6th Grade History -

Jessica Murphy

Email: Murphyj@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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.

7th Grade History -

Tess Manderville

Email: mandervillet@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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.

8th Grade HIstory -

Jamie Pirog

pirogj@springfieldpublicschools.com

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Hello! I teach 8th grade Social Studies and an 8th grade Crew at the Springfield Renaissance School. I have my undergrad in World History from Elms College and am currently finishing up my Master’s Degree in History Education at Westfield State University. This is my 7th year of teaching at the Springfield Renaissance School and my 14th year in the Springfield Public Schools. I enjoy spending time with my 6 year-old son, Adam, as well as going to the gym.

9th Grade HIstory -

Tim Sossa

sossat@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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!!

10th Grade HIstory -

Ali Beattie

beattiea@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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!

11th Grade History -

Jon Galanis

galanisj@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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

12th Grade HIstory -

Molly Dill

dillm@springfieldpublicschools.com

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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