English Language Arts – Reading Team

Hi Ya’ll! I am a reading specialist here at Barrett Elementary and work primarily with Kindergarten and First grade. I have been at Barrett since 2007. Prior to that, I worked in Loudoun County Public Schools as a second grade teacher for eight years. In 2018, I received my National Board Teaching Certificate in Literacy / Reading – Language Arts for Early and Middle Childhood. I was born and raised in Nashville, TN, home to the Grand Ole Opry, Goo Goo Clusters, and Vanderbilt Basketball. I graduated from James Madison University and then received a Masters in Reading from the University of Virginia. I love living in the Washington DC area and having access to all that it provides: paddle boating around the Jefferson Memorial, walking through the American Art Museum, or trying out a new restaurant from the Washingtonian’s 100 Best Restaurants. My goals at Barrett are to foster a love of learning as well as increase overall reading and writing engagement and stamina. One way I have done this is through author visits. Kelly Yang, the author of Front Desk, gave a virtual talk to our students. Afterwards, students were invited to join a book club to read her book. We met weekly during lunch to discuss the characters, plot and our reactions.

My name is Marie-Therese Chahrouri (aka Ms. C) and I'm excited to join the Barrett community this year to support student literacy! I grew up in California before earning a B.A. from Seattle University, then a M.Ed. from Boston University. My background is in special education and literacy. My partner and I live here in Arlington, and enjoy cooking, reading, and running outside of work!

Hi! My name is Stacey Romero and I've been teaching at Barrett since 2012. I started as a first grade teacher but have been a reading specialist here since 2016! I completed both my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. I also taught kindergarten there before I moved to the Northern Virginia area. I love helping students learn to read and I also enjoy working alongside families to help students discover a love for learning. In the last few years, I've especially enjoyed watching my son, Grayson, learn new things each day. I love spending free time with my family -- we like to cook together, play and exercise outside, and read, of course!