Spencer Blasdale. Spencer is Chief Executive
Officer of SchoolWorks. He provides leadership and decision-making
for all operations and staffing at SchoolWorks and has the authority
to develop and execute a strategic and operational vision for
SchoolWorks that is in alignment with its mission and core values.
Before joining SchoolWorks, he was Executive Director of the
Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Boston, Massachusetts.
He has spent the past 18 years in the field of education, beginning
with a teaching internship at The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts.
He spent another three years as an independent school teacher
at Beaver Country Day School in Brookline and then moved to work
with City Year and the Boston Public Schools. Spencer moved from
Boston to Chicago to launch the City Year Chicago site and served
as its Executive Director. He then returned to graduate school
and began working with a team to found The Academy of the Pacific
Rim. Over ten years, the school has grown from 100 sixth and
seventh graders to 475 students in grades five through twelve.
The school has been recognized as one of the top-performing charter
schools in Massachusetts and has more than 100 alumni enrolled
in four-year colleges and universities. Since 2004, he has served
on the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association as Board
Chair. Spencer holds a BA in history from Princeton University
and an M.Ed. from Harvard University.
Ledyard McFadden. Ledyard is the Chairman of
SchoolWorks. He has more than 19 years’ experience in education.
Ledyard began his career as an ESL teacher in Costa Rica and,
later, at Chelsea High School in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Ledyard
is a founder of the Bridge School in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
In 1995, Ledyard became the Director of Finance and Operations
of City on a Hill Charter School in Boston, Massachusetts. Later,
he served as the Northeast Regional Manager for Beacon Education
Management, where he developed several charter school applications,
as well as coordinated and assisted in the opening and start-up
of these schools. As founder and President of SchoolWorks, Ledyard
has been instrumental in the development and implementation of
charter school renewal protocols for the Massachusetts Department
of Education, New York State Education Department, Indianapolis
Mayor’s Office, New York Charter Schools Institute and
New Hampshire Department of Education. From 2002 to 2004, he
assisted in the development and implementation of Philadelphia’s
school accountability system for the Philadelphia School Reform
Commission. He has served on multiple school quality reviews
and has provided support to charter schools, public school districts,
departments of education and other educational organizations
throughout the United States. He has recently assisted in developing
improvement teams for urban schools. Ledyard holds a BA in English
from Pomona College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University.
Monica Liang Aguirre. Monica is a Project Associate
at School Works. She started her career in education as high
school Spanish language teacher in the South Bronx and then later
served as Program Director for Teach For America in Phoenix,
Arizona. As a pioneer in the charter school movement, she co-founded
one of the first charter schools in Arizona – a dual-language
charter school that targeted Phoenix’s large immigrant
population – and served as its principal for 10 years.
She has extensive experience working with second language learners,
both with bilingual instruction and specially-designed academic
instruction in English, teacher professional training and school
culture development. Monica holds a Bachelors degree in Spanish
language and literature from Oberlin College and a Masters in
Education from Harvard University.
Robin Coyne Hull. Robin is a Project Manager
at SchoolWorks. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, Robin worked as
a Massachusetts charter school leader for 11 years. She began
her charter school work in 1995 at South Shore Charter Public
School – the first to open in Massachusetts. Also, she
was head of school for the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter
Public School – one of the highest achieving charter schools
in Massachusetts. Robin holds a dual license in Massachusetts – superintendent
and grades 1 - 6 elementary teacher. She is also certified as
an AMS Montessori elementary teacher. During her 30 years in
education, she has taught and led schools from pre-school through
middle school levels. She has experience in public and private
schools and has a broad knowledge in project-based education,
classical education, multi-age programs, character education
and the Montessori method. Robin served four years on the Massachusetts
Charter Public School Association as chair of the technical assistance
committee. She has volunteered for the Massachusetts Department
of Education, reviewing charter school applications and serving
on school quality site team visits. She has presented at the
Core Knowledge National Conferences. Robin holds a BA in English
from the University of New Hampshire and an M. Ed. from Bridgewater
State College.
Anne Lane. Anne is a Project Associate at SchoolWorks.
Anne has more than 30 years of experience in education, as a
teacher, administrator and staff developer. She has a broad knowledge
of pre-school, elementary and middle school curricula. Prior
to joining SchoolWorks, Anne worked as a preschool and elementary
principal in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Anne is the recipient
of the NAESP Distinguished Principal Award. From 1993-2005, she
led the Academy Avenue School in Weymouth, Massachusetts – one
of the highest achieving schools in Massachusetts and named a
Commonwealth Compass School in 2003 and a National NCLB Blue
Ribbon School in 2004. Anne holds a BS in Elementary Education
from the Boston State College and an M. Ed. in School Administration
from Bridgewater State College.
Emily McFadden, Ed. D. Emily is the Business
Manager for SchoolWorks. She has more than 15 years of experience
in education, both as a teacher and curriculum developer. Emily
began her career as a mathematics teacher for elementary, middle
and high school students at the Brimmer and May School in Newton,
Massachusetts. While working on her doctoral dissertation from
1994-1997, she taught courses on methods of teaching mathematics
to undergraduate and graduate students at Boston University,
as well as algebra and pre-calculus courses at Emerson College.
Emily served as a grant assistant at Boston University, where
she assisted a mathematics education professor to improve mathematics
teaching in the Chelsea Public Schools as part of the Boston
University-Chelsea Schools Partnership. Later she worked for
the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) in
Lexington, Massachusetts, where she assisted in the development
of professional development materials for elementary mathematics
teachers, using University of Chicago’s Everyday Mathematics
Program. Emily conducted mathematics training sessions piloting
the BRIDGES materials for elementary school teachers at various
schools across the country. Emily holds a BS in Education and
her Ed. M. and Ed. D. in Mathematics Education from Boston University.
Her doctoral dissertation investigated the relationship between
the formal study of algebra and the recognition of the mathematical
structures of word problems.
Erin F. Patterson. Erin is a Project Associate
at SchoolWorks. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, Erin
worked in public education for 13 years. She has worked as an
elementary school teacher, middle school administrator and teacher
coach in several public school systems in Massachusetts. Erin
worked for the Massachusetts Department of Education as an Education
Specialist, where her assignments included coordinating the review
of underperforming schools across the Commonwealth, monitoring
the improvement processes of underperforming schools and providing
targeted assistance to underperforming public schools in a number
of urban areas. Erin graduated from the College of the Holy Cross
with a Bachelor of Arts and she holds a Masters in Curriculum
and Instruction from Rivier College, where she also completed
advanced graduate work in the area of School Leadership and Administration.
She is licensed in Massachusetts as a teacher, principal and
superintendent of schools.
Karl A. Smith. Ed. D. Karl is a Project Associate
with SchoolWorks. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, he worked as a
language arts teacher and, most recently, as a middle school principal.
He has more than 30 years’ experience in a variety of settings.
Karl has chaired the New England Association School and College
visits and, as well, has served on the Rhode Island School Reviews – SALT
Visits. In addition, he has taught graduate courses in Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment for Lesley University. Karl has worked
with Rhode Island College, teaching a support class for teachers
seeking National Board Certification and was a State Facilitator
for National Board Teachers in Rhode Island. Most recently, he
has done extensive research and implementation in the area of Professional
Learning Communities. Karl has also been trained as a Mentor for
Aspiring Principals through a Kennedy Grant. Karl holds a BA in
English from Ottawa University, a Masters of Education in Reading
from Boston State College, a Masters in Education in School Administration
from Bridgewater State College and a Doctorate in Reading and Language
from Boston University.
Fred Steenkamp. Fred is the Operations Manager
at SchoolWorks. He worked as a senior project manager at Commonwealth
Corporation’s Center for Youth Development and Education
(CYDE). He was responsible for providing technical assistance
to school administrators in their implementation of the Diploma
Plus model - a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded initiative
- in Brockton, Boston and New York City. In New York City, he
worked with the Department of Education to change its alternative
school programs into small learning communities for under-credited
and over-age students in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Prior
to joining CYDE, he was the Director of Curriculum and Training
for Youth Tech Entrepreneurs (YTE), which partnered with schools
and teachers committed to integrating community service and business
concepts into information technology courses. Fred holds a Masters
in Business Administration and a Masters in Education.
Megan Tupa. Megan is a Product Manager for School
Quality Reviews at SchoolWorks. In her four year relationship
with SchoolWorks, Megan has been involved in the management and
implementation of nearly 100 school and district reviews. She
has been instrumental in the development and implementation of
site visit monitoring and renewal protocols for the Indianapolis
Mayor’s Office, the New York State Education Department
and the Chicago Public Schools. Megan has conducted and managed
numerous evaluative and diagnostic reviews in underperforming
district schools on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of
Education. Megan has ten years experience in special education
that includes work in research settings, Early Intervention programs
and as a teacher to children with autism spectrum disorders.
As an Associate at the EK Shriver Center/University of Massachusetts
Medical School, Megan developed, designed and taught distance
learning curriculum to train parents and professionals who work
with individuals with developmental disorders. For two years,
Megan did advocacy and outreach work for Boston Medical Center,
assuring that children on the autism spectrum and their families
receive appropriate educational placements and services. Megan
has a BS in Child Development and Psychology from Vanderbilt
University, an M.Ed. in Special Education from the University
of Illinois at Chicago, and a Masters in Health Administration
from Suffolk University.
Bill Wibel. Bill is a Project Manager at SchoolWorks.
Bill began his career in Cecil County, Maryland, where he taught
in a sixth grade self-contained setting. Later he went on to
middle level education, where he taught and administered several
schools. He spent 18 years on a military reservation as principal
of three different schools. Bill is a founding Board member of
the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans, Massachusetts.
He has served on the Advisory Board of the Harvard Principals'
Center, where he has been a member for more than 20 years. Bill
serves as a supervisor for Harvard University, assisting with
graduate students in the principal's certification strand. Bill
holds a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Wesleyan College,
a Masters in Education from Tennessee Technological University
and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from Northeastern
University.
SchoolWorks Consultants
Bertha Asbury, M. Ed.
Dominique Astier, M. A.
Leslie Beaulieu, M. Ed.
Paula Brimhall, Ed. D.
Tom Buffett, Ed. D.
Nancy Clair, Ed. D.
Ann Dinsmoor, Ed. D.
Kendra Ferguson, M. A.
Herb Green, Ed. D.
Tom Harvey, Ed. D.
Susan Henry, M. Ed.
Pamela Herrup, M. A.
Marlene Hilkowitz, M. Ed.
Joseph Jacovino, Ed. D.
Susan Jamback, M. Ed.
Mihran Keoseian, M. Ed.
Dennis P. McKnight, Ed. D.
Linda Moriarty, CAGS, M. Ed.
Zita Samuels, M. Ed.
Linda Shearon, Ed. D.
Myka-Lynne Sokoloff, M. Ed.
Joseph Trunk, M. A.
Ryan Tyler, Ph. D.
Barbara Wotherspoon, M. Ed.