In this issue...

Dr. Sharon Spears joins the Urban Education Leadership Program as the Program Director. She previously served as the Manager of Professional Learning with the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute where she provided support to teacher leaders in continuous improvement of instructional practices. Sharon also worked with other higher education institutions as an academic coach, administrator and professor. Sharon brings to the role an extensive background in the development of school leaders and experience in facilitating academic programming. She has a passion for collaboration and engaging in the learning experience which drives her work in education. Dr. Spears looks forward to meeting the UIC team, current students and alum as she assists with the management and continuous improvement of the clinically intensive academic program for doctoral principal candidates in the UIC Ed.D. Program. This includes assisting the improvement of such program elements as  recruitment, new student support and residency support systems, and using data to improve program performance.

Dr. Alma Betsy Santana (Cohort 13, CLC Cohort 4) is transitioning to be the Senior Director for Orange County Technical College in Orlando, Florida after 14 years of serving in Chicago Public Schools.  She is a proud UIC Cohort 13 graduate and part of the CPS Cohort 1 - GEM program.  She served as principal of Funston Elementary for two years where she developed teams to work together to use data-informed practices to support instruction and increase social emotional support for students.  She also served as Assistant Principal of Inter-American Magnet School for two and half years where she guided the analysis of their current curriculum, guided the development of curriculum maps, and led cycles of instructional practice improvement.  Prior to her administrator roles she was an Instructional Support Leader for CPS Network 3 serving the Belmont-Cragin and Austin communities for two and half years where she led professional development for teachers and administrators.  She also worked for seven years as a middle school math teacher creating engaging learning experiences for her students.  Her focus has been to intentionally develop and support the structures for effective adult collaboration to strengthen organizational capacity. The title of her Capstone was:  "Changing the Status Quo:  Creating Effective Teams as a Conduit for Building Organizational Capacity.

Kristin Blathras (Cohort 14, CLC Cohort 5)  recently became principal of Hamilton Elementary School.  Blathras has over 20 years of experience as a teacher leader in Chicago Public Schools.  Prior to becoming principal, Kristin worked as a literacy coach at Morrill Elementary School for 14 years and completed her residency at Sandoval Elementary School. Since then, she has spent the last four years as the assistant principal at Hearst Elementary School, focusing on building teacher capacity and shared leadership.  During her time at Hearst, Blathras championed a curriculum overhaul that moved Hearst to have a curriculum with a strategically designed scope and sequence anchored in standards and designed to maximize the students’ real-world impact in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, leading Hearst to be recognized as a Sustainable Development School.

Michael Marzano (Cohort 15, CLC Cohort 6) was awarded the principalship of Marquette School of Excellence at the end of July. Marquette was an AUSL school until this year, but is in the first group of schools transitioning back to CPS networks. Michael started his career in CPS as a science teacher at Hancock HS before transitioning into the network offices as a data strategist. After joining UIC, he became the resident principal at Amundsen HS before accepting the role of assistant principal at Marquette ES in 2018. Three years later as the principal, Michael has established an instructional vision for Marquette that focuses on the three C's: culture, instructional coaching, and cycles of inquiry. This vision was created in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team and teachers to ensure Marquette's continuous improvement is sustainable for its students and community.
 

Dr. Meghan Brewer (Cohort 14, CLC Cohort 5) was recently selected as a new assistant principal at Mather High School. Previously, Dr. Brewer served as assistant principal at Hamilton Elementary, under the leadership of Dr. Amy Vondra, principal, where she built the capacity of the instructional leadership team to lead school-wide cycles of learning focused on improving student learning growth and designed the MTSS structure and process to support students' academic and behavioral success. Before becoming an assistant principal at Hamilton, Dr. Brewer completed her principal residency at Amundsen High School with mentor principal Anna Pavichevich. Dr. Brewer is excited about returning to High School.  The title of her Capstone was:  "Building a Culture of Instructional Inquiry Through Learning Cycles."

Casey Fuess (Cohort 18, CLC Cohort 9) has been selected as a founding assistant principal of CPS’s Virtual Academy. Casey’s career in CPS began a decade ago as a music teacher and teacher leader at Lindblom Math & Science Academy. During his seven years at Lindblom, Casey built an award-winning choir program and served in numerous leadership roles, including proficiency-based learning coordinator and LSC Secretary. Casey later worked as a personalized learning instructional coach for LEAP Innovations, where he promoted student-centered pedagogy in K-8 classrooms. As resident principal at Senn High School this past school year, Casey led numerous initiatives, including launching Senn’s new IB Career-related Programme; supporting 11th-grade student success; leading the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team; expanding inquiry-based science instruction; and facilitating virtual parent engagement through the PAC.
 

Sarah Roche (UIC Cohort 17, CLC Cohort 9) accepted the position of assistant principal at Oscar Mayer Magnet School.  This past year she was the resident principal at Clinton Elementary School under the leadership of Principal Maureen Delgado. Ms. Roche thanks Principal Delgado for the opportunity to lead teams of teachers and stakeholders in ways that continued to cultivate her leadership skills towards equity and inclusion. At Clinton, Ms. Roche developed the school's Behavior Health Team, creating protocols and school structures for effectively meeting the social-emotional needs of students while building the capacity of the team as a whole. Her leadership work also included increasing parent participation and building the teacher leader capacity on the Bilingual Advisory Committee. Ms. Roche is a native of Chicago, a Chicago Public Schools parent, and a former Chicago Public Schools student herself. She has traveled around the world, teaching and building her cultural humility in countries such as Thailand, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.  She is thrilled to begin her new role as a Chicago Public Schools leader. 

Rebecca Bancroft (Cohort 15, CLC Cohort 6) recently transitioned into a role with the national organization Stand for Children: Center for High School Success as a 9th Grade Success Coach and Business Development Manager. Becky will be using her experiences from her fifteen years in Chicago Public Schools with the work of Freshman on Track and College & Career readiness to support districts across the country that are starting to take up this work. She will be coaching school leaders, supporting the development and capacity of school teams, and also working to establish a model that has limitless potential in terms of increasing access to post-secondary opportunities for student populations that have been historically underserved. Becky has served as the assistant principal at Back of the Yards College Prep High School with Dr. Patty Brekke (Cohort 10) since 2015. Becky served as the acting principal of Ogden International School during the 2018-19 school year. Prior to her school leadership roles, Becky was an Instructional Support Leader in Network 1, under the leadership of Dr. Anna Alvardo, and spent over 10 years as a special education teacher and case manager on the Little Village High School campus and at Pajaro Valley High School (Watsonville, CA). Becky’s capstone was titled: "The Impact of Teacher Leadership, Close Reading, and a Shared Vision of Literacy as a Liberatory Practice".

The Lake View math department has been recognized for four straight years with a Golden Apple winner, Erin Unander, an Illinois Promising Teacher of the Year, Stephen Cimaglia, and two Knowles Teaching Fellows, Jon Brown and Peter Smith. Under the leadership of principal Dr. PJ Karafiol (Cohort 12), the math department at Lake View has completely revamped its curriculum and pedagogy to focus on learning through problem-solving, with an emphasis on equity and social emotional learning in their teaching. Dr.Karafiol believes that the Japanese Lesson Study has been an integral part of the math department’s development, as it engages the department members in collegial conversations that foster ongoing professional learning. Additionally, several math department members are involved with Math Circles of Chicago, a nonprofit that provides students with opportunities for authentic mathematical investigation and exploration; Karafiol is a strong supporter of their involvement, as the organization provides adults with a professional community dedicated to doing and teaching mathematics through inquiry. Dr. Karafiol's capstone title was "Stagnation to Germination: Creating Structures for Contextual Professional Learning".

For more information about Lesson Study, go to www.lsalliance.org, and for more information about Math Circles of Chicago, go to www.mathcirclesofchicago.org.