| Michael Arquilla, Music and Drama Teacher
Mr. Arquilla came to BArT from New York City, where he spent several
years working as a theatre professional. He has acted in over forty
productions on the amateur and professional stage, and has extensive
experience in playwrighting, composition, directing, design, and
technical theatre. In the summer of 2005, his musical, “Beautiful”,
co-authored with collaborator Stephen Barnett, premiered Off-Broadway
at the Village Theater, starring David Anders and Rodney Hicks. Prior
to working in New York, Mr. Arquilla taught music in the Leominster
Public Schools and has tutored students in preparation for standardized
testing. He has also taught private piano, guitar, brass and voice
lessons to middle and high school students. Mr. Arquilla holds an MFA
in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of
the Arts and a BA in Theater Arts from Boston College.
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Meagan Borden, Science Teacher
Mrs. Borden is an Adams native and a recent graduate from
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), where she double-majored
in Biology and Secondary Education. While at MCLA, she also completed 2
full years of chemistry coursework, including general and organic
chemistry, stopping short of a third academic major. Mrs. Borden
conducted research in Ecology and Biochemistry at Williams College
through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant. For the past 7
years, she has worked with middle and high school students in both
academic and non-academic settings. She has been a tutor in several
different subject areas for middle, high school, and college, a swim
Instructor and swim team coach at the Northern Berkshire YMCA, a
gymnastics coach, and the boating director at a local summer camp.
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| Deb Calderara, Humanities Teacher
Deborah Calderara is a recent graduate of Massachusetts College of
Liberal Arts where she majored in History and minored in Political
Science and Local History of the Berkshires. While attending MCLA she
was involved in numerous research projects including a Local History
Methods project, researching the first 26 years of the Normal School
now know as MCLA and why the City of North Adams was chosen for the
state Normal School; the Immigration History of North Adams 1880-1920
Census Project, to understand the ethnic and migration patterns in
North Adams during the large industrial expansion period; and a Family
Immigration Project, using the book Steeples by Joe Manning, containing
oral interviews conducted with several immigrant families of North
Adams to trace their migration to the United States; and the Civil War
Registration Project, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
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Jennifer Choquette, Fitness Teacher
Jennifer Choquette was born and raised in Clarksburg, MA. She
attended Charles H. McCann Technical High School where she graduated
with knowledge of robotics, computers, networking and various other
electronic skills. After graduation she went to Massachusetts College
of Liberal Arts where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
She has shifted her long term goal from receiving her Master's Degree
in Counseling to becoming a certified Science teacher for grades 6-12.
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| Heather Durant, Para-Professional
As a new mother, Ms. Durant discovered an interest in working with
children in an educational setting. She supports the learning of all
students and enjoys being a part of the BArT staff. Heather is a native
of the Berkshires. She attended Hoosac Valley High School, as well as
Mildred Elly Business School.
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Debbie Dyndor
Born and raised in Adams, and a graduate of Hoosac Valley High School,
Miss Dyndor lived in Clearwater, Florida and traveled the world before returning to her Berkshire County roots to teach math at BArT. A teacher for a total of 12 years, she taught Algebra at Dunedin High School and Community Christian School in Florida.
Miss Dyndor is a graduate of of the University of South Florida where she obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Special Education. Miss Dyndor also holds a teaching certificate for Secondary Mathematics and has begun work on a masters degree in Educational Psychology. Miss Dyndor is proud that she has entered into the same profession as her grandmother, the late Evelyn Griswold, who was a teacher in Adams for over fifty years.
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| Shannon Farley, Humanities Teacher
Ms. Farley came to BArT after three years of teaching at UMass
Amherst while finishing her Masters degree in Comparative Literature
and completing a translation of Euripides' Bacchae as her thesis. Ms.
Farley’s particular area of interest and scholarship is the
postcolonial analysis of ancient Greek literature, and she has begun
presenting papers on this topic. She also holds a Bachelors degree in
History and Classics from Williams College. After graduating Williams,
Ms. Farley taught for six years at Eagle Hill School in Hardwick, a
private boarding school for middle and high school students with
learning differences. She is enjoying teaching again after a four year
hiatus.
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Daniel Fattibene
Mr. Fattibene's biography is forthcoming.
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| Christine Garrity, Para-professional
After 11 years of volunteering in the public school system, Mrs.
Garrity has joined the BArT team. She is working as a part-time
paraprofessional while she works towards a full-time career change from
hairdressing to education. Mrs. Garrity has been a Girl Scout leader
for 8 years and currently is leading girls in grades 8 to 10 in her
troop. She enjoys reading, computer research for education, and most
importantly, raising her 2 daughters who are students at BArT.
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Christopher Gauthier, Math Teacher
Before coming to BArT, Mr. Gauthier taught mathematics in public
schools in the Pioneer Valley as well as in the Berkshires, mostly at
the middle school level. Prior to his career in teaching, Mr. Gauthier
spent many years in business, working in commercial banking on the
North Shore of Boston, where he was responsible for all aspects of
banking with a wide range of commercial customers, and as an executive
in the auto industry. Always interested in human development and
education, he began tutoring disaffected middle school students in
mathematics in his spare time, ultimately directing the tutoring
program, supervising prospective teachers as tutors and continuing to
work with students in math. Originally from the central part of the
state, Mr. Gauthier learned the benefits of diligence, discipline and
hard work from the Xaverian Brothers at St. John’s High in Shrewsbury,
Massachusetts. After high school, Mr. Gauthier graduated from Dynamy, a
one-year alternative education program, and, subsequently, the
economics program at UMASS. He attended graduate school in Education at
the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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| Yvonne Gavrielle, Math/Science Teacher
Ms. Gavrielle has over 20 years teaching experience in a variety of
settings, including Illinois, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has
taught math and science in both private and public school settings,
using a hands-on, inquiry based curriculum. She is a native of Illinois
and graduated from Southern Illinois University with a BS in Elementary
Education. She received her Masters Degree in Education from Sacred
Heart University.
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Drew Gibson, Humanities Teacher
Drew Gibson comes to BArT from Mt. Greylock Regional High School
where he taught World History, Spanish and Economics. He is fascinated
by all aspects of world and American history, especially the stories
that different civilizations have used to understand themselves. Prior
to his teaching career, he worked for five years as a storyteller,
performing tales from American History and World mythology. He has
presented at numerous schools, libraries, theaters and Civil War
re-enactments in the Midwest and parts of New England. In 2002 he
produced a festival of Epic Poetry and Storytelling at Marlboro College
in Vermont and he briefly toured a two-hour, one-man show of the
Mahabharata (the national epic of India.) Before that, he spent
eighteen years in the oil business, where he brokered international
crude oil for refiners, trading companies and merchant banks. He lives
in Williamstown with his wife Courtenay. They have four grown daughters.
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| Cynthia Grauman, Reading Teacher
Mrs. Grauman has worked in education for over 20 years. She started
her career in California as a pre-school teacher in a private school,
then moved to the Berkshires to work at the Berlin School District in
Berlin, NY, where she taught elementary art for two years and
co-piloted the Imagination Celebration Program. She left Berlin School
District to home-school her three children, allowing her to develop
curricula to suit her children's individual needs and the opportunity
to pursue various hobbies and interests with her children including
beekeeping and gardening. Mrs.Grauman has received training and is
pursuing certification in the Wilson Reading System, an interactive and
multisensory approach to teaching reading. Mrs. Grauman received her BA
from State University of New York at Potsdam in Elementary Art
Education and her Masters Degree in Education at Simmons College.
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Peter Herbst, Math Teacher
Mr. Herbst recently joined the BArT team after serving as a Research
Fellow for MetroMath, an NSF-funded Center for Learning and Teaching
with a focus on improving mathematics education in America’s cities.
Prior to working at MetroMath, Mr. Herbst served as a Math Instructor
for Boston College. He received his Master’s degree in Mathematics from
Boston College where he also worked as a Teaching Assistant and
Teaching Fellow. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from
Wagner College in 2002.
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| Melissa Hutchins, Special Education Teacher
Melissa Hutchins joined BArT after serving as an Americorps member
for two years. While in Americorps, Ms. Hutchins was in the National
Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) in the Southeast building houses,
repairing trails, and tutoring students. She came to the Berkshires as
an Americorps VISTA working as a coordinator of service learning at the
North Adams Public Schools and the Massachusetts College of Liberal
Arts. Ms. Hutchins has a B.A. in Sociology and Women's Studies from
Wheaton College in Norton, MA and is currently pursuing a Masters
Degree in Education with a concentration in Special Education.
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Suzanne Degere-Lenhoff, Humanities Teacher
A Berkshire native, Mrs. Lenhoff is happily teaching Humanities in
the Sixth Grade. She received her Bachelor's Degree from the Univ. of
Massachusetts in Human Services. After more than 10 years as an
academic paraprofessional, she earned her post-baccalaureate teaching
credentials from Mass. College of Liberal Arts. Aside from loving to
teach, Mrs. Lenhoff loves to quilt, to read, to make scrapbooks and to
spend time with her family.
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Heather Linscott, Fitness Teacher
Ms. Linscott is an enthusiastic outdoors woman that has been
involved in lifelong sports and outdoor activities for over 30 years.
She has taught backpacking for the Appalachian Mt. Club and led
mountain biking and snowshoeing trips for the Williamstown Youth
Center. She runs an annual fund-raiser 26 mile mountain bike ride
called the Mt. Greylock-Go-Round that starts in the Greylock Glen and
circumnavigates Mt. Greylock. She is an avid road and mountain biker as
well as back country skier, who has been skiing the Thunderbolt Ski
Trail for 30 years. Most recently she worked for the Department of
Conservation and Recreation on Mt.Greylock as a Park Interpreter
leading hikes introducing folks to the wonders of nature on Mt.
Greylock. Ms. Linscott has been on the Board of Directors of the Hoosic
River Watershed Association for 5 years and the New England Mountain
Bike Association Board for 2 years. She has a BA in Fine Arts from the
University of Hartford and an Masters in Teaching from the University
of Massachusetts.
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| Sue Lubell, Para-professional
Originally from Brookline, Mrs. Lubell moved to the Berkshires with
her family in 1987. She joined the BArT team as a paraprofessional in
the fall of 2007, after working as a substitute at the school for a
year. Prior to her work as a paraprofessional, Ms. Lubell devoted
herself to raising her three daughters and to community service. She
received her BA in Art History from Wellesley College where she was a
Durant Scholar. She is a student at MCLA in the Masters of Education
program with a concentration in Special Education. Ms. Lubell is also a
member of Phi Beta Kappa.
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Sarah Lynn, Special Education Teacher
Ms. Lynn has over 8 years teaching experience serving students with
special needs. Sarah became interested in the field of Special
Education in high school when she was a peer tutor for a small special
needs classroom. Sarah was also an inclusive camp counselor for the
town of Northampton for 5 years. Her duties included making
accommodations so that a variety of students with special needs could
participate in a day camp at Look Park. Sarah has been involved in
sports and outdoor activities throughout her life, including coaching
basketball for three years. Sarah has a BA from Mass College of Liberal
Arts in Sociology and is working towards her Masters Degree in Special
Education.
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| Susan Mellstrom, Math Teacher
Ms. Mellstrom's biography is forthcoming.
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| Michaela Moore, Para-professional
Prior to joining the BArT team in 2005, Ms. Moore worked as a
teacher's assistant at an elementary school and as a teacher at a
daycare learning facility. Ms. Moore is a graduate of Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts where she received a BA in Psychology. She has
lived in Long Island and Connecticut, but prefers her hometown, North
Adams.
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| Susan Moore
Ms. Moore's biography is forthcoming.
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Sarah Prouty, Humanities Teacher
Sarah Prouty grew up in Texas and came East for college. She
graduated with a B.A. in Literature from SUNY Purchase and has a strong
background in poetry, writing and the British novel. As an avid and
voracious reader, she hopes to impart a love of literature on her
students. She comes to BArT from Mt. Greylock Regional High School
after six years in the Special Education department. At Mt. Greylock,
she worked with students in all grade levels and has extensive
experience in reading and writing instruction. Prior to working at Mt.
Greylock, she was a substitute teacher at the Williamstown Elementary
School. She and her partner, Andrew, live in rural Vermont with their
dog and cats.
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| Peter Reed, Technology Teacher & Technology Support Specialist
Mr. Reed has been a middle school technology educator for thirteen years. He taught for eleven years at Herberg Middle School in Pittsfield, MA, where he also served on a series of tech professional development teams. Most recently, he was a member of the Conte Middle School faculty in North Adams. A former certified professional ski instructor, he has also worked for commercial and corporate graphics services and owned and operated a general store. Mr. Reed received a B.F.A. in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design, spending his senior year in Rome, Italy, as a student in the European Honors Program. He earned his Masters of Education Degree in Instructional Technology at Lesley University and a Masters Certification in Secondary Education Administration from M.C.L.A. When not teaching or increasing his own computer skills, Mr. Reed can often be found engaged in cooking, photography, working his land or in the saddle, sharing his passion for horses and Western culture with his wife and daughter.
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Kerri-Ann Ruthven, Librarian
Kerri-Ann Ruthven graduated from Ithaca College with a BA degree in Child Psychology and a concentration in Montessori Education; she has worked with families and children for the past 6 years providing child care in her home. She is currently completing her Masters Degree in Library and Information Science at Simmons College with a School Library Media Specialization. In addition to being the librarian at BArT, Ms. Ruthven works part-time at the Williamstown Public Library.
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| Hauns Shubert, Para-professional
Mr. Shubert's biography is forthcoming.
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Erica Tawes, Visual Arts Teacher
Mrs. Tawes hails from the great state of New Jersey. She has taught
design, drawing, and video performance art at The Ohio State
University. Most recently, she worked as a design and foundation arts
teacher in Baltimore City Schools in Maryland. She has a BFA from
Alfred University in upstate New York. Mrs. Tawes is currently working
on her master’s degree in art education from The Ohio State University
on the topic of “Anti-Oppressive Education Strategies.” She has varied
artistic interests which include quilting, batik, fiber arts, painting,
performance art, sculpture, paper collage, radical scrap booking, and
ceramics. She loves eating and cooking food, especially new exotic
recipes. She is an active supporter of all the arts and is excited to
be moving her family to the Berkshires.
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Raya Todd, Spanish and Reading Teacher
Miss Todd joined the BArT team after teaching for four years in a
variety of school settings. Miss Todd began her teaching career in a
small charter elementary school in Troy, NY, after receiving her B.A.
in Spanish at Siena College in 2002. A native of North County, Ms. Todd
moved back to the Berkshires in 2004 to teach Spanish in the Florida
and Clarksburg Elementary Schools. She received her M.S. in Education
from the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY in the spring of 2004 and is
currently taking graduate courses in reading and literacy as she works
towards a Reading Specialist degree.
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| April West, Humanities Teacher
Ms. West comes to BArT with many years of both college and high
school teaching experience. She taught writing and cultural studies for
four years at The Ohio State University. Most recently, she worked with
at-risk youth in an alternative high school program located in southern
Vermont. She has a BA from Bennington College with a thematic degree in
Social Conflict, an MA in Comparative Cultural Studies from The Ohio
State University, and an MAT from Bennington College’s Center for
Creative Teaching. She is an aficionado of alternative country music
and has many artistic interests including quilting and the fiber arts,
costume design, paper collage, and woodworking. She has a great
interest in local histories and community issues and has received 20
hours of certified mediation training.
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Ethan Westall, Humanities and Reading Teacher
Mr. Westall graduated from Longwood University in Virginia with a
B.F.A., majoring in Visual Arts and earning a minor in Psychology.
While at Longwood University, Mr. Westall taught art in an elementary
school in Honduras. Following his college graduation, Mr. Westall
taught at the Grove School in Connecticut, a residential boarding
school for emotionally disturbed youth, for 5 years. Mr. Westall has
completed his coursework and thesis for a graduate degree in special
education from Southern Connecticut State University.
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| Amanda Westerlind, Para-professional
Originally from Worcester, Amanda Westerlind came to the Berkshires
to study English/Communications at Massachusetts College of Liberal
Arts. After graduating, she remained in the Berkshires to work at BArT.
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Sarah Whitehead, Spanish Teacher
Ms.Whitehead has a range of language teaching experience. She has
taught children and adults of all ages both Spanish and English as a
second language, in tutoring settings, traditional classroom settings,
and intensive immersion programs. She has taught in the United States,
Spain, and Peru. Ms. Whitehead earned her MA in Teaching Spanish from
Bennington College in Vermont. While studying at Bennington, she had
the opportunity to put her pedagogical beliefs and queries into
practice during a full academic year at Burr and Burton Academy in
Manchester, Vermont, where she was first a student teacher and then
hired as part-time Spanish faculty.
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| Amy Wiles
Ms. Wiles biography is forthcoming
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If you are interested in working at BArT, visit the Employment section for a complete listing of available positions.
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