Christa Coleman, English Language Arts
Christa has seven years of teaching
experience in middle school classrooms in Hawthorne, CA, San Diego, CA, and
Phoenix, AZ. Christa returned to teaching after careers as Director of YMCA
Youth and Teen Development at the Valley of the Sun YMCA, co-owner of her own
leather goods company Simply Skins, and Training Coordinator for the Vanguard
Group. At KIPP Adelante, Christa has been instrumental in forging positive
community relations as she frequently takes her classes on field trips around
downtown—one of her classes even addressed the Mayor and City Council regarding
a new central public library. Before joining the KIPP Adelante Preparatory
Academy faculty, she most recently taught English Language Arts to English
language learners at Tertulia Pre-College Community Charter School in Phoenix,
AZ. There she
also served as a mentor teacher to new staff members, and was an active member
of the Board of Directors. She holds her bachelors degree from
Virginia Commonwealth University.
Thomas Duncan, Orchestra
Thomas is the Orchestra
Director at KIPP Adelante. He received both his Bachelor’s and Masters Degrees
in Music Education from the University of
Redlands, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He currently maintains a private
violin studio in the San Diego area, and is the Beginning Orchestra conductor
for the San Diego-based
Youth Philharmonic
Orchestra. Before becoming a conductor for the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra
he was an assistant for the the Intermediate Ensemble at the
Civic Youth Orchestra of
San Diego, and he finished his tenure there as conductor for their Chamber
Ensemble. He also enjoys playing in both the
Palomar Symphony
Orchestra and the
Poway Community Symphony Orchestra.
John
Greenwell, History and Science
John has three years of teaching
experience in underresourced schools in Chicago, Illinois. He has taught fourth
grade, K-8 computer enrichment program classes, ESL classes, and French elective
classes. At Santa Maria Addolorata Catholic School, John was responsible for
overseeing the information technology equipment and on-site network management.
Furthermore, he served as a mentor and site administrator for the North Side
Chicago ELS Reading Program. John entered the teaching profession as a member
of the Inner City Teaching Corps in partnership with Northwestern University.
He holds a Masters degree from Northwestern University in Primary Education and
a Bachelors of Arts in French Literature and Philosophy from
Fordham University.
Elena Luna, English Language Arts
Elena
has five years of teaching experience in which she has taught sixth-grade at
KIPP Adelante, and bilingual first and fourth grades, as well as GATE classes,
in the San Diego Unified School District. At KIPP Adelante, she invited Channel
10 to feature our school as a “Cool School.” Elena also invited renowned author Victor Villaseñor to visit KIPP
Adelante and share his writing with our students. She recently graduated from
Stanford University with her Masters
Degree in Education in which she pursued studies in social sciences in education
and critical pedagogy. Elena is a member of several professional organizations
including the California Association for Bilingual Educators and the National
Association of Chicano/a Studies. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from
San Diego State University in Social Work.
Priscilla Morin, English Language Arts and History
Priscilla has ten years of teaching experience in
which she has taught fifth-grade at KIPP Adelante and bilingual world history
and social science classes at the secondary level in Richmond, CA. She was also
a member of the fifth-grade team at KIPP Bridge College Preparatory in Oakland,
CA where she taught history and science. At KIPP Adelante, she has established
a top-notch science program in which her young scientists build their
vocabulary actively through wearable flashcards and travel to Los Angeles twice
to the California Science Center. Her students’ learning extends off campus
frequently—whether at Balboa Park or at local businesses to cultivate community
support for the school. In addition to her teaching, Priscilla has held many
leadership positions including Director of the Science, Industry, and Technology
Partnership Academy at Richmond High School and administrator of the Bilingual/ELD
services there. She has mentored new teachers through her roles as Peer
Assistance and Review Coach, Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA)
Coach, and intern credential instructor at California State University in
Hayward. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of California at Berkeley.
