:: KIPP: JOURNEY ACADEMY ::

We are Team and Family

Dace Beaty, Science. Ms. Beaty is a graduate of Purdue University. She has taught at KIPP Tulsa College Preparatory (KTCP) where she helds many functioning positions such as: Student Council Sponsor, 6th grade Team Chair, and Science and Social Studies Chair. Ms. Beaty has dedicated herself to education and working with today's youth. To ensure that she can properly attend to the needs of all learners, she is currently pursuing a Master's in Curriculum Instruction Design and Assessment, with plans to go on to obtain a Doctorate in Administration.

Michelle Person, Math. Ms. Person graduated from Skidmore College with a B.A. in Psychology in May 2000. Upon graduation the Ohio native joined Teach For America and taught for 3 years in the Newark Public School system. In 2003 she was invited to join Newark’s Team Academy: A KIPP School where she taught 5th grade math. She moved back to Ohio in 2004 to be closer to her family. In 2005 she accepted a position at Citizen’s Academy in Cleveland, Ohio where she taught 2nd grade. She is delighted to have the opportunity to work within the KIPP family once again.

Rachael Szydlowski, Nonfiction Studies. Ms. Szydlowski is a native of Toledo, Ohio. She attended Bluffton College (University), where she graduated with departmental honors in Psychology and as the Department of Sociology Distinguished Scholar. Upon graduation, Ms. S. entered a master’s program in Southeast Asian Studies, focusing on economic geography, political science, and history of the region. Ms. S served in Memphis as a member of the Teach for America- Memphis charter corps. She was a 6th grade English/Language Arts teacher at the Soulsville Charter School. During her 1st year teaching, her students boasted the highest levels of growth in school history, with 93% of the students testing proficient, 29% of which possessed an advanced ranking. Ms. S received her Master’s of Arts in Teaching, with a focus on middle school, in May, 2008.

Erin Weis, English Language Arts. Ms. Weis was raised in Peoria, Illinois. She attended Southern Illinois University and earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and a minor in English. She has been teaching middle school for the past nine years. The last four years she has been working at KIPP DIAMOND Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. While at KIPP DIAMOND Academy, she worked as a 7th/8th grade Language Arts Instructor for three years and a literacy coach for one year. She enjoys the challenges and successes that every school day has to offer.

Katherine Bramble, Physical Education. Mrs. Bramble was raised in Lima, Ohio. She attended Bluffton College (University) where she was nominated for the Outstanding Educator Award and graduated with a B.A. in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 2006. While attending college, Mrs. Bramble was a member of the coaching staff for the Shawnee High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team, which went to regional competition each of the three years she was there. She has also spent time coaching an U-12 boys soccer team in Dublin, Ohio. Mrs. Bramble has spent the last two years as a substitute teacher in the Columbus area. This has taken her to several different school districts and allowed her to experience a wide variety of teaching and administrative styles from which to draw the best practices for her own classroom. Mrs. Bramble has always viewed teaching as her calling and is excited to be able to begin her first permanent teaching position at KIPP Journey Academy.

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