"I deeply value the devotion of my teaching colleagues, the excellent students, involved Parents Association, and the strong sense of community we enjoy at Middleburg Academy.”
- Jean Guergai

Titles: Chair of the Foreign Language Department; Freshman Class Advisor: Co-moderator of Performing Arts Boosters Club
Department: Foreign Language

Courses Taught:     
Spanish 2
Spanish 3
Spanish 4
AP Spanish Language

Academic Degrees: BA, Sweet Briar College

To contact: jguergai@middleburgacademy.org


Jean Guergai is known as a very challenging teacher, but as senior and student ambassador Lucy Edwards recently told a group of prospective students, “You will, I guarantee, be able to really speak Spanish when you have come through Mrs. Guergai’s classes, and she will do everything possible to help you succeed as long as you are willing to do the work that is asked of you.” Mrs. Geurgai has many methods to help her language scholars advance: from tried and true flashcards to a greater use of technology and online resources in nearly every class.  She has also been known to capture her students’ attention by singing and by drawing upon an array of visual props to aid their vocabulary acquisition.

Now in her tenth year of teaching at Middleburg Academy, Mrs. Geurgai actually began her undergraduate studies as a mathematics/physics major.  But a year abroad at the Universidad de Sevilla, plus solo expeditions throughout Portugal, Spain and Morocco, led her to recalibrate her own compass as she fell in love with the language and the culture.  In addition to her fluency in Spanish, Jean Guergai is proficient in conversational French and Arabic, and enjoys the study of Latin.  Her love of language also translates to the stage, where she also enjoys acting, directing, and public speaking.  She has even performed in past Middleburg Academy productions of “FAME” and “Beauty and the Beast.”  In her spare time, this native Washingtonian enjoys reading, learning languages, travel, swimming, and “being with my family and being a mom.”