Faculty & Staff

Classroom Teachers
Music
Specialists
Administrative Staff Contact Us
Classroom Teachers

	Michelle Apazidis, Co-Teacher, First Grade, comes to us from Weymouth, MA with a B.A and initial licensure in Elementary Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. This is her second year teaching first grade at CLCS. She hopes to pursue her Masters in Teaching Reading and achieve professional licensure within the next few school years. She feels like CLCS is the perfect place for her to advance because of her love of singing and music. She has been singing in choirs and independently at special private and public events since she was 12. Her choir, which she is now an alumnus of, The Sydney Singers 2000, sang at various events in the 2000 summer Olympic Games in Sydney Australia. She enjoys singing many genres including country, songs from Broadway musicals, pop ballads, oldies classics, and some blues.
	Afton Cotton, Lead Teacher, Fourth Grade, has been teaching at CLCS since the fall of 2006. She received a B.A. from Brandeis University in Music Composition and initial licensure in Elementary Education, and is working in an environment that integrates her interests so well. Afton believes passionately in the the importance of the arts to learning and child development and affects the positive aspects of the Learning Through Music model at CLCS every day. Afton continues to study and practice music in her daily life, singing in a choir, learning the violin along with her students and composing when she can find the time. She currently resides in Weston.
	Althea Dias, Lead Teacher, Third Grade, began her teaching career in Kingston, Jamaica. She received a B.A. in Primary Education from Mico Teachers’ College in Jamaica and a B.A. in Elementary Education/Liberal Arts from The College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She also received a Masters in Special Education for Moderate Needs from Cambridge College. Miss Dias is in her tenth year of teaching. She is not musically gifted, but can play a LITTLE drum and violin. Miss Dias believes that using music throughout the curriculum helps to integrate and reinforce concepts, and provides students with the opportunity for creative expression.
	Margaret Dunn, Lead Teacher, Second Grade, has been teaching at CLCS for over 5 years. Once upon a time she was a weaver and received her bachelor's degree from RIT in Weaving and Textile Design. She then headed to France for a year of tapestry studies with Les Manufactures Nationales des Gobelins in Paris. Since then she has taken a turn in careers, operating a family daycare for several years while her daughter was small and now teaching. In 2000, she received her master's degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College and came straight to CLCS. She lives in Milton.
	Megan Howe, Co-Teacher, Kindergarten, is a recent graduate of Boston College, where she received her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Teaching English Language Learners. She received her BA from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, earning a degree in Child Development and additional certifications in Elementary Education and Reading. She has been an AmeriCorps volunteer teacher for the past two years at an urban Catholic School in the Boston area. Originally from the rolling hills of Western New York, Megan loves traveling, storytelling, reading, all forms of dance, and enjoys playing the guitar at home and in the classroom.
	Shalem Kaufer, Co-Teacher, First Grade , is a graduate of Lesley University where she received her Master's in Elementary Education. She feels very strongly that it is important to teach to diverse learners and that by integrating music into the curriculum, CLCS educators are working toward this goal. She lives in Brighton.
	Christina Marasco, Co-Teacher, Kindergarten
	Linda Wilson, Lead Teacher, Fifth Grade, is in her ninth year of teaching and her second at CLCS. She has degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Cardinal Stritch College. Before coming to CLCS, Ms. Wilson integrated music with instruction and is happy to now be teaching at a school with a Learning through Music model. Ms. Wilson plays clarinet and is learning to play violin.
Music Teachers

	Masami Stampf Rodriguez, Learning Through Music Specialist and Violin Program Coordinator, has been teaching at the Conservatory Lab Charter School since 2000. She has a MA and BA in child development from Tufts University, and a BM in violin performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. She started playing violin when she was four years old, and has performed in more than twenty countries around the world.
	Pampa Rotolo, Learning Through Music Specialist began working at CLCS in August 2007. Most recently, she was a classroom teacher at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She has a B.A in Music from Oberlin College and plays various instruments including piano and guitar. As a chorister with the Cathedral Choral Society, she regularly performed at the National Cathedral and the Kennedy Center.
	Kristy Foye, Violin, began teaching at CLCS in December 2005. Ms. Foye graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She is currently attending the Boston Conservatory for her Master’s degree in Music Education. Ms. Foye is also a cellist and has been playing since she was in fourth grade. Ms. Foye enjoys listening to and playing all kinds of music on the violin/cello including classical, rock, jazz, blues, and especially klezmer. She lives in Norwood.
	Mona Rashad, Violin, returned this year to the CLCS. She also teaches at the Dana Hall School and the Westwood Public Schools Prodigy Program. Past Violin Faculty positions include teaching in the Holyoke Public Schools and the Norwood Public Schools. Ms. Rashad studied Violin Performance and Music Education at Rice University and the New England Conservatory where she was a student of James Buswell. A recipient of the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance, Ms. Rashad is an advocate for New Music and has performed works by John Zorn, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Giacinto Scelsi, David Shea, Hillary Zipper, and Joe Maneri.
	Katherine Athanasiou, Music K–5, began teaching at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in 2001. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Flute Performance from New England Conservatory and a Master's Degree in Music Education from the Hartt School in Connecticut.
Specialists
	Natalia Cepeda, ELL, joined our school in November 2006. She got her B.A. in languages in her native Argentina. She is licensed in ESL and Spanish. She was the academic director at HablEspana, a Language School in Boston, for seven years. She is currently getting a Masters Degree in Applied Linguistics from UMass. She has a passion for teaching. She taught her first language class at the age of fourteen, and she hasn't stopped teaching since then. She studied piano for eight years and she loves being able to attend our weekly assemblies.
	Craig Keefe, Social Work Consultant, has been part time at CLCS since 2002. Craig is the Clinical Director at The Academy of Physical and Social Development in Newton and maintains a private practice, which is also in Newton. Craig also keeps very busy serving on The Board of Directors for The Watertown Boy’s and Girls Club and is a part time Faculty member at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. Craig earned his BA in psychology from Wheaton College and his Masters degree in social work from Boston College. He often regrets not learning an instrument at an early age but currently has been trying to find time to resume taking saxophone lessons.
	Ellie Meyer, Occupational Therapist, has been part-time at CLCS since October 2005. Ellie received her BA in Comparative Area Studies from Duke University and her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University. She is certified in administering the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test and has more than 17 years experience treating children with a wide variety of needs in the hospital, home and school settings.
	Lisa Pacillo, Reading Specialist, Literacy Specialist, joined the CLCS staff in 2006. She began her teaching career in Maine, where she taught 6th grade for one year, before moving to Brooklyn, NY. During her six year stay in Brooklyn, she worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant at two different charter schools. Before moving back to the Boston area, she obtained her Masters in Literacy from Hunter College. She has a strong belief in charter schools, and believes that charter schools can raise the level of education children in urban areas receive. Lisa loves that music is such a large part of the school and is enjoying learning more about music herself during weekly professional development sessions.

	Hannah Sherak, Math Specialist, joined our school in August 2006. Most recently, Hannah was a math specialist in Brookline Public Schools; before that, she taught second grade. Prior to becoming a teacher, Hannah was a social worker, and has an MSSW from Columbia University as well as an M.Ed. from Wheelock College. She is licensed in elementary education and elementary mathematics. Interacting with her two sons piqued Hannah's interest in the many ways that children construct knowledge and understanding. She is curious to learn how both music and our visually rich, new math curriculum can promote students' mathematical development. She played piano as a child, ferried her sons' trumpets as an adult, and delighted in discovering, during our August Institute, that she could learn to play a few simple songs on the recorder.
	Camille Thompson, After School Coordinator, has worked with children and youth in arts education in the school, teaching in non-profit and professional theatre spectrums for the past 5 years. Camille holds a B.A. in Theatre from Texas Woman’s University and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Theatre Education at Emerson College. Most recently she has worked as Project Coordinator for the Dallas Arts Learning Initiative, a partnership with the city of Dallas, Dallas ISD, and Young Audiences of North Texas and as an After School Site Supervisor for Lewisville I.S.D. Camille can also be seen performing musical theatre in local professional and community theatres.
	Janice Wood, SPED Co-Coordinator, has a B.S. from Wheelock College, is certified to teach K-3 and young children with special needs. She has a Masters in Education from Cambridge College and is currently pursuing a certificate in Moderate Special needs at Wheelock College. As a young child and into adolescence, Janice was a member of a marching band, even though she did not play an instrument. She was a flag in the color guard, and enjoys finding the beat to music and remembers routines to go with that music.
	Erika Yoshida, SPED Co-Coordinator, received her master’s degree in special education from Lesley University. She was born and grew up in Tokyo, Japan and uses her multi-cultural experiences in her teaching. She learned piano and flute as she grew up, studied singing for 7 years privately, and dedicated herself as a member of the college chorus and a member of the choir at her college campus ministry.
Administrative Staff
	Mark Jacobson is the Principal of Conservatory Lab Charter School. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in psychology and math. He gained his masters degree form Wheelock in elementary education. He has been an administrator for six years including being the head of the lower school at Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester. He has taught pre-K to grade 3 for 24 years, the majority of the time in the Brookline Public Schools. He has a passion for making urban schools ones of excellence, where every child learns, becomes proficient and successful. He wants to see equal success in students of all racial and socio-economic backgrounds. He has a Masters degree in elementary education. He does photography, he listens to a variety of music, plays some guitar and rides his bike as much as time allows.
	Annie Sevelius, Assistant Principal, recently received her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at Lesley University. Before moving to Boston to work and study, she directed the arts programs for Alameda County Public Schools, including Berkeley and Oakland, in the California Bay Area. She has also taught language arts, English as a Second Language, and reading in both California and Japan. Her undergraduate degree, received at Indiana University, is in English Literature. She sings in the shower with gusto and plays the Charlie Brown theme song on various instruments.
	Rosalie Stone, Business Manager

	Leigh Creighton Kelter, Director of Development, has worked in arts administration for five years. She was previously the executive director of Project STEP, a program that provides talented minority children with comprehensive training on orchestral string instruments. Mrs. Creighton Kelter studied at Tufts University and UCLA, and holds an M.A. in ethnomusicology. She enjoys listening to musical styles from around the world, jazz and R&B/hip hop, and is a member of the Agbekor Society which studies and performs percussion and vocal music from Ghana, West Africa.
	Helena Stilwell, School Secretary
	Donna Newbower, School Nurse