I teach sixth grade Social Studies and am a middle school Crew teacher. I have a bachelor’s degree in History and Education from Westfield State University. Additionally, I earned a master’s degree in Educational Psychology from American International College. Born and raised in New Jersey, I came to Springfield in 2007 to pursue my education. I am starting my 6th year at Renaissance and my 10th year teaching. At Renaissance, I run the Yearbook Committee. I enjoy spending time with my children, husband and dogs, swimming, photography, traveling, baking and watching movies. 

I am looking forward to my fourth year teaching at Renaissance, and this year, to being the seventh grade team leader as well! I attended UMass-Amherst for both my Bachelor's degree in History & Political Science and for my Master of Education. I then moved to Springfield to continue my time at Renaissance after student teaching, and am so grateful to be a part of both the Renaissance and Springfield communities. Outside of school, I have a love for the beach, reading or listening to podcasts, cheesy spy movies, and anything food-related. 

I have been with Renaissance since 2013 as the 9th grade history teacher. I am a graduate from Clark University in Worcester, earning my undergraduate degree in History and my graduate degree in Teaching. Aside from teaching, I geek out to movies and awesome TV series. I am a basketball player, do some legal versions of street art (I learned that one the hard way!), and have been working a lot on renovating my home! While I may remind folks of Ross from Friends or Steve from Blues Clues, I love working with the kiddos. Whether nerding out about some crazy event in history, the complexities of the human brain, or a debate about how good the Celtics will be this year, my class will try to be fun, interesting, and productive as we start off the high school journey! 

Also, expect a Baby Sossa in February 2021!!

I graduated from Smith College with a BA in History in 2010 and Mount Holyoke College with an MAT in 2017. My course, US History 2, is fascinating and rich with problems and I greatly enjoy diving into difficult topics with students that will help prepare them for the world beyond. I also help prepare our students to take the ELA MCAS exam, so we focus on building literacy skills, critical thinking, and writing. Outside of Renaissance, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two dogs, doing yoga, reading, watching documentaries, and traveling. I speak Italian and spent a year abroad in Florence, Italy in college which fostered my deep appreciation of culture and language. I look forward to welcoming you to my classroom!  

I have been an educator in Springfield Public Schools since 2006 and currently teach 11th grade History. I am an Eastern Massachusetts transplant via undergraduate and graduate studies at UMass, Amherst. I enjoy biking, as a commuter, road cyclist, and mountain biker, and work part-time at a local bike shop. I enjoy spending time with my wife, daughter, and our mini-dachshund and three-legged cat.

– Updated 10/16/22

I am in my 10th year at Renaissance. In those  previous 7 years, I have taught 10th grade US History, 9th and 10th grade Special Education, and 11th grade ELA. I have spent the last five years teaching US Government and Economics to Seniors. I graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT with a BA in Art History. During the 2013-14 school year, I got my Masters in Education from UMass-Amherst. 

I enjoy sharing my passions with my students and fostering an environment that allows us all to be ourselves and have fun while still developing a deep understanding of the forces that motivate and constrain our society through government and economics. When not at Renaissance, I spend a fair amount of brainpower figuring out the best ways to achieve that goal. I also enjoy spending time with my family (my dog in particular), traveling, and spending time in nature (preferably with friends).  

– Updated 10/16/22