Meet Our Staff
Our fabulous teachers come from diverse backgrounds and bring unique talents to the program. They strive to make BSED a welcoming and fun environment for all students. And with an average tenure of over a decade, our experienced teachers are second to none.
Janelle Conway, Co-Director
Janelle started at Baker School working in the office and found her way to the basement to join BSED 16 years ago. Her favorite activities to share with her students foster a sense of community, like zumba, or require practice to make progress, like knitting. She hopes these things will help bolster confidence in the children that they can carry with them as they grow. This is Janelle’s first year as Co-Director and is looking forward to the job! When Janelle is not at BSED she enjoys dancing and travelling.
Kelsey Dullea, Co-Director
Kelsey is excited to be taking on a new role at BSED! She’ll be splitting time in the office and helping in the classrooms. She loves testing out new science experiments and researching new slime recipes that students are interested in! In her free time, she loves to travel and explore.
Meaghan Darling, Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Meaghan is returning to our Kindergarten team after two years working with 1st-3rd graders. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in film so she is a real cinafile. She is a nerd who loves star wars, comic books, and dragons. She likes to cook and bake with the children. Meaghan is an animal lover who enjoys spending time with her dog Khaleesi. She also enjoys reading and writing and encourages the kids to do the same!
Gail Shuttle, Kindergarten Teacher
Gail has been a teacher with BSED for the better part of 30 years. When she’s not coming up with fun and creative activities for the students in her program, Gail can often be found helping out with the children’s bell choir at the Littleton First Baptist church. Gail loves to travel and has done several mission trips to exotic locations all over the world. Her personal philosophy on teaching is that sometimes you just have to let children be children.
Yessica Barrous, Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Barrous (Ms. B) found out she loved working with children really early in life and has been teaching for 15 years. A recent addition to Baker School as a para, she found her way to Extended Day not long after. Ms. B is also a mother of 3 wonderful young men. One of her favorite quotes is, “Teaching children to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” -Bob Talbert
Carol Quinlan, Kindergarten Teacher
Carol has quickly found her place amongst the kids since joining us this October. Having worked with preschoolers before coming to BSED, she found a new sense of wonder in the students of our 2nd and 3rd grade program, but she’s back to working with younger students this year! In her free time, Carol enjoys spending time with her grandson, watching movies and crocheting.
Lydia Sellers, Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Sellers came to BSED after working as a paraprofessional at Baker for a few years. She studied in Canada and spent the majority of her life in the United Arab Emirates. Working with children is her favorite thing to do. It is as much of an opportunity to learn for her as it is for them.
Zach Smith, 1st & 2nd Grade Lead Teacher
Zach is the program coordinator for our 1st and 2nd grade program. He enjoys playing the piano as well as teaching children how to make short, simple movies. Zach, the parent of 2 children of his own, believes in the importance of ensuring that all of the students in his program arrive knowing that the teachers are happy to see them, that they have a safe and fun place to relax, that the teachers truly value all the ways they are surprising and unique, and that the teachers are listening and interested. In this way Zach hopes to provide each and every student an environment where they can feel engaged and empowered.
Sabrina Straka, 1st and 2nd Grade Teacher
Sabrina made her debut at the Baker School in March of 2022, quickly finding a home in the Kindergarten program. Her love for the kids is endless, and she fosters both creativity and social skills of each child through both nature and culinary activities. She aids in the growth and development of fine motor skills, but also believes that the kids should never lose their sense of wonder. Outside of childcare, Sabrina loves to adventure with friends and cook.
Colby Pitt, 1st & 2nd Grade Teacher
Colby is a teacher in our 1st & 2nd grade program. He enjoys cooking, spending time with his cats, and working on his Miata. He hails from Connecticut but is loving Massachusetts and BSED!
Lamonte Bond, 1st & 2nd Grade Teacher
Welcome to the team, Lamonte!
Daniela Ortiz, First and Second Grade Teacher; Fifth Grade Teacher
Happy to have you on our team, Daniela! Thank you for helping out in two grades!
Lesley Lake, 3rd & 4th Grade Lead Teacher
Lesley is the program coordinator for the 3rd, 4th & 5th grade program. She is a talented artist and passionate about dance and theatre. Lesley believes that every child is unique and interesting and enjoys getting to know each one of them. Lesley loves creating fun and imaginative environments for the BSED students to play and grow in.
Bobby Uttaro, 3rd & 4th Grade Teacher
Bobby Uttaro (Mr. U) has been teaching throughout Brookline for the past 8 years. One of his favorite activities at BSED is cooking with so many kids of different cultural backgrounds. Bobby loves playing games, learning new recipes, listening to music and seeing live concerts.
Ana Pitt, 3rd & 4th Grade Teacher
Ana teaches with our 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade program. She loves working with kids and spends her summers as a camp councilor in New Hampshire. In school she was a competitive dancer and now enjoys doing dance choices with the kids. In her free time she likes going on walks and explore new places.
Emma Plowe, 3rd & 4th Grade Teacher
Grateful to have you on our team, Emma!
Dylan Krakowsky, 3rd & 4th Grade Teacher
Welcome back to BSED, Dylan!
Jen Lindblom, 5th Grade Teacher
Jen teaches with our 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade program. She loves cooking and experimenting with foods and new recipes with the students at BSED. In addition to being a teacher, Jen is also an avid tennis player.
Rayshaw Matthews, 5th Grade Teacher
Mr. Matthews has been a 3rd-4th grade para at Baker School for the past two years. Ray loves working with children and has been loving BSED. During his free time, Ray enjoys watching and playing sports (mainly basketball) and even taking some time to coach. His favorite quote is, “Live every moment! Laugh everyday! Love beyond words!”
David Flick, 6th - 8th Grade Lead Teacher
David is the program coordinator for the 6th & 7th grade program. He graduated from the University of Miami where he studied Motion Pictures and Adolescent Psychology. Utilizing the principles of Positive Youth Development, David hopes to equip students enrolled in BSED with the proper coping skills necessary to ensure resiliency and encourage confidence. During his summers, David is also the head of the Video Department at Creative Arts at Park.
Nevaeh Kendricks, 6th - 8th Grade Teacher
Welcome Nevaeh to the team!
Osa Odeh, 6th - 8th Grade Teacher
Welcome Osa to the team!