Meet our Team

Our staff excels at making young children feel loved and welcome, and helping them develop into confident, caring, school-ready people. Teachers work as a team in order to offer your child a continuum of care as they progress from one classroom to the next, ensuring that their development is consistent and thorough every step of the way.

All teachers in our early childhood classrooms are early childhood professionals with college level credentials. They must also meet National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and New Hampshire licensing qualifications, and are required to attend professional development training sessions throughout the year. All teachers in our School Age programs are qualified after school professionals who meet or exceed New Hampshire Licensing standards.

We meet or exceed child-to-teacher ratio standards, which enables teachers to give each child the extra time and attention they deserve, so they can thrive in our care.

Planning and assessment time is allocated into each teacher’s schedule, enabling them to strategically incorporate every child’s interests into classroom activities, making learning fun and relevant for all.

For more information or ways to reach our staff check out our staff page.

Executive Director

Melissa Caldwell is the Executive Director of Seacoast Community School. Melissa carries three degrees, a Bachelor's in Elementary Education with a Mathematics concentration (UMaine Farmington), a Master's in Literacy Education (University of Southern Maine), and also holds a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership (University of New England). Her 21 years in teaching, advocacy in project-based learning, as well as working in leadership roles that ranged from; being an elementary school principal to a Director of Professional Growth, where she trained teachers and expanded Pre-K programming, to working with the Maine Department of Education to create and implement curriculum for Pre-K, provides a strong foundation to leading Seacoast Community School. When Melissa isn't advocating for education, she is with her children Lucian and Maia. They can be found on the soccer field, lacrosse field, or at the dance studio. As a family they love the many memories they create at Great Moose Lake in Maine, where they enjoy being on the water, paddleboarding, water skiing, spending time on the boat, and swimming. Melissa may be contacted at mcaldwell@seacoastcommunityschool.org or 603-422-8223 ext 115.

Program Directors

Alicia Tonelli is the Early Childhood Program Director. When Alicia began with us in 2003, she started in our Kindergarten program then moved on to be our Greenland Site Director for the Community School Preschool Program and the PEAK Program. She also served as the Program Assistant to the Early Childhood Education Program Director, managing all National Accreditation reporting and assessment activities for the school. She lives in Exeter with her husband Scott and daughter. Alicia has a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education as well as a Bachelors in Business Administration. She has worked in the field for over 20 years and feels passionate that all children should have access to quality early education. Alicia may be contacted at atonelli@seacoastcommunityschool.org or 603-422-8223 ext 116.

Jessica DuBois is the School Age (PEAK) Program Director. She joined Seacoast Community School in August 2021, with a ton of experience working with children 6 weeks to 16 years of age. Jessica has worked in the field for over 24 years, which has given her the pleasure of being able to watch infants grow into young adults. She has built programs and worked with some of the largest programs in New Hampshire. She has partnered with Federal Programs and grants that have fed opportunities for programs to blossom and become successful. She has a son, Ethan, who plays baseball, the flute and loves to cook and garden with her. She grew up in Seattle, Washington and moved out here right before high school. Jessica may be contacted at jdubois@seacoastcommunityschool.org or 603-422-8223 ext 113.