Bridge is proud of the founding teachers, administrators, and volunteers who still remain with the school and in our community today, keeping alive the same passion and ingenuity that characterized our first year in a small church. Today, we highlight the career paths of teachers and instructional staff who began their journey with Bridge as part of our Teaching Fellows program. 

The Teaching Fellows program has been a quintessential element of the staff community at Bridge Boston since its foundation in 2011. The program provides a second adult in every classroom to support students with high needs and deliver individualized instruction and care to all. Hallmarks of the program include teacher mentorship and an intentional community of collaboration and learning.

This year, the Teaching Fellows program was replaced with an Associate Teacher model. We are excited to share the work that is currently being done to reimagine this program as the greater teaching development landscape changes and evolves. The reimagination is an important component of our strategic planning work, which will guide Bridge Boston's approach to education throughout the next 5-10 years.   

Starting as a fellow at Bridge gave me the space to understand and belong before juggling the many responsibilities of lead teacher. This experience empowered me to get my masters at Boston College through the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars Program the following year. After that I became a lead teacher and now, 7 years later, I'm the Director of the Upper School. I certainly credit the fellowship as a big reason why I've stayed and grown at Bridge. I was able to get my feet wet slowly, learn about our mission and the community it served, and make decisions about my practice that felt right for me. I'm also grateful for my experiences as a fellow and lead teacher in that they inform many of my decisions today as a leader. I know how hard the work can be, and how much work needs to be done. But most of all, those years remind me how integral every member of our professional community is here at Bridge, and that there is no heartbeat like the one at this school.

Katherine Bailey

Upper Division Director

2015 Teaching Fellow

Janelle Crowley was a member of our first cohort of fellows in 2012. She spent several years teaching at Bridge Boston before beginning her current role as Lower Division Director. 

Sophie Schacht was also a member of our first cohort of Teaching Fellows. She currently serves as a Special Educator in our Lower Division, and on our Literacy Task Force. You may recognize her from her starring role in our Reading Challenge videos this year!

Adia Vellaccio began with Bridge as a Fellow in 2014, and remains a valued member of our Lower Division. She is a 3rd Grade Teacher and hugely responsible for the successful and joyful production of BBCS Drama Club's The Lion King this year. Adia is also a member of our Lead Teacher Plus program.

Jasmine Heffner currently serves as a 2nd Grade Teacher, as well as a teacher in our Extended Day program. She began her career with Bridge as a member of the 2015 Teaching Fellows cohort. 

Megan Malaker began as a Fellow in 2016, and has remained a staunch advocate for and supporter of the program ever since. Last year, she served as the Fellows Program Coordinator in addition to her role as a 5th Grade ELA Teacher. Megan is excited to begin her new role as the English Department Chair in our Upper Division next year! 

Elle Thompson was also a member of the 2016 Teaching Fellows cohort. She is now an English Language Learning teacher, and has taken on varying managerial positions on our ELL team over the years. Like Sophie, Elle does amazing work on our Literacy Task Force. She was a Lead Teacher Plus this school year and will continue that work as a member of the Literacy Task Force in 2022-23. 

You may recognize Yaya Cofield from her work with our Jaguar Flame Squad Steppers, on our Culture Team, or in her role as Dean. What you may not know is that Yaya began her career with us in 2017 as a Teaching Fellow!

Brenna Nolan, Kate Ahearn, Aimee Slatkavitz, Abbey Gannon, and Hannah Gotoff began their journeys with Bridge together as Teaching Fellows in 2018. They now serve in differing and exciting capacities across our instructional teams:

Brenna and Kate are Special Educators in our Lower and Upper Divisions, respectively. Kate has recently been accepted to our Lead Teacher Plus program and will be supporting teacher development work next year in addition to her everyday work in the classroom. 

Abbey and Hannah have led one of our 4th Grade classrooms together as Co-Teachers since transitioning from the Teaching Fellows program. We are thrilled that they have both reached the highly anticipated milestone of becoming fully licensed teachers and will have their own 4th Grade classrooms next year! 

Aimee currently serves as Science Department Chair and the sole Science Teacher in our Upper Division. She has completed extensive curriculum work over the past few years to align scientific learning across all grades at Bridge Boston. You may also recognize her from the work she has done to integrate our Bridge Boston Bees into her curriculum this year.