Innovative Schools

Deborah L. Doordan, Ed.D.
Dr. Deborah L. Doordan is Innovative Schools’ Executive Director. Since joining the organization in February 2008, her leadership has provided direction through major restructuring; transforming and reframing the organization as the Center for School Innovation, and has poised it to play an intrinsic role in revolutionizing public education in Delaware.

Debbie professionally dedicated more than 20 years serving public education in the Christina School District. As a teacher, her work in special education helped to move students with disabilities out of isolated special schools and into their age-appropriate home schools. As an urban school principal in Wilmington, Debbie’s team significantly raised the academic performance of students at-risk for failure and narrowed the achievement gap among disaggregate student groups. And as a district administrator, her experiences broadened to include extensive work in curriculum and instruction, professional development, and secondary education reform.

Among her many leadership abilities, Debbie’s commitment to innovative school reform, dedication to cultivating effective partnerships, and capacity to foster collaborative teamwork have strengthened the organization’s potential to promote outstanding student achievement in Delaware by developing excellent schools.

Debbie earned her B.S. in Special Education from Lynchburg College, and her M.Ed, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware. Debbie lives with her husband and two sons in the City of Wilmington.

Innovative School Models

Dawn Downes, Ed.D.
Dr. Dawn Downes is the Director of School Models at Innovative Schools. In addition to earning a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a literacy specialization, Dawn holds a Master’s degree in administration and has extensive experience within the field of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development. While working in public schools, Dawn held the position of middle and high school English Language Arts teacher, Coordinating Lead Teacher, and Literacy Instructional Coach. At the University of Delaware, Dawn supported the Delaware Reading and Writing Project as the Program Coordinator for secondary partnership schools and taught undergraduate and graduate courses. Dawn has presented at local, regional, and national conferences, served as an evaluator for the Struggling Readers federal grant and a reviewer for several professional books, and worked on numerous Delaware Department of Education committees, including assessment development and DCAS alignment studies. She has developed and aligned curriculum for several successful charter school applications as well as customized and implemented the Learning Focused Strategies (LFS) professional development model.

Rhonda Hill, M.Ed.
Prior to joining Innovative Schools as an Instructional Support Specialist and Project Based Learning Trainer, Rhonda Hill was a Special Educator in both Wilmington, Delaware and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, working with an underserved Special Education population in both academics and advocacy. She co-founded an all-girl, after school, community outreach program and co-chaired the Bully Prevention and Anti-Violence Committee using the knowledge and training gained from her OLWEUS Bully Prevention Training and Certification.

Rhonda has earned her Masters Degree in Reading through Wilmington University. She is Highly Qualified in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics and Special Education. In addition to furthering her education, Rhonda has worked with the Delaware Reading and Writing Project in piloting and field studying effective persuasive writing for students and contributing her findings for contribution to a scholarly journal article. Most recently, Rhonda has worked with the Buck Institute for Education in becoming a Project Based Learning Trainer in order to bring the extended process of in depth inquiry in response to complex questions, problems or challenges into our classrooms, providing our students with an opportunity to attain necessary content knowledge and acquire the 21^st century skills of communication, collaboration and critical thinking pertinent to success both in the classroom and beyond.

Deborah Rodenhouser, M.Ed.
Following more than 30 years with the Delaware public school system as a teacher, program manager and district administrator, Deborah Rodenhouser established DLR Education Consulting to assist organizations associated with public education through administrative and project management, policy and procedural planning, and technical assistance related to program development and implementation.

Mrs. Rodenhouser’s broad leadership experiences in public school district administration have enabled the establishment of an expansive repertoire of consultation services including, but not limited to, grant and application development, program enhancement and implementation, organizational policy and procedural foundation, project management and execution, strategic planning and staff training. Her professional skills, along with her proficiency in the public relations arena, combine to offer valuable consultation assistance.

Mrs. Rodenhouser earned her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware, and her B.S. in Health and Physical Education from West Chester University.

Takashi Rhoulac, M.Ed.
Takashi joined Innovative Schools in October of 2011 as a School and Instructional Support Specialist. She has over 10 years of experience in the education field. Takashi has served as a Curriculum Director and also as a teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels, in Virginia and Delaware schools. Her contributions in the classroom were recognized when she was selected Teacher of the Year in 2009.

Takashi is a native of Hampton, Virginia and graduate of Kecoughtan High School. Her undergraduate education was completed at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics Education. She earned a Master of Education degree in School Leadership from Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware.

Innovative School Staffing

Ellie Ludwigsen
Dr. Ellie Ludwigsen is one of the Program Coordinators for the Delaware Leadership Project. She recently retired from Delaware public education system in 2011 after 36 years as an educator. In addition to her doctorate degree in Leadership and Innovation, Ellie holds an administrative certificate, a Master’s in Counseling, and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics. She had extensive experience in teaching mathematics to both secondary and adult students. After working as a school counselor while living in Germany, Ellie started her administrative role. She has extensive experience as an administrator working at all levels and in various grade configurations, although the majority of her experience has been at the middle school level. At the district level, she has held numerous roles, including ELL program supervision, the gifted and talented program, Career and Technical Education programs, New Teacher Program, and Aspiring Leader Program. Ellie has developed and implemented professional development for the programs, aligning the professional development with the vision of the district.

Alicia Rose
Alicia retired from Delaware public school system on January 1, 2011 after 26 years of service. She spent fifteen of those years as a paraprofessional and the last eleven as a secretary. Prior to working in public education, Alicia worked as a secretary for both University of Delaware and Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Sales, Inc. She continues to work part time for Delaware public education system and Innovative Schools in support of the Delaware Leadership Project.

Zahava Stadler
Zahava Stadler joined Innovative Schools in September 2011 after graduating from Princeton University with a degree in political science. Her background includes internships in the United States Senate and the National Foundation for Women Legislators. She is passionate about education policy and is glad to be supporting the Innovative Schools team in its Human Capital initiatives.

Richelle Talbert
Richelle Talbert recently retired from the Delaware public education system in 2010 after 32 years as an educator. She is currently completing a doctoral program in education as a fellow under the auspices of Nova Southeastern University and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). She was a special education teacher during her initial years receiving the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) ‘s National Practitioner Award of the Year in 1990.

Richelle has extensive experience at the elementary school administrative level and she has served as mentor to numerous school administrators throughout the district and state. She has recent experience in opening a new elementary school, school reform after being awarded a Comprehensive School Reform grant, and has led consecutive elementary schools to Superior ratings in the Delaware State Testing Program. In 2007, the Delaware Library Media Association recognized Richelle as the Administrator of the Year and in 2008, Richelle was named as DE National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principal.

Tamara Brown
Tamara earned her BA in Urban Studies and Political Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Philanthropy and non-Profit Management from Loyola University and is currently pursuing her MPA with a concentration in non-profit management at Widener University.Prior to joining us, Tamara worked at the Chicago Public Education Fund as a program analyst, funding benchmark achievement for alternative certification programs like Teach for America and The New Teacher Project, and managed a youth entrepreneurship program with an in-school component in Philadelphia. Most recently Tamara worked at United Way as the campaign director leading the resource development and strategic planning aspects of the organization.

Amanda Alexander

Megan Dempsey
Prior to working as the Training and Resource Manager for the Delaware Teaching Fellows, I taught at a high needs elementary charter school in Wilmington as a Teach for America corps member. There I taught kindergarten and second grade. In addition, I was a grade level lead and responsible for hiring and providing professional development to all new teachers. I am a member of the School Board for Delaware College Preparatory College where I am working to help ensure that those scholars have the teachers, tools, and programs they need to best prepare them for a college education. Along with my work for DCPA, I have also been a Selector for The New Teacher Project and a member of the Executive Committee for Second Year Giving for Teach for America, Mid-Atlantic. I received my BA in political science and international studies from Elon University in North Carolina. I also have my Masters in Elementary Education from Wilmington University. I am originally from Wallingford, CT.

Innovative School Solutions

Melissa Hentges
Prior to joining Innovative Schools Melissa taught pre-k and kindergarten in Houston, TX for four years. While teaching, she had the opportunity to help found two schools, one for New Orleans evacuee children and another dual language, early childhood and elementary KIPP school. During this time she also served as grade level chair, curriculum chair, developing curriculum and assessments for multiple grade levels, and as the school’s community liaison coordinating parent outreach and partnerships with local community groups.

Three years ago she moved to Philadelphia to obtain her masters in urban education at Temple University, while also working at KIPP Philadelphia Charter School in north Philadelphia. In addition to teaching 8^thgrade reading, Melissa also served as the school’s test coordinator and spearheaded a community outreach effort to identify viable partnerships that would complement both the organizations growth plan and other strategic initiatives. This past summer Melissa had the opportunity to work alongside the chief academic officer and Chancellor Rhee of DC Public Schools organizing and leading their Instructional Superintendent orientation and on-boarding process. This experience helped her to expand her knowledge of districts, and their relationship to other institutions of learning.

Melissa is currently a second year doctoral candidate in Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania and also earning principal certification in their aspiring leaders program.

Deborah Scanlan
Deborah Scanlan joined Innovative Schools in July 2011 after retiring from the State of Delaware in June 2011 with over 28 years of service. In addition to four years at DOE as the education associate for financial practices, she served five years as a school business manager and eight years as a school human resources specialist, and on the development of the PHRST system for three years.

Deborah earned a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) from James Madison University and an MBA from Wilmington University. She holds the School Business Manager, Director of Human Resources, and the School Leader II certificates with the Department of Education.

Instructional Support Team

Christopher Celfo
Christopher Celfo is a music teacher at Glasgow High School, where he teaches chorus, piano, and guitar, and directs the school Drama program. He is currently in his 15^th year with the Delaware public school system. In addition to teaching in the classroom, he teaches private lessons, and performs in a variety of musical ensembles in the area.

Christopher received his B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University, and his Masters of Instruction from the University of Delaware. Within his district, he has developed a curriculum for Guitar and Piano class, and has collaborated with his colleagues to solidify the current district music curriculum.

Deb Gilchrest

Amelia Hutchinson
Amelia (Minnie) Hutchison retired as full-time art educator and School District Art Chairperson in 2008 after 30 years of teaching. She continues to teach art as Adjunct Professor at Wilmington University. Before retiring Minnie worked at the local, state and national levels to improve art instruction and to promote its value. Her philosophy is: Art instruction is an essential component of effective teaching if the needs of all children are to be met. Some of her accomplishments include:

Presenter – National Marine Educators’ Conference How to teach Marine Biology to Elementary Students Using Art as The Basis.
Collaborated with Vicki Spandel, the developer of “The Six Traits of Writing” on her new book, Creating Young Writers.
Presenter at National Re:Learning Conference in Chicago
Delaware’s 2006 Art educator of the Year
Member of the Delaware’s Curriculum Design Team
Member of the Delaware’s Arts Advisory Council
Assisted in organizing Delaware's March For the Arts in Education and created CDs of art work and music by Delaware's students to present to state legislators in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Jennifer Kalinowski

Sharon McMahon

Diana Rossi

Tiffany Sears
Tiffany Sears has been an educator in Delaware for the past seven years. Her background includes instruction in charter and independent schools. Tiffany previously worked in the private sector in the special events/marketing arena.

Tiffany earned a B.A. In Elementary Education from Western Governors' University, and a Master of Education from Wilmington University, with additional studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Tiffany also has an extensive background in gifted education.

Jennifer Short
JJjjJjJJ Jennifer Short has been teaching Spanish at John Dickinson High School in the Pike Creek suburb of Wilmington, Delaware for the past thirteen years and has been a faculty member of the Red Clay Consolidated School District for over fifteen years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and in Spanish from Villanova University and has finished all of her coursework at Wilmington University towards a Master’s Degree in School Leadership. In addition to teaching inside the classroom, she has served as the faculty advisor to the Student Government Association since 2004 and often tutors after school. She currently serves on the Middle States Steering Committee, is the Chair of the School Level Leadership Team, is on the District World Language Curriculum Council, and has been chosen to continue working with the state committee on DPAS II Component 5. She has worked with her district to develop curriculum units and scopes and sequences for all levels of Spanish. She is most proud of developing model resource units and of having one of them published on the Delaware Department of Education’s website.

Kelly Wayne

Marketing

Hollister Creative

Hollister Creative is a full-service creative firm providing expertise in marketing communications and excellence in the delivery of print and interactive marketing tools. Such tools might include a logo and related branding elements, a brochure or marketing kit, a website, and a print or email newsletter.

Clients range from schools and social-service organizations to corporations, foundations, cultural institutions, newspaper companies, and sports teams.

Hollister Creative offers the full range of services any organization might need to reach its marketing communications goals. Services include consulting, project management, graphic design, writing, editing, proofreading, photography, illustration, programming, and printing.

With multiple national awards for the design of marketing materials, Hollister is a top choice for schools seeking quality creative work. But it’s not the awards that keep clients coming back. Their loyalty is a result of Hollister’s focus on results, responsiveness to client needs, and reliability in getting projects done on time and on budget.

Facilities Design and Construction Project Management

The AXIS Group, Inc.
The AXIS Group, Inc. is a facility design and construction project management firm. Howard Smith, the company's President, has a degree in architecture and more than 30 years of diverse experience in facilities design and construction project management. In that time, he has been responsible for more than $75 million of successful owner-occupied commercial projects. His experience has been as a Project Architect working directly for clients and as a Project Manager for facility owners and their tenants.

For 15 years, Howard Smith worked in a facilities engineering group of the DuPont Company at the Wilmington corporate headquarters. He was a Project Manager for assigned projects early on, and later managed the same group providing project management services to all the DuPont Company’s businesses. Project types included general office upgrades, executive offices, conference facilities, building façade rehabilitation, computer rooms installations, and training facilities. The more than 200 projects completed during this time covered more than 1.5 million square feet of space and ranged in costs from tens of thousands of dollars of minor facilities upgrades to a single major renovation project worth $12 million dollars. From 2005 through 2008, Howard was the owner's representative/project manager for half a dozen Christina School District renovation projects.

Budget Development and Business Services

Bill Bentz
Bill Bentz is a Budget and Reporting Specialist with Innovative Schools.

In March 2002, Bill retired from his position as Director of Finance for the Colonial School District in New Castle, Del., after having served there for approximately 30 years.

Since retirement, Bill has served an Interim Director of Finance for several other Delaware school districts, including Brandywine School District, Capital School District, and the Appoquinimink School District. He continues to support the Capital School District as a consultant, and has also supported the Christina School District in this capacity.

Bill has also become familiar with the unique financial problems associated with charter schools. For the past five years, Bill has worked with the Providence Creek Academy Charter School in Clayton, Del. Through his efforts, he has been able to help the school build a strong financial base and Providence Creek will open a new, 3 building campus in September 2009.

Bill has a Bachelor’s Degree from Elizabethtown College and a Master’s Degree from Millersville College.

Joan Gordy
Joan M. Gordy has worked for the State of Delaware for over twelve years with more than twenty years of experience in finance and customer service. She has worked for Campus Community Charter School and Capital School District.

Joan’s primary duties included managing and processing all aspects of Human Resources, Payroll and Benefits in PHRST, processing all financial documents in DFMS. Some of her responsibilities included compiling data, assist in preparing, and adjusting the budget; provide information to administrative officials concerning budget request, expenditures and accounting. In addition, Joan also prepared numerous reports required by the State of Delaware using Excel spreadsheets, acted as a liaison between district employees, insurance companies and state departments, participate with other professionals in planning, policy formulation, budget and problem solving on issues being considered by school district. She has also assisted the Business Administrator for all aspects of federal grants from initial application to final financial report. Joan continually attends training and workshops for the new State of Delaware Financial System.

Tammy Morris
Tammy Morris is a Senior Accounting Specialist with Innovative Schools. In this role, she looks after all aspects of PHRST and DFMS, including payroll, human resources, benefits, and accounts payable. Tammy has more than 21 years of human-resource and financial experience, including 12 years with the State of Delaware.

Before joining Innovative Schools in 2008, Tammy worked for 12 years in education, and was responsible for human resources, benefits, payroll, and finance. She works closely with PHRST (Payroll/Human Resource Statewide Technology for the State of Delaware) as a liaison for the many regulations and changes that are constantly being updated. Ms. Morris will also be the coordinator for DFMS/Financials with the State of Delaware. Tammy has extensive training on PHRST, DFMS, and Mobius.

Michael Scanlan
Michael Scanlan joined Innovative Schools in November 2010. Michael has almost 30 years of experience in Human Resources, including five years with the Delaware public education system and three years working on the development and production support of the State of Delaware’s Payroll, Human Resources, Statewide Technology(PHRST) system. Michael, now retired from the State of Delaware, earned his Bachelors degree at the University of Delaware.

Elly Schmalz
Elly Schmalz is an Innovative Schools Human Resource Consultant. Her experience includes 38 years as an educator in the public school system. During this time, Elly served as a Middle School English Teacher and Department Chair (30 years), a District Administrative Assistant (three years), and as the New Teacher Induction and Mentoring Coordinator (five years).

For the past year, she has served as a Human Resources Consultant for the Christina School District. Elly has a B.A. in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Human Growth Development.

Information Technology

Ryan Arthurton

Omnimaven
Omnimaven is a computer consulting and website design firm supporting the IT requirement of small companies and home users in the TriState area. Its staff is experienced in helping clients leverage technology to increase productivity and profitability.

Omnimaven offers a wide variety of affordable Internet services, such as website development, website hosting, e-commerce, and email services to give its clients a one-stop-shop atmosphere. Omnimaven has the expertise and the talent to develop, maintain, and manage Internet presence for companies, whether they are small businesses or in the Fortune 500.

Omnimaven has over 15 years of hands-on experience in software development, computer networking, and a variety of Internet environments. Some supports include:

Active directory implementation and support
Exchange implementation and support
Firewall implementation and support
Virtual Private Network implementation and support
Network and infrastructure upgrades
Company-wide software deployment and upgrades
New office systems coordination
Hardware installation and support
Server setups and support
Assistance with specialized applications (e.g., SQL Server, backup software, IIS, SharePoint)

Innovative Operations Team

Amanda Dixon
In June 2010, Amanda joined Innovative Schools as the Administrative Assistant. Prior to joining Innovative schools, Amanda was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, with the Delaware Air National Guard. There Amanda worked closely with the Commander of the 142d Airlift Squadron as there Commander Support Staff for over 10 years.

Amanda is currently enrolled at Wilmington University working towards her degree in Human Resource Management.

Robin Doordan
Robin Doordan recently joined Innovative Schools as the Marketing Assistant, bringing with her a solid background of marketing, graphic design and nonprofit experience. Robin is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she earned her BA in Communications. Her prior work includes acting as Marketing Coordinator for a construction management company, and as board member of a charitable organization that provides interest free loans to deserving college students. In her role as Marketing Assistant Robin works with the Director of Marketing to execute outreach programs, support public relations and promotional marketing, and coordinate tours and special events.

Katherine Gallup
Katie Gallup joined Innovative Schools July 2007. In her role as Director of Marketing and Development, Katie works with the Executive Director to develop new initiatives and new growth. This includes community outreach, marketing, new program development, and fundraising.

Prior to joining Innovative Schools, Katie attended Drexel University’s Arts Administration Graduate Program, focusing on fundraising needs and strategies for today’s non-profit organizations.

Katie also worked as a Grant Writer for The Wilma Theater, writing proposals for the theater’s general operating expenses, artistic projects, education programs, and conducting research to expand the theater’s contributed income base.

Katie also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History from Gettysburg College.

Amanda Stoeckicht
Amanda joined innovative schools in February 2011. She gained experience in the non-profit sector as the Administrative Assistant of the De-lead Delaware Program at the Latin American Community Center. She is a recent
graduate of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and speaks three languages including Japanese.

Danielle Sullivan
Danielle Sullivan has worked as a development consultant to non-profit organizations for the past six years. She has worked with a variety of clients, primarily in the areas of education and libraries. Danielle develops fundraising strategy, conducts prospect research, and writes grants, donor solicitation materials, e-communication and website content for her clients. Clients have included Prestige Academy Charter School, the New Castle County library system, the Rodel Foundation and the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation as well as Governor Jack Markell’s transition team.

Prior to her consulting practice, Danielle spent ten years working in advertising in New York City for Young & Rubicam, American Express, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles and Lowe & Partners. Kraft General Foods, Procter & Gamble, American Express and Citicorp were among her clients during that time.

Danielle received a bachelor’s degree in Math and Economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago. She enjoys being active in her community and in politics. She led the community effort to build the Woodlawn Library from 2001 to 2006, serving as president of the Woodlawn Library Friends board until 2010. Danielle and her husband Kevin live in Wilmington with their three children, Adyn, Lucy and Collin.