our teachers
At the foundation of all Prestans courses are caring, dedicated teachers who care deeply about the experience of each student enrolled in a Prestans class.
Join Our Team
If you’re a passionate educator we want to hear from you!
Please send a resume and cover letter to
Patrick Burke at patrick@prestans.us
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Marcus C.
Marcus began teaching English at The Hotchkiss School after graduating from Williams College with a B.A. in English. At Hotchkiss, Marcus taught English writing and literature. Marcus also instructed students on public speaking and debate. While teaching at Hotchkiss, Marcus earned his M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania through the Penn Residency Master's Teaching Fellowship. Marcus joined Prestan's in 2021 and works with students on English literature, writing, public speaking skills, debate, reading comprehension, and textual analysis. Marcus is currently earning his J.D. at Boston University School of Law.
Corey C.
Since graduating from Middlebury College in 2012 with a degree in English and American Literature and minors in American Studies and Sociology and Anthropology, Corey has worked at four different New England independent schools and also earned her Master's Degree from the Middlebury College Bread Loaf School of English. During her years at Proctor Academy, Millbrook School, The Hotchkiss School, and Noble and Greenough School, Corey has taught ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade core courses and electives, and she particularly enjoys teaching classes that allow her to diversify her curriculum in terms of both the writers she teaches and also the content provided to students by those writers. Her favorite aspect of teaching high school students is watching them connect texts and characters across works by putting different kinds of writing 'in conversation' with each other!
Dr. Lynée C.
Currently the head of the Phillips Andover summer ESL program, Dr. Lynée C. holds Ph.D. in education from the California Institute for Integral Studies. She wrote her dissertation about the influence and impact of international education during the five-year post-reentry period. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and Italian from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in international education from the SIT Graduate Institute. Before joining the faculty at EF Academy, Lynée has worked at Northfield Mount Hermon School as the director of the ESL department and in the Center for International Education.
Patrick H
Patrick has extensive experience as a middle and high school teacher, spending the last 11 years teaching grades 6-12 in both public and private schools. Patrick has taught English, ESOL, math, and special education for students with disabilities, both in the US and abroad in Mexico and Thailand. Currently he is a high school English and ESOL teacher at Northfield Mount Hermon School. Patrick has expertise in adapting challenging curriculum to meet the differing needs of his students. He has been repeatedly selected to be a mentor teacher to support developing new teachers, including at his current school. He holds a Master's Degree in education from the University of Massachusetts and graduated with honors from Bates College where he majored in History and Spanish.
Orelia J.
Orelia Jonathan was a history and humanities teacher at The Lawrenceville School. Prior to joining the Lawrenceville faculty, Orelia spent two summers teaching ESL to beginner and intermediate level students at the Northfield Mount Hermon Summer Session. She has also developed and taught a public speaking course for foreign language students. Orelia graduated with honors from Wesleyan University, earning her bachelor’s degree in history and African-American studies. Orelia also holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She has worked extensively to develop curricula for ESL and history programs. Orelia is currently in a PhD program at Harvard.
Victoria S.
Victoria originally joined Lawrenceville's English Department as a Woods Teaching Fellow in 2016, returning to the School in 2021 to serve as an English faculty member and as a diversity coordinator in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. There, in addition to teaching their students to engage with language precisely and to write strategic, intentional analytical works, Victoria aims to instill in their students a sense of urgency for achieving social justice and a love for literature. Currently, Victoria is enrolled in an MFA program at Warren Wilson College and is a mentor in the University of Pennsylvania’s Independent School Teaching Residency program.
STEM Department
Julia M.
Julia is a math and computer science teacher stationed in Deerfield, Massachusetts. She currently teaches AP Computer Science and Algebra II at Deerfield Academy as a teaching fellow in the University of Pennsylvania Independent School Teaching Residency program. After graduation with her Masters in Education in Spring 2023, Julia will continue on at Deerfield as a full-time math and science teacher, coach, and dorm resident. If you're ever on a zoom with her, you might catch a glimpse of her affectionate cat Gus–he can't resist the camera! She's convinced he's the only reason students come to her extra help sessions. When she's not teaching, Julia loves to solve and construct crossword puzzles, jog, watch tv and movies, and write music. Above all else, she loves getting the opportunity to work with students all over the world, both in person and online.
Jimmy W.
A graduate of Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania, Jimmy has taught math in both the United States (Deerfield Academy) and Germany (International School of Stuttgart). Jimmy sees math as a language; with it, students can see and describe the world around them in new ways and share their ideas with others. As a teacher, he hopes to help students use math as a “sixth sense” to better understand their surroundings, and to develop self-confidence in speaking, thinking, reading, and writing math. In addition to math, Jimmy speaks Mandarin, German, and French, and is fascinated by the way people learn to communicate with each other.
Sakthi S.
Sakthi is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with dual bachelor’s degrees in both economics and business administration. She was an Undergraduate Student Instructor (UGSI) for Introductory Economics, teaching 60 students each semester, and the only undergraduate to win the Outstanding GSI award. Sakthi also served as both a private tutor and a lead tutor at the Student Learning Center for economics. Previous to starting her teaching career, she worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Sakthi currently works at The Lawrenceville School as a math fellow. She looks forward to working with each of you to hone your skills in both economics and math.
Drew T.
For the past 27 years, Drew has been teaching in mostly New England boarding schools. He is now teaching at Tabor Academy, where he served as the Science Department Chair in the past 5 years. He earned a B.S. in Physics from Saint Vincent College and an M.Ed from George Washington University. He has taught mathematics (Algebra 2 to Calculus), Chemistry, and Physics (Introductory level, Honors, and AP). His main goal is to guide his students to be better problem-solvers, and stewards of the Earth.
Amanda H.
Amanda is a graduate of Bates College with a major in Biochemistry. She has worked with high school students in the role of teacher, coach, dorm faculty member and advisor at such schools as Phillips Exeter Academy and University Preparatory Academy (Seattle). She currently teaches Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, AP Chemistry and Biology at Cape Cod Academy. She resides in Mashpee, MA with her family.
Social Studies Department
Sarah H.
Sarah discovered her passions for working with young people and studying the world while completing her undergraduate degree at Hamilton College and has channeled her enthusiasm into teaching in a variety of settings. Immediately after college, Sarah traveled to Vietnam as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, where she taught English as a Foreign Language to high school students. Since then, Sarah continued to refine her teaching by completing a Master's in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA while simultaneously serving as a Teaching Apprentice at Berwick Academy. Developing a passion for the boarding school life, Sarah has been a history teacher at Tabor Academy for the last four years where she also does dorm duty, coaches, and advises students. In that time, she learned to make lessons engaging and rigorous as the school navigated a pandemic and post-pandemic landscape. Sarah is preparing for her next adventure teaching Sofia, Bulgaria, where will teach history at an American school abroad.
Amethyst K.
With a Bachelors in psychology and a concentration in education from Columbia University and a Master’s of Science in Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania, Amethyst’s schooling background has prepared her well for her teaching career and laid the foundations for her passion for curriculum design. She taught history courses at the Lawrenceville School while completing her Master’s program and then took her newfound knowledge across the world when she joined the Think Global School, an international traveling high school with a completely project-based learning model. There, she led the academic writing program while developing new units such as storytelling in Botswana, architecture in Mexico, and robotics in Dubai. Outside of the education space, she enjoys yoga, dancing, card games, music, and mindless television.
Jeff L.
Jeff Lamson is currently a PhD candidate in history at Northeastern University, where he studies twentieth century US history and World History. He has helped teach classes on the history of technology, the history of information, and international relations since 1945 at the university level. Prior to his doctoral work, Jeff taught US History, American Literature, and hand-tool woodworking at the Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, CO and also taught early and modern World History at the Taft School in Watertown, CT. He has also taught a course on learning strategies in Nicaragua, Mexico, Australia and various parts of the United States, and he holds a Master's in the Science of Education from the University of Pennsylvania. He received a Bachelor's in History from Colby College where he played on the football team, and continued to coach football and other sports while teaching at the high school level.
Shaquille N.
Shaquille is a native of Kingston, Jamaica who has been immersed in the boarding school world since her time as a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. She taught Diversity and Social Justice and History at Northfield Mount Hermon School and has had teaching stints in Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. Shaquille holds a master’s from The University of Pennsylvania, and double majored in Race & Ethnic Studies and in Political Science for her bachelor’s from St. Olaf College. As a zillennial historian, her practitioner inquiry questions the pedagogical adjustments that are needed to make history relevant and engaging for GenZ learners in a post-covid educational landscape. Outside the classroom, Shaquille is an accomplished art curator, a professional Netflixer, and a wanna-be chef. She is also an experienced admissions consultant and the Head of Product of Pedagogy at Tassel Education.
Shannon Z.
Shannon joins Prestans Online Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Organizations, and Society from Franklin & Marshall College (2009) and a Master’s degree in Education Teacher Leadership from Villanova University (2021). After graduating college, Shannon taught for two years at Suffield Academy in Connecticut, before returning to her alma mater, The Hill School in Pennsylvania. At Hill, Shannon served as an Instructor of History, dorm parent, and coach in both girls’ soccer and lacrosse. As a teacher, Shannon believes in supporting the whole student in a way that allows for individual inquiry, risk taking, and generating their own opinion of the past. Often memorizing the “what” of an event does not allow students to develop an understanding of “why” the past matters in the 21st century. As an educator, she wants to help students be inspired, whether they know it or not, and to be active in their learning.
World Languages Department
Jacqueline A.
Jacqueline is an engaging and passionate French, English, and Spanish teacher. She began teaching languages in 2010 and has taught at the university-level as well as in several independent private schools. She has a Master's degree in French from Middlebury College, and loves teaching students about the intricacies and nuances of French grammar. She has also lived in several Latin American countries where she discovered the beauty of the Spanish language as well. Regardless of the language, Jacqueline aims to help her students learn to hone and perfect their language skills in order to broaden their understanding of the vibrant world around them.
Dean B.
Dean is a graduate of Bard College in Annandale, NY with a B.A. in Literature. His Master's Degree in Classical Languages and Literature comes from the City University of New York Graduate Center, and he continued doctoral coursework (minus the Ph.D.) at Fordham University, both in New York City. He began teaching as an adjunct in Classics at CUNY and Fordham, while also leading ESL classes for a private company. For five years he was an instructor at the intensive Summer Latin Institute at the CUNY Graduate Center, where in his final year he served as Director. Since then, the majority of Dean's career has been teaching Latin at all levels (elementary through Advanced Placement) to middle and high school students in public and private schools in New Hampshire, as well as English. Dean enjoys helping students learn to read and enjoy Roman literature from two millennia ago, and to see the many ancillary benefits of Latin there are in other aspects of their studies. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano.
Virginia B.
Virginia B. (she/her) has been a secondary school Latin teacher for over a decade. She has taught all levels of Latin, from introductory language courses to advanced poetry and prose courses, to all ages of high school students. Virginia’s teaching reflects her passion for the ancient world and its influence on modern language and culture; she aims to instill in her students a sense of curiosity about the ongoing relevance of the ancient world. She holds an undergraduate degree with a double concentration in Classics and Italian Studies from Brown University, and a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University.
Kelsie F.
Ms. Fralick graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 2011. She then attended Connecticut College, where she played for the women's ice hockey team all four years, captaining her senior year and setting multiple program records. She double majored in classical languages and anthropology and graduated magna cum laude in 2015. Ms. Fralick was inducted into Conn's Athletic Hall of Fame in April of 2022. After graduating from Conn, she participated in the University of Pennsylvania's Independent School Teaching Residency Program at St. Paul's School, where she coached JV field hockey and ice hockey, taught Latin, and performed residential duties. After earning her M.S. Ed. from UPenn, Ms. Fralick worked at Blair Academy, teaching Classics, coaching field hockey and lacrosse, and working in an underclassmen boys dorm. She then moved to Cushing Academy, where she taught Latin, was an assistant coach for both varsity field hockey and ice hockey teams, and performed dorm duties, most recently she was the dorm head in the largest girls’ dorm on campus. Ms. Fralick returned to her alma mater, Hotchkiss, this summer to join the Classical and Modern Languages Department and the Athletic Department and to be the head girls varsity ice hockey coach, in addition to residential duties in an upperclassmen girls dorm.
Frank T.
Frank has been teaching Latin for over 25 years, from 6th grade through 12th grade, at all levels including AP and higher levels. Frank has taught in boarding schools in New England, and in Viterbo, Italy. Frank is married with two children. When he is not teaching, Frank enjoys travel to ancient Roman historical sites in Europe, and ocean rowing in traditional vessels such as whaleboats, gigs and dories in the waters off the New England Coast.
Raul L.
Raul was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico in 1970. He studied Graphic Design at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes and worked as a designer for the government for 10 years and as an Art and English teacher for all levels and ages since 1992. He earned a scholarship to attend Dartmouth College and learn the Rassias Method from John Rassias. He was the academic coordinator of the Inter-American Partnership for Education for the Rassias Center in Mexico and trained thousands of teachers in that country, the United States, Puerto Rico, and China. He earned his Pedagogue Bachelor's degree in 2021 and now he has been an educator for 30 years teaching ESL, Spanish, and Art to many generations of students. He is also a novelist with a book published in Mexico in 2020.