Country School Welcomes New Faculty

Sierra Adler will join us as the Lower School science assistant teacher.  She holds a B.A. in English and biology from Lewis and Clark College where she also served as a biology and environmental science teacher’s assistant and tutor.

Laura Tashji Clauss joins us as a dance teacher working in the Upper School elective arts program. Laura has a long list of theater, film, TV and dance credits. Her teaching experience includes the New England Academy of Dance, Performing Arts Conservatory, the Conservatory of Dance and other local schools.

Megan Collins comes to us to teach ceramics after stints at The Children’s School in Stamford, CT and the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan, where she has taught children of allages. Megan also spent five years teaching middle and lower school art in Taipei, Taiwan. As a working artist, she has exhibited at Art/Place in Fairfield, CT and several other galleries. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Hartford with a B.A. in studio art and writing and Southern Connecticut State University with an M.S. in art education. She will teach in the elective arts program.

Kristen Giacalone will join us as a Grade 3 homeroom teacher.  She holds a B.A. in sociology from Gettysburg College and an M.S. in childhood education from Fordham University.  For the past nine years, she has been a Grade 3 Head Teacher at Convent of the Sacred Heart School, NY.

 

Hannah Liu will join us to teach Latin in the Upper School.  Hannah is a graduate of Brown University with a B.A. in classics and religious studies. Hannah studied in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in 2015. She has extensive experience as a mentor and community developer via her work with the Office of the Chaplains, Student Activities Office and Brown’s Hillel. In addition to her Latin duties, she will serve as an advisor in the Grade 8.

 

Elisse LoPresti will join us as a Grade 5 homeroom teacher. Elisse holds a B.S. in elementary education from Central Connecticut State University and an M.A.T from Sacred Heart University, in addition to teacher certification in both CT and NY.  For the past five years, she has been a Grade 5 head teacher at Corlears School in New York City and Sarah Noble Intermediate School in New Milford, CT. 

 

Meaghan Mallin joined us on July 1 as the head of lower school.  Meaghan was the associate head of school and head of lower school at The Stanwich School in Greenwich. Meaghan was with The Stanwich School since 2002, serving as a Grade 4 teacher from 2002-2006, Head of Intermediate House since 2006, Head of Lower School since 2012, and in her current role since 2014. She holds a B.S. in accounting from Boston College and an M.A.T. from Manhattanville College.

 

Jessica McKinney will join the Kindergarten team as a lead teacher. With a B.A. in education with a focus in human development from Brown University and an M.A.T. from Manhattanville College, Jess spent the last five years teaching Kindergarten at the Foote School in New Haven, CT. Additionally, Jess has spent her summers working as a first grade Horizons teacher at Greens Farms Academy and most recently as a founding first grade Horizons teacher at Sacred Heart University.

Glenn Rodriguez will teach one section of Grade 5 Spanish and will advise in eighth grade and teach Spanish in the Upper School.  Glenn holds a B.A. in Spanish from SUNY Plattsburgh and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of the Americas in Mexico.  He has spent the last 12 years teaching Spanish at The Allen-Stevenson School in New York City.  His career in teaching languages has spanned Kindergarten through Grade 8.

 

Lin Yue Wang will teach Mandarin in Upper School. She is the founder of TalkOrange, a teaching and consulting company for families and schools who want to learn and apply Chinese language skills. Lin is a native of China and a graduate of St. John’s University with a B.S. in finance.

Steve Wilson will be a physical education teacher and coach for Middle and Upper School sports.  Steve received a B.S. in business administration/marketing from Manhattan College and an M.A.T. in physical education and sports pedagogy from Manhattanville College.  He joins our Athletic Department after 6 years of teaching PE and serving as assistant athletic director at Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, NY.