We are thrilled to welcome new team members to The Village School for the 2024-2025 school year!
New Guides
Aliyah Rawles- Lead Discovery Guide
Aliyah’s journey has been one of many rising actions! She began her work with young people as an early learning teacher and a Teaching Resident. Eventually, she became the founding teacher for a cutting-edge project-based learning program that was functioning within a public charter school in Washington, DC. There she led upper elementary learners in project creation, experiential learning outings, English Language Arts, and hands-on Social Studies curriculum.
She was inspired daily by the curiosity, resilience, and adaptiveness of young people and became convinced that a learner-centered and project-based model is the best way for children and adolescents to learn. When she came across TVS, she knew she’d found a place where she could commit 100% to focusing holistically on the learner and guide them in navigating their own journeys. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her Labrador retriever, curl up on the couch to read a good book, or watch history documentaries!
Abby Shaw- Lead Spark Guide
Abby grew up in Oklahoma and has had a lifelong desire to work with and support children as they learn and grow. She studied Human Development and Family Sciences at Oklahoma State University. She knew that she wanted to pursue a career in education after she had the opportunity to work in an early childhood classroom during her final year in college. While working as a second-grade teacher over the past two years, Abby has developed a passion for teaching reading and literacy and engaging learners in project-based learning experiences. Throughout her training and teaching experience, she realized how difficult it is to meet the individual needs of a diverse classroom of students in a conventional setting.
Abby’s desire to see every young person succeed led her to The Village School. She knew the learner-centered model was what she had been looking for and truly believes it is the only way to honor the unique needs and interests of each child. She is excited to guide the youngest learners at TVS alongside the Spark Guide team!
Noel Welch- Adventure Visiting Guide
Noel graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in German Language and a minor in Three-Dimensional Art. After graduating college, she went on to work in a variety of fields, such as working for a sculptural lighting artist, as a glassblowing demonstrator, and as an elementary school English teacher in South Korea. There, she discovered her passion for working with young people and bringing creativity into the classroom. She is looking forward to fostering an environment of curiosity and exploration, and creating a learning environment she would have loved to have had as a young student. In her free time, she has rediscovered the joy of reading, works often on embroidery or stained glass projects, and tries cooking new recipes.
Caroline Powell- Discovery Visiting Guide
Caroline is a native of Richmond, VA. She loves living in the DC area and is very excited to be part of The Village School team. Caroline graduated from Roanoke College with a degree in Psychology with a concentration in Human Development. She has a life-long passion for learning, which was fostered during her high school years when she attended a specialty center focused on education and human development. She continued to make child development a focus of research during her undergraduate career. Before joining TVS, Caroline worked at an educational consulting firm in DC. There she worked with higher education teams, learning about engagement and continued connections to academics throughout a lifetime. She loves meeting new challenges and working to find answers to questions, so she is very excited to be joining a community with a learner-centered approach. She is looking forward to seeing all that the learners at TVS discover!
Outside of the classroom, you can find Caroline cooking a new recipe, writing, listening to music and attending concerts, in the movie theater, or exploring DC with her friends and family.
Please join us in welcoming these new team members to The Village School for the 2024-2025 school year!
villageschoolnova.blog 