Humanities

Sara Sherr - English

Sara Sherr hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Ursinus College in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature with minors in creative writing and politics. Upon graduating from Ursinus she moved to New York City to study creative writing and poetry at Adelphi University. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Adelphi in 2015, and taught introduction to creative writing as an adjunct professor at Adelphi for two years. She began her high school teaching career at Uncommon Preparatory Charter High School in Brooklyn in 2016. While at Uncommon Prep, Sara met unbelievably brilliant students and had the incredible chance to discuss important literary texts with them as well as coach the girls’ basketball team. She also had the opportunity to see them many of her students through the entirety of their high school careers. Sara earned a Master of Arts in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education in New York City in 2018, and moved to Maine in June of 2021.

Sara’s favorite things to do in her free time are hike, bike, swim, run, play basketball and soccer, and do yoga. She lives in Yarmouth with her fiancé Esta and their dog Maico

Chris Bertelsen - English and Social Studies

Chris Bertelsen is a new humanities teacher at Baxter, but was first at Baxter as a student teacher in 2019. He grew up all over New England, but spent several formative years in Maine. This led him to attend Colby College in Waterville, ME where he majored in American Studies and Music, and was also a Maine State Rugby All-Star. At Colby, Chris discovered his passion for learning and spreading awareness of the experiences of marginalized communities. Raised by teachers, he brings a strong belief in the value of education in and out of school. His experiences working with young people includes assistant teaching 2nd grade, 5th grade, and K-6 physical education, working in after school programs, and 10+ years in multiple positions at Camp Bishopswood in Hope, ME. Most recently he taught 7th grade Social Studies at Scarborough Middle School. Outside of the classroom, he is an active musician in the Portland music scene, and a lover of outdoor and backcountry adventures. In the rare moments when his life slows down, he loves to knit.

Leah Douglass - English

Leah Douglass grew up in Westbrook, Maine and graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English Literature. She is grateful to have spent the majority of her career helping to enrich the community she is from by developing and teaching the alternative education program COMPASS at Westbrook High School. She also taught English as a foreign language in South Korea to elementary students preK-6th grade. When she is not teaching, Leah enjoys knitting very slowly, pinball, and theater. She lives in Portland with the world's goodest boy, Remy.

John Wensman - English

John has taught English in public, international, and independent schools in a range of places that start with the letter 'M' including Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Morocco. He has a BA in English and French from the University of Minnesota and an MAT degree from Brown University. He came to Maine from the Midwestern prairie eight years ago and lives in Yarmouth with his partner and a couple of large, furry cats. Outside school he’s overly fond of coffee and construction projects. He also enjoys cooking, running and kayaking the coast.

Shauna Dunn - Social Studies

Prior to joining the Baxter Academy community, Shauna enjoyed teaching students in a variety of subjects including World History, World Geography, American History, and Holocaust and Human Behavior, as a high school social studies teacher for many years. In this capacity, Shauna also facilitated extracurricular activities, including Student Council, class advisor, Interact Club, co-lead a Student Study Abroad, assisted track practice and meets, and organized participation in Dirigo Girls State.

Shauna values learning about and educating the whole student; and believes academic and social and emotional growth are fundamental to the pedagogical process. Shauna has a passion for collaborating with others, alongside designing curriculum, instruction, and assessments to create engaging classroom experiences.

Shauna graduated from Northeastern University (B.A. in Criminal Justice) and the University of Southern Maine (M. Ed., Professional Educator & CGS in Literacy Education). Shauna has participated in Teacher Study Tours (Turkey and China) and taught college English and volunteered in an orphanage while serving as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan.

Outside of school, Shauna and her husband/partner have three children and two black labs. Shauna has too many hobbies -- reading, running, yoga, cooking, skiing, traveling, dabbling in arts, to name a few.

Fun Fact: Shauna NEVER EVER imagined herself as a teacher until after college graduation. To pay college loans and all things related to life as we know it, she found a job as an Educational Technician and voila, she became devoted to a career in education.