In 2024, Upper School math teacher James King walked into a Reading Room filled with food, beverages, balloons and music. English teacher Marquita Gill collaborated with King’s colleagues in the math department to throw him a baby shower, a gesture King did not expect. 

“I don’t know why he didn’t think he was going to get a baby shower, but he was pleasantly surprised,” Gill said. “It was a great turnout, and that shows he’s very well liked across campus.”

After receiving a call from former Mathematics Department Chair Martha Childress in November 2019, King accepted a teaching job in January 2020, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. He began teaching math the following school year in the atypical environment of online learning.

“St. John’s was limited in terms of what they could do,” King said. “It was nowhere near like it is now.”

Throughout his time at the School, King has grown close to many faculty members whom he calls “family.” 

“There’s people who supported me in being here,” King said. “They gave me ideas that helped me become a better teacher and a better father.” 

Gill became friends with King when she started at the School in 2022. Early that year, King invited Gill to have lunch with him and his colleagues, an action that sparked their friendship. The two enjoy spending time together—Gill can often be found grading papers and chatting with King in his classroom. 

Gill and King took a trip to the People of Color Conference in St. Louis, Missouri in December 2023. There, they bonded over their shared Black cultural identities.

“During the school year, it was really hard to find a common time for colleagues of color to hang out together,” Gill said. “That was a really nice weekend to bond as friends or just reflect on the workshops that we attended.” 

Many of King’s most memorable moments at the School are away from the classroom. King vividly remembers playing in a teacher-student ultimate frisbee game on the Great Lawn in January 2022 and entering into a kickball league with a group of faculty in August 2022. 

King recently took part in the faculty talent show during assembly on May 5. Along with the college counseling team and some other teacher volunteers, he lip-synced lyrics rapped by the character Ahmal in a rendition of “Joyful, Joyful” in the movie Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. When Assistant Director of College Counseling Tanya Cummings and Director of Community Engagement D’Hania Hunt had asked King in advance if he would like to participate in the act, he answered with a resounding yes. 

“I grew up watching that movie, so when they asked, it was a perfect fit,” King said.

The first Black male Upper School math teacher hired by the School, King has involved himself in the Black Student Union, sponsoring the affinity group for six years.

Junior Marley Brailey met King in her freshman year as both a BSU sponsor and her geometry teacher, and they quickly became good friends. Brailey, a former student at The Imani School, says King helped her adjust to the School in her freshman year as a new student. 

“Coming from a predominantly African American school, having Mr. King teach me geometry was a support system through the transition from middle school to high school,” Brailey said.

Brailey enjoyed King’s class, and she credits her improvement in math to his interactive teaching style. 

“I really appreciate him taking the time to make sure that I understood all of the content and pushing me to grow in math,” Brailey said. 

Even two years after having his class, Brailey has maintained a relationship with King. She often joins King in his room for lunch along with Gill. 

“I make sure to go in there and check on him at least once a week,” Brailey said. “It’s nice to be able to congregate in a space of people who look like me.”

Brailey appreciates how “down to earth” King is, and how he keeps her grounded. 

“He’s very open to calling me out when I’m wrong and making sure that I’m consistently putting my best foot forward in everything that I do,” Brailey said. 

King’s motivation to teach comes from his desire to impact the academic lives of his students. 

“My favorite thing about teaching is stretching students beyond what they already know,” King said. 

After St. John’s, King will work in consulting for both The Village School and Creative Coaching Consultants, where he hopes to “figure out a way to support [his] community by changing systems that prevent our community of kids from really growing and learning.”