I have been working in education for the past 14 years, since graduating from Cedar Crest College with my BS in Elementary Ed. I have been a classroom teacher ranging in many configurations K-6 as well as an interventionist. In the spring of 2021, I graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with my Masters in Curriculum & Instruction with a certification in Educational Leadership. I became the principal at Albany Community School November 2021, due to a sudden vacancy. I love being a principal and working with all students and their families!

During my free time I enjoy hiking and being outside. In the summer of 2021, I thru hiked the Long Trail (Starts at MA border and goes through VT all the way to Canada.) I find nature to be very relaxing and I love animals. This past spring I got a puppy named Magnolia, a labradoodle, and we have been working hard on prosocial behavior. If you see us, feel free to say hi! I love working with children and I am really looking forward to this school year!

I love our school community and am honored to introduce you to our amazing team this school year.

Email: jthomas@ocsu.org
Website: https://acs.ocsu.org/o/acs
Phone: 802-755-6168

Born and raised in Massachusetts, I moved to Vermont in 2004 after living in the big cities of

Boston and Philadelphia. After purchasing 13 acres in Brownington my husband I bought a 13 ft.

1970 Skamper (camper) where we lived with our two cats and two dogs while building our

house and awaiting the birth of our child. Prior to working at the Albany Community School, I

worked for close to 20 years in the natural foods industry, most recently as manager at

Newport Natural Foods. I started working at Albany Community School in 2018 and this will be

my seventh school year. I am looking forward to the beginning of the school year and having

our building full of kids once again.

Hello, I am Ms Erica Baker, I live in Hardwick. This is a picture of me and my little dog Tia while we were camping. I also have a husky mix and my son's black lab living with me along with 2 cats. I was the afterschool site coordinator at Hardwick Elementary School for about 11 years and subbed during the school day. In 2021 I became an one on one para educator for a preschooler. The last two years I was a one on one para educator in a kindergarten & 3rd grade classroom. The summer of 2021 I started taking classes to get my teaching license. I will be taking my last class this Fall. I have a temporary license for this year. I am looking forward to a fun year!

My name is Rena Levine and I am the first grade teacher. I am new to the Albany area. I have taught kindergarten for the previous three years in the NEK. I love collecting American Girl dolls. I’m originally from southern Maryland, just outside of D.C. I am very excited to get to know the Albany Community School community.

Hello! Last year was such an amazing adventure as a math interventionist and STEAM teacher. I missed the classroom, though, and I am so excited to now be teaching our second and third grade classes this upcoming year. I have gotten a chance to know these kids, and I am really looking forward to building a classroom community where they can grow in every way.

I want to work closely with our community, so it might help for you to know a few things about me. This will be my 10th year in education, my ninth as a certified teacher. I have a background in special education, early childhood development, teaching second grade, and Pre-K through sixth grade math intervention. I started working in Albany for my first teaching job nine years ago. It was and continues to be a very special place to me.

Outside of work, I am a mother of three. My youngest child is just five months old. My favorite thing to do outside of school is hike! The mountains in Westmore are where I spend most of my leisure time. My little baby comes with me on most of my hikes, so we’ve been sticking to the shorter ones since she’s been on this earth. I am an all-weather outdoor enthusiast, and I am hoping that my students also find that our natural world, specifically the school’s amazing campus, is a place where they are able to get in touch with their most happy and authentic selves.

I look forward to school starting and working with all of you to make a great year for these kids!

Hello, my name is Kelly Turgeon. I have been a ParaEducator in the OCSU district for the past 11 years, having worked at COFEC, Albany, Orleans, and Brownington as well as in the CEC Center in Barton. I am very excited to be returning to Albany as the new 4th/5th grade teacher. I look forward to getting to know all the students and growing with them throughout the year. I like to read, do crafts, listen to music, sit at the beach or even just outside to read, and play games. I have been busy this summer with transforming one of my rooms in my house into a little home office area/exercise area so that has kept me occupied while trying to avoid all the rain this summer. I have also been working on some obedience training with our 3 yr old Yellow Lab named Rocko and going to the Dog Park in Derby. I have 2 daughters who both just graduated High School this past year and are working on figuring out their next journey and my husband has been busy finishing up some small projects around the house. I look forward to getting back to school, getting into a routine again, and getting back to some “normalcy.” I look forward to meeting you all soon and working with you this school year!

My name is Phun Gile, I am a Middle School Math Teacher at Albany Community School. I have been working in OCSU as a paraeducator since 2009 and last school year I had an opportunity to be the After School Site Coordinator at Albany and that gave me a chance to get to know students, parents and work with Albany Staff during After and Summer School.

I have 3 boys at the age of 26, 23 and 19, I am having a fun time being “Ya Ya” to my 1st grandson who will be 2 years old in October. My whole family loves sports, my husband and I helped coach our boys’ sport teams whether Baseball, Soccer, Football and Basketball. I am so excited to work with Albany students and staff!!! Let’s have a great year together!

Rachel Deonigi is originally from the Pacific Northwest, and has lived in many different places Out West before discovering the Northeast Kingdom and happily settling here. Rachel is starting her 5th year here at Albany Community School, and she is very excited to teach students about the joy and wonder of the natural world. Rachel loves to teach using hands-on activities and student-led, discovery based learning. When she is not at school you can find her going for long walks with her dog, having phone conversations with old friends, or relaxing at home with her new kitty, Lucy!

This will be my third year being mistaken for a student at ACS! If you can find me in the crowd of students, you might recognize me as the middle school Humanities teacher. Outside of school, you’ll find me playing music, exploring with my dog, snowboarding (or thinking about snowboarding), or reading a good book!

I’m looking forward to another year of learning and connecting with the Albany community!

Hello! My name is Rachel Lemay and I am joining Albany Community School as your art teacher! I’ve previously taught elementary art, middle school art, afterschool art classes, and art summer camps throughout Lamoille County. My favorite mediums to use for my own art, and with students, are clay, painting, and printmaking. Outside of art, I have also taught dance and choreographed musicals for both youth and adults. I enjoy hiking, being in nature, knitting, traveling, and cooking. I am looking forward to being a part of the ACS community and working with your student to create some amazing works of art!

I'm your friendly former kindergarten teacher transformed into Charles Supernaw: Music Teacher. I've worked at the Albany Community School for the last nine years and have loved 99.9% of it. We're gonna go ahead and round that up.

I have two kids, two cats, two chickens, and one amazing partner. I love spending time with my family and friends outdoors and am an avid skier and snowboarder.

I am psyched to partner with my colleagues and our community's wonderful families to foster a love of music and expand the musical knowledge of our students.

Pictured: Myself, my daughter Elowyn, my wife Nicolette, and my son Elias (pictured as a minotaur, because he doesn't like having his picture taken)

I love to be outside and hike, bike and coach sports. My goals for this year in physical education this year are to promote physical fitness as Fun. The students will learn to develop good teamwork, sportsmanship and cooperation. We will do a wide variety of games and sport activities throughout the year. Most important is to teach the students to teach them lifetime activities that they can do for the rest of their lives.

My name is Donna Bousquet. This is my 13th year at Albancy Community school and I will be a full time reading interventionist. I will miss being the Librarian part time, but I will still be involved (as a committee member), with the CLiF Grant we received at the end of last year, and I will continue to organize the Spelling Bee, in February!

My role is to inspire our students to read and teach the skills and strategies they need to become better readers. I have had many roles in various grades throughout my teaching career. I started as a kindergarten teacher, was trained in Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy Intervention, taught 4th & 5th grade, and, in 2020, I was back in kindergarten! I have offered many enrichment programs in after school, over the years. My most popular is "Pet Care Club" ! I also enjoy participating in the Summer Program. This summer we had a great time with the students and went on some fun field trips.

I went to the University of Vermont for my Library/Media Specialist license in 2018, and for the last two years I had my dream job...I taught children to read as a Reading Interventionist, and then I inspired them to continue reading as the Librarian. I love all kinds of animals and creating all kinds of art (especially painting). I also love to sing and can break into song anytime...especially in the cafeteria! This year, I have the honor to be a mentor to one of our new teachers, Kelly Turgeon. I am looking forward to helping her grow in her practice! I'm excited for this new year ahead and I'm anxious to see all the students when we return to school!

I have been teaching at Albany Community School for the past 6 years, grades pre k - 3rd. I will be in a new role this year as a Special Educator and am looking forward to it. I have three children, five grandchildren, a dog, a cat, a horse, and two fish. I enjoy spending time with them. I grew up in Barton and still live there. I am looking forward to all the positive things we will accomplish together this year.

My education background is in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Special Education and Special Education K- 8th. I have worked over 12 years in education in different positions from a paraprofessional, teacher and special educator. My children and I live in Albany. My family and I like to travel and enjoy time at the ocean. I have enjoyed my past two years here at Albany and I can’t wait to see the students this year. Please feel free to contact me at the school anytime.

Hey everyone! I'm Emily Wells. This is my 3rd year working at Albany Community School. I was a paraprofessional to start, and am very excited to slide into my new role as SEL specialist. I have 3 children who also attend school here: Lillie (7th grade), Gene (4th grade) and Jacob (3rd grade). This summer, we enjoyed being a part of our summer program at school and all the amazing places we were able to visit. In our free time, my family and I enjoy road trips, visiting our favorite store- Barnes and Noble, going to the movies, and being outside.

I feel I still have so much to learn but also feel very supported by our amazing team at Albany! I may be a little bias, but in addition to having the best staff, we also have the best students. Our kiddos are amazing!

Cheers to a new school year and welcome all of our new staff! It's going to be an awesome year!

My name is Lindsay Martin and I am the School Counselor. I am also the EST (Educational Support Team) and 504 Coordinator. This is my second year in the role and my third year working for ACS. Previously, I have been a therapist and outdoor educator for many years and I enjoy spending time outside with kids. I also enjoy flower gardening, board games, and playing with our family dog! I have loved getting to know each of your children, celebrating their uniqueness, and finding creative ways to support their success at school. I look forward to welcoming them back soon and meeting our new students coming this year! Please contact me anytime if you have questions about my role, or would like to talk about how your child is doing at school, and their options for support.

I am in my 24th year as a para professional at Albany Community School. You will often find me working in middle school, and primarily in math classes. Helping to make math make sense for students is truly important to me. Being able to have an impact with students and see their growth throughout the year is absolutely why I love working at ACS!

In my time away from school I love being a part of my daughter's life, mowing my lawn, and maintain our home that we share with two cats which were adopted from a former ACS student.

My weekends often include side by side adventures in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Exploring new areas and meeting great people with similar interests keeps my life interesting.

I also have an immense appreciation for the beauty that can be found in nature and architecture, and I find a lot of peace in life by taking the time to appreciate the world around me.

Hello! I’m a paraeducator at ACS. This will be both my second year working at Albany, and my second year as a full-time paraeducator. I love being here and am delighted to come back and see everyone again.

In my free time, I like to swim, craft, play video games, and spend time with my family. This summer I’ve made jewelry, and hosted lots of garage sales, but mostly stayed at home with my beloved partner. I also recently celebrated my 23rd birthday at the tail end of the summer. What a way to end it off!

I am a paraeducator returning to the ACS community after 9 years in a neighboring district. I am a voracious reader and avid equestrian. I spend as much time as I can outdoors whether it's walking in the woods, kayaking, camping, fishing, riding, or laying in a hammock reading. I am looking forward to reconnecting with the families in my hometown.