The core of a strong school is its teachers and Community Independent School has an incredible group of teachers working on behalf of our students and families.
Ben Waugh, veteran CIS teacher, returns as a Lead
Teacher in the preschool program this coming year. Ben
holds an Early Childhood Associate’s degree from
the University of Maine. Prior to joining CIS in 1994,
Ben ran his own in-home childcare for a number of years.
Memorable, distinctive and truly one-of-a-kind, Ben is
a deeply loved member of the CIS community. Ben has been
involved with CIS since its founding in 1993.
Sarah Carrington
(formerly Sarah Cox), Lead Teacher, is originally from England where she completed her Early Childhood Education degree. Sarah joined the CIS staff in 2002 and prior to that time taught for 3 years at Family Preschool and 4 years at Chapel Hill Day Care, both NAEYC accredited schools like CIS. Sarah also taught at Sycamore Preschool in Chapel Hill. A gifted and experienced educator, Sarah is a strong advocate for children and families and is highly respected by everyone fortunate enough to work with her.
Jenni Crouse, Lead Teacher, completed her Elementary Education degree at Western Carolina University. She most recently taught Kindergarten in Ennice, NC and also taught in a kindergarten program in Taiwan as well as teaching third grade in Asheville, NC. Jenni’s most recent principal describes her as "one of the best Kindergarten teachers I have ever seen! Walking into her classroom is amazing kids are so self-directed and activities are so integrated and meaningful."
jenni@communityindependentschool.org
Monika Marszalek, Lead Teacher, comes to CIS with a very rich background in early childhood education. Originally from Poland, Monika received her Masters in Education from the University of Warsaw. She most recently taught as an Education Specialist / Lead Teacher for Kids Scope Children’s Learning Center in Hillsborough. She also taught at the YMCA Children’s Center at Carol Woods in Chapel Hill and at a nursery school in Rochester, MN as well as in Poland. Monika has a deep understanding of young children, their sensibilities and their needs.
monika@communityindependentschool.org
Angela Sharp, Assistant Teacher
Asharpe2662@yahoo.com
Celia Benton, Lead Teacher, grew up on a farm in New Hampshire. She then attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR where she majored in Psychology and French. During this time she spent a semester overseas in Senegal, West Africa and also spent many hours volunteering in local Portland schools. After her undergraduate work she went on to receive her Masters of Arts in Teaching, also from Lewis & Clark. Lewis & Clark is well known in the Pacific Northwest for it's progressive, child-centered approach to teaching. Her student teaching consisted of a full year in a 1st grade classroom along with many additional experiences with other age groups. After graduate school she moved here to NC and taught 3rd grade at Carrboro School before coming to CIS in the fall of '06. She has enjoyed learning and growing with the Sundrops and continues to seek out new ways to enrich the school experience for these children.
Celia@communityindependentschool.org
Jimmy Magoo, Assistant Teacher, is a singer/songwriter, musician, composer, author, actor, playwright, poet, puppeteer, entertainer and educator. He is a happy husband and father of two (Zella, 11 and Cosmo, 4). Jimmy has taught music and theater to students throughout the Triangle since 1998, and helped develop the Youth Performing Arts Conservatory program at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. He led the classes for 7-10 year-olds for three years before being asked to teach at Community Independent School in 2006. Jimmy is still very active in the local arts scene, playing music and performing regularly with PaperHand Puppet Intervention. He is looking forward to many more years of teaching and learning with the children at CIS.
Jimmy@communityindependentschool.org
Steve Ahouse, Co-Teacher, Steve has a duel degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from Keuka College a small private college in Central New York. Keuka College prides itself on their Experiential Education program that requires each student to take part in a month long internship each year that they are enrolled at Keuka. This requirement has allowed Steve to get a first hand look and feel of what it is like to teach in a variety of classroom settings. These settings included Regular Education and Special Education classrooms in the public school setting. Also, Steve had the opportunity to travel to Sydney Australia to teach.
Steve first found employment at CIS as the After-School Coordinator from February 2008 through the end of the school year and on into the summer as the After-Camp coordinator for the schools Summer camp Program. Since the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, Steve has taken more of an academic role within the classroom as the Lead teacher in the Forget-Me-Not classroom.
Steve’s hobbies include: a love of New York Mets baseball, watching live music, playing golf with Ike, and finding pearl-snap shirts at the local thrift stores. Steve’s drive to continue his education through lifelong learning possibilities allows him to evolve his teaching techniques to further his ability to ffectively meet the needs of his students.
Steve@communityindependentschool.org
Lisa
Joyner, Lead Teacher, completed her undergraduate degree in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Masters of Education degree at North Carolina State University. In 2007, she was certified in Gifted Education for grades K-12. Lisa grew up in Durham and has lived in the area for most of her life. Before coming to CIS, she taught at McDougle Middle School (1995-2000), UNC-CH’s School of Education (2000 – 2003), Durham Academy (2003 – 2006), Phillips Middle School (2006 -2009) and Duke Young Writer’s Camp (1996 – 2004). She and her husband, writer Randall Williams, live on a farm outside of Chapel Hill with their menagerie of cats, goats, chickens and a dog. Lisa is an avid reader, gardener and cook. She also recently started exploring metal-smithing and jewelry making. She is thrilled to be joining Steve as co-teacher of the Forget-Me-Nots and hopes to spend many years teaching and learning in the CIS community.
lisajoyner1@mac.com
Camille Barden, After-School Group leader
karmacamilleon@yahoo.com
Jessica Wilkins
jesslyn_37@hotmail.com
Katie Kenlan
kseek@aol.com
Maia Derewicz has been providing both music and Spanish instruction with an integrated music/language approach to students at CIS since 2002. Maia received her BA from UNC-Asheville in Sociology, specializing in Latin American studies. She taught for a year in Ecuador. She has also worked with immigrant children and families from Mexico in a number of capacities, including a project with young elementary children from Mexico using the arts as a second language. Her loves include art, music, composing music for children and adults as well as storytelling and the out-of-doors. She often performs her music locally at numerous venues. In addition to her Spanish training, Maia has been very involved in music education training through the American Orff-Schulwerk Association pursuing coursework both in NC and in Massachusetts. Maia forms deep connections with youngsters of all ages and her lessons are uniquely suited to the age level, needs and interests of each gathering.
maia@communityindependentschool.org
Currently Recruiting
Sarah Cornette
cornettecook@hughes.net
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Beth Spinarski, Executive Director
spinarskicis@att.net
Charlie Buchart, Education Director
pekoeandi@hotmail.com
Rebecca Horniman, Business Development and Marketing Director
Rebecca@communityindependentschool.org
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Lauren Munach, Chair
Kathryn Beckerdite, Secretary
Michael Smith, Treasurer
Holly Coldiron
Darren Hunnicutt
Ann Jones
Karl Owen
Beth Spinarski, Executive Director non-voting
