Staff Directory

Nicola Donatelli - Special Education Teacher

I grew up in the great state of Maine, in Portland. I am a certified Special Education Teacher grades K-12, and a certified Regular Education Teacher. My undergraduate degree was in Media Studies, and I worked in a Newsroom prior to teaching. In 2006, I graduated from the University of Maine ETEP program, and earned a MS.Ed in Teaching and Learning. I am currently working on an Administration Certification in Leadership and I am a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. In my free time I enjoy cycling and long treks, traveling, cooking, reading,  playing music, hiking, climbing, and being outdoors with my family and friends. I am very happy to be a part of the Aucocisco Team working with amazing students and their families.

Nicole Knights - Special Education Teacher/Tutorial Coordinator

I have a B.A. in French and a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Maine. In the spring of 2022 I completed my M.Ed in Educational Policy, Leadership, and Organization with a concentration in Diversity and Equity in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. School year 2022-2023 is my eighth year teaching but my first full year at Aucocisco.

Before coming to Aucocisco I taught French at Auburn Middle School for five years before transitioning into a brand new role as their Social Emotional Learning Interventionist. In that role, my focus was teaching students strategies on how to identify and cope with the non-academic aspects of their lives, while incorporating those lessons into their daily routine. It was this experience that helped bring me to Aucocisco and really appreciate the value of an inclusive education.

Here at Aucocisco I teach a myriad of subjects, including French and Social Emotion Learning (SEL). I also have the great pleasure of coordinating field trips and many other fun activities with the students. I look forward to continue working with the students and staff to make Aucocisco a safe, inclusive, and fun place to be.

Heather Larrabee - Special Education Teacher

Emily Murray - Special Education Teacher

Bob Pettee - Ed Tech III

I have a B.A. in Psychology from Yale University. I have taught in independent schools for over forty years. I have always been drawn to schools that had a special purpose which is why I was drawn to Aucocisco.

My first teaching was at a small residential school where teachers and students were involved in every aspect of daily life from cooking and property care and repair to sports and outdoor education. It was there also that I became interested in the dramatic arts which eventually led me to starting and running, for many years, a small professional theatre. During some of that time, as an actor and theatre manager, I also taught at a school whose special purpose was to teach student athletes and adapt to their special training schedules.

Most of my teaching experience has been at the Middle and High school level where I have taught primarily Math but also some History, English, French and Drama. I have also been an adjunct at several colleges where I have taught Drama and Math. I have done some teaching in the State and Federal prison system as well.