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Current Parent “You have an entire school (teachers, parents, students) that exists to bring out the best in each student.”

Charlie Boswell (B.A. University of New Hampshire, MALS candidate Dartmouth College) Fifth Grade Teacher. Charlie earned his B.A. in English at UNH. Prior to coming to TGS in 1996, Charlie taught English and sculpture at The Putney School. Charlie has served as the athletic director at TGS and has coached cross-country running and cross-country skiing.

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Ken Brautigam (B.A. Beloit College: candidate M.A.T. Colgate University) Preschool Teacher. Ken brings to TGS a wealth of varied life experiences, including work as a Peace Corps volunteer for 3 years in Niger, West Africa. Prior to teaching at TGS, Ken taught pottery and was the assistant librarian at Putney School. In 1994, Ken was the preschool assistant and in 1995 he became the head teacher.

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William Chambers (B.A. Sarah Lawrence College; M.Ed. Antioch New England Graduate School) Art Teacher. William has over ten years experience teaching in a variety of elementary grades and his undergraduate degree concentration was Asia Studies and Sculpture. He is certified by the State of Vermont to teach art grades K-12. William is also Director of Summer Programs and teaches art during this time as well. Prior to classroom teaching, William taught puppetry and outdoor adventure skills to school groups in New England. William began at TGS in 2004.
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Libby McCawley Cowan (B.A. Kirkland College, M. Ed. Antioch University New England) Kindergarten Teacher. Libby has previously worked in a variety of capacities at TGS, most recently as the Fourth Grade Teacher, an intern in the Second Grade, and as a long-term substitute in Kindergarten and First Grade.


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Carol Cutts B.S. Nursing, University of Vermont) Music Assistant/Recorder and bells grades three through eight. Carol worked 18 years in the Townshend Elementary School as K-3 classroom assistant. She began working at TGS in 1999 as the preschool aide before taking the position as Assistant Music instructor.


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Chris Danforth Chris Danforth is the new social skills counselor for the pre school through 5th grade. She is a licensed mental health counselor and has been working with children, adolescents and families since 1996 as a teacher, mentor and counselor. She has been in private practice for the past year. Before this, Chris worked as a counselor at Kurn Hattin, a residential home for children ages 5 through 15, and at Youth Services as a Student Assistance Professional (SAP) in Bellows Falls Middle School, and as a family and individual counselor in the Bellows Falls area. She has a background in trauma counseling, substance use assessment, disability assessment and expressive arts.
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Ponnie Derby (B.S. Education, University of Texas; M.L.S., Simmons College) Librarian.  Ponnie previously worked as a librarian at the University of Texas.  She has also served as a board member of the Moore Free Library and as a member of Windham County Reads.  Ponnie has been the TGS Librarian since 1994.


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Laurie Penfield Fichter (B.A. University of New Hampshire, M.A. Georgetown University), Eighth Grade homeroom, 7th and 8th grade English, 7th and 8th grade social studies, Upper School Coordinator, and Secondary School Advisor.  Laurie’s previous teaching experience includes positions at the New Canaan Country School in Connecticut and at The Putney School.  She began her career at TGS as the sixth grade teacher in 1997.


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Johanna Gardner (BA, Mount Holyoke College) French Teacher. Johanna has taught at World Learning, Kroka Expeditions and Greenfield High School. She grew up in Newfane, Vermont, but has lived in Norway, France, and California. Her love of French began at Leland and Gray Union High School and flourished into a career. She loves teaching at TGS and commutes to work from her home in Newfane, where she lives with her husband and three children.

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Darcy Gibney(B.A. Colgate University, MAT Manhattanville College) Fourth Grade Teacher.  Most recently, Darcy was the Kindergarten Teacher at TGS from 2005-2010. Prior to coming to The Grammar School, she was the Kindergarten Aide at Chester-Andover Elementary school and the Children’s Librarian at Whiting Library in Chester.  She began her teaching career in New Canaan Country School as an apprentice in a multi-age 1-2 class and in 3rd grade.  She went on to teach third grade at The Town Hill School in Lakeville, Connecticut for 2 years and Second Grade at Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich Rhode Island for 4 years.
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Paul Hopkins (“Hop”) (B.S., University of Oregon; M.S. Antioch University New England) Seventh Grade homeroom, Science Teacher (grades 6, 7, and 8), 6th grade social studies, and PSD. Prior to coming to TGS in 2006, Hop taught health at Bellows Falls High School and Lynch Middle School in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He has also taught science in Bogotá, Colombia, and in rural North Carolina, where he was a charter member of Teach For America. He lives in Saxtons River with his wife and two daughters.

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Linda Kosiba(B.S. Speech Pathology, SUNY Albany, M.Ed Deaf Education, Western Maryland College) Third Grade Teacher.  Linda was a speech and language therapist in Colchester, Vermont, and she taught in a mainstreamed deaf education classroom in Marlborough, New Hampshire. For several years, Linda was an upper elementary teacher at the Austine School for the Deaf and then she taught third grade at the Green Street School, both in Brattleboro. When Linda arrived at TGS in 1993, she provided Academic Support for two years before becoming the third grade teacher. In 2004, Linda assumed the job of Assistant to Head of School for curriculum development as an additional responsibility. For several years, she has also enjoyed the job of soccer coach for the TGS third/fourth grades soccer team.
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Alli Lubin (B.A. Barnard College) Head of Music Department and Technology Administrator. For the past 37 years, Alli has been a performer and teacher of music in Vermont. She has taught elementary school music in Manchester, Wardsboro and Winhall, as well as special classes and projects at Flood Brook, Burr and Burton Seminary, West River Montessori School, Springfield Community College, and Putney School. Alli came to TGS in 1993 and has been Technology Administrator since 1998.
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Susan Madrigan (B.A. University of Massachusetts, M.A.T. School for International Training) Upper School Spanish Teacher. Susan will be initiating a new Spanish program and teach beginning Spanish to grades 6, 7, and 8. Susan presently teaches Spanish at S.I.T. and previously taught  at the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, MA. Her love of Spanish began through extensive travels throughout Latin America and three years as coordinator of the English department at El Sauce School in Tumbaco, Ecuador. More recently, she lived and taught for three years in Barcelona, Spain. Susan has also run classes and workshops in teacher training in Havana, Cuba for college students as well as in Kao Lok, Thailand at a school set up for children orphaned by the 2004 Tsunami.
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Eve McDermott(B.A. University of Vermont; M.Ed. Boston College) Second Grade Teacher.  Eve taught third grade in Wilmington, VT for several years and then taught fourth through sixth grades in the Brattleboro elementary schools. Prior to teaching, Eve worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as director of the publications exchange program and library assistant. Eve began teaching at TGS in 1994.


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Tara Meinhard (B.A. Haverford College) Sixth Grade English, Eighth Grade math, bookkeeping. Tara has been at TGS since 2001. A Vermont native and TGS graduate, Tara worked at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia before returning to Vermont. She teaches 6th grade English, a section of 8th grade math, works in the business office, and coordinates the school schedule.

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Kathy Richardson (B.A. Sonoma State College, California; C.M.A. Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies, New York; M.Ed. in math education from the University of Vermont) Kathy is the Sixth Grade homeroom teacher and teaches sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math as well as being one of the middle school PSD co-teachers. She leads the student council and helps to run the alpine skiing program. As part of her recent graduate work in mathematics with the Vermont Mathematics Initiative, she received a grant from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. An alumna, former parent and teacher, Kathy has been connected to TGS in many ways from its first years to now.
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Tracy Rodriguez (B.S. Education, University of Texas) First Grade Teacher. Tracy has 10 years of teaching experience, the majority of which have been at the preschool and Kindergarten levels. Early in her career she was a 4th grade bilingual teacher and also spent some time working with preschool aged children in Houston, TX. After moving to Austin, she taught Kindergarten for four years at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School before moving to New England. Tracy was an assistant in a special needs preschool classroom at Deerfield Elementary and, most recently, taught Kindergarten at The Bement School in Deerfield, MA.
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Patty Stickney 6th-8th Grade Social Skills Counselor Patty is the new sixth, seventh and eighth grade social skills counselor. Patty began her career as a nurse in a pediatric office. Patty coordinated and facilitated the Nurturing Parent and Family Programs for many years at HCRS offering education about parenting, normal child development as well as tools to build healthy families. For the past 13 years Patty has worked as a Masters Level Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor at Vermont Academy as a school counselor and in a private practice in the Saxtons River community.
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Jared Stolper (B.S. Music Theory SUNY Geneseo, Biology SUNY Geneseo, M.A Music Norwich University) K-1-2 Chorus, 3-4 Chorus and 7-8 Instrumental Studio. Jared has taught music in New England since 1976 on levels that range from Kindergarten to college. Jared enjoys outdoor sports and has a passion for traveling and enjoying the music found throughout the world. Jared presently sings in two world music groups, House Blend a small vocal ensemble and his acapella trio Triptych.

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ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Sara Dunbar Nurse/Health Consultant Sara will be our Nurse/Health Consultant for the coming year. Last year Sara led an all day First Aid/CPR training session with our entire staff and faculty. In the coming year, Sara will lead us in a refresher course in these same areas. Other duties for Sara will include checking, updating, and reviewing our health forms, health protocols, student records, and Parent and Student Handbook. She will be on call for consultation for all medical questions. Sara has been an athletic trainer and is an RN. She has served as a nurse at Vermont Academy and Springfield Hospital. She is currently employed part time at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Sara lives in Putney with her husband, Jon, and their three children.
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Deb Gray (B.A. University of Vermont) Business Manager, Physical Skills Development Teacher and Athletic Director. A Putney native and graduate of Putney School, Deb has helped coach numerous sports at TGS in addition to her administrative duties. She has taught PSD since 1998. Deb was the TGS bookkeeper in 1988 and has been Business Manager since 1990.

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Chris Harlow(B.A. Plymouth State College) Plant Manager, bus driver, and PSD Instructor. Chris has been in charge of transportation and buildings and grounds since 1990. He has been coaching the Upper School soccer team since 2000. Chris also teaches PSD classes, and is a certified instructor for ropes course and orienteering classes.
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Mary Heller Osgood (B.A. Dartmouth College )Mary Heller Osgood - Communications, Alumni, and Interim Development Director. Mary has taught at TGS for over 20 years. She currently works with our administrative staff on communications, including website management, publicity, alumni development and the planning of our fiftieth anniversary celebration, and the annual fund. Mary also is the After School Sports Coordinator.


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Tammy Holt Office Manager, bus driver. Tammy cares for the day to day running of The Grammar School for faculty, staff, students, and parents. Tammy started at TGS in 2004.

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Meg Lyons (B.S. Elmira College, M.A.T. Colgate University) Director of Admission, Financial Aid and Marketing. Meg began her TGS career during the summer of 2009. She brings to this position more than twenty years of independent school experience working coast to coast at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, The Collegiate School (NYC), the Buckley School (LA), and Noble & Greenough School (Boston). She has been a history and world cultures teacher for grades 7, 8, and 9 and more recently, an administrator in the areas of philanthropy, communications, and community relations. Meg was the recipient of a Fulbright summer grant to study and travel throughout India, an event she describes as a highlight of her teaching career and an important turning point for her personally.
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Steve Lorenz Head of School (BA University of Dayton, MS C.W. Post College, LIU). With over 25 years experience in education, Steve, of Chester,VT has most recently been the executive director of a museum and environmental education center in Grafton,VT and previously served as the principal of the Saxtons River School in Saxtons River,VT. He has taught in first, fourth, sixth, seventh and eleventh grade. Steve began as the Head of School at TGS in September of 2006.
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The Grammar School • 69 Hickory Ridge Road South • Putney VT 05346 • (802) 387-5364