2016–2017 Teacher Exchange

About the Participants

Hannah Choi 

Hannah teaches a second grade Gifted and Talented class at Chelsea Preparatory PS 33. She enjoys creating a learning environment of interdisciplinary connections, and she likes to challenge her students to think critically.

Karin Dando-Haenisch

Karin is an artist and art educator who has been providing art instruction and experiences to New York City students in both public and independent schools for twenty years.  She currently teaches first through fifth grade students at Chelsea Preparatory PS 33.

Sasha Dobos-Czarnocha

Sasha’s experiences teaching theater and performance are grounded in her time as an educator in London, Havana, Oakland, and New York City. For the past five and a half years she has created a theater program from the ground up at Gotham Professional Arts Academy in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Jamie Foster 

Jaime has been an elementary school teacher since 2001. She is currently in her fifth year of teaching kindergarten at The Greenwich Village School PS 41. She is passionate about her career as an educator and believes in the power of integrating music, movement, art, and creativity throughout the day.

Deborah-Frances Pierre

Deborah-Frances has taught music and special education for thirteen years. She has been at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (LOMA) for the past eight years, where she builds students' self-esteem and expands their knowledge of social issues through music.

Jenny Krumpus

Jenny is currently teaching photography to tenth graders and Art and Design to ninth graders at The Clinton School for Writers and Artists. Prior to Clinton she taught at Millennium High School for fifteen years. Jenny believes that art education is an essential part of developing critical thinking skills, metacognition, and inclusive perspectives. She works with wonderfully hilarious teens and passionate, insightful colleagues.

Nora Kurtz

Nora teaches eighth grade humanities at the NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies. She is in her third year of teaching. Nora was drawn to teaching because of her experience as a writing student in an experiential learning program. She strives to help students make their learning personal.

Laurel Lesio

With a lifelong interest in both education and the arts, Laurel has been teaching for over thirty-five years. She started the dance program at Grace Church School, and is currently the Dance Curriculum Coordinator. She also teaches dance to early childhood, lower school, and middle school students. The visual arts have often inspired Laurel and her students as they learn about choreography and the artistic process.

Ludmilla Louisdhon

Ludmilla has been teaching for ten years. She currently teaches eleventh grade Humanities English and American history at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (LOMA). Ludmilla is excited to share new ideas with her students. Her goal as an educator is to have her students feel confident, challenged, guided, and curious.

Bohdana Mery

Bohdana has taught for seventeen years. She currently teaches first graders at The Greenwich Village School PS 41. Bohdana likes to incorporate art and music into all subject areas, and enjoys sharing stories with her students to improve their storytelling skills.  

Amie Schindel 

Amie has a passion for empowering students to be creative thinkers and life-long learners. She focuses on community building and helping students understand the importance of their contributions. For the past twelve years, Amie has been sharing her love of learning with kindergarten and first grade students at The Charrette School PS 3 in Manhattan.

Shelley Zittel

Shelley has worked at the NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies for twelve years. She teaches sixth grade humanities and special education in an inclusion setting.  She integrates literature, history, and the visual arts to help students understand the connection of the human experience through time and space.