Lauren McMillan will be joining the Presumpscot family as Pre-­K teacher. She received her Elementary Education degree from Stetson University in Florida. She holds dual certifications for Birth through 5 years of age, as well as K-­8. Mrs. McMillan has six years of experience in early childhood education. Throughout her six years teaching, she worked two years on Munjoy Hill for the Opportunity Alliance, and is happy to be returning to the Portland community. Mrs. McMillan resides with her family in Yarmouth, and enjoys family outings, cooking and the outdoors. What Mrs. McMillan enjoys most about her job is working with families over the course of the year to help their children develop their kindergarten-­ready skills. Anne Monahan is our newest kindergarten teacher. She grew up in Kingfield, Maine. She went to the University of New England and got her Bachelors degree in Marine Biology. After she graduated she got a job as an educational technician in an elementary school in Cumberland, Maine and decided her true passion was in education. She completed the Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP) through the University of Southern Maine in May 2015. Anne enjoys going for walks (especially on the beach) with her yellow lab, Tucker. She also loves to travel, take pictures, and visit with family and friends. She is so excited to be joining the team at Presumpscot! Althea Keegan-­Strauss is our newest first grade teacher at Presumpscot. She has worked at other schools in the Portland School District for 14 years, teaching both special education and Kindergarten. She spent the past year in Florida teaching Second grade and is very happy to return to Maine and to join the Presumpscot community. Karli Soracco originally grew up in the Auburn/Lewiston area of Maine and journeyed to Portland to start the next chapter of her life in December after graduating from the University of Maine at Orono. Karli joined the Presumpscot School family in January of 2015 as an Ed Tech, and finished the remainder of the 2014-­2015 school year. She is beginning her first year as a teacher in the second grade classroom this fall and is thrilled and overjoyed to be working with each and every one of the students at Presumpscot. One of Karli's passions is reading, and she is eager to share her passion with her students, as well as build upon their own. Karli has gained rich experiences student teaching in Lewiston, Maine as well as having been a part of the Presumpscot family already. She has nurtured positive relationships with students and families, and is energetic and excited for the 2015-­
2016 school year! Stevi-­Lynn NIchols grew up in central Maine and graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2008. For the past seven years she has been teaching 4th and 5th grade in a small school deep in the woods of Lebanon, Maine. When she is not teaching, she enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, and curling up with a good book. Some of her favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Shel Silverstein. Mrs. Nichols lives in Portland with her husband Matt and their rambunctious coon cat, Manny. She is excited to be a new member of the Presumpscot family, and is looking forward to learning and exploring with her new 5th grade class! John Fenlason, Presumpscot's new music teacher, comes to us after 40 years of teaching music at Lyseth Elementary. After a short year of retirement, John was a long -­ term substitute at Presumpscot last year, and he fell in love with Presumpscot and had to come back! He is thrilled and privileged to be here!! Amy Pires is entering her tenth year of teaching physical education. She spent the last nine years living in Boston and teaching in Taunton, Massachusetts. Throughout her tenure as a teacher, she has taught wellness to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Amy and her husband relocated to the Portland area in June to be closer to family. She is excited to join Presumpscot Elementary School! Anne Townsend is very pleased to have the opportunity to teach Art at Presumpscot Elementary School. She is excited to get to know the students and share her knowledge of art making. Ms. Townsend earned her B.F.A. in Illustration from Maine College of Art and her B.F.A. in Art Education from University of Southern Maine. She has taught community arts in Portland for A Company of Girls, Oak Street Studio and SidexSide. This summer at a program called Art in the Park, Ms. Townsend taught Art classes with projects inspired by books carried in Portland Public Library’s bookmobile to encourage art making and literacy. When not making art with children in Portland, Ms. Townsend loves to be outdoors and be physically active, as well as care for her garden and cook! Madeleine Gibson is a graduate of the University of Vermont where she studied the interconnectedness of human and environmental health. Her natural science background has been a guiding experience as an after school and summer enrichment educator on the environment in both Rhode Island and Maine schools. Madeleine is inspired by the incredibly diverse learners of Portland and is excited to grow as a part of the Presumpscot Special Education team. She loves cooking for others, creating with clay and gardening. Ashley Boothby, our new Spanish teacher for grades 3, 4 and 5 , is thrilled to be a part of the Presumpscot community. She has prior teaching experience with both the elementary (Riverton, Lyseth and Jack) and middle-­school (Moore) Spanish programs. She not only loves the Spanish language, but also the cultures of Spanish-­speaking countries. Outside of school, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband, two children and two dogs.