Bronx Elementary

Josie Carbone, Principal

Josie Carbone is the founding principal of Girls Prep Bronx and a proud graduate of a single-sex college. An educator for the past fourteen years, Josie is deeply committed to educational equity and social justice. Prior to opening her school in August 2009, she completed a year-long leadership residency at Girl Prep Lower East Side. During her residency, Josie immersed herself in the Girls Prep curriculum and culture. She is now thrilled to bring the option of a Girls Prep education to families in the Bronx. Josie graduated from Smith College and is an alumna of Teach for America. While teaching at PS 63 in Morrisania, she earned a master's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street College.

In 2003, Josie left the New York City Department of Education and joined the start-up team of Bronx Charter School for the Arts in Hunts Point, where she served first as a founding Lead Teacher and then as the Lower School Director. While completing her Girls Prep Leadership Residency last year, Josie also finished a fellowship with New Leaders for New Schools and worked towards her master's in Educational Leadership. Josie has served on the adjunct faculty at Bank Street College where she has taught courses in Urban Education and Classroom Management. She lives in Washington Heights with her family.

1

Katie Carroll, Director of Student and Family Affairs

Katie Carroll is the Director of Student and Family Affairs. Katie comes to Girls Prep from a Charter School in Harlem where she was the Dean of Culture and the Lower School Dean of Students, Family and Community. Prior to being Dean, Katie taught first grade and kindergarten in Harlem and in Cleveland. Katie is excited to be part of the GP Bronx founding staff. She is enjoys working with students and families and is looking forward to developing relationships with all of our community members at Girls Prep.

2

Evelyn Marcano, Operations Associate

Evelyn Marcano graduated from BMCC with an AA in Business Administration and went on to earn her Bachelors in Education at the City College of New York. She taught at a BMCC Early Childhood Center for six years in a pre-k 3 room. She loves being a part of the Girls Prep team and helping families begin the important journey of their daughter's education.

3

Cora Weissbourd, Business and Operations Manager

During the 2006-2007 school year, Cora was a Girls Prep Fellow at Girls Prep Lower East Side. Before joining Girls Prep, Cora gained teaching experience in public schools in Washington D.C. and Chicago. She also worked for several educational non-profits performing research, grant writing and analysis. She is thrilled to have helped open Girls Prep Bronx and loves supporting the school’s incredible founding staff, students and families.

4

Kelly Pesce, Kindergarten Lead Teacher

Kelly Pesce loves teaching kindergarten in the Ellen Ochoa Class at Girls Prep Bronx. Kelly has taught for the past five years in traditional public and charter schools in the Bronx. She received her BA in Early Childhood Education and Spanish at Ohio Wesleyan University. She came to New York City through the Teach for America program in 2004. Currently, Kelly is working hard to get her masters in Leadership for Educational Change at Bank Street College of Education.

1

Jennifer Poole, Kindergarten Lead Teacher

Jenny Poole is so excited to be teaching in the Joan Ganz Cooney kindergarten classroom this year. Prior to teaching at Girls Prep, Jenny taught second grade in Ohio, and kindergarten and first grade in Brooklyn. She received her BS in Early Childhood Education from Ohio University, and recently completed her MA in the Literacy Specialist program at Teachers' College. Jenny grew up in Ohio, and loves to visit home for the backyard barbeques and campfires. Her favorite thing about New York is visiting the museums! Jenny loves teaching kindergarteners to embrace their curiosity and playfulness while learning about the world around them. She was always reading as a child, and hopes that her students will love to do the same!

2

Nicole Schultheis, Kindergarten Lead Teacher

Nicole grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is excited to be teaching kindergarten this year in the Helen Keller classroom with Mr. Aguirre. She earned her B.A. in Early Childhood Education at Penn State University and her M.A. in Literacy Education from Hunter College. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, watching independent films, and visiting art galleries. She also likes staying active with physical activities such as hiking, kickboxing, and running.

3

Monique Duncan, First Grade Lead Teacher

Monique Duncan is thrilled to join Girls Prep Bronx as a founding First Grade Lead Teacher. After graduating from Temple University with a BA in Journalism, Monique enrolled in an education program at Iona College and obtained her master’s degree in Childhood Education. She was a founding Lead Teacher at the Bronx Charter School for Excellence where she served as a mentor teacher. Monique later moved on to help develop literacy curriculum and train teachers as a professional developer at an educational non-profit organization. She has written children’s books that encourage the development of good character and is dedicated to educating and positively impacting our youth.

4

Rachel Geringer-Dunn, First Grade Lead Teacher

Rachel Geringer-Dunn graduated from Hamilton College with a Bachelors degree in Sociology after many years of working with children as a dance teacher and summer camp counselor. After working in public relations for a year after college, Rachel realized she missed working with children, so she returned to school to earn her Masters of Arts in Teaching. Rachel taught in Massachusetts for the past four years and is so happy to be back in the New York area, living in the city and teaching the Sonia Sotomayor first grade class. Outside of school, Rachel loves traveling to visit friends and family, reading, practicing new languages, and dancing. She is very happy to be part of the founding team at Girls Prep Bronx!

5

Adam Aguirre, Second Grade Associate

Adam is thrilled to be making his instructional debut in the Helen Keller Kindergarten classroom with Ms. Schultheis. Before joining the amazing team that is Girls Prep Bronx, he earned a B.A. in Government and Theatre from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. For the next three years, he worked as an outreach in education director at a youth theatre organization in New York City. He is committed to issues of social justice, equal rights, and education. Armed with a penchant for acting on stage and walking around beautiful Brooklyn, Adam loves to read in and out of school! He reads plays, the newspaper, fun magazines, and, of course, lots of books! He believes every student has the right to a great education and that all students have the capability to learn, lead, and teach. He is excited to share his passion for reading, acting, and playing with his students. Kindergarten rocks!

1

Sharon Cook, Kindergarten Associate

2

Flora Lopez, First Grade Associate

Flora grew up in the sunny state of California.   As a first generation American she has always been aware of the power and importance of education.  Making her family very proud, Flora is the first to graduate high school in 1996 (Go Tigers!!). In 2001 she graduated from University of California at Santa Cruz with a BA in Psychology and Women’s studies.  The following year Flora moved to New York where she traded in her beach flip-flops for city sneakers as she worked in Social Services as a child and family counselor.  In 2005, Flora realized that her calling was to work with children and changed careers to Early Childhood Education.  In 2009 a blessing occurred as she scanned through jobs online.  She applied and was accepted as a Girls Prep Fellow at Girls Prep Bronx and happily teaches students in the Sonia Sotomayor 1st grade class. She also attends graduate school full-time at Hunter College’s TU Program.  She is honored to be part of the founding group of teachers at Girls Prep in the Bronx and is excited about its future.

4

Julie Nunez, First Grade Associate

Julie Nunez attended Binghamton University and now holds a BA in Sociology and Africana Studies. She is thrilled to be a founding Kindergarten fellow in the Joan Ganz Cooney class. Growing up on the Bronx she always knew she'd work with children. Julie is super excited that she gets to start he career so close to home at Gils Prep Bronx! Although single sex education was not a possibility for her as a child, Julie is happy to see that it has become an available option to ALL little girls in NYC.

5

Isa Rodriguez, Second Grade Associate

6

Caitlin Hanretty, Physical Education Lead Teacher and Art Lead Teacher

Caitlin Hanretty graduated from SUNY Cortland with a bachelors of Science in Education in Physical Education with a Masters degree from Canisus College. She has been working in New York City Public Schools for 5 years. She gained a lot of experience working with middle school children in the Bronx. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Caitlin is a big fan of the snow and winter sports. She is extremely excited to be back working with Kindergarten and First grade. Along with being the Physical Education Teacher, Caitlin is also a part-time school aid. She will see the girls during breakfast, recess, lunch and art class. Caitlin is excited for her first year here at Girls Prep Bronx.

1

Elizabeth Maderal, Dance and Yoga Lead Teacher

Elizabeth Maderal can remember dance being a part of her life from the beginning. Growing up in metro Detroit she went on to study dance at the University of Michigan. The art of Dance brought her to find her second love, yoga. After discovering yoga at the American Dance Festival seven years ago, she went on to get three trainings, in Kundalini Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga and Childrens yoga. In pursuit of the stage she found herself in NYC, ready to embark on sharing the fruits of movement, sound and breath with others. Elizabeth has taught yoga and dance to Yogis of all ages in the NYC area for the past five years. She has been a dancer for the Leanne Schmidt and Company for the past four years. She was lucky to be part of the Girls Prep LES school in its beginning years and is thrilled to be part of the amazing family again. Through dance and yoga she has found her true voice and hopes to provide the same opportunity for the girls prep students.

2

Evette Alba, Lead School Aide

Evette began teaching in the Girls Prep after-school program in 2006. She became a school aid the next year and officially joined the Girls Prep team. This year, Evette brings her Lower East Side expertise to the Bronx founding staff. As the Lead School Aid, Evette supports dance and music instruction, helps out in the office, and ensures that everything runs smoothly across the school. She loves working with all of the students, teachers and families at Girls Prep Bronx. She is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education at BMCC.

1

Jessica Crosby, Reading Specialist

Jessica Crosby is the Reading Specialist for Girls Preparatory Charter School. She began her teaching career when she received a grant from Southern Community Partners to found a non-profit program, Reading for Life, in her hometown of Port Gibson, MS. She fell in love with reading instruction while reading literature and working with students to turn their storytelling and art work into books to read. This motivated her to receive her Master's degree in Language and Literacy from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. After some classroom teaching she became a Reading Specialist in Boston, MA at Neighborhood House Charter School. When Massachusetts received the Reading First grant, she became a Regional Professional Development Provider supporting schools in the implementation of the reading program. Missing the community of a school and working with students, she joined the Boston Public Schools as a Reading Coach at the Paul A. Dever Elementary School. Jessica hopes to find time to continue her quilting while exploring this great city.

2

Bridget Garrity, ELL Specialist

Bridget Garrity grew up in Upstate New York and always dreamed that she would move to New York City upon graduating college. Bridget fulfilled her dream after graduating from SUNY Geneseo with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and Spanish. Bridget learned Spanish while studying abroad in Seville, Spain and her love of learning another language is what lead her pursue her Master's in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Hunter College.For six years, Bridget taught in a Bronx public school where she worked as a first grade teacher for the first three years and an ESL teacher for the next three. Bridget is thrilled to be a founding teacher of Girls Prep Bronx. She is excited to support our girls who are learning English as a second language. When she's not at Girls Prep she enjoys spending time with family and friends, running in Central Park, Pilates, reading, traveling, and eating lots of sushi!

3

Shirley Guerra, School Aide

4

Diana Newmark, Special Education Teacher

Before coming to Girls Prep Bronx, Diana Newmark taught first grade for three years in Hunts Point at the Bronx Charter School for the Arts. Diana got into teaching through Teach For America and received her Master's degree from Pace University. She loves teaching all different kinds of learners.

5

Iva Taylor, Instructional Coach

Iva Taylor is very excited to be working with teachers and students as the Instructional Coach at Girls Prep Bronx. Iva has been teaching in the Bronx for seven years, and is deeply committed to building successful charter schools in New York City. As a founding teacher Bronx Charter School for the Arts in Hunts Point, she taught first and third grades, and most recently worked as the school's Literacy Coach for grades K-6. Prior to living and working in New York, Iva began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member in the Mississippi Delta. Iva has a Master's degree in Classroom Literacy from Bank Street College of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. Her professional interests include children's literature, literacy curriculum, and urban education. Iva grew up in North Carolina, where she returns regularly to visit her family, including her two beautiful nieces. Iva lives in Washington Heights, and enjoys beautiful weather, reading, watching movies, and telling stories.

6

Anne Yackee, Social Worker

Anne Yackee, LCSW, has worked with children and families throughout New York City since her sophomore year at NYU. A graduate of Hunter College's Advanced Standing School of Social Work program, she has been employed in schools, child welfare agencies, pediatric hospitals/residences and out-patient mental health clinics. Anne has learned a lot about resiliency, empathy and fairness from the children she has worked with in the past and is excited to have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow within Girls Prep Bronx.

7