Faculty and Staff 2008/09

MATERNELLE / PRE-SCHOOL, PRE-K, K

Sylvie Lopez (Petite Section / Pre-school teacher) is coming to us from the Rhone Alps region of France where she has been a teacher for nearly 20 years. FASRI marks her first experience abroad. Her interests include music and perfecting her English. She is also a leader in physical education, coaching basketball and playing basketball herself. Sylvie has three children who are all FASRI students. She will join us in September 2007.

Gabriela Riley (Petite Section / Pre-school assistant) is originally from Cape Verde where she taught in pre-school at the "Jardin d'Enfant Susy" on the Island of Santiago. She now lives in Pawtucket and has one daughter attending FASRI. Gabriela started at FASRI in September 2003.

Isabelle Michaels (Moyenne Section / Pre-K teacher) comes from the Loire Valley, France. She is fluent in French, German and English and holds a major in German from the University of Orléans-La Source, France. Isabelle holds a bachelor degree in Human Development from Lesley University and is a certified teacher. She holds a BA in Education. Isabelle has had years of experience teaching and practicing jazz dance. She has twin daughters and joined FASRI in September 1997.

Yolande Cabral (Moyenne Section / Pre-K assistant) was born in Senegal, Africa. She grew up in France and Senegal, where her father was French Ambassador. Yolande holds an executive secretary diploma from Paris. She returned to Senegal with her husband, and then followed her daughter to Rhode Island in 1998, where she worked in a day care until she joined FASRI in September 2002.

Coralie Garron (Moyenne Grande Section / Pre-K-K teacher) spent two years teaching in a 1st grade immersion class in Australia. Her previous assignment was in San Diego, California where she taught two years in a maternelle immersion class. Before teaching abroad, Coralie graduated as a certified teacher in Aix-en-Provence with a minor in chemistry and physics and taught in Provence for two years. Coralie joined FASRI in September 2004.

Elvire Ray (Moyenne Grande Section / Pre-K-K assistant) grew up in Marseille, France. She has a diploma from France in daycare and camp counseling. She moved to the US and spent 10 years in Reno before settling in Rhode Island. She is married and has two children. Elvire joined FASRI in June 2005.

Sophie Sprecht (Grande Section / Kindergarten teacher) comes from Normandy, France. She holds a teaching degree in music and is a certified nurse. Sophie started as a music teacher in French middle and high schools. She has tutored in colleges in California, worked as Head Nurse in Massachusetts and also done secretarial work. Sophie holds a BA in Education. She lives in Providence with her two bilingual sons and started at FASRI in August 2000.

Antoinette Rodrigues (Grande Section / Kindergarten assistant) comes from the Cape Verde islands. She is a native francophone and holds a teaching certification from the Ivory Coast. She taught for 15 years in the "Ecole Les Pitchounes" in Abidjan. Antoinette loves art, crafts, music and dance. She lives in Riverside with her husband and their four multilingual daughters, one of them attending FASRI. Antoinette speaks French, Creole, Portuguese and English. She joined FASRI in 1999.

ELEMENTAIRE / ELEMENTARY & COLLEGE / MIDDLE SCHOOL

Heather Cyr (PS-CE1 / Pre-School-G2 English teacher) is from Connecticut. She has a BS from Rhode Island College and state certification in Early Childhood Education and has been working in her area of expertise for over 8 years. Previously, She worked as a head teacher at the Mount Hope Child Care Center. She enjoys working with children and spending time with her family. Heather joined FASRI in September 2006.

Olivia Anderson (CP / 1st grade French teacher) holds an MA in English from the University of Reims, France. She tutored and taught French extensively in the United States at all levels (Wheaton College, Stonehill College, the Sage School) and has developed excellent strategies and approaches to learning for children K/2. She has two sons and loves fitness, music and cooking. Olivia has been at FASRI since September 1997.

Sonia Brun (CE1 / 2nd grade French teacher) has been teaching French immersion since 2003 and is coming to us directly from French Guyana where she has been working for most of her career. Sonia has a great interest in Anglophone cultures and studied English civilization and literature at university in Paris. Sonia specialized in reading and will join our team in September 2007.

Yannick Loiseau (CE2 / 3rd grade French teacher) is a certified teacher from Nice, France. He has a MA in Biology from the university of Nice. He has been teaching for 5 years, including one year in the UK in York and Leeds. His interests include science, tennis and water sports, reading and music. He joined FASRI in September 2006.

Fabien Delonnay (CM1 / 4th grade French teacher)has been in the classroom since 1996. Other than being a certified teacher, Fabien has a MBA in Economics and Management. He has studied in Italy and the US and has taught in Syria, France and Oman. He thrives in international environments and has a very rounded teaching career that includes teaching English and French in immersion programs. Fabien will join FASRI in September 2007.

Veronica Gazeryan (CE2-CM1 /3rd & 4th grade English teacher) graduated in 1992 from the University of Miami with a BA in French and Art. She completed her education certification classes at Rhode Island College in 1996 and then taught in Seekonk and Barrington Public Schools. Veronica lived for 3 years in Egypt, has two daughters and a baby son and now lives in Barrington with her husband, who is originally from Turkey. She joined FASRI in September 2003.

Philippe Delhiat (CM2 / 5th grade French teacher) was born in Limoges, France. He is a certified teacher, has taught for 9 years, and comes to FASRI from Verfeil, near Toulouse. Philippe's area of interest is in the performing arts: he has played the piano for 20 years, is an experienced choral singer, he also is a keen actor. Philippe joined FASRI in September 2006.

Thomas Keohane (CM2 / 5th grade English teacher) comes from a family of teachers and his mother is from Quebec. He received his BA from the University of RI and he studied abroad in Orleans, France. Since graduating college, Thomas has been working as a behavior specialist, providing education and support to students with special needs. His strengths are in language arts and social studies. He is passionate about art, French language, culture, and film, music and baseball. This is Thomas's first teaching position and he will join FASRI in September 2007.

Gwenn Delourme (6e-5e / 6th & 7th grade French teacher) is a certified teacher who grew up in Brittany, France. Gwenn taught in Brittany for three years, heading a small parochial school before spending two years at FASRI in 2001-2003. After a one-year break teaching in a French school in the Philippines, Gwenn returned to FASRI for 2004/05. She loves sport, especially tennis and volleyball, and she first joined FASRI in September 2001.

Julia Johnston (6e-5e / 6th & 7th grade English Teacher) was born in Spain, and spent some time in Belgium as a child. She is a RI certified teacher, and joins us from the Paul Cuffee School. She speaks excellent French, loves art, history, and mathematics, and as a former architect holds a Master of Architecture. Julia joined FASRI in September 2005

Patryk Habel (After School Coordinator, FASRI Language Classes Teacher) was born in Warsaw, Poland. After completing a BA in French in Warsaw, he earned a second BA in English from Toulouse University in France, then an MA Teaching French as a Foreign Language from Pau University. For more than 10 years he has shared his passion for language and culture by teaching classes to students of all ages and levels from elementary to university in four different countries. In his free time he takes every opportunity to learn about and visit new places around the globe. He began working at FASRI in September 2005.

Paule Lefraire Khoury (Librarian) is from Vendée, France. She moved to the US in 2001 and worked for several years at the Alliance Française in Providence. She has extensive experience of working with children and teaching French as a foreign language to adults and children. She lives on the East Side with her Syrian husband and bilingual son and joined FASRI in December 2004.

ADMINISTRATION

Dominique Thompson (Founder and Head of School) has been leading FASRI since its opening in September 1994. She holds a Bachelor degree in Education from France (Paris La Sorbonne and IUFM Cergy) and has received extensive school management training in the US. She has been involved in children's education for 25 years. Dominique's vision, dedication and persistence have enabled FASRI to thrive and become one of the hidden jewels of Providence. She lives in Barrington with her husband and long time supporter Joe Thompson and their three bilingual and bicultural daughters.

Jean-Francois Lopez (Education Coordinator) has been working in education for nearly 20 years as a teacher and as a director in Pont de Cheruy and most recently as a director of a school in Charnecles where he also worked with students with disabilities. He speaks French, English, Spanish and Italian and is also a fencing and rugby champion and he plays the guitar. Jean-Francois has three children, all of whom go to FASRI and he will begin his work here in August 2007.

Tom Hiller (Business Manager) has worked in banking, manufacturing and nonprofit since completing an MBA many years ago. While an at home Dad, he served as volunteer treasurer for a number of organizations, and is still active with the most interesting of them. He enjoys traveling and he and his wife live in East Greenwich with varying numbers of their three children.

Louise Jakobson (Admissions & Development) was born in London, UK, and grew up in Belgium. She attended the Lycée Français in London and holds a BA in French and German. She has worked in bookshops, sales, media planning and marketing. She lived four years in Estonia where she ran a bed & breakfast before moving to Providence in 1998. She lives in Providence and her son attends FASRI. Louise began working at FASRI in June 2002 and took on the position of Director of Admissions and Development in September 2006.

Leah Tambolleo Perez (School Secretary) is from Cape Cod. She holds a BA in French from UMASS, Amherst and has studied abroad in Parma, Italy and Brussels, Belgium and worked at Disney Land Paris. Leah currently lives in Pawtucket with her husband and daughter, Talia, and a little dog named Coqui. She loves dancing and travel and she began at FASRI in December 2006.

Dana Copley (Maintenance) is from the Boston area where he managed properties for nearly 10 years. He is married and currently lives in Fall River, MA and began working at FASRI in May 2006.

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY SEE AT FASRI

Tito Cohen PhD: Latin Teacher

Kara and Raul Ibarra: School Lunch Providers

Maurine Daw: School Nurse