Grew up in England, Scotland, the Bahamas and spent 10 years in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia.) Came to the United States in 1982. Briefly lived in Connecticut then moved to Southern California - Santa Monica and Westlake Village where I resided for 12 years.
Graduated from Lynn University with a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude in 2001 and a Master's Degree in Education in 2006. Have been at Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice prior to the school opening since February 2001.
Jean-Michel Millien
Born in Brooklyn, NY
"Learn a new language, Get a new soul" is a motto I really appreciate. When you learn, you empower yourself to change your attitude and provides you with new options. I enjoy Sports, Science and the Arts, and for many years. It has been my privilege to play, coach and teach, and teaching continues to be the greatest honor.
Marianne Pieris
Born in Brooklyn, NY
I live in Boynton Beach with my husband of 42 years. We have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. We love to travel & spend time with our family. I have been the bookkeeper for TLHS for almost 4 years on a part time basis and look forward to more happy years with this very special school.
Sandy Blovad
I have worked at TLHS for the past six years, teaching Health and Physical Education and also serving as a Community Outreach Coordinator. I have an undergraduate degree in Education and a Masters Degree in Social Work. Prior to coming to TLHS, I had a career in non-profit management, and was the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center of Palo Alto, California for twenty years. I am married with two sons and now have five grandchildren. My hobbies and interests include reading, movies and the theatre, and participating in fitness, sports and travel. Most recently, I traveled to China and one day would like to visit Haiti.
Dana Morgenstern
Born: Manhasset, New York
Born in Manhasset NY moved to Florida at age five, Dana holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Florida International University. Her writing career has included published poems, and music reviews for a South Florida magazine. Dana teaches Creative Writing at TLHS.
n'Detenga n'Gurumo
Native Floridian n'Detenga n'Gurumo comes from an educational-upbringing of both parents being teachers, and his educational background is in Fine Art (Painting), Chemistry and Physics. He has taught overseas in Tanzania. n'Detenga also has a Masters degree in Chemistry from FAU, and has taught from Jr. High School-level through to Universities in Palm Beach and Broward counties. His hobbies are astronomy, digital photography, desktop publishing, jazz and classical music, and fine arts painting.
Dr. Gerard A. Ferere
Dr. Gerard Alphonse Ferere, Professor Emeritus, Saint Joseph's University, the Jesuit University of Philadelphia, is a native of Haiti. Since 1963, Dr. Ferere has lived in the United States where he furthered his education up to the doctorate in Structural Linguistics and Sociolinguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ferere has written several papers about the history, culture, religion, economy and politics of Haiti. And somewhere within his busy schedule finds time to teach Creole at the school.
Fenel Conserve
Born in Artibonite, Haiti
My philosophy is that "Everyone is a student, including the teacher". I strongly believe that every student has the ability to learn and become better. Therefore my main objective is to teach students to work and help each other, and be able to achieve their own goals.
Lauren Elizabeth Keller - born in Boynton Beach, FL
Graduated in 2001 from Lake Worth Community High School (LWCHS) where she was a Cadet in the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, swam in the Varsity Swim Team, served on the Yearbook Staff, and was part of the Advanced Choir. At this time, she also worked for the School District of Palm Beach County in the department of Choice Schools (Equity Opportunity) as a secretary.
After living in New York and Chicago for a few years, Lauren moved back to Florida in 2004, where joined the Center for Education, Training, and Holistic Approaches, Inc., d/b/a Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts & Social Justice (TLHS), as Office Manager. She is also part of the start up team for Toussaint L'Ouverture International School, Inc. (TLIS) d/b/a The Charter School of Ft. Pierce, which is to open in August 2008.
Ms. Keller is multi-talented and additionally manages the National Association for Poetry Therapy, an organization of poets, therapists, and educators from all over the world. In her spare time she is the manager for a "rock" band and is pursuing becoming a business owner.
Gene Martel
Mr. Martel holds a bachelor degree in History from Florida Atlantic University and has completed approximately 36 graduate credits toward a master's degree in American History from the same institution. He holds the temporary 3-year Florida teaching certificate in Social Science grades 6-12 and has passed the Subject Area Exam in Earth/Space Science grades 6-12. He has completed 2 ESOL Endorsement courses from Lynn University under the Consent Decree, and has been teaching at TLHS for several semesters with excellent administrative reviews.
David E. Boone, Esquire
Mr. Boone teaches American Government at Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice. A licensed attorney in Virginia since 1976, Mr. Boone was named as a Virginia Super Lawyer in the field of criminal defense by Law and Politics magazine in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was also selected as a “Legal Elite” in 2002 and 2007 by Virginia Business magazine. In 1983 he was awarded the prestigious “Freedom Fund Award” by the NAACP as a result of his dedication to assisting people of color who had been charged with criminal offenses. He has been a cooperating attorney with the ACLU since 1980. Throughout his career, he has successfully defended over 35 individuals charged with capital murder. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Boone served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy with two tours of duty in Vietnam. In his spare time, he pilots his personal airplane, flying to many interesting destinations, including various islands in the Caribbean.
Jana Newton
Raised in Ithaca, NY
Ms. Newton lived in New Mexico with family before moving to Florida in 1981, where she began teaching Art at TLHS in September 2001. Since then, her students have participated and won numerous top Art Awards in various art competitions throughout the state. Currently her classes focus on English language learning via art projects and the "New Century Education" computer software, which increases students' English acquisition at tremendous rates.
"My job is to tailor English reading, speaking and writing classes to meet individual student's needs. I love coming to work every day. Watching my students succeed is a tremendously rewarding experience."
Francois Canal
Mr. Canal is a native of Haiti, and holds a bachelor of science in mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. From the same institution, he completed a master of arts in theoretical linguistics in 1999. He then moved to Florida and went on to complete Florida requirements for teaching certification in mathematics grades 6-12.
Francois has been teaching mathematics and speech at various public and private institutions in Palm Beach County since 2001. Prior, he taught the recitation section for calculus I at the City College of the City University of New York for several semesters. Francois invests substantial energy in promoting and implementing economic development in his homeland and abroad as an entrepreneur and a social activist, and is a P.I. of a research and development project in telescience with immediate applications to distance education. Francois is the proud father of his two-year old son Alex, and enjoys chess and table tennis in his spare time.
Franz Robert Arthus
Born in Gonaives, Haiti. Though born in Haiti, half my life has been in West Palm Beach, FL. I graduated from F.A.U. with a B.A. Before joining TLHS in January 2007, I taught in this district for five years – two as a substitute teacher and three teaching Math. I enjoy every minute of what I do, which is shaping the youth for a better tomorrow – simply giving back to the community, that gave so much to me.
