Lower School Newsletter - August 11, 2021

New Roles, Departures and New Hires

 

New Roles 

Congratulations to the following returning faculty and staff who have taken on new roles this year.

Steph Batbouta — Upper School Learning Specialist and Senior Project Coordinator

Nicholas Bennett — Upper School Math Teacher and Head Varsity Boys’ Tennis Coach

Mia Burton — Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion and Interim Director of Counseling

Megan Dhar — Interim Assistant Director of the Lower School

Clinton Fitzgerald — Upper School Science Teacher

Faith Frampton — Middle School English Teacher

Teena Hahn — Lower School Technology and Instruction Specialist and Computer Science Teacher 

Javanese Hailey — Middle School/Upper School Math Teacher

Jess Henry — Lower School Math Department Chair and Lower School Math Teacher

Tiffany Parry — Director of Engagement and Stewardship 

Rico Reed — Admission Officer Grades 5-6 and Alumni Ambassador and Head Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach and is located in Miller House.

Adam Rice — Middle School Athletic Director and Head Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse Coach

Megan Sharkey — Second Grade Teacher

Gary Smilowitz — Middle School Science Teacher and Upper School Innovation Teacher

Lauren South — Assistant Director of Enrollment Management

Marcia Visaggio — First Grade Assistant Teacher 

Judy Willett — Upper School Learning Specialist

Carol Zhang — Junior Kindergarten Teacher

 

Departures 

As we do each year, we have faculty and staff who depart over the summer due to retirement, relocation or new career or educational opportunities. We are grateful for their service to Flint Hill and wish them well in their future endeavors. 

Elizabeth Crowder — Enrollment Data and Systems Coordinator

Ilana Reyes — Director of Counseling

Tom Verbanic — Director of Athletic Operations and Head Varsity Baseball Coach

Alice Yates — Advancement Officer

 

New Hires

We are delighted to welcome new faculty, staff and members of the Leadership Team to the Flint Hill family.

 

Leadership Team and Schoolwide Staff 

Patrice Arrington — Sports Information Director and Head Varsity Girls' Volleyball Coach — is a graduate of Georgetown University and New York University’s Tisch Institute of Global Sport. She comes to us from Woodrow Wilson High School, where she coached the volleyball team to 18 DCIAA Championship titles, two third-place State finishes, and most recently, runner-up in the DC State Championships. She also served as the director of college and career services. She previously coached volleyball at the collegiate level for both The George Washington University and Fordham University. In addition to her coaching background, Patrice was a two-sport collegiate athlete, played professionally in several countries around the world, and was a member of the USA Women’s National Volleyball team, helping them qualify for the Olympics in 2000 and 2008. 

Lisa Campo — Director of Digital Engagement — has a B.A. in communications from Loyola University New Orleans. She brings 15 years of digital marketing and communications experience to her new role. She has worked at newspapers, trade associations, and startups. 

Laura Day — Enrollment Data and Systems Coordinator — received her undergraduate degree in child development from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. She has filled various roles in local independent schools and comes to us most recently from Congressional School.

Dan Johnson — Security Officer — served as a detective with the Fairfax County Police Department for the past 28 years. He trained recruits in the Police Academy as part of his varied career. He has been awarded a Silver Medal of Valor, Life Saving award, Firearms Distinguished award, two Team Excellent awards, and was promoted to Master Police Officer at 15 years of service.

Olivia Landrum ’11 — Advancement Officer and Head Dance Team Coach — is an alumna of Flint Hill’s Class of 2011 and James Madison University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in corporate communications and dance. She has been the coach of Flint Hill’s Dance Team for many years. She also brings marketing and public relations experience from several nonprofit organizations.

Matt McCoart — Director of After School and Summer Programs — received his undergraduate degree and social studies teaching license from Radford University. He spent the past 10 years working at Congressional School and Camp, the past 5 of which were spent as the auxiliary program manager. In this role, Matt has managed the School Extended Hours and Day Camp programs. 

Robyn Nichols — Interim Director of the Lower School ​​— first joined Flint Hill in July 2018 as the assistant director of the Middle School before becoming assistant director of the Lower School, where she was instrumental in the day to day operations. Previously, she spent 16 years at Sidwell Friends School, where she taught fifth grade and held a series of administrative roles. Robyn was a leader in creating programs around study skills, “Brain Breaks” to help students develop skills to focus for extended times, and the use of “Universal Designs” as an educational approach. 

Don Paige — Director of the Upper School — comes to Flint Hill from Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he served as Head of Upper School. At Shorecrest, he helped pilot programs, promoted cross-divisional collaboration and a new, more robust social-emotional advising curriculum. He worked closely with the other division directors to align programs that extended as a throughline in the school. He taught AP human geography, AP macroeconomics, microeconomics, and a class on equity and social justice. He previously served in various roles at the Athenian School in Danville, Calif.; the College Preparatory School in Oakland, Calif.; and the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Dewayne Robinson — Director of Athletics — is a  seasoned athlete, coach, and athletic administrator. He spent five years at  St. Anne's Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., where he elevated their athletic program through visionary leadership, an interscholastic athletic strategic plan and development tools for coaches and students. Previously, Dewayne spent seven years at Elgin Academy, a PS-12 independent school in Elgin, Ill, where he served as athletic director and varsity boys’ basketball coach. 

Jared Worley — Strength and Conditioning Coach — played four years of varsity football for the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels and double-majored in sports administration and political science with a minor in exercise and sports science. He holds certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. 

Kaylynn Yankovich — Director of Communications — pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she received her bachelor of science in marketing and operations management. From there, her unconventional path allowed her to explore several roles in sales, marketing/communications, and project management. She recently graduated with her MBA from George Washington University. At the center of her passions, interests, and experiences is education. 

Courtney Zsitek — Enrollment Services Coordinator — comes to us from Orlando, Fla., where she taught Spanish and American Sign Language in addition to coaching cheerleading. Prior to her professional experience in Florida, Courtney received her graduate degree in Hispanic Language and Literature from Boston College while teaching as an adjunct professor. Traditionally, Courtney spends her summers working as an international program recruiter and liaison in Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain. Courtney studied with this agency herself while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and international business from the University of Delaware. 

 

New Lower School Faculty

 

Dan DeNure — Lower School P.E. Teacher — received his bachelor's degree in kinesiology and his master's degree in teaching at James Madison University. He has worked in the facilities department the past six summers and has helped coach girls’ basketball at Flint Hill. Before coming to Flint Hill, Dan worked at Independence Non-Traditional School in Prince William County. This trauma-sensitive school helped shape Dan's approach to teaching and helped open his mind to all the different ways a student can be reached. 

Rachel McCarthy — Lower School P.E. Teacher — received her master’s in recreation and sport pedagogy from Ohio University. She was a student-athlete on the field hockey team at the University of Louisville. Before starting her teaching career, she worked as a Division I field hockey coach for six years. Rachel began her coaching career at Ohio University, overseeing daily operations and recruiting responsibilities. She moved to the Washington area, in 2018, to work as a coach for American University, where she was responsible for scouting, recruiting and physiology. During the summer, Rachel was involved with club field hockey and skills camps for kids in U8-U19. 

Laura Moniuszko — Lower, Middle and Upper School Percussion Teacher — aims to create spaces of inclusivity, creativity, and joy through music. Born in Florida but raised in Virginia, Laura enjoys the mountains so much, she spent five years at Virginia Tech studying for both a master’s in education curriculum and instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in percussion performance and music education. Before coming to Flint Hill, Laura taught percussion ensembles, marching bands, general music, and everything in between – all over Virginia and, most recently, Athens, Ga. Along with teaching, she has a passion for bringing music to populations of all abilities; she began a "Music Exploration" course with an on-campus special education transition group and hopes to continue that type of work as she transitions to NoVA. Looking forward to working with the staff and students at Flint Hill, she hopes to bring a fresh perspective and exciting repertoire to the Flint Hill Percussion Ensembles. 

María Carolina Currás Nieto — Lower School Spanish Teacher — was born and raised in Uruguay and received her undergraduate degree in international development from George Mason University. Before starting her teaching career, she worked as a Creative at Apple. Carolina obtained a teaching certificate from Johns Hopkins in partnership with Teach For America. Carolina has been a certified teacher for five years, having worked as a teacher in Uruguay, DCPS, and a private preschool. Carolina has spent the last five years working on achieving her lifelong dream of becoming the best teacher she can be. 

Alexandra Smith — Sixth Grade Teacher — received her bachelor’s in geography and master’s in elementary education from the University of Mary Washington. She taught fifth and sixth grade with Fairfax County Public Schools in Alexandria. 

Karl Weber — Fifth Grade Teacher — received his undergraduate degree in business from Colorado State University. Before starting his teaching career, he worked for four years in tech in various roles. After spending some time working on a farm and volunteering at an after-school program in California, Karl decided to pursue teaching full time and received his master’s in education from Bank Street College in New York City. Karl has been working in education for five years, mostly in New York City, and has spent time as an associate teacher at Bank Street School for Children and Packer Collegiate. Most recently, Karl taught fifth-grade social studies at The Pingry School in New Jersey.