Diana (she/her) is new to Strafford and enjoys the beauty that surrounds this community. She received a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied theater under the direction of renowned costumer, Judy Adamson and Emmy-award winning Director, Joan Darling. Diana grew into a career as a public secondary arts educator, where she especially enjoys mentoring students with a wide range of abilities and interests in art, costume, and theater.  She is keenly aware of the barriers to creative expression that many of her students experience daily, which propels her to focus on building community through highlighting the artistic and humanistic talents of each child. She has actively sought and won design- and nature-based grants for various projects throughout her career and will continue to do so in her role as the arts teacher at Newton School. Diana's passion is to foster more just and inclusive communities through visual and applied arts as she firmly believes creativity is a common language that brings people together.

Here are a few of her favorite things: authenticity, Highland tweeds, the color pink, muscle aches from laughing at her partner's jokes, the sound of her children's footsteps as they run to greet her in the morning, and the smell of her horse's mane. Diana can be reached at dcathcart@wrvsu.org.

Mr. Landon splits time between Sharon Elementary and the Newton School as the Physical Education teacher for grades K-8. He grew up in the Upper Valley and earned a BA from Virginia Tech in 2020. This will be his first year teaching and he is excited to get involved in the community. In the fall, he coaches football and has coached basketball in the past. He also enjoys golfing, fishing, and spending time with his family residing in the Upper Valley. You can reach Mr. Landon at blandon@wrvsu.org.

Katie is the World Language teacher at Newton and teaches Spanish to predominantly grades 5-8. She brings an interdisciplinary and culture-focused background to her teaching, having studied Anthropology and Spanish at Mount Holyoke College and studied in Mexico, Chile and Spain, and is very passionately involved in grassroots organizing for Central American asylum seekers in the US. Katie grew up in Eastern Massachusetts and is excited to be living and teaching in the White River Valley community! Katie also works as a paraeducator in the Newton elementary grades and will be a coach for the Finding Our Stride after school running program this year (join us!). Outside of teaching, Katie can be spotted listening to music at all times and dancing in the kitchen, talking to her cats, going for runs with her dog, and cracking Dad jokes all day long. You can reach me anytime at kmilligan@wrvsu.org. ¡Mucho gusto!

Simone (she/her) has been the librarian at the Newton School since 2012, back when her own children were students here. Simone has a B.A. from Dickinson College and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College, and after working in a variety of library settings decided she likes working with young people best of all. When she's not librarianing hard, Simone enjoys needlecraft, working in the garden, and refurbishing old things, all while listening to LOTS of podcasts! She also runs an after-school Dungeons & Dragons club. Simone is originally from the New Hampshire seacoast, but today lives in Strafford with her husband; two cranky cats; an adorable Chorkie; two bunnies; an assortment of chickens; and occasionally their college-aged daughters. You can reach Simone at spyle@wrvsu.org.