The 2007-2008 Rumney Memorial School Staff

Adam Rosen, principal, joins Rumney with 15 years experience as a teacher, special educator and program developer.  Adam is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and has a Master’s Degree in Education from Antioch New England Graduate School and Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Castleton State College. Adam lives in East Montpelier with his wife, Jennifer Calder, and two daughters: Terrin (9) and Aliyah (7).  He enjoys reading, bicycling, berry growing and picking, jelly-making, small carpentry projects, cross country skiing, most of all, long walks on quiet mornings.

Diana Costello - 3rd-4th teacher, 2nd year at Rumney, 11th year in teaching.  Diana grew up in Connecticut but knew she belonged in Vermont after graduating from Lyndon State College in 1986 with a B.S. in Elementary Education.  She has taught pre-school/Kindergarten, 4th grade, and  5/6 at Roxbury Village School.  For the past 15 years, she has lived in Moretown with her husband Chris, who also teaches 3/4 at Thatcher Brook Primary School.  Her daughters, Katie (15) and Meghan (13) both attend Harwood Union High School. Diana and her family enjoy playing vigorously outside in all four seasons. When forced to be indoors, she reads, sews, or redecorates her house. Her dream of going to a tropical destination came true this past summer - Tortola was paradise!

Margaret (Scottie) Brower – 3/4 Grade Teacher, 24th year. Scottie was born in Washington, Pennsylvania and grew up in Long Island and in Connecticut. She has a daughter, Caitlin, two grown stepchildren, and two grandchildren. Scottie graduated from Colby College and earned her masters degree from Bank Street College of Education. Scottie enjoys reading, traveling, working on dreams, and yoga.

Jennifer Campbell - Art Teacher,7th year. Jen was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey and moved to Vermont in 1988. She earned her BFA in Fine Arts from Johnson State College and her teaching certification from the University of Vermont. Jen lives in Waterbury Center where she enjoys the surrounding mountains for hiking, running, swimming, field hockey, and both downhill and cross-country skiing. One of her goals is to take a few weeks and hike the Long Trail from end to end. Other interests include music and theater and, of course, art!

Jessica Lyle Chaplin - Special Education Tutor, 17th year. Jessica grew up in New York and moved to Vermont in 1973 after graduating from Ithaca College. Jessica and her husband Mark have three daughters. She enjoys reading, tennis, scuba diving, making baskets and canoeing.

Becky Crandell - Kindergarten Teacher, 2nd year. Becky was born in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, and grew up all over including Nashville, London and Denver. She received her B.A. from Metro State College in Denver, and completed her Master’s in Education at UVM. She and her family live in East Montpelier where they enjoy gardening, music, art and traveling.

Linda Emmons - 3/4 Grade Teacher, 7th year at Rumney. Linda is a local girl who went to both East Montpelier Elementary School and Union 32. She is also a proud graduate of Lyndon State College. Linda enjoys biking, reading, cross country skiing, kayaking and spending time with her family. She lives in an East Calais "fixer upper" with her husband, Brian, her one year old daughter, Lea, and her cat ‘Grizzly’ whom she is sometimes fond of, but mostly just tolerates!

Christa Danyew – Tutor, 6th year. My husband, Howard and our children, Alicia and Andrew built our home 9 years ago.  Christa enjoys the Boston Red Sox, camping, gardening and sewing.

Maribeth Domanski - 1/2 Grade Teacher, 18th year. Maribeth graduated and completed her master’s degree from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. She taught first grade for four years in New Jersey. Maribeth and her husband, O.W., have two grown children, Jesse and Marissa and both were Rumney students K-6. Her hobbies are hiking, tennis, kayaking, reading and cross-country skiing.

Katy Farber – 5/6 Teacher, 5th year. Katy grew up in State College, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, she moved back east to teach New York City school children at an environmental education center. She then completed her Master’s of Science in Teaching in Elementary Education at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. Katy taught fifth grade at the Twinfield Union School for two years before coming to Rumney. She enjoys running, biking, hiking and skiing.

Laurie Fielder – Administrative Assistant, 6th year. Laurie grew up in Underhill, VT, and is a graduate of UVM. She lives in Middlesex with her husband, Shaun, and two sons, Zachary and Ethan. Her interests include camping, hiking, mountain biking, gardening, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and knitting.

Sharon Spector Grossi — Guidance Counselor, 5th year. Sharon grew up in Beverly, MA and graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 1994. After living in St. Paul and Duluth, MN, she moved to Vermont and graduated with a master’s degree in counseling from UVM in 2000. Sharon lives in Worcester with her husband, Jacob, and son, Sage. In her free time, Sharon enjoys being outdoors, cross-country skiing, music, gardening, natural foods cooking, and any kind of craft she has time to learn.

Chip Hedler – Educational Technology Resource Teacher and Math Extension Coordinator, 10th year. Chip came to Rumney after teaching in two different Vermont one-room schools and working in environmental education. He has a Master’s degree in science and elementary education from Antioch New England Graduate School. Chip, his wife, Maria, and her two children are now located in Norwich, VT, and hiking, biking, backcountry skiing, and contra dancing. This year Chip is experimenting with motorcycle commuting when the weather permits.

Martha Page Israel - School Nurse, 8th year. Martha graduated from the Claremont Colleges in California with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and has a B.S.N. (nursing) from the University of Southern Maine in Portland where she worked in the student clinic for four years. Martha was the nurse at Union Elementary School in Montpelier before coming to Rumney. She lives in East Montpelier with her children, two dogs, and two horses. In their free time they try to escape to their camp in western Maine.

Leslie Johnson - Early Education teacher, 2nd year at Rumney.  Leslie grew up on the Connecticut shoreline and moved to Vermont in 1987.  She earned her bachelors degree at Vermont College of Norwich University in Montpelier Vermont.  She taught pre-school for nine years at Sunrise Montessori School in Waitsfield.  She has also taught kindergarten and grades one and two. Leslie lives in Waitsfield and has four children ages 11, 14, 18, and 20.  She enjoys teaching, spending time with her family, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, yoga and meditation.

Tamara Joslyn, Paraprofessional and Athletic Director.  This is Tamara's 8th year at Rumney.  Tamara enjoys reality TV, cooking 30 minute meals, camping, biking and knitting.


Denise Joy – Learning Specialist, 3rd year at Rumney. Denise came to Rumney from U32, working as the Behavioral Specialist grades 7 through 12 as well as the Boys Varsity Tennis Coach. Her first career was in nursing. She then earned her Masters Degree in Education from UVM with a
Certificate of Advanced Study in Emotional Behavioral Disabilities. She enjoys her family, which includes her husband, John and her three children, Patrick, Kelly and Ryan. Other interests include tennis, fishing, running and hiking.

Woodrow LaMountain, Jr. - Custodian, 20th year. Woodrow was born and raised in the Worcester and Montpelier area. He and his wife, Joyce, live in Calais. Woodrow enjoys playing music on many instruments (accordion mostly), raising animals and gardening.

Andrea (Andy) Lewis, Special Education Tutor, 18th year. Andy graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in elementary education. During her years at Rumney she has been employed as a substitute teacher, a half-time 4th grade teacher, classroom assistant and tutor. Andy lives in Middlesex with her husband. They have four children, Carrie, Jon, Kelly and Kyle. She enjoys reading, walking and spending time with family and friends.

Maggie McGlynn – Speech-Language Pathologist, 1st year at Rumney. Maggie recently earned her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from UVM.  She grew up in Switzerland where she worked in Elementary Education (1st through 3rd Grade) for 5 years. She moved to Waterbury, Vermont in 2003 with her husband and two sons after living in New Jersey for fourteen years.  She enjoys spending time with her family, skiing and snowboarding, biking, hiking, and reading.

Jennifer Morrone Spanish Teacher, 3rd year. Jennifer was born and raised in Suffern, New York. She majored in Spanish at Castleton State College in Vermont and enhanced her language experiences by studying in Chile, South America. After graduating with a BA in Spanish, Jennifer continued her education and earned her Master’s of Science in Teaching at SUNY Potsdam. Besides her love for teaching Spanish to young children, Jen loves Vermont and the outdoors! Jen currently lives at Bolton Valley, where she enjoys the beautiful sunsets, hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding and cooking too!

David Morse - Physical Education Teacher, 17th year. David attended Harwood Union High School and graduated from Lyndon State College. David is married to a teacher and they have two children, and two grandchildren. David enjoys all sports but loves playing hockey, volleyball, golf and attending UVM hockey games. He is also the varsity boys’ ice hockey coach at Harwood Union High School.

Mary Francis O’Neil – Reading Teacher, 2nd year. Mary Francis moved to Vermont from Florida in 1980. She graduated from Trinity College in 1988 with a PA in Psychology and went on to specialize in reading instruction with children and adults. She lives in Worcester with her husband, Mark, and son, Tom. She enjoys fishing, reading and hiking.

Deb Prescott - Cook & Food Service Manager, 6th year. Deb grew up in Montpelier and has lived on Culver Hill in Middlesex for 21 years. She has been part of Rumney in various capacities since 1991.  Her son, Corey, is 20 and lives in Berlin, Vt.  She enjoys horseback riding, her cat, all animals, and, of course, cooking.

Sue Pryce - Special Education Tutor, 12th year. Sue has lived in Middlesex since 1975. She graduated from Montpelier High School in 1967 and UVM in 1971 with a B.S. in Human Services. She worked for Headstart for 8 years, then operated a preschool for 9 years. Sue is the proud mom of three sons, two daughter-in-laws, and grandma to Jordi Tate Pryce. Her joys include family time, kayaking, sugaring, adventures with good friends and journeys to new places.

Robin Rattazzi - Special Education Tutor, 9th year. My husband and I built our house in Middlesex 25 years ago. In my free time I enjoy my family, gardening, my animals and weaving.

Heather Robitaille - 5th-6th teacher, 1st year at Rumney. She was born in Dracut, Massachusetts and grew up in New Hampshire, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and her Masters in Elementary Education at the University of New Hampshire. She taught 6th grade in Nashua, NH and a multiage classroom with 4th and 5th grade students in Washington, NH. Having just  moved to this state, she is very excited to call Vermont her new home. She enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, reading, and working out. 

Sarah Schmokel - Kindergarten Assistant, 2nd year. Before coming to Rumney, I worked as a Reading and Math tutor for second grade students at an American school in Germany, where I lived with my family for almost 9 years.  I also ran  a support group for families with special needs children, and worked as a parent advisor/advocate.  I hold a B.S. in Business Administration, and prior to working in elementary education, I worked for the University of Southern California and Russell Sage College in their Graduate Degree Studies programs.  In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, yoga, the incredible Vermont landscape and (according to my family), collecting all sorts of useless things.

Julie Smart - Special Educator, 8th year. Julie graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History and a Masters in Teaching special and elementary education. Julie and her husband, Chris, live in Montpelier with their daughter, Alex, and son, Avery. They enjoy camping, canoeing, reading, snowshoeing, relaxing on the front porch, and sleeping through the night!

Lynne Woodard - Librarian, 9th year. Lynne grew up in Saxton’s River, Vermont, and received a B.S. in Art Education from UVM in 1974. In 1994, after living a quiet life of adventure, she finally finished a master’s degree at UVM and became certified as a school library media specialist. Each year at Rumney has been even better than the year before. Away from school, she likes doing stuff with the children in her family (Nat, Sarah, Gretchen, Hannah and Rory) and her granddaughters, Lila and Adele.