Faculty & Staff

Before coming to Park City Day School in 2017, Ian Crossland served as the Head of School at Colegio Los Nogales, in Bogotá Colombia since 2013, and before that led middle school division and served as a classroom teacher at CLN for a number of years.  He received his B.A. in English from University of Puget Sound, a JD from University of Washington School of Law, and a M.Ed from Harvard Graduate School of Education.  

 

As Head of School at Colegio Los Nogales, Ian expertly ushered the school through a significant transition with the retirement of the school’s founder and long-time school leader, led a successful effort to increase the school’s endowment, revised and expanded the outdoor education program, created a international programs office, and implemented a redesigned teaching framework and evaluation system.

 

Melanie graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah with a bachelor’s degree in History and Education.  The following years took Melanie to teaching and learning opportunities that would round out her knowledge of special education, gifted education, teaching techniques, 1:1 laptop integration and curriculum development.  Prior to coming to Park City Day School, Melanie served as the Dean of Students and Social Studies Department Chair, as well as a middle school social studies teacher at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, TN.   Melanie began her career at PCDS as the MS Social Studies teacher and technology integrationist.  She is excited to once again be in the classroom with students teaching our 8^th US history course as well as continue her duties as the Director of Studies and Technology.

 

Raised in rural Oregon, Melanie grew up experiencing the wealth of outdoor activities the state offers: hiking the McKenzie Pass mountains, camping and fishing with her siblings, and enjoying the coastal waters made the transition to Utah was easy.  Melanie continues to enjoy the wonders of Utah whenever the opportunity allows.

 

Melanie is the proud mother of two children, one a graduate of Park City Day School the other currently attending Southern Utah University.  In her free time, Melanie enjoys gardening and cooking.  Also an avid reader, she can also be found engrossed in a book, or consumed by the latest thinking and newest research on the transformation of today's educational landscape.  

Brad McCutcheon was raised in a small ski resort in Pennsylvania and earned a BA from Gettysburg College. While at Gettysburg, he became actively involved in Outdoor Education and later became their Assistant Director of Experiential Education. Upon graduation, he traveled throughout the US and Canada as a rock climbing guide and naturalist before returning to the inner city of Philadelphia to begin his teaching career in first grade.

 

Since then, he has taught first and second grade in several independent schools in the San Francisco Bay area and abroad. He had the honor of teaching second grade internationally at Green School in Bali, Indonesia. Before coming to PCDS, Brad served as the Lower School Director of Beaufort Academy in South Carolina. He has also earned his Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Sustainability from Antioch University New England.

 

Personally, Brad is an avid mountain biker, backcountry skier, and surfer (although he has heard the waves are not very good in Utah). Along with his wife, Becky and three children, he loves to explore all of the natural wonders that Utah has to offer. 

 

While in college. Lauri had the opportunity to do research on Attachment Theory that contributed to knowledge base at Barnard College. Her research in college, as well as her experience doing field work at the Barnard College Toddler Center, has shaped the way she works with children and families throughout her career.

Lauri has worked as a classroom teacher in small Early Childhood programs, has done early intervention work, and served as an administrator during her time at Bright Horizons in both New Jersey and Connecticut. In addition, she has done work as an educational consultant for children’s media company in NYC.

Lauri is also a proud parent of a PCDS student. She loves to camp, ski and go on travel adventures with her family and she also loves running, swimming and a great book.

Lauren is a recent transplant from Boulder, CO. Moving with her husband Jeff to be
closer to the mountains for easier access to skiing, running, and biking. Originally
from Ohio, Lauren earned a B.S. degree in environmental science and biology from
Ohio Northern University, and moved to Colorado to work as a field researcher in
Rocky Mountain National Park. Shortly after, she began teaching environmental
education and found her career leading her in a new direction. Since then, she has
taught humans aged 2-80 in the classroom, the yoga room, on the bike, and in the
mountains.

Lauren taught preschool and kindergarten at a Reggio Emilia inspired school in
Boulder, and began see just how capable and curious young children were. The
Reggio philosophy of “teacher in the role of researcher, alongside children”
resonated with her science background and was the inspiration to complete an
alternative teaching licensure program and M.A. degree in Educational Psychology
through the school in conjunction with the University of Colorado, Denver. She then
travelled to Costa Rica where she became a certified yoga instructor and helped to
open a small preschool with friends from the yoga institute. Upon returning to the
states, Lauren taught 1st and 3rd grade at a gifted and talented school outside of
Washington, D.C. before moving back to Colorado.

Back in Boulder, Lauren taught for 10 years as the lead kindergarten teacher at an
independent school where she also mentored new teachers who were completing
their alternative teaching license and M.A. degree. She was then hired as a
Kindergarten Readiness Specialist for the Colorado Department of Education, and
worked with teachers and administrators across the state to implement school
readiness legislation requirements that included encouraging the use of
developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten classrooms. Lauren recently
graduated from the Buell Early Childhood Leadership Program and is excited to
continue advocating for the rights of young children and their families.

Actively involved in her children's early education as a classroom volunteer and then teaching aide, Sara continued in Early Childhood and Early Elementary education as her children moved through Park City schools, working at Soaring Wings and Jeremy Ranch Elementary before coming to Park City Day School.

Empty-nesters, with two children off to college studying engineering and music, Sara and her husband John enjoy the extensive trail system of Park City, biking ,hiking, and snowshoeing.