Upper School Newsletter - August 11, 2021

New Roles, Departures and New Hires

 

New Roles 

Congratulations to the following returning faculty and staff who have taken on new roles this year.

Steph Batbouta — Upper School Learning Specialist and Senior Project Coordinator

Nicholas Bennett — Upper School Math Teacher and Head Varsity Boys’ Tennis Coach

Mia Burton — Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion and Interim Director of Counseling

Megan Dhar — Interim Assistant Director of the Lower School

Clinton Fitzgerald — Upper School Science Teacher

Faith Frampton — Middle School English Teacher

Teena Hahn — Lower School Technology and Instruction Specialist and Computer Science Teacher 

Javanese Hailey — Middle School/Upper School Math Teacher

Jess Henry — Lower School Math Department Chair and Lower School Math Teacher

Tiffany Parry — Director of Engagement and Stewardship 

Rico Reed — Admission Officer Grades 5-6 and Alumni Ambassador and Head Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach and is located in Miller House.

Adam Rice — Middle School Athletic Director and Head Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse Coach

Megan Sharkey — Second Grade Teacher

Gary Smilowitz — Middle School Science Teacher and Upper School Innovation Teacher

Lauren South — Assistant Director of Enrollment Management

Marcia Visaggio — First Grade Assistant Teacher 

Judy Willett — Upper School Learning Specialist

Carol Zhang — Junior Kindergarten Teacher

 

Departures 

As we do each year, we have faculty and staff who depart over the summer due to retirement, relocation or new career or educational opportunities. We are grateful for their service to Flint Hill and wish them well in their future endeavors. 

Elizabeth Crowder — Enrollment Data and Systems Coordinator

Ilana Reyes — Director of Counseling

Tom Verbanic — Director of Athletic Operations and Head Varsity Baseball Coach

Alice Yates — Advancement Officer

 

New Hires

We are delighted to welcome new faculty, staff and members of the Leadership Team to the Flint Hill family.

 

Leadership Team and Schoolwide Staff 

Patrice Arrington — Sports Information Director and Head Varsity Girls' Volleyball Coach — is a graduate of Georgetown University and New York University’s Tisch Institute of Global Sport. She comes to us from Woodrow Wilson High School, where she coached the volleyball team to 18 DCIAA Championship titles, two third-place State finishes, and most recently, runner-up in the DC State Championships. She also served as the director of college and career services. She previously coached volleyball at the collegiate level for both The George Washington University and Fordham University. In addition to her coaching background, Patrice was a two-sport collegiate athlete, played professionally in several countries around the world, and was a member of the USA Women’s National Volleyball team, helping them qualify for the Olympics in 2000 and 2008. 

Lisa Campo — Director of Digital Engagement — has a B.A. in communications from Loyola University New Orleans. She brings 15 years of digital marketing and communications experience to her new role. She has worked at newspapers, trade associations, and startups. 

Laura Day — Enrollment Data and Systems Coordinator — received her undergraduate degree in child development from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. She has filled various roles in local independent schools and comes to us most recently from Congressional School.

Dan Johnson — Security Officer — served as a detective with the Fairfax County Police Department for the past 28 years. He trained recruits in the Police Academy as part of his varied career. He has been awarded a Silver Medal of Valor, Life Saving award, Firearms Distinguished award, two Team Excellent awards, and was promoted to Master Police Officer at 15 years of service.

Olivia Landrum ’11 — Advancement Officer and Head Dance Team Coach — is an alumna of Flint Hill’s Class of 2011 and James Madison University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in corporate communications and dance. She has been the coach of Flint Hill’s Dance Team for many years. She also brings marketing and public relations experience from several nonprofit organizations.

Matt McCoart — Director of After School and Summer Programs — received his undergraduate degree and social studies teaching license from Radford University. He spent the past 10 years working at Congressional School and Camp, the past 5 of which were spent as the auxiliary program manager. In this role, Matt has managed the School Extended Hours and Day Camp programs. 

Robyn Nichols — Interim Director of the Lower School ​​— first joined Flint Hill in July 2018 as the assistant director of the Middle School before becoming assistant director of the Lower School, where she was instrumental in the day to day operations. Previously, she spent 16 years at Sidwell Friends School, where she taught fifth grade and held a series of administrative roles. Robyn was a leader in creating programs around study skills, “Brain Breaks” to help students develop skills to focus for extended times, and the use of “Universal Designs” as an educational approach. 

Don Paige — Director of the Upper School — comes to Flint Hill from Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he served as Head of Upper School. At Shorecrest, he helped pilot programs, promoted cross-divisional collaboration and a new, more robust social-emotional advising curriculum. He worked closely with the other division directors to align programs that extended as a throughline in the school. He taught AP human geography, AP macroeconomics, microeconomics, and a class on equity and social justice. He previously served in various roles at the Athenian School in Danville, Calif.; the College Preparatory School in Oakland, Calif.; and the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Dewayne Robinson — Director of Athletics — is a  seasoned athlete, coach, and athletic administrator. He spent five years at  St. Anne's Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., where he elevated their athletic program through visionary leadership, an interscholastic athletic strategic plan and development tools for coaches and students. Previously, Dewayne spent seven years at Elgin Academy, a PS-12 independent school in Elgin, Ill, where he served as athletic director and varsity boys’ basketball coach. 

Jared Worley — Strength and Conditioning Coach — played four years of varsity football for the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels and double-majored in sports administration and political science with a minor in exercise and sports science. He holds certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. 

Kaylynn Yankovich — Director of Communications — pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she received her bachelor of science in marketing and operations management. From there, her unconventional path allowed her to explore several roles in sales, marketing/communications, and project management. She recently graduated with her MBA from George Washington University. At the center of her passions, interests, and experiences is education. 

Courtney Zsitek — Enrollment Services Coordinator — comes to us from Orlando, Fla., where she taught Spanish and American Sign Language in addition to coaching cheerleading. Prior to her professional experience in Florida, Courtney received her graduate degree in Hispanic Language and Literature from Boston College while teaching as an adjunct professor. Traditionally, Courtney spends her summers working as an international program recruiter and liaison in Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain. Courtney studied with this agency herself while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and international business from the University of Delaware. 

 

New Upper School Faculty

Jason Bowler — Upper School Classics Teacher — has taught Latin at the University of Colorado at Boulder (where he attended graduate school), in Norfolk Public Schools, and in Alexandria City Public Schools over the past 13 years. He is passionate about the literature and culture of the ancient world and seeks to educate those whose interests are piqued by antiquity. He has coached award-winning Certamen teams and sponsored delegations for Virginia Junior Classical League for 11 years. 

Melissa Bradian — Upper School History and Social Sciences Teacher — is a graduate of Appalachian State University, where she studied history and secondary education. As a North Carolina teaching fellow, Melissa spent the last 10 years working with students in middle school, high school, and college settings in North Carolina and is grateful for the opportunities for growth she’s experienced in that time. As an educator, she has been able to pursue studies funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as travel to and explore educational systems in Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Thailand. She enjoys sharing these and other experiences in the classroom and loves working with students to co-create dynamic, joyful, reflective, and brave spaces where all become more comfortable with discomfort as part of the learning process. 

Tulio Campos-Poehnert — Upper School Spanish Teacher — received his undergraduate degree in Latin American literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. He started his teaching career in the United States in 1999 as a teaching fellow at Boston University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature. Tulio brings diverse experience teaching Spanish language and culture at the university and high school levels, as a senior lecturer at Simmons College in Boston and, most recently, at The Madeira School, where he served as a Spanish teacher, ninth-grade lead advisor, and campus resident for nine years.

Esther Choi — Upper School Math Teacher — pursued her undergraduate degree from State University of New York at Albany. She is currently enrolled in a master’s degree program for secondary math education. She worked for five years in Pennsylvania as a middle and high school math teacher. She also served as SAT and ACT math instructor. 

Rey Decerega — Upper School History and Social Sciences Teacher — received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in international administration from the University of Miami in Coral Gables. He has been a teacher and a coach during his career at the middle school and upper school levels. He has also worked in the nonprofit sector, running internship programs for college students and young professionals. Reynaldo has also helped on the implementation of basketball programs in different countries, including Bolivia, China, Panama, and Spain.

Paul Harmon — Upper School Math Teacher — received his undergraduate degree in sport management from North Carolina State University and a Master of Arts in teaching, with a focus on secondary mathematics, from the University of the District of Columbia. He taught for the past five years in charter and independent schools.

Kirsten McKinney — Middle / Upper School Theatre Arts Teacher and Director of Theater Arts Productions — received her degree in musical theater with a minor in choreography from The Boston Conservatory. There, among other things, she became the first student — her senior year — to be hired as a choreographer for their main stage productions. This opened the doors for many young musical theater choreographers who came after her. Kirsten spent the first 23 years of her career at the prestigious Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she created and developed various programs. She was the resident choreographer for the SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, for 12 seasons, and had the honor of being a guest artist at various universities including Harvard University. She spent the last four years as the dance program director and musical theater director at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas. She is a multi-award-winning choreographer whose work has been seen at the Fringe Festival in Scotland and at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. She is incredibly humbled and honored to have a Tony Award nomination for Excellence in Theater Education. 

Laura Moniuszko — Lower, Middle and Upper School Percussion Teacher — aims to create spaces of inclusivity, creativity, and joy through music. Born in Florida but raised in Virginia, Laura enjoys the mountains so much, she spent five years at Virginia Tech studying for both a master’s in education curriculum and instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in percussion performance and music education. Before coming to Flint Hill, Laura taught percussion ensembles, marching bands, general music, and everything in between – all over Virginia and, most recently, Athens, Ga. Along with teaching, she has a passion for bringing music to populations of all abilities; she began a "Music Exploration" course with an on-campus special education transition group and hopes to continue that type of work as she transitions to NoVA. Looking forward to working with the staff and students at Flint Hill, she hopes to bring a fresh perspective and exciting repertoire to the Flint Hill Percussion Ensembles. 

Jay Park — Upper School Math Teacher — was born and raised in Korea and received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Northwestern University. Before starting his teaching career, he worked with underserved students at a middle school in Delaware with AmeriCorps. Jay received a master of science in education at the University of Pennsylvania and previously taught in the Philadelphia school district. 

Kirk Peterson — Upper School Academic Coach and Head Varsity Football Coach — a native son of Virginia, Kirk is an esteemed educator, successful coach, and father of seven children. Peterson attended Norfolk State University and Strayer University and has a B.S. in business administration. With over 20 years of coaching in a wide array of sports, Kirk brings passion and vigor for the recruiting process to Flint Hill. 

Dustin Pierce — Upper School Math Teacher — was raised in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. He received an undergraduate degree, double majoring in mathematics and physics at King University, a master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Tennessee, and a master’s degree in data science from American University. Dustin taught high school mathematics, statistics and physics. He also coached cross country and track for a number of years domestically and then abroad in East Asia. Additionally, Dustin worked as a data scientist for a biotechnology start-up and is excited to bring his technology skills and professional experience from the data science industry to the mathematics classroom. 

Michelle Robinson — Upper School Learning Specialist — is originally from the Pittsburgh area and received her undergraduate degree in both elementary education and special education K-12 from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. She previously worked for Fairfax County Public Schools and has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on technology in the classroom from George Mason University. 

Deanna Tomanelli — Upper School Science Teacher — was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y. She received her B.S. and B.A. in biochemistry and music from Muhlenberg College, her Ph.D. in toxicology from Duke University, and M.A.T. in secondary science education at American University. Previously, Deanna worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Her experience with mentoring high school students, both in the lab and through summer outreach programs, led her to pursue teaching. She is entering her seventh year of teaching and has previously taught in DC and FCPS.