OXBOW SCHOOLHOUSE - Key Persons
Amy Hilbert is the Class Teacher for Grades 5 and 6 and the Faculty Chair. She holds a Master's Degree in Teaching from Tufts University and Bachelor's Degrees from the University of New Hampshire in both English and Anthropology. After obtaining her M.A.T. she taught Grades 6 - 8 at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, where she first learned about Waldorf education. Upon moving to Littleton, MA, with her young family in 2000, she discovered the Evergreen Garden Playschool program, which her children attended. Since then she has been actively involved in bringing Waldorf inspired education to children and their families in this area through both Evergreen Garden Playschool and Oxbow Schoolhouse.
Christina Kennedy has been teaching professionally for over twenty-five years in a variety of settings - from private studios, church basements, and libraries to junior high school band rooms and college classrooms. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Maine and spends her summers learning about new and interesting curricula, methods, and materials to bring to her students at Oxbow and to her piano and violin students in her music studio. The mother of two teens and one college student, she loves to sing, fiddle, read, cook, and do yoga. She can sometimes be seen walking her dogs around her home town of Devens.
Elizabeth Auer, M.Ed, is a graduate of the Waldorf Teacher Training program and the Remedial Resource Waldorf Teacher Training program and holds a diploma in Art and Design. She taught wood, stone metal and glasswork for ten years and subsequently took on a class from grade one through eight. Elizabeth currently works as a freelance mentor, tutor, artist and consultant. She teaches drawing and handwork courses at Antioch University in Keene, NH, as well as various workshops in the arts. Elizabeth is the author of Creative Pathways and Learning to See the World Through Drawing and has illustrated several books.
Emily West teaches Spanish classes at Oxbow. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Brigham Young University and a Master's Degree in Secondary Teaching and Curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As part of her education, Emily lived in Spain and the Philippines. Emily has been teaching Spanish for more than 12 years at Hingham High School and Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School. She left full-time teaching to start her family, and is excited to come back part time to Oxbow and work with younger children on learning Spanish language and culture. Emily also works with AFS Intercultural Programs and the Centers for Cultural Interchange to bring exchange students from around the world to schools in Massachusetts. In her free time, she loves to cook and work with a variety of community youth programs.
Kelly Niemaszyk is the Aftercare teacher at Oxbow. Kelly holds a B.A. in Elementary Education. In addition to teaching the aftercare program here at Oxbow Schoolhouse, she teaches an Adult Crafting Class with a children's playgroup at Evergreen Garden Playschool and serves on the Evergreen Garden Board of Directors. Kelly is a professional handcrafter, specializing in Waldorf style crafts, including Waldorf doll making and felting. She enjoys learning about sustainable homesteading techniques, foraging wild edibles and sharing her passions for both. She is eager to bring her crafting and gardening interests to the aftercare program. She loves getting outdoors with her family to hike, bike ride, kayak, and downhill ski. Kelly is the mother of two Oxbow students, who are enjoying their thoughtful, artful, profound education immensely.
Lisa Langevin joined the staff as Oxbow Schoolhouse's Administrator in 2014 and is accountable for the smooth operation of the school in areas of finance, enrollment and operations. She came to Oxbow as a parent in 2011 and is a member of the Board of Directors on the Finance and Executive Committees. She has volunteered in fundraising, outreach events, bookkeeping and the Parent Committee. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from Saint Michael's College and enjoys working with her thoughtful & creative colleagues. She is so grateful for the nurturing and vibrant education her children are receiving at Oxbow.
Sara Martin is the Class Teacher for Grades 1 and 2. She holds a Master's Degree in Education from Lesley University. Over the past 20 years Sara has worked extensively in education and non-profits, most recently as a teacher at Evergreen Garden Playschool, a Waldorf preschool program. She has also taught in the Maynard Public School system and directed the Concord Youth Theater Program for many years. Sara has established her own successful non-profit organization, ReAct Theater Project, bringing performance opportunities to children ages 6 to 18.
Tara Rachel Jones, M.Ed. has been working professionally with young children since 1989. She received her B.A in Early Childhood Education in 1991 from Simmons College, Boston. She received her M.Ed. in both Early Childhood and Elementary Education in 2009 from Antioch New England Graduate University in Keene, NH. She has led yoga programs for children from nursery through high school in public and private schools and youth organizations. She has maintained a stronghold in the field of education by bringing yoga workshops to teachers and parents in schools. In 2011, she started a Yoga Teacher Training course for those aspiring to teach yoga to children, youth, teens and families. She is also a certified Zen Shiatsu Therapist.