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. 

Christine has worked in education for 20 years, as an elementary classroom teacher, an interventionist for struggling learners, and an art museum educator. She earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Master’s degree in Art History from Williams College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Art and Spanish from Bowdoin College. She integrates her art practice and fluent Spanish with a commitment to social justice in her teaching. In her free time, she enjoys reading, yoga, getting outdoors, and keeping up with her two young children.

Like many others, Jay’s experience with math began as a child. Although it took her a long time to make sense of concepts, she enjoyed the journey of getting there. She was not a memorizer, therefore she had to make sense of the math in order to make it through. Her home life involved a lot of board games and play-based activities. Looking back, she is certain this is why she ended up seeing success in mathematics. She majored in mathematics and later completed a Masters’s in Mathematics Teaching. Throughout her journey, she’s discovered the value and importance of play. Most recently she’s been digging into learning more about how the brain learns through play. She’d like to focus on promoting productive struggle and sharing thinking through rigorous math tasks.  Jay is a play-based math specialist.

Cait is a graduate of Westfield State University’s Theatre program and has an MFA in English from Bay Path University. Cait spent her post-college years acting professionally in Washington DC. It was when she joined the cast of Shakespeare Alive and traveled to High Schools all over the East Coast teaching Shakespeare techniques, that she realized she had a passion for English education. She has spent the last 2 years teaching English as a Second Language (ELOS) to students from China. Cait also worked with international students pursuing the performing arts while living abroad in Spain and France. She loves integrating the arts into her lessons and always has fun keeping students active and thinking critically about the world around them!

Linda has written curriculum for all levels and has managed a department of 21 high school English teachers. She is a content expert whose focus is on student success at all levels, including special education, ESOL, college prep, and Advanced Placement. Linda is well acquainted with the Georgia Standards of Excellence for English, grades K-12. She served on a commission that determined the Common Core Georgia Standards when those were initially being adopted in 2009. She has written curriculum and lesson plans based on state standards throughout her career at all levels of sixth through twelfth grades. 

Mx. 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 Mx. Hammond’s background is primarily in high school physics, they also have experience teaching chemistry, engineering, electronics, environmental science, and middle school earth science. Mx. 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!

Leah Juelke, the 2018 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, is a high school English Language Arts teacher, K-12 ELL specialist, and literacy coach in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a decorated educator whose passion for global education, literacy, and creating a welcoming community for refugee and immigrant English Language Learners earned her a spot as one of the top 10 teachers in the world and a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2020. ​Leah is a certified teacher and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and ESL, a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and has started work on her Ph.D. in Reading, Literacy, and Assessment. She enjoys coaching debate and incorporating games and active learning into her classroom. She has worked with students in elementary, middle, and high school throughout her career and has taught and/or traveled in over 27 different countries.  Leah has a 9-year-old daughter, who loves to sing and perform, as well as a very busy 3-year-old dinosaur-loving son.

Melissa is passionate about educating the whole student. Her student-centered approach to education empowers her students to develop skills in critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, planning & time management, discourse, presenting information, self-advocacy, and confidence. Melissa holds an MEd in Educational Leadership, has over ten years of experience teaching high school science, and has developed student-centered high school and middle school curriculums. She cultivates her students’ love of science and learning by encouraging them to draw connections, develop a deeper understanding of content, and foster ownership in their learning.

Abby started working in public education 15 years ago. She’s worn many different hats, from classroom aide, substitute teacher, 1:1 paraprofessional, theater director, tutor, camp director, and finally classroom teacher. Abby has a B.A. in Education and Psychology from Mount Holyoke College and will be graduating this summer from their Masters of Arts in Teaching Mathematics program. During the summers for the last decade,  Abby has been the director of Summer Performing Arts Exploration, a theater camp for kids going into 5th-8th grade. During the school year, Abby works as a 3rd-grade classroom teacher in Brattleboro Vermont. She likes to integrate theater and her appreciation for the outdoors into her classroom. Abby loves working with kids of all ages, because of the opportunity to learn something new every day!

Koki is a teacher for Hadley Public Schools and a children’s literature fanatic. A graduate from Mount Holyoke College, she has the following certifications and endorsements in the state of Massachusetts, as well as experience tutoring students Kindergarten through eighth grade:

Massachusetts Early Childhood (Pre-K-2) Initial License
Massachusetts Elementary (1-6) Initial License
Massachusetts Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) License
Massachusetts Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement

Natalie is an assistant principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Franklin, Ky. She taught 7th grade Math and Pre-Algebra at Franklin-Simpson Middle School in Simpson County for 15 years and is in her 16th year in education. She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Grades Education. In 2010, she obtained her Masters in Instructional Leadership in order to be a Principal. She obtained National Board Certification in Early Adolescence Mathematics in 2013. In 2015, she received the Ashland Teacher Achievement Award. Natalie has held various roles in education which includes being a member of teacher education organizations such as the National Education Association, Kentucky Education Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Natalie was a Hope Street Group Kentucky Teacher Fellow and a NEA Great Public Schools Network online facilitator. Besides being involved in these organizations, Natalie has held other positions such as being a scorer for Pearson and serving as a math reviewer for EdReports.

Ann Neary is a National Board Certified Teacher, 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.

​Nellie Taylor has been teaching Math and Computer Science in the Pioneer Valley of MA for the past 18 years. She has also traveled across MA teaching AP Calculus workshops to students since 2009. When she’s not teaching, she’s a Mom to a vibrant 8-year-old future paleontologist (for now). She spends time cooking, crocheting, getting plants to grow, and being outdoors in the woods or on two wheels. She also loves yoga and sunshine.

Genessa is a passionate educator with over 16 years of combined classroom teaching and instructional leadership experience at the K-6 elementary level. She has earned her B.A. in Anthropology from Mt. Holyoke College, M.S. in Elementary Education from Connecticut State University, and M.A. in Teacher Leadership from Mt. Holyoke College. She is a patient and compassionate teacher known for forming strong connections with her students and inspiring them to become life-long learners filled with curiosity, confidence and strong communication skills. With a decade of experience as a literacy coach, Genessa has extensive knowledge of effective literacy instructional practices. She enjoys inspiring a love of reading and writing in her students, and helping them set goals and take ownership of their learning. Her interests include mindfulness, hiking, photography, and gardening.