New Marlborough Central School
Pre-K through Fourth Grade

Pre-K Teacher & NMC Teacher Leader - Francine Groener

Francine has a BA in Education from Brooklyn College of City University of NY. Although she grew up in New York City, Francine began coming to the Berkshires to visit her Aunt and Uncle when she was very small and considers New Marlborough her real hometown. Francine moved to New Marlborough full time in 1989 and has worked in the NMC Pre-K since 1990. She has two sons away at college, both NMC alums.

Kindergarten Teacher - Erna Lampman

Erna has a BA from Vermont College of Norwich University and an M.Ed from Cambridge College. Before coming to NMC, Erna worked as a legal advocate for Native Americans and as a Waldorf teacher. Erna developed the NMC garden program and is responsible for establishing many of our well-loved school traditions, including the annual Harvest Supper and weekly All-School Meeting. Erna and her husband live on a farm in New York where they raise grass-fed beef.

1st-2nd Grade Teacher - Melissa Kobelin

Mel has a BA from Swarthmore College and an M.Ed. from Lesley University. Mel began her teaching career at an independent school outside of Philadelphia and after moving to the Berkshires taught for a year at Undermountain Elementary as well. Mel came to NMC in 2004 and loves the small school community found here. She lives (with twenty-two 9th and 10th grade boys!) at a nearby boarding high school, where her husband teaches.

2nd-3rd Grade Teacher - Ashley Rote

Ashley has a BA from Westfield State College and is a graduate of Southern Berkshire Regional Schools. Ashley is piloting a unique program incorporating one-on-one lap top technology into the classroom and brings to NMC an enthusiasm for hands-on projects and collaborative learning.

3rd & 4th Grade Teacher - Marsha Pottle

Marsha has a BA in physics from North Adams State College and began her career in education teaching high school science. After taking time away from the classroom when her daughters were young, Marsha discovered that she enjoyed elementary-aged students and made the switch to teaching 3rd and 4th graders in 1983. Hands-on science experiments remain an important aspect of Marsha’s teaching.

Resource Room Teacher - Marian Dodds

Marian has both a BS in Elementary Education and an MS in Special Education from the State University of New York – Oswego. She has two daughters, one of whom attended NMC.