Report Card - Profile of Dr. Brenda Friedler

“Throughout my career, I have felt honored and grateful to work for the Greenwich Public Schools, and to be a part of this wonderful community that has given me so much.”

Dr. Brenda Friedler, who has been called the “essence of ” by Greenwich High School Headmaster Chris Winters, truly believes that she is the beneficiary. In one way she is - the Class of 2011 has chosen the Education veteran as the commencement speaker for the June 20 graduation ceremony.

According to Dan Silkman, Greenwich High School senior and president of the Class of 2011, "Dr. Friedler is a Greenwich Public Schools gem. She has touched the lives of thousands of Greenwich teens, teachers, parents, and staff during her 38-year tenure as a teacher and guidance counselor, and she is committed to seeing all of her students succeed.”

The 2011 class felt that it would be not only appropo, but symbolic to “share (their) graduation with her.” Silkman explains “Dr. Friedler is retiring this year, we thank her for all that she has done for our town …” Silman added, “there is no one who better understands what it means to be a member of the Greenwich High School community than Dr. Brenda Friedler."

In response, a humbled and honored Friedler states: “Everyday, when I walk into the student center, I am struck by the sense that it has a pulse of its own; that it is filled with life; it is rejuvenating. The students are a daily inspiration to me. It is overwhelming to think that the students of this class have selected me as their commencement speaker. I am honored and overjoyed.”

So, what is it about Friedler that makes her as Winters describes “intellectually proud, emotionally adept and socially conscious. She is the consummate professional, the devoted educator, the ultimate caretaker, and the shepherd who has steered thousands of young men and women toward healthy and happy lives?"

Friedler began teaching in 1970 as an English teacher in Ontario, Canada. After her  three years as a teacher, she returned to the United States and in 1973 began teaching with the Greenwich Public Schools at . In 1980, after having received her Master's in Counselor Education, she became a guidance counselor at Western and then moved to Greenwich High School in 1985.  And that is where Friedler truly found her niche.

First Selectman Peter Tesei, a former student of Friedler’s himself, states that she is “an educator who makes every student she teaches feel special.  She has guided thousands of students to a bright future.”

She is the kind of guidance counselor that one pictures in your mind’s eye when faced with the challenges of high school and then selecting one's next step in life; genuine, compassionate, effective and truthful. But most of all she is so endearing that in fact past students and parents continue to revisit Friedler long after they have exited the GHS glass corridor as alumni. Some simply label her a “life coach.”

Sarah J. York , a college freshman and 2010 Greenwich High School graduate, reflected that “When I look back on my four years at GHS and all the people who helped me, the one person who sticks out in my mind is Dr. Friedler.” The epitome of a people person. “She is genuinely happy to see anyone who walks in her office, is always willing to answer anyone's questions.” York said Friedler  “has given me some of the best advice I have ever received. From helping me adjust freshman year to saying our farewells at graduation she was there for me, and her other students, 110 percent.”

And York is 110 percent right! Friedler serves on the Pupil Review Team (PRT) where she meets weekly with the housemaster, psychologist, social worker, resource room teachers and fellow guidance counselors in a forum designed to address the needs of individual students that may be in need of support. Friedler describes this process as a “powerful” forum for connecting with colleagues in support of students and she has “seen it make the difference in the lives of hundreds of students.”

Along with the students – present and past – Friedler is passionate about the Guidance Department at GHS. She describes the department and her colleagues as “absolutely student-centered,” and as individuals that “care deeply” and that have “developed a college and career planning and application process that is exemplary, the lynchpin of which is the Becky Stone College and Career Center.”

Friedler has been a champion for Greenwich Public Schools and Greenwich High School for decades and will leave a profound impact on many in our community. Selectman Drew Marzullo, also a past student of Friedler’s, said it best: “When your path crosses with Brenda, you walk away a better person.”