Perhaps the most important feature of our children’s programs is teaching staff who are caring and attentive, competent, and creative. The staff consists of full-time Site Directors and a talented group of  teachers —together a diverse collection of musicians, dancers, art educators, and more.

Meet the Sacramento Street Preschool Staff

Meet the Afterschool Program Staff

Preschool Staff

Priscilla Browne, Lead Teacher/Director

Priscilla Browne is Lead Teacher/Director at Sacramento Street Preschool.  She has a Masters Degree from Lesley University in Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy. She brings over sixteen years of preschool teaching experience and is Director II certified. Priscilla is a passionate educator who is dedicated to integrating science, imaginative play, and social development in her teaching practice.  Contact Priscilla.

Elly Humphrey, Assistant Preschool Teacher

Elly Humphrey is an assistant teacher in the preschool program and currently working toward her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Lesley University. She brings five years of experience working with preschool-aged children, and is certified by the Department of Early Education and Care. Elly is enthusiastic about expressive arts in the classroom and loves to sing, dance, make art, and explore with the children.

Emily Lapean, Preschool Teacher

Emily Lapean graduated in 2010 from Lesley University with a bachelors degree in Child and Family Studies. Emily very much enjoys teaching, and many days feels like she learned just as much as the children did! Her favorite aspects of working in the preschool are creating art and science projects with the students and hearing their thoughts on various activities.

Cathryn Magielnicki, Preschool Movement and Music Specialist

Cathryn Magielnicki has been involved in music since she was a kid. She began playing the viola when she was eight years old, performed in many professional orchestras, and toured through Europe. Just recently Cathryn graduated from Russell Sage College with a degree in Creative Arts Therapy, a concentration in Music, and a minor in Psychology. Through the arts, Cathryn has been able to work with children and help them find their inner creativity and voice their opinions in a new manner. Currently, Cathryn is attending Tufts University for Child Development and is a certified Music Together teacher.

Afterschool Program Staff

Meet the Site Directors

Kim Baldasaro, Early Childhood Site Director

Kim Baldasaro (formerly Kim Lambert) has a background in Art History and Education from Lesley University. She has been teaching preschool at Agassiz Baldwin for 2.5 years and has recently transitioned into the role of Early Childhood Site Director. Kim enjoys local theater as well as visiting the MFA. She lives with her husband, son, two dogs and one cat in Watertown. Contact Kim.

Heather Zeiden, 1st-5th Grade Site Director

Heather Zeiden earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine and has a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Book Arts and Education from Lesley University. She has worked for the Boston Children’s Museum, in addition to teaching classes at Maud Morgan Arts. In her free time, Heather enjoys traveling to new places with her camera and making visual memoirs about her adventures. Contact Heather.

Meet the Afterschool Teachers and Specialists

Vickie Chen, Piano Specialist

Vickie Chen earned her bachelors degree in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with highest honors. She was then offered a scholarship to attend Boston University to pursue her masters degree in piano performance. Vickie has performed in Houston, San Francisco, Austin and Schlern, Italy. Other than teaching and performing, she was also the accompanist for several choirs in Houston, Texas. Vickie recently moved back to Boston and continues to teach individual piano lessons.

Vickie loves to work with children and believes that learning piano should be fun, but disciplined practices are also necessary to establish a solid foundation. She incorporates games and body movements into her lessons to train her students to read, count, and help them develop their sense of rhythm at early ages. In addition to playing time on the piano, her lessons consist of ear training, theory and rhythm.

Dolores Cuccovia, 1st-3rd Grade Teacher

Dolores Cuccovia earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she majored in Art Education with a concentration in Studio for Interrelated Media. While at Mass Art, Dolores delved in various art practices such as collaborative performance art, sculpture, and installation. Dolores is a 1^st and 3^rd grade teacher at the Agassiz Baldwin Afterschool, in addition to teaching at Outback Summer Program. She is excited to help students’ ideas come to life! Subjects that spark her interest include various forms of art, reading about neuroscience and social intelligence, staying active, and visiting many of Boston’s galleries.

Mickey Pearlstein-Gluck, Kindergarten Teacher

Mickey Pearlstein-Gluck has worked with children of many different ages in a variety of settings. He holds a bachelor’s degree in human development from Cornell University and a master’s of education from U-Mass Boston. A creative person, Mickey plays music and writes plays in his spare time. Other passions of his include science and theater. He hopes to incorporate all of these interests as he continues to work with children.

Matt Grzecki, Homework Specialist 

Matt Grzecki is excited to be the homework specialist at the afterschool. Monday through Thursday, he leads two sessions of homework help/study time. He graduated from Harvard in 2010, where he majored in English and was president of the Harvard Lampoon. He has interned at 826 Boston and Granta Magazine. In addition to his role at the afterschool, Matt works as a Boston-area tutor, specializing in English and Latin.

Kayla Harkness, Dance Specialist

Kayla Harkness began her dance training in Houston, TX. She has been dancing for twenty-four years, professionally for ten. Kayla studied Psychology Pre-Med at Georgia State University, focusing on dance medicine, and was accepted to further study with Linni Diehl, M.Ed., BC-DMT in Long Island, New York. A graduate of the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts, Kayla has worked on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and performed around the world with productions of A Chorus Line, 42nd Street, as well as appeared in national print ads and Tyler Perry films.

After five years as a dance instructor with the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education in Atlanta, GA, Kayla moved to Boston to work as a dancer for the Boston Celtics. In addition, Kayla joined Boston Ballet’s Citydance program and is enjoying working with 3rd grade classes in the Boston community She enjoys giving back and is eager to expand her knowledge of dance education, as well as discover innovative ways to make a difference in the community through the arts.

Peter Holland, Taekwondo Instructor

Peter Holland has been training at the Jae H. Kim Taekwondo Institute since 2003 and began teaching children’s classes there this past spring. Peter shares, “When I see a child learn a new technique, I feel a sense of accomplishment as if I myself have learned something new. It is this feeling that makes me want even more experience, more challenges. My current goal is to offer the highest level of instruction that I can, while also making the class time fun.” Peter was promoted to second-degree black belt in January 2011, (there are nine degrees total), and was named captain of the competition sparring team in August 2011.

Rachelle Laine, 4th-5th Grade Teacher

Rachelle Laine aspires to be an English professor and is currently on that path. She has many hobbies, some of which include cooking, singing, athleticism, well, too much to include! She has worked for Agassiz Baldwin Community for three years and had had the pleasure of working with the first-fifth graders throughout the years. Rachel loves working with school-age children through the arts and will continue to do so throughout the years.

Juan C. Lozada, Spanish Specialist

Juan C. Lozada moved from Colombia, South America to the United States eighteen years ago to embark on a new adventure. He has a degree in veterinary and animal science, and has worked with all kinds of animals. Currently he owns a technology business and teaches ESL for adults in a community schools program. He loves sports, art, music, and spending quality time with his two daughters and wife. He is passionate about teaching children and adults, not just Spanish but a culture close to his heart. Juan loves to spark creativity and imagination in others so they can live life freely and fully.

Emily Manning-Mingle, Kindergarten Teacher

Originally from New York, Emily moved to Boston to attend the School of Visual Arts at Boston University. She recently graduated with a BFA in Painting and an MFA in Studio Teaching. Two interesting facts about Emily are that she studied ballet for a decade and, in 2008 lived and worked on an organic farm in rural Tuscany.

Monique McNally, Kindergarten Teacher

Monique McNally is passionate about educating with an interdisciplinary approach. She received a MFA from Alfred University and enjoys early education, as well as science, music, and yoga. In her pursuit to continually widen her toolbox, Monique is working towards earning a Masters in Education from Lesley University. This summer, she is taking a beginner’s course in Mandolin and hopes to gain proficiency in Creole and Spanish.

Sarvi Moshfegh, Piano Specialist

Sarvi Moshfegh teaches individualized piano lessons during the afterschool year to kindergarten – 5th grades. As a teacher, she has a personal approach, which assesses the learning style and strengths of each student as well as their personal interests. Learning an instrument should be fun as well as challenging! Trained in world-class institutions such as the New England Conservatory, Basel Conservatory of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, Sarvi has performed internationally, including Europe and South America.

Duncan Pelletier, Kindergarten Teacher

A fiercely loyal New Hampshire native, Duncan Pelletier has been living in the Boston area for five years. He studied film and audio recording at Emerson College and loves to get the children involved in various music and movie projects. When he’s not at Agassiz Baldwin Community, Duncan fronts several local music groups, singing and playing piano, bass, and guitar. Duncan loves working with children and hopes to become an elementary school teacher in the future.

Chris Schollmeyer, 1st-3rd Grade Teacher

Chris Schollmeyer is proud to be a part of the creative team at Agassiz Baldwin Afterschool. Originally from Oregon, Chris earned a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University and moved to Boston to pursue his dream of becoming an English teacher. To that end, he recently passed his MTEL tests and is in the process of obtaining his teaching certification.

During his free time over the past school year, Chris tutored students, ages 6-18, at 826 Boston, a writing and after-school tutoring center in Roxbury. Chris is not only passionate about writing and literature; he has also been drawing and painting since he could remember. Some of Chris’s other interests include travel, theater, cooking, and basketball.

Easton Smith, 4th-5th Grade Teacher

Easton Smith graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2010 with a degree in Sociology and Media and Society. After graduating, she moved to Boston to begin working on short documentary profiles with Cambridge Community Television. Easton has since been working on a documentary feature film as well as her own short films and art projects. She also loves sailing, gardening, cooking, camping, and exploring new ideas and places.

Christie Villaume, 1st-2nd Grade Teacher

Originally from scenic, northern New Jersey, Christie Villaume holds a B.A. in Mandarin Chinese from Hamilton College and a M.S. in the Sociology of Education at Syracuse University. Her background includes teaching ESL in Beijing, performing in main stage musical theater with the Hamilton College Choir, and community organizing in Utica, NY. One of her most memorable experiences in Utica was serving as a founding board member of the Underground Café, a teen-run coffee shop and arts-based, after-school center.

After moving to the Boston area in August 2008, Christie substitute taught and worked as a special educator at the elementary level. Her passion for education and philosophy that schools play an intricate and vital role in any healthy community lead her to the Agassiz Baldwin Community. In her spare time, Christine is an outdoor enthusiast whose hobbies include wellness through nutrition, caring for pets and plants, reading and collecting books, cycling and spinning, hiking and camping, and cooking beautiful, wholesome cuisine.