Back to School Resources: High School
High School
Welcome! In this section, you’ll find essential information and resources to make the most of the summer, and to ensure that you’re prepared for your return to High School in September, including key dates, events and supplies that you’ll need.
- 37 YearsSince Oneness-Family School was founded in 1988.
- 75 CountriesRepresented by our students, families, faculty, and staff.
- 1 FamilyUnited by a belief in courage, compassion and love of learning.
Dear OFHS Parents and Students,
We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying much-deserved relaxation! The OFHS team has been wrapping up the past year and gearing up for what is sure to be an exciting new school year in the fall. September will be upon us before we know it, so we wanted to send this letter with some important Back to School information. Please find links to our supply list, health forms, 2025-2026 calendar, and world language selection form (due July 30).
Back-to-School Night: Tuesday, September 9th – 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Our Back-to-School Night will be held on Tuesday, September 9th, at 6:00 pm on the OFHS campus. We will have light refreshments, welcome our new families, and answer community questions as we preview the coming school year. You can RSVP here.
Staff Updates
We are excited to welcome Jarrett Arnold as our full-time STEM teacher for next year! Jarrett specializes in using experiments to teach the fundamental concepts of biology, physics, and chemistry and real-life scenarios to learn the math skills required in high school and college. He became an integral part of our community this spring, and we are excited for Jarrett’s continued presence and expertise.
Alleanna Lawrence will stay on as a part-time math teacher for the upcoming year as she takes on a new role in her family business. We are grateful for her continued support of our STEM program!
Student/Parent Portal
Our parent portal is where you will find detailed information for back to school, helpful links including the school calendar, health forms, and the weekly newsletters and college information. We encourage you to click into the portal periodically for the latest information and updates throughout the summer and school year. The weekly schedule will be updated and posted in a few weeks.
Electronics Policy
To help establish the expectation of electronics in the classroom at the outset of this coming school year, we wanted to include the OFHS electronics policy below:
- Students should bring their personal computer to school every day.
- Along with their personal computer, students should also bring the computer’s charging cord and a pair of headphones or earbuds that work with the computer. Students are responsible for keeping their computers charged to participate in class activities and complete work during the work cycle. If a computer runs out of power or students must listen to resources online but do not have headphones, students will miss out on that learning opportunity. Additionally, phones will not be a suitable alternative to not having the appropriate headphones or earbuds that work with a computer. Parents, please check in with your students to ensure they have headphones or earbuds that work with their computers.
- From the beginning of our morning meeting until dismissal, we will continue to ask students to store their personal phones away or inside our phone pouches except for lunch, breaks, and/or when indicated by a teacher. If you need to use the phone during the school day, the school phone is available.
Nut-Safe School Environment
OFHS is a completely nut-safe environment. Due to the high incidence of nut allergies in our student body and staff, we ask that parents, students, and staff help maintain this expectation to the best of their ability.
We encourage all families to join us for a Welcome Brunch at Norwood Park on September 13th at 10:00 am. This school-wide event is a great opportunity for our new and returning families from the Lower and High Schools to connect and come together to kick off the new year!
If you have any questions over the summer, please email us at hsadmin@onenessfamily.org. For time-sensitive questions, please include “time-sensitive” at the beginning of the subject line, and we will address your query as soon as possible.
Thank you, and have a wonderful rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
The OFHS Team
Key Resources
Quote: Elliette Goldberg (’24)
Because of the focus on community, people get to know what is important to you, what you love, and where you can grow, and so they support and push you in all of these areas.
Ellie shares her 8th-grade graduation speech, given on June 6, 2024.
For eight years, I have watched class after class of eighth graders present their graduation speeches and thought, “Someday, that will be me.” I thought about this speech over and over again as I watched some of my closest friends get ready to leave for high school.
When I had to finally write my own speech, I thought about the year I spent away during 5th grade, when my sister, my mom, and I moved to New Zealand. I loved being there because I got to spend time with my family, who I don’t get to see as much, and a lot of time with horses, but I have to admit I spent some time scrolling on Oneness’s Instagram on my mom’s phone and looking at what my friends were up to. I joined several Zoom community meetings and tried my best to keep in touch with my Oneness friends (despite the 8-hour time difference, which made that a bit more challenging). And whenever people asked which place I liked more, I would always say, “I love New Zealand, but I’d like it waaay better if it had Oneness.”
The thing that Oneness has that I was missing in New Zealand is community. I mean, there is community everywhere, but Oneness is a community where I feel like I know everyone, and they know me. Because of the focus on community, people get to know what is important to you, what you love, and where you can grow, and so they support and push you in all of these areas. Because of the community, people also know when you are having a hard time and are ready to support you in whatever ways you need. It’s not everywhere where your teacher will come to see your performances or visit you in the hospital.
It is not everywhere where you and your friends show up for each other when you just need someone. Being a part of such a close community has given me many opportunities for me to show the same support and care for others. As a 3rd grader in Peace Arbor, I took on a lot of responsibility to help the new first graders and make them feel comfortable in a new environment. This made me appreciate leadership opportunities, and I have continued to embrace them, from the classroom to theater, to Montessori Night, to Montessori Model UN. These leadership experiences have been opportunities for me to be a part of building communities, and I look forward to helping create communities like the one I have found here, wherever I find myself in the future.
Thank you all for making this an amazing place. I love you all so much!
Constituent
-
Andrew Faulstich
Director of Education, Humanities Teacher
Email
andrew.faulstich@onenessfamily.org
Biography
Andrew believes in the potential for education to be transformative and empowering for all students. He developed and led international and U.S. education programs and taught students from 10 different countries. He also experienced the full breadth of public and private educational institutions, working with early childhood through undergraduate, graduate, and adult learners. All of his work is geared toward providing empowering, culturally sustaining, learner-centered, anti-bias, antiracist, and equitable education to students around the world.
Andrew attended a Montessori school himself through Upper Elementary, which is why he returned to the method as a teacher. He opened two Montessori adolescent programs as a founding lead teacher at the middle and high school level. In those roles, Andrew most enjoyed building deep relationships with students, creating a holistic humanities curriculum, and collaborating with adolescent practitioners across the country.
In addition to his work at Oneness, Andrew is the Co-Host of the Breaking the Paradigm podcast and an Affiliate Instructor of Montessori Teacher Education at the graduate level at Loyola University. He holds a Masters in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a Bachelors in Anthropology from the University of Rochester, an AMI Adolescent Diploma, a micro-certification from Embracing Equity, and a certificate from the Phillips Exeter Humanities Institute.
-
Jilly Sher
Humanities Teacher
Email
Biography
Jilly Sher grew up with three sisters in New Jersey. She graduated magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Bowdoin College with a major in Francophone Studies and a minor in English Education. In 2025, she completed Bowdoin’s intensive teacher-training program as a postgraduate to earn a teaching certificate in secondary English. In 2023-2024, she taught English-speaking classes to college students in France. Professionally and personally, Jilly is drawn to self-expression in all its forms, including language, art, music, and literature. As a Humanities Teacher, she wants to help students find and hone their voices by building in opportunities for them to hear and share stories, especially those that are traditionally marginalized or silenced.
As an undergraduate, Jilly worked at Upward Bound to provide underserved high schoolers with the tools to become first-generation college students. Also at Bowdoin, she worked as a teaching assistant and completed a French independent study on post-colonial discourse and curriculum. Her love of mentorship extends back even further: in high school, she worked for the Girls’ Leadership Institute to help middle-schoolers develop leadership skills and build service-action plans. As a long-term Girl Scout, Jilly earned her Silver and Gold Awards, which focused on sharing the healing benefits of art and nature.
Jilly is passionate about empowering those in her care through shared respect, wonder, and a heaping cup of joy. She is excited to join the Oneness-Family community this year!
-
Jarrett Arnold
STEM Teacher & Curriculum Development
Email
Biography
Jarrett Arnold became a science educator in his thirties after earning his Bachelors in Biology and Masters in Education from the University of Oregon in 2008 and 2009, respectively. He has taught biology, chemistry, physics, art, and theater set design at the University of Oregon, Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, and The Field School and American University in Washington, DC. Prior to his career in education, he received his first degree in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia in 1997.
Originally from Georgia, Jarrett walked the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 1998 and completed two cross-continental bicycle tours. He remains an avid naturalist, hiker, and biker. He is happily married to Jaylene Arnold, a graphic designer, musician, and illustrator, and they have two adult children, Bodhi and Shashi. Jarrett continues to create art and exhibits his work frequently in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
-
Alleanna Lawrence
Science & Math Teacher
Email
Biography
Alleanna believes education is the most important mechanism for social transformation and is passionate about building confidence in science.
After earning a degree in Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on human and population health, she co-created a data science summer program called Berkeley Unboxing Data Science, dedicated to fostering curiosity and analytical skills in high school students.
-
Juan Dopico
Spanish Teacher
Email
Biography
Juan is the son of Argentine immigrants. At an early age, Juan showed a fondness and a passion for languages and teaching. While growing up, Juan learned Spanish at home while learning Latin in school. He received his B.A. at Vanderbilt University (2012), a M.A. at Washington University in St. Louis (2015), and a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University (2023) in Classics. As a result of his education, Juan is both bilingual in Spanish and conversant in Italian. He can also read Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and German.
Juan began his teaching career at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas, where he taught Latin and Spanish for two years before pursuing his Ph.D. During his time there, Juan formed deep personal connections with students, often coaching and supporting the soccer teams or engaging with them in their hobbies, such as video games or Anime.
Juan also currently teaches undergraduates as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Some of his courses are Roman World, Classical Mythology, and Word Roots. His teaching style can be described as flexible, tailoring to the needs of his students while integrating activities that reinforce the ideas taught in class.
-
Raya Salman
French Teacher
Email
Biography
After graduating with a degree in Art from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, Raya moved to Paris, France, where she lived and earned a degree in Art and French Literature from the Université de La Sorbonne.
Raya taught Art and French, first in the United Kingdom for ten years and then in the United States. She is passionate about her students and uses an innovative teaching approach to keep them engaged.
When she is not teaching, Raya is a professional artist and is the author and illustrator of the children’s book, “Joey the Leopard/ Have You Seen My Spots?” Her hobbies include painting, cooking, swimming, and Martial Arts. She is a fifth-degree Black Belt Master in Tae Kwon Do and practices regularly.
Her mission in life: Be happy and make a difference in people’s lives!
-
Debbie Kahn
American Sign Language (ASL) Teacher
Email
Biography
Debbie’s career journey is like a winding road trip through diverse landscapes. She began as a computer programmer in a bank but shifted gears to become a Montessori teacher and later the Associate Director at the Oneness-Family School (1992-2009). She then took a sharp turn and ventured off-road to travel to Niger with the nonprofit Amman Imman: Water is Life as the Associate Director, where she inspired students to assist indigenous populations affected by climate change, desertification, and water scarcity.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Debbie has also acquired fluency in sign language through her journey. She learned sign language from her deaf housemate and quickly became her interpreter at local events. As a teacher at Oneness, she taught sign language to students and engaged them in fun performances at festivals and in-house events. Now, over a decade after “graduating” Oneness, she’s back on the road, teaching American Sign Language (ASL) at the high school level.
Debbie holds a Montessori teaching certification from 1992 and a B.A. in Education from Goddard College (2007). In her free time, Debbie writes poetry, enjoys hiking, and loves exploring the wilderness with dogs and kids of all ages.
-
Brian Fisher
Art Teacher
Email
Biography
Brian was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and loved that he could explore from the oceans to the mountains. He worked as a veterinarian assistant, helped manage a Bed & Breakfast, guided whitewater rafting trips, and worked on a team building and remodeling houses. Eventually he headed off to the University of Washington, where he received a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting.
He moved to Bethesda in 2003 with his wife and son, the latter of whom joined the Moon Room class at Oneness-Family School. Brian saw his son grow exponentially in the warm Oneness environment, and has stayed involved with the school intermittently over the years.
He has worked with the high school students as an art instructor since its inception. With the youngest students, he focuses on exploring materials and colors; as the students age and become more confident in their abilities, he starts focusing them on a more structured academic approach to art and color theory.
In his free time, weather permitting, you can usually find him leading rafting trips or swiftwater rescue training on the Potomac River, just below Great Falls.
-
Guido Vitullo
Music Teacher
Email
Biography
John Guido Vitullo is a musician and music teacher living in Northern Virginia, originally from Youngstown, Ohio. After graduating with a music performance degree from Youngstown State University, he moved to DC where he teaches private percussion lessons, rock band classes, and general music classes.
Guido performs on a drumset with two local groups: Twisted Flags, a classic and modern rock cover band, as well as The i-Talians, an Italian pop band. He also has worked and performed in musical theater pit orchestras in venues like the Keegan Theater, Little Theatre in Alexandria, and Arena Stage. Guido believes that music education is about more than cultivating good musicians. It’s about connecting students to a history of music making and allowing them to find their own artistic voice.
In his free time, he enjoys video and tabletop gaming, cooking, and gardening.
