Bill Chamberlain — High School

University of Illinois [Champaign/Urbana]: BM Music (1978)
East Carolina University: MM Music (1985)
Simmons College: M.Ed (2003)

I am the Technology Department Head and I help administer various otheractivities such as Day Student Orientation, tech workshops, and New Student workshops. I teach 3D Animation/Modeling, Advanced Projects in Technology [student selects the area in tech, EG programming, short film, basic skills, etc], and co-teach a course called "A Sense of Time" [designed to survey the birth and death of our planet and civilizations]. Beyond the classroom, each year, I plan and execute trips to DC, Gettysburg, New York City, and spring break trips to Europe and other locations.

Among other jobs, I've been a professional musician, run a Live Action Role-Playing game, managed a McDonalds, and ran an elementary school band program. I've been at Landmark for 15 years and don't intend to look around any more.

Like many teachers, I am here because I love working with the students and being a part of an incredible community of teachers. The students present challenges that yield life-long memories and heart-felt relationships year after year. The intimacy of our small classes makes it possible to effectively know and understand each student. So we thrive in what is often a difficult environment. The emphasis on generating successful experiences for the students is a goal across the board here and it makes the job most gratifying.

Debbie Chandler — Elementary & Middle School

Fitchburg State University BA in Special Education and Elementary Education
Simmons College Masters in Special Education

I have been employed at Landmark School since 1984. Throughout this time I have seen the program become stronger and stronger, year after year. I have been the Computer Department Head at the Elementary Middle School for a numbers of years, and have just recently begun to case manage again. I love that Landmark constantly looks at new research, trends, and teaching practices; and it is especially gratifying when research supports ideas and beliefs that we have held for a long time. Even with all the latest advancements in computers, we strongly believe in teaching children to be independent of technologies.

Freddi Pare — Elementary & Middle School

MS Ed. Boston University
MS Ed. Special Education, Simmons College

This is my 15th year as a teacher and coach at Landmark EMS. After completing a Master's Degree of Education from Boston University in 1995, I taught first grade in Baltimore County, MD. I knew that I wanted to come back to Massachusetts and applied to teach at the summer program at Landmark. From that first summer, I knew that Landmark was the place for me. I love the small classes, the one-on-one tutorials and all of the support that teachers receive. In 2000, I earned a second degree in education from Simmons College. Since then, I have taught tutorials, Oral Expressions/Literature and for the past two years, I have had so much fun teaching "Kids Around the Globe." This is an elective which focuses on multiculturalism and celebrates diversity. In class we learn about friendships, traditions, languages, and cultures of children all over the world. Along with teaching, I love to coach. In the fall, I coach the Middle School Cross Country team. During basketball season, I coach elementary Cheerleading and in the spring, Track and Field. I feel very fortunate to have so many opportunities at Landmark to be creative and encouraging.

Joe Rose — High School

California State University, Northridge
BA Communication (1992)
MA Mass Communication (1999)
Simmons College, M.S.Ed. Special Education (2008)

 I have the true honor and privilege of being a teacher in the Landmark Prep Program, where I teach a variety of social sciences courses, including U.S. History, Speech and Debate, Psychology and Sociology.

 Landmark is an extraordinary place with an incredible combination of special people all working together for a common and noble purpose. It is more than a school; it is truly a family. It is this simple fact that makes this one of the greatest jobs in the world.

 I came to teaching later in my professional career after a successful run as a corporate marketing and public relations professional. It wasn’t until I taught several communications courses at Emerson College in Boston, that I realized that my true calling was to be an educator. After three years at Emerson, I decided to turn my sights to the high school level, where I could become part of a community. It did not take long for me to discover Landmark.

 Ultimately, what makes my work at Landmark rewarding is the fact that I get to spend the majority of my time helping to motivate and prepare young people to grow, evolve and discover that they are themselves special. I believe that empowering young people is the most important thing an educator can seek to do for his/her students.

Helping young people discover their individuality, confidence and a strong sense of social awareness is where I feel teaching both begins and ends. This is what Landmark is all about. We are rightfully renowned as the international vanguard in the field of learning disability education, but setting students on the path to find themselves and their place in the world is where Landmark truly makes its mark.

Geoff Russell — Elementary & Middle School

BA Social Science, Keene State College
MS Ed. Special Education, Simmons College

As a teacher at Landmark, I am regularly reminded of why it is a special place to work. Landmark provides a genuinely supportive work environment. My colleagues are friends and true mentors who continually urge me to refine my standards. I have learned so much about what it means to be a fair and responsible teacher from my colleagues. Without their positive and effective modeling, I would not be the teacher that I am today.

At Landmark, I have gained a clearer perspective of the teacher that I am and the goals that I would like to achieve. Most of all, I love the challenge of helping students work toward their individual and collective goals. As a one-to-one tutor, I am able to be a personal mentor and an effective teacher to students who need tailored reading and writing instruction. In many cases, I continue to hear from these students long after they have left Landmark – a unique and special element of the Landmark culture.

Scott Jamieson — High School

Bowdoin College BA Government and Legal Studies

I am an Assistant Dean of Students, Summer Dean of Students, and a teacher at Landmark School. I came to Landmark after working at Bowdoin College as an Assistant Director of Residential Life. I had no teaching experience before I came to Landmark, however thanks to Landmark’s focus on teacher training, I have been able to learn on the job. Because of my coaching and residential responsibilities, I have been able to continue to work closely with students both inside and outside the classroom. My favorite part about Landmark School is the community atmosphere. For example, the intramural dodgeball and volleyball programs boast teams of both students and staff who compete against each other at night. The staff really enjoy interacting with students and other staff outside the classroom. All of the students and staff are great people who genuinely care about one another.

Billy Swift — High School

Western Connecticut State University, BA English (2001)
Lesley University, MFA Creative Writing/Poetry (2006)

My greatest experience as an Oral Expression teacher at Landmark is being able to step back and watch as groups of students crane themselves over desks to collaborate on a group project, create a semantic map for a discussion on a Guinness Book of World Record, develop restaurant ideas, or film their own commercials. Although I lacked experience in teaching (one year at a school for deaf children) before joining the Landmark team, I could not imagine being in any other sort of environment; teaching or otherwise. The experiences I have had at Landmark are even incomparable to the seven years I spent working in a theater.

As an Oral Expression teacher, I find it imperative to make sure my students understand how language works and how to use it effectively. With a focus on pronunciation, parts of speech, word meaning, abstract thought, sentence structure, retrieving memory, and categorizing, my students learn the valuable skills and strategies to communicate. My class does very little writing since the emphasis is on spoken language. We explore a variety of themes that initiate discussion, prior knowledge, and new knowledge.

I also teach Standard Language Arts tutorials and Projects in Technology, coach three sports, and oversee students in their dorms. Yes, it is a lot of time on campus, but it is worth every moment. I am the youngest of three boys and always wanted a younger sibling. This is not only why I am a teacher, but a teacher at Landmark. The approach of this school encompasses every aspect of life in a systematic and entertaining manner. I feel fortunate to be able to interact with students on multiple levels of their educational and social experiences as they develop into intelligent, independent, and freethinking adults. My time at Landmark is an expansion of my participation in the most structured and dynamic environment that I have ever seen.