GREENFIELD — A local teacher has become the first state-licensed virtual education teacher in Massachusetts, according to school staff.
The Massachusetts Virtual Academy in Greenfield is making more moves in online education, with the hiring of a new director of digital learning and the licensing of Shannon Beauregard as a virtual education teacher by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Beauregard has met all necessary requirements of the Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure, administered by DESE. Previously, teachers in virtual schools have all been relicensed while teaching in brick-and-mortar schools.
“We’re very proud of Shannon. Massachusetts has stringent requirements for teaching, and she has met every single one,” said Carl Tillona, the school’s executive director. “Her teaching online caters to different populations of students and she sets a tone for all her students that focuses on acceptance and understanding one another.”
While teaching online can have its own set of challenges, Beauregard looks at her workplace as a 21st-century classroom. She enjoys working for an organization that helps its students with everything from providing computers and internet access to in-person socialization.
“The students will develop trust in you and 99 percent of the time they will come around and start participating,” she said. “I love teaching at the middle school level because they are still young enough to get excited about science. They’re impressionable but they still understand rules and classroom procedures.”
Before entering virtual education, Beauregard taught science at Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough, and was an interim science teacher at Blanchard Middle School in Westford.
Before that, she was a manager of technical support for Omniviz in Maynard, and a manager of technical service for Millipore Corp. in Bedford.
“I love what we are doing,” Beauregard said of the virtual school. “We are providing options for kids who feel like they have no other options. We are leading the future in education.”
Massachusetts Virtual Academy is Massachusetts’ first virtual K-12 public school, serving about 700 students statewide.
The school has also hired Don Lacharite as its new director of curriculum, instruction and digital learning.
Lacharite comes from Reddiker Software, where he’s been the director of education and product application for nine years. He is the former principal of Sky View Middle School in Leominster and also has experience in school leadership positions in Brookfield and Easthampton and in Wilton and the town of Mexico, Maine.
“I’m thrilled to join MAVA at such an exciting time,” Mr. Lacharite said. “This is a remarkable school that works with so many creative and talented students. I’m already having a lot of fun in my work.”
A former music teacher, Mr. Lacharite holds a bachelor’s degree in music and dance, a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and earned a graduate certificate from Fitchburg State University.
“It’s getting more and more difficult to find highly qualified and experienced professional educators, they are in high demand, MAVA Executive Director Carl Tillona said. “We’re thrilled to welcome Don to our team. He has already become a valuable part of our community.”
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext 264
or: trelihan@recorder.com On Twitter: @RecorderTom