their ‘aha’ moments,” she explains. “I hope I’ve helped them learn how to think.”
A current resident of Wartrace, Tenn., Windham—formerly of Savannah, Ga.—began her tenure living on campus in the Hefner House at Webb, enjoying afternoons and weekends in the small town of Bell Buckle, Tenn., and immersing herself in daily life as a dorm parent, teacher and coach. For Windham, it’s the Webb community’s kind, loving and supportive nature that “will always stick with me.”
“Webb was not bending to the trends of the day when I came here. The people I met were all very confident in who they were and what they believed in, but they were also warm and welcoming to everybody else,” she adds. “They were compassionate and they were kind.”
When reflecting on the relationships she’s forged with colleagues, Windham affectionately describes “A little island of people who loved to learn and read, all working together toward a [common] goal. You felt like you were part of something bigger than yourself.”
Windham relishes the opportunity to teach generations of students across families, ranging from mothers and fathers to their present-day children. She also finds it “very fulfilling” seeing several of her past advisees now teaching.
“Mrs. Windham's impact on me in the Middle School Math classroom was foundational for my successes as I entered high school, but her impact has been felt long after I graduated,” says Class of 2007 alumnus, Rhea Hyatt.
In addition to “not having to set an alarm,” reading more books, and spending time with her four kids and grandchildren, hopefully at the beach, Windham looks forward to staying connected with many of her colleagues and Webb’s alumni in retirement. Regardless of how much time has passed, “It’s like being wrapped in a big ol’ hug when you’re around them,” she says.
“I am extremely grateful to have Mrs. Windham and her family in my corner as I continue developing those connections fostered while we were all growing up in Bell Buckle,” adds Hyatt.