Courtney Harris, Academic Support
How did you get to Suffield, of all the places you worked?
I used to be a first-grade teacher outside of Boston. When I got my reading degree to teach reading to K through 12, I moved here, and I worked in Ellington as a middle school and intermediate reading teacher. I stayed home with my children for about seven years. And then I started substituting in Suffield, now, I’m here as academic support.
How are you liking it here so far?
I love it so far. It’s different from where I’ve worked before, but I like it a lot.
What are some of your other interests outside of school?
All I want to do is read. Read, read, and I also like playing tennis and being outside.
Do you have a favorite book?
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes.
Any goals for students that you teach?
Just having them creating good study habits and doing the best they can.
Sophia Vinnikova, Chemistry Teacher 
How did you get to Suffield, of all the places you worked?
Well, I really like science. My whole family’s pretty much been scientists. My grandparents and my dad did science so I kind of grew up surrounded by it. I also had really good science teachers growing up so when I was in grad school I realized that I really hated research. I was like, yeah I like the teaching part of it. And so I decided that high school is where I would want to be.
Could you tell us a little bit about your background or what brought you to our school?
This is my 12th year teaching public school. I did teach some college before that as well. I taught elementary school math and science for four years down in the DC area and then I taught chemistry after that up here in Connecticut in Winstead. And why did I want to come here? I kind of had my eye on this school and I was looking for chemistry openings, partially because of the Ag program, which I thought was really interesting and I thought it might be fun to combine chemistry with that.
Sheri Hattin, Building Sub
What is your background in education like?
I got my bachelor’s at UConn in history and social studies. And then I got my master’s of curriculum and instruction.. I taught for 12 years at a private middle school in Manchester. I taught mainly social studies classes.
Do you have any goals for students?
My goal is just to really get to know the students and make sure that all of the students I come into contact with feel like I’m like a safe space, like somewhere that they can like just someone to talk to and things like that. Especially as a sub, I’m kind of going to be bouncing in and out of different classrooms. So I think it’s important that they know that they can still rely on me, even though I’m just there temporarily. I was here a couple of years ago, and I’m really happy to be back at Suffield.
What’s your favorite school subject? Favorite historical figure?
I really like history, and English would probably be a close second. In particular, though, I really like world cultures and religions and stuff. That one’s also really hard, but I feel like Anne Frank. I really like how she basically still believed in the good of people, even though everything she and her family were facing, she still basically kept the faith and tried to believe in the good of people overall.
