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Meet the Teachers

Ms. Peg Hope (co-founder) Latin, Mathematics, World Religions, College Counselor BA, World Religions, Lawrence University (magna cum laude) Peg is the founder of Spring Street School and served as Director for its first nine years. Peg’s teaching has covered many areas of the middle and high school curriculum and she plays a major role in Spring Street’s international travel study program. She served as Department Head for Language Arts and Math at the Stanford High School in Redmond, Washington, where she also had primary responsibilities for the college preparatory program, staff training, curriculum development, and diagnostic and vocational testing. Peg resumed responsibility for College Counseling at Spring Street last year, and is enjoying sharing the adventure that is college admissions with her juniors and seniors.
Mr. Ted Hope (co-founder) Social Studies, Overseas Travel Coordinator, Director/Institute for Village Studies MA, International Politics/History, University of Wisconsin BA, Asian Studies/Political Science (cum laude), Lawrence University Ted began teaching at Spring Street School in 1995 as a founding faculty member. He has taught a wide variety of social studies, college preparatory and language arts classes over the past 30 years. The College Board has recognized his Human Geography and Psychology classes for their excellence. He was the Executive Director of the Stanford Middle and High Schools in Redmond, Washington, for 10 years prior to coming to Friday Harbor. Ted organizes and leads our high school annual travel study trips to South and Southeast Asia.
Ms. Heather June High School English BA Philosophy - University of Colorado at Boulder MA English - Western Washington University MA Education - Seattle Pacific University People and their stories fascinate Heather. By the third grade, she was voraciously collecting detail and writing it down. A great fan of the creative power of the word, she believes that story is a key to our survival and ability to thrive in this era of accelerated change. Heather writes both fiction and non-fiction, and holds master’s degrees in English (from Western Washington University) and in Education (from Seattle Pacific University). She got her BA in Philosophy from University of Colorado at Boulder. She loves gardening in the islands, hiking, camping, and snowboarding in the mountains, and singing around a campfire. Nature fuels her spirit. A former gymnast, she enjoys the kinesthetic learning of acrobatics and dance. When teaching, Heather asks questions that generate awareness not only of what we are thinking, but also of how we are thinking. She looks forward with great pleasure to teaching high school students and Spring Street International School. Her son, Jed Lewis, will enter the 7th grade at SSIS.
Mr. Grisha Krivchenia Music BA, Composition, Oberlin College Grisha Krivchenia, is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who has recently settled down on San Juan Island. Grisha performs regularly on the island and teaches piano lessons. He is delighted to help start the Community Recording Studio at SSIS, which will be available to all of San Juan Island's young musicians.
Sharon Massey Science A native of the East Coast, Sharon Massey began migrating west when she attended Northland College in Northern Wisconsin. She pursued a BS in Biology and Outdoor Education and traveled and worked her way to Washington State where she earned a Teaching Certificate and a Master’s Degree in Whole Systems Thinking. Sharon taught at SSIS in the early years between 1996 and 2000, but left to raise her two children. She has kept a strong connection with the school and is excited about returning this year to share her passion for the natural world. She looks forward to helping her students engage their sense of wonder while they learn the skills involved in scientific inquiry.
Meg McDonald Head Dorm Parent Meg McDonald has nurtured a lifelong passion for helping and educating children. She served as a volunteer teacher of multicultural immigrant and refugee children in Seattle, as well as a Child Advocate for WA State CASA. Meg studied Creative Writing, and Child and Family Psychology, at Vassar College, business at University of Washington, and MBA studies in Executive Leadership at Seattle University. Meg spent years in high-level business management and accounting roles, and owned her own companies. With her renaissance "learn it all" approach to life and love of knowledge, Meg hopes to help our students develop their own unique intellect and character, while fostering a healthy sense of honoring family and helping others. For her last two years of high school, Meg herself asked to attend boarding school in Massachusetts, where in her senior year she served as a Dorm Proctor, newspaper Editor-In-Chief, and Basketball Captain. Meg has high hopes of creating a supportive, caring, home away from home for our boarding students. An avid cook and baker, she also enjoys photography, art, horseback riding, archery, marksmanship, swimming, yoga and first aid / survival training. Meg was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and has traveled to South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands, Scotland, England, Mexico, Canada, and every state in the U.S. except Alaska. She serves as Head Dorm Parent at Blair House.
Colin Megill Social Studies BA International Relations/Political Science University of Connecticut Honors Program Colin studied both International Relations and Political Science at The University of Connecticut, taught one year in a New Jersey public school, and spent the last year shadowing Ted in Economics and helping out in the dorm. He returns this year teaching two classes: AP human Geography and a mixed 8-9th grade civics class.
Heather Mitchell Marine Biology Heather's love of learning leads her to explore the world with delight. As a child she was enchanted with music, reading and animals. As an adult this devotion to discovery has guided her exploration into many areas including Biodynamic Farming, Old Time music and the study of human development with a particular interest in the work of Rudolf Steiner. She holds formal degrees in Biology, Human Genetics and has a certificate in Waldorf Education. As a passionate learner, teaching comes naturally to her. Heather believes that the heart of education is the relationship between the teacher and the student. As a teacher, she believes her primary role is to love and clearly see each student in order to join with parents and colleagues to bring them what they need to develop in a balanced manner. As a science teacher she strives to continually awaken the capacity for wonder in her students and to inspire them to use their hearts, hands and minds to understand the natural world that is their home. When she is not in the classroom you may find Heather singing with friends, rambling the fields, forests and meadows of Lopez Island or cooking in her kitchen.
Mr. Louis O’Prussack Head of School, Mathematics MA, Educational Leadership, Teacher’s College, Columbia University BA, Classics, Oberlin College Louis began teaching mathematics in 1990, and has since also taught physics and environmental science, coached soccer, lacrosse, and track as well as been both a Director of Studies and an Assistant Head of School at various schools. Louis is humbled to be chosen and entrusted by the Board of Trustees and the SSIS community to be the new Head.
Jerome Riley Director of Operations / Development BA, Communication Arts, Fordham University Teaching Certification, Secondary, State University of New York Management Development Certification – Babson College Jerry joined SSIS after a successful career in marketing and sales in the publishing and graphic arts industry. He served in a variety of management positions, including Director of Marketing for Atex Publishing Systems, an Eastman Kodak Co. and as Sales Director and National Accounts Director for various companies. Jerry taught English briefly in New York public schools and combines an educational background with a varied business career. Jerry is responsible for recruiting, fund raising, administrative management and financial oversight and served as acting Director from November 2007 through June 2008. For 2009, Jerry also co-teaches our Speech/ Debate course with Meri Block.
Chuck Schietinger High School Physics and Chemistry BS Physics - Stockton State Chuck is an experimental physicist with over 25 years’ experience in research and design. This research has spanned a wide range of applications, including advanced materials, crystal growth, fiber optics, numerous NASA projects, and improved methods of controlling semiconductor processing. Chuck holds more than a dozen patents in optical and temperature measurement techniques. He has been an invited lecturer and thesis adviser at a number of universities including MIT, NJIT, OGI, Stanford and the University of Stuttgart. His numerous publications include invited research papers, journal and magazine articles, and book chapters. In 1995, NATO recognized him as a world expert in temperature measurement and emissivity. Other interests include woodcarving, kayaking and sharing his love of science. Chuck commutes from Lopez and is excited about his first year at SSIS.
Amanda Schroeder Spanish Amanda’s passion for language and culture is contagious! In all her classes she strives to create a community in which all can learn in a comfortable and fun environment that is both educational and motivating. Amanda believes that if we can gain perspective from each other and the world, we can become more compassionate, understanding individuals. She enjoys teaching so much because it allows her to forever be a lifelong learner. Amanda earned a BA in Spanish and a P-12 teaching certificate from Western Washington University, and is certified in Bilingual Education and TESOL. She has taught all age groups from Pre-K to adult and has experience in both the private and public school systems. In addition, she has studied Spanish Language and Literature at the Universidad de Cádiz in southern Spain. Idaho grown, Amanda has a love for learning about others, teaching and traveling. She thoroughly enjoys being a part of her community, hiking, biking, camping, and everything else outdoors!
Kate Small MS Humanities Kate loves school and hopes to go forever. At Spring Street she can live her dream, to be both teacher and student in a school which knows that learning is most powerful when it collides with life. The humanities classroom is Kate’s favorite place in the world. Her highest aim is to ask good questions. She loves language and languages, and the infinite domain of history. She knows that literacy is power and that art saves lives. Kate has gone to school a lot and has gathered degrees from New England Conservatory, U. Mass, U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State, and Western Governor’s University. She plans to never graduate from Spring Street.
Jeff Smith Mathematics Jeff has earned three degrees over his eighteen years of teaching. He has a BA in mathematics from California State University, San Bernardino and earned his MA (in education) from Chapman University. His second Masters (and final according to his wife) in Organizational Systems and Renewal, is from Seattle University. Jeff has taught all levels of mathematics from 3rd through 12th grade, spanning both public and private environments. After his first stint at Spring Street from 1998 – 2001, he founded Paideia Classical School and has also served as an instructional coach in the Microsoft Math Partnership from 2007 – 2010. Jeff believes that student-teacher relationships transcend the classroom and he is particular passionate in helping student gain competency – especially when they have struggled in the past. Believing that great teachers create experiences that move their students to action, Jeff is very much at home in Spring Street’s progressive, experiential educational milieu. He consistently structures his activities and student interactions toward the experience of mathematical thinking, which he believes leads to a life-long habit of deep, reflective and pragmatic thinking.

Grace Guenther Dorm parent, Drama A drama major at WSU, Grace’s work with the middle school last year was so well received during winterim, that she is now back as one of the dorm parents in Blair House as well as teaching an afternoon drama class.
Ms. Julie Carlson Office Manager Julie serves as part of our Administrative Management Team and is responsible for all the functions of the school office.
Ms. Shelley Shelton-Wilson Bookkeeper, Financial Assistant BS, Science Education, University of Oklahoma Shelley is our financial assistant and handles all our bookkeeping responsibilities. She is the mother of alumnae Gaia, class of 2006 as well as Kai who is a senior this year. Shelley enjoys nature, sailing, and gardening and especially gardening.