About
Employee Directory
AJ Blandford
- History Faculty
- 718-836-9800
- Dyker Heights
- Upper School
“I love helping every student forge their own connections with the past and recognizing that they, too, are historical actors. Students can write better futures when they have the tools to understand the histories they carry within them.”
In 2019, Poly Prep welcomed our new Grades 9 and 10 history teacher, AJ Blandford, to the Upper School. Originally from Aurora, Colorado, AJ spent her senior year of high school in Berlin before going on to study art, art history, and architecture at Barnard College. After college, AJ worked in construction as a designer and builder in New York City, discovering the history of the city through its buildings and architecture. After her work in construction, AJ’s passion for teaching and learning led her to a doctoral program in history at Rutgers University, where she taught history classes and a writing course for first-year college students. AJ continues her research with an interest in women’s roles in communicating scientific ideas. Always eager to learn, after a recent trip to Thailand, AJ investigated how to make a local delicacy, coconut soup—she says it is delicious!
History