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The High School Faculty at Sparhawk
2008-2009
Individuals qualify to teach at Sparhawk if they are broadly literate, demonstrate a zeal for life and learning, know child and adolescent development, are expert in a particular area that complements the rest of the teaching team, and have a passion and talent for teaching.
The teachers presently employed at Sparhawk School are experienced educators and idealists united in the belief that Sparhawk's philosophy embodies their values. Teachers experience success and satisfaction working with small classes of motivated students and find the collegial atmosphere of our small school supportive.
High School Director
Kaitlyn MacDonald is the of Director of Sparhawk High School
program and she teaches one writing class for upper classmen. Raised in Massachusetts and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Kaitlyn is
happy to live near the water again after many years inland. She is
currently finishing her Master's degree in Sustainable Education and
Deep Ecology from Vermont College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Literature and Creative Writing, with a minor in Theatre Arts from
Hartwick College. Upon finishing her undergraduate degree, she spent two
years traveling North America working on a farm, teaching and building
trails with Americorps NCCC, and providing disaster relief assistance
with the Red Cross.
Before joining the Sparhawk community, Kaitlyn taught English and
co-coordinated Project Feat, an outdoor education program, at the
Corwin-Russell School. In her first two years at Sparhawk she was a humanities teacher and head of the humanities department. This is her second year as the Sparhawk High School director. She is a Sparhawk treasure.
Dean of Studies, Upper School
Danielle Shylit returns to
Sparhawk for her fifth year as Dean of Studies at the Upper School,
after spending three dynamic years on the Sparhawk School faculty. She
holds a Master of Arts degree in Critical and Creative Thinking from the
University of Massachusetts, an interdisciplinary degree in Education,
Cognitive Psychology and Philosophy with a concentration in Literature
and Arts. During her graduate program, she had the opportunity to do a
summer immersion study at Project Zero Classroom at Harvard University.
She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College with a
double major in Music and Cultural Anthropology.
The fabric of Danielle’s teaching experience before coming to Sparhawk was woven from many diverse educational communities. She has experience teaching general curriculum in private, public, and parochial schools, and music, dance, and theater arts at various camps and enrichment programs.
Prior to becoming an educator, Danielle was a professional performing
artist. An associate of the Society of Stage Directors and
Choreographers, Danielle has directed and choreographed numerous
productions for community and educational theater programs, including
those for the Sparhawk Spotlights, our own innovative community theater
group. As an actor, dancer, and singer, she has performed on various
professional and local stages from coast to coast. In her spare time,
Danielle writes children’s fiction, composes, draws, choreographs,
and otherwise floats her fancies. A dynamo of creativity and intellect,
Sparhawk is graced by her presence.
Arts Domain, Chair
Susan Adams, Director
of Music for grades K-8, and Arts domain Chair, has been an active
music educator and collaborating pianist since 1979. She holds a BA in
Music Education form Westfield State College and an MM in Piano
Collaborating/ Performance from Arizona State University. She is a
fully certified music educator and an active member of the Music
Educators National Conference, the American Orff Schulwerk Association,
and the Technology Insititute for Music Educators.
Her classroom experience includes K-6 positions in Nevada and Arizona, and at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine. She also enjoyed great success in bringing one of the first Kindermusik programs to the Seacoast area. While living in the Southwest, Susan traveled with Bonnie Jo Hunt, an accomplished opera singer, and a native Sioux, who brings art and music programs to reservations all over the United States.
As a collaborating pianist, harpsichordist, and organist, Susan has enjoyed employment at the College of Santa Fe, the University of New Mexico, and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire for ten years, working as coach/pianist for the UNH Opera Program and voice studios.
Susan loves tying together the two venues, as a teacher and a performer. Her experience is especially beneficial to the way music is approached at Sparhawk. Students interact with music as "real" musicians, presented with the same tasks faced by professional composers and performers. She has implemented numerous programs since coming to Sparhawk in 2002: the Private Lesson Program, Rock Ensembles (Upper School), and the Skylarks Chorus (Lower School).
In 2005-06 Susan began to implement the Arts-Propel approach, a
dynamic and effective way to approach music education and assessment.
Through a series of sequential "domain projects" students in grades 2-8
assume increasing responsibility for their learning, approaching music
in the manner of a professional musician, composer, or music critic. As
singers, instrumentalists, and composers they document the process by
way of a music portfolio, in which students keep revisions, performance
and rehearsal CDs, journal entries, and associated assessments. In this
way students can reflect upon their successes, communicate them to
family and community, and have a lasting document of their musical
achievements. Susan joyfully anticipates this year's adventures.
(Sparhawk, year 7)
Joe Chamberlain
is thrilled to return to the Sparhawk faculty this year. A graduate of St.
John's Prep and Tufts University, Joe has been teaching for over twenty
years, spending most of his career working with at-risk youth in the
Department of Youth Services. At Sparhawk, Joe is teaching math and fitness classes
in the high school. He also uses his experience
working for a nationally-known test prep company to teach SAT classes
at Sparhawk.
Joe spent much of his youth playing in rock bands and still enjoys
singing, song writing, and playing piano and guitar. He has many other
areas of interest and hopes to offer classes in Rocketry, Psychology
and American History at Sparhawk in the future. (Sparhawk, year 3)
Daniela Currie-Gutierrez teaches Art at the high school. She also plays tag, soccer, and works in such varied media as paper and sidewalk chalk with the students in the after school program at the farm school.
Born in Mexico City and raised in Puerto Rico and New Hampshire, Daniela studied Art Education at the University of New Hampshire. Daniela was very involved in student life at UNH: as a Resident Assistant, working with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity on her spring breaks.
Daniela has arrived at Sparhawk after a long journey. Most recently, she backpacked and volunteered her way across Latin America—from Chile to Nicaragua and ultimately Mexico, spending 18 months hopping on and off buses, boats, and the occasional horse. Before heading out on her journey, Daniela worked as an Americorps member at the New Outlook Teen Center in Exeter, New Hampshire. She is sad to hang up her hiking boots, but happy and excited for the opportunity to share her passion for art with the students at Sparhawk. She is also elated about teaching at the same school as her mother, Lilia Gutierrez, who is a Sparhawk Spanish teacher. (Sparhawk, year 2)
Christophe Goebel, a native of France, teaches
French in our High School. He holds a
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in
Marketing from Winthrop University in South Carolina and a degree in
Marketing from the Memphis International Cotton School.
After earning his college degrees, Christophe returned to France to work in the textile industry there. He has traveled extensively in Europe and also in Africa, including the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, and Tunisia, giving him experiences of various wonderful cultures.
In September 2004 Christophe moved to the United States, and he
resides in Cambridge with his wife and daughter and new son. He is dedicated to
teaching his native language, and to transmitting his love and passion
for the French culture. He is happy to be working at Sparhawk School and
enjoys the many benefits of our supportive and creative environment. In
his leisure time, Christophe plays tennis; he enjoys nature, history and
travel.
Lilia
Gutierrez-Currie teaches Spanish in Sparhawk’s Middle
School and High School. She was born in Mexico City and moved to New
Hampshire with her family in 1986. She has been teaching Spanish for
more than 12 years, spending one year at Sanborn High School in
Kingston, NH, two years at the University of New Hampshire in Durham,
NH, and seven years at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH . She has
also taught various Spanish courses throughout the years to different
groups of all ages and proficiency levels. She has taught private
classes, tutored individuals, given presentations about Mexico, and
taught Spanish courses for different companies. She studied at the
Universidad Femenina de Mexico, the Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano,
the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, and the University of New Hampshire.
She enjoys teaching, interacting with and learning from students of
all ages. She believes in sparking the interest of her students by
introducing them to Latin American cultures through music, dance, art,
games, and celebrations of various holidays. Finally, raising two
daughters of her own has given Lilia plenty of insight into the area of
cultivating motivation and discipline in her charges.
Margo Nothnagel graduated with honors from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where she earned her Master’s degree in Choral Conducting. There, she assisted the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Westminster Community Chorus and held a Music Theory graduate assistantship. Also a graduate of Providence College as part of their Liberal Arts Honors program, Margo has enjoyed studying piano, voice, and choral conducting and was Assistant Student Conductor to the choirs there. She has directed both instrumental and choral ensembles and taught music courses at the College of the Bahamas, Westminster Summer Vocal Institute, Wareham High School, and the Brooks School summer programs. (Sparhawk, year 2)
Kathleen Petrowicz
teaches upper-level mathematics at Sparhawk High School. She
graduated from Salem State College with a Bachelor of Arts in
Mathematics and minors in Education, Chemistry, and Computer Science.
For 12 years she enjoyed the challenges of working in a banking
environment as a computer programmer/analyst.
Kathleen and her husband, John, have been married for 26 years and
spent most of those years raising three sons, now 18, 22 and 24.
Together they have traveled throughout much of the US and Canada.
Following several years at home with her children, she began tutoring
math privately. This expanded to include MCAS tutoring at Triton
Regional High School, as well as SAT prep and classroom teaching at
Pentucket Regional High School. Most recently, working at Sparhawk has
been an opportunity to grow and be creative as a teaching professional.
One of Kathleen’s passions is playing the piano. She provides music
ministry in her church as accompanist to a youth choir and at Sunday
Services. Lessons in improvisation have opened up new horizons,
prompting her to write her own songs. She has several piano students
and enjoys sharing music with them.
Peter Saltsman teaches middle and high school classes in science, including Physics, Chemistry, and other general physical sciences. Having spent fifteen years as a professional geologist in environmental consulting, Peter brings real world science experience into the classroom. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Dartmouth College and is currenlty completing a Masters in Educational Technologies through the Harvard Extension Program. He seeks to find productive ways to take advantage of current tools of technology to foster better learning. He greatly enjoys the lifelong learning aspect of teaching, and the opportunity to work closely with the interesting and diverse community of teachers and students at Sparhawk School. In addition to teaching at Sparhawk, Peter serves as a rowing coach for the boys' and girls' teams at Phillips Academy each fall and spring, and occasionally can be found surfing, windsurfing, hiking, and otherwise exploring the great outdoors. (Sparhawk, year 4)
Victoria Stella is excited to teach at Sparhawk where she can share her passion for Italian
language and culture and literature. A native of Kittery, Maine, Tory obtained her Bachelor of Arts at
Barnard College in New York City , where she majored in Italian and
minored in English. During her studies of Italian literature she spent a
semester in Padova, Italy, with Boston University’s International
Program. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, Tory pursued a
Master’s degree in Italian Literature at Middlebury College. She
spent an intense summer at Middlebury’s Italian Language School in
Vermont before moving to Florence, Italy where she completed her
academic studies at both Middlebury’s Italian School and the
University of Florence. Recently she began teaching Italian in the
Kittery Adult Education program. Before teaching at Sparhawk, Tory
enjoyed her summer working on a Maine lobster boat.
Honorah Tinti (Norah) teaches Spanish and humanities classes
in our High School. She also teaches dance in both Middle and High
School, and is directing the Sparhawk Spotlights’ fall production
of Grease.
Norah attended Union College in Schenectady, NY where she majored in Classics of Literature and minored in Spanish. While on her academic journey, she continued cultivating her estimable talents in dance and music. In addition to participating in the college choir, she was a soloist for their tour of England and Montreal, Canada, and for the Garnet Minstrelles, Union’s all female a capella group. She participated in and then became vice moderator for the Mountebanks, the oldest student-run theater group in the country. Her studies in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and modern dance afforded her the opportunity to do choreography in her senior year of college.
After college, she taught philosophy, mythology and ran the dance
program at the Hyde School for two years. She then moved on to teach
Spanish, coach volleyball and act as faculty advisor for the drama
program at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, MA. She has since done
several shows with the Merrimack Valley Players and one show with our
own Sparhawk Spotlights. She still coaches at Bishop Fenwick and directs
at the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro, MA, where she directed Once
On This Island last year and will be directing Suessical this winter.
Ryan T. Woods teaches Greek and humanities classes in our High School. He imbues his teaching with
erudition and an infectious enthusiasm for the material. He was raised
in the environs of Columbus, Ohio and credits his parents and
instructors for instilling in him a lifetime love of learning.
After matriculating at St. Charles Preparatory School, he distinguished himself by earning a Bachelor of Arts in History at Taylor University while minoring in Philosophy and Biblical Languages. There he also availed himself of an opportunity for study at Keble College, Oxford under the auspices of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. His research on the reformer Martin Luther took the Hackler Prize. Following a brief hiatus from academia, he migrated to South Hamilton, Massachusetts to read for a Master of Arts at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
The interdisciplinary rigor of the curriculum, the diversity of the
faculty and the creativity of the students inevitably drew him to
Sparhawk. It is his conviction that education ought to be deliberately
holistic and engaged in the formation of character just as much as in
the communication of information. Consequently, he hopes that his
instruction in the disciplines of philosophy, history and world
religions will ennoble his students both as learners and as
persons. He currently resides in Salem with his wife, Kimberly, to
whom he has been happily married since 18 June 2005. In his all-too
elusive leisure time, he enjoys literature, viewing foreign cinema and
listening to Indie rock.
School Counselor
Catherine
Mannheimer, LCSW, is a teacher, artist and psychotherapist. She
holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bradford College in Creative Arts and a Master
of Social Work from Simmons College
She has taught art therapy, a survey of visual, and performing arts at Bradford College, and creative process at Northern Essex Community College. She worked for a number of years as a clinical social worker at Lowell High School, and presently maintains a private practice. She enjoys looking for the creative and expressive aspects in everyone.
One of her favorite ways of doing this is through team teaching with
her husband Marc. Together they have taught drum making, creativity,
relaxation techniques, Humor in the Work Place, and the Social and
Artistic Implications of the Renaissance, which they taught in Florence,
Italy. Currently, Cathy sees her animal spirit guides as the frog,
black crow and alligator.
Guidance and College Counselor
Barbara Coutinho
is returning to the field of guidance and counseling. As a member of
Triton Regional School’s founding staff, Barbara began as a counselor
and retired in 2005 as Guidance Director. She served two terms as
president of the Northeast Counselor’s Association, and now is a
life-long member of its executive board.
The Massachusetts School Counselor’s Association selected her for the
“Outstanding Leadership Award” in 1991 and in 2004. In 2003, her Public
Relations Handbook for Counselors received national recognition. She
earned a B.A. in English and a M.Ed in Counseling from Salem State
College, and a C.A.G.S. in Educational Leadership from Northeastern
University. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family and
spending summers at the Cape. (Sparhawk, year 3)
Special Programs Administrator
Cherie Hoyt coordinates upper school Winterim and other enrichment programs, plans field trips and school events, and arranges for the outside speakers and performers who visit Sparhawk. She likes to think of herself as a liaison between Sparhawk and resources that are "out there" beyond its walls.
A graduate of Ryerson University (formerly RPI), her professional background is film and video production. Back in the 80s, she wrote, produced and directed scenario-based training programs for interactive videodiscs - forerunners of today's DVD-based programs - for clients such as Fed Ex and IBM.
As a sideline to production, Cherie taught film theory and production in the Emerson College evening program, and was a teaching assistant for summer workshops with leading professionals at the International Film Workshops. As a consultant, she evaluated screenplays and advised Boston area filmmakers on script breakdown, budgeting, and production logistics. Just before leaving the profession to become a mother and pursue other interests, she co-produced a comedy about an eccentric sixth-grade science teacher that launched the director's career in children's television.
Cherie loves the discussions she and her husband, Charlie Sawyer, have at dinner and during drive-time with their son, Sam, a high school student who has been at Sparhawk since sixth grade. She enjoys throwing sticks for their Dalmatian, Sparkle, going to plays and concerts and listening to the loons at Great East Lake. She reads every day, if only for a few moments before sleep. Her bedside table is piled perilously high with books. (Sparhawk, year 3)
