Current and Past Fellows
2010 Fellow Biographies
The Fellows BES identifies come from various backgrounds and travel many routes to the calling of school leadership. A Fellow who comes with a unique background and a determined focus is Ravi Gupta, an engaged 2010-2011 Building Excellent Schools Fellow working in Nashville TN.
Ravi, who clearly has no time to waste in his drive to achieve, managed to start a scholarship fund for Ghanaian children before he graduated college and then, as if to follow up to ensure his investment was paying dividends, spent several intense summers teaching English and other key subjects in Ghana. After college, he went on to Yale Law School, not because he was interested in taking his first critical steps towards joining the associate class at Cravath, but because he wanted to learn the skills he needed to change the world. Fortune shone on Ravi, as during his final year of law school he happened upon an opportunity to participate in a paradigm-shattering movement by working on Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign. Ravi had no small role in the campaign, either, serving as the Special Assistant to David Axelrod, the chief strategist of the effort. Ravi’s hard work was richly rewarded, as he was appointed Special Assistant to Susan Rice, Ambassador to the United Nations.
Ravi’s position with Ambassador Rice without question provides him a platform through which to contribute to profound change, yet he is leaving this position to join the BES Fellowship starting in August. Why? Quite simply, he could not stop asking himself what he and his teachers would do if he were in charge of a public school.
LINDA MENDEZ, Nashville, TN
Linda Mendez will found a charter middle school, Liberty Collegiate Academy, to open in August 2011. The school will prepare students from low-income communities in Nashville for success in the most demanding colleges. This mission will be accomplished through a combination of proven practices from the best schools across the country, including a longer school day and year, after-hours and Saturday sessions for tutoring and remedial work, frequent use of student achievement data to individualize and modify instruction and strict enforcement of discipline. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced in the spring of 2010 at his State of the Metro education address, that Nashville was engaging Linda Mendez and BES to fully prepare for the rigors of establishing a high performing public charter school – “(Linda) will invest (her) talents and (her) time in our children. And (she) will draw more bright, ambitious, young people like (herself) to Nashville.”
Before beginning the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, Linda was the founding Dean of Students at one of the strongest Noble Network Schools in Chicago and prior to that was on staff at Teach For America as a Program Director. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kansas, Ms. Mendez joined Teach For America as a Corps member in Houston, where in only one academic year she led her students to more than double the passing rate on the state English language exam.
Linda’s enthusiasm and dedication of purpose to work diligently with the children of Nashville is indeed inspiring.
Armed with the tools developed during the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, Ms. Mendez will design, found and lead Liberty Collegiate Charter School, a charter school of uncompromising excellence in Nashville, Tennessee
CIJI PITTMAN, Memphis, TN
For Memphis BES Fellow Ciji Pittman, the commitment and dedication to providing all children with equal access to educational opportunities is the clear result of her own experiences within the American educational system. After graduating from an Atlanta high school, Ciji gained entrance to the University of Virginia. She discovered soon after arriving, however, that she had not been adequately prepared for the rigors of college academics. She was determined to succeed and made Dean’s List. After graduation, Ciji returned to the Atlanta public schools, this time as a Teach For America corps member teaching in an alternative high school. She learned first-hand that all students could be taught to revere and respect learning. After her successful stint in the classroom, she became a Corps Member Advisor, a senior position that allowed her to share what she had learned. Ciji Pittman’s story brings her squarely to the very hard work in Memphis to design, lead and found a charter school for students like her who need the tools to push them forward to top-level academic accomplishments. What follows is part of Ciji’s response to “What Drives You?” As a former Teach For America corps member, corps member advisor and curriculum writer, Teach for America law intern, and Jumpstart volunteer, education has long been a passion of mine. My own experiences within the education system drive my desire to ensure students have equal access to educational opportunities.
Ciji is a graduate of one of the top law schools in the country, The University of Chicago Law School. Although Ciji’s exposure to the world through the lens of a lawyer will be an important attribute as she runs a high-flying, no-excuses charter school in Memphis, her own experiences and beliefs make her the perfect charter school leader. Memphis, watch out!
RACHEL ROMANO, Springfield, MA
From the moment that she began her teaching career almost 10 years ago in Western Massachusetts, Rachel Romano has worked tirelessly with one principle in mind: Our students deserve better. When her middle school in Springfield was deemed in need of “corrective action,” Ms. Romano took the reins and decided to step forward and take a more prominent role in the school’s turnaround; she wanted to impact change beyond her classroom. During her second year at Duggan, her fellow teachers elected her to the School-Centered Decision-Making Team. Her apparent leadership skills led to her active involvement in writing the school’s Improvement Plan. By the time she had completed her third year of teaching at Duggan, Rachel had been named as a Collaborative Professional Development Teacher, a leadership role in which she supported her fellow teachers in their work, but also collaborated with and supported the school’s principal to plan and present professional development sessions to the faculty.
Rachel’s drive and determination to close the achievement gap is commendable, but she knows all too well that it is results that count. By setting and tracking ambitious goals – both short-term and long-term – she veers from a path followed by too many other schools and school leaders: “For too long, expectations for minority children have been adjusted because of the circumstances from which they come … The solution to improved academic achievement lies in the professional practices of teachers and leaders, not the economic or ethnic characteristics of the students. All of our individual and collective energy will be focused on achievement as there is no room to waver from a laser-like focus on achieving results through practices that work and sustained effort.” As an outstanding Building Excellent Schools Fellow in the City of Firsts, she will design, found and lead a high-performing charter school that will ensure success for future generations of Springfield children.
2009 Fellow Biographies
Jane Henzerling – San Francisco, CA
Jane Henzerling made the decision to devote herself to the cause of educational equity more than twelve years ago, and she’s never looked back. She was an acclaimed elementary school teacher and staff developer in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 2003, Mrs. Henzerling joined the staff of Teach For America Phoenix as Program Director and relocated to Florida to lead Teach For America Miami-Dade, which serves nearly 10,000 students in the county’s lowest-income areas. As Executive Director, she established a diverse funding base and increased new contributions by 250% while strengthening ties with the school board, business community, and higher education institutions. Under her leadership, the professional development program yielded marked increases in teacher effectiveness, which doubled the percentage of students achieving significant academic gains.
Mrs. Henzerling graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Spanish from Skidmore College and earned her M. Ed in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. Through the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, Mrs. Henzerling launched Mission Prep, a K-8 college-preparatory charter school in San Francisco, California.
Penny Schwinn – Sacramento, CA National Fellow
Penny Schwinn came to the BES National Fellowship in Sacramento with a deep commitment to her work in urban education: How did she go from a leadership position with Teach For America to working for more than a year as an operations supervisor at a supply company?
It seemed a huge leap out of the field of education and into industry. Penny disagrees. With nuance and strength of conviction, she says that she chose to “learn” business because she knew that to start a school she would need that exposure and expertise. She would need to know how to develop real performance assessment tools and operational improvement plans, and how to create and implement working procedures.
She began teaching high school in Baltimore, MD through Teach for America, where she achieved dramatic academic gains with her students. Ms. Schwinn had the honor of being a regional representative for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award. Ms. Schwinn was a Program Director for Teach For America in Los Angeles, supporting and developing 53 new teachers.
She returned to the classroom as an acknowledged leader and Director of Student Achievement at a transformation charter high school in Sacramento. Ms. Schwinn completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UC Berkeley and her Masters in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. She has been chartered and is on her way to opening Capitol Collegiate, a K-8 high-performing charter school in Sacramento, California.
David Singer – Denver, CO
David Singer delved into the world of urban education early in his undergraduate career at the University of Hartford, spending hundreds of hours volunteering in inner-city high school classrooms.
Upon completion of his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education where he was recognized with the Regents Honors Award, Mr. Singer moved to Denver, Colorado where he began teaching mathematics and coaching boys and girls’ soccer at Skyview High School. He followed up with two years at Denver’s Manual High School, one of the lowest performing schools in the state, a controversial school and one destined for take over or restructuring.
Writing math curriculum, creating standards-based grading systems, guiding professional development around data-driven instruction and acting as a member of the school leadership team, David began to realize what was really possible with a fresh start school, not a school haunted by legends of the past. After the personal and professional impact of six years of teaching high school mathematics to low-income minority youth, David recognizes the enormous need for higher quality elementary schools in Denver. University Preparatory School, a high performing, no-excuses K-5 school will open in Northeast Denver, Colorado in fall 2011.
Clifford Thomas – Brooklyn, NY
Cliff tells us “The ‘sacrifices’ of time, energy, emotion and will that are surely required to run a successful school will certainly be greater than anything I’ve experienced. With that said, I can’t think of a better way to use my time or expend my energy than to help provide an educational opportunity for students that they might not otherwise have.
“As someone who has been granted the opportunity for such a rich academic experience, I refuse to believe that such a thing should be reserved for so few. Though this may be the most demanding goal I have ever sought to pursue, any so-called ‘sacrifice’ I make would pale in comparison to the magnitude of student success that I will dedicate myself to. I have the rest of my life, and all of my time to work towards this; I am willing to do whatever it takes to guarantee as many students as I can education equality, and hope to be given the opportunity to do exactly that.”
Cliff’s experiences at Prep for Prep, Harvard, teaching in Brooklyn have given him the aptitude and drive to work with Building Excellent Schools to found Invictus Prep, an academically rigorous 5-12 school in Brooklyn, New York.
2008 Fellow Biographies
Shara Hegde – San Jose, CA
Shara Hegde began her career in urban education through Teach For America, teaching at Toussaint Louverture Elementary School of Miami-Dade County, Florida. During her two years at Toussaint she achieved dramatic student achievement gains as both a kindergarten and fifth grade teacher.
Wishing to afford greater challenges for her students, Ms. Hegde founded a team to compete in Odyssey of the Mind, a worldwide problem solving competition for students of all ages. Through their regional competition, her students earned the prestigious Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award and advanced to the Florida state finals. In 2007 she had the honor of being nominated for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award which recognizes second-year Teach For America corps members who demonstrate outstanding leadership.
Following her teaching commitment, Ms. Hegde pursued a Master of Arts degree in Education Policy, Organizations and Leadership Studies at Stanford University. In 2008 she designed an integrated social studies and language arts curriculum for Aspire Public Schools in Oakland, California and completed the Fellowship in Urban School Leadership with Chicago Public Schools. Ms. Hegde received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Brown University. Cornerstone Academy Preparatory School was chartered in September 2009 and opened in the August 18, 2010 in San Jose, California.
Laura McGowan – Los Angeles, CA
Laura McGowan has shaped her career around the goal of opening an outstanding urban school since the beginning of her career as a high school English teacher in Chicago, Illinois. She most recently served roles as Instructional Specialist and Literacy Coach at East Valley High School in Los Angeles, California.
As Literacy Coach, Ms. McGowan supported the instructional practices of lead teachers, provided curricular training, coordinated assessments and helped to actuate data-driven instructional planning. Through the Johns Hopkins University Talent Development High Schools program, Ms. McGowan studied a reform model focused on school-turnaround. This led her to develop intervention programs to combat truancy and tardiness, and facilitate the roll-out of four Small Learning Communities through her role as Instructional Specialist.
Ms. McGowan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Rhetoric from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Leadership and English from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Education Administration at Cal State Northridge that will be completed in August 2010. In March 2010 Ms. McGowan received a charter for Crown Preparatory Academy, a college prep middle and high school that opened August 23, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
Tim Ware – Memphis, TN
Tim Ware gained his first experiences with at-risk youth while serving as the Youth Services Coordinator for St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Ware oversaw the growth and implementation of non-medical youth services through the hospital, leading staff and youth workers to make a significant impact on the local community.
His work in Indianapolis brought him two prestigious distinctions: In 2002 Mr. Ware received the Chairman’s Award from the Indiana Black Expo and Indiana Sports Corporation for exemplary dedication in direct service to youth. In 2004, he received the Governor’s Award for Tomorrow’s Leaders from Governor Joe Kernan which recognizes outstanding leadership in social entrepreneurship in the state of Indiana.
In 2006 Mr. Ware joined Teach For America in Memphis where he started as a junior high school history teacher. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he also coached basketball and baseball teams for Frazier Middle and High School. Immediately, Mr. Ware’s leadership abilities were recognized and he was asked to serve as a Teacher on Special Assignment, functioning as Assistant Principal in just his second year. In this role, he oversaw tenth grade student concerns, male mentoring, teacher compliance and special programs.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Cedarville University. In December 2009 Mr. Ware received a charter for Veritas College Prep, an outstanding middle school that opened August 23, 2010 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Michael Whaley – Memphis, TN
Michael Whaley joins Building Excellent Schools from the charter corps of Teach For America in Memphis, Tennessee. As a fifth grade and English as a Second Language teacher at Getwell Elementary School, Mr. Whaley led students to dramatic academic achievement gains, outpacing both his school and district.
To afford greater opportunities for his students, he founded a leadership program called “Tomorrow’s Champions” and was awarded over $3,000 in grant money for classroom equipment and field trips. He was responsible for building a partnership with the Memphis Grizzlies’ “Read to Achieve” program and coordinating school-wide participation in St. Jude’s Hospital’s Math-A-Thon.
In 2006, Mr. Whaley became involved with MPACT Memphis, an organization of young professionals dedicated to civic improvement initiatives. In 2007, he was selected for the NEXUS Leadership Experience, a leadership development program for emerging leaders in Memphis.
Mr. Whaley received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Public Policy from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from University of Memphis. Through the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, on August 23, 2010 Mr. Whaley opened Memphis College Prep, an outstanding elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee.
Paula White-Bradley – Newark, NJ
Paula White-Bradley comes to Building Excellent Schools with deep experience as an educator and school leader. Teaching students as young as third graders and as old as ninth graders, Ms. White-Bradley has been consistently sought for further impact outside the classroom.
In various roles she has written curriculum, served as a staff developer, revised school programs to maximize instructional time and taught pedagogical methods to student teachers. As the founding member of the Oglethorpe Elementary Grant Writing Committee, she secured grants in excess of $500,000.
While teaching for over eight years in Atlanta public schools, Ms. White-Bradley has served as a member of school leadership and instructional design teams and as Director of after school and Saturday programs. Together with Lisa Delpit in 2003, Ms. White-Bradley co-authored “Educating or Imprisoning the Spirit: Lessons from Ancient Egypt”.
In 2006 she earned a Master of Education degree in Education Leadership through the Public School Principals Academy at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an Editorial Board Member of Talking Points, a semiannual publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. Ms. White-Bradley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development from Spelman College. On August 23, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey, Newark Legacy Charter School opened their doors to their first class of kindergarteners.