A New Talented Team of Faculty and Staff

As we usher in the 2020-21 school year, both in-person (ECE) and virtually (K-8), we are excited to add new faculty and staff to our Seven Hills community. Over the spring and summer, we announced these talented individuals who come from a variety of impressive educational and professional backgrounds. A heartfelt welcome—we look forward to an excellent school year together!

Early Childhood

Kimberly Kumnick, Rainbow teacher, was formerly the Head ECE Teacher at United Methodist Preschool in Alamo, and has also spent many years as a substitute teacher in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. She has a range of experience in child-led creative lesson planning and believes that children’s learning environments should honor preschoolers’ need to play with the freedom to explore. Ms. Kumnick has a bachelor's degree in communications from Arizona State University.

Angelina Sosa, Rainbow support teacher, will partner with Kim Kumnick in a cohort. “Ang” has been a steady part of our Extended Day team for over a year and was the teacher support to the Cottage News team. She has a degree in graphic design, is working toward her teaching credential, and has a passion for art and soccer.

Anna Rainsford, ECE support teacher, will float between Rainbow and Red Barn, and help with the ECE Extended Day cohort in the afternoon. In the second semester, Anna will take over Gina Hinck’s family leave in Rainbow. Anna has worked at the San Ramon United Methodist Preschool since 2012, and has over 12 years of experience in creating developmentally appropriate activities for children ages 2-5. She earned her Early Childhood Education units from Cerro Coso Community College.

Lower School

Lindsey Ravache, K-5 support, will begin the year in 1st grade supporting that team until Ms. Nelson returns from her leave. We will then deploy Lindsey across Lower School for the remainder of the year. Lindsey worked as a Kindergarten teacher and team facilitator at Aspire Monarch Academy in Oakland from 2015-2019. She has a master’s in education from Mills College and a bachelor’s in child development, also from Mills.

Emily Werner, 1st grade support teacher, comes to us from Keys School in Palo Alto, where she was an associate Kindergarten teacher. She has worked in several independent schools and has certifications including Handwriting Without Tears and Responsive Classroom. She has a B.A. in international relations from Carleton College in Minnesota.

Nancy Palmer, 3rd grade lead teacher, is a 20+ year teaching veteran with experience teaching 2nd-6th grades. She had a recent 10-year tenure at Trinity School in Menlo Park, where she taught math, language arts, and social studies as a 3rd and 5th grade homeroom teacher, and co-taught science and service-learning specialties. She is trained in the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and enjoys integrating technology and learning platforms in a meaningful, age-appropriate way.

Tamara Dueñas, 3rd grade support teacher, has more than 10 years of experience working in the Oakland Unified School District, most recently as a 2nd grade teacher. She holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University East Bay and is a parent to three Seven Hills students.

Lucy Chappell, 3rd grade support teacher, as been a guest teacher and student aide at Seven Hills for four years in the Lower School, including in Kindergarten, 1st, and 4th grades. Before starting at Seven Hills, she spent 10 years volunteering in three public schools working with teachers and administration in a variety of roles. Lucy has a clinical social work background with a masters in social work from Sacramento State University.

Tanya Reynolds, 4th grade support teacher, spent the last five years as a 4th grade homeroom teacher and social studies teacher at Palmer School. She is enthusiastic about promoting teacher collaboration and clear class objectives to support student performance, behavior, and social development. She earned her bachelor degree from UC Santa Barbara and her teaching credential in elementary education from John F. Kennedy University.

Megan Zeitler, 4th/5th grade student support, will teach student support classes, help with Reading/Writing Workshop, and do reading intervention and differentiation. Megan has spent the last six years as the Literacy Specialist, English Language Development Teacher, and Intervention Program Lead for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District and received an award for Outstanding Community Involvement for her work at Walnut Acres Elementary. 

Middle School

Lina Kim, math teacher, has been teaching math and serving as a math intervention specialist in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Unified School Districts since 2012. She has collaborated with parents and administration to maximize student learning outcomes, worked with counselors and resource specialists to meet the needs of students with various learning abilities, and participated in professional development to learn new ways to improve math education. Lina has a master's degree in curriculum and instruction, and teaching credential, from California State University, Northridge.

Marianne McBride, French teacher, has been active as a guest teacher and international trip chaperone following her retirement from Seven Hills in 2017. She will work part-time as the 8th grade French teacher across cohorts, while Madame Brinkerhoff continues with 6th and 7th grade French in addition to her Lower School Spanish role. Ms. McBride brings 35 years of experience teaching English and French to Seven Hills Middle School students.

Administration

Dan Meyers, Head of Middle School, has nearly 20 years of educational experience. He comes to Seven Hills from the Ethel Walker School, a grade 6-12 boarding and day school in Simsbury, CT, where he served as Assistant Head of School/Dean of Faculty. Prior to Ethel Walker, he was Associate Head of School for Academics at Mercy High School in San Francisco. He has held positions as an AP United States History teacher, speech & debate director, and academic advisor at several schools. He has a B.A. in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in educational leadership from Santa Clara University.

Muhammad Ramadan, Director of Educational Technology, will lead our school’s vision of technology and implement purposeful technologies into the classroom. He comes to us from Thaden School in Bentonville, AR, where he served as the primary educational technology administrator. Muhammad is passionate about research and best practice, as well as developing new technology curricula in partnership with divisions, grade-level teams, and departments. He holds a graduate certificate in information technology from the University of Cincinnati, as well as an M.Ed. in social studies and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. 

Jase Turner, Assistant Head of School for Strategic Priorities will advance our program aspirations and help us carry out the goals set forward in Whole Child, Whole Community. Jase will focus on Seven Hills’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, curriculum across disciplines and grade levels, parent education, standardized testing, professional development, and Restorative Justice classes. Jase joins us from Bishop O’Dowd High School, where he served as Associate Principal for Student Life, overseeing counseling, academic support, athletics, dean of students, health and wellness, summer academy, international student programming, and campus logistics. He has an M.A. in leadership studies from Saint Mary’s College of California and a B.A. in sociology from Pomona College, where he was a four-year baseball player.

Alex Kopelevich, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, brings over 20 years of experience leading finance, human resources, business, and operations in independent schools, most recently at Bentley School in Lafayette. He completed a B.A. in finance and business management at Moscow Financial Academy in Russia, and after receiving an M.B.A. from the University of Miami, continued his career at independent schools in Los Angeles, Florida, Pennsylvania, La Cañada, and Pasadena He will be a great collaborator with our faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees during this important next season for Seven Hills.

Stephanie Sarchett, Health Coordinator, is a licensed paramedic and phlebotomist, trained to deliver a wide range of medical care in illness, injury, and emergency response in addition to the other functions of a “school nurse.” She earned a B.S. in Emergency Medical Services from the University of New Mexico and looks forward to joining our community this year.