Ivy Wheeler
Principal
Ivy Wheeler is an education leader with a passion for equity in education, and an advocate for personalized learning. She started her career as a visual arts teacher in a large urban school district in Ohio where she developed her interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion. A Master’s degree in The Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education, along with her personal experience as a mother, deepened her commitment to understanding, analyzing, and addressing equity gaps. Ivy Wheeler was led by this passion to her next role, principal of Whitney M. Young PreK-8 School. As a principal she has led the school through a redesign process where she led her team to design and implement a personalized learning model. This model has increased student agency by giving students more control over the path and pace of their own learning. This experience has deepened her love and understanding of teaching and learning and an understanding that true equity work is done through the curriculum, instruction, and supports provided to learners.
Stephanie Allen
School Secretary
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Joseph Marginian
Assistant Principal
Robert Andrews
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Cd)
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Ellen Bartz
Teacher Occupational Therapist
Hi! My name is Ellen Bartz and I am the occupational therapist at Whitney Young PreK-8 School. I grew up in the Cleveland area and after graduating from high school, I went to University of Wisconsin for college. I graduated with a degree in Human Development and Psychology and then went back to school for my Occupational Therapy degree. I have worked at Akron’s Children Hospital, Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland, taught preschool, and then worked at Monarch Center for Autism before coming to work for CMSD. For fun, I like to cook, take pictures, hike, kayak, sail, and travel. I play in a flute choir and a hand bell choir. I like to spend time with my family, including my two “grandpets”, my daughter’s dog, Nina and my son’s cat Jibby.
Shantelle Binfet
Teacher K-8 Primary Grades 1-3
Hi! My name is Shantelle Binfet and I am a 1st grade teacher! I grew up in Bellefontaine, Ohio and graduated from Wright State University with a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education in 2018 and have been teaching at Whitney M. Young PreK-8 since 2019! I love teaching reading and working with technology, but most of all, I love my students! In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, cooking, traveling, and listening to music. Fun fact: I can play multiple instruments: clarinet, piano, frontal percussion, cymbals, xylophone, and the marimba!
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Melanie Beck
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Aut/Md)
Sara Bobay
Teacher Child Development
I have been teaching Pre-school for most of my life. I started out babysitting and watching children in the Church Nursery Every Sunday in High School. I helped pay my way through college by working in a day care. After College i worked one year in a day care, two years for CEOGC and one year as a Kindergarten teacher for a Charter School before coming to CMSD in 2000. I started in CMSD as a Special Education preschool teacher and did this for 12 years and for the past 8 years I have taught in the Regular Education Pre-K program.
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Shawn BrandtTeacher K-8 Music Vocal
Mr. Brandt is the current music teacher at Whitney Young Pk-8 building. He has lived in Ohio all his life. He graduated from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in 2011, University of Akron in 2014, and Cleveland State in 2015. Mr. Brandt has taught band, orchestra, choir, music technology, in addition to general music. Outside of teaching, he enjoys rehearsing and performing with his Elvis-tribute band, jazz trio, and jazz quintet. He plays electric bass in all of these groups. Mr. Brandt is also a member of NAfME, the National Association for Music Education, and OMEA, the Ohio Music Education Association. He was also a clinician at OMEA, presenting his session on how to write podcasts in the music classroom. In his free time, he plays electric bass, electric guitar, composes and arranges music. He also mixes and masters music in his home studio.
Malinda Coleman
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
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Candice Clements
Substitute Paraprofessional
Yolanda Conner
Educational Aide
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Zoe Eilbeck
Teacher Speech/Hearing Therapist
Charlotte Fuller
Paraprofessional Special Education Pre-K
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Lori Evans
Teacher K-8 Reading Recovery
Laura Gladin
Teacher Kindergarten
My name is Laura Gladin and I’m a kindergarten teacher at Whitney Young Elementary School. I grew up in the Cleveland area and graduated from Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High School in 1993. In 1997, I graduated from the University of Toledo with a Bachelor’s degree in Education (K-8). In 1998, I started my teaching career for the Cleveland School District and during the same year, I met my husband and we got married in June 2000. Shortly, after getting married, I finished my Masters Degree in Education from Marygrove College in 2001. During the same year, my husband and I started our family when our son, Hunter was born. Three years later, our daughter, Keeley was born in 2004. In the winter of 2014, I completed coursework to receive my Reading Endorsement from John Carroll University. My family and I are currently living in Parma, Ohio where my son is attending Youngstown State University and my daughter is a sophomore at Normandy High School. This is my 22nd year teaching in CMSD and I look forward to several more years of educating and working with the amazing families and students at Whitney Young Elementary School
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Rhonda Hardin
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
Andrea HardwickParaprofessional
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Ellen Harding
Teacher K-8 Reading Intervention
I was born in Cleveland and went to school there, too. Then I earned an Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree. My teaching career has been in Cleveland. I have taught for 37 years and have enjoyed every minute of them.
Laura Hayes
Teacher K-8 Grades 4-5
The Ohio State University Graduate, Bach. of Ed., 1st through 8th Grade Cleveland Metro Schools Educator: 1998 through Present
Lawrence School Educator: 1991 through 1998 Masters of Education 4 - 9 Math Certification |
Sonya Hunt
Substitute Paraprofessional
Hello my name is Mrs. Hunt. I work with Mrs. Gladin in room 129. I love working with Kindergarten. I went to school for Early Childhood Education. I love to read in my spare time and spend time with my two boys. The best part of working with Kindergarten is teaching them sight words, how to rhyme, count by tens add and subtract. I love to see how much they have grown from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. It also amazes me how much they have grown socially and academically.
Danielle Jennings
Teacher K-8 Grades 1-3
Hi! My name is Danielle Jennings. I am a 2nd grade teacher and I teach all subjects. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a Masters degree in Education in 2017 and have been a teacher at Whitney Young pk-8 ever since ! In my free time I enjoy getting outside, traveling and exercising.
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Carmen Hunter
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
Susan KaunasTeacher Intervention Specialist PreK
Hello! My name is Susan Kaunas I am the preschool intervention teacher. I love working with my students and families at Whitney Young. I completed my undergraduate degree at Illinois State University and my Masters degree at Cleveland State. When I'm not at school I enjoy spending time with my family, going to the lake, enjoying nature and reading.
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Tiffany Kessler
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Cd with Reading)
Virginia Kresak
Teacher Grade 3 with Reading
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Christopher Kraska
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Aut/Md)
Mr. Kraska is an intervention specialist who has taught many subjects and grades from K-12 during his 20 years in Cleveland Schools. He serves as the chair of the Student Support Team (SST) and is a certified Apple Teacher. In his spare time he is a marine archaeologist. He and his wife have two children, two grandsons, and four dogs.
Edward Kmitt
Teacher K-8 Middle School 6-8
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David Kuss
Teacher K-8 Art
Andrew Martin
Teacher K-8 Physical Education
Coach Martin was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio attending CMSD schools throughout grade school and graduated from East Tech High School. Coach Martin started his career in education in 2018 with the goal to teach our students the importance of fitness, nutrition, and living a healthy lifestyle. Coach Martin has 10 years of experience as a personal fitness trainer, group exercise instructor, and sports coach. He also currently works with The Cleveland Indians as a Youth Baseball Coach and Leadership Mentor to high school baseball coaches within CMSD.
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Milisa Marbury
Teacher K-8 Substitute
Milisa Marbury, Proud mother of a 31-year-old son, and a 24-Year-old daughter. Long term substitute for the Cleveland Municipal School district for the past nine years, dedicated to teaching, motivating, caring for, developing, nurturing, and mentoring children. As an advocate for children’s education, Milisa has successfully taken on some of the toughest classrooms in the district, all with passion and a smile (Most of the time).
Milisa was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and she attended the Cleveland Public Schools. Cuyahoga Community College is where Milisa received her first degree, which was in Liberal Arts. She later attended Ursuline College, a private Catholic women’s university, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Administration. Staying on her path toward success, Milisa continued her education at Ursuline College and obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration. While working on her degrees, Milisa thought it would be easy to take on substitute teaching because it was flexible enough for her school schedule, however after finishing school has stuck around longer than planned because of the fulfillment teaching gives. Milisa also holds a license in the field of Cosmetology. In her spare time Milisa enjoys reading, crafts of various kinds, planning and decorating for parties, and sewing. Angela McCarthy
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Cd)
I’ve been an intervention specialist with CMSD for 10 years! My first year of teaching was at JFK and the past 9 years have been at Whitney Young/Charles Eliot. I love working with students of all ages! I graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a license to teach Early Childhood Education and Mild/Moderate Special Needs.
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Tamika McKinley
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
Diana Milan
Teacher K-8 Substitute
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Ryan McFeely
Teacher K-8 Middle School 6-8
Matt Murphy
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Cd)
First year teaching, intervention specialist. Hobbies include working out and hiking, bike riding. Love to make cool videos and educational raps.
https://youtu.be/QUAVScE0O5o |
Jeanne Petarra-Weeks
Model Lead Teacher Data Specialist (PreK-3)
I have been a educator in CMSD for the last 34 years. I am a parent and a pet owner. I enjoy reading, cooking, scrap booking and hiking.
Zarenia Reed
Student Teacher Bowling Green State University
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Richard Prusak
Teacher K-8 Middle School 6-8
Mr. Prusak has been a CMSD teacher for 27 years. He has served as a Peer Instructional Coach. Mr. Prusak earned his Middle Child Math Licensure Summa cum laude from Cleveland State University and also his M.Ed. Sum cum laude in Elementary Education from John Carroll University.
Latasha Ross
Substitute Paraprofessional
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Kimberly Shemo
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
Heather Szudarek
Teacher K-8 Grades 4-5
I have been a teacher for 21 years. I love to teach math but I have taught all subjects in grades 3-6. I can't wait to get back to teaching through Personalized Learning. I miss my students very much!
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Kerin Smith
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Cd with Reading)
Syreeta Taylor
Instructional Aide
I have 5 wonderful son's. Proud graduate of Rhodes High School. Studied Early Childhood education at Cuyahoga community college. I am currently in my 14th year with Cleveland Metropolitan School District. My passion is to make others happy and make a positive impact in young scholars lives.
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Melissa Torres
Paraprofessional One on One
Franzetta Williams
Paraprofessional (Aut/Md)
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Jennifer Walker
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Aut/Md)
Jennifer Walker is an Intervention Specialist At Whitney M. Young. Ms. Walker graduated with a degree in Fine and Professional Arts from Kent State University. She received her Special Education Credential and Masters Degree in Special Education from California State University, Northridge. Prior to moving back to Ohio, Jennifer worked for the Los Angeles Unified School district as an Inclusion Facilitator.
Julie Wojcik
Psychologist
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Carmen Woody
Teacher Intervention Specialist (Aut/Md)
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Sharon Phillips
Media Specialist
I would describe myself as a passionate educator whose lifelong commitment to the education of students has deep roots in this community. I grew up in the Harvard-Lee community and fostered my love of reading by frequent visits to the Harvard-Lee Library. I attended Eliot-Hoban Junior High School and then went on to graduate from John F. Kennedy High School. Following high school, I earned a bachelors and master degree and have spent many years as an educator – first as a teacher and director of a child care center, then as a professional in K-12 schools. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading and working in my yard. Don’t be afraid to ask for my help with your reading goals.
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