Welcome New Sage Faculty & Staff!
We are pleased to welcome the following faculty and staff to The Sage School for the 2021-2022 school year!
Alicia Bardaji, Upper School Spanish and Grade 7 Advisor
Alicia Bardaji has been teaching Spanish and Spanish Literature for over twenty years in lower and upper school levels in the Los Angeles Unified School District and at the University of Boston. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and earned her first degree in elementary education at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. She studied at Boston University for a Master’s in Theological Studies and is currently a member of AATSP (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) Massachusetts. While teaching, she was also in charge of Spanish curriculum development and led student travel groups to Spain to continue language study through the immersion of culture. In addition to her professional field, she has been a member of a Spanish Book Club in Boston for the last 7 years. In her free time she enjoys refinishing furniture, walking along the beach, and when able, she travels around the world.
Amy Deniger, Assistant to the Director of Admission and Development
With experience in the Dallas independent school admissions world, Amy will be joining us this fall as our Assistant to the Director of Admission and Development. With fresh ideas from an innovative Masters program, Amy is passionate about creating an educational environment that humanizes and supports students’ needs. She is a strong believer in the power of social emotional learning and practices mindfulness. Amy identifies as a lifelong learner and looks forward to learning more about The Sage School and community. Outside of school, Amy enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, friends, and dogs. Some of her hobbies include yoga, embroidery, and skiing.
Orion Hazard, Integrated Technology Specialist and Grade 5 Math
Orion Hazard is excited to be joining Sage as the Integrated Technology Specialist and Grade 5 Math Teacher. Orion earned her B.S. in Library Services and Information Technology from the University of Maine at Augusta, an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and is currently working towards her Ed.D. in Leadership + STEM at American College of Education. She has been a building technology coordinator, school librarian, STEM Makerspace teacher and has taught robotics, engineering, and computer science. She has taught in public and independent schools in Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and Minnesota. In her spare time she enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with her husband and two children (ages 19 & 12), and their dog, Jake.
Erica Lerch, Lower School Spanish and Grade 3 Co-Teacher
Erica Lerch has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Framingham State University, an Elementary Education degree from Bridgewater State University, and a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College. While pursuing her degree at Middlebury, she developed an interest in using “comprehensible input” to teach classes entirely in Spanish, through the use of videos, pictures, songs, story-telling, kinesthetic/ hands-on activities, etc. Ms. Lerch began her teaching career in the Framingham Public Schools, where she worked as a bilingual teacher. She also taught Spanish to middle school students in Franklin for three years. She later moved to the Holliston Public Schools and worked there for sixteen years and later taught at the high school level. Whether teaching adults or kindergarteners, Ms. Lerch utilizes the same basic principles: immerse students in the language with “real-world” drama, games and songs; provide plenty of opportunities for students to apply what they are learning; and continuously build student confidence by carefully pacing each lesson.
Anna Mignon, Grade 4 Teacher and Grade 5 Humanities
Anna grew up in the town of Sharon near Lake Massapoag. She graduated from Bryant University in Smithfield, RI with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in sociology. Following graduation, Anna worked as an assistant coordinator for a non-profit organization that worked to implement both school year and summer academic programs for Boston Public School students. She earned her master’s degree in education from UMass Boston in 2018. While earning her graduate degree, she worked in Newton for 4 years with students in grades K and 1. In her free time, she loves to craft, paint and spend time with her family’s dogs. Anna will be getting married next spring and is looking forward to her first year at Sage!
Denita Murphy, Student Support Coordinator and Grade 5 Humanities
Denita Murphy brings to Sage many years of teaching and leadership experience. Her career started in residential schools where she worked with families and students to meet academic and behavioral goals of the child. From there, Denita moved into the public schools where she taught Science, ELA, Social Studies, and Math. Denita had the opportunity to travel overseas (South Korea for two years and Aruba for one year) where she taught English and Science. As part of her career as an educator, Denita was a Department Liaison, Team Leader, Union Representative, and Mentor to teachers and students. Denita is looking forward to being a part of Sage because of the school’s individualistic approach to educating children.