Who we are! by Stephanie Sumner

Stephanie Sumner

stephaniesumner — 2023-08-15 14:12:17 UTC

I have been working in Vermont public schools since 1996 as an elementary classroom teacher, math coach/coordinator, and principal. I have many passions related to education - working with kids, families. and teachers, social-emotional learning, ensuring equity for all learners, instructional design, and MTSS (to name a few!). I work as a seminar teacher for VTHEC, an instructor for Castleton Center for Schools, and a certified facilitator for Illustrative Mathematics. I am also a student in the VTSU-NVU M.S. in Clinical Mental Health program and will begin interning this fall, specializing in working with children, adolescents, and families. I live with my husband and two children (17 and 20, when they're home from school), and our dog Breezy, in Williston, VT. I love puzzles (specifically 1000 pieces), all kinds of books, listening to live music, and I am a new fan of Pilates.

Fun Fast Facts:

I grew up on a dairy farm in West Haven, VT, and attended a 2 (sometimes 3)-room school for K-8.
I am a dedicated, cowbell-ringing football mom.
I love all things Jimmy Buffet and Neil Diamond.

Contacting Me:

The best way to contact me is by email: stephanie.sumner@vthec.org. For emergencies, text or call 802-786-3617.

Julia Ljungvall

julialjungvall — 2023-08-21 20:34:55 UTC

I graduated from (formerly) Castleton State College in 2004 with a degree in Social Work with a dual major in sociology. After graduation I moved to Colchester and began working as an Interventionist at the Fredrick H. Tuttle Middle School where I worked for 7 years. While I thought I wanted to be a social worker, I really found my passion in education. I moved back to my home town of Plainfield and started to grow my family with my high school sweetheart, Ben, and continued working as a paraeducator at Twinfield Union School until our family was given an opportunity to move to Florida where my partner, Ben, was offered a job working on the TV show, Insane Pools: Off The Deep End, as a stone mason for his high school buddy, Lucas! While there, I got a job as a classroom teacher at a private special education school, Beyond the Spectrum, which I LOVED. While these opportunities were awesome and we both enjoyed what we were doing, we missed home so, we came back to VT. Upon my return, I worked as the Pre-K teacher at Building Blocks Playschool for 5 years until they closed their doors in February.
Ben and I have two daughters together, Lily (10) and Grace (8) and a fish named Gary! For fun I love creating art (painting, lettering, paper quilling, knitting), running (I have had the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon 4 times!!), listening to live music, and am a master level Reiki practitioner and a crystal collector/rockhound. I love to learn and take classes and to read mystery/thriller/paranormal books.

Kristin Vigneault

2023-08-21 22:46:22 UTC

I was born and raised in the beautiful granite state- New Hampshire, as the youngest of four, and the only girl. When asked daunting questions at 17 years old such as “what do you want to be when you grow up” and “where do you want to attend college,” I panicked and decided the only logical thing to do was to go somewhere far from my tiny hometown that would also feel like an adventure so I ended up at Chaminade University in Honolulu, HI. After a few transfers and major changes I graduated from Plymouth State University with a Bachelors of science in Developmental Psychology and a minor in child welfare and family services. I spent two years working at a boys juvenile detention center where I enjoyed organizing recreational therapy activities for students. After getting married and moving to Vermont to start a family I quickly discovered the only way I could work and afford childcare was to get a job working in childcare. When my son Ryder was old enough to start Kindergarten I decided to apply in the public school system as a special education paraprofessional and instantly loved it! I wasn’t in the district long before I was being trained to work as an assistant for the speech and language pathologist. The pure joy in helping children be successful with their learning experience, and assisting them to communicate effectively assures me that I have found the right field of work. When I am not at school I can be found playing in the dirt with my plants, dancing around at a concert, taxi driving for teenagers, practicing bird noises, traveling, skiing, or exploring in the woods with my pup, Greta.

Kera Breen

2023-08-23 17:49:31 UTC

I have always live in Vermont. As a young girl I dreamed of being a teacher and having my own family. I went to Lyndon State College, now known as Northern Vermont University, where I got my BA in Human Services and minor on Psychology. While in College, I would travel to Colchester with a friend and always admire the people that were able to live so close to the lake. I now live .25 miles away from the lake, with my beautiful family. My husband, Josh and I love sports and are very active with our two children. We have a 9 year old boy who loves baseball and 4.5 year old daughter who loves to talk, sing and dance.

I have been a Behavioral Interventionist for 17 years and love working one on one with students. I connect well with ED kids and love working with them. I am happy to make connections with students that do not have a lot of positive adults in their lives. Before becoming a BI, I worked at a summer camp in Williamstown VT. I was the lead water safety instructor, where I taught swim lessons. I was also a life guard and boat guard. Being a boat guard was the best part of my job because I was able to be on the water Kayaking around while catching a tan. I did this amazing job for 10 years.

FUN FACTS ABOUT ME:
My kids names are Easton and Kennedy.
I have a dog named Duke.
I love to be outside and love to swim.
I am social and love to be on the go.
I love flowers and gardening.
I like to play hockey and softball.

Melissa Conchieri

2023-08-24 22:49:03 UTC

"You can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl"...hmm, let me know if you ever catch a "Joisey" accent! I attended UNH and Humboldt State University in northern Cali and have a B.S. in Zoology. I had a glorious stint as a stay-at-home mom to two neurodivergent boys. It is my first-born with autism that opened my eyes to the field of Occupational Therapy. Once my second son was in preschool, I went back to college and became a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), and I totally love it! I graduated from that program in 2019 while we lived in Massachusetts. Once it was apparent that my husband (that guy with the great smile in the photo with me) could work from home indefinitely thanks to Covid-19, we moved back to Vermont where he is from (Colchester at that) and where we met. We live in Jericho with our two boys and the most chill cat in the world, Otis. I enjoy live music and meal planning -if I can prevent any groceries from going moldy or rotten than I am super satisfied! I do like cooking, buy my husband is acutally way better at it than I!

Brittany Cresta

2023-08-25 23:42:57 UTC

I graduated from Castleton State College in 2008 with a random degree in History and a college boyfriend who would end up my husband a few years later. I got a nice starter job working with student loans (how ironic as mine were starting). A little while later, on Halloween, I found myself looking at an ultrasound machine and our technician telling us "I have a lot of babies in there". The a lot of babies turned out to be three, all boys. I left my job and stayed home with them until kindergarten. They were speech delayed so we started receiving services from interventionists and I learned so much from the professionals and fell in love with child development. So, then they went to kindergarten and I wanted to go back to work, I applied as a para professional and found a career. That is what led me to this opportunity to continue this journey in education.
I love browsing estate sales and have a love of old furniture. I love to fill our home with things I find beautiful and that carry stories. I love reading, and my husband and I look forward to post kid bedtime where we can watch the Office or Friday Night Lights and recently Yellowstone. We are also big NBA fans, Celtics specifically but we appreciate all the superstars. The boys and I also love to spend a rainy afternoon playing Animal Crossing together.

Adam Bagdon

2023-08-27 23:15:06 UTC

I graduated from Johnson State College (Now Northern Vermont University) in 2010 with an Associates in Technical Theatre and a Bachelors in Outdoor Education with a concentration in adventure education and wilderness leadership. Very quickly realizing that both of my degrees were very seasonal based I landed a full time job at Lamoille Community Connections working as a one on one Behavior Interventionist. After buying a house further from Morrisville I got a job for the South Burlington school district as a Behavior Interventionist. Eventually moving on from there to the Colchester School District as a Behavior Interventionist.
When I'm not working you can find me out in my garage working on projects. If I'm not there I'm probably out on one of my motorcycles. I also have a super awesome dog who joins me on mountain biking and hiking adventures.
I'm looking forward to what this class offers and what I will be able to offer to students upon successful completion of this program.

Linda Kapusta

2023-08-29 19:01:24 UTC

I grew up in Scotia, NY, later graduating from Marist College in 2008 with a BA in Psychology and minor in Spanish. While working on the Spanish minor, I studied abroad in Alicante, Spain for 7 months. It was an incredible experience that taught me so much, but most interestingly, how we as humans can quickly adapt to new environments when necessary. After undergrad, I attended SUNY Albany's School Psychology program and graduated in 2011. I was then hired as the School Psychologist for the Spotted Zebra Learning Center in Albany, NY (an amazingly innovative inclusive preschool program!). During my time there, I completed psychological assessments, designed curriculum, provided individual and small group behavior/academic supports, maintained a counseling caseload and consulted/collaborated with administrators, staff, and families throughout the Capital District, including a few of the Albany City School District charter schools. After two years, I was loving the work I was doing with kids, but needed a change of pace. My partner Jason and I moved to Burlington in 2013 and I started working for Colchester School District as a preschool Autism Interventionist. The plan was to transfer my professional license to Vermont, but that proved to be more difficult than expected. This obstacle led me down a different professional path, for which I am grateful- I truly love working in early education and witness the positive impact it can have on children and their families daily. I've since taken the entire series of early education courses offered by VT-HEC and hope to ultimately work in preschool as a special educator. Jason and I now have a 2 year-old son, Sage, and love to be outdoors, in any capacity!

Jason Rodriguez

jasonrodriguez800 — 2023-08-29 23:05:55 UTC

I was Born and raised in The Bronx (NYC) and graduated from Southampton College in 2008 with a BA in Psychology. I was a Boy Scout growing up and Worked for the Boy Scouts of America for a few years as a Life Guard and eventually, Aquatics Director. I followed my college sweetheart to Vermont after meeting at Southampton and ended landing my dream job of working at a Quarterstaff Games in Burlington. I've worked at the game shop from 2009 until this summer when I took my current position in CMS. I married my college sweetheart and we have a beautiful 4 year old daughter.

My Interests:
I love being a Dad
I love being outdoors
I'm a passionate gamer
I love painting figurines

I

Crystal Nerbak

2023-08-30 22:55:00 UTC

Jersey girl in the house!

I currently live in Winooski with my Fiance Jonathan, and two girls- Remi and Brooke.
Remi will be 3 at the end of September, and Brooke just started high school this year. She is my 5'8" 14 year old with the personality to match <3
I have a dog-Stella, and a cat-Luna. They were born 4 months before my youngest, and let me tell you...Remi and the animals are not all that different with their needs these days LOL.

Going back, I attended CCV right out of high school, and after many trials and tribulations as a young mom, made my way to Champlain College to chase my dreams. I received my Bachelors degree in Psychology in 2016 and was so excited to start my next adventure.
I started working at the Bellcate School in Essex VT my senior year of college, until I started working for CSD in 2018.
I have been working at Porters Point School for almost 6 years now as an Autism/Behavior Interventionist. I love the age group I work with despite the fact that I avoided working with the younger age group for a LONG time lol. I look back and wish I had done it years ago. I was totally missing out! Needless to say, I love what I do.

I consider myself a forever student. I am always open to new things, and excited to learn, grow, and further my education. Having this opportunity to help more students, expand my knowledge, and help my family, all at the same time, is absolutely amazing! and I am so grateful.
My hobbies/interests: I love art! Music, dance, working out, cooking, being outside, and spending quality time with family. I am currently binge watching the show "Suits", and secretly love the show "Wipe out" to have a good belly laugh to decompress from my workday. Having fun in my everyday life, and not taking everything so personally or seriously is important to me. I am excited for this new journey!

Lily Kellogg

2023-08-31 18:44:50 UTC

I grew up on a small blue/green planet, orbiting a yellow sun in the western spiral-arm of the Milky-way galaxy; more specifically, Orono, Maine . I studied cello performance at the University of Maine for my undergrad, and the Longy School of Music for my Masters. In 2017, I started work at Union Memorial School, where I quickly fell in love with elementary education. Working with this age group (5-8) has become a passion, and I look forward to every day working with these kids. My ultimate goal is to either become a first/second grade classroom teacher or general music teacher. In my spare time I can be found reading, playing the latest Zelda game, working on medieval calligraphy and illuminations, or teaching people how to fight with swords.

Shauna Knapp

2023-09-04 17:47:32 UTC

I graduated from UVM in 2000 with a BS in Business Administration and worked for 8 years as a computer programmer at a market research company in Burlington. In 2008, I quit my job to stay home with my 4 year old son, the best decision I ever made!! After he started elementary school, I wasn't sure what to do and someone suggested substitute teaching. I said no way, I don't like kids!! Well, I was bored so figured I'd give it a try and the rest is history! Turns out I don't hate kids and I really actually adore them! I was a substitute for about 6 years and then took a job with the district as a classroom para in 1st grade at PPS! So here I am and I love what I do!!

I live in Colchester with my husband, Kevin and our 2 kids, Ben (age 19 and currently a sophomore at Endicott College in Beverly, MA) and Kate (age 12 and currently a 7th grade student at CMS). We have an 8 year mixed breed dog named Chloe and we are currently fostering a 10 year old mixed breed dog named Grace (super loving and available to adopt if anyone is interested or knows anyone!).

I love the beach, reading, concerts, taking walks with my dog(s) and travelling anywhere! My husband and I are currently watching Suits on Netflix and we love it!