About the Telescope Network

In April 2018, Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teacher Union were awarded a grant by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to elevate teacher voice in district-level decision making and empower high school educators to drive their own professional learning.

Mission

The Telescope Network creates opportunities for BPS educators to collaborate across the district. We improve learning experiences for all our students when we connect with peers, share our authentic challenges, and learn from each other.

Core Beliefs

STUDENT-CENTERED. Adult learning should directly benefit our students and should model effective practices that can be replicated in our schools and classrooms.
EDUCATOR-DRIVEN. Teachers and other school-based educators need to be included in the planning, designing, and leading of adult learning.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING. Adult learning time should help educators meet the specific challenges they face, with a focus on inquiry, innovation, feedback, and collaboration.

Our Name

We developed our name as we thought about the different aspects of our work: We help educators navigate the system by connecting them to learning opportunities and each other. We map and assess the current learning needs for teachers across BPS. We also seek out effective practitioners and connect these educators together for professional learning. We found our name when we realized that the common tool for navigators, surveyors, and stargazers is a telescope.

Our Team

Email: telescope@bostonpublicschools.org

Fill out our Telescope

Contact Card

Theresa Garcia de Quevedo

Amanda Hathaway

Kadian Simmonds

Catherine Stoddard

Shakera Ford Walker

Assistant Superintendent, Teacher Leadership and Development (swalker@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Shakera Ford Walker is the Assistant Superintendent of Teacher Leadership and Development for the Boston Public Schools. In this role, Shakera designs and facilitates professional learning experiences for teachers and school leaders and creates teacher leadership opportunities that support school improvement efforts and career growth for educators. In addition, Shakera collaborates with district leaders and the BTU Director of Professional Learning to develop and implement BPS’ teacher leadership vision and strategy.

Paul Tritter

Director of Professional Learning for Boston Teachers Union (ptritter@btu.org) | he/him pronouns

Paul Tritter is the first Director of Professional Learning for the Boston Teachers Union. This position is collaboratively funded by the union and the district administration in order to promote collaborative approaches to improving professional learning across the system. In this role, Paul works closely with Central Office and Union leadership, and with teachers and school leaders, to bring educator voice to district decision making and planning.

Alison Mosher

Lead Networker (amosher@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Alison Mosher is a Lead Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Coach with 20 years of experience in education. She spent 12 years as a history teacher and 8 years as a coach and professional learning coordinator. A National Board Certified Teacher, she was also recognized as the BPS Educator of the Year in 2012. In her current role, Alison is dedicated to fostering collaboration among BPS educators, empowering teacher leaders to lead learning for their peers, and spreading effective practices acro. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Northeastern University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership from UMass Boston.

Mark Lonergan

Lead Networker (mlonergan@bostonpublicschools.org) | he/him pronouns

Mark Lonergan is a Lead Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Coach. Before becoming a Networker, Mark taught math at Boston Arts Academy for 14 years. He also worked as the founding Consulting Teacher with Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) for 4 years. He has contributed to the “Peer to Peer” column in the BTU newspaper and has helped to teach the “Observation and Feedback” training course for new evaluators. He is also the father of two BPS graduates and one current BPS student.

Malcolm Andrews Jr.

Networker (mandrews2@bostonpublicschools.org) | he/him pronouns

Malcolm Andrews Jr. is a Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Coach at Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA). Prior to becoming a Networker, Malcolm worked for two years as an Instructional Coach at TechBoston, following a decade as an ELA and History teacher for students in a substantially separate setting in the Crossroads L/AB cluster at TBA. Malcolm’s interest in increasing equity for marginalized students led him to pursue a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Lesley University. A dedicated coach for teachers during the school day, Malcolm also coaches the TechBoston Academy womens’ basketball team.

Amanda Hathaway

Networker (ahathaway@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Amanda Hathaway is a Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Coach at English High School. Prior to working as an instructional coach, Amanda worked as a Program Director in the Math Department. Amanda started her career in BPS in 2006 as a high school math teacher and taught in alternative education in the district for 12 years. Outside of her passion for education, Amanda is a beginner student of many disciplines including yoga, tennis, Portuguese, and parenting a teenage daughter.

Garcie Champagne

Networker (gchampagne@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Garcie Champagne is a Black teacher leader and doctoral student at Southern New Hampshire University where she is pursuing a degree in educational leadership. Her research interest is to support schools in creating equitable and innovative ways for educators and students to work and learn. Champagne has over 10 years of experience working within the alternative high school setting within the Boston Public Schools. As an instructional leader, evaluator, and coach, Champagne is passionate about creating professional development and equity workshops that support families and school communities in applying culturally and linguistically sustaining practices for all students. She coaches educators to tackle anti-blackness by being intentional with the choice of materials, activities, and resources used in instruction. Champagne’s work has been featured in podcasts by Boston Teachers union as well as the Teacher Collaborative. She was also featured in WGBH news for her advocacy around equitable policies for overaged students in Boston. In her personal life, Champagne spends her time gardening, spending time with family and friends, and being intentional about what it means to seek black joy and liberation in all the spheres of her life.

Theresa Garcia de Quevedo

Networker (tgarciadequevedo@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Theresa Garcia de Quevedo is a Networker for the Telescope Network and ESL Teacher at the Mason Elementary School. Prior to joining the Telescope Network, Theresa taught ESL and Special Education at Mildred Avenue K-8 and Elementary SEI at Hennigan K-8. Before coming to BPS, she also taught ESL at public schools in Spain and South Korea. Theresa has facilitated professional development for the Boston Debate League’s Debate-Inspired Classrooms initiative and served as a BPS representative to the BU Consortium, a group of 8 different school districts collaborating with the BU Wheelock School of Education.

Kadian Simmonds

Networker (ksimmonds@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Kadian Simmonds is a Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Support at the Mozart Elementary School in Roslindale. Before becoming a Networker 2 years ago, Kadian taught 2nd Grade at the J.P. Manning Elementary and other BPS schools for 9 years. During her years as a teacher, she has cultivated an interest in leadership opportunities with the focus on maximizing teacher effectiveness. Kadian also has a passion for social justice and teaching students about how to be advocates for positive change.

Catherine Stoddard

Networker (ctighe@bostonpublicschools.org) | she/her pronouns

Catherine Stoddard is a Networker for the Telescope Network and an Instructional Coach at Ellison Parks Early Education School. Before becoming a Networker, Catherine worked as a K2 teacher. During her 14 years as an early childhood educator, Catherine has developed a passion for leading colleagues in conversations to understand student work and providing professional learning opportunities for educators. She worked as a teacher leader at the John Winthrop School, a successful turnaround school, and she has been a National Facilitator and coach for Critical Friends Groups.

Telescope Alums

Former members of the Telescope Network Team

Jeff Parks

Networker (2022-2024)

Currently teaching at Mason Elementary

Kristen Cacciatore

Networker (2022-2024)

Currently instructional coach at Charlestown High

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