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

Karen Blumberg 6,7,8 Grade Social Skills Counselor. Karen comes to TGS with 15 years experience working in the Brattleboro community as an outpatient therapist, a school-based clinician, and a small private practice where she works with children, adolescents, couples, adults and families. Karen also facilitates life-skills groups at The Brattleboro Area Middle School. She enjoys and has facilitated a number of parent evenings on parenting issues. Karen lives in Guilford VT with her energetic son and her partner Tim.
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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; MAT candidate 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, and has taught history at the high school level. Ken was a college level cross country runner and has coached after school sports at TGS. Ken started as the preschool assistant in 1994 and he became the head teacher in 1995. This year he will also be teaching 6th grade social studies and 6th grade PSD in the afternoons.
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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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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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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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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) Spanish Teacher. Susan arrived at The Grammar School in the fall of 2010 to initiate the new Spanish program and teach beginning Spanish to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. She presently teaches Spanish at SIT and previously taught at Northfield Mount Hermon School. Her love of Spanish began with extensive travels throughout Latin America and the three years spent 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 teacher training workshops for college students in Havana, Cuba as well as classes in Kao Lok, Thailand at a school founded for children orphaned by the 2004 tsunami.
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Libby McCawley (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 she has taught for a year in the preschool, two in the fourth grade, and is now in her second year of teaching Kindergarten.


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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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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.

Emily Weinberg Fourth Grade Classroom Teacher. Emily arrives at TGS with eight years of teaching experience in the middle elementary grades (six of those teaching fourth grade). Most recently Emily taught the intermediate grades at St. Michael's School, as well as in The Saxtons River and Grafton Elementary Schools. She completed the Upper Valley Teacher Certification Program and has an additional 34 graduate level credits in education. Emily loves working in her garden, taking long walks in the woods, traveling to foreign counties, and spending her days with students. She lives in Westminster West with her husband Zach and her two children, both TGS students.
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ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Phil Blood (B.A. Northeastern University; MALS University of New Hampshire) Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, comes to TGS from Forest Moon, a nonprofit founded by Phil and his wife to support cancer survivors. Over the past 12 years he also has worked as Assistant Director of Admissions and financial aid at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire. Phil lives in Guilford with his wife Cindy and their daughter.
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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 in Saxtons River 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) Communications and Alumni Development. Mary Heller Osgood will work with our administrative staff on communications including website management and publicity and alumni development. Mary also is the After School Sports coordinator, coordinator of student reports, and winter PSD teacher for 7th and 8th grades.


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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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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, sevent,h and eleventh grade. Steve has been the Head of School at TGS since September 2006, and this year will be teaching 7th grade social studies as well.
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Pauline O'Brien Director of Development, most recently served at Vermont Academy as the executive assistant to the Head of School, and as an assistant development officer. Before working at VA, O’Brien was the Director of Development at The Winston Prouty Center in Brattleboro and worked in development and administration at both the Austine School and Landmark College. Pauline lives in North Westminster with her husband Joe and two children.
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The Grammar School • 69 Hickory Ridge Road South • Putney VT 05346 • (802) 387-5364