After 34 years at the Block Island School, Kristine Monje plans to retire after this spring. Monje grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island and graduated from Cranston East High School. After graduating, she attended the University of Rhode Island with a double major in elementary education and communication disorders. Monje was first introduced to the island through friends in the summer of 1985. She worked at the Seaside Market & Deli and the Block Island Grocery for seven years over summers. “I loved it,” Monje said.
After Monje graduated from URI, she planned to get her master’s in speech and language pathology. Before going back to school, Monje was able to stay on Block Island in September, 1988. In the following month, Barby Michel, a second grade teacher at the time, asked Monje if she had any interest in an aide position at the Block Island School. Monje then became an aide in November, 1988, and finally ended up getting that master’s in speech and language pathology in her late 40’s.
In 1990, Monje started to work as a fourth grade teacher and taught in that position for 24 years. After that, Bob Hicks, the superintendent at the
