Renee Henslee – Head of School
rhenslee@peabodyschool.org
Renee Henslee is Peabody School’s Head of School. She graduated with a B.A. in Business (with an emphasis in management) from Mary Baldwin College. Before moving to Charlottesville, Mrs. Henslee gained valuable administration and supervision experience serving on a management team at Canon Virginia, Inc. in Newport News, Virginia. After having her child, Mrs. Henslee’s interests shifted toward education, and she began working at Peabody as a substitute. She quickly became a teacher of both first and second grade classrooms. To augment her education, Mrs. Henslee attended numerous workshops and seminars on educational topics (including Carol Tomlinson’s institutes on differentiated instruction at the University of Virginia). Mrs. Henslee then became the Assistant Head of Lower School and has now been the Head of School since 2009. She will complete her M. Ed. with an emphasis in leadership at Mary Baldwin College in 2013.
Tracy Landon – Assistant Head of School
tlandon@peabodyschool.org
Tracy Landon is Peabody’s Assistant head of School. Ms. Landon obtained a B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.A. from William and Mary in special education before serving as a Mental Health Coordinator for Head Start. Ms. Landon then obtained an Ed.D. in special education (with an emphasis in evaluation and instructional technology) from the University of Virginia. While at UVA, she taught classes and worked on federal grants designed to improve educational services for preschoolers with disabilities in inclusive settings. After graduation, she did grant work in the Virginia Department of Education. Ms. Landon subsequently became the director of Westminster Child Care Center, an accredited, inclusive childcare center. She later worked at the Virginia Commonwealth University Training and Technical Assistance Center as an educational consultant, teaching classes, providing workshops, and working intensively with low-performing schools to help them differentiate instruction, support students with challenging behaviors, and involve families in their children’s education. Ms. Landon began teaching at Peabody School, where her son was a student, in 2006. While at Peabody, she became certified as an Orton-Gillingham instructor.
Demi Runkle – After School and Facilities Coordinator
drunkle@peabodyschool.org
Demi Runkle is the Facilities Coordinator, After-School Director, and the fourth and fifth grade math and science teacher. She is a native Virginian, attended local private and public schools, and graduated from Mary Washington College with a B.A. in Theatre Arts. She began her teaching career in 1969 in the Albemarle Public Schools system, retiring in 2000 after 31 years. Mrs. Runkle has received an M.ED from UVA, and has a academically advanced education endorsement. She began teaching at Peabody School in the fall of 2000. She has also done educational consulting for various school systems in Virginia. Mrs. Runkle is married and has three miniature dachshunds. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, yoga, and reading good books.
Travis Miller – Head of Middle School
tmiller@peabodyschool.org
Travis Miller is Peabody’s Head of Middle School and the K-8 technology teacher. He has a B.A. in Biology and a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Virginia. In his previous position as the Middle School science teacher, he developed a strong interest in instructional technology and chose to shift teaching roles, becoming the school’s technology teacher in 2011. He has also been a presenter at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers’ annual conference, demonstrating the effectiveness of using interactive computer simulations to illustrate hard-to-teach concepts. Mr. Miller has a passion for working with children and helping them develop the lifelong skills and confidence necessary to navigate today’s increasingly complex world.
Marie Beaurline – Dean of Student Affairs
mbeaurline@peabodyschool.org
Marie Beaurline, B.S., M.A.T., teaches Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, and serves as Dean of Student Affairs at Peabody School. Mrs. Beaurline received her B.S., with a major in information systems, from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and her M.A.T. with a focus on grades K-8, from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. She also attended the University of Virginia, where she studied instructional technology at the graduate level. Mrs. Beaurline was a software developer for 14 years before becoming a teacher. Prior to joining the full-time faculty in 1998, she coached one of the school’s Odyssey of the Mind teams and co-designed the Magical Measurement History Tour, a traveling museum exhibit that combines mathematics and history. In addition to middle-school mathematics, Mrs. Beaurline has taught kindergarten, first, third, fourth, and fifth grades during her tenure at Peabody School.
Katherine Murrah
kmurrah@peabodyschool.org
Katherine W. Murrah is delighted to be joining the Peabody community as Director of Admissions. Mrs. Murrah holds a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Gifted Education from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Mississippi State University. Prior to joining the faculty of Peabody School, Mrs. Murrah was the Gifted Education Specialist at Clark Elementary School for five years. In 2012, Mrs. Murrah received the Golden Apple award for excellence in teaching. Mrs. Murrah also participates in the Central Virginia Writing Project. She enjoys singing, writing, running and adventure!
Veronica Gomez-Torres – Administrative Assistant
vtorres@peabodyschool.org