Support Staff

Hello, my name is Sandy Colagrande. I started at Pinewood in Aug. of 2002. I am a Paraeducator working with Pre-school age 3. I have four granddaughters and one grandson. One granddaughter is in fifth grade at Pinewood this year. I love my job and look forward to each new year working and helping as much as I can.

Hi! My name is Kathy Fischer. I am thrilled to be returning to Pinewood for my eleventh year. This is a wonderful school with top notch administrators and a great faculty and staff.

This year I will be working with the second grade in Janice Delaney's classroom and with the first grade in Chris Allen’s classroom. I will also be assisting Special Educator, Gerri Wills, in the Primary Adaptive classroom. I will be assisting them with educational support and positive development of social skills. I am looking forward to this new challenge!

I have successfully passed the PRAXIS exam for paraeducators achieving a “highly qualified” status. I continue to take classes through the Community College of Baltimore County and in-service courses through Baltimore County Public Schools.

Employed with Baltimore County Public Schools since 1972, I have an extensive background working with a diversity of students in preK-5 and special education. Deeply committed to serving as a team member assisting teachers in providing opportunities for students to extend and transfer learning, I have been a paraeducator at Pinewood since 1999. By maximizing student participation, I help our students be actively engaged in their education .My number one priority is SUCCESS for each student. I earned a Master of Library Service (M.L.S. degree) from Rutgers University and hold a Maryland Advanced Professional Certificate in Educational Media K-12.

Hi, my name is Peggy Richter. I’m happy to be back at Pinewood for my fourth year, my eleventh year as a special education paraeducator in BCPS. I began working for Baltimore County at Pleasant Plains Elementary, then Oakleigh Elementary, and now at Pinewood. I love being at Pinewood! Pinewood is a wonderful school, with a great administration, faculty, staff and students, as well as supportive parents.

In the past, I have worked with students in grades one through five. This year however, I will be working with kindergarten and second grade students. I will be working closely with the teachers to support students that may need additional help, so that each child can reach their specific learning goals.

I have received a certificate from Notre Dame College in Advanced Instruction for Paraeducators and have successfully passed the national praxis exam for paraeducators.

On a personal note, I am married and have two children. My daughter Meghan is 20 and attends the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex. My son Toby is married and has his own landscaping business.

I am married and have two daughters and three wonderful grandchildren. I was born and raised in southern California. I graduated from San Bernardino Valley College: I earned an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts.

I began my career in education working for the San Bernardino Unified School District (So. California), as a bilingual tutor. I worked in California schools for many years until I moved to Maryland. I went to work for Baltimore County Schools and continued with them as a Para educator and remained with Baltimore County Schools for years. I moved to Florida for a year and some months where I also worked for the school system there.

After returning to Maryland once again, I rejoined Baltimore County Schools as a Para educator. I now work with Mrs. Lynch’s class at Pinewood Elementary.

I have been employed at Pinewood since 1993, as a special education paraeducator. This year I am working with the fourth and fifth grade teams, in collaboration with Mrs. Savanuck and classroom teachers. I support students to help them achieve their academic goals.

I earned a four year degree at The Scottish College of Textiles. In 1997, I received the Baltimore County Public Schools Instructional Assistant of the Year award.

I continue to enjoy my Pinewood experience and find my job at Pinewood very rewarding.

I started at Pinewood as a Personal Assistant when my son was a student here. This is my 8^th year as a Paraeducator. I will be working mainly in the third grade classrooms assisting Mrs. Bernstein with the 3^th grade students. I accompany students to Specials, Science and Social Studies classes, as well as assist with Language Arts and Math.

My family and I live in Pine Valley. You will probably see me walking to and from work.

Hi, my name is Peggy Upton. I started working at Pinewood in August 2004 as a substitute teacher and personal assistant. This year I began working full-time at Pinewood as an assistant in all of the kindergarten classes.

I graduated from Loyola College with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. I worked for USF&G for 10 years prior to staying home with my 2 sons. I have one son in 4th grade at Pinewood and one son in the 9th grade at Dulaney High School.

I love working at Pinewood and am grateful for all of the encouragement and support that I receive from the students, parents and staff.