MEET OUR TEACHING TEAM (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Our Operations and Administration team are listed at the bottom of the page.
An extra special thanks to Shelly Orr, Orr Acres Farm, for the staff photos!
Annie Beck went to the University of North Dakota for her Elementary Education degree and Minnesota State University, Mankato, for her Masters in Experiential Education. Throughout her many years teaching in North Dakota, Minnesota, California, and Morocco, she has grown more and more passionate about project- and place-based education and is thrilled to be joining a school that shares her belief in this style of education. There is nothing better than seeing the light in a child’s eyes as he or she makes a discovery and learns something! In addition to teaching, Annie’s passions include skiing, hiking, camping, kayaking, board games, reading, and anything that involves learning and exploring new things!. She also enjoys spending time volunteering for organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Relay for Life, and coaching after-school clubs like volleyball and Lego robotics. She can’t wait to get to know her new students and the River Grove community!
Madison Boesel is returning to River Grove after being on maternity leave. A graduate of Bethel University in St. Paul with education degrees in K-6, Early Childhood, and Preprimary, her previous teaching experience includes a position in St. Paul Public Schools as a second-grade teacher, second grade at River Grove for two years, and kindergarten for 2022-23. Madison loves to travel and experience new cultures! In 2018, she spent a month in England and Italy, where she volunteered in outdoor-based schools. Madison enjoys having fun and laughing with her students. She is committed to having a student-centered classroom and is excited to share her love of the outdoors with her students to create a hands-on learning experience. Outside of school, Madison enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, camping, hiking, and exploring new coffee shops!
Katie Bruns is an outdoor recreation enthusiast. She has a Masters in Physical Education with an emphasis in Adventure Education and Outdoor Pursuits. She has been teaching physical education and health in the St. Croix Valley for the past five years. She has a passion for creating fun and innovative outdoor activities for the students to learn and love living a healthy lifestyle. She is originally from St. Croix Falls, WI, and has a passion for yoga, mountain biking, running, hiking, cross country skiing, and enjoying our beautiful river valley.
Celia Hanson is a Stillwater Area High School graduate (Go Ponies!) and went to the University of St. Thomas for her degree in elementary education. She also received a minor in special education due to her determination for inclusion and the understanding of differences in her classroom. Celia is over the moon about becoming a part of the River Grove community and putting her knowledge to good use in her first grade classroom. Outside of school, she enjoys doing pilates, drinking coffee, reading, traveling, and spending time with her cats (and friends, of course!). Celia cannot wait to get to know each and every one of you as she begins her journey in the world of education!
Adam Johnson is thrilled to be starting his seventh year of teaching at River Grove! Prior to joining River Grove, Adam taught fifth grade in Maplewood, MN, and first grade in Roseville. He received an Elementary Education degree from Augsburg College in 2013. Adam is originally from up the river in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and has been very familiar with the area his whole life. Adam is most excited about bringing the class into nature (he once took his school’s entire fifth grade on a multi-day camping trip!) and the greater St. Croix River Valley community; getting to know the students that will make up our classroom community; and the freedom of teacher-powered learning. He looks forward to getting to know his students and welcomes any communication regarding the educational journey together. He added, “Bringing the world to your son or daughter is a fantastic responsibility and joy.” Outside of teaching, Adam enjoys playing guitar, trivia, biking, running, and camping.
Sherri Larson has her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education, both from UW-River Falls. She also obtained her special education certification from Virterbo University. She has taught first, second, and fourth grades in Ellsworth, WI. She has been a special education paraprofessional for the Ellsworth School District and the Hudson School District. The last four years she taught special education at the Elementary School in Somerset, WI.
Prior to working in schools, she was a naturalist. For the last nine years she has been an underground naturalist at Crystal Cave. She also is a downhill ski instructor at Afton Alps and has coached girls basketball for a few years. When Sherri is not working, she is spending time with her husband and their four children. She enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible in nature hiking, camping, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, taking photos, and traveling to name just a few. Sherri is excited to join the River Grove community and share her love of exploring, learning, and nature with her students.
Carley Maley, Special Education Coordinator
Email: cmaley@marineareaschool.org
Carley is excited to be a part of the River Grove team! She has been teaching for nine years, seven of those as a special education teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and a Masters in Special Education from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. She enjoys building relationships with students and creatively thinking of ways to spark excitement, self-motivation, and confidence in students. Carley lives in Hudson, WI, with her husband Jonathan and two children, Walker and Juniper. In her spare time she enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding, reading, and spending time with her family.
This is Julia’s second year here at River Grove as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. Julia graduated from St. Catherine University with her Associate of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy. Julia has always had a passion for caring for and teaching children, as she has previously worked for day cares and nanny positions. Julia is eager to help her students improve functional skills needed to be successful in the classroom, as well as advocate for inclusivity for them to reach their full potential. Outside of school, Julia enjoys traveling with her fiancé, antique shopping, hiking, swimming, singing, and snuggling her two cats.
Lisa McGuire, 4th Grade
Email: lmcguire@marineareaschool.org
Lisa McGuire is a St. Paul native and currently lives in Stillwater. Most of Lisa’s time as an educator was in Madison, WI, where she also raised her daughters. She has served in public education in Minnesota and Wisconsin for 25 years, and she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from St. Cloud State University, and a Master of Science degree in Special Education, K-12, from UW-Madison. She is a Doctoral Candidate at Edgewood College for Educational Leadership.
Lisa has previously worked as a special education teacher at River Grove, serving students with Individual Education Plans (IEP)s and assuring a strengths-based approach for all student. She has also had the privilege and opportunity to participate in and lead several school initiatives. These opportunities have included Understanding by Design Professional Development, Adaptive Schools Leadership, Developmental Designs, Equity Leadership, LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Adolescent Reading Intervention. Lisa is a learner, a passionate educator, and a team member.
Sara Misner, Licensed School Counselor
Email: smisner@marineareaschool.org
Sara Misner is honored and overjoyed to be the School Counselor (LSC) at River Grove. Being a school counselor for Sara is the perfect culmination of her desire to help students succeed in all areas of their life while being with them in the school setting. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, was a band director for two years, and also had private piano students. Being in the outdoors has always been a passion and source of joy so, after working in the schools and being a chaperone on a sixth grade trip to an environmental learning center, she discovered an interest in being a naturalist/outdoor educator. She then decided to take graduate classes in outdoor education at the University of Minnesota and was a part-time naturalist for the City of Minneapolis and Three Rivers Park District — all the while teaching piano lessons. She decided to focus her energy on her piano teaching business for the next 24 years; during this time she discovered that establishing strong relationships and connecting well with students and families was at the core of her teaching and personal philosophy. This led naturally into the next chapter in which she got her Masters in School Counseling from Adler Graduate School. She is very excited that she can combine her joy in helping students and her love for the natural world while doing so. Sara’s interests include listening to and playing music and spending time outdoors hiking, camping, biking, and gardening with her husband and two children and their dog.
Shelly Orr, Special Education
Email: sorr@marineareaschool.org
Shelly graduated from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls with a Bachelor of Science in Broad Area Art Education (K-12) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. Shelly taught early childhood at a Reggio inspired Montessori in St. Paul for four years before coming to River Grove. She started her journey at River Grove in 2018 as a paraprofessional in Special Education and began teaching Special Education in 2021. Shelly is dedicated to building collaborative relationships with staff, families, and students to ensure the best possible educational experience for all students. Shelly, her husband Derrick, and their son David enjoy spending time together on their hobby farm in Shafer, MN. In her free time Shelly enjoys running her small art business, Orr Acres Farm LLC.
Colleen Tetreault, Special Education
Colleen Tetreault comes to River Grove from Forest Lake Area School District, where she served at a few different schools within the district as a Behavioral Intervention Specialist and Special Education teacher. Prior to that, Colleen was a Special Education para/sub at Chisago Lakes School district. Originally from Osceola, WI, she attended St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota. She has a variety of experiences at the elementary level such as academic interventions, research-based behavior intervention strategies, Daily Five literacy framework, Response to Intervention early identification of struggling students, Second Step social-emotional learning, and calming/breathing techniques. Colleen enjoys working with students, parents, and staff and is looking forward to meeting her River Grove students!
Shelly Vrambout, Special Education
Email: svrambout@marineareaschool.org
Shelly Vrambout graduated with an Academic Behavioral Strategist degree from Augsburg University. Prior to joining the River Grove team in 2019, Shelly spent six years working in the special education department at Stillwater Area High School. She believes that experiential hands-on learning not only promotes academic growth but essential life skills. She takes pride in developing genuine relationships with parents and students in order to provide intentional interest-based lessons, keeping students engaged and excited about learning. Shelly enjoys spending time with her three children and dog Charles Bartowski. Shelly is proud to be a part of River Grove and is looking forward to the days ahead filled with exploration and discovery. She adds, “I am blessed to be a part of such an amazing caring, supportive, and talented community!”
Alice Williams, Kindergarten
Alice Williams graduated from University of Wisconsin–River Falls with a degree in Elementary Education and received her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Literacy from University of Colorado–Boulder. For 2022-23, Alice taught fifth grade at River Grove. Prior to that, she taught in both Minnesota and Colorado in early child, first, second, and third grades as well as working as a Special Education paraprofessional and Title I teacher. Alice has a passion for the outdoors and is very excited about the benefits that nature-based learning can bring to the classroom! She strives to create a welcoming, inclusive classroom community and is dedicated to building relationships, helping students embrace challenges and achieve their goals. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys gardening, reading, traveling, hiking, climbing, flyfishing, and hanging out with her husband and two dogs.
Marcy Wirth, First Grade
Email: mwirth@marineareaschool.org
Teaching has been Marcy’s passion since she was six years old! She has taught primary (Pre-K through second) grade students for over 40 years. She loves teaching adventures, spending time teaching in Poland, the Cascade Mountain Wilderness School, and River Grove! She received a master’s degree from St. Thomas and her undergraduate teaching degree from Concordia University. Special interests of study have been brain development and peacemaking. Marcy has six children, 11 foster children, and 12 grandchildren. She enjoys quilting, mission trips, and her regular travels around the world. She is very excited to be teaching first grade and to be on staff for her seventh year at River Grove!
MEET OUR operations AND ADMINISTRATION TEAM (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Sandi Bonarski, Business Manager
Email: sbonarski@marineareaschool.org
Sandi Bonarski is an integral member of the front office team, now as the business manager. With a 26-year background in nutrition services, Sandi started her career in food service in Forest Lake, MN. She moved to Michigan where she continued as a nutrition manager, and then she was the Nutrition Director for Amery Medical Center before joining the River Grove team in 2019. Sandi has two sons, one grandson, one granddaughter, and two Pomeranians. She enjoys golf, gardening, and organizing spaces, but mostly spending time with family.
Drew Goodson returned home to Minnesota after working for ten years in Arizona in a variety of charter school leadership positions. Prior to River Grove, his most recent job was School Leader at Mission Heights Preparatory High School. While there, he increased enrollment 20 percent, developed partnerships with community colleges, did community outreach, and implemented unique programs for students such as Youth Entrepreneurs. Drew has held charter school positions that included responsibilities for budgeting, technology, federal and state compliance, marketing, curriculum development, testing, and student discipline and behavior intervention. He has been a guidance counselor, teacher, coach, and athletic director, and has also been a volunteer with Big Brothers and Sisters. Drew is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in strategic communication and history. In his spare time he enjoys playing and watching sports as well as spending time with his wife, Kelli, and two girls, Noelle and Everly.
Jessica Hansen will be assuming a new role at River Grove as the Director of Staff and Students for 2023-24, focusing on instructional leadership, staff development, and student achievement. She will help coordinate the development of our programming as the school transitions to its new downtown Stillwater and forest field sites. Mrs. Hansen previously served our school as a kindergarten teacher and as a volunteer board member and chair, where she has been integral to our school’s start up and success. Jessica has worked in a variety of public and private educational settings for 25 years, including her role as an area preschool director. She is experienced in curriculum development, addressing a diversity of student needs and navigating unique school challenges. She has a psychology degree from Bethel University, studied Latin American topics in Central America, and holds a Master of Education Degree from the University of Minnesota. Jessica, her husband and two children have lived in the St. Croix Valley countryside for the past 15 years. Her son attended River Grove for three years, and her daughter is a recent Stillwater graduate. She grew up on a third generation farm and enjoys spending time outdoors gardening, taking care of her animals and exploring beautiful places.
Derek Petersen, Recess Lead and Behavioral Support Specialist
Email: dpetersen@marineareaschool.org
Derek Petersen is delighted to be working with the students and staff of River Grove. Having graduated with a Bachelors in Studio Art and later a Masters in Architecture, he came to the school through a bit of a backwards route. His concern for the life of children has always been strong, having written his thesis on designing our neighborhoods to nurture child-directed play, “Back on the Streets: Architecture for Adolescent Leisure in the City.” After practicing as an architect for a decade and teaching drawing in the university, he has come to River Grove initially as a General Education Paraprofessional and now as a Behavioral Specialist. It has been a joy to serve the children of Marine on St. Croix and its vicinity along with the ever supportive staff of this fine, fine school. Outside of school, Derek enjoys wearing overalls, reading (mostly nonfiction, but he can be persuaded otherwise), drawing houses, going on bike rides or walks with his family, storytelling, and laughing as loudly as the setting permits.