The people behind the learning.
Our faculty bring curiosity, craft, and deep commitment to every child’s education — in the classroom, outdoors, and in the community.
Danhee Kim Bhakta grew up in South Korea, where her education was grounded in discipline, rigor, and high academic standards. When she moved to Canada for middle school, she discovered that her strong foundation allowed her to navigate a freer system with confidence — and that insight never left her. She went on to earn a BSc in Cell Biology and Anatomy from McGill University and a Master’s in Biotechnology from Columbia, before building a life as an entrepreneur alongside her husband. When they traded Manhattan for a farm in Vermont to raise their growing family, the question they kept returning to was a simple one: what and how do we want to teach our children?
The answer came in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the question into action. Drawing on the campus of the former Green Mountain College — founded in 1834 — Danhee built the environment she had been envisioning: hands-on, experiential, community-minded, and deeply personal. In September 2021, Green Mountain Community School opened its doors. As she transitions out of the day-to-day leadership role, Danhee remains actively engaged as a member of the Board of the nonprofit.
Brylea Davenport is a third-generation Poultney resident — and that lineage matters. She carries with her a deep understanding of and commitment to this town that is rarely found. As a mother of three young children, she is fully invested in the long-term success and sustainability of GMCS. Brylea attended the University of New England, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene and Health Sciences. She is also a certified TimberNook Provider, passionate about supporting children’s development through outdoor, play-based learning — a calling that brought her to GMCS first as a parent, and then as an outdoor educator. She understands our mission and the heart behind this school. Most importantly, she believes in what GMCS makes possible for families.
April has long believed that children learn best when education is rooted in curiosity, creativity, and the world around them. In 2011, she co-founded Roots & Wings Academy, where students applied academic skills to real-life experiences and their natural surroundings. Years later, while homeschooling her daughters during the pandemic, she transformed the project of building a backyard winter roost into a cross-curricular study of bird migration, observation, research, and experimentation — an experience that reflected her deep commitment to project-based learning. That same philosophy would later help shape the founding of Green Mountain Community School.
As the K–2 lead teacher at GMCS, April creates learning experiences that encourage students to explore their interests while building strong academic foundations. She thoughtfully weaves together subjects like literacy, math, science, music, and Spanish, helping children see learning as connected, meaningful, and alive. April holds a BA in Elementary Education from Bay Path University and a K–6 Level II Teaching License with “Highly Qualified Teacher” status.
For more than two decades, Thom has worked with students across a wide range of ages and learning environments — from elementary classrooms and middle school math programs to outdoor education and special subjects instruction for grades 1–12. With a deep passion for mathematics, he is especially drawn to number relationships, pattern recognition, and geometry. As a trained Waldorf teacher and Spacial Dynamics movement educator, Thom believes that movement, rhythm, and repetition are essential parts of learning, particularly within the universal language of math.
Thom earned an associate’s degree in electrical engineering from Potomac State College and a bachelor’s degree in geology-physics/mathematics from Brown University. After graduation, he attended a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Alaska — an experience that deeply shaped his connection to nature and experiential learning. Soon after, he discovered Waldorf education and continued his training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training in California.
At the heart of Thom’s teaching philosophy is the belief that children learn best when education connects meaningfully to life and sparks genuine interest. He sees students not as empty vessels to be filled with information, but as individuals with unique potential waiting to grow. A devoted father, outdoor enthusiast, mountain biker, and multi-instrumentalist, Thom brings his love of nature, creativity, and lifelong learning into both the classroom and everyday life.
Sarah graduated from Green Mountain College with a BA in Fine Arts, with a focus on Painting, Figure Drawing, and Batik. She spent years at New Leaf Montessori teaching preschool, where she designed a children’s garden and created art lessons for the children. In 2010, she and her husband moved back to Poultney and bought an organic dairy farm. In 2014, Sarah co-founded Poultney Children’s Art Studio at Stone Valley Arts, where she has been designing art classes and teaching children in grades K–6.
In 2017, she became the art teacher at Roots and Wings Academy. Sarah has had work in group shows and galleries throughout Vermont, and recently completed illustrating her first children’s book — What Leads Her — a collection of batik artwork celebrating inspirational women.
Zoë Marr Hilliard received her BA in Dance and Sculpture from Smith College. She has since worked as an independent artist, dancer, choreographer, and art educator in Vermont. She has danced professionally for the Vermont Opera Project and Cradle to Grave Arts, performed with Vital Spark North and Ballet Vermont, and participated in DanceFest Vermont as a choreographer, performer, and co-director.
Zoë teaches dance at Vermont Center for Dance Education and Stone Valley Arts, leads art camps at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, and leads workshops in dance and art at schools, libraries, and recreation centers. She has choreographed for Rutland Youth Theater and Marble Valley Players, and is currently choreographing and teaching dance at Castleton University.
Born and raised in Poultney, Vermont, Heather Münch is a violinist and music educator who believes music and the arts are a vital part of learning, helping students discover more about themselves, their communities, and the world around them. Heather began playing the violin at age five and has since performed in a wide variety of settings, including appearances at Carnegie Hall and tours throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She currently performs throughout the region with Taconic Music, the Berkshire Symphony, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
Education and community access to music are central to Heather’s work. Her teaching experience includes Face the Music, a nationally recognized youth ensemble focused on music by living composers, and Project Harmony, the Charlotte Symphony’s El Sistema-inspired program. Heather currently teaches private violin students in Manchester and Poultney, Vermont, and serves on the faculty of Taconic Music’s Strings for Kids program. After many adventures away from home, Heather returned to Vermont in 2020 and continues to find inspiration in the community, creativity, and connection that the region fosters. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Castleton University and a Master of Music from Purchase Conservatory.
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A K–5 independent school for motivated students in Poultney, Vermont.
Poultney, VT 05764