our staff

Joanna Hastings, head of school

Born in Uganda, raised in England, Joanna has lived in France, Germany and Sweden, and now here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She comes from a family of educators; her father was the headmaster of a progressive, trail-blazing high school which she attended, eating educational philosophy every evening with dinner.

Joanna has worked with students of all ages, from K through high school, in many different capacities. She has led Gifted and Talented programs, taught Theatre, Literature and Language Arts, and worked in schools with different pedogogies and philosophies from traditional to Montessori.

Joanna has also worked professionally as an actor, director, and playwright. She says that directing a school is a bit like directing a play: it's all about providing an arena where everyone can shine, everyone is secure enough to collaborate, everyone is engaged in the same vision and between us all we make magic happen. Contact Joanna.

Val Tibbs-Wynne, kindergarten

Val joined the faculty at Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2011. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Eastern Michigan University, and her postgraduate training in Education encompasses a huge range of skill areas including (amongst many others) Multi- intelligences, Creative Curriculum, Exceptional Children, and the Project Based Approach. Val has extensive experience in leading active, project-oriented, exploratory and creative classes in a preschool/kindergarten environment.

Val's warmth, humor, high expectations and abundant sense of adventure result in a classroom that resonates with ideas, wonder, and discovery. The walls are covered with the children's glowing art, each piece representing a unique journey of thought and feeling. There is a sense of abundance here - abundant learning, love, generosity, and empowerment, overseen by Val's purposeful, grounded presence. Contact Val.

Elaine Neelands, 1st/2nd homeroom

Elaine has taught at Summers-Knoll since the fall of 2003. She has a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, and has been teaching for more than twenty years.

Elaine brings enormous understanding of young minds to her work. She engages the children through active experiences, fluidly offering learning opportunities that integrate whole body experiences, creative engagement, hands-on explorations and enthralling academics in a way that connects joyfully with the intellectual curiosity of each child.

One of the most charming sights you might see if you pass by the school on a rainy day is Elaine’s class out for a neighborhood umbrella walk, each child with a black umbrella, experiencing the joy of a walk on a wet day. Contact Elaine.

Susan Carpenter, 1st/2nd homeroom

Susan Carpenter joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2002. She holds a degree in Education and an Early Childhood Specialist Certificate.

Susan is a passionate believer in community-based education, a concept that her students embrace with fervor. Opportunities for collaboration, teamwork, idea-sharing and mutual support abound in the classroom, and expeditions to connect with people and organizations in the wider community are plentiful. Visitors come and go, bringing new ideas and inspirations to a classroom that hums like a beehive. As children connect happily and meaningfully with the world through their studies, academics soar. Contact Susan.

Chris Swinko, 3rd/4th homeroom

Chris joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2011. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and a Master's degree in Educational Studies.

Chris ia an old soul and a deeply thoughtful, sensitive teacher. He believes that education should strengthen the connection we have to the people, places and experiences that shaped us while fostering a desire in us to extend these boundaries and become the best versions of ourselves. Through investigations of the familiar and unfamiliar, Chris enables students to see their environment and themselves from a new perspective. He encourages them to take an active role in their surrounding communities, learning that their classroom extends beyond four walls and their teachers are many. Contact Chris.

Mark Benglian (B), 5th/6th homeroom

B joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2011. He brings a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Design and Masters degree in Education along with six years of experience working with special needs and adult age students. His professional career also includes a cumulative seven years in the art business and graphic design industries.

B's Socratic forum based classroom provides a safe and nurturing environment for students at this increasingly investigative age, to build, collaborate and exchange a variety of ideas and perspectives. His students enjoy flexing their creative muscles through self-motivated theme based projects that bring the world around them into relevant contexts. His focused energy and skill provide a scaffold for his students to achieve mastery with a genuine sense of purpose and connection in the work they do. Contact B.

Marshall Killian

Imogen Giles, French and Latin

Imogen joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2007. She is English, has a Master’s Degree from the University of London, and has over twenty years of teaching experience in French, Latin and Ancient Greek.

Imogen’s classes represent a fascinating exploration into culture and the power of words to the children. With thoughtful sensitivity, they take ownership of the words they study, probing the historical and social context and engaging in multi-sensory ways with the stories and linguistic concepts they encounter. Imogen leads them with calm dignity on a quest for personal involvement with the language, empowering them to use it and translate it with their hearts and creative intelligence as well as their analytical skills. Contact Imogen.

Cara Talaska, music

Cara joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in September 2011. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Music and Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master's degree in Social Psychology from Princeton University and a Master's degree in Community Counseling from Eastern Michigan University. She has taught in a variety of settings, spanning many age groups and student demographics. She draws on her experiences as classroom teacher, individual music instructor, play therapist, research psychologist, and solution-focused counselor to facilitate an engaging and supportive environment for musical exploration.

Cara's attention to beauty and social awareness speaks to her desire for her students to connect with music for self-expression and fostering community. She works with the children to develop avenues for their creativity, encouraging a blend of exploration and skill consolidation. Cara's sweetness and energy are infectious, and the music that floats from her classes is a constant delight. Contact Cara.

Tracy Gallup, art

Tracy joined the Summers-Knoll faculty in the fall of 2011. She is not only a sensitive, imaginatve, insightful educator, she is also an amazing artist, dollmaker, children's author and illustrator. She is the author of the "Stone Crazy" series, as well as "A Room Full of Questions". Take a look at her web site and her artist's blog. She has a BFA degree and teaching certificate from EMU, and a MFA degree in painting from Syracuse University where she was a teaching assistant. She also taught art at North Shore Country Day School in the Chicago area, and at Sunshine Preschool in Ann Arbor. Tracy has worked with children all over the county, conducting workshops and sharing her gorgeous books through presentations. Recently she worked with children in Charlottesville, VA, where a child told her that she had opened a door in his brain he never knew was there. She brings that same delicate, inspiring touch to our students here at Summers-Knoll on a daily basis. Contact Tracy.

Shan Cook, physical education and summer camp director

Shan joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2007. Her background is in Education, Early Childhood, Autism Spectrum, and extensively in sports teaching and coaching.

Shan’s patient, loving, creative and innovative approach to P.E. engages the children’s natural love for movement and physical exuberance. Their desire to excel comes from her warm appreciation of their efforts and her ability to communicate the benefits of teamwork, self-improvement and physical well-being. Her classes are full of connections to other areas of study: world events, cultures, arts, even grammar. Her well-rounded background enables her to engage the children intellectually as well as physically and socially as they work and play together. Contact Shan.

George Albercook, science

Dr. George joined the faculty of Summers-Knoll in the fall of 2011. He holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, did post-doctoral work at the University of Michigan and was a Research Faculty member in the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Physics Department also at the University of Michigan. He has worked at the Center for Environmental Policy Economics and Science where he studied the socio-economic impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes Region. Dr. George has also worked with the Union of Concerned Scientists and gone to Capitol Hill several times to discuss climate change and climate change science. His teaching experience before Summers-Knoll incorporated his own summer camp, Rocks and Robots, and extensive work providing science exploration and instruction to homeschool co-ops all over southeast Michigan.

Dr. George's passion for bringing experiences of informed exploration to his students is palpable. His teaching groups are a hive of "what if?" ideas and "let's try it and find out" activities. Topics draw on theme work and extensively from children's interests and curiosity. How can we make astrogel? How does a dinosaur skeleton go together? What does vacuum packing entail? How can we do it? What happens if you attach a camera to a helium balloon? The natural fascination of the children is mirrored in Dr. George's infinite delight in exploring anew. Contact George.

Karen Bayoneto, office manager

Karen is the person our children often see first if they need a bandaid or a hug, or have a burning desire to use the automatic stapler. Her strong organizational skills keep everything on track, and her warmly maternal presence infuses the school with security.

Karen is the mother of two of our students, and has been a part of the SK community for four years. She manages everything from ordering supplies to maintaining the building to organizing our community events. Contact Karen.

Matt Berg, business manager

Matt Berg has stepped down from the Board Treasurer position and taken over business manager responsibilities. This puts us in really excellent hands. Matt has worked in several other local independent schools. He spent years at Frankel Academy (Business Manager), Cranbrook (Director of Administrative Services), and Marygrove College (Director of Finance), as well as other schools. Most recently he has been working at Wayne State University as Associate Director for Business Affairs. He's been on ISACS school accreditation teams, he was a founding member of the National Business Officers Association, he knows finance, administration, and independent schools from the inside out. The kids at Summers-Knoll know him best as the maker of the mountain dulcimers in the music room, and as the teacher of the Lutherie EB last year where he taught a group of our children how to make banjos.