Grade Level Organization:
Maury Elementary School is divided into grade levels according to the following grade groupings:
- Early Childhood: Pre-school (Pre-K3) and Pre-kindergarten (Pre-K4)
- Primary: Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd
- Intermediate: 3rd, 4th, and 5th
Maury offers courses in the following Special Subjects: Art, Health/PE, Library, Music, Spanish (World Language), and Think Tank (Science).
All grades are supported by an Intervention team and a Special Education team
Full-time staff also includes a social worker and a school psychologist. The school is also served by a DCPS speech-language pathologist and a DCPS occupational therapist.
Anna Peterson joined the Maury community in 2022. She grew up in Los Angeles California, and received her B.A in Communications from University of Utah. She decided after graduation to follow in both her parents’ footsteps and become a teacher. She has been teaching for 8 years in Salt Lake City; 3 in second grade ... Read More
Haley Lynott joined the Maury team in 2022 as the 1-3rd grade Special Education teacher. She was born and raised in Pennsylvania and earned her B.S. in Education from Millersville University. Prior to Maury, Ms. Lynott was a classroom teacher and special education teacher working with students within early childhood for eight years. She loves ... Read More
ELA Lauren Mooney joined Maury as a third grade reading and writing teacher in 2022. Before teaching at Maury she has taught in DCPS for three years and in North Carolina Public Schools for nine years. Mrs. Mooney earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and master’s degree in reading education from UNC Chapel Hill. ... Read More
Katelyn Mazenko joined the Maury community as a second grade teacher in 2022. Ms. Mazenko was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and received her undergraduate degree from Villanova University. She taught in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2012-2014 and in DCPS from 2014-2021. Ms. Mazenko received a master’s degree in Reading Education from Peabody College ... Read More
Mrs. Sim joined the Maury community in 2021 as a First-grade long-term teacher. She is excited to join as one of the first grade teachers this Fall. Before joining the Maury staff, she was a stay-at-home mom for three years, taught grades Pre-K3, Pre-K4, and 3rd grade at a charter school in D.C. She graduated ... Read More
Patricia Wong is a DCPS Occupational Therapist whose work assignment includes Maury Elementary. She started working with Maury students in 2021.
Jo Antonette Heitstuman is a DCPS Speech-Language Pathologist whose work assignment includes Maury Elementary. She started working with Maury students in 2019. Ms. Heitstuman’s father was in the military. So she grew up moving often, but spent the most time in California and Japan. She received her bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of ... Read More
1st-3rd Grade Kaitlin Cunningham Gonzalez teaches special education across the first, second, and third grade levels. She began teaching at Maury in 2021, starting her sixth year in the educational field. She inspires her students to find joy in learning through taking risks and problem-solving in project-based learning. Mrs. Cunningham Gonzalez is originally from New ... Read More
Erika Torregroza joined Maury in 2021 as the Spanish teacher. Before joining the Maury community, she had been teaching World Languages for about ten years to elementary, middle, and high school students in Colombia. Ms. Torregroza grew up in Barranquilla, Columbia. She has a Bachelor of Education in the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and a ... Read More
Danielle Brasure started teaching at Maury Elementary as a substitute teacher starting in December 2018. She was a long-term substitute when Ms. Bomba was on maternity leave the year Maury moved into the new school building (SY 19-20). Ms. Brasure also worked in a virtual classroom from January 2021 – June 2021 teaching kindergarten during ... Read More
Kaylee Mina joined Maury in 2021 as the Music teacher. Ms. Mina grew up on Long Island, New York and in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She considers herself to be an East Coast native. She received her Bachelor of Music in General and Instrumental Music Education from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is passionate about ... Read More
Lauren Bomba has taught art in “Studio Maury” since 2012. “I feel so lucky,” she says, “to have begun my career as an art educator at Maury—a school and community that celebrates and supports the arts.” Ms. Bomba was born in Washington, D.C. but considers North Carolina home. She graduated from Appalachian State University in ... Read More
Science Resources – Grades K-2 Stephanie Conant joined the Maury community in 2017 as the Think Tank teacher. Ms. Conant grew up in Wisconsin and Northern Virginia. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Environmental Science from Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa. Next, she served as an AmeriCorps and FoodCorps service member in northeast ... Read More
Ms. F joined Maury in 2018 as the Health and Physical Education teacher. She had previously worked in DCPS at the high school level. While teaching high school, she also served as a coach and an assistant coach for several sports, including basketball, soccer, golf, and flag football. She holds a Bachelor of Science in ... Read More
Shirley Battle has taught at Maury since 1992. “What I like most about teaching is interacting with children, building relationships with families, and the awesome reward of observing students learn new skills. The love of children and the power of education inspired me to become a teacher.” Mrs. Battle is a native Washingtonian and a ... Read More
Ms. Campbell was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She is an honors graduate from the College of Education at Florida A&M University. She is passionately committed to her journey in urban education and is an experienced early childhood educator. She has worked with young children since the age of 15 when ... Read More
Nicholas (“Nick”) Lilja joined Maury as a second-grade teacher in 2021, beginning his fourth year teaching with DCPS. Mr. Lilja grew up in Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Penn State and graduated with his Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education from American University. Some of Mr. Lilja’s hobbies are film photography, ... Read More
Math VanNessa Duckett joined the Maury community in 1999. Since then, she has been an elementary classroom teacher with experience ranging from early childhood to Grade 5. She took a brief leave of three years to go to Tyler Elementary to mentor new DCPS teachers and to manage a Proving What’s Possible grant. Ms. Duckett ... Read More
Sameya Adem-Frazier joined the Maury community in 2021 as a first-grade teacher. As an educator, Ms. Adem-Frazier considers it a privilege and an honor to shape the hearts and minds of students: “It is my goal to instill a love for learning in my students, which ultimately helps them become independent and responsible learners that ... Read More
Pre-K & Kindergarten Caitlyn Burns teaches special education across the pre-k and kindergarten grade levels. She joined the Maury team in 2019 as a paraprofessional in a PK4 classroom and joined the special education team as a teacher in 2020. Before joining the DCPS and Maury communities, she spent time teaching in the public charter ... Read More
Math/Science/Social Studies Stacia Cedillo joined Maury as a third-grade Math, Science, and Social Studies teacher in 2021. Before moving to D.C. from Texas, Ms. Cedillo spent five years teaching middle school science and social studies, then worked with STEM and elementary pre-service teachers as a teacher educator for four years. Mrs. Cedillo has a bachelor’s ... Read More
Mr. Appiah was born in Woodbridge, Virginia and was raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a B.A. in English; Telecommunications. In his free time, Mr. Appiah enjoys running, spending time with his family, and reading.
Instructional Coach Lindsay Bowers joined Maury Elementary in 2015, before which she taught for five years in Fairfax County. Ms. Bowers loves the Maury community and watching her students grow throughout the school year. Ms. Bowers grew up in Fairfax, VA. She started her educational journey at James Madison University where she earned her bachelor’s ... Read More
Janine Levin has taught PK3 at Maury since 2010. Ms. Levin started her teaching career at Brent Elementary where she remained for 10 years. She then spent one year working as a Master Educator for DCPS. In that role, she visited every public elementary school in D.C. and observed and evaluated Pre-K teachers. It was ... Read More
Laura Delaney joined Maury in 2017 after gaining nine years of experience working as a school social worker in DCPS and charter schools. Mrs. Delaney loves working in schools because she can work with children, educators, and families all in one setting. Mrs. Delaney is a native Washingtonian, and grew up in Northwest D.C. She ... Read More
Emily Paterson began teaching Maury’s combination PK3/4 class in 2018. Before that, she served as a teacher’s aide at Maury for six years, with experience across a large span of grades, including kindergarten and Grades 1, 3, and 4. She was also a proud Maury parent from 2010 to 2018. Mrs. Paterson has a B.A. ... Read More
ELA Stefanie Gordon joined Maury in 2015, teaching Special Education ELA. Before joining the Maury staff, she taught Grade 2 at a charter school in D.C. as well as special education in other DCPS schools. Ms. Gordon comes from a family of educators—both grandmothers, mother, and two younger sisters—so it was natural she would become ... Read More
Jamila Pichon joined Maury in 2018 as a PK3 educational aide. From 2008 to 2018, she was a proud Maury parent, and from 2016 to 2018 a regular substitute teacher at the school. She has been teaching PK4 since 2019. Ms. Pichon believes in the Latin proverb “ by learning you will teach; by teaching, ... Read More
Kim Wright-Spurlock has been teaching at Maury since 1995 and teaching pre-K 4 since 2001. “What I like most like about teaching is watching children when they get it—that ‘aha!’ moment is priceless. Knowing that you have touched a person’s life by helping them become educated in different areas is very inspirational.” Ms. Wright-Spurlock is ... Read More
Math Alia Haider joined Maury Elementary School in December 2022 as a long-term substitute teacher to cover two paternity leaves and taught Kindergarten and worked as a Math Interventionist. Ms. Haider recently moved to Washington DC from overseas, Abu Dhabi UAE. She taught first grade there at an American Community School. This will be her ... Read More
Hi, my name is Ms. Boyd and I am excited to be a part of the ECE Team at Maury Elementary. I can’t wait to learn about you and your family, but now here are a few things about me. I was born and raised in Washington, DC, the Southeast District Ward 8; I am ... Read More
Rachel Schwartz started teaching at Maury, as a kindergarten teacher, in 2020. She is passionate about working closely with her students and their families to create a meaningful learning experience for each student. “I love to watch my students grow throughout the year and strengthen their confidence in themselves and their learning.” Mrs. Schwartz grew ... Read More
Corinne Carmichael joined the Maury community, as a first-grade teacher, in 2020. She taught fourth and first grade in DCPS for four years before coming to Maury. “I strive to instill a love of learning and a sense of determination in my students, values that were instilled in me by my elementary teachers and that ... Read More
Katie Linn joined the Maury community, as a second-grade teacher, in 2016. Ms. Linn earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Lynchburg University and her Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Marymount University. Before joining Maury she taught in Virginia and North Carolina. In her free time, Ms. Linn likes to cook, ... Read More
Reading / Writing Katherine (“Katie”) Spellacy has taught at Maury since 2016, teaching fifth grade for one year before moving to third grade. Before joining the Maury community, Ms. Spellacy worked at Capital City Public Charter School for ten years and Bell Multicultural High School for six years. Ms. Spellacy grew up in St. Paul, ... Read More
Reading Abby Sparrow joined the Maury community, as a fourth-grade teacher, in 2014. Before that, she taught Grade 7 and 8 English Language Arts for six years at a DCPS middle school. Ms. Sparrow is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned her ... Read More
Math/Science/Social Studies Shanna Willams-Carr teaches Grade 3 Math. She began her career at Maury as a Math Resource Teacher. Before joining Maury, she spent ten years at Smothers Elementary School as a classroom teacher and an instructional coach. Mrs. Carr loves technology and all that it can do to enhance the education of children! Mrs. ... Read More
Ms. Wolfe joined Maury in 2013 as a reading specialist. She has since taught a K/1 combo, kindergarten, and, starting in 2018, first grade. “It is a joy to see students grow throughout the year and the boost of confidence that comes with that. I want my students to be self-empowered, independent learners.” Ms. Wolfe ... Read More
Iris Jefferson has been working with children since 2009. I’ve joined the Maury team 2012 I am PTA Aide for third grade. I was born and raised in Prince George County now reside in D.C. I love spending time with family and friends. I believe that to teach them effectively you must touch their hearts long before you ... Read More
Lille Zucconi started at Maury, as a second-grade teacher, in 2019. Ms. Zucconi is a D.C. native. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Wittenberg University and her Master of Arts from Loyola University. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and experiencing the District’s rich cultural institutions and history that she can share ... Read More
Norah Rabiah began at Maury Elementary in 2011 as the Instructional Coach. Prior to 2011, she was the assistant principal and a classroom teacher at Murch Elementary in D.C. She began her career in Michigan. Ms. Rabiah is from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan ... Read More
My name is Sheila Guinyard. I have been part of the Maury community for over twenty years. I begin with Elementary Grade 2 then PK4 along with other Elementary Grades. The last 9 years I have been graced with continuing the journey with Early Childhood. I am the first of 3 female siblings, an auntie ... Read More
Hi Super Scholars! My name is Mrs. Williams. I am SO excited to be a part of the ECE team! Most importantly, I am THRILLED to be your teacher aide. It’s going to be a fun year full of lots of learning and new adventures and I can’t wait to see what the year has ... Read More
