About

Steve is the director and a teacher at Little River Community School. He has a Masters of Science in Special Education from SUNY/New Paltz and New York State Certification in Elementary Education and Special Education K-12. He has over 30 years of experience in alternative, multi-age classroom settings.  Steve is the Olders teacher and teaches Spanish, swimming, and special topics to the other students.

Steve lives at Birdsfoot Farm, an intentional community and organic vegetable farm adjoining the school.  He and his wife Dulli live with their two children in a passive solar house they built together using hand tools. Steve has worked for the past twenty years with Peace Brigades International, a Gandhian-inspired group that works in areas of violent conflict providing protective accompaniment to human rights defenders. 

Elena is the Middles teacher. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland (the “Great Books” school.)  After graduating from college, Elena taught high school mathematics and SAT prep classes in a public magnet school in Baltimore County, Maryland.  She then worked in New York City at the national office of a non-profit devoted to helping at-risk families prepare their children for school. She homeschooled two of her own children through middle school.  Elena also served as the Director of Coaching for Potsdam Youth Soccer Association and was involved in training and supporting local coaches. She holds a National “E” License from United States Soccer Federation.  Elena grew up in a bilingual household and loves sharing her love of language and cultures with her students.  She currently lives in Potsdam with her husband and three children.

Nuala Woods is Little River’s new Youngers teacher! She has worked at Little River as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher since the 2020 school year. Her interest in pursuing full-time teaching was piqued and as of May of 2024, Nuala will obtain a Master’s of Childhood Education from SUNY Potsdam and teaching certificates from New York State. Nuala also holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies from St. Lawrence University.

Outside of the classroom, Nuala enjoys reading, watching movies, cooking, and discovering new passions. She loves spending time outdoors swimming in all seasons, running, hiking, alpine and Nordic skiing.

Leon teaches science, math and special classes across all ages. He has a Bachelors degree in Geology from Hamilton College and Masters degrees in Geology and Education from the University of Washington.

He taught at Gouverneur Middle School for 7 years before resigning to become an at-home parent for his daughters. After 5 years at home, he got the teaching itch again and started at Little River. He lives with his wife and 2 daughters on 20 acres of brush and trouble in Pierrepont.

Ola works with the Olders teaching art and physical education. She emigrated from Ukraine as a child in 1991, where she had studied in the Kharkiv Special School of Music for Gifted Children, a rigorous school for young musicians. Ola received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Crane School of Music and her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with concentrations in painting and drawing at SUNY Potsdam.  

Ola’s oil paintings have been shown in numerous juried shows in NYC, and she has won various awards including 1st place in the 43rd Annual Juried Art Exhibition in Lebanon, PA, 1st and 3rd place in the 14th Annual Juried Art Show in Sackets Harbor, NY, and Best in Show in the Juried Landscape Show in Lancaster, PA .  She has completed residencies at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY, and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, among others.  

Ola has released multiple experimental music albums in Europe, both as a solo artist and with her partner. She illustrates the experimental music publication Deft Esoterica and contributes regular illustrations to the British experimental music publication TQ. She maintains an active practice as both a visual artist and a musician.

Rachel Tengowski has joined the staff as the Middles Teacher Aide. She works closely with the Middles students (grades 3-6) to pursue their academic interests and teaches art classes to the Middles and Youngers.

Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in Art History and French from Drew University in Madison, NJ. While living in New York City and working as a Visitor Services Manager at the Museum of Modern Art after college, she also had the opportunity to volunteer in the Guggenheim Museum’s Learning Through Art program where she worked as an Artist’s Assistant, teaching art education to students in a Brooklyn public elementary school and giving museum tours to school groups. Talking with children about art and working with them on creative projects was an incredibly fun and rewarding experience that Rachel can’t wait to apply to her classroom activities at Little River. She has always had an interest in pursuing an education career path and has extensive experience working with children from years as a camp counselor, children’s swim instructor, nanny, and art/museum educator. 

Since moving to the North Country in 2016, Rachel has worked in Communications positions at TAUNY and the Frederic Remington Art Museum. She lives in Canton with her husband and two children. 

Katrina is a student support service teacher tutoring students that need extra help. She works with students to build bridges to understanding in their minds when they struggle to cross over the rivers and streams of knowing on their own. In her time outside of tutoring at Little River, Katrina works part-time as the minister of the Potsdam Presbyterian Church.  She is a social justice advocate and enjoys knitting and watching movies in her free time.

Susanne is working part-time in the school’s administration and bookkeeping, assisting Steve with daily tasks around the office and school. She has a business administration degree from the Steinbeis Academy Berlin in Germany.  She moved with her husband to their farm in Gouverneur in 2011 from Germany, which she is slowly transforming into a viable organic beef farm. Her daughter is a student at LRCS and brought up bilingual and outdoors.  Susanne loves her dog, spending time outside, working with her hands, and seeing things come to life.