Meet our Staff
Tracy Manning
Head Teacher
I love to teach and have been doing it for the past 20 years. I believe that every day is full of “teachable moments” where a child’s wonder about ice can be transformed into a series of scientific experiments that continue over many days, and where those experiments can effectively meet the standards set by the state.
I have a B.S. in environmental studies from the University at Buffalo and a Masters in Education with a Science Concentration from Antioch University New England. While science, and especially outdoor education, shape my teaching, I am also in love with the arts and am never surprised when I read yet another study touting their benefits to children.
It has been a dream of mine for years to create a school that builds on all that I have learned, a school that builds joy for children and for me. Country Classroom is that school.
Morgan Cornell
Teacher
Morgan works with our Preschool and Kindergarten students.
She has a degree in Early Childhood Education, as well as 10 years of experience in the field, most recently at the Cobleskill Campus Child Care Center.
Denise Mix
Administrative Assistant
I became a part of the Country Classroom community as a parent of a Kindergartener in 2016 and each year I took on a new volunteer role, first as the yearbook editor and then the parent coordinator for the student banking program, until becoming the school's administrative assistant. Working closely with the staff, getting to know parents and families, and watching students grow over the years has been an immensely rewarding experience.
Theresa Heary
Teacher and Co-founder
I am certain that taking good care of children is the most important thing we can do . I have been in the classroom and teaching middle school for over 19 years. I spent 10 of those years as the director and founding teacher of a tiny school in Western MA. Each day my students would study their subjects and do farm-work.
I believe in the beauty of manual labor, nature, time outside, and experiential learning. My students always go home dirty and tired.
I also believe in the fight for social justice. I want a more equitable world for all children. I can’t send my children into the world without trying to make it better.
And most of all, I believe in kindness. I actively, thoughtfully and diligently nurture kind communities.
Phoebe Moulthrop
Administrative Director
I am so thankful that my two children have had the opportunity to be a part of this school community, and I am committed to making the Country Classroom experience as easy and welcoming as possible for parents as well.