Kalli Harrell

Kalli Harrell

I've been teaching at Soulsville for 4 years and I'm still loving every minute of it!

Gretchen Cook

6th Grade Reading Teacher

I am extremely passionate about urban education and like the charter school system as it allows students to gain a rigorous education. In my current post at a charter school, I serve as the reading teacher for revolutionary sixth grade scholars. I am a firm believer in closing the achievement gap through making learning applicable to students and understanding student environments. This is why I love teaching reading. I have developed a curriculum that allows students to make real world connections to various fiction and non-fiction texts. I also encourage students to improve their literacy and writing skills through independent reading, and help my students seek out high interest texts. Previous to teaching in the middle school, I was an adjunct instructor of communications at the University of Memphis. I also served as the elementary special programs coordinator at a government-operated school in South Korea. There, I learned the absolute importance of differentiated instruction and scaffolding in English language learning, as I often taught classrooms filled with Russian, French, Japanese, and Korean native speakers.

Argie Campbell

6th Grade Writing Teacher

I love my job because my 6th graders surprise me every day! There is never a dull moment as I have the privilege to watch them develop into successful middle school students.

Simon Warren

8th Grade Science Teacher

I am an 8th grade science teacher, in Memphis, TN. I love science, learning new things with my students, and opening up new opportunities.

Patrick Albano

Teacher (8th Writing)

I am currently the 8th grade writing teacher at The Soulsville Charter School in Memphis, TN. I have a strong passion for literacy in education, civic and community engagement through projects in class, and for arts integration into classrooms. I came to teaching through an alternative licensing program, but I love education and will have a Masters of Education from the University of Southern California by the 2014-15 school year. I see knowledge and education as the "great equalizer" and the source of advocacy and passion for all peoples, especially those that have been or continue to be held down or disadvantaged in any way by society. I hope to inspire each day and eventually hope later in life to work for a district in ensuring that schools have strong community connections and rigorous, community-connected curriculum. If students feel valued by their community through education, they will come back and "pay it forward", continuing to make their community a better place.

Lindsey Williams

Teacher

I have been working at the Soulsville Charter School for almost four years. I am passionate about Urban Education and see student access to quality teachers as a civil rights issue. In the zip code where I teach only 1 in 4 students are able to attend college. At my school, 100% of students have been accepted to college. I am proud to be a part of an educational movement dedicated to changing lives and providing students with access to college and setting children up for success in life.

Erin Johnson

Math Teacher

My name is Erin L. Johnson, and I have been a teacher at The Soulsville Charter School for four years in the mathematics department. I teach Pre Calculus and Personal Finance. The Soulsville Charter School is a tuition-free, public charter school located in Memphis, Tennessee. We serve approximately 600 students in grades 6-12. Our mission is to prepare students for “college and life success in an academically rigorous environment.” Our core values are Community, Respect, Integrity, Scholarship, and Empathy. Of the three graduating classes from Soulsville, each has accomplished the honor of having 100% of its class being accepted into a four-year college. My vision for each child I teach is that they grow to become self-directed learners thirsting for knowledge and advocating for their education. I am passionate about providing sound educational opportunities and exposure to my students that mold them into self-directed learners. Instilling these values in my students will allow them to be successful individuals in college as I have witnessed first hand these attributes in my former students who come back and talk to me about their experiences in college. I recently had one student say “no one babies you in college.” Another student told me they had to “learn to take responsibility to study and complete homework.” While these students have adapted, some cannot as easily make that transition. To further assist with this transition, students must be placed in an environment where they can learn at a pace that is challenging but most impactful for their individualized needs. This can be difficult to achieve in a high-level math course as some students quickly pick up concepts and others struggle with foundational skills. A student directed learning model would help students learn at a pace that is challenging, comfortable, and self-directed. It would also allow my students to become persistent problem solvers. I hope that the bigger impact of this outcome would result in my students making better decisions about their future as they get a more realistic sense of being in control of the choices they can make.

Jack Replinger

Physics Teacher

My name is Jack Replinger and I am in my eighth year teaching physics in Memphis, Tennessee. I first came to Memphis through the Teach for America program, and spent my first four years at Kingsbury High School and Treadwell Middle School. For the past four years I have been the physics teacher at The Soulsville Charter School. The Soulsville Charter School is a tuition-free, public charter school, which serves approximately 650 students in grades 6-12. I was fortunate to begin teaching at Soulsville the first year we had a graduating senior class. Of Soulsville’s three graduating classes, each has met the goal of having 100% of seniors being accepted into a four-year college. The mission of The Soulsville Charter School (TSCS) is to prepare students for success in college and in life in an academically rigorous, music-rich environment. TSCS serves a pre-dominantly low-income, minority student population (86% free-reduced lunch in 2013-2014) in south Memphis. Each year I have worked towards the goal of making physics a positive experience for my students and as described below I have developed a new approach for teaching this notoriously difficult subject that is especially effective with the student populations I have served. I am writing to request your support for developing an interactive online physics program which will transform my classroom and allow this method to be available to other teachers and their students. I am co-developing this program with Nick Barnhart, Memphis Teacher Residency class of 2015, who was my resident teacher at Soulsville and now teaches physics at Melrose High School, a public school in south Memphis, which also serves a predominantly low-income, minority student population.

Somer Smith

Community Organizer

Community Organizer

Kelsey McGrath

Spanish Teacher

Teaching high school Spanish in Memphis, TN, I lead students to be driven, confident and compassionate scholars and leaders in their community. Through lots of research, I have developed an ambitious foreign language curriculum that not only prepares students to communicate in real world situations with confidence and ease, but also puts them on a path to take AP Spanish by the end of high school. Walking into my classroom, one would see students investigating authentic materials, taking risks and supporting one another through mistakes, acting out imaginative stories, reflecting on their individual and collective goal progress, and working together to create a joyful and vibrant classroom community.

Michelle Grzybowski

Teacher

Biology Teacher The Soulsville Charter School

Nicholas Barnhart

Teacher

Environmental Science Teacher

Bob Baker

Teacher

U.S Government World History

Austin Crowder

Teacher

Government and Economics

mario strickland

Teacher

math

nadia barnard

Teacher

English 8th grade

Chew Shannon

Teacher

AP Calc Calc Pre Calc

Danesha Ward

College Advisor

College Counselor

Sara Ferren

Teacher

Math II

Colleen Heberlein

Teacher

I teach Statistics and Bridge Math.

Bryan Hearn

Director of Academics

Director of Academics

Charlencia Taylor

Teacher

History

Samantha Buford

Teacher

Social Studies

Lynsey Kamine

Teacher

7th Grade Writing

Walt Ricketson

Teacher

7th grade Science

Berry Isensee

Teacher

7th Grade Science - Tennesse

Micah O'Hare

Math Coach

Math Coach

Virginia Boyd

Teacher

6th Grade Math

Rachel Henderson

College Advisor

College Counselor

Alyssa Gurreri

teacher

6th Grade Science

Sara Cavitt

Teacher

6th Grade Writing

John Nichols

Teacher

10th Grade English

Bradley Trotter

Teacher

Middle School Dean of Instruction

Kendra Cunningham

Teacher

Chemistry Teacher

Maya Robinson

Teacher

9th Grade English Teacher

Teresa Alfuth

Teacher

Math 3 Teacher

Montana Young

Teacher

I am a teacher at The Soulsville Charter School in Memphis, Tennessee. I teach Junior Seminar, a required class for all 11th graders that focuses on ACT prep and college readiness skills.

Iesha Green

Office Team Leader

Office Team Leader

Kenneth Fleming

Play Expert Teacher

Play Expert

Laura Jacobsen

Teacher

8th grade Social Studies teacher at The Soulsville Charter School, 8th grade team leader, 2011 TFA alum, and Calvin College graduate. I grew up in Jamestown, NY home of Lucille Ball, and currently live in Memphis, TN with my husband, Jessen, and our two dogs, Darcy and Margot.

LaMonn Daniels

Teacher

Teacher

Luke Matzke

6th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Teaching at Soulsville Charter School, which is an inner city school in Memphis, TN trying to help students get on a path to college and life success. Currently coaching the Middle School girls basketball and am in need of warmups for the girls.

Staci Johnson

High School History Teacher

I teach Facing History and Ourselves and Contemporary Issues at an urban charter school in Memphis, TN. I love working with teenagers to develop their understandings of the systems that influence our world. I believe that education serves to give language and philosophical and historical frameworks to students' experiences and to equip them to act upon the injustices they encounter.

Patrick Albano

Jesse Finafrock

8th Grade Science Teacher

8th Grade Teacher at the Soulsville Charter School, believer in the next generation, self-expression enthusiast, aiming to empower the students of Soulsville, USA!

Rachel Cox

College Counselor

I'm a College Counselor at the Soulsville Charter School in South Memphis, TN!