Summer Session Teachers
Our Summer Session @ SSM classes are taught by highly-skilled faculty from Shattuck-St. Mary's School. With over 170 years of combined experience, it is clear these educators are the best of the best.
Peter Schleif
Peter Schleif is currently in his 3rd decade directing choirs. He has directed school, church, and community ensembles in Colorado, North Dakota and Minnesota. Choirs under his direction have performed all over the United States, as well as in Austria, Germany, Poland, The Czech Republic, Finland, and Sweden. Schleif received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he studied with René Clausen and has done graduate work at the University of Minnesota and St. Mary’s University. In addition to his role as the Director of I Cantanti, Schleif is also the Director of the Vocal Performance Program at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, MN, a specialized training program for high school singers, as well as the Adult Choir Director at Bethel Lutheran in Northfield. He lives in Northfield, Minnesota with his wife Lori, and two sons, Isaac and Ian.
Carrie Homuth
Carrie Homuth has been the director of the dance program at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School for the past 13 years where she works with students with beginning to advanced dance experience. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of working with students age 3 - adult through her various workshops, classes, and guest teacher and choreographer positions throughout the
greater Twin Cities.
Ms. Carrie holds both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in Contemporary Dance and is a RYT-200 Yoga certified teacher, with additional certifications in Chakra Yoga and Kids’ Yoga.
It is the combination of her bringing her students the joy of all dance and yoga that make her classes unique and engaging.
Dr. Benjamin Downs
Dr. Benjamin Downs is the Director of the Pre-Conservatory Music Program at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, where he teaches music theory, music history, digital audio production, and audio recording. As a classical pianist, he has won national and international piano competitions and performed throughout North America and Europe. His scholarly work has been published in several academic journals and recognized with many awards and grants including a Fulbright scholarship and a Paul Sacher Foundation scholarship. After finishing his PhD in 2018, he received a McKnight Foundation Artist grant for a series of performances of new music by composer Sarah Kirkland Snider.
In his teaching, Dr. Downs blends the rigor of traditional training with modern pedagogy and topics. For instance, students in advanced music theory learn not only traditional harmonic
theory, but also how to mix and master recordings, compose with loops, and compose with original sound. Before teaching at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, he taught at Macalester College, Stony Brook University, and University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Craig Peck
Craig Peck is a veteran Shattuck-St. Mary’s teacher with over 18 years of experience. He currently is the director of The Major, a research-based program that allows students to explore their own interest in depth. Additionally, he teaches English and Digital Video. His primary focus is interdisciplinary/project based learning and practical technology integration in
the classroom. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with an English degree, and completed his graduate work in Education at Augsburg University.
Craig is a lifelong learner; he passionately enjoys martial arts, travel, maintaining aquariums, film making, and is a modestly accomplished musician. He brings an authentic enthusiasm to the classroom that creates a vibrant learning environment for his students. Craig lives in Minneapolis with his wife Sarah, a cat, a dog, and dozens of fish.
Alex Jones
Alex Jones has been the director of the Engineering Center of Excellence at SSM for six years. His main objective in teaching is to train students to think like an engineer. In his engineering classes at SSM, students are constantly working on projects that challenge them to think through project constraints to develop unique and creative solutions to the problems at hand.
Prior to teaching, Alex earned his Master’s degree in civil engineering (geotechnical field). He worked in the engineering consulting business as a geotechnical engineer and a pavement engineer for several years. Alex has many hobbies including woodworking, metalworking, and CNC automation (3D printing, lasers, routers and plasma cutting). Along with teaching at SSM, he is currently working as a manufacturing engineer at a growing fabrication shop near SSM.
Jonathan Peasley
Jonathan Peasley teaches Upper School English courses at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and has over a decade of experience teaching literature, philosophy, history, and ancient languages at the high school level. He studied English, Classics, Philosophy and Russian at Gustavus Adolphus College and holds a graduate degree in Church History from Luther Seminary. As a teacher, he loves developing rapport with students in the classroom and is energized by the creative process of learning how to meet students wherever they are in the learning process. He believes that students expressing either confusion or asking their own questions are the sparks that make the classroom a profound space for connection and growth. When he isn’t teaching, he loves cycling, cross-country skiing, fishing, and spending time with his wife and young kids.
Patrizia Vignola
Patrizia Vignola is a professional award-winning fine artist who has exhibited her work in galleries nationwide. She has also been a visual arts educator for 25 years and has been teaching in the PAVA department at SSM of the last 8 years. To read more about her and see her work, please visit her website at https://patriziavignola.com/
Tom Falcone
Tom Falcone is entering his third year at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, teaching introductory and advanced Calculus and Computer Science classes, and coaching the Robotics club. He has over twenty years of experience teaching these subjects, where he also has served as a coach for engineering and test events on his former school’s Science Olympiad and Robotics teams. Tom has a Master of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Purdue University. He loves problem solving, overcoming challenges, and learning new things. Tom spends his free time reading, bicycle riding, gardening, and listening to music.
Dr. Elle Cook
Dr. Ellee Cook (“Dr. E”) is a scientist and teacher from Santa Fe, NM. Dr. E enjoys working with students to explore the wonders of science and help them pursue their personal and academic passions. She holds a BS in Biology from Trinity University and PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri. Throughout her degree work, she conducted field-based research in the Caribbean studying animal behavior, ecology, and endocrinology. She has taught a variety of courses at the collegiate and secondary levels, including Biology, Chemistry, Virology, and Anatomy and Physiology. Outside the classroom, she enjoys reading, riding horses, playing volleyball, and finding the spiciest thing on the menu.
Megan Maschoff
Megan Maschoff is the Director of Communications for Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, having been at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School for a total of nine years. A graduate of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., Megan majored in communications with an emphasis on sports broadcasting and photography. In her free time, Megan enjoys reading, traveling, cheering on all the Minnesota sports teams, and going to concerts.
Ingrid Engelhardt '18
Ingrid Engelhardt ‘18 is an SSM alumni. She is currently a U.S. History and Government and Civics teacher at HSMSE, a New York City Public School. Ingrid studied Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College. There, she combined her passion for the social sciences and theory to study the built environment. She then went on to Teachers College, Columbia University where she received her Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies (7-12). She continues to incorporate her passion for city planning into her courses, and teaches an elective course on urban planning. As a teacher, Ingrid believes in providing students the tools of the social sciences and allowing students to see education as a form of liberation. Outside of the classroom she enjoys reading, going to flea markets, theorizing over the TV show Survivor, playing soccer, and exploring NYC. She lives in Harlem, NY.