Canterbury Welcomes New Faculty and Staff

Canterbury School welcomes several new faculty and staff members for our 2021-2022 school year. Each joins our community with an outstanding background and a commitment to academic excellence. Please be on the lookout for in-depth profiles where we will showcase more details about this impressive group over the coming year.
Lower School

Danae Angiulo - Pre-K3 Assistant Teacher
Danae will be joining our Lower School team as an Assistant Teacher for our Pre-K3 classrooms. She graduated from Merrimack College in Massachusetts with a double major in Human Development and Communications and Media with a minor in Education. Danae is joining us from Gateway Charter Elementary where she worked as a substitute teacher. She has more than 10 years of experience working with children in a variety of positions. 

Joey Colón - Kindergarten Assistant Teacher
We are pleased to have Joey join our Lower School team as an Assistant Teacher for our Kindergarten classrooms. Joey has been working with our Extended Day and Summer Programs for four years. He has also served as a substitute teacher throughout this school year in our Lower School as well as for the Canterbury Sports Intramurals (CSI) program in our Middle School. Joey graduated from Florida SouthWestern State College with his associate degree and is in the process of completing his Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. 

Paige Pollock ’14 - First Grade Lead Teacher
Paige earned her Master of Science in Elementary Education from Johns Hopkins University. She also has her bachelor’s degree in family and child sciences with minors in education, psychology, and sociology from Florida State University. Paige joins us from Riverdale Elementary in Riverdale, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., where she taught third and fourth grade. She has also taught fifth-grade students with the Teach for America program in Philadelphia, and second grade in Tallahassee. Paige is a proud Canterbury Lifer from the Class of 2014, and she is looking forward to returning to the school she loves to join our Lower School team.

Leigh Rees - Second Grade Lead Teacher
Leigh comes to Canterbury with more than 10 years of experience teaching students in grades K-12 in a variety of educational settings. He and his family recently relocated to Southwest Florida from Brisbane, Australia, to be closer to family. Most recently, Leigh taught at St. Edmunds College, a secondary school in Brisbane. Before that, he taught for several years at Middle Park Primary School in Melbourne, Australia. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from La Trobe University in Melbourne. 

Elise Torres - Pre-K3 Assistant Teacher
Elise will be joining our Lower School team as an Assistant Teacher for our Pre-K3 classrooms. She earned her associate degree from Florida SouthWestern State College. Most recently, Elise worked as a long-term substitute teacher at Cape Elementary. She also has experience in early childhood education working as an in-home childcare provider. 

Middle School

Teresa Brook - Middle School English Teacher
Teresa is a familiar face at Canterbury, having served as a long-term substitute teacher throughout this past school year. Teresa has more than 20 years of experience in education, teaching at various grade levels, and was honored to receive the 2018 Lighthouse Award for Best Elementary School Teacher. She earned her degree in education at the University of São Paulo. Teresa will be teaching English to our sixth-grade students. 

Morgan Dexter - Middle School English Teacher
We are pleased to welcome Morgan to our Middle School team to teach English to our eighth-grade students. Her teaching experience includes more than four years teaching at the middle and elementary school levels, most recently Caloosa Middle and Gateway Charter in Lee County. She earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of South Florida. Morgan is proud of being a Southwest Florida native. She tells us she has a passion for English and turning students into lovers of reading and writing.

Kelly Newman - Middle School Science Teacher
Kelly will be joining our Science Department to teach Life Science to our seventh-grade students. She comes to Canterbury from The Village School in Naples where she taught everything from Life Science to Marine and Space Science to middle school students. Kelly has more than six years of teaching experience. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, majoring in communications with a minor in education. 

Michelle Reed - Middle School Mathematics Teacher   
With close to 20 years in education, Michelle will be a fantastic addition to our Mathematics Department. She is joining us from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where she taught all levels of Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry, as well as Intro to Probability and Statistics. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration on Mathematics and Secondary Education from Johns Hopkins University. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Alabama. Michelle will be teaching Algebra and Pre-Algebra to our seventh-grade students.

Upper School

Dr. Candace Collins - Upper School English Teacher
We are pleased to welcome Candace to our Upper School team to teach English to our eleventh-grade students. She joins us with more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. Her background also includes several roles in higher education, such as serving in the Office of the Provost at New York University as well as teaching English Composition at the University of Miami. She earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction as well as her master’s degree in humanities from Arizona State University. She received her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from George Mason University. 

Thomas Deane - Upper School History Teacher
Thomas served as a long-term substitute teacher at Canterbury throughout this past school year. He moved to our area from St. Louis, where he taught both Middle and Upper School students at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School (MICDS), one of the top independent schools in St. Louis. He also taught at Nerinx Hall in St. Louis. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history with minors in education and political science from Guilford College in North Carolina. Thomas will be teaching U.S. History in our Upper School.

Emma Frank ’17 - Upper School Social Sciences Teacher
We are pleased to welcome back Emma, who is a Canterbury alumna from the Class of 2017.  Emma earned her Bachelor of Art in Psychology and Sociology with minors in Education and Spanish from the University of Miami. Emma has worked with our Extended Day and Summer Programs, as well as tutoring Canterbury students this past school year. She is excited to take the reins of our Psychology classes in our Upper School.

Dr. Rickey McClain - American Sign Language Teacher
Rickey will be joining Canterbury part-time to teach our new American Sign Language (ASL) course in our Upper School. Rickey has taught ASL in a variety of settings for more than 15 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. He also has master’s degrees in counseling and religious education and his Doctor of Ministry. Most recently, Rickey has been working with The Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center in Fort Myers.  

Kati Morris - Upper School Science Teacher
With more than 10 years of experience teaching science at the secondary level, we are excited to have Kati join our Science Department. She will be teaching Biology and AP Environmental Science in our Upper School. Kati graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Florida Gulf Coast University. Most recently, she taught several science courses at South Fort Myers High School. Kati has had extensive professional development in the area of Advanced Placement (AP) from the College Board. She has also been named a Golden Apple Finalist and Teacher of Distinction with the School District of Lee County.

Dr. Amy Stanfill - Upper School Science Teacher
Amy will be joining our Upper School to share her extensive knowledge and experience through teaching Biology to our ninth-grade students. Amy has been a pediatric surgeon with Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. She was previously on faculty at the University of Illinois College of Medicine where she was actively involved in medical student and resident education and academic outcomes research. She earned her Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science from the University of Iowa. Amy is the proud mother of Lucy, who will be in sixth grade this coming school year. Amy served on Canterbury’s Board of Trustees and she is consistently engaged in various activities at the school. 

Carl Sukow - Upper School Science Teacher
We are pleased to welcome Carl to teach Chemistry and Physics in our Upper School. He is joining us from North Carolina, where he recently graduated from Davidson College with his bachelor’s degree in physics and art history. Teaching is in Carl’s blood, as his father, David Sukow, is a professor of physics and engineering at Washington and Lee University. Through fantastic recommendations with Southern Teachers Agency, we know Carl will be a phenomenal asset to our Science Department, with his strong communication skills and excellent academic background.  

David Wray - Math Lab Teacher
David has close to 30 years of classroom experience teaching all levels of mathematics from Pre-Algebra and Algebra through Advanced Placement Calculus and Advanced Placement Multivariable. He spent the majority of his teaching career at Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. David earned his master’s degree from Syracuse University and his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, both in mathematics education.

Other Faculty & Staff

Oliver Goss ’17 - Internship
Oliver is a graduate of Canterbury’s Class of 2017 and he is excited to return to campus for an internship with our Upper School. He will also serve as a substitute teacher for our Middle and Upper School divisions as well as assist our Advancement Office. Oliver recently graduated from Furman University with a degree in political science. 

Mary Pickett - Executive Assistant to Advancement
Mary will be joining our Advancement Office to assist our fundraising team with stewardship and special events. She comes to us from The Episcopal School of Dallas where she served as the Administrative Assistant to the Lower School. Mary earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Merchandising from The Ohio State University.  
 
Stacy Sizemore - Varsity Football Head Coach & Community Outreach Coordinator
Stacy rejoined our Canterbury community in April of 2021, hitting the ground running with our football program and working to develop new outreach activities for our students. He previously served as the head football coach of our Cougars from 2015-2016. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. Stacy has spent more than 20 years as a high school and college football coach, dean of students, teacher, and athletic director. Most recently, he served as the head football coach at St. Aloysius in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

New Roles at Canterbury
Several of our current faculty and staff members are taking on new and/or additional roles for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Trent Carter, former Dean of Students, will now serve as the Associate Athletic Director. Erin Smith will be taking on Trent’s responsibilities in her new role as Assistant Head of Upper School. Erin will continue to serve as Dean of Faculty as well as assisting Carl Melamet, our Associate Head of School for Academics Grades 5-12. Erin has her Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction and her master’s degree in Secondary Language Arts Education from Piedmont College. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Miami University of Ohio. 

Alex Cooner, née Roos, who served as an Assistant Teacher for our Pre-K3 classroom, will now be taking on the role of Pre-K3 Lead Teacher in our Lower School. Alex earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of South Florida and has more than five years of experience in early childhood education.

Chrystal Crisanti will now be working with our Lower and Middle School students as a Physical Education Teacher. Chrystal has been with Canterbury for more than five years as an Assistant Teacher in our Lower School. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Methodist University.

Cameron Foos, who first joined Canterbury to teach second grade, will now be joining our Middle School team to teach English to our seventh-grade students. Cameron has her Master of Art in Teaching as well as her Reading Specialist Certification from the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her bachelor’s degree in art history from The George Washington University. She has extensive experience teaching in middle school and designing curriculum for middle school reading.
 
Shannon Frank has been with Canterbury for nine years in a variety of roles in all divisions. She will be transitioning from Middle School to Upper School to teach English to our ninth-grade students. She will also be stepping back into the role of English Department Chair. She earned her degree in political science, international relations, and English from Boston University. She also has her Reading and ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) certifications. 

George Pappas’ title is now the Associate Head of School to more accurately reflect the role he plays as a key leadership team member in issues involving the school.  He will continue to lead our Advancement Office efforts.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina, a J.D., and a master’s in elementary education both from the University of Maryland.  In addition, George received National Board Certification as a middle childhood specialist when he was a full-time classroom teacher.  

Julie Pearson has been with Canterbury for five years working in our Advancement Office. She will now take on the role of Director of the Canterbury Fund. Julie has her bachelor’s degree in political science from Simmons College.

With close to 40 years at Canterbury in a variety of roles, Julie Peters will now be assisting the Admission Office as the Director of International Admission as she prepares for retirement. We look forward to celebrating her career before she heads off on her new journey.  

Paula Sizemore has been teaching with Canterbury for close to 10 years in our Upper School. She will continue to teach a class in our Upper School and take on a new role as our Director of Admission. Paula earned her Bachelor of Art in Psychology and English from Elon University.

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