Amy earned her Master of Arts degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from New York University. She taught Pre-K and elementary school classrooms for 12 years in New York City with additional years in non-traditional educational settings. In her last position, she taught elementary school science. Amy also taught English Composition to freshmen college students at Georgia College where she obtained a Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Throughout her teaching, Amy has always found ways to engage her students in the critical skills of English Language Arts by drawing upon their interests and tapping into their natural love for learning. Amy has a deep curiosity about every young person she meets and a recognition that getting to know her students well is instrumental in cultivating a positive collaborative experience.

Her goal as a tutor is to make the learning experience as joyful as possible. She is mindful of affirming and acknowledging her students' unique contributions to the world. Amy lives in Easthampton, MA, and loves to explore the beauty of Western Massachusetts through hiking excursions throughout the Valley whenever she can.

Ann Neary is a National Board Certified Teacher, a 16-year educator and teacher leader, currently teaching AP Literature, World Literature, Children's Literature, Contemporary Literature, and Journalism while shaking up the book room and curriculum at Staples High School in Westport, CT, and advocating for National Board teacher support across the state.

When not in the classroom, she can be found riding, sailing, and managing her tree farm with her husband and six children.

Catherine MacBain graduated from UMass with a Master'ss in Education. She is a retired teacher who has taught students from ages 5 to adulthood in Texas, Massachusetts, and as far away
as the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Her specialty is working with language learners and with all elementary subjects. She became bilingual in English and Spanish after a college semester
exchange program in Peru where she studied filmmaking.

Her interests include kayaking, traveling, going for walks, and spending time with friends and family. She believes that the most
beautiful place in the US is along the coastline of Oregon.

Christina graduated with honors from Elms College with both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Elementary Education. She started her career as a floating academic paraeducator, helping a variety of students with special needs in grades 1-6. As a classroom teacher, she was nominated for the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award¬†for the 2019-2020 school year.

She knows the importance of positive reinforcement and genuinely recognizing when students try their best! She loves creating fun learning experiences for students to maximize their engagement and encourages students' active participation and academic growth. When she‚Äôs not relaxing outside, she and her husband enjoy taking day trips to explore local areas of interest.

Dr. Megan Allen is the founder and chief learning curator at the Community Classroom. She works hard to serve students by matching them to their perfect teacher, thereby increasing knowledge, skill, confidence, and joy. To learn more about how and why she founded The Community Classroom, click here.

She is a National Board Certified Teacher who has worked in several roles in education, including 10 years as an elementary school teacher in Florida. Megan most recently worked as the Director of Partnerships for the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, the professional home for all state teachers of the year (she was the Florida 2010 State Teacher of the Year). She also served as director of the Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership at Mount Holyoke College, where she envisioned, pitched, and developed two graduate-level programs to support teachers across the world in their informal and formal leadership capacities.

Emmett (they/them) has been enthusiastically teaching people things they find interesting since age 2. A lifelong lover of mathematics and more recently an avid math pedagogy geek, Emmett hopes to make math more approachable, engaging, and meaningful for everyone (yes, even you!).

Things Emmett is excited about include, but are not limited to: botany, cats, cooking, fanfiction, fractals, ice skating, programming, repairing old sewing machines, singing, spreadsheets, snow, and whatever you're really excited about.

Jack's twelve years of teaching include elementary and middle school ESL and math in New York City and western Massachusetts. Jack's love of language inspired him to pursue his Masters of Education in ESL, and his enjoyment of numbers and numeric modeling of the world led to his licensure in mathematics. Jack has tutored Northampton High School students in Integrated Math I and college essay writing, and as a graduate student of regional planning at UMass, he was a teaching assistant of the Junior Year Writing seminar.

Jack loves to see real-world applications of quantitative analysis, good writing, and reflective thinking through planning and community development, and he pursues pickup soccer and life drawing from his home in Florence, MA.

Jan Szymaszek recently retired after working as a third-grade teacher at the Smith College Campus School in Northampton, Massachusetts, which is the laboratory school for the Smith College Department of Education and Child Study. In addition to working with college interns and elementary students for over thirty years at the Campus School, Szymaszek has also been involved with mathematics education in the wider community for many years. She is an experienced facilitator of several math seminars at Mount Holyoke College and in her local district and has contributed to various NSF projects involving teacher-written cases and looking closely at student thinking.

When she's not teaching, Szymaszek enjoys spending summers camping along the coasts of New England and North Carolina, visiting one son and his family in Seattle, Washington, and the other son who lives in southern Virginia, and also relaxing in her backyard with a great book in hand.

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Jennifer Warren is a math teacher at Northampton High School. She has always loved teaching others and chose teaching as her dream job all the way back in 8th Grade. No matter what district she's in, Jennifer always prioritizes building trusting relationships first before getting into academic work. It makes her feel better when students know she cares about them more as humans than just a letter grade.

She graduated from Smith College with a double bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Education & Child Study. While studying there, she tutored in Holyoke all four years and then continued that passion to now be a board member of that tutoring organization.

Josh is a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he studied Economics and Spanish. He received his Master's in Education from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, where he began his teaching career before traveling abroad and moving back to Massachusetts. Over the past 10 years, Josh has taught middle school math, high school math, ESL, and special education along with coaching volleyball and Scrabble teams.

In 2018 he received the Teacher of the Year award from Olney Charter High School in PA and now he currently teaches at Holyoke High School. Josh also enjoys reading, board games, and playing a variety of sports!

Ms. Hammond is a spirited science teacher whose passion is to prime students for physical science. Newtonian motion, energy conservation, electricity, and modern physics are just some of the topics that Mx. Hammond can clearly elucidate. While Ms. Hammond's background is primarily in high school physics, they also have experience teaching chemistry, engineering, electronics, environmental science, and middle school earth science.

Ms. Hammond has their B.A. in Physics from Boston University and their M.A. in Teacher Leadership from Mount Holyoke; coupled with years of teaching experience, they have the expertise necessary to reach any student!

Kali is a passionate reader and writer who loves sharing her interests and skills with students. She graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, and earned her MA in English from UMass Amherst. For the past ten years, Kali has worked in education, both as a teacher and in the public policy realm.

Karen Schweitzer, a teacher for 33 years, spent most of her career as a kindergarten, first and second-grade classroom teacher. After a brief foray into sixth and fifth grade, she has recently retired from serving as a third-grade teacher at the Anne T. Dunphy School, where she has taught for the past 28 years. In Schweitzer's classroom, all students can become mathematical thinkers. Her activities invite students to explore underlying concepts, create solutions, and work collaboratively. Karen believes that even the youngest minds can engage with big mathematical ideas, as demonstrated in her innovative work with primary students.

In addition to her classroom work, Schweitzer has been part of an ongoing series of National Science Foundation-funded projects with researchers from Mount Holyoke College, the Education Development Center, and TERC. She provides professional development in mathematics and math education for pre-service and in-service teachers around the country.

Karina Dise is a retired Special Needs Teacher with 21 years in the Education field and holds a Master's in Special Education and a Bachelor's in Business Administration. Founder of a nonprofit organization called Afri(K)que helping women and girls feel empowered by using their talents and artworks as a means of empowerment.

Her passion is to work with children of all ages and abilities. Children are all unique and different in their styles of learning, and she likes to personalize and individualize their learning experiences. On her own time, she loves to create different kinds of jewelry pieces.

Also, as a leader of a Cooking & Jewelry Club in Springfield, she has a goal of bringing people together in order to share culture and heritage and learn recipes from all around the world.

Kathryn Petruccelli is a performer and writer with an M.A. in teaching English language learners. She's taught expository writing in community college and university settings and worked with middle and high schoolers through California Poets-in-the-Schools and Mass Poetry. She taught with Seattle's Hugo House Youth Programs in Fall 2021. Her professional life has included translating "Hotel California" for Hungarian high schoolers and anthologizing verses by rival gang members. Her poetry and prose have appeared in many literary journals such as The Southern Review, New Ohio Review, Rattle, Poet Lore, Tinderbox, and Catamaran Literary Reader. Nominated for Best of the Net 2020, Kathryn is a past winner of San Francisco's Litquake essay contest and a finalist for the 2019 Omnidawn Broadside Poetry Prize.

Kerri has been teaching elementary school for the past 10 years and is most passionate about early literacy and writing. She believes that every student can be successful when given the right support and encouragement. She strives to build students' confidence by creating engaging and meaningful learning experiences.

Kerri enjoys finding creative and flexible ways to help students access the curriculum, meet their individual needs, and find learning joyful.

Meet Kramer, the friendly and curious red-eared slider who has become an integral part of our classroom community. Kramer isn't just any ordinary turtle - he's a dedicated member of our Turtle Reading Program (TRP), where he eagerly listens to students read aloud.

Kramer may not speak our language, but his attentive eyes and calm demeanor make him an ideal listener for our young readers. With his shell as his home, Kramer roams around his cozy tank, always ready to lend an ear to a good story.

While Kramer may seem quiet and reserved, he's actually quite the social butterfly among his classmates. His gentle nature and inquisitive personality make him a favorite among students, who often find solace in sharing their favorite books with him.

When he's not lounging in his tank or participating in reading sessions, you can often find Kramer basking under his heat lamp or taking a leisurely swim in his aquatic playground.

With his endearing charm and love for stories, Kramer truly embodies the spirit of learning and companionship in our classroom. He may be slow and steady, but his impact on our students' literacy skills and emotional well-being is nothing short of remarkable."

Leah a dedicated math tutor with over 7 years of experience teaching high school mathematics. Throughout her career, she has taught a wide range of math subjects, from foundational algebra to advanced courses, and she enjoys helping students build both confidence and skills in the subject. In addition to teaching, she has also coached and advised students, which has strengthened her ability to connect with learners, understand their unique needs, and support them beyond the classroom.

She believes every student can succeed in math with the right guidance, patience, and encouragement. Her goal as a tutor is to make math more approachable by breaking down challenging concepts into clear, manageable steps, while also fostering problem-solving skills that extend beyond the subject. Whether a student needs support catching up, wants to excel further, or simply seeks a deeper understanding, she brings enthusiasm, experience, and a student-centered approach to every session.

Libby Keller is a Massachusetts-licensed educator with a Master of Arts in Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor's from Smith College, right here in Northampton! She brings a beautiful blend of classroom teaching experience, community arts programming, and a genuine passion for creative, student-centered learning.

Currently teaching first and second grade at Warwick Community School, Libby has spent her career creating joyful, inclusive, and rigorous learning experiences for young people of all backgrounds and abilities. From museum education at the Smith College Museum of Art to arts programming at Girls Incorporated of New Hampshire, she has a gift for making learning feel like an adventure.

She is also bilingual in English and Spanish, and we could not be more thrilled to have her energy, expertise, and creativity with us this summer!

Lizzie is a 5th-grade teacher entering her 3rd year of teaching. She received her MAT in 2024 from Simmons University and is licensed in Elementary Education (1-6) and Moderate Needs Special Education (PreK-8).
She enjoys creating interactive and hands-on learning experiences that allow students to activate all parts of their brain.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the White Mountains, spending time outside with her dog, and knitting.