Faculty Staff Bios

Faculty member Karen Stark

 

Karen Stark

Department:

Student Success (Director)

Education:

MA in Curriculum & Technology Integration- University of Phoenix

BS in Special Education, Elementary Education & Early Childhood – Daemen University

VT Professional Educator License (Level II) in Special Education (Grades K- age 21) & Elementary Education(K-6)

Courses taught: Oversees the Boarding Guided Studies program, the Learning Center & all study halls

I’ve been teaching at St. Johnsbury Academy since 2009.  I enjoy art, photography, and spending time with my family.  I am passionate about getting to know students as individuals and helping them recognize the strengths they bring to their learning. I love helping students discover how they learn best, build confidence in themselves, and find pathways that allow them to feel successful.  I believe relationships are at the heart of education, and that students thrive when they feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. My goal is to empower students to understand their own learning needs, find their voice, and feel confident advocating for the support they need to reach their goals.  

 

“Every child has a different learning style and pace. Each child 

is unique, not only capable of learning, but also capable of succeeding.”

                       -Robert John Meehan

 

Jenny Land Mackenzie

Department:

English

Education:

BA, Dartmouth College,

M.Phil., Victorian Literature, University of Oxford

M.Litt., Creative Writing, University of St. Andrews

I teach literature and creative writing

I live with my husband, also a teacher at SJA, and daughters in Craftsbury, where we enjoy the incredible offerings of skiing, rowing, and hiking.  

I love teaching poetry, and my favorite moment in teaching happens when the whole class forgets to look at the clock because we’re having too much fun with poems.

Matthew O’Brien

Department:

Guidance and Resident Life

Education:

B.A. Sociology, University of New Hampshire

M.S. Psychology, Southern New Hampshire University 

Bio: I live on campus in the Green Dorm with my wife, Audrey, and two children, Charlie and Benny. I love the work I get to do with students in the guidance world. Evaluating, discussing, and dreaming about future possibilities lights me up!