Lisa Fowler is our new Kindergarten teacher for 2008-9. She is replacing Odile deFaymoreau, who has moved to Rainbow Room. Bio forthcoming.

Sue Creswell received her B.A. in Social Sciences and her Elementary Teaching Credential from San Jose State University. She has been teaching first grade at Linscott since it became a charter school, in 1994. Before that, she taught K-2 for six years in the Oak Grove School District in San Jose. While at Linscott she has enriched her education by taking yearly classes, including trainings in Box It or Bag It Math, and Picturing Writing/ Image Making, along with attending a two year Monterey Bay Aquarium Teachers Institute and the Mid Summer UCSC Arts Institute.

Sue appreciates the opportunity to work with families at Linscott, completing the important home/school connection. She facilitates a standards based curriculum that sparks the learning process with thematic, project based activities. She especially enjoys infusing creative movement, puppetry, drama, cooking and art into the day.

During her years at Linscott Sue has been a member of the SMT board several times, along with multiple years of heading up the Sunshine appreciation efforts, the Science Fair, Harvest Fair, Million Words program and has been on several long range planning committees. Sue is married and has a son who is just graduating from high school and a daughter who is teaching middle school.

Becky holds a B.A. in Special Education for the Emotionally Disturbed and an Elementary Education certificate from Michigan State University. She is currently participating in the Calteach elementary teacher program based in Monterey.

Following her teaching experiences in Michigan, Becky served for many years as a counselor for emotionally disturbed children, facilitating their overall treatment in a therapeutic setting including school placement. She has additional experience working with rehabilitation of drug addicted and alcoholic youth, and has worked with the juvenile justice system and as a foster parent and volunteer with homeless children. Before returning to teaching as a substitute teacher at Linscott in 2006 she worked primarily with infants and toddlers providing daycare and initial homeschooling.

Becky is very enthusiastic about being the second grade teacher at Linscott starting in the 2007-2008 schoolyear. Her philosophy of teaching the whole child, integrating across the curriculum, and addressing each child as an individual will work well with the Linscott philosophy. When not at school, Becky lives in the country with her husband and youngest daughter, a fifth grader at Linscott, as well as chickens, fish, cats, a goat and a dog.

Darlene Beal received her B.A. Cum Laude with distinction in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Child Development at California State University Monterey Bay. She holds a BCLAD credential and has taught third grade at Linscott Charter School since 2001. Darlene was a vision therapist for 8 years working with children and adults with vision related learning difficulties.

She worked with John Fleming at Developmental Learning Solutions for three years where she gained knowledge and experience working with many different learning styles. She is a graduate and support training staff of GLOBE (Global Observations to Benefit the Environment). For several years she has participated in the SCHELD (Science, Culture, History and English Language Development) Institute, first as a participant and then in the leadership training.

She loves teaching at Linscott Charter School because it allows her to address the whole child and provide hands-on integrated curriculum. She also values the parent, teacher, student collaboration which is fostered here. Darlene feels especially connected to Linscott because she and her children attended this school for 14 years before she finished her credential program and became a teacher.

Odile has been teaching kindergarten at Linscott since 1997. Prior to that she spent 3 1/2 years as director of the Watsonville Cooperative Preschool, teaching students ages 2 1/2 to 5 years old, and parent education. In addition to teaching, Odile has served on the Mountain Elementary School Board of Trustees for 9 years, the Santa Cruz County Children's Commission for 5 years, and the Linscott Site Management Team for 5 years. She has been instrumental in developing Linscott policies and served as co-director at Linscott for two years. She returned to focusing on kindergarten through the 2007-2008 schoolyear. Starting with the 2008-2009 schoolyear, Odile is running Linscott's innovative Rainbow Room, a mixed grade classroom.

I graduated from California State University Fresno with a B.A. in Liberal Studies and a minor in English and have been teaching at Linscott since 2007. I completed my teaching credential training through the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at California State University Fresno in 2007 where I received excellent training in the most current, research based teaching practices. My training placed a heavy emphasis on English language development across the curriculum while concentrating on student-centered development. I hold a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential K-8 and a Single Subject Authorization in English.

Before pursuing a career in education I lived in Santa Cruz for nearly twelve years. During the majority of that time I owned and operated a small business as well as having obtained an Associates degree from Cabrillo College. I am very excited to be back in the Monterey Bay Area and ready to serve this special community.

Moreover, I am thrilled to be teaching 4th grade at Linscott! I was instantly drawn to the community spirit and educational philosophy that makes Linscott unique. Teaching at Linscott provides an outstanding opportunity to expand the educational experience beyond the conventional in a supportive, structured environment. I am looking forward to the discoveries in learning that my students will experience as I will be exposing them to language rich, cross curriculum studies, integrated subjects, technology, and plenty of hands on/minds on learning; all of which will be supported and guided by the California State Standards.

My wife, Leslie, and I are very excited to be a part of the Linscott community. Our two children, Liam and Elise, both attend Linscott.

Karen received a B.A. in Sociology from University of California at Santa Cruz and a multi-subject teaching credential from Chapman University. After college, she pursued an interest in dance and movement and became a member of the improvisational dance troupe, Discordance. During this same period she studied Yoga, and was fortunate to be able to travel to Pune, India to study with the Yoga master, BKS Iyengar. For almost ten years she taught Yoga and movement privately and through various institutions such as Cabrillo College, UCSC and Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She also taught Adult Education classes throughout Santa Cruz County.

When her oldest daughter was four years old, she enrolled her in the Watsonville Cooperative Preschool located at Linscott School. Following preschool, she enrolled her in Linscott Magnet School. Excited and captivated by working in her daughter's classes as a parent volunteer, she returned to school to earn a multi-subject credential. Shortly thereafter, she began teaching a second/third combination class at Linscott. Both her daughters (now in high school and college) attended Linscott.

Karen has followed Linscott through its early days as a small magnet school, through its transition into a charter school into its position today as a successful, mature charter school. She has served on the Site Management Team (SMT) for many years. She now teaches 5th grade. Karen is committed to the idea that education is a family endeavor. She believes that all people, children and adults as well, learn best in a safe, but challenging environment, and that it is essential for children to engage in enriching experiences outside of a classroom.

Recently Karen was one of three California teachers to be accepted to the 2007 Mount Vernon Teachers' Institute held at Mount Vernon, VA. Along with 20 other teachers from around the US, she had the opportunity to live at Mount Vernon for a week, attending seminars with prominent scholars of George Washington, the Constitution and 18th century American life.

I am extremely excited to be working as an educator at Linscott Charter School since 2007. My background and life experiences have fortuitously provided me with the skills and motivation to have an extremely positive impact on the both the students in the classroom, as well as the school. The following paragraphs give a brief introduction to who I am as a person as well as my philosophy as an educator.

My youth was spent in Santa Maria, California, an agricultural community with startling similarities to Watsonville. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a Bachelors Degree in History in 2001, my wife, who is an environmental educator, and I spent several years traveling, teaching, and learning in the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, and Central and South America. When I returned to the United States in 2005, I attended the University of California, Santa Cruz where I obtained my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and Master of Education degree. I spent 2006-2007 in Burlington, Vermont as my wife completed her Master of Science in Environmental and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont.

As an educator, I have extensive experience teaching children from diverse social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, teaching in multi-age settings, and working as an outdoor educator. In fact, six years orchestrating the surfing portion of UCSB's Eco-Surf and Kayak Camp taught me that experiences and engagement in the outdoor world are an irreplaceable form of education. I am particularly motivated by Linscott's community support, and vibrant atmosphere. I am enjoying integrating myself into the Linscott community, while I strive to inspire innovation and development.

Cheryl DiGrazia is our new Seventh and Eighth Grade Humanities teacher for 2008-2009. Bio forthcoming.

Brett Hagerman is our new Seventh and Eighth Grade Math/Science teacher for 2008-2009. Bio forthcoming.

Many elements of Robin's background and experience make her an exceptional fit for the position of director of Linscott Charter School. After completing Cabrillo College's Early Childhood Education Program, Robin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology at San Jose State University. During her undergraduate work, Robin was involved in several educational programs that followed the teachings of Piaget and Montessori, emphasizing a developmental, hands-on, constructivist approach to education. After working for several years at the preschool level as a teacher and director, Robin returned to San Jose State and received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and has since worked with students of all ages including elementary, middle school, high school and adults. In 2004 she earned a Masters degree in Education as well as an Administrative Services Credential. Her background has taught her to value a community approach to education and the importance of parent involvement. She strongly believes that schools serving students from Kindergarten through eighth grade offer the most natural, supportive learning environment, allowing students to learn through mentoring relationships.

Robin arrived at Linscott Charter School in 1997 as a teacher for grades 6-8. She served as the school's Middle School Coordinator before becoming Director. During her time at Linscott she has come to a deeper understanding of the needs of students, parents and teachers working in a collaborative environment as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with a charter school.

Robin has a strong commitment to school choice and the charter school concept because of her belief that children and families have diverse needs and learning styles. As the Director of Linscott, Robin continues to work toward supporting students and their families in receiving the educational program that meets their individual needs so that all students are successful and develop into happy, productive members of society.

Sandra Traub has been working for Linscott since 2002 as the Office Manager. She enjoys working along side the parents, students and staff at Linscott assisting with any needs that arise. Sandra enjoys spending time with her husband Terry and three children Tyler, Trevor and Lexi. She is also the Director/Instructor of the Watsonville P.A.L. Martial Arts Program where many of our Linscott students study Taekwondo.

M.M., Northwestern University; B. Mus. Ed., Western Kentucky University; Baldwin Music Fellowship recipient.

Holly has 18 years experience as a music teacher. Her goal is to excite students about singing, playing instruments, and moving with music. She also wishes for students to understanding how music theory and history can make music study more meaningful and prepare them for future musical endeavors. Her students are a constant source of pleasure and motivation.

In addition to teaching at Linscott Charter School, Holly has taught piano lessons, accompanied and sung in choirs, performed solo piano works and provided piano accompaniment for musicals, weddings and church services. She has studied piano nearly her whole life and focuses on developing an ergonomically healthy technical approach to the piano for herself and for her students. She continues to participate in vocal study whenever possible.

Her family consists of her husband, Zane; 7th grade daughter, Allison; Linscott 1st grader, Sydney and her Beagle, Maggie.