Kemp Mill Elementary School

 
Jossianne Torres

Kindergarten Teacher 

Jossianne is originally from Puerto Rico where she started her career as an elementary school teacher in 1997. She earned a master’s degree in special education from American University specializing in learning disabilities. Jossianne takes pleasure in teaching Spanish and celebrates her student’s progress in learning a second language every day. On her free time she enjoys camping, hiking, and reading. Her favorite authors are Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

  
Barbara Lambert 

Kindergarten Teacher 

Barbara has been teaching for almost 30 years. She has a master's degree in special education, and has spent most of her professional life teaching young children with special needs. Several years ago, Mrs. Lambert participated in an ESOL/special education program through George Washington University. The course work helped to prepare her to work with second-language learners.Mrs. Lambert has long been committed to the idea of dual-language education. Her own two sons were students in the French Immersion Program here in Montgomery County. Then, when her family moved to Fontainebleau, France, her sons were educated in the French public schools. The influence of speaking another language has impacted the lives of Mrs. Lambert's family in wonderful ways. Five years ago, Mrs. Lambert began teaching in the first Dual Language kindergarten here at Kemp Mill. As she continues to teach in the program, she is learning Spanish along with her students! Outside of her professional life, Mrs. Lambert loves to travel, cook, read, and ride her bicycle.

  
John Mahler

First Grade Teacher 

This is John’s fourth year in the Dual Language program. Teaching is his second career. His first career is working with computers. He grew up in Panama where he learned to speak Spanish. Along with Panama and the United States he has lived in Nicaragua, Germany and the U.K. John has lived in a number of U.S. cities as well – Bryan-College Station, Le Sueur, Boston, Washington D.C., Tallahassee, New Orleans, Atlanta, Newark, New York City and now, Silver Spring. Needless to say he loves to travel! His most frequent destinations include Nicaragua and Mexico along with U.S. visits to New York City and Atlanta. John believes in continuing education – he attends classes in the evenings and goes to workshops in the summer.

   Lane Jefferson

First Grade Teacher 

Lane started teaching in the dual-language program as an intern four years ago, working in the first grade classroom. After two years teaching in a French Immersion program in Rockville and one year teaching ESOL at Kemp Mill, he has returned to his roots, and is ecstatic about teaching first grade with John once again. Lane studied French and Spanish as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, and then went on to get his Master’s in bilingual and special education from the George Washington University. He was born and raised in the Washington, DC area, but has lived in France for a year, traveled extensively around Europe, and has been to Cuba as well. Lane spends most of his free time hiking and exploring in the mountains with his dogs, but also enjoys canoeing, camping, basketball, and dancing to reggae and Latin music.

  Anne Doane

Second Grade Teacher

  Sonia Thomas

Second Grade Teacher

  Vera Fields

Third Grade Teacher

 
Reyes Samanes

Third Grade ESOL Teacher

  
Jackie Hathaway

Fourth Grade ESOL Teacher 

Jackie teaches Spanish in fourth grade at Kemp Mill.  She recently moved to Maryland from Arizona where she taught first grade, second grade and was a Media Specialist. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an English as a Second Language endorsement from Goshen College, in Northern Indiana. In March of 2006, she also obtained a Master’s Degree in Multicultural Education along with a Bilingual Endorsement. She has many years of experience working with children and is thrilled to be teaching your child this year!

  
Marlene Carter-Hawkins

ESOL Teacher 

Alison Jefferson

Dual Language Coordinator

ESOL Team Leader 

Alison Jefferson is the Dual Language Coordinator and the lead ESOL teacher at Kemp Mill ES.  She is also National Board Certified in English as a New Language. She coordinates the Dual Language Program and instructs small groups of students in Spanish and English.  Her passion for language learning motivated her to study Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. She came to understand that learning a language is a lifelong process and chose to focus on Spanish.  She can now communicate fairly well-thanks to her wonderful ESOL students. It always frustrated her that she never had the opportunity as a child to learn a second language, so she made sure that all three of her children were enrolled in language programs from an early age. They are now all adults and two of the three are tri-lingual and the other is bilingual. Mrs. Jefferson is thrilled to support a program that encourages all children to appreciate the value of second language learning.

  Ayana Shabazz

Community Coordinator