Susie Brown – Counselor at Mercer Island High School

Job Description: Susie works with four other counselors at the high school to help students make decisions about high school program needs as well as post high school plans. Most MIHS students attend college, but some choose technical schools, art school or taking a “gap” year to travel or work. On average with five counselors, each counselor works with about 280 students.

Location: Mercer Island High School

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Susie’s door is always open to students, parents and staff. In the fall, she manages freshmen registration and presents students with the “high school and beyond plan.” She helps students fill in the on-line plan, which includes a personality test and interest survey. She also works with college counselor Mj Hillstrom to assist students with the college selection process. Another important part of Susie’s job is helping students, staff and parents with crisis management and referrals.

Best part of the job: “The kids! I tell people I have 350 children. I love them all.”

Something people may not know: In 2004 Susie was diagnosed with cancer and has been fighting the disease ever since. She says, “I truly believe that the Mercer Island community and my students, families and colleagues are one reason I am still here. Everyone rallied around me – families helped me with grocery shopping and meals; my students took me to chemotherapy sessions and to the hospital. One family even volunteered to send me to Texas for treatment! This is a very special community.”

Years worked in the district: 18 years. Susie grew up on Mercer Island and in Bellevue. Before coming to MIHS, Susie worked for six years as a social studies and English teacher at Kennewick High School.

Outside interests: Susie enjoys learning new things and traveling, especially to Brazil. She is involved with the Quero Ser Institute in Brazil and the Stoneflower Foundation in Seattle to help Brazilian kids from “barrios” get access to a quality education and adequate medical care. She and teacher Patrick Rigby at Crest Learning Center are working on a partnership with the Quero Ser Institute and Mercer Island High School to engage high school students in learning about Brazilian life and culture. In her spare time, Susie teaches ESL at night to Portuguese-speaking immigrants.

Brian Favorite – Island Park Elementary

Job Title: Paraprofessional

Job Description: Brian works with 4th grade teachers at Island Park Elementary to provide supplemental help in the classroom and support students both one-on-one and in small groups. He also works with the “Eagles Nest” morning math group for “students in the middle,” coordinates Friday enrichment activities and helps run “Recess Camp.” He is a crossing guard in the morning and afternoon, and this winter he is the assistant director of the school musical, Mary Poppins.

Location: Island Park Elementary

Typical Day: Brian begins his day as a crossing guard, directing traffic and students for safe arrival to school. He then divides his time among the school’s four 4th-grade classrooms. During recess, he helps to run “Recess Camp,” offering creative alternative activities for students. Some of these include: Sewing & Knitting Club, building things with boxes, ping pong and kick ball games. On Fridays he runs the enrichment program which, most recently, has involved the all-student video commercial project. Under Brian’s direction, Island Park students have learned to be producers, directors, writers and script supervisors for 20 minutes worth of school “commercials.” This winter all 104 fourth-graders will learn to do “public service announcements” in the form of rap songs. Brian and his team plan to create a DVD of all of the commercials and PSA’s for parents to enjoy.

Best part of the job: Getting to know the kids by working with them one-on-one and in small groups.

Something people may not know: Brian grew up in Los Angeles and worked in production for many TV sitcoms such as “Mad About You,” “Married With Children” and “Grace Under Fire.” He also worked for TechTV in San Francisco. After 9/11, Brian had a mid-life crisis and went back to school for a teaching degree. Then he spent a year in Tonga with the Peace Corps and now he is at Island Park!

Years worked in the district: This is Brian’s first year in the district.

Outside interests: Working on a documentary about Tonga, yoga, swimming and spending time with his family -- niece Eve Berrington, a sophomore at MIHS and her dad, Jim Berrington. They all live on Mercer Island.

Rich Mellish – Principal of West Mercer Elementary

Location: West Mercer

Job Description: Rich is the first line of support for students, staff and parents. His primary responsibility is to make sure West Mercer is a safe and welcoming school so that students learn everyday. He works hard to engage all stakeholders in the school community on the same goal – student learning.

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Rich spends his time in classrooms as much as possible. Sometimes he does a school-wide “walk-through,” dropping in on classrooms for 5-10 minutes at a time to get a sense of student learning. Other times he does longer, more formal visits. Rich’s other tasks involve communication with staff, families and others involved in the school, as well as budget planning and professional development for teachers. He enjoys working with others to support and develop school systems and structures that enhance student learning. Everyday is unique, and although there is the occasional need to respond to unplanned issues, Rich says, “Things run smoothly at West Mercer. I work with a wonderful staff team.” For the last year and a half Rich has been part of a district team that selected and is implementing a new elementary math curriculum.

Best part of the job: Spending time with students and supporting teachers in their efforts to help all students learn.

Something people may not know: Rich learned how to speak Spanish, French and Swahili in college. “I wanted to go to Africa, but never made it. I ended up going to Mexico and Albania, but I didn’t learn much Albanian. It is a language unrelated to any language on earth!”

Years worked in the district: 2 years. Rich came to Mercer Island after 14 years in the Seattle Public School District where he taught high school math for seven years and served seven years as an elementary principal.

Outside interests: Rich and his wife Jennifer live in Renton with their two boys Ty (age 6) and Ryan (age 3). Rich enjoys spending time with his family, playing racquetball, white-water rafting and reading a good book.

Bonnie Barthelme – RN,MN, School Nurse

Job Description: Bonnie is a certified school nurse for the Mercer Island School District. She works with the other school nurses to coordinate school and community health for students and staff. School nurses also review, update and inform staff about health policies. Other jobs include: notifying parents and staff about contagious illness in the schools, working with the public health department, writing health reports for special education students, and writing health plans for children with life threatening conditions (asthma, allergies, heart conditions etc). Nurses also train staff in how to deal with anaphylaxis, asthma, seizures, diabetes and administering epi-pens. Bonnie is ESA certified, which means she has received special training in school law, special education and health law.

Location: Lakeridge Elementary and Islander Middle School

Typical Day: Bonnie’s door is always open to students and staff. She sees an average of 30 people every day at each school. Staff members come in at the onset of illness, to check temperature or blood pressure and seek advice on medications. Students come in with recess injuries (either real or perceived). “We give out a lot of band aids, ice packs and glasses of water,” says Bonnie. “Sometimes students get stressed at school and come in with a headache or stomach ache. More often than not they just need to rest a short while and hydrate. It is our job to rule out true illness or injury.”

Best part of the job: The kids, all of them, Kindergarten through 8th grade! They are all so special to work with.

Something people may not know: Bonnie worked as an American Embassy nurse in Nepal for four years. She has also hiked to many of the base camps in Nepal.

Years worked in the district: 14 years. Before coming to Mercer Island, Bonnie worked in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Home Health Care and the American Embassy Medical Clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Outside interests: Bonnie enjoys travel, adventure and riding “sidecar” on a motorcycle. Her 19-year old daughter graduated from MIHS and is currently attending Willamette University.

Patty Shipman – Elementary School Psychologist

Location: Island Park Elementary

Job Description: Patty works with children, families and classroom teachers on assessments for students who need learning interventions. Her goal is to help students succeed with the aid of several school programs such as the Learning Assistance Program, Title I and Special Education.

Typical Day: Patty works three days a week, from 8 am to 4:30 pm. She spends her days working with children, families and the Learning Support Team that assists parents with learning issues. She administers assessments and spends much of her time writing reports and handling paperwork.

Best part of the job: “I love the challenge of figuring out the “puzzles” involved in learning and watching students make progress. I have always enjoyed all kinds of puzzles, but nothing is more fun or challenging than this job!”

Something people may not know: Patty was an investigator for the Department of Defense before she became an educational psychologist. When her son had learning difficulties, she decided to change careers so she could help other students. She has a Masters in Counseling from WSU and Education Specialist degree from Seattle University. But unlike school counselors who deal more with emotional issues, educational psychologists are specifically trained to work with students who have learning differences.

Years worked in the district: 6 years

Outside interests: Patty and her husband Paul live on Mercer Island. Both of their grown children went through Mercer Island schools. Now they live with a “great dog” named Barley. Patty enjoys cooking, entertaining and … figuring out puzzles!

Doug Davis – 7th grade Science teacher and 7th/8th grade Media Tech teacher

Location: Islander Middle School

Job Description: Doug teaches general science to about eighty (80) 7th graders and Media Tech to over fifty (50) 7th and 8th grade students. His science classes cover physical science, the chemistry of matter, life science, genetics, evolution, plants and animals, microscopes and human biology. Media Tech students produce video news clips every other Monday, including fake commercials, announcements, teacher features, teacher/student competitions and more.

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Doug arrives at 8 am and begins with first and second period Media Tech classes. These classes involve a lot of troubleshooting with students to figure out the technology and to develop ideas. “My role is to help them come up with programming that is good-natured, fun and friendly,” says Doug. His science classes are “not the read-the-book kind of classes. All of us teach through hands-on experiences and constructivist learning. Today we are doing a chemical reactions lab, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen to show the difference between elements and compounds.”

Best part of the job: “Every day is different, every year is different. People sometimes ask me how I can do the same job year after year, but there are so many personalities to work with it’s like coming to a new job everyday. I always enjoy coming to work in the morning.”

Something people may not know: “I got good grades in school, but I was a terrible student because I never worked at it. I decided to become a teacher so I could be better than the ones I had.”

Years worked in the district: 16 years.

Outside interests: Doug and his wife Tahne Davis, a graphic designer, have two boys ages three and seven. They recently moved to Mercer Island from the Mt. Baker neighborhood. “We are an active family,” said Doug. “We spend lots of time biking, skiing, playing sports with the kids – anything outside.” Doug is also an elite level cyclist in the Pro 1 and 2 group. That means he rides with pro cyclists when they come to town! Doug confesses to owning 11 bikes. “You could say I have a passion for biking and bikes,” he says.

Tom Cox – Choir Director at Islander Middle School and Mercer Island High School

Job Description: Tom teaches choral singing at Islander and MIHS. He also teaches guitar at the high school. His main “instruments” are his voice and guitar, but he can “fake” playing the piano. Tom works with over 140 students enrolled in choir or in his guitar classes.

Location: Mercer Island High School, Room 503

Typical Day: “No such thing!” says Tom. He arrives everyday at 6:30 am and starts teaching at 8 am. He teaches at the high school in the morning and goes to IMS in the afternoon.

Best part of the job: Working with his students and the camaraderie he enjoys with the district’s other music teachers. “I love seeing the lights go on when my students master a difficult piece.” Tom also keeps in touch with many of his former students. “My wife and I were invited to a wedding of two of my former students who met in choir. They thanked us for being involved in their lives. That really meant a lot!”

Something people may not know: Tom has studied music for most of his life. He started performing while attending Olympic Junior College in Bremerton and ended up supporting himself as a professional musician throughout the 1970’s and into the mid-80’s. His band, “China” played at many of the Northwest’s most famous venues, including Parkers, Pier 70 and the Spanish Ballroom. Tom went back to school when he was in his mid-30s, earning a BA at the UW and a Masters in Teaching at Seattle Pacific University.

Years worked in the district: 18 years. Tom worked as a substitute at MIHS and ended up replacing long-time choir director Larry Potts. “I was in the right place at the right time,” says Tom

Outside interests: Tom enjoys spending time with his wife Valaree Cox, an accomplished artist, and their 17- year old daughter Callan. He still plays guitar and sings with various groups in the area, playing jazz, singing top 40 songs during 4-hour gigs and earning excellent pay. “I am a weekend warrior!” says Tom. “I love playing music.”