| Rachel Branham, Visual Arts Teacher
Ms. Branham has just recently moved to the Berkshires from Columbus, Ohio. She studied Fine Arts at the Columbus College of Art and Design and Art Education at The Ohio State University, earning her B.A.E. in 2008. Ms. Branham is a practicing two dimensional and video artist, has performed educational and volunteer work for multiple arts facilities and non-profit organizations around Ohio. She is also involved with several nationally-recognized Arts Education Alliances. She is very interested in local histories and community events in the Berkshires, and is looking forward to becoming a member of the BArT family.
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Deborah Calderara, Humanities Teacher
Deborah Calderara has been with BArT since January 2006. In 2006, she earned a
B. A. in History from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and holds two minors in Political Science and Local History. While at MCLA Deborah was part of many research projects; Local History Methods Project, Immigration History of North Adams, Family Immigration Project, and Civil War Registration Project in conjunction with the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War Association. During her time at BArT she has taught 8th grade Humanities for two years, one year of 8th grade Medieval History in addition 8th grade ELA. Currently she will teach 8th grade Medieval History and 11th grade Modern World History. In June 2007 Deborah attended a week long poetry workshop, “The Figure Poem Makes: A Workshop for Teachers of Poetry” at The Mount. As of August 2009 Deborah will attend the Master of Science of Education program in Moderate Disabilities at Bay Path College and The Reading Institute-Williamstown. In June 2009 Deborah was honored with the distinction of BArT’s “Teacher of the Year”. In her free time Deborah enjoys reading, gardening, Kayaking, walking, and cooking along with her husband of 26 years, two children and her Standard Poodle.
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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 from Electronics 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 High School Physical Education Teacher. Ms. Choquette has also been a volunteer firefighter for 3 years and is working towards becoming fully certified.
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| Deborah Dyndor, Math Teacher
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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Mr. Fattibene's biography is forthcoming.
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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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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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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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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 a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Hartford and an Masters in Teaching from the University of Massachusetts. Ms. Linscott is on the Board of Directors of the Hoosic River Watershed Association, The New England Mountain Bike Association and the Berkshire Bike Path Council. She was recently added to the board of the Thunderbolt Ski Runners of Adams.
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Originally from Brookline, Ms. Lubell moved to the Berkshires with her family in 1987. She joined the BArT team as a paraprofessional in the fall of 2007 while working toward her Masters of Education at MCLA. She received her BA in Art History from Wellesley College where she was a Durant Scholar. Ms. Lubell is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
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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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Ms. Mellstrom's biography is forthcoming.
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A proud native of Dalton, Erin is happy to return to Berkshire County after seven years in Ohio. While in the Midwest, Erin earned her bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in music history and theory with a concentration in cognitive science and a minor in psychology. She continued her studies by earning her masters degree in music education from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Erin was selected to present her research on pattern-recognition and success in sight-singing at the 2009 Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference. Erin comes to BArT bringing her experience as a teacher at both the college and the preschool levels.
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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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Ms. Moore's biography is forthcoming.
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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. Sarah is currently working on a Masters in Education. She and her partner, Andrew, live in rural Vermont with their dog and cats.
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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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Ms. West has nearly ten years of combined college and high school teaching experience. She taught writing and cultural studies for four years at The Ohio State University. Previous to teaching at BArT, 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, and paper collage. She has a great interest in local histories and community issues and has received 20 hours of certified mediation training. Ms. West has been with the BArT team since 2006.
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Mr. Westall graduated from Longwood University in Virginia with a B.F.A. in education, majoring in Visual Arts and earning a minor in Psychology. While attending Longwood University, he taught art in public and private elementary and middle schools in Honduras. Following his college graduation, Mr. Westall worked at the Grove School in Connecticut, a residential therapeutic boarding school for emotionally disturbed adolescents for over five years. During his tenure at Grove, Mr. Westall also completed his Master of Science degree in Special Education from Southern Connecticut State University.
Since joining BArT's faculty in 2007, Mr. Westall has taught middle school reading, humanities, and social studies. He has obtained his highly qualified teaching status in the state of Massachusetts in visual arts, special education, and history. Beginning in the 2009-2010 academic school year, Mr. Westall will be instructing 6th and 7th graders in world geography and ancient civilizations. Also, in accordance with BArT's mission statement which "regards everyone, including teachers and parents, as lifelong learners", Mr. Westall is pursuing his doctorate in education, concentrating in Child and Family Studies.
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Miles Wheat is thrilled to be teaching Biology and Chemistry at BART this year. Previously he has taught seventh grade science and math in Framingham Massachusetts at the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School. Mr. Wheat received his graduate degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University through an expeditionary program known as the Audubon Expedition Institute (AEI). He lived on a bus for two years traveling the country with other graduate students and professors seeking out the qualified experts and talented educators. Before 'getting on the bus' Mr. Wheat graduated from Susquehanna University with a degree in Environmental and Geological Sciences and worked as an analytical Chemist for several years in Boston. When not teaching or reading about science he loves to be in the woods tracking edible plants and to sip quality tea from cool looking ceramic mugs.
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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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