| Mike Savas ELA  | msavas@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Savas joined McAuliffe in 2017. Teaching has been a Mr. Savas’s passion, even before he joined the McAuliffe community. Mr. Savas enjoys guiding students in a year of adventure, discovery, challenges, and triumphs as they learn to lead their learning and growth. When he first started here, Mr. Savas noticed how McAuliffe students and staff members got excited and engaged in lessons and activities, and he wanted to be part of that. In his 8 years at McAuliffe (7 years teaching Humanities), he has enjoyed working with students and seeing their “aha” moments. Mr. Savas hopes that each of his students leaves McAuliffe not only with good academic skills but with a desire to be part of making our community better. |
| Rodney Ward Algebra, Science  | rward@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Ward joined the McAuliffe team in 2005. He spent his first 12 years teaching Math and Science in 7th grade. In 2017, Mr. Ward made a new home in 8th grade and took on the Advanced Math Program, teaching Geometry in 8th grade, Algebra in 7th and 8th grades, and PreAlgebra in 6th grade. With a background in Social Sciences as well as Math and Science, Mr. Ward loves to integrate real world problems into his math curriculum, such as the mathematics of the Flint Lead Crisis. He is also well known by many McAuliffe Alum for his Algebraic Laser Cannon Battle Commander graphing game. He loves Expeditionary Learning and is excited to be starting his 19th year at McAuliffe! |
| Ross Parlon ELA and Social Studies  | rparlon@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Parlon joined the McAuliffe staff in 2015. Mr. Parlon came to McAuliffe in 2015 and loved the idea of Expeditionary Learning. The concept of working with a diverse student population in different ways of learning instead of just lecturing students while they fall asleep. Plus all the fieldwork seemed really exciting, who doesn’t like going on a hike in the woods every once in awhile? Mr. Parlon also enjoys having the opportunity to meet and work with teachers from other subject areas during expeditions to students’ learning across as many content areas as possible. |
| Shurti Arora Science  | sarora@mcauliffecharter.org Ms. Arora joined the McAuliffe team in 2022. Ms Arora is inspired by the type of work McAuliffe does with kids. At McAuliffe kids learn to apply their knowledge to solve real life problems via Expedition. She enjoys working with teenagers and helping them succeed. She loves the diversity in school and learning about different cultures. |
| Daniel Pontes-Macedo Science  | dpontesmacedo@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. M joined the McAuliffe team in 2017. As a person of color, it’s always been important to me to be able support a diverse community and be a positive role model and example for children from similar backgrounds. The opportunity to be part of a school with such strong community ties and a clear vision and goal of being an active member of that community |
| Alecia Harriott Math  | aharriot@mcauliffecharter.org Ms. Harriott joined the McAuliffe team in 2023. Ms. Harriott, an Educator, is always seeking ways to grow and develop professionally and personally and Christa McAuliffe Charter School seems like the best place to help her get to the level of growth she seeks. Ms. Harriott lives by this statement -: Always notice the unnoticed child. |
| Joseph Saucedo Social Studies  | jsaucedo@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Saucedo joined the McAuliffe team in 2023. Mr. Saucedo is beginning his 7th year in education and is both humbled and excited to work at such a progressive school that highlights expeditionary learning, restorative practices, inclusivity, and equity. Having taught 6 years of U.S. History at a public high school, Mr. Saucedo brings not only content expertise but also the immeasurable strive to impart his students with both academic and life skills. If ever caretakers wish to check on the progress of their scholar, Mr. Saucedo highly encourages them to reach out and he will gladly provide any updates. Thank you and looking forward to an amazing school year! |
| Dan Snyder Spanish  | dsnyder@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Snyder joined the McAuliffe team in 2017. Mr. Snyder applied to McAuliffe six years ago because he wanted to join a student and community centered school. He continues to come back every year, in a variety of roles, because the McAuliffe community; students, co-workers and families are amazing! He hopes to retire here and teach McAuliffe scholars for years to come! |
| CJ Rish ELL  | crish@mcauliffecharter.org Mrs. Rish joined the McAuliffe team in 2017. Mrs. Rish first came to McAuliffe as a parent; two of her four children are McAuliffe alumni. When the opportunity was available, Mrs. Rish joined the staff as the ELE (English Learner Education) coordinator and teacher. She is passionate about the English language, writing, and helping students live up to their full potential. Mrs. Rish believes that the HOWLs and building a kind and empathetic community are the keys to student success. |
| Jennifer Hart Reading Specialist  | jhart@mcauliffecharter.org Mrs. Hart joined the McAuliffe staff in 2020. Mrs. Hart loves working at McAuliffe for many reasons- the top reason being the students and the staff who are here. The staff work tirelessly for their students, constantly showing students how much they are loved and cared for. The students at McAuliffe are enjoyable to be around because they have fun-loving spirits, and a desire to learn in ways that traditional schools do not use (i.e. fieldwork, camping/rafting trips, high ropes courses, etc). McAuliffe allows all teachers and students to become leaders in their school community, and this ability inspires both staff and students to be their best. |
| Marinette Ortiz-Lopez IA  | mortizlopez@mcauliffecharter.org Ms. Ortiz joined the McAuliffe staff in 2022. Ms. Ortiz was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Went to Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood. She worked as a Third grade Spanish teacher at a Bilingual school for a year then, along with her family, decided, to move to the United States in 2008. Ms. Ortiz worked at Framingham High School for 8 years before coming to McAuliffe. Ms. Ortiz knew a colleague here at McAuliffe who explained the EL way of learning and she was fascinated with it and decided to give it a try and loved it. |
| Drew Maggiore French  | amaggiore@mcauliffecharter.org Monsieur M. joined the McAuliffe team in 2023. Drew Maggiore, otherwise known as Monsieur M. is very excited to step in as the new French teacher for seventh and eighth grade. He has loved languages from a very young age, and he’s so excited to share French language and culture with McAuliffe scholars. Monsieur M. spent 10 years living in the Netherlands and Italy, and he speaks Italian, Dutch and a bit of Portuguese, too! He lives in Lexington with his husband, two kids, two dogs and two cats, and he enjoys cooking (and eating), travel, CrossFit, (mountain) biking, watching movies and playing New York Times games. |
| Jennifer Gurin Spanish  | jgurin@mcauliffecharter.org Ms. Gurin started in the fall of 2023. Ms. Gurin enjoys working with children and adolescents, and she wishes to show them the joys of learning another language. Ms. Gurin’s goal is to present this as an opportunity for students to connect with their peers, with her and with others outside the classroom. Ms. Gurin hopes that over the course of the year, her students will learn to describe themselves and others in the target language. Ms. Gurin believes that this will also be a great opportunity for her to learn more about her students as they learn from her. |
| Molly Smith Technology Integration Specialist  | msmith@mcauliffecharter.org Miss. Smith joined the McAuliffe team in 2019. Miss Smith believes that McAuliffe is a place that is dedicated to helping all students become thoughtful and innovative citizens. Expeditionary Learning is designed to help students think deeply about complex topics and push themselves to do more than they thought possible. Miss Smith loves working with McAuliffe students and especially enjoys being able to teach all three grades every year. She really enjoys teaching technology, but also helping teachers to integrate technology in their classrooms. |
| Doug Ashby Design  | dashby@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Ashby arrived at McAuliffe after 22 years of teaching art at the middle school level. What attracted Mr. Ashby to McAuliffe was the aspect of EL learning and how his role as a specialist, the design teacher, will be utilized within the larger context of the academic environment. Art is simply a vehicle for Mr. Ashby to engage in learning. It is his springboard if you will. Mr. Ashby hopes that his passion for art will inspire his students to search out how their passion in life can be leveraged for success in all their current and future learning endeavors. |
| Kathy Bogue Related Arts Assistant Teacher  | kbogue@mcauliffecharter.org Mrs. Bogue joined the McAuliffe team in 2010. In 2004, Mrs. Bogue set out to find the best middle school in Framingham for her four children. When she toured McAuliffe, she knew she had found it. The students AND the teachers she met were excited about learning. They were honest about what was challenging. They were also confident that their “crew” would support them. They spoke about their values as much as they did about the work they were doing. Nearly twenty years later, Mrs. Bogue is still in love with the crew, the learning, and the values that are McAuliffe. |
| Patrick Glennon Special Education Teacher  | pglennon@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Glennon joined the McAuliffe staff in 2023. Mr. Glennon came to McAuliffe school excited to work with youth, helping them develop into young adults that can become excellent members of our community. Mr. Glennon was excited by the experiential nature of students EL Education at McAuliffe school. He believes that this philosophy will help students show their creativity and produce high quality work. |
| Anna Vescio Science  | avescio@mcauliffecharter.org Anna joined the McAuliffe staff in 2023. Anna comes to McAuliffe after working in outdoor education for 8 years at Nature’s Classroom. She is excited to continue helping students find their confidence and push themselves to take risks in their learning. |
| Colin Norgaard Wellness  | cnorgaard@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Norgaard joined the McAuliffe team in 2021. Mr. Norgaard wanted to find a community that he could call family. He has a diverse background and love for all entities of Wellness that he wants to share with all scholars. His passion goes way beyond just the classroom setting. |
| Max Feldman Adventure Teacher  | mfeldman@mcauliffecharter.org Mr. Feldman joined the McAuliffe team in 2023. Mr. Feldman is a passionate and energetic teacher who enjoys staying active through all kinds of outdoor activities. He believes that Experiential Learning is makes a key difference in the development of young students, and that the educational should be an adventure. |