Humanities

High School PE- Lorie LeTellier (Dept. Chair)

letellierl@springfieldpublicschools.com

Mrs. Lorie LeTellier was born and raised in Norton, MA. She holds both her B.S. degree in Movement of Sports Studies and M.Ed. degree in Health Promotion and Wellness from Springfield College. She has been teaching in the Springfield Public Schools System for 13 years now, but has been teaching at Renaissance for 6 years. She strongly believes, “physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, but it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity,” by John F. Kennedy. She is passionate and dedicated to helping students find a balance between a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Middle School Art- Samantha Lough

loughs@springfieldpublicschools.com

Samantha Lough recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Springfield College, majoring in Art Education and Art Therapy. She is the new middle school art teacher for Renaissance and has student taught in the Springfield School district for six months. While at Springfield College, she worked with the faculty in the visual arts department in collaborating an alliance with the Springfield public schools. During her free time she enjoys reading, visiting museums, and web-surfing on Pinterest to come up with new and imaginative ways to create art. She found her love for art in middle school and progressed from drawing to painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Samantha currently lives in Agawam with her three year old son, Lucas, and believes that with hard work, determination, and perseverance you can do everything you set your mind to

High School Latin- Herb Holland (Dept. Chair)

hollandh@springfieldpublicschools.com

Herb Holland, born in California in 1972, traveled the world (even spitting off the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa as a child) before permanently settling in New England at age 15. Mr. Holland, who is married and has five wonderful children, received his BA from Albertus Magnus College, where he double-majored in Latin and physical sciences, in 1996 and his MAT in Latin and Classical Humanities from UMass Amherst in 1998. After teaching in upstate New York for almost a decade, Mr. Holland joined the Renaissance faculty in 2007. The 2012-2013 school year will be his sixth at the school.

Middle School Drama- Joni Sullivan (Dept. Chair)

sullivanjo@springfieldpublicschools.com

ESOL- Jeff Keepman

I'm honored to join the 2017-18 Renaissance Team as the ESOL (English as a Second or Other Language) Teacher. To me, exploring new cultures and languages helps broaden our perspective of the world and become more understanding individuals capable of leading fulfilling lives. The students at Renaissance offer many unique cultural identities that I'm excited to learn about.

Prior to moving to Massachusetts last summer, I taught Spanish and ESL for five years in my home state of Wisconsin (Go Packers!), graduated from the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!), and became a licensed educator from the U of M's School of Education in the Twin Cities (Go Badgers still!). I have a big family in Wisconsin, some cousins near Boston, a second family in Coahuila, Mexico, and live with my lovely wife and 15-month canine son in western Mass. Outside of school, I like staying active through various sports, hiking/climbing, canoeing and, of course, mowing the lawn.

STEM Lab Teacher- Jessica Engebretson

engebretsonj@springfieldpublicschools.com

Born in Germany and raised in the land of Garrison Keillor, Ms. Engebretson earned her Bachelors of Science Degree in Elementary Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin and her Masters of Science in Ecological Teaching and Learning at Lesley College in Cambridge, MA. When not geeking out over the design enginnering cycle; she loves to spend time with her partner Matt, their two children Lilah and Oskar, and trusty canine companion Rudy. The outdoors has always been a key component to Ms. Engebretson’s life and she enjoys communing with nature while mountain biking, hiking, skiing and snowshoeing. She can also be found creating something in the kitchen, working on endless projects at her craft table, or knitting while listening to music. She is excited to share the classroom with students where she is an equal partner in learning something new each day.

Middle School PE, Health- Melissa Rosenberg

rosenbergm@springfieldpublicschools.com

My name is Melissa Rosenberg and I am currently the middle school PE teacher and middle school and high school Health teacher. I grew up in Milan, New York and moved to Massachusetts to attend Springfield College where I earned my bachelors degree in Movement and Sports Studies. While at Springfield College I played on the Racquetball and Field Hockey teams along with participating in intramural softball, racquetball, floor hockey and ultimate frisbee. I am the Varsity girls soccer coach and middle school girls basketball coach at Renassiance and I also have an 8th grade crew. In my free time I love being outdoors hiking, biking, fishing, camping, playing sports and playing with my dog Maggie! I also play the drums, piano and I am a hardcore Yankee Fan. : ) I'm very excited to have my first year teaching be at Renassiance and I look forward to many more years to come!

High School Spanish- Elizabeth Caretti Ramirez

ramireze@springfieldpublicschools.com
Elizabeth teaches High School Spanish and Crew at the Springfield Renaissance School. She studied Outdoor Education, Psychology and Spanish at Hampshire College and Psychology and Pre-Med. at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and graduated with a B.S. in Psychology. Additionally, she holds a Master of Arts degree in Spanish from Middlebury College. Elizabeth was a student at the North Carolina Outward Bound School and worked at the Thompson Island Outward Bound and Hurricane Island Outward Bound Schools. She's had the privilege to live, work or study in eight different countries including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay, Spain, China, Canada and France. After having lived in Metrowest Boston for several years, Elizabeth is excited to move back to her beloved Pioneer Valley and is thrilled to be working in the Renaissance Community after hearing about its stellar reputation for innovation and excellence from afar for many years.

High School Drama- Bridget Camara

camarab@springfieldpublicschools.com

Bridget Camara grew up in Bridgewater, Massachusetts and earned a BA in History from UMass, Amherst in 2000. After working in Boston for two years, she moved to Western Massachusetts where she took courses at Westfield State College, obtained her teaching license, and joined the faculty of the High School of Commerce. She taught Drama at Commerce for seven years, sharing her extensive experience performing in and supporting high school, college, and local theatre company productions. This included her 1996-2001 tenure as a member of the Industrial Theater Company, which staged many productions in both Taunton and Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Commerce, she has directed productions ranging from musical theatre to Shakespeare to original student works, and she is thrilled at the opportunity to engage Renaissance students in similar pursuits. Ms. Camara lives in Springfield with her husband, Kevin, and two year old daughter, Chloe.