Since the success of the program is dependent on staff, great care is taken in selecting mature and imaginative men and women who enjoy working with young people. Language training tutors are encouraged to pursue standing in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. Two thirds of the faculty reside on campus.
Head of School:
Ronald Wilson was at The Harvey School for eight years prior to his 1986 appointment as Headmaster at The Kildonan School. During his tenure at Harvey, he held the positions of Assistant Headmaster, Dean of Students, and Head of the Upper School. In addition to teaching science and mathematics, he was responsible for discipline and testing. Before that, he taught mathematics and science at St. Agnes School in Key Biscayne, Florida.
He holds a B.S. in psychology from the State University of New York College at Brockport and an M.S. in counselor education from Western Connecticut State University. Ron has served on the Maplebrook School Board and New York Branch of the International Dyslexia Association Board for over ten years. He also serves as a Commissioner on the New York State Association of Independent Schools Commission on Accreditation.
Ron resides on the Kildonan campus with his wife, Bonnie, who is the Director of Admissions, and his two children.
rwilson@kildonan.org
Academic Dean:
Robert "Bob" Lane is the Academic Dean at the Kildonan School. In that
capacity he is responsible for mentoring and supervising teachers, working
closely with students and parents regarding academic issues, and
overseeing and coordinating the daily academic program with the Director
of Language Training, Theresa Collins. In addition to his administrative
responsibilities, he is a language training tutor and poetry writing
teacher. His career in education began at Kildonan in 1992, when, for
three years, he taught literature and language training, supervised a
dormitory, and coached lacrosse.
He earned his Ed.D. and M.A. in Learning dis/Abilities, and an Ed.M. in Reading and Learning dis/Abilities, from Teachers College, Columbia University. As an instructor in TC's Department of Curriculum and Teaching, he was acting coordinator of the M.A. program in Learning dis/Abilities, taught graduate-level courses, co-coordinated the Learning dis/Abilities student teaching program, and was a Clinical Supervisor at the Center for Educational and Psychological Services. He took a year sabbatical from his studies to help develop a new inclusive curriculum and teach 5th grade at the Pear Tree Point School in Darien, CT. Before returning to Kildonan, Dr. Lane also served as a Diagnostic Clinician and Educational Consultant at a private clinic in Stamford, Connecticut. He holds permanent New York teaching certification in Special Education K-12 and permanent New Jersey certification as a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant.
Bob was born and raised in Pennsauken, NJ, a suburb of Philadelphia. He
attended Ursinus College, in Collegeville, PA to earn his B.A. in English
and Creative Writing. He is happy to be part of the culture of
a school and living on Kildonans bucolic campus once again.
rlane@kildonan.org
Co-Directors of the Elementary School
Sandra Charlap and Frances Borden are the Co-Directors of the Elementary School. Sandra was born
in Spokane, Washington and attended Fort Wright College and the Spokane Studio
School. She moved east after receiving a fellowship to the Yale Summer
School of Music and Art in Norfolk, Connecticut. She went on to receive an
M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Art. While living in New Haven,
she taught painting and drawing at the Educational Center for the Arts and
was the Visual Arts Coordinator and Instructor for the Title VII
Interdisciplinary Arts Program aimed at using the arts to promote positive
attitudes in students toward academic programs in their public schools.
Her interest in teaching dyslexic students began in 1992 when her daughter was enrolled in the Kildonan Elementary program. In 1994 Sandra became a tutor at Kildonan. Although she enjoys the complexities and rewards of her current administrative role, tutoring remains an important part of each day.
She is committed to using the Orton-Gillingham Approach as the foundation
for developing language skills while at the same time calling upon her creative
background and the creative nature of students with dyslexia to invent new
pathways for learning within the framework of Orton-Gillingham.
scharlap@kildonan.org
Frances came to
Kildonan in 1993 and has served as Librarian, dorm master, and history and
math teacher in the upper school. She was chair of the history department
before assuming her administrative duties in the Elementary program in
2001. In addition, she teaches history and math.
She began her career in education as founder, teacher, and principal of an alternative elementary school In Brookhaven, Long Island. By the time she had shepherded The Bay Community School through its NY State accreditation process, her children were approaching high school age. The family moved to Beverly, MA, where she and her husband helped develop the high school program at the Waring School, a new bilingual, bicultural college preparatory school. When the last of her three children graduated, she and Ken went to St. Edwards School in Oxford, England to teach math and travel for a year. They returned to the U.S. to teach at The Millbrook School, where Francie served on the Curriculum and Culpepper Committees. She participated in Self Study evaluations at three different schools and served on visiting evaluation committees for both NEASC and NYSAIS.
Her familiarity with Orton-Gillingham practices dates from her childhood,
when her mother was trained as a tutor by Anna Gillingham, who came to
their home in Kansas City for a week of intensive work twice a year while
her mother was teaching dyslexics at The Barstow School. Francie has used
Orton-Gillingham practices and materials in every teaching situation and
in raising a dyslexic son. Although she was a history and political
science major at Wellesley College and the University of Minnesota, she
has, since receiving her BA, studied education theory and practices at a
number of institutions, including Hofstra, Salem State, and Wesleyan
Universities. Francie and Ken, who is chair of the math department and
Crew Chief at Kildonan, live on campus and enjoy gardening, dog walking
and hosting their children and grandchildren. She contributes to the
local community by serving on the Boards of the Amenia Library and the
North East Community Center.
fborden@kildonan.org
Director of Language Training:
Theresa L. Collins, Director of Language Training at The Kildonan School,
completed a B.A. in psychology at Colgate University and holds an M.S. in
Educational Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany.
She has been involved with Camp Dunnabeck since 1986 and with the Kildonan
School since 1987. She was trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach by
Diana Hanbury King, Shirley Kokesh, and Katherine Schantz. A Fellow of
the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, she plays a
major role in training and supervising teachers at Dunnabeck at Kildonan.
Her first love, however, is tutoring children with dyslexia; she has
tutored students using the Orton-Gillingham approach since 1986. She has
presented at regional and national conferences of the International
Dyslexia Association. She is a member of the International Dyslexia
Association, the Learning Disabilities Association, and the Connecticut
Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities.
The child of a military family, Theresa grew up on Air Force bases all
over the United States and Japan. Her family finally settled in
Plattsburgh, New York, and then in Albany, New York; by then she had
fallen in love with the stability of Kildonan and the beauty of the Hudson
Valley. She now lives in a converted barn in New Milford, CT, with her
husband, Jamie Martin.
tcollins@kildonan.org
Dean of Students:
Brian Zolet is Dean of Students and History Department Chair at Kildonan.
A Subscriber in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and
Educators, he has been with Kildonan since 1998. He is also a Crew Chief
for weekend residential staff.
Brian was born on Long Island, NY, and received his B.S. in Secondary
Education from The State University of New York College at Oswego in 1988.
He lives on campus with his family and a big, playful Australian Shepherd
dog.
bzolet@kildonan.org
Founder:
Diana Hanbury King started her teaching career in Washington, D. C. at the Sidwell Friends School. At that time Anna Gillingham was visiting Sidwell four times a year and supervising both the early intervention program and the Language Training Program. Mrs. King continued teaching in the Washington area at The Potomac School. In 1955 she established Dunnabeck, a summer camp with a tutorial program, which she directed for over forty years. In 1969, she founded the Kildonan School and directed it for many years. For ten years, she concentrated her efforts on training teachers, mainly in the Public Schools of New York State. She is currently teaching at the Kildonan School. In 1990 she was the recipient of the Samuel Orton Award. She served as executive director to the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and is a member of that board. She is the author of a variety of teaching materials and conducts Associate and Certified-level Orton-Gillingham training on campus in addition, she continues to present at conferences and schools around the country.
dking@kildonan.org
