School Change Faculty

ACSR facilitators and coaches are drawn from experienced k-12 classroom instructors and school leaders. They utilize effective, innovative facilitation and instructional design strategies based upon the individual learning goals of each course, project or event. Our Critical Skills Master Teachers have extensive experience with the Critical Skills Program and provide customized support for teachers and schools engaged in that work. School Reform Initiative National Facilitators and Critical Friends Group Coaches provide training and support in the development and maintenance of powerful professional learning communities. Finally, our School Coaches draw from diverse skill sets to provide support for both targeted and large-scale change initiatives in schools and districts.

Paul Bocko (SRI National Facilitator, CFG Coach, Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) focuses his professional work on public school reform. His mission is to lead with integrity to create innovative, professional, and mindful learning communities. Most recently, Paul has begun consulting with administrators to apply the common core standards to district wide curricula and partnering with teachers to renew instruction to be consistent with the new standards.

As a school coach for the Antioch Center for School Renewal (ACSR), he collaborates with schools to lead personalized professional development activities. Site-based consultations focus on curriculum design, inquiry, place-based and service learning, program development, school climate, organizational change, and 21st century skills. For the Antioch University New England Department of Education he teaches courses that engage pre-service and experienced teachers in practical application of educational innovations: Real World Sustainability, Connecting Curriculum and Communities, and Real World Learning. He also serves as an advisor in the Educating for Sustainability program.

He is the Curriculum Coordinator for Massachusetts School Union #28 – Erving, Leverett, New Salem-Wendell, Shutesbury, MA. Work in these districts centers on facilitating workshops, guiding curriculum development & revision, and consulting with teachers.

He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Hampshire majoring in Sociology - 1992. He completed his first masters degree at Antioch University New England (AUNE) in 1995 receiving a Master of Science with an environmental education concentration. He earned a second from AUNE in 2007, a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision with Principal Certification. More about Paul...

Sandy Bothmer's (School Coach) passion is empowering all those in the school community to sense and manage the stressors in their lives. Her focus is in teaching techniques that will help them create an inner climate of calm and vitality so that they can all do their best work and interact in more positive ways. Drawing from her book, Creating the Peaceable Classroom, Sandy brings her twenty years of elementary school teaching experience, her personal practices in meditation, Reiki, yoga, and qigong, and interest in feng shui, movement, and music to help school communities create inner and outer environments that are peaceful, promoting community, compassion, acceptance and ultimately, more effective teaching, learning, and living. Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-control, and interactions improve when inner turmoil is calmed in a nurturing and supportive environment. With her assistance, Sandy helps those in the school community restore harmony and balance in themselves and in their school environment.

Sandy has a Master's Degree in Education from Lesley University in Creative Arts and Learning. Her last teaching position was 3rd grade teacher at Hollis Primary School in Hollis, NH. She has taught numerous workshops and classes related to her book at the University of Connecticut summer conference Confratute, UNH in Manchester, NEA NH Fall Conferences, Seacoast Educational Conference, New England conference on Gifted Education, Creative Classrooms in Raymond, NH, Merrimack, NH School District, Altoona, PA, and Brooklyn, NY. Currently, she is a Creative Kids Yoga® teacher/trainer, Reiki Master, has a private practice in energy medicine working with adults and special children with autism, Asperger's Disorder, ADHD, and anxiety issues, and presents the following workshops: Introduction to Creative Kids Yoga®, Source Energy Healing for Self-Care, and Peaceable Classroom workshops. You can read more about Sandy and her work at http://www.peaceablepathways.com/

Kim Carter (SRI National Facilitator, CFG Coach, Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) is Executive Director of QED Foundation, a multigenerational nonprofit organization of adults and youth working together to create and sustain student-centered school communities. With over 30 years of experience as an educator, she has taught preK through graduate school. She was the founding principal of Monadnock Community Connections School, which received a New Hampshire Excellence in Education Special Recognition Award in 2009 for its commitment to and excellence in personalization and meeting the needs of students. 1991 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year and 1996 New Hampshire Media Educator of the Year, Kim has been actively involved with the Coalition of Essential Schools since 1991, and the National School Reform Faculty, now School Reform Initiative, since 1995, and is a National Facilitator for School Reform Initiative. Kim's passions include high school redesign, social justice and equity, and democratic schooling. More about Kim...

Wendy Cohen (CFG Coach, School Coach), MEd is currently a consultant who works with teachers and administrators around New England to support their work in building sustainable learning communities in which all students learn. She facilitates professional development for K-12 teachers and administrators on a variety of topics: developing curriculum aligned to standards; developing local standards-based assessments; using backward design to plan and implement standards-based instruction; and looking at student work to develop levels of proficiency and common assessments. Wendy also trains teachers and administrators in leadership facilitation skills, the development of collaborative learning communities, and writing across the curriculum. In addition to working with school districts, she is also Education Consultant for SmART Schools, EDC, where she designs and facilitates professional development trainings for districts working towards arts integration; as well as consultant to the Center for Curriculum Renewal, providing support in curriculum audits in New York State and South Carolina. Additional projects outside VT have included: consultant to the state of Maine in the revision of their state arts standards; curriculum specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts New England Summer Institutes; consultant to the New Hampshire Department of Education in arts integration; and curriculum specialist to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their Springfield, MA summer institutes. Prior to her work as a consultant, Wendy taught middle school for ten years in Burlington, VT.

Paula Denton, EdD Paula Denton (School Coach), EdD is a core faculty member in the Department of Education at Antioch University New England. She has twenty-four years of experience as an elementary school teacher and consultant and is the former director of program development and delivery for The Northeast Foundation for Children, home of Responsive Classroom®. Paula is the author of three books - The First Six Weeks of School, Learning Through Academic Choice, and The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language that Helps Children Learn. Her professional interests include integrated learning and supporting children's intrinsic motivation to learn, multi-age classrooms, the integration of social-emotional learning and academic learning, classroom management, and teacher language.

Susan Dreyer Leons Susan Dreyer Leon (SRI National Facilitator, CFG Coach, School Coach) is a core faculty member in the Department of Education at Antioch University New England and is the director of the school leadership program. She has 15 years experience as a teacher and leader in New York City and Vermont. She has been an active member of the Coalition of Essential Schools network since 1990 and is a an experienced facilitator and learning community coach. Susan's interests include school change, teacher leadership, student voice, democratic schooling and contemplative practices in education. Susan facilitates the Beginning Coaches Training, the Coaches training for School Leaders, and the Professional Seminar for school leaders. More about Susan...

Peter Eppig's (Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) work with public schools over the past twelve years has been focused in the areas of (1) innovative teaching practices, specifically in the areas of problem-based learning; (2) curriculum development as defined in the areas of integrated learning and multi--disciplinary curricula; (3) alternative assessment models, including holistic grading and reporting schemes; and (4) the evolving roles of teachers as reflective practitioners, action researchers, student and peer coaches, curriculum builders, collaborative problem solvers and decision makers, and school leaders contributing to policy making and school governance. Most recently, this work has advanced into formal and informal partnerships with schools in New Hampshire and Maine and some long-term collaborative projects with state departments and school consortia. Having recently completed a 16 year tenure as chair of AUNE's Department of Education, Peter is now excited to be more available for consultation and coaching. More about Peter...

Rick Gordon (Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) attended college at Stanford University, where he graduated with honors in Political Science, and received his PhD. in Education from University of Colorado. Rick was full time faculty at Antioch New England Graduate School and directed The Critical Skills Program working to improve public schools throughout New England, New York, and overseas. He has worked extensively with schools and higher education on Service Learning (including editing the well received Problem Based Service Learning Fieldguide:Making a Difference in Higher Education) and has taught pre-service and in-service teachers throughout the United States and currently teaches Educational Leadership courses for Antioch and New England College. Rick was Founding Director of the Compass School, a charter school in Vermont now in its eleventh year and boasting a 100% graduation rate with well over 90% of our students going on to college. He currently serves on the Westminster School Board and coaches youth soccer and skiing in his community. Rick has long experience in Outdoor Education and has traveled broadly with his family on skis and bikes and foot both near and far in the US and around the globe. More about Rick...

Maura Hart (SRI National Facilitator, CFG Coach, Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) is an educational consultant focusing on teacher and school change. Her areas of focus are: developing safe communities of learning, both in the classroom and in larger school communities; problem based learning; organizational change; and, developing teacher support systems. Check out her website at successfulschoolchange.org. Maura is also an adjunct faculty member of Antioch University in the Experiential Educator's Program and a trainer for Critical Friend's Group coaches. She is the mother of two wonderful little girls, Audrey and Grace. She is a jazzercise instructor in her spare time and lives on a farm with her daughters, husband, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, cats and the dog. More about Maura...

Tom Julius (CFG Coach, Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) has eighteen years experience learning from children in both rural and inner city schools. His teaching is grounded in theory from his studies at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study, Tufts University, and graduate work at Antioch and UMASS/Amherst, as well as in practice from teaching kindergarten, second and third grades. His work with teachers has focused on portfolios and other authentic assessment practices. He has been a national presenter of wholel anguage, hands-on math and integrated curriculum workshops. In addition to his work with Antioch, he is also a founding boardmember of the Surry Village Charter School in Surry, NH. More about Tom...

Robb Koegel At 17, Rob Koegel (School Coach) had a transformative experience: Approaching a schoolyard game of basketball, he heard "Get lost Jew-boy, we don't want 'kikes' at our Catholic School." Rob was shocked by how much they enjoyed taunting him, how humiliated and powerless he felt, and how off his "game" was when he played.

Since then, whether working in K-12 schools or with pre-service and in-service teachers, in prisons or schools for special needs students, as a tenured professor in sociology or as a consultant about bullying, Rob has addressed issues that for him are not abstract: Why do we look at one another through narrowed eyes? Why is it cool to be cruel? How can educators most effectively challenge and prevent bullying?

Rob brings enormous passion and expertise to his work on bullying, diversity, and social justice. He was included in 3 editions of Who's Who Among America's Teachers, has published in and edited educational journals, and been on the editorial boards of Holistic Education Review and Encounter: Education For Meaning And Social Justice.

Rob's rich insight, respect for process, media resources, and sense of humor are a combination that you don't want to miss.

Read a brief article "Understanding Bullying" by Rob Koegel

Andrew Pearce (Master Teacher) is co-creator of the Single Steps Learning Partnership which is a UK based training, consultancy and job-embedded professional development service. It specialises in empowering educational practitioners to design for learning, infusing 5 Key Concepts - Community Learning, Experiential Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Quality Learning and Reflective Learning. Training events are bespoke and "walk the talk," providing an active learning approach that is underpinned by formative assessment. Single Steps Learning currently works with individual schools, clusters of schools and Local Education Authorities in the UK, and more recently the USA - training practitioners who work with early years through to high school and colleges. More information can be found at www.singlestepslearning.co.uk.

Andrew worked in both inner city and rural schools in South Wales during his 20 years of teaching. He has many years experience in leadership and management and successfully completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship in 2005. Andrew's work on developing literacy standards with 10 year olds was recognized nationally and featured on TV and radio. He also co-authored the Community Builder Pack - Critical Skills Programme UK and contributed to many others.

For three years, Andrew was Program Manager for the Critical Skills Programme, UK and supported many teachers, schools and authorities throughout the UK. His calm, humorous approach results in a relaxed atmosphere where learners of all ages feel comfortable enough to take risks and stretch their learning.

Andrew aims to "make a positive difference" to people in all that he does. Outside of his professional life, his passion is music. He is a talented singer/songwriter and particularly loves to play guitar. His songs have featured on radio and his recent album is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Marlene Roeder(School Coach). As a former art teacher and music teacher (K-12), and K-6 classroom teacher Marlene has always been interested in arts in education. Music, the visual arts, dance, and drama always seemed to find their way into her "academic" classroom curriculum. Her predisposition for this kind of pedagogy led her to Franklin Magnet School of the Arts in Syracuse, NY, as the magnet coordinator. Marlene's mission there was to find the most academically rigorous teaching practices integrating the arts and academics. Visual Thinking Strategies became our model program.

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a student-center, inquiry based approach to teaching in which skilled teachers facilitate discussions about works of art to improve critical thinking skills -observation, inference, evidential reasoning; literacy skills—listening, speaking, writing; visual literacy; and interpersonal skills. As a result of a synergetic working relationship between Franklin Magnet and the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, Marlene moved to the museum side of the partnership as the Associate Curator of Education at the Everson Museum of Art. After a number of years of her own serious professional development in VTS theory and practice, she began working with hundreds of teachers and docents across the country bringing VTS to their schools and museums.

Marlene has worked with large museums like the National Gallery of Art in Washington to small museums like the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. She's helped implement school projects in small, rural districts as well as large, urban centers. The VTS professional development work that she does always includes the element of teacher inquiry—a deep looking at student work and reflection on teacher practice. To Marlene, this is the most satisfying aspect of coaching and modeling. "It's always exciting," she says, "to see teachers reflecting on the growth of individual students, trying to understand the way they think and how VTS has effected those changes; and on their own growth as facilitators, inquiry guides, and effective listeners."

Laura Thomas (CFG Coach, Critical Skills Master Teacher, School Coach) , current Director of the Antioch Center for School Renewal, has been working in and with innovative schools since 1993 first as a speech and theatre educator and later as a coach and consultant. Laura's expertise lies in the support of system-wide change, the building of learning communities for both adults and students, and facilitative instruction. She is affiliated with the Coalition of Essential Schools, the School Reform Initiative, and is the Co-President of the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Staff Development Council. She is the author of multiple articles and currently writes for The Critical Skills Classroom She lives in Keene, New Hampshire with her husband John and her two adorable children Molly and Harry. More about Laura...

Lynne Williams (Master Teacher) is co-creator of the Single Steps Learning Partnership which is a UK based training, consultancy and job-embedded professional development service. It specializes in empowering educational practitioners to design for learning, infusing 5 Key Concepts - Community Learning, Experiential Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Quality Learning and Reflective Learning. Training events are bespoke and "walk the talk," providing an active learning approach that is underpinned by formative assessment. Single Steps Learning currently works with individual schools, clusters of schools and Local Education Authorities in the UK, and more recently the USA - training practitioners who work with early years through to high school and colleges. More information can be found at www.singlestepslearning.co.uk.

Lynne began her teaching career in London before moving to South Wales. She has taught a range of age groups during her 15 years as a teacher and Senior Leader. However her specialty is in Early Years Education (3-7 year olds). She was 'seconded' in 2001 to work as Teacher Advisor in a social and educational inclusion project with Barnardo's (UK's largest children's charity) and has also co-authored several books. These include Creative Activities for Thinking and Learning Skills - Scholastic and Community Builder Pack - Critical Skills Programme UK. Most recently her work with Early Years students was featured in Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Around the World. Lynne was also recruited by the Critical Skills Programme, UK, to work as Research and Design Manager.

Lynne is passionate about learning and inspires others to think 'outside the box'. She believes that learning should not just be "inspirational, but irresistible" and encourages others to reflect on the possibility of making this become a reality in their classrooms.

In her spare time (of which there is very little!), Lynne enjoys expressing herself by painting on large canvases with acrylics. She also seems to have acquired over 120 unique 'rubber ducks'!