Jennifer de Forest

Director of Upper School
The Calhoun School
jennifer.deforest@calhoun.org

Jen de Forest lives at the intersection of theory and practice. A historian of education, Jen enjoys taking the long view, and she strives to work in the tradition of such educator-scholars as Caroline Pratt, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Eleanor Duckworth, and Ted Sizer.

Emily Jones

Head of School
The Putney School
ejones@putneyschool.org

Emily has created her own graduate school of education by living and working all over the world. She is fascinated by the ways in which brain science is confirming what early progressive educators knew by observation.

Sharon Lauer

Head of School
The Unquowa School
sharon.lauer@unquowa.org

Sharon sees her most important role as a progressive independent school leader as that of creating an environment where knowledgeable, curious educators can guide the understanding and curiosity of young people.

Jane Moulding

Head of School
The Cambridge School of Weston
jmoulding@csw.org

Jane Moulding is a hands-on head of school who loves the "change and innovation" parts of progressive education. She also loves the nineteenth century in literature and the arts.

Anthony Yacobellis

Elementary Mathematics Teacher
The Calhoun School
Anthony.Yacobellis@calhoun.org

Anthony has been teaching at The Calhoun School in New York City for the past twelve years. He believes firmly that students should be active participants in their learning and has found a niche teaching elementary mathematics from a Constructivist approach.

Tom Evans

Dean of Faculty
The Cambridge School of Weston
Tevans@csw.org

Tom Evans is currently dean of faculty at CSW. He is a visual artist and playwright who has been a progressive educator for the last 25 years. When he first heard about PEL, he said: "Wow, I want to work at a school that teaches teachers."

Kevin Feal-Staub

Math Teacher
The Putney School
kfealstaub@putneyschool.org

Kevin Feal-Staub is a mentor teacher by both instinct and training. He has done curriculum development in a variety of school settings - public, independent, and virtual - and is a quietly radical force in education.

Francesco Filiaci

Biology Teacher
The Calhoun School
francesco.filiaci@calhoun.org

Francesco Filiaci is a long-time artisan of place-based education. Francesco is particularly skilled at creating situations where his students become each other's teachers.

Marilyn Del Donno

Science Teacher
The Cambridge School of Weston
mdeldonno@csw.org

Marilyn Del Donno is a science teacher and sustainability coordinator, with a background in oceanography; Marilyn is a jill of all trades and confesses a fascination with compost toilets.

Alice Desgranges

Visual Arts Teacher
The Unquowa School
alice.desgranges@unquowa.org

Alice Desgranges worked for the United Nations in Switzerland while earning her Masters in International Relations. Later while working for an international finance company in Paris she decided to pursue her passion for art and attended the Ecole du Louvre.

Rachel Hirsch

History Teacher
The Cambridge School of Weston
rhirsch@csw.org

Rachel Hirsch is known for her love of Alexander the Great (and she has the tattoo to prove it), Rachel is a historian who inspires...

Danny Isquith

College Counselor & Teacher
The Calhoun School
danny.isquith@calhoun.org

Danny Isquith is an inveterate puzzler. He constructs and deconstructs puzzles of all kinds with his students as a way of investigating their metacognitive processes.

Tad Lawrence

Science Department Chair
The Cambridge School of Weston
tlawrence@csw.org

Tad Lawrence is the head of the science department at CSW and a member of the visual arts department as well. He is an active proponent of diversity in independent schools. Tad began his career following individually tagged beetles - insects - around New England and the mid-west.

Glenn Littledale

Science Teacher
The Putney School
glittledale@putneyschool.org

Glenn Littledale's life exemplifies learning by doing - farmer, astronomer, physics teacher, jack of all trades. He specializes in creating the conditions in which students have to figure things out for themselves.

Nathan Zweig

Existentialism, Creative Writing and Meditation Teacher
The Putney School
nzweig@putneyschool.org

Nathan is a master of the discussion class. He won't tell his students what he thinks, but he questions and prods and smiles in a patient way, and his students learn they will have to think for themselves.

Ellen Kwon

Language Arts Teacher
The Calhoun School
ellen.kwon@calhoun.org

Ellen enjoys the challenges and rewards of finding ways to bring the curriculum to life outside the classroom. She and her students might be found acting out tragic Shakespearean scenes on Broadway, building rafts at Black Rock Forest, or brainstorming ideas for the spring production up on the green roof.

Amanda B. Smith

Lower School Teacher
The Calhoun School
amanda.smith@calhoun.org

Amanda considers herself a weaver of experiences. As a reflective practitioner, she strives to facilitate a learning environment founded upon the explorations and inquiries of the students. She believes individuals must be given the space and time to share the fibers that make them who they are and also to develop an appreciation of others.

Lynne Wienstein

Photography/Visual Arts Teacher
The Putney School
lweinstein@putneyschool.org

Lynne is nationally known photographer and is interested in photography as a tool for cultivating mindfulness. She teaches photography and also oversees Putney's evening arts program, which includes 40 courses ranging from blacksmithing and stained glass to Latin dance, meditation and madrigals.

Agents of Change