Valeria was born in Uruguay where she studied Medicine and Nutrition. She moved to Nantucket eight years ago and gradually fell in love with the Island. Valeria is a yoga instructor and teaches at one of the local island yoga studios. In her free time, Valeria practices yoga, reads and enjoys the peace and nature of the island.

Over the past sixteen years, I feel honored to have taught students, preschool through fifth grade, in Maine, Germany, Japan, and Massachusetts. Working closely with children fills my heart with great joy and challenges me to find new and different ways to present new information/concepts.  I am passionate about using the Arts to enhance and enrich educational experiences for diverse learning styles and abilities.  I am inspired by these ever-varied experiences as my own love of learning continues.

I love playing on the beach, being out on the water, or exploring different parts of the island with my husband Pedro and our children, Sawyer and Luciana.  I also enjoy traveling, taking photos, oil painting, and practicing yoga. Snuggling, while reading books, with my children is an ideal way for me to end a busy day.

I am thrilled to join the Lighthouse School family as both an Upper Primary teacher and as a parent - Sawyer and Luciana will be spending their days in this magical place as well!

“By creating learning environments where creativity is part of human intelligence, where social skills are essential for learning, where dance, music and all the arts are integral to the identity of student, classroom, and school, we create an academic balance that is truly healthy – a balance based on the harmony of body, mind, spirit, and community.  In such an environment, students can walk in beauty on their paths to being powerful human beings, active citizens, and responsible contributors to the ongoing creative unfolding of life on this planet.”

-Nick Page
(educator, composer, conductor, and author)

508-228-0427 Extension 1024 jamaral@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Relevant Experience:

Sunbridge Institute Training

Responsive Classroom Training

15 years experience in education

 

Beth Gennaro graduated from Gettysburg College in 2000 with a degree in Classical Studies.  She then went on to get her Master’s in Education from Fitchburg State University in 2010 along with her Massachusetts Teaching license in Early Childhood Education.   She had worked in both Sudbury Public School Systems and Nantucket Public School Systems since 2001.  Beth is mother to 3 children, all of whom attended Nantucket Lighthouse School.  It was when her oldest child first started at the Nantucket Lighthouse School in 2011 that Beth was introduced to the Lighthouse School philosophy and fell in love with the ‘head, hands and heart’ approach.  She has joyously joined the Lighthouse educators as a Small School teacher and loves being a part of such an exceptional community.  In her spare time Beth enjoys exploring nature, gardening and cooking while spending time with her children.

crowley@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Relevant Experience:

Responsive Classroom Training

Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Training

Sunbridge Institue Intensive

 

Alana Cullen graduated from Salve Regina University with a B.A. in English Communications and Anthropology. She has worked with children for over 20 years. Becoming a Nantucket Lighthouse School parent in 2013, Alana fell in love with the Lighthouse school community and philosophy of educating the whole child, while weaving arts and nature into everyday life and learning. Alana immensely enjoys teaching Small School, and you'll often hear her proclaim, "They're the most important years!" She aims to "do small things with great love." Alana and her husband, Marcus, enjoy biking and swimming with their two sons. In her free time, Alana enjoys yoga, gardening, and reading.

acullen@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Relevant Experience:

Responsive Classroom Training
Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading Institute
Columbia University’s Teachers College Graphic Novel Institute
Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Training

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Jillian Fraker is a teacher, writer, and surfer. Jillian joined the team of educators at Nantucket Lighthouse School in 2019. She is drawn to the school's commitment to educating the whole child. Jillian is thrilled to weave curriculum into exciting hands-on projects that honor the beauty of nature and celebrate the joy of learning. Jillian was born and raised on Nantucket and returned to the island after finishing her master's degree in creative writing at The New School in New York City.

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Allison grew up in Northern New Jersey and studied at Vassar College, in the lush Hudson Valley of New York, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. At Vassar, Allison found her passion for the natural world while working at a local farm dedicated to community, education, and food justice.

 

After graduating in 2014, she traveled to Nantucket to teach environmental education at the Maria Mitchell Association and quickly fell in love with the magic of the island community. Allison balances her passions for creative education, teaching at Nantucket Lighthouse School, and caring for plants at Surfing Hydrangea nursery.

 

Allison is excited for this new adventure in her 4th year at NLS. With a passion for experiential, environmental, and arts education, she is constantly inspired by the school’s tireless team of teachers and staff. Allison is looking forward to this new opportunity to learn from her mentors and continue her work of nurturing compassion, individuality, and expression in the classroom.

 

In her free time, Allison loves being outside- walking, running, and biking around this beautiful island, or at home-  reading, writing, cooking, and creating art with friends. In the community, Allison finds joy in volunteering with Food Rescue Nantucket and co-founding Nantucket Creative Reuse, an initiative to promote creative reuse in an effort to reduce waste on the island.

 

508-228-0427 agayo@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Relevant Experience:

Certified Childbirth Educator, Lamaze Method

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids. on-line course

Bootstrap Workshop: Using Python to teach Algebra via coding.

Responsive Classroom Seminar

A.A.N. Pottery courses. Kiln available to fire student work.

CreateCodeLoad—creative coding via scratch.mit.edu

Sunbridge Foundations of Waldorf Education webinar

Sunbridge Institute. Approaching Grade One

 

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After college Meg moved to Nantucket and worked as an EMT, lab tech and Childbirth Educator. She taught Science at Nantucket Christian Academy. She homeschooled her six children in all subjects for over 20 years. She has an enormous garden and a passion for music, playing both guitar and flute. She loves teaching her students to write computer programs.  Meg is thrilled to be working with your kids to discover the wonders of mathematics and the beauty of science. Her current favorite number, also a favorite of the ancient Chaldeans, is 360.

 

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508-228-0427 mglidden@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Relevant Experience:

Faculty
Nantucket Community Music Center
Nantucket Lighthouse School

Music Director
Unitarian Universalist Church Nantucket

 

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Nigel Goss has been enjoying a career as a musician and teacher on Nantucket Island since 2011. He has performed with local, national, and international musicians, led community ensembles, taught students of all ages, and is privileged to have the opportunity to share his love and experience of music and learning with students at Nantucket lighthouse school. He also enjoys sailing, swimming, poetry, carpentry projects, and spending time with his daughter Cecilia.

 

nigelgoss@yahoo.com

Rain's Nantucket gardening experience began in 1993 at Bartlett's Farm. She has been organically gardening both professionally and at home with her children, friends, neighbors, clients (and some strangers and distant family members while on vacation) ever since. Her lifelong love of growing things sprouted in her great grandmother's backyard oasis. There she fell in love with the raining cherry blossoms, sweet smelling hyacinths and vegetables tucked in among the hollyhocks and sunflowers. She considered this beautiful garden a surprise to find given that it was in a tiny city backyard. Ever since then, Rain has found ways and places, no matter how small, to grow a variety of plants.

Rain is passionate about composting, crop rotation, companion planting, seed saving, beneficial insects and finding delicious and nutritious recipes to use up a harvest.

When the weather is too foul for walking in her gardens, you will find Rain playing in her greenhouse, canning in her kitchen, sewing eco-friendly gifts in her studio, making salves, lip balms and surf wax, or collecting seaweed for mulch at the beach.

In addition to tutoring students, ages 5-adult, Sandy began her career as a Language Therapist at Linden Hill School, a private school for dyslexic students. She was also a special needs and Title I reading instructor in the Rockport and Gloucester Public Schools, a preschool instructor for second language learners and a grades 3/4 classroom teacher before moving to Nantucket in 1987. Sandy is grateful to John Miller, whose guidance and support enabled her to establish the Reading & Writing Program with Jim Sulzer at Nantucket Elementary School, where she served as Reading Specialist for 12 years. After building on her knowledge of children's literature in her work at the Weezie Library for Children, Sandy was thrilled to join the Lighthouse School in the newly formed Primary 5 class in 2005. Sandy enjoys traveling with her husband Carter and their children Caleb and Emily, discovering the beautiful lands and people in Cape Breton, St. Lucia, Costa Rica, Europe and most recently, New Zealand. Naturally, she is an avid reader, and loves to cook and explore the natural beauty of the island on her daily walks with Carter and their dog, Maya.

508-228-0427

As creator, director and executive producer, Russell Morash is credited with introducing the “how-to” concept to public television through his many award-winning series including “The Victory Garden,” “The French Chef with Julia Child” and “This Old House,” among others. Russ serves as the Chair of our horticulture studies and as an advisor to our Director of Horticulture.

 

Russ and his wife Marian, author and founding chef of Nantucket’s Straight Wharf Restaurant, spend summers at their home in Shawkemo. There “he” grows and “she” cooks from a vast vegetable garden. Morash occasionally contributes columns in the Inquirer and Mirror on gardening as well as monthly items for the magazine “Nantucket Today.”

Lizza Obremski grew up on Nantucket and has been working with children for over 20 years.  Upon graduating from Nantucket High School, a career in teaching seemed an obvious choice.  Lizza earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Theater from Wheelock College in Boston and then moved back to Nantucket, where she became a Teaching Assistant at Nantucket Elementary School.  She moved on to teach Small School at Nantucket Lighthouse School, where she discovered the philosophy on which she has based her work with children ever since.

In addition to her career on Nantucket, Lizza has taught in Beirut, Lebanon and Costa Rica. She is also the founder of Nanpuppets, a band of hand puppets that provide a space where all people, young and old, can learn and laugh simultaneously.

In between her many adventures, Lizza has remained involved in Nantucket Lighthouse School and is thrilled to be back teaching!

 

508-228-0427

508-228-0427 Extension 1010 alynn@nantucketlighthouseschool.org

Allyson Mitchell grew up on Nantucket. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and has nearly completed a master's degree in Business Administration at Northeastern University. Her employment history includes experience in hospitality, pediatric health advocacy, business administration, and much more. She acquired extensive skills working at Miacomet Golf Club and Straight Wharf Restaurant, where she held key management positions. In addition, she co-chaired the Summer Groove at the Boys and Girls Club. Allyson and her husband, Sean, have two young sons, ages 3 and 5.

 

Extension 1013

Jean Witt has formally worked in education since 1999, upon earning a Master’s degree from Boston University.  Her interest in education stemmed from her experiences as a peer mentor and course instructor for the University of Rhode Island, and from her coaching experiences. After working as a middle school English teacher for 13 years and continuing her own education, Jean pursued licensure as an ESL teacher, and broadened her teaching to include PK-8 students.  Her interest in this field was nurtured during her sabbatical year of study at Boston University, and a unique opportunity to serve as a founding member of the Boston Public School’s Newcomers Academy. Jean is also interested in teacher education and development and has worked as the mentor coordinator for both the Braintree and Nantucket Public Schools.  Jean pursued a secondary master’s degree in Organizational Management  and substantial coursework in Curriculum and Instruction, and is an experienced school administrator.  Three years ago, Jean and her husband moved to the island of Nantucket with their young children, Tristan and Ryann.  In her spare time, Jean enjoys spending time at the beach with her family and running.  Jean is delighted for the opportunity to work for the Nantucket Lighthouse School.

 

Extension 1012

After graduating from the International School of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef –Bonn (Germany), Barbara completed a F&B Management Trainee Program at The Ritz Carlton Berlin. She then continued her career in Group & Event Management at The Regent Berlin before moving to Nantucket in 2010. Together with her husband Kyle and their daughter Claire they have made Nantucket their home.

Barbara started working for Nantucket Lighthouse School in January of 2014 and has since then enjoyed being part of the school community in various capacities.

In her leisure time, Barbara enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and pursues her joy for photography.

508-228-0427 Extension 1025 bzachary@nantucketlighthouseschool.or