Interim Executive Director
Melanie Zinn
Melanie Zinn grew up in the Brattleboro area where her mother owned a home childcare. She graduated from BUHS in 2000, where she has also since then choreographed 19 years of musicals for the BUHS Theatre and Music Dept. Melanie holds an associate degree in Financial Accounting, two bachelor's degrees from Keene State College in Early Childhood Education and Theatre & Dance, as well a Master's Degree from New England College in Early Literacy and Language Arts. Melanie was plugged into the early education field in our community at a young age: starting Vernon Elementary School's after school program, establishing summer camp programming at The Family Garden when it first opened (where Mel's cousin was a co-founder and her husband designed their logo!) From an early age Mel knew that she loved working with children and families. She started a childcare in her home many years ago, which grew to a licensed home childcare, then became a center in town when Brattleboro Nursery School closed its doors. Horizon Early Learning Program has been established in the old Brattleboro Nursery School Space for several years now under Mel's leadership, during which time she has opened a small nature-based childcare in her old home in Vernon and also helped to save The Mulberry Bush, a childcare located on The Brattleboro Retreat campus when it was slated to close in Dec. of 2020. Melanie is passionate about helping children, families, teachers and programs in need and is glad to be helping Neighborhood Schoolhouse in the interim until a new Executive Director is found. Mel and her husband Nate sent their son to NSH from age 2.5 to age 6. Mel has been married to her husband Nate for over 15 years and they are parents to Kristine age 16 and Reese now age 8.5. The Zinns all love the outdoors and you can always find them adventuring together through life!
Contact Me: mel@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Melanie Zinn grew up in the Brattleboro area where her mother owned a home childcare. She graduated from BUHS in 2000, where she has also since then choreographed 19 years of musicals for the BUHS Theatre and Music Dept. Melanie holds an associate degree in Financial Accounting, two bachelor's degrees from Keene State College in Early Childhood Education and Theatre & Dance, as well a Master's Degree from New England College in Early Literacy and Language Arts. Melanie was plugged into the early education field in our community at a young age: starting Vernon Elementary School's after school program, establishing summer camp programming at The Family Garden when it first opened (where Mel's cousin was a co-founder and her husband designed their logo!) From an early age Mel knew that she loved working with children and families. She started a childcare in her home many years ago, which grew to a licensed home childcare, then became a center in town when Brattleboro Nursery School closed its doors. Horizon Early Learning Program has been established in the old Brattleboro Nursery School Space for several years now under Mel's leadership, during which time she has opened a small nature-based childcare in her old home in Vernon and also helped to save The Mulberry Bush, a childcare located on The Brattleboro Retreat campus when it was slated to close in Dec. of 2020. Melanie is passionate about helping children, families, teachers and programs in need and is glad to be helping Neighborhood Schoolhouse in the interim until a new Executive Director is found. Mel and her husband Nate sent their son to NSH from age 2.5 to age 6. Mel has been married to her husband Nate for over 15 years and they are parents to Kristine age 16 and Reese now age 8.5. The Zinns all love the outdoors and you can always find them adventuring together through life!
Contact Me: mel@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Nursery
Annie Macy
Annie has been a familiar face during the past 6 years at Neighborhood Schoolhouse! After substitute teaching at Neighborhood for many years, she took a full time teaching position in the Preschool classroom. In the fall of 2021, Annie transitioned to the Nursery classroom where she is now the lead teacher as well as our Early Childhood Program Director.
For over 25 years, Annie has been teaching and caring for children of all ages, in all different capacities, including nannying, running a home childcare program, teaching in early learning programs as well as substitute teaching within our local school district. Outside of work, Annie loves being with family and traveling! Annie especially enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors, where her 3 Labradors are often by her side! She enjoys hiking, paddle boarding (with the dogs), skiing, snowshoeing, camping and traveling to the ocean any chance she can!
Annie holds an A. S. in Criminal Justice and a B. A. in Liberal Arts, with a focus on Early Childhood Education.
Contact Me: annie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Annie has been a familiar face during the past 6 years at Neighborhood Schoolhouse! After substitute teaching at Neighborhood for many years, she took a full time teaching position in the Preschool classroom. In the fall of 2021, Annie transitioned to the Nursery classroom where she is now the lead teacher as well as our Early Childhood Program Director.
For over 25 years, Annie has been teaching and caring for children of all ages, in all different capacities, including nannying, running a home childcare program, teaching in early learning programs as well as substitute teaching within our local school district. Outside of work, Annie loves being with family and traveling! Annie especially enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors, where her 3 Labradors are often by her side! She enjoys hiking, paddle boarding (with the dogs), skiing, snowshoeing, camping and traveling to the ocean any chance she can!
Annie holds an A. S. in Criminal Justice and a B. A. in Liberal Arts, with a focus on Early Childhood Education.
Contact Me: annie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Lexi Stebbins
Hi everyone! My name is Alexis Stebbins but everyone calls me Lexi. My interests include; singing, reading, going on walks, and hanging out with my friends and family. For as long as I can remember, working with children has been my passion. I have worked in child care for many years; babysitting, nannying, substituting, and many different child care centers. I currently have 3 credits in Child Development and I am working towards my associates degree in ECE. Although working with children can be a difficult job for many, it has always been a rewarding job for me. I love being apart of the Neighborhood Schoolhouse, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Contact Me: lexi@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Hi everyone! My name is Alexis Stebbins but everyone calls me Lexi. My interests include; singing, reading, going on walks, and hanging out with my friends and family. For as long as I can remember, working with children has been my passion. I have worked in child care for many years; babysitting, nannying, substituting, and many different child care centers. I currently have 3 credits in Child Development and I am working towards my associates degree in ECE. Although working with children can be a difficult job for many, it has always been a rewarding job for me. I love being apart of the Neighborhood Schoolhouse, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Contact Me: lexi@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Carson Summers-Pelkey
Contact Me: carson@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Contact Me: carson@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Preschool & Pre-K
Julie Holhut
Welcome to the Neighborhood! My name is Julie Holhut and I have been a teacher at The
Neighborhood Schoolhouse for almost two years. I live in Greenfield, Massachusetts where I
have lived for the past 15 years with my partner and his adult children. I have been in the field
of Early Childhood Education for the past 24 years, working in several positions in The Head
Start and Early Start Programs of Franklin County Massachusetts. Before coming to
Neighborhood in the fall of 2020, I was a Toddler/Preschool Lead Teacher at Sunnyside Child
Care in Northampton, MA, where taught there for 12 years until their closure in July 2020, due
to the pandemic. In my long career in Early Childhood, I have met some incredible children and
families and I love being part of a community such as The Neighborhood Schoolhouse.
Contact Me: julie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Welcome to the Neighborhood! My name is Julie Holhut and I have been a teacher at The
Neighborhood Schoolhouse for almost two years. I live in Greenfield, Massachusetts where I
have lived for the past 15 years with my partner and his adult children. I have been in the field
of Early Childhood Education for the past 24 years, working in several positions in The Head
Start and Early Start Programs of Franklin County Massachusetts. Before coming to
Neighborhood in the fall of 2020, I was a Toddler/Preschool Lead Teacher at Sunnyside Child
Care in Northampton, MA, where taught there for 12 years until their closure in July 2020, due
to the pandemic. In my long career in Early Childhood, I have met some incredible children and
families and I love being part of a community such as The Neighborhood Schoolhouse.
Contact Me: julie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Erica Hebert
Contact Me: erica@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Contact Me: erica@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Elementary School
Bios coming soon!
Middle School
Jack Haskell
Jack has taught in a variety of educational settings in the U.S and abroad. After receiving a CELTA certification in English teaching, Jack taught elementary, secondary, and adult students in Uganda. He then moved to Brooklyn, NY to work as a small-group ESL instructor and part-time as an online tutor for young students in China. Jack also worked for five years as a facilitator of digital cross-cultural exchanges, working with teachers and students from all over the world to create academic projects and curriculum. He holds a degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from the School for International Training and currently teaches the middle school at Neighborhood.
Two main strategies of Jack's approach are experiential learning and universal design learning. Experiential learning creates the opportunity for students to engage in an activity — playing a game, volunteering in the community, exploring primary sources, growing food — reflect on it, and make it meaningful by applying the learning to their own lives. Universal Design learning is a tool to create equity in the classroom so that learning is accessible to all students. Students have multiple options for how they take in new learnings, experiment with the new learnings, and demonstrate their understanding.
You can usually find Jack in the garden, making music, and hiking through the green mountains.
Contact Me: jack@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Jack has taught in a variety of educational settings in the U.S and abroad. After receiving a CELTA certification in English teaching, Jack taught elementary, secondary, and adult students in Uganda. He then moved to Brooklyn, NY to work as a small-group ESL instructor and part-time as an online tutor for young students in China. Jack also worked for five years as a facilitator of digital cross-cultural exchanges, working with teachers and students from all over the world to create academic projects and curriculum. He holds a degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from the School for International Training and currently teaches the middle school at Neighborhood.
Two main strategies of Jack's approach are experiential learning and universal design learning. Experiential learning creates the opportunity for students to engage in an activity — playing a game, volunteering in the community, exploring primary sources, growing food — reflect on it, and make it meaningful by applying the learning to their own lives. Universal Design learning is a tool to create equity in the classroom so that learning is accessible to all students. Students have multiple options for how they take in new learnings, experiment with the new learnings, and demonstrate their understanding.
You can usually find Jack in the garden, making music, and hiking through the green mountains.
Contact Me: jack@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Specials
Maggie Sullivan
Contact Me: maggie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
Contact Me: maggie@neighborhoodschoolhouse.com
