REV. DELLA WAGER WELLS- ABUNA Emmanuel Church welcomes Della Wager Wells as our Rector in Charge beginning September 1, 2019. Reverend Della Wager Wells is a cradle Episcopalian and has been an active layperson from her childhood in Watertown, New York, to her adult years in Atlanta, Georgia, at the large urban parish where she was senior warden and developed and led a training program for laypersons to prepare them for leadership in the church.
In 2008, Della became involved in the Compass Rose Society, an international mission organization supporting the relational ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the global Anglican Communion. Meeting and interacting with congregations from all over the Anglican Communion inspired Della to pursue ordained ministry.
Della retired in the fall of 2015 after 30 years of practicing law in Atlanta to begin seminary at Yale, and is married to Jere (pronounced Jerry). Jere retired as assistant headmaster of a large Atlanta K-12 independent school shortly thereafter and is now the Director of the Educational Leadership and Ministry program at Yale Divinity School. Della graduated from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale with her MDiv in May 2018 and was ordained by Bishop Knisely at St. Martin’s in Providence in June.
Della retired in the fall of 2015 after 30 years of practicing law in Atlanta to begin seminary at Yale, and is married to Jere (pronounced Jerry). Jere retired as assistant headmaster of a large Atlanta K-12 independent school shortly thereafter and is now the Director of the Educational Leadership and Ministry program at Yale Divinity School. Della graduated from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale with her MDiv in May 2018 and was ordained by Bishop Knisely at St. Martin’s in Providence in June.
Della and Jere just celebrated their 38th anniversary and have two adult children, a son Judson and a daughter Aubrey, and a much-loved Labrador retriever, Hank, all of whom live and work in New York City — well, except for Hank, who really doesn’t work much.
Della just returned from an academic year — September 1 through May 31 — at St. George’s College in Jerusalem, an Anglican center for pilgrimage, study, and reconciliation, where she served as Berkeley Divinity School at Yale’s first Porter Fellow. As Porter Fellow, she worked with St. George’s Cathedral, St. George’s College, and Jerusalem Peacebuilders, a reconciliation ministry for Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens.Della and Jere both are thrilled to be in Rhode Island, where all three of their favorite food groups — clams, lobster, and soft ice cream — are in plentiful supply. Jere enjoys fly fishing, sailing, and golf, and Della loves the Episcopal Church, global mission, choral music, and raising chickens.Carissa M. Perkowski - Director for Emmanuel Day School
A native of Litchfield, CT, Carissa is thrilled
be the director and education coordinator of the Emmanuel Day School. She is a certified
Early Childhood Educator with a Master’s of Education from Post University. As
a graduate of Salve Regina University, with a BS in Early Childhood Education,
she is honored to teach in such a wonderful community. It is her
goal to work collaboratively with teachers, parents and the staff and
congregation of Emmanuel Church to foster a learning environment that excites
the imagination, inspires creativity and instills a lifelong passion for
learning. She lives with her husband, new baby Harrison and bulldog in
Middletown. Kate Frantz – Lead Teacher
Kate joined the EDS teaching staff in September of
2011. She began her career in 1996 by working with young children through
different volunteer organizations such as MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers), Girl
Scouts, School Volunteer Reading Literacy Programs, and Christian Education at
Portsmouth United Methodist Church where she co-chaired the department for 3
years. Kate has completed the Early Childhood Education Training Program
through CCRI and two levels of training for aligning curriculum with the Rhode
Island Early Learning Standards through URI. She views her role in early
childhood education as being a guide on an exciting journey of discovery and
learning in a setting where the child can touch and explore having all the
senses enlivened with art and color, music, and texture. The theorists
and teaching approaches which have influenced her teaching practice the most
are Erik Erikson by focusing curriculum on real things and on doing,
encouraging children to be as independent as developmentally possible, focusing
on the process of what children do and not the outcome or mistakes; John Piaget
by his belief that children have their own rate of development, and that
children need to interact with their environment to construct knowledge.
Children need to experience what we want them to learn. Her mission
is play, believing that through play, the child develops thoughtfulness,
intelligence, and self-confidence. Our play is intentional with the
goal being to build a child up, and to encourage the child to be the best
person they can be!
BEHOLD THE HEART OF A CHILD, NEVER MOLD
THE HEART OF A CHILD, UNFOLD THE HEART OF A CHILD! Jean Warren
Terri Traeger- Teacher
Terri has been with Emmanuel Day School for 14 years and
enjoys working with young children. Terri demonstrates her commitment to
Emmanuel and to best practice by continuing studies in early childhood
education each semester at CCRI. She is a native Newporter and a mother of
three children. Terri feels blessed to aid in the learning foundation of
young minds. We must see that every child has equal opportunity not to become equal, but to become different– to realize the unique potential he or she possesses.”
- John Fischer
Sarah Evans- Teacher
Originally from Randolph, New Jersey she now calls Newport her home. She lives with her new baby daughter Blake and husband! They love the community and could not imagine raising their daughter anywhere else! After graduating from Salve Regina University with a bachelors degree in history and a concentration in Early Childhood she quickly knew working with young children was her passion. She later received her Early Childhood degree while she was working with preschool children. Getting to know her students as learners and as people consistently makes her day. She believes it’s important to provide each child with a safe, fun and nurturing environment where they can learn to be independent through exploration and play. With over 10 years of teaching experience she is so excited to join Emmanuel Day School’s team!
Pam Kilroy- Super Substitute Teacher
Isabel Donahue- Super Substitute Teacher
Originally from Norwalk, Connecticut, Isabel is a senior at Salve Regina University and will be graduating in May with her BS in Early Childhood Education. Isabel enjoys singing in the University Chorus and a cappella group at her school, while also being part of the dance team. She loves to incorporate music and art when working with young learners, giving students the chance to use their creativity and imagination as much as possible. She was recently a student teacher at Pell Elementary, working in a Kindergarten classroom full time. She has a passion for teaching the foundational skills children need to move forward in their education and is super excited to be a new member of the Emmanuel Day School community! Working with a number of curriculums, Isabel is especially passionate about the Boston Public Schools Curriculum, which focuses on play based learning. She believes the best type of learning comes through hands-on play and giving children the ability to create in a fun and safe learning environment.
Pam Kilroy- Super Substitute Teacher
Isabel Donahue- Super Substitute Teacher
Originally from Norwalk, Connecticut, Isabel is a senior at Salve Regina University and will be graduating in May with her BS in Early Childhood Education. Isabel enjoys singing in the University Chorus and a cappella group at her school, while also being part of the dance team. She loves to incorporate music and art when working with young learners, giving students the chance to use their creativity and imagination as much as possible. She was recently a student teacher at Pell Elementary, working in a Kindergarten classroom full time. She has a passion for teaching the foundational skills children need to move forward in their education and is super excited to be a new member of the Emmanuel Day School community! Working with a number of curriculums, Isabel is especially passionate about the Boston Public Schools Curriculum, which focuses on play based learning. She believes the best type of learning comes through hands-on play and giving children the ability to create in a fun and safe learning environment.
