Schools

Our ESL Staff

Jim Costello

 Mr. Costello teaches ESL at Andover High School . He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts ( Amherst ) and Teacher’s College at Columbia University (NY). He is a native speaker of English and he also speaks Spanish fluently. He has taught in Costa Rica and traveled extensively in Central America , the Dominican Republic , and Italy .

Mr. Costello enjoys teaching English language learners because he thinks it is amazing to see the amount of language new students can learn in one year.  

Vicki Feo

 Mrs. Feo is the ESL teacher at Bancroft Elementary School . She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).Although English is her native language, she has also studied French, Spanish, and Italian. She has lived and traveled in many European countries, including Italy , France , and Switzerland .

Catherine Michener

  Catherine is the ESL teacher at Doherty Middle School and South Elementary School . She is a native speaker of English and is originally from Canada . She speaks French and Mandarin Chinese, and she has also studied German and Spanish. She has taught in Canada and Taiwan , and she has traveled extensively in Western Europe , East and Southeast Asia , and North America . Mrs. Michener has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Development and a Master’s Degree in TESOL. She loves working with ESL students because learning another language is always a huge challenge, yet she believes that ESL students are always eager for this challenge. She finds it fascinating to see the connection between language and learning while her students grow into successful bilingual learners.

Deana Bardetti Taxiarhos

 Mrs. Taxi is the ESL teacher at West Elementary, West Middle, and Wood Hill Middle Schools . She is a native speaker of English, and she also speaks Italian and Greek. She has studied in Rome , Italy and taught in Luxembourg and Greece . She has a Bachelor’s Degree in TESOL from Boston University , a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from Harvard University , and she is working towards her PH.D. in Education at Lesley University . Mrs. Taxi is a graduate of Andover High School . She enjoys seeing the change in student diversity in Andover compared to when she was in school. She believes that cultural and linguistic diversity is a resource to be celebrated.

Peter Otis  
potis@aps1.net

 Mr. Otis is the ESL teacher at High Plain Elementary School. He is a native English speaker from North Andover .  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Plymouth State College and a Master’s in TESOL from the University of Massachusetts . Mr. Otis speaks Spanish and has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean , Mexico , Europe , the Middle East , and Asia . His favorite part of teaching is helping English language learners be successful in school.

Tracy Blueman

  Tracy teaches at the Sanborn Elementary School . She is a native speaker of English and she is from England . She has lived in Hawaii and Japan. She speaks Japanese. She holds a Master’s Degree in TESOL from the University of Massachusetts .