Helen Atkinson has taught for three years at Independence and plans to graduate the first full class of students from our small wacky and wonderful school in June 2008. She figures that this will be one of the highlights of her whole career. She grew up in a small town in the north of England; went to an outward bound high school in a castle in Wales (where she rescued sheep off cliffs); went to college in Canada where she trained as a nurse and got an English degree in a French speaking city in Quebec; worked as a hotel receptionist in Paris; got a Masters degree in public health in Leeds, England; bicycled and walked, all over the moors; and then ended up in Baltimore in 1981. Since then, while her three boys were young, she worked as a community organizer. During this time, she helped started various small schools—partly as a way for her own kids to attend public schools throughout their entire school lives. After 10 years working at “North Ave” running programs for new teachers, she decided to do what she had always dreamed of and feared—teach! But it had to be the right school…

Michelle DeBruin has been teaching youth of all ages for over 8 years. Her primary goal is to engage young people in the process of self exploration and empowerment through art making and the wilderness. She is a 2005 Open Society Institute Baltimore Community Fellow and the Wilderness/Art Initiative founder and coordinator. She teaches art, psychology, earth science, health, and physical education through backpacking and other out of the classroom settings. She is a weaver, painter, and ceramic artist who also enjoys playing guitar, singing, cooking, and going on long hikes in the woods with her partner, two dogs, and new baby (born in August 2007).

Cranston Dize is a lifelong resident of Baltimore City, having grown to semi-maturity in Highlandtown and residing in the Belair Road/Harford Road corridor from that point on. Cranston graduated from college, too. He is a wiseacre, a practical-minded homeowner, a devoted son, a loving husband and sometime parent of three very large, aggressive boys, who would like nothing better than to trample you to bits in a mosh pit. He is also the stepfather of three sons. Cranston has worked as a teacher for more than twenty years and as a teacher mentor for five years. He is one of the first people to climb up on the rock now known as Independence School Local 1. His ambition is to catch a fish as big as an ironing board next year and to drive a motor coach for a living in his next life.

Keith Gibbons taught for five years at Patterson High School before coming to the Independence School. He teaches English during the school year and does stone masonry in the summer. He is looking forward to a successful school year. Keith was recently married to his wife Anna. They have a dog named Keith Gibbons Jr.

"I am a certified high school math teacher who taught for 7 years in BCPSS before coming to Independence this year. My ambition is to spread math throughout this school like an infectious disease while also pursuing sports and music as fun avenues of pursuit for students and staff alike. I'm the father of a 3-year old girl named Faith, which means my wife, Bonnie and I are conversant in all things 'Strawberry Shortcake' and ‘The Wiggles’. We also love amusement parks and regularly abuse our privileges at Six Flags.”

Danny Rosvold (Mr. Roz) has been teaching History, Government and Economics at Northwestern High School for eight years and is an Advanced Professional Certificate Teacher. He has studied history and political economy with some of the most influential scholars of our time. He also brings to the classroom a lifetime of paying attention. He has pursued systematic studies of philosophy, religion, natural history, and musicology. He has worked as a steelworker, a truck driver, an ironworker, and a wide variety of other jobs from field hand to Transportation Manager. He has traveled the whole country and some of the world.

Mr. Roz lives with his wife Barbara and two dogs, Frank and Ziggy at his home in the woods halfway up South Mountain in Frederick County. He has three grown children. He has developed and communicates a strong sense of place, having lived in the same place for 32 years. Mr. Roz is also a convinced Quaker, and has been an active proponent of peace and justice since 1967.

Mr. Roz will be teaching everything he knows to the students at Independence in the classroom, on the streets of Baltimore, and on the road in the nearby countryside. He writes and orates poetry, sings old time music, walks the woods, has a deep and wide interest in Maryland in all its glory. He continues to learn something new everyday.

”My name is Andreas "fugitive from the grammar police" Spiliadis, but you can call me Spilly. I am a tried and true Baltimoron and my first neighborhood of residence was Hampden. I have taught in Baltimore schools for the past decade or so, and am notorious for my love of debate, which I will be teaching and coaching at Independence. I am a musician and a painter and a blogger. I will work to give Independence students opportunities to express themselves through writing and the arts, and to expand themselves through all sorts of reading.”

"I have about a decade of experience educating students in the BCPSS and am fired up about all things history. I have been with Independence since its inception in the summer of 2004. I am the advisor for the class of 2010 and also host a bike repair workshop. My wife Lisa and I were joined by my son Alistair in the summer of 2006. He enjoys making our cats Blinky and Stalin anxious. I enjoy biking, reading, and traveling and have dedicated the past twenty years to making louder, faster rocknroll."