Dr. Armstrong is a clinical assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1991, she began teaching K-8 art at Falk and currently teaches the youngest children in grades K-4. In a former life, she taught art at the Western Pa School for Blind Children and in the Children's Studio at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Her doctoral research focused on early childhood art education. Other research interests include the role of play in young children's artmaking, museum education and young children, Reggio-inspired approaches in early childhood education, and narrative inquiry as a research genre to study one's teaching practice. She is a weaver and enjoys drawing, painting, writing, hiking and biking, cooking fun meals for family and friends, and sailing with her husband.  

Christa learned to love Falk through her student teaching experience in Kindergarten during the 2016-2017 school year. She has a variety of experience in regards to working with young children. After she completed her teaching certification at the University of Pittsburgh, she began her work as a Preschool Educator at the Cyert Center for Early Education- Penn Avenue. Christa is thrilled to be back in the Kindergarten classroom! In her spare time she enjoys hiking, kayaking, swimming, reading, live music and Pirate baseball games.

 

Jeremiah Davis is joining Falk School this year as our Educator-in-Residence Diversity and Inclusion. Jeremiah, whom is originally from Toledo, OH, is a 2013 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a B.S. in business administration and marketing. He brings his extensive experience working youth in multiple capacities around Pittsburgh region. Most recently Mr. Davis worked through the Center for Urban Education here at the University of Pittsburgh as a Heinz Fellow. In his Heinz Fellow role he worked as a mentor, tutor, educator and social justice advocate for students the University Prep High School. Jeremiah also has experience as a teaching-artist through teaching poetry and hip-hop as a way to expose to students to broader social issues at the Art Greenhouse Program at Carnegie-Mellon University. Here at Falk, Mr. Davis will be part of the 6th-8th grade Social Justice teaching team, will work with middle school advisors to develop programming around diversity and inclusion topics for their advisory sessions, and will serve as a resource for teachers and students in all grades, K-8.

Diana Dimitrovski is one of the Kindergarten teachers on our Primary team. She is also the Primary Team Leader. She has been a part of the Falk School community for many years.  She began her time at Falk as a university student who worked in our Afterschool Program. From there she went on to complete her internship in the Kindergarten classroom. Shortly after completing her studies she joined the Primary team and has been teaching Kindergarten for 13 years now. She enjoys working with this age group for many reasons, but mostly because of the joy they bring to school with them each day. She is actively involved in the school in a variety of ways. She works closely with the admissions office giving prospective parents tours of our school as well as working with the Kindergarten admissions process. She is part of the Science Curriculum Committee, Aesthetics Committee and Social Committee. She is also actively involved in the International Association of Laboratory Schools (IALS) organization as she serves on the Endowment Board. Teaching is something that Diana is very passionate about. She enjoys working with her students in the classroom, working with pre-service graduate students and sharing her knowledge when presenting to teachers at various conferences and workshops. 

Alexander Dragon has always been fascinated by the natural universe, the Earth, and living things. Like many young children, he was obsessed with dinosaurs, but pursued this love of paleontology through college. He studied environmental geology and biology at and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Environmental Geology in 2012. During this time, he volunteered in the PaleoLab at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History preparing fossils, and he received a Brackenridge Fellowship in 2011-2012 to CT scan and study a Jurassic crocodile relative (Hoplosuchus kayi).  Although Alex loves science, he also enjoyed the broad exposure to the humanities and especially the history and philosophy of science during his undergraduate education.

After his undergraduate education, Mr. Dragon decided to pursue science teaching and returned to Pitt to complete their MAT program, and taught as the middle school science intern at Falk during the 2014-2015 academic year. He taught biology and physical science as a long-term substitute at Peters Township High School the following year, and was delighted to return to Falk teaching 6th and 7th grade science in 2016-2017. Alex enjoys birdwatching, drawing, reading, and playing video and table-top games in his spare time and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Kevin Felter is one of the Kindergarten teachers on the Primary Team at Falk. Before landing in Pittsburgh and at Falk, Kevin served as the Dual Language Literacy Coordinator for a charter school district in Austin, Texas, overseeing the bilingual and biliteracy programming across four K-4 elementary schools. Kevin has taught 1st and 2nd grades in Spanish and has also worked as a bilingual literacy interventionist for students in Pre-K through 2nd grade. A native of Rochester, New York, he received his B.A. in Spanish and International Relations with minors in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from the State University of New York’s College at Geneseo. Kevin also holds a Master’s in Reading Education from Texas State University. His passion within education lies in early literacy and language acquisition, specifically looking at how language and culture intersect in classrooms and schools. If Kevin won a million dollars, he would travel throughout Latin America, buy a Skee-Ball machine, and build a library in his home.

 

Darylana Godfrey is an educator, musician, and Pittsburgh native with degrees in Music, Education, and Brain-Based Teaching.

Laura Hunt has a Masters of Arts and Teaching degree in K-12 Physical Education from the University of Pittsburgh.  Ms. Hunt has been teaching at Falk since 1997. Currently, she teaches Kindergarten through fifth grade and coordinates the Middle School sports programs.

Ali McCrossin joined the Falk School in 2018 as the Manager of Constituent Relations. In this role, Ali is engaged in helping Falk reach its full potential through philanthropic support and in supporting Falk Alumni to maintain a lifelong connection to the school. Prior to joining Falk, Ali served as an Admissions Counselor and an Assistant Director of Admissions in the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, and a Leadership Annual Giving Associate in Pitt’s Office of Institutional Advancement. In her spare time, Ali enjoys traveling, exploring Frick Park, volunteering with the Junior League of Pittsburgh, and cheering on the Pitt Panthers alongside her husband, Matt.

Carolyn Mericle has enjoyed a 29-year career of serving as a teacher and administrator at various independent schools in the Washington DC and Pittsburgh areas.  She has led classrooms of children ranging from preschool to first grade. She has served as Director of After School and as an Education Director for school programs involving children in pre-k through 6th grade.  All of the classrooms and programs in which Carolyn has worked have shared the same student-centered, experiential, progressive orientation to education that Falk Laboratory School so excellently exemplifies.  Though Carolyn has taught for a long time, she still finds teaching an energizing and fascinating undertaking! At home, Carolyn loves spending quality time with her family. Together they care for their many pets, garden and orchard. Carolyn also enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, sailing and cross- country skiing.

Leah began teaching yoga and mindfulness at Falk School in 2011.   Her classes at Falk are centered on guiding children through the simple but powerful practice of connecting movement and breathing to create a relaxed, focused and aware student, ready to learn and play.  Ms. Northrop also teaches individual “therapeutic” yoga sessions for students with a variety of challenges, from the social and emotional to the behavioral and learning realms.  Additionally, Ms. Northrop  heads a research project at the University of Pittsburgh, Yoga for Anxious Children.  Her interest lies in the development, implementation and outcome of exercise-based treatments for children and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders.  She has presented her work at international conferences. She enjoys almost any outdoor activity, cooking for a crowd and most of all, spending time with her husband, Ben and her three sons, Wyatt, Weston and Lucas.  Ms. Northrop currently lives in the Squirrel Hill area.

Lindsay O’Sullivan began her career at Falk School as an intern in Ms. Ridge’s room in August, 2001. While on that fateful journey, Lindsay discovered that Falk was her “dream school.” The following school year, she happily accepted a position in a 3rd and 4th grade classroom. One of Lindsay’s favorite units involved using picture books to analyze stereotypes. She was so impressed with her 3rd and 4th graders’ ability to articulate how hurtful stereotyping can be. In her spare time, Lindsay stays busy by training for triathlons, doing yoga, and reading about some of her favorite topics: environmental issues, animal rights, nutrition, and women’s issues. Lindsay loves spending time with her husband Brian, son Callahan, dog Cooper, and her family and friends.

Luis Pino is coming to us from Academia San Ignacio de Loyola, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer and Headmaster since 2013.  Prior to his tenure at Academia San Ignacio de Loyola he was a long-time faculty member and administrator at the Academia’s all-boy high school component, Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, where he served from 1995-2008 as Director of College Placement, and from 2008-2013, as the Colegio’s first-ever lay President and Chief Operating Officer. A native Puerto Rican, Luis enjoys music—in particular, Latin jazz and Caribbean genres—and athletics, specifically baseball, basketball, volleyball, and snorkeling.

Joanne began her teaching in the Greater Johnstown Public School system.  After teaching for 3 and a half years (K. 1st, 2nd, 4-6 Science & Social Studies), she took a break to go to NYC.  Working as a secretary by day and singing at night, she soon got bored and came back to teaching.  Jo went back to school in a Master/Doctoral program as a Teaching Fellow, earning a secondary English certificate along with a Master of Arts in Language Communications. She spent a year in London at City University studying contemporary English literature and formally observing in a variety of schools to see how the English taught English. Upon her return, she taught for two years at McEwan Open School (now Kentucky Avenue School), creating a writing program for the elementary grades.  In 1987 she joined Falk in the Middle School, also with the charge to redevelop the Reading/Language Arts program.  After two years, she transferred to the Intermediate Team teaching 4th & 5th grade Reading, Language arts and Social Studies. During this time she worked with Bill Pelham from Western Psych on programs to mainstream and adapt teaching methods for kids with ADD and other learning disabilities.   In addition to teaching, Joanne and her team developed and recorded the reading, writing, and social studies curriculums for the Intermediate. To continue her own professional growth, Joanne went back to school in the English/Language Arts PhD program.  She learned a lot and discovered that her teaching and instincts were on the right track.  Shortly after beginning her dissertation, she decided she wanted to spend more time with her third daughter (who was 5 years old at the time) rather than at the library. She continues active research in the classroom, looking for best practices in teaching students to write and to learn how they learn. Joanne has presented at many local, state, regional, and national conferences.  She is a member of various organizations, mostly affiliated with Language Arts.  She teaches a university class in the evenings that centers on active learning and writing as a tool to learn as well as for publishing, and she was nominated for the Disney Teaching Award.  She gives voice lessons after school, and she assists with choreography for the Middle School musical.  She enjoys spending time with her daughters.  And she loves to write with her students. 

Maria Sassani was thrilled to join the Falk School Community during the 2011 – 2012 school year, after presenting the session, “Music, Literacy, and Dance” during the NALS conference hosted by Falk in the Spring of 2011.  Prior to her arrival in Pittsburgh, Ms. Sassani shared her love of music with students from The School at Columbia University (2005 – 2011) & The Brearley School (2000 – 2005), both located in New York City, and the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada (1995 – 2000).  Favorite performances in her teaching career have been directing a 250-member chorus on PBS’s – “World’s Largest Concert” (1999), New York City’s Carnegie Hall in (2002 & 2003), the National Black Theatre of Harlem (2006 – 2011), and most recently in the lobby of Heinz Hall during the Pittsburgh Symphony/Falk School Extravaganza.  A true advocate of music programs in our schools, Ms. Sassani believes….“children would rather play than study, if we are smart, we will teach them while they play.”  (Carl Orff)  She continues her professional growth as a member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), American Orff Shulwerk Association (AOSA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).  Ms. Sassani’s favorite genre of music is “Musical Theatre” where she has performed professionally in six states.   Some of her favorite roles have been:  “Dolly” from “Hello Dolly”, “Reno Sweeney” from “Anything Goes”, “Charity Barnum” from “Barnum”, and “Maggie” from “42nd Street.”

Lexi Surunis began working at Falk as a student worker in the Extended Day Program in 2016 and began her teaching career here, serving as the middle school Language Arts intern during the 2016-2017 school year under the mentorship of Mr. Greg Wittig and Ms. Carrie Wittig.  After a year of long-term permanent substitute positions at Canonsburg Middle School and Upper Saint Clair High School, Lexi is excited to return to Falk to be part of the 5th grade team and Extended Day Program.  Outside of teaching, Lexi loves painting and drawing, being outdoors, and coaching volleyball. 

Laura Tomokiyo began her career in Japan, where she worked in language technologies research and development at Toshiba Corp. and the Electrotechnical Laboratory.   She returned to the United States to complete her MS and PhD degrees, where she specialized in spoken language recognition and understanding.  She spent six years at Cepstral, a tech startup providing small-footprint speech synthesis devices supporting communication in areas of geopolitical concern.  She then moved to the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, working in the CREATE (Community Robotics, Education, and Empowerment) lab.  Projects at CREATE included a the Gigapan Dialogues collaboration with UNESCO-IBE and the Documenting our Heritage project with the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska.

Laura joined the faculty at Falk School in 2012, where she initially worked to redesign the technology curriculum and now teaches in all grades K-8.  She also co-chairs the research committee with Leah Northrop.

Lori Wertz currently serves as K-8 educator and project director for Falk’s land stewardship program, FALKWOODS, aka SHERP.  Lori arrived at Falk School in 1992, as a Pitt MAT intern teacher in a third/fourth grade mixed classroom. Two years later, she was hired to teach full-time.  Lori has been at Falk ever since because she loves the dynamic and supportive educational environment the teachers, staff, and interns strive to provide for their students each and every day.

Becka has been teaching at Falk for several years. Before that, she lived in Washington, DC and Maryland, and also worked as a lawyer and as a criminal history profiler in a state prison. Becka enjoys sharing and exploring her interest in Shakespeare and Art History with her students.  She also loves helping to coach the middle school Cross-Country team at Falk.