All of our teachers are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, have extensive training in early childhood, and many hold advanced graduates degrees of study in Early Childhood Education or a closely related field. Our experienced teachers combine their understanding of child development with their observations and the interests of children, to develop their emergent curriculum. Teachers prepare thoughtful learning environments that invite children to make further discoveries, generate new ideas, experiment, and make meaning of the children’s learning within the context of their play.

We invest in, value, and support our teachers, by providing a full benefit package which includes employer contributions to health, dental, and a simple IRA account. We offer a competitive salary, generous paid time off, built in planning and documentation time, and ongoing professional development to attract and retain experienced, well qualified teachers.

Shannon Nelson Pope, M.A. Ed. | Founder/Executive Director

Shannon is an educational consultant and the Founder and Executive Director of Stony Brook School, which follows an emergent, play-based curriculum for preschool aged children and is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. She has a master’s degree in Innovative Early Childhood Education from the University of Colorado, Denver and the Boulder Journey School and holds over 20 years of experience working with children and their families. 

Shannon is passionate about play pedagogy, and believes in its power to engage both children and adults alike in meaningful, engaging, and contextual learning experiences. She is dedicated to providing innovative classroom environments that recognize and support children's individual learning approaches and development, while honoring their hundred languages. 

She is the proud mama to her creative and energetic 11 year old daughter, whom she and her husband are homeschooling. She attributes her passion and understanding of the need to support children’s unique learning styles to her daughter, who she credits to having been her greatest teacher.

 

Diane Rollo, M.S. Child Development and Curriculum | Director of Education

Diane has dedicated over 30 years of her career to working with children, teachers, and families. Having been introduced to the Reggio Emilia approach while receiving her master’s degree in Child Development and Curriculum at Wheelock College, Diane was one of the first delegates  from the U.S. to visit the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She held intimate conversations with the founders, teachers and pedagogistas and later became part of the Early Childhood Exchange, a group of educators committed to sharing Reggio best practices with schools, bringing the 100 Languages of Children exhibit to Boston’s City Hall. These life experiences helped shape her educational philosophy- Children come to us as powerful capable beings ready to learn and explore their ideas. Teachers are the facilitators and collaborators of the learning process, making intentional decisions regarding the learning environment and experiences for children. Creating partnerships with families is critical to the collaborative learning process and success of any program.

Dance is another great passion for her, as Diane has had the opportunity to study and perform with Boston Ballet and other companies. She credits dance as having also influenced her work with children, understanding first hand, the important role movement plays in fostering creativity, critical thinking skills, and emotional regulation.

 

Carol Ayala Inostroza, M.A. Education | Lead Teacher

Carol was born and raised in Chile, where she received a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a master’s degree in Education. This will be her tenth year of teaching, and her second year teaching in a Reggio Emilia inspired school in the United States. Carol has taught English to children preschool aged through high school. Additionally, she spent 10 months teaching Spanish in Luton, in the UK, which she claims was one of the highlights of her career and personal life. Carol enjoys traveling and meeting people from different cultures, which is what brings her to teach here in Boston. She enjoys the cultural exchange experienced during her travels and takes pleasure in learning from others. Carol says she loves working with children, because they remind us of the simplicity of the world we live in and their energy and enthusiasm is contagious!

In her spare time Carol enjoys spending time outdoors and participating in sports. She believes this helps her unwind, disconnect from the everyday stresses of life, and gives her more energy each day.

 

Vanessa Mejia | Teacher

Vanessa is working towards her degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Development at Bunker Hill Community College. She has developed a love and appreciation for early childhood over the past 4 years as a preschool teacher. Since joining the team at Stony Brook School Vanessa has been inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. She appreciates how it caters to children’s individual interests and how it fosters their natural curiosity, providing them with meaningful learning experiences.

Vanessa is artistic and enjoys drawing, painting, and playing guitar as creative outlets and self expression, but also enjoys infusing this creativity in her work with children. She loves to be outside and enjoys nature, traveling, and has a big sweet tooth! She believes her curiosity and childlike wonder makes it easy to understand and connect with children in a meaningful and authentic way.

 

Melanie Green, B.A. Human Development and Family Studies | Lead Teacher

Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family studies, with a concentration in Early Childhood Development from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Having grown up in Charleston, South Carolina, Melanie found her passion for teaching by working in infant, early childhood and K-12 settings prior to joining our team at Stony Brook School. She is drawn to the Reggio Emilia approach because of how it revere's children- as competent and capable beings, and because of its child-led approach to learning. Melanie believes her role as a teacher is to be responsive to children’s interests and to scaffold their learning, and feels this approach will enable children to develop the passion and confidence to become lifelong learners. She believes that children are people who hold dreams without limits, and as a teacher, there is no greater reward than watching children realize how much they are truly capable of. 

Embracing her passion for biology, social sciences, and anything animal related, Melanie aims to promote empathy and understanding in her students by engaging in dialogue and having real life experiences with people of all different backgrounds and abilities. These skills are what she believes fosters a positive learning environment for both teachers and students alike.

 

Em Sontag-Campbell | Play-based Learning Support Teacher

Em is a born and raised Bostonian with a background in visual arts pursuing a bachelor's degree in education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. They have worked with a variety of different mediums and disciplines, including mixed media painting, printmaking, jewelry and glasswork. As a teenager they began helping out at their family owned gym, which was geared towards kids ages 4-16, before eventually stepping into the role of Camp Director for the summers. As they continued to further their knowledge in childhood development Em began working at their local community center as the art teacher for the summer program. They believe that the Reggio Emilia approach to learning aligns with the artist’s innate drive to use their craft as a learning tool for creating skills in self expression, confidence, processing emotions and problem solving while overcoming perceived failure. 

Em is a multimedia artist who loves to create art out of unexpected messes. They have an energetic presence that they love to share with the children. Their whimsy and curiosity is a source of endless inspiration and creation for Em. They also enjoy learning about history, singing to their favorite musicals, and analyzing pop culture.

 

Renee Parker, CDA | Teacher

Renee Parker holds a Child Development Associate (CDA) and over 20 years of experience in the field of early childhood education, working in both teaching and administrative roles. Renee's journey into the world of education began at just 14 years old, when she started babysitting. From that moment forward she was captivated by the joyful and carefree nature of children and couldn’t have envisioned having any other career. 

Building meaningful relationships with the children and families in her classroom is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her role, as she appreciates learning about different cultures and building those connections. Renee enjoys witnessing the positive impact that she has on children’s growth and well-being and finds her work deeply rewarding. While every day in the classroom presents unique challenges and opportunities, she believes that each experience contributes to her growth as an educator.

When she’s not in the classroom, she enjoys traveling to new places, reading books, working on puzzles, and being a grandmother.

 

Mea Johnson, BA | Play-based Learning Support Teacher

Mea has been a community and cultural organizer in the Boston area for over 18 years. They started as a parent organizer that worked with parents and families fighting for more access to higher quality childcare; with transit riders, fighting for a more affordable and equitable public transit system; with cultural leaders in the Black community, fighting for police accountability; with the Indigenous community, fighting for land sovereignty both locally and nationally. Finally, Mea has worked with residents and community leaders living in Environmental Justice communities, fighting for housing justice, the right to remain and own in their own neighborhoods, to have access to culturally appropriate healthy foods, and to have access to high quality K-12 neighborhood school pipeline of robust public schools. Mea has also worked as the Executive Director for KidsArts! And has taught explorative arts classes and workshops at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts. 

Mea is an artist, writer, storyteller and parent! They are also the fur parent to their cats, Shadow and Spark!