2014-2015 Faculty Bios

FACULTY

Lori Defields, Principal

Mrs. DeFields has been an educator in the city of Philadelphia since 1995.  She has served as an elementary school principal for one year, an assistant principal for four years, an English teacher/coach/instructional specialist for over 14 years, and holds several degrees, including a Master’s Degree in Education.   Mrs. DeFields brings passion and dedication to ensuring that all children receive an excellent education; an education that is aligned to national and state standards.    She works with all staff and community to ensure that students learn in an academically rich, safe and sound environment.

Courses

Mathematics

Tasmara Davis – Geometry

Tasmara attended Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and studied Mathematics with a concentration in Secondary Education. While attending Shippensburg, she received honors and mentored freshmen students assisting with the transition from high school to college. Tasmara grew up in South Philadelphia and attended Meredith Elementary and Central High Schools. In school she played the violin and oboe, sang in choirs, and held acting roles in school plays. Outside of school she studied piano and guitar at Settlement Music School and took lessons in ballet, tap, and jazz. In 2011, Tasmara received a Master of Education degree from Cabrini College.

Jon Goulet – Algebra II , Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus

Mr. Goulet grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, where he lived through High School. During his early years in school, he had a passion for Math and Science and loved working with computers. He came to Philadelphia in 2001 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005 with a BS in Computer Science and Engineering. After graduation, he began his first job working as a software developer and providing technology support at a large financial services company. After three years of working in that field, he decided that a career change was in order and joined the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows in 2008. He worked for two years teaching Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and AP Calculus at South Philadelphia High School and joined the staff at Rush in the fall of 2010. Mr. Goulet has a Masters of Education from Drexel University. In his spare time, Mr. Goulet enjoys running, watching sports, reading, and traveling.

Jeff Bevilacqua – Algebra 2

Jeff Bevilacqua has been teaching math (and sometimes science) at The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush since 2010. He enjoys working with such talented, enthusiastic students, and hopes to share his love of mathematics with each student, regardless of his or her prior experiences with math. After being born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Jeff attended Ohio Wesleyan University, earning a BA in Mathematics while also attaining minors in both Physics and the Humanities. He then spent a year living and teaching at Perkiomen School, a boarding school in Pennsburg, PA, before returning to college, earning an MA in Mathematics from Villanova University and pursuing a PhD in Mathematics at Temple University for three years. Although he has lived in the Philadelphia area since 2004 and considers it his home, he is still hopelessly loyal to Cleveland’s sports teams. He also enjoys running through the woods, bowling, playing video games, and watching tv and movies.

Daniel Ritzheimer – Algebra 1

Born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, Daniel Ritzheimer is a proud product of the Philadelphia public school system. As a graduate, Daniel is committed to serving the school district which helped him become the lifelong learner that he is today. While studying Mechanical Engineering at Temple University, Daniel volunteered as a Calculus tutor. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for teaching. He quickly changed his major and received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Temple University. Since then, Daniel has taught at Olney West High School, George Washington High School, Philadelphia High School for Business and Technology, and Harding Middle School. Mr. Ritzheimer ensures the future success of his students by providing them with challenging curriculum that is relevant to their needs and interests.

 

Science

Melissa Holloway – Biology I and II

Ms. Holloway graduated from Kittanning Senior High School and accepted a full academic scholarship to Edinboro University of PA.  Throughout her college career, she enjoyed working at the EUP admissions office as well as the student fitness center.  She graduated magna cum laude earning a degree in Biology and Secondary Education, and immediately accepted a teaching position at Harrisburg High School.  After teaching for several years in Harrisburg, Ms. Holloway moved to the great city of Philadelphia to become one of the founding teachers of Rush Arts.  Ms. Holloway earned her Masters in Education degree from Cabrini College in August 2011.  In her spare time, she enjoys biking along the Schuylkill River, reading scientific literature, and traveling.   

Cara Puff – Biology, Environmental Science, Health

Cara Puff is joining the faculty at The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush for the 2012-2013 school year, and will be teaching Biology and Environmental Science.  Ms. Puff has been teaching in the School District of Philadelphia for the past seven years. Prior to teaching, she worked in the health care field for five years, three years in the Teen Clinic at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and two years at the Family Planning Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Pulling from her past work experiences, Ms. Puff hopes to make the sciences accessible, relevant, and fascinating, as well as expose students to a number of exciting health-related career opportunities.

Ms. Puff acquired her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and her Masters in Education from Eastern University. She currently lives in West Philadelphia, with her husband Rob Paul, who is also a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia, and her two rescued greyhounds Daisy & Little.

Caitlin Matyas – Physics

Caitlin Matyas grew up in southern New Jersey.  She attended the Catholic University of America, where she earned a bachelors and masters degree in biomedical engineering.  Caitlin then served with City Year Greater Philadelphia, an AmeriCorps program, where she realized her passion for teaching. Before pursuing her career in education, Caitlin studied in Spain on a Rotary scholarship.  Upon her return, she studied secondary education at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has since taught physics and mathematics courses in Philadelphia schools.  When she is not teaching, Caitlin enjoys spending time with family, reading, and coaching cheerleading.

Michael Piechoski – Chemistry

 

History

Kevin Katz – World History, African American History
Mr. Katz grew up in Warminster in Lower-Bucks County. He attended King’s College, where he played baseball, while majoring in Communications with minors in Marketing and History. Mr. Katz was originally in the corporate world for 7 years as a web designer. He has his Masters in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies. He is certified to teach Social Studies, English, and Business Education. He is committed to the new 3 Rs – Relationships, Rigor, and Relevance, and the use of technology as a conduit to learning. Mr. Katz is the girls basketball coach and baseball coach. He lives in the Graduate Hospital section of Philadelphia with his wife and 2 children.  He currently teachers World History and American History.

Julie Merkins – African American & American History

Mrs. Merkins originally hails from South Dakota, where she lived until she left to attend college at the University of Minnesota.  While at the U of M, she studied History and Global Studies and spent her junior year studying abroad in Rome and Budapest.  After college, she joined the Peace Corps and moved to the West African country of Guinea for two years to work as a Health Education Volunteer in a rural village.  Following her time in Africa, she decided to follow her passion for teaching by moving to Philadelphia and joining the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows.  She started her teaching career at Germantown High School, where she has taught history for the past four years.  During this time, she received her Masters of Education from Arcadia University.  She also became involved in working with students in extracurricular activities through BuildOn and Students Run Philly Style.  Mrs. Merkins is looking forward to starting the next chapter in her teaching career by working at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush.

 Bryan Steinberg – Social Science & African American History

Bryan Steinberg was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, and attended St. Anselm’s elementary school for 8 years. Then he attended Neshaminy High School in which he ran cross -country, indoor, and outdoor track for three seasons. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University in 2008 with a Bachelors of Education emphasizing history and politics. On the side, he has worked as a waiter at a fine dining restaurant for the last 8 years. Since then, he has taught 9th through 12th grade history at Olney West High School for two years, and has coached track and field for the Olney Trojans. He came to Rush in 2011, and has consistently taught Social Science, African American History, and a year of American History. While teaching at Rush, he has gained his Masters of Education at Cabrini College in 2013. He is also currently studying Filmmaking at Bucks County Community College. For hobbies, he enjoys biking, running, hiking, traveling in the summer, watching tons of movies, playing piano, going to concerts, and likes to continue to think of new and improved ways to improve his teaching ability. He is in his 6th year of teaching, and feels like Rush gives him the perfect opportunity to teach a motivated and talented body of students every year.

Matt Byrne – World History/Spanish

Señor Byrne grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania and attended Albright College where he graduated with a degree in Spanish and Environmental Studies. He has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has lived, volunteered, and studied in 11 countries including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Bolivia.  He met his wife while volunteering at a school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and now lives with her and their adorable dog in Philadelphia. He moved to Philadelphia and joined the Philadelphia
Teaching Fellows in 2010. He taught Spanish previously at University City High School and the High School of the Future. Señor Byrne enjoys traveling, running, cheering on the Philadelphia Union, and training his dog.

 

Foreign Language/Spanish

Nicole Siering – Spanish 1

Raised in the Pine Barrens, Nicole Siering is a New Jersey native. She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University, where she double-majored in English and Spanish Linguistics, concentrating on New Media and Second Language Acquisition. While at Rutgers, she became a Phi Beta Kappan and member of two national foreign language honor societies. She spent one and a half months teaching English in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica in 2005 where she studied Afro-Carribbean history and culture. During 2008-2009, she received a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación de España to teach English in a secondary school in Huelva, España. Shortly thereafter she relocated to Philadelphia as a Teaching Fellow and joined the faculty at Rush Arts. She earned her Masters in Education degree from Chestnut Hill College in December 2011.  Her current academic interests include research in ethnomusicology and the role of music in the foreign language classroom.  Nicole has a deep-rooted appreciation for nature, and is passionate about wildlife and open space conservation. She is an avid canoeist and hiker. She also enjoys traveling, playing guitar, and practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Karenin Loinaz – Spanish II & III 
Karenin Loinaz was raised in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. She moved to Philadelphia when she was 14 years old and attended Edison High School. While at Edison, Ms. Loinaz was enrolled in a bilingual program where she learned English as a second language. In addition, she was an active dancer in school performances and wrote poetry for Spanish class. Upon graduation, she attended Temple University College of Education, where she majored in secondary education and Spanish literature. While attending college, Ms. Loinaz worked at her former high school as a bilingual tutor where she had the opportunity to work with a diverse population of students. From teaching them English as a second language to helping them with the transition from High school to college, Ms. Loinaz gained meaningful experience in guiding youth into the next stages of their lives. Besides working in schools, Ms. Loinaz co-founded an evening program for adults in North Philadelphia, who desired to improve their English and Spanish skills. During her Junior year of college, Ms. Loinaz had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain where she attended the University of Oviedo and took advanced Spanish courses. Upon completion of her study abroad program, Ms. Loinaz entered her final year at Temple University and completed her student-teaching semester at J. R. Masterman High School, where she taught Spanish. Ms. Loinaz graduated from Temple University in the Spring of 2009 with a B.S. in Education and a concentration in Spanish.

Matt Byrne – Spanish/World History

Señor Byrne grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania and attended Albright College where he graduated with a degree in Spanish and Environmental Studies. He has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has lived, volunteered, and studied in 11 countries including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Bolivia.  He met his wife while volunteering at a school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and now lives with her and their adorable dog in Philadelphia. He moved to Philadelphia and joined the Philadelphia
Teaching Fellows in 2010. He taught Spanish previously at University City High School and the High School of the Future. Señor Byrne enjoys traveling, running, cheering on the Philadelphia Union, and training his dog.

 

English

Lorraine Ustaris – English 1 and PBS Media

Ms. Ustaris finished her undergraduate work at St. Joseph’s University, where she majored in English, minored in gender studies, and successfully completed pre-medicine. Having garnered distinction in her college academics, writing, and activism, Ms. Ustaris attained membership into the prestigious honors society Phi Beta Kappa and received various other honors. At Villanova University, she earned her masters in secondary education. Through her graduate assistantship, she became involved in research on dysconscious racism and coauthored a published scholarly article concerning the philosophy of teaching literature. In 2007, she achieved a nearly perfect score on her state certification examination, meriting her the Recognition of Excellence Award for exemplary knowledge of English literature, language, and composition.

In 2009, Ms. Ustaris joined The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, leaving her position at Harcum College, where she had instructed freshman courses in composition, reading, critical thinking and college math, and tutored ESL, math, chemistry, and writing for a range of disciplines. At the Arts Academy, Ms. Ustaris has taught English 1, AP Literature and Composition, Journalism and SAT Prep. In 2010, Ms. Ustaris began an on-going relationship with PBS NewsHour, launching the first PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Ustaris is a rock climber and thrives on outdoor adventuring, traveling and dabbling in the arts. She plays the piano, sings, and is currently learning the guitar. She has also studied studio art and still enjoys drawing and painting. Because of these experiences, Ms. Ustaris truly believes that arts integrated learning can powerfully affect students in the midst of forming their identities as whole-minded artists, innovators, and global citizens.

In 2012, Ms. Ustaris won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. She has created curriculum and/or participated in research for Educurious, Harvard Project Zero, The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and the Learning through Photography initiative. She is an active member of the Philadelphia Writing Project at The University of Pennsylvania and frequently shares her work at local and national education conferences.

Anna Kates – English 2, SAT English Prep

Anna Kates received her BA in English from Earlham College, where she helped run a community radio station and served as a tutor and mentor for first-generation prospective college students in the Eli Lilly Odyssey Program. She earned her MS Ed at the University of Pennsylvania this past spring, focusing on secondary English and Social Studies. Both academic experiences invested her with a passion for teaching, writing, and exploring literature authentically, creatively, critically, and with an eye towards social justice.

During her master’s program, she completed her eight-month pre-service teaching in 10th and 12th grade English classrooms at the School of the Future. While at Penn, Kates was awarded a Lenore Annenberg Fellowship, part of the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program. She also accomplished a teacher research project in her 12th grade classroom for her Master’s thesis, an inquiry into scaffolding writing.

Prior to her work at Penn, Kates was a faculty member in the Liberal Arts Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she taught for six years in the First Year College Writing Program. At UArts, she taught college level modes of writing, responsible research, critical thinking, study habits, and the integration of the arts and humanities. This work informs her approach to instruction in the English 2 and SAT Prep programs, where she endeavors to create a rigorous, engaged, and engaging college preparatory classroom.

Sunny Bavaro – English 4, English 4 Honors, SAT prep

Sunny Bavaro has been teaching for eleven years: six years as an instructor at Lehigh University, Community College of Philadelphia, Bucks County Community College and the University of the Arts, as well as five years for the School District of Philadelphia. Growing up, Ms. Bavaro attended public school in the city of Yonkers and the hamlet of Hopewell Jct., both in NY. After high school, she moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to attend Lehigh University, and she did so with the intention of becoming a Civil Engineer. However, her sophomore year at Lehigh taught her that she prefers the art that words make, wishing to understand how the world works through applied poetry rather than applied mathematics.

She went on to receive both her BA in English from Lehigh, graduating magna cum laude, as well as an MA in English with a concentration in Medieval Literature and Gender Studies. After realizing that her love for the art of reading and writing was sparked when she was in 9th grade, she decided to become a high school English teacher and received an M.Ed in Secondary Education from Arcadia University.

Most recently, she was the Comprehensive High School Region Finalist for the 2010 Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre Teacher of the Year award for her work as a 9th grade English teacher at West Philadelphia High School. Before teaching at Rush, she also taught at Furness High School in South Philly.

Ms. Bavaro’s pedagogy centers on the liberatory possibilities for teenagers when we encourage modern student-writers to engage with their peers and to re-mix and re-create narratives of the past to create original, 21 century visions of their own future.

Max Feldman – English 3, English 3 Honors and Film Studies

Born and raised in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, Mr. Feldman graduated from J.R. Masterman High School. It was during high school that he was inspired to become a teacher after having a series of amazing, mind-expanding English teachers. He attended Penn State University where he majored in Secondary Education and spent his extracurricular time rowing for the Penn State Crew Team. Mr. Feldman has been at The Arts Academy since 2010, and taught at Olney West High School previously. Outside of school, Mr. Feldman enjoys traveling, camping, and biking. He biked across the United States during the summer after his college graduation as an adventure before becoming a teacher. His favorite books include The Catcher in the Rye and 1984, and his favorite films are too numerous to name.

 

Physical Education

Todd Corabi – Physical Education & Health, Athletics Director

The 2014-2015 school year begins Mr. Corabi’s 5th year at Rush Arts and 18th year as a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia. His primary roles are as the 9th grade Physical Education teacher and school Athletic Director Administrator. In addition, Mr. Corabi coaches girls Soccer, girls Softball, oversees several student run clubs and assists with various administrative tasks.
Mr. Corabi was born and raised in Philadelphia and spent most of his youth living in the Harrowgate section of the city near Port Richmond before relocating to Huntingdon Valley in 2002. He attended Olney Elementary from K-5, Conwell Middle Magnet for grades 6-8 and Mastbaum AVTS High School until he graduated as part of the class of 1993.
A proud graduate and product of the School District of Philadelphia, Mr. Corabi then attended Temple University where he majored in Physical and Health Education Teacher Education as part of the school’s Kinesiology major; graduating in May 1997 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree.
Following Temple, Mr. Corabi began his teaching career with the School District of Philadelphia. Ranked #1 in the selection process, he selected Central East Middle School (later to be renamed Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences) and taught there 13 years before coming to the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush in the fall of 2010.
Mr. Corabi currently holds 2 Instructional II Certificates for the Pennsylvania Department of Education:
·   Health and Physical Education K-12
·   Safety and Drivers Education K-12
Educationally, Mr. Corabi holds both a PA Master’s Equivalency and a certified Masters Degree from American Intercontinental University in Instructional design. He has 99 credits of Graduate level schooling past his Bacheolor’s of Science and is considered by the School District of Philadelphia as a “Senior Career Teacher”.

 

The Arts

Cathy Bateman – Fine Arts and Graphic Arts

Cathy Bateman is proud to become a member of the faculty of Rush Arts starting in 2013.  Previously, Cathy taught Visual Arts, Digital Arts and Ceramics at Frankford High School.  During her teaching at Frankford she was also the school technology leader and Chairperson for the Arts and Technology including Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Dance and Educational Technology.  She has several certifications including Fine Arts, Business and Computer Technology and holds Administrative Certification.  Her educational background includes Penn State University, Cabrini College, Arcadia University, University of the Arts, and Brandman University.  Currently she is studying Curriculum and Instruction through Gwynedd Mercy College.  Mrs. Bateman is a strong proponent of STEAM education, interweaving the Arts across the curriculum.

Louis Mazza – Media Arts, Filmmaking, Mobile App Design, Library Media Specialist
Louis Mazza holds a B.F.A. in Media Arts from the Minneapolis College of Art + Design and an M.A.T. in Visual Art from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Mr. Mazza’s professional work as a designer, photographer, and educator include jobs as Education Technology Specialist (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis), Web Producer, (Urban Outfitters, Philadelphia), independent designer & consultant (Tides Foundation, Princeton University Art Museum, Minnesota Public Radio, Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership) and adjunct faculty (Minneapolis College of Art + Design, Philadelphia University). Mr. Mazza contributed curriculum to “Making Media Matter” (Vols. 1 & 2), a collection of media literacy projects for classrooms published by the National Council of Teachers of English. His photography and design work have been published in New Media Design: Reloaded, Wired, and the Philadelphia City Paper. Louis has been a high school educator since 2006, when he was selected as part of the founding faculty at the “School of the Future”, a partnership between Microsoft and the School District of Philadelphia. He believes in providing rich and authentic learning experiences for his students through partnerships with multiple arts and education organizations. His students have enjoyed the benefits of affiliations with The PBS Student Reporting Labs, The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Project Basho, and Temple University’s Media Education Lab. He was the recipient of the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2010.

Suzanne Spencer – Vocal Music

Suzanne Spencer has been a performing musician and teacher in the Philadelphia area for over seven years. Ms. Spencer moved to Philadelphia to finish her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Vocal Performance at the University of the Arts. After completing her degree, she continued on to earn her Masters of Arts in Teaching in Music Education from the University of the Arts. In addition to teaching, Ms. Spencer is an avid performer and studio musician. While living in Philadelphia she has performed at the Merriam Theater, the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center, The World Live Café, the Tritone, the Tin Angel, and overseas at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Ms. Spencer is also presently the lead singer of the Sunday James Band- a Philadelphia based wedding/dance band. Ms. Spencer believes firmly in training her vocal students to not only be the best singers they can be, but the best musicians as well.

Denise Masters – Dance

Mrs. Denise Drumel Masters has been performing, educating and studying all forms of dance for over 30 years throughout the Philadelphia Region.  She holds a masters degree and state certification in Dance Education from Temple University.  Her background includes teaching ballet, point, tap, jazz, various modern techniques and other world dance traditions to all ages through private, studio and public school settings.  She has staged and created original choreography for numerous Broadway musicals for middle and high school level students as well as create her own curriculum in dance. This curriculum includes historical, cultural, composing, choreography, analyzing and critiquing dance studies to focus on interdisciplinary connections through the arts.  She has performed at the Adrienne, Arden, Drake, Arts Bank and Conwell theatres in Philadelphia.  In 2004 she was awarded the national Isadora Duncan Choreography Award followed by the Sarah Hilsendager Professional Educators Award in 2006.  She presented on integrating dance movement therapy into a public school in 2011 at the National Dance Education Conference in Minneapolis.  She is devoted to creating a college preparatory dance program and enhancing knowledge about careers in dance for her students. She is extremely proud to be a part of the Rush Arts Team.  It is her dream job.

Sally Wojcik – Theatre Arts
Sally Wojcik is originally from Springfield, MA. She studied Theatre, English, and Secondary Education at Albright College where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and with Departmental Distinction. Sally spent a semester at the prestigious National Theatre Institute in Waterford, CT. Directly after graduation, Ms. Wojcik accepted a position at Arden Theatre Company in the Arden Professional Apprentice Program, one of the country’s most competitive and rigorous theatre training programs. Sally remained on staff at the Arden in the Education and Marketing Departments for five years. She has also worked a teaching artists for Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Ms. Wojcik is currently pursuing her Masters Degree at Temple University.

Ryan Roemer – Instrumental

Ryan has been a performing musician up and down the east coast from Key West, Florida up to Maine over the past 17 years. Ryan graduated from the University of the Arts with a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Master of Arts in Teaching. He then attended the Graduate Program at Immaculata University in Music Therapy concentrating on advanced level techniques where he earned his Certificate and Board Certification. Ryan has been teaching in South Jersey for the past 11 years and is excited about the opportunity at Rush. When not busy at school, Ryan currently remains a performing musician and works at his own Music Therapy Private Practice on evenings and weekends.

 

Special Education

Susan Ebner – Autistic Support

Susan Ebner Autistic Support teacher, and this is her first year at the Arts Academy. She is very excited and happy to be part of such an awesome faculty!
She has received extensive training in the area of autism, both locally and nationally, and as such incorporates verbal behavior strategies and sensory integration into her daily lessons and routines.
Susan has had many experiences in the performing arts, as an instrumentalist and vocalist, and at times, as a dramatist. She began performing at a young age and continues to pursue opportunities to play her flute and sing. She uses music in her approach to reaching students with communication delays and feels that being here at the Arts Academy is the best of both worlds.
Mrs. Ebner began working with students with autism in 1993, first in a home-based program, then as an early intervention specialist. She received her Bachelor of Science in special education from Gwynedd-Mercy College, where she was a Dean’s List student, and a member of the Mercy Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society, and Harmony Theatre, a group that, under the direction of the Director of Music, teaches young adults with Intellectual Disabilities the art of performing. She received Program Honors at graduation. In 2007, she received her Master’s of Education from Arcadia University.

Susan’s favorite quote is from Dale Carnegie… “ Act enthusiastic, and you become enthusiastic.” She adds this, “ The way I travel through life is the most powerful legacy I can give my students.”

Outside of school, Susan enjoys spending her time with her 6 grandchildren, camping and going to the beach.

Sara Kovula – Autistic Support

Sara Koivula, a native of Finland, received her Bachelor’s Degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a major in Psychology and a minor in Russian.  While studying at LSU, Ms. Koivula began working as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist with preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum and discovered a passion for working in a Special Education setting. After graduating from LSU, she began working as a classroom aide and a counselor at the Summit Area YMCA in New Jersey. While working at the YMCA, she decided to pursue a career in education and applied to the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program. Ms. Koivula moved to Philadelphia in June 2012 when she was accepted into Cohort 13 of the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows and completed her pre-service training at Audenreid High School. She is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Special Education and English at Chestnut Hill College.  This is Ms. Koivula’s first year of teaching and she is very excited to be a part of the Rush community!

Jennifer Clements – Learning Support 9 & 10

This is Mrs. Clements’ first year at the Arts Academy at Rush as a Learning Support Teacher.  Mrs. Clements has been a Special Education Teacher in the School District of Philadelphia for 11 years.  Prior to entering the education field, she was pursuing her Psy.D. in Counseling at Temple University . Working her way through school, she was a Case Manager at a Behavioral Health Facility where she taught adolescents about their illness, and the best strategies in which to cope.  It was then she decided to change paths and pursue what she enjoys most; educating our young minds of today.  Mrs. Clements obtained her Masters in Education at Holy Family University and graduated summa cum laude. She is certified in Special Education and is highly qualified in Mathematics and Social Studies.  Mrs. Clements is absolutely thrilled to be part of the Rush team and is looking forward to new learning opportunities and enjoying the budding talents of our diverse and creative students.

Rhonda Feder – Learning Support 11 & 12

Rhonda Feder is the Learning Support teacher for 11th and 12th grade for the 2014-2015 school year. Prior to coming to Rush Arts, Ms. Feder was a 7th and 8th grade learning support teacher at Northwood Academy Charter School. She studied Psychology at Louisiana State University and upon graduating, moved to New York to study law. She practiced law for a number of years, including serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. She eventually found her way to teaching and special education, joining the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows in 2011 and completing her Masters in Education with a concentration in secondary education in 2013. Without a doubt, Ms Feder finds teaching infinitely more rewarding than practicing law.

 

Support

Veronica Hanley – Academic Support Staff
Born in Germantown and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, Ms. Hanley attended Archbishop Ryan High School where she played flute for the school orchestra and marching band. She began her college education at East Stroudsburg University, then put a hold on college to marry and raise six children. During this time, she took classes at LaSalle University and Community College of Philadelphia, earning a Liberal Arts degree with honor in 2003. She slso studied voice at Settlement Music school for two years. She was a staff member of the Keystone State Boychoir during it’s inception, managing the music library, chaperoning concert performances, as well as tutoring new members in music theory and sight reading while her son was a member of the choir. She most recently spent two years as secretary for the Board of Directors of the Academy Sabres Sports Association, where she coached softball and basketball. Her hobbies include geneology (she has traced her family history to about 640 A.D), hiking, reading, and she has traveled with her husband and children throughout the United States, including Alaska, and to Europe, Nassau, and South Africa.

 Susan Senner – Counselor

 

Rose Dimarino – Secretary