The Middlesex Rumney Staff

Susan Amestoy - 5/6 Grade Teacher, 5^th year. Susan comes to Rumney after teaching a fifth and sixth grade math program at Crossett Brook Middle school in Waterbury/Duxbury. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree, Susan returned to UVM to earn a Post-Baccalaureate degree in Elementary Education. Susan lives in Waterbury Center with her husband, Jeff, and their three daughters; Katie, Christina, and Nancy. Susan worked as a fitness trainer at First in Fitness, in Berlin, and remains devoted to exercise of all kind. She particularly likes running, biking, swimming and skiing.

Chris Baron – 3/4 Grade Teacher, 3^rd year. Chris grew up on Cape Cod and attended UVM. After moving out-of-state and completing his masters at Antioch New England Graduate School, he moved back to Vermont and now lives in Richmond. Chris enjoys camping, boating, mountain biking, backcountry skiing, and walking in the woods with is wife, Heather, and two dogs, Koco and Kayla.

Margaret (Scottie) Brower – 3/4 Grade Teacher, 23^rd year. Scottie was born in Washington, Pennsylvania and grew up in Long Island and in Connecticut. She has a daughter, Caitlin, two grown stepchildren, and two grandchildren. Scottie graduated from Colby College and earned her masters degree from Bank Street College of Education. Scottie enjoys reading, traveling, working on dreams, and yoga.

Patricia Buckley - Tutor, 8^th year. Pat earned her B.A. in psychology at U. Mass Dartmouth and her teacher certification at Salem State College in Massachusetts. She moved to Vermont nine years ago. Pat's older son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter live in East Montpelier. Her younger son is a doctor in New York.

Jennifer Campbell - Art Teacher, 5^th year. Jen was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey and moved to Vermont in 1988. She earned her BFA in Fine Arts from Johnson State College and her teaching certification from the University of Vermont. Jen lives in Waterbury Center where she enjoys the surrounding mountains for hiking, running, swimming, field hockey, and both downhill and cross-country skiing. One of her goals is to take a few weeks and hike the Long Trail from end to end. Other interests include music and theater and, of course, art!

Jessica Lyle Chaplin - Special Education Tutor, 15^th year. Jessica grew up in New York and moved to Vermont in 1973 after graduating from Ithaca College. Jessica worked in special education for six years before having her first child, Tara in 1980. Kelly and Kim were born in 1983 and are twins. She enjoys reading, tennis, scuba diving, making baskets and canoeing.

Becky Crandell - Kindergarten Teacher, 1^st year. Becky was born in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, and grew up all over including Nashville, London and Denver. She received her B.A. from Metro State College in Denver, and completed her Master’s in Education at UVM. She and her family live in East Montpelier where they enjoy gardening, music, art and traveling.

Linda Emmons - 3/4 Grade Teacher, 5^th year. Linda is a local girl who graduated from both East Montpelier Elementary School and Union 32. She is also a proud graduate of Lyndon State College. Linda enjoys biking, fishing, horseback riding and spending time with her family. She lives in East Calais with her husband, Brian, and her cat ‘Grizzly’ whom she is very fond of despite the similarities between his name and his personality!

Christa Danyew – Tutor, 5^th year. Christa lives in Middlesex with her husband, Howard, and their two children, Alicia and Andrew, their two dogs, cat and dwarf rabbit. She loves to garden, read and sew.

Maribeth Domanski - 1/2 Grade Teacher, 17^th year. Maribeth graduated and completed her master’s degree from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She taught first grade for four years in New Jersey. Maribeth and her husband, O.W., have two grown children, Jesse and Marissa and both were Rumney students K-6. Her hobbies are hiking, tennis, kayaking, reading and cross-country skiing.

Katy Farber – 5/6 Teacher, 4^th year. Katy grew up in State College, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, she moved back east to teach New York City school children at an environmental education center. She then completed her Master’s of Science in Teaching in Elementary Education at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. Katy taught fifth grade at the Twinfield Union School for two years before coming to Rumney. She enjoys running, biking, hiking and skiing.

Peter Farrell – Principal, 4^th year. A native Bostonian, Peter came to Rumney from Union Elementary School in Montpelier, where he was the assistant principal for the past two years. Before that Peter and his family lived in Salem, MA where he taught for several years (and at several grade levels) at the Saltonstall School, the first year round public school in New England. Prior to that he taught in the Multiple Intelligences program at the Fuller School in Gloucester, MA. Peter lives in Montpelier with his wife Nancy, daughter Rachel and son Paul. He enjoys hiking, biking, snow shoeing, skiing and, yes, softball.

Laurie Fielder – Administrative Assistant, 4^th year. Laurie grew up in Underhill, VT, and is a graduate of UVM. She lives in Middlesex with her husband, Shaun, and two sons, Zachary and Ethan. Her interests include camping, hiking, gardening, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and knitting.

Sharon Spector Grossi — Guidance Counselor, 3^rd year. Sharon grew up in Beverly, MA and graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 1990. After living in St. Paul and Duluth, MN, she moved to Vermont to begin graduate school in counseling. She graduated with a master’s degree in counseling from UVM in 2000. Sharon is the guidance counselor at both Rumney and Calais Elementary Schools and lives with her husband, Jacob in Worcester. In addition to her love of working with children and families, she loves nature, traveling, cross-country skiing, summer music festivals, gardening, and any kind of craft she has time to learn.

Chip Hedler – Educational Technology Resource Teacher and Math Challenge Coordinator, 8^th year. Chip came to Rumney after teaching in two different Vermont one-room schools and working in environmental education. He has a Master’s degree in science and elementary education from Antioch New England Graduate School. Chip, his wife, Maria, and her two children are now located in Norwich, VT, and enjoying sailing in Maine, hiking, biking, backcountry skiing, and contra dancing.

Martha Page Israel - School Nurse, 7^th year. Martha graduated from the Claremont Colleges in California with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and has a B.S.N. (nursing) from the University of Southern Maine in Portland where she worked in the student clinic for four years. Martha was the nurse at Union Elementary School in Montpelier before coming to Rumney. She lives in East Montpelier with her children, two dogs, and two horses. In their free time they try to escape to their camp in western Maine.

Tamara Joslyn, Special Education Tutor, 6^th year. Tammy lives on Shady Rill Road in the old red schoolhouse with her husband Steve and daughter Haley. Tammy enjoys camping, playing softball, biking, sliding, Mary Tyler Moore reruns and singing.

Denise Joy – Learning Specialist, 2^nd year. Denise came to Rumney from U32, working as the Behavioral Specialist grades 7 through 12 as well as they Boys Varsity Tennis Coach. Her first career was in nursing. She then earned her Masters Degree in Education from UVM with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Emotional Behavioral Disabilities. She enjoys her family, which includes her husband, John and her three children, Patrick, Kelly and Ryan. Other interests include tennis, fishing, running and hiking.

Katie Karnas – Music Teacher, 1^st year. Katie grew up in rural New Jersey (there is such a thing!), got her undergraduate degree from Ithaca College School of Music, and has been the envy of family and friends since relocating to beautiful Vermont this summer. Katie’s primary instruments are euphonium and trombone, but she enjoys playing all of the instruments and singing fun songs, too. When not at school, you might see her biking, hiking, skiing, quilting, or taking tourist-y pictures to email home!

Woodrow LaMountain, Jr. - Custodian, 19^th year. Woodrow was born and raised in the Worcester and Montpelier area. He and his wife, Joyce, live in Calais. Woodrow enjoys playing music on many instruments (accordion mostly), raising animals and gardening.

Elaine Langdon - Special Education Tutor, 11^th year. Prior to working at Rumney School, she volunteered in her daughter's classroom, and coordinated a program for adult students at Vermont College. She lives in an old schoolhouse in Putnamville with her husband, Rich, her daughter, Maren, two Shetland Sheepdogs and 3 cats. Her interests include hiking, sailing, gardening and cross-country skiing.

Andrea Lernihan, Speech and Language Pathologist, 6^th year. Graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Speech and Language Pathology. Lives in Berlin with her husband (John), daughter (Molly) and son (Paul). Andrea enjoys traveling, reading, and playing tennis.

Andrea (Andy) Lewis, Special Education Tutor, 17^th year. Andy graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in elementary education. During her years at Rumney she has been employed as a substitute teacher, a half-time 4th grade teacher, classroom assistant and tutor. Andy lives in Middlesex with her husband. They have four children, Carrie, Jon, Kelly and Kyle. She enjoys reading, walking and spending time with family and friends.

Michaela Martin - 5/6 Grade Teacher, 8^th year. Michaela grew up in Rhode Island and moved to Vermont in 1993 after graduating from Plymouth State College. In 2002, she recently completed her master’s degree in Educational Leadership at UVM. She lives in Barre Town with her husband, Dave. She enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors with her husband and dog, Murray.

Barbara Menard - Bookkeeper, 1^st year. I have worked at Union School in Montpelier for 11 years at two different times, most recently as the Principal’s secretary for 5 years. I have degrees from UVM and Trinity College. I have also worked at Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company and for the State of Vermont for ten plus years.

Ann Morissette - 1/2 Grade Teacher, 31^st year. Ann has taught 1^st and/or 2^nd grade at Rumney for 30 years. Ann lives in Middlesex with her husband, Ron. They have three children, Elizabeth, a cross country traveling nurse, Laura, an RN at Denver Children’s Hospital, and Ryan, a 3^rd year UVM nursing student. Ann enjoys reading, walking, and riding with her husband on their Harley Davidson motorcycle and traveling.

Jennifer Morrone – Spanish Teacher, 1^st year. Jennifer was born and raised in Suffern, New York. She majored in Spanish at Castleton State College in Vermont and enhanced her language experiences by studying in Chile, South America. After graduating with a BA in Spanish, Jennifer continued her education and earned her Master’s of Science in Teaching at SUNY Potsdam. Jennifer recently moved back to Vermont where she currently lives at Bolton Valley. Besides her love for teaching Spanish to young children, Jen loves Vermont and the outdoors! Especially, hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding, traveling and cooking, too!

David Morse - Physical Education Teacher, 16^th year. David attended Harwood Union High School and graduated from Lyndon State College. David is married to a teacher and they have two children, and two grandchildren. David enjoys all sports but loves playing hockey, volleyball, golf and attending UVM hockey games. He is also the varsity boys’ ice hockey coach at Harwood Union High School.

Mary Francis O’Neil – Reading Teacher, 1^st year. Mary Francis moved to Vermont from Florida in 1980. She graduated from Trinity College in 1988 with a PA in Psychology and went on to specialize in reading instruction with children and adults. She lives in Worcester with her husband, Mark, and son, Tom. She enjoys fishing, reading and hiking.

Deb Prescott, Cook, 4^th year. Deb grew up in Montpelier. She has lived on Culver Hill in Middlesex for 19 years. She has been part of Rumney, in various capacities, since 1991. Her son, Corey, is 18 and just graduated from U32. She enjoys horseback riding, her cat, dog, and, of course, cooking.

Sue Pryce - Special Education Tutor, 11^th year. Sue has lived in Middlesex since 1975. She graduated from Montpelier High School in 1967 and UVM in 1971 with a B.S. in Human Services. She worked for Headstart for 8 years, then operated a preschool for 9 years. Sue is the proud mom of three sons and grandma to one granddaughter. Her joys include family time, kayaking, sugaring, adventures with good friends and journeys to new places.

Robin Rattazzi - Special Education Tutor, 9^th year. My husband and I built our house in Middlesex 24 years ago. I have been a part of the Rumney community since 1989 as a parent volunteer and full-time employee since 1996. My work history has been in the field of therapeutic recreation and vocational rehabilitation for WCMH. In my free time I enjoy my family, gardening, my animals and weaving.

Julie Smart - Learning Specialist, 6^th year. Julie graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History and a Masters in Teaching special and elementary education. Julie and her husband, Chris, live in Montpelier with their daughter, Alex. They enjoy camping, canoeing, reading, snowshoeing, relaxing on the front porch, and sleeping through the night!

Phyllis Tillinghast – Food Services Manager, 1^st year. Phyllis has lived in Middlesex for 15 years with her husband, Mark, and two sons, Zachary and Kyle. She has been involved with Rumney since Zack was in Kindergarten—as an ELF volunteer and room parent. She loves spending time with family, doing art, shopping, and just plain relaxing.

Lynne Woodard - Librarian, 8^th year. Lynne grew up in Saxton’s River, Vermont, and received a B.S. in Art Education from UVM in 1974. In 1994, after living a quiet life of adventure, she finally finished a master’s degree at UVM and became certified as a school library media specialist. Each year at Rumney has been even better than the year before. Away from school, she likes doing stuff with the children in her family (Nat, Sarah, Gretchen, Hannah and Rory) and her granddaughters, Lila and Adele.