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faculty
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Woodlawn is fortunate to have a dedicated and talented faculty with wide-ranging experience in both public and private education. Instead of merely teaching subjects, they teach students, whom they see "not as vessels to be filled, but lamps to be lighted." They choose to teach at Woodlawn for a variety of reasons, some of which are explained in this essay by a 8th-year faculty member.
Kim Lysne, Middle School Director/Art, has a diverse background which includes working with Hispanic students in the Rio Grande valley and serving as a naturalist in the tall grass prairies of North Dakota. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota and teaching degrees from Moorhead State University. For the past 12 years, she has taught art, history, and science in elementary and middle school classes. Kim's extensive interactions with nature and with other cultures give her a unique perspective on the world, one which has allowed her to create an inspiring, project-based teaching style. As a co-founding teacher who helped launch Woodlawn in 2002, her influence can be seen in virtually every aspect of Woodlawn. She is also in charge of our International Travel Program, and has coordinated trips to destinations such as Argentina, Mexico, and Spain for middle/upper school students for the past 5 years.
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Patty Armstrong, Math, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS degree in mathematics and computer science and a specialization in education from Indiana State University. She also received her MS in mathematics from ISU. Patty has a broad base of experience both in academics and business which gives her the unique ability to apply mathematics to real world situations. She taught at ISU as an Instructor of Mathematics and Computer Science before going to work for IBM. Since then, she has taught mathematics at the middle school, high school, and college levels, and has taught at Woodlawn since the school's opening in 2002. These experiences have shaped her belief that application and integration of mathematical knowledge with other disciplines are key components of a middle/high school curriculum. She lives with her husband and two children in Davidson.
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Debbie Lolla, Lower School Director/Life Skills Teacher, has earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education from the State University College at Buffalo, NY. She has taught children in elementary and middle school grade levels over the past 16 years, and her primary areas of focus have included creative writing and reading. Debbie is proficient in developing thematic-based units that tie together different elements of reading and writing in a captivating format. Having joined Woodlawn in 2002 as one of the co-founding teachers, she laid much of the groundwork for the school's programs. Debbie and her husband reside in Huntersville with their daughter, Carmen.
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Sarah Blackwell, Senior Project Coordinator, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Furman University. For the past 11 years, she has taught Math and History at Augusta (GA) Prep School and, since 2003, at Woodlawn. She enjoys coaching cross-country and resides in Charlotte with her husband and newborn son, Andrew. In 2007, Sarah taught Woodlawn's first Advanced Placement (AP) course, World History. She has written a mathematical play about order of operations that was published in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. As a MathCounts coach, Sarah's teams have consistently placed at the region competition, and several students have gone to the state competition. She has also written an insightful essay on why she is motivated to teach at Woodlawn.
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Adah Fitzgerald, Science, earned her Bachelors degree in Biology from Davidson College, and has taught at Woodlawn since 2004. In addition to teaching middle and upper school science classes at Woodlawn, Mrs. Fitzgerald teaches the ninth grade service learning course, Environmental Stewardship, where she enjoys exploring her passion for critically analyzing environmental problems and solutions with her students. In 2009, Mrs. Fitzgerald and Kim Lysne won an Arts & Science Council grant for $2,500 to bring a resident artist to Woodlawn to present their students with an integrated unit about wetland ecology and nature photography. The students exhibited their work for an evening at the McColl Center for Visual Arts in Charlotte. Mrs. Fitzgerald also loves a good overnight trip, especially when she gets to teach her students the art of camping! For ten years she served as a volunteer firefighter for the town of Davidson. Mrs. Fitzgerald and her husband, Bo, live in Mooresville with their baby boy, Hank.
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Cathy Denham, Science/Social Studies, Garden Coordinator, received her Bachelors degree from Davidson College in German and her Masters degree in Education from Queens University. She joined Woodlawn's staff in 2004, and has been the driving force behind transforming our garden plots into a wildlife habitat as well as an outdoor science classroom. Over the past 12 years, Cathy has taught in a variety of local elementary and middle school classrooms, in addition to home schooling. She resides in Davidson with her husband and two children.
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Beth Helfrich, Upper School Director/English/Drama, came to Woodlawn in 2005 from a family of educators, and she has excelled at every level in her academic career. She is intimately familiar with our local community, having graduated as salutatorian from the North Meck IB program, and then earning her Bachelors degree (cum laude) in Theatre from Davidson College in 2003. Beth coordinates our Drama program, known as the Red Barn Players. She and her husband live in Davidson with their daughter, Zoë.
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Jerod Jones, Math/Science, has 11 years of teaching experience in elementary/middle schools in South Carolina and, since 2005, at Woodlawn. He graduated magna cum laude from Winthrop University with a degree in Education. Being almost 7 feet tall, he is easy to spot around campus - he's also a big basketball fan. Jerod and his wife reside in Rock Hill with their newborn son, Shepard.
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Laine Amortegui, Spanish, received two Bachelors degrees from UNC-Charlotte and recently completed her Masters degree in Spanish from Rutgers University. She joined our staff in 2005. For the past 9 years she has taught Spanish to both elementary and middle school students at a Charlotte-area charter school and at Woodlawn. Along with Kim Lysne, Laine has successfully led 6 international student trips while at Woodlawn.
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Tim Helfrich, English/Athletic Director, earned his Bachelors degree from Davidson College studying English and Religion and is now pursuing his Masters degree from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. Tim has also taught and coached at the Loomis-Chaffee School in Connecticut. In addition to being an accomplished soccer player and runner, he is the current owner/operator of Summit Coffee in Davidson where he has made community outreach a priority. He joined our staff in 2006 and teaches upper school English. He and his wife Beth live in Davidson with their daughter Zoë.
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Patty Sullivan, Life Sports, joined Woodlawn's staff in 2007. Prior to that time, she had taught pre-Kindergarten classes at two Charlotte schools, as well as religious education classes at several local churches. She received her Bachelors degree from UNC-Charlotte and played soccer at the Division III college level. She currently plays on the Charlotte Gaelic Football team.
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Andy Agcaoili, Chemistry/Physiology/Biology, received his Chemistry degree from Davidson College, where he was also a member of the cheerleading squad. While at Davidson, he implemented a science-based summer program for high school seniors sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Andy joined our staff in 2007 and is currently pursuing graduate studies at UNC-Charlotte.
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Hedvika Miller, Music, attended the Czech Republic School of Arts and also received her teaching degree in the Czech Republic. After teaching music and dance there for 7 years, she moved to the U.S. Prior to joining our program in 2007, she had taught music theory, history, singing, and dance at a Charlotte-area charter school for 6 years. She operates her own music school in Cornelius as well.
email:
hedvika@ludmilamusicart.com
Julie Ruble, Language Arts, graduated cum laude from Davidson College, where she double-majored in English and Biology. While at Davidson, she won both the Bell Creative Writing Award and the Cornwell Creative Writing Scholarship. After graduating, she taught at a Charlotte middle school before joining Woodlawn in 2008. Julie resides in Charlotte and authors a well-known baking blog on the web.
email:
jruble@woodlawnschool.org
Paula Schwartz, 2nd Grade Teacher, graduated cum laude with an Education degree from Texas A & M University. Before moving to the Charlotte area and joining our staff in 2008, Paula taught in both traditional elementary schools as well as a home school (for 4 of her children) for 9 years in Texas.
email:
pmerchen@woodlawnschool.org
Jeff Donnelly, History, taught history and composition classes for 5 years at Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia before coming to Woodlawn in 2008. He graduated with a Theatre Arts degree from Flagler College and with a Masters degree in Humanities from Old Dominion University. He has also done graduate work at Virginia Commonwealth and Tisch School of the Arts in France.
email:
jdonnelly@woodlawnschool.org
Bryan Stutzman, Math, graduated summa cum laude from Duke University (double majoring in Engineering and Economics). He then proceeded to earn both Masters and Doctoral degrees from Georgia Tech in Engineering and Operations Research, respectively. After 6 years in industry, he entered the education field and has taught classes (primarily math) for the past 9 years in elementary, middle and high schools in Georgia, Mexico, and the Lake Norman area. He joined Woodlawn's staff in 2008 and resides in Davidson with his two children.
email:
bstutzman@woodlawnschool.org
Beth Schaffner, Social Studies, taught history and geography classes in South Carolina schools for 8 years before joining our staff in 2008. Additionally, she has served as a teacher consultant to the National Geographic Society and coordinator of the Close Foundation Grant for Geographic Education. Beth received her Bachelors degree from the University of Tennessee and her Masters degree in Education from Vanderbilt University. She and her family reside in Mooresville.
email:
bschaffner@woodlawnschool.org
Jackie Royce, Art, began her teaching career at Woodlawn in 2008. She received Bachelors degrees in both Photography and Art Education from East Carolina University, which she attended on a swimming scholarship. While in high school, Jackie was a state champion swimmer and won the Female Athlete of the Year award for Virginia Independent Schools.
email:
jroyce@woodlawnschool.org
Jordon Burton, Spanish, received his Bachelors degree in Spanish from Brigham Young University. He worked as a volunteer teacher for 2 years in Bolivia, and also taught Spanish in a Charlotte-area high school for 2 years before coming to Woodlawn in 2008. He helped lead our 2009 international trip to Argentina.
email:
jburton@woodlawnschool.org
Catherine Packard, 3rd Grade Teacher, earned a Bachelors degree in Communications from Appalachian State University. Catherine worked in the business world for many years prior to her transition to the education field. Before joining our staff in 2008, Catherine worked for 3 years at Woodland Heights Elementary. She and her husband reside in Mooresville with their 2 children.
email:
cpackard@woodlawnschool.org
Kyle Tilley, Language Arts, earned a Bachelors degree in English Language and Literature from Washington and Lee University. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. Before joining our faculty in 2009, Kyle taught English to students in grades 6-10 for 3 years in Chapel Hill. Kyle and her husband Matthew reside in Charlotte.
email:
ktilley@woodlawnschool.org
Nyasha Grennan, 1st Grade Teacher, received two Bachelors degrees from the University of Maine in Child Development and Psychology. She has taught students from preschool through second grade for 10 years in area Charlotte schools. Nyasha's passion is literacy and helping young children develop a love for reading and writing. She and her husband Topher reside in Mooresville with their 3 children.
email:
ngrennan@woodlawnschool.org
Anne Broz, Language Arts/Social Studies, earned a Bachelors degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Kansas University and a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Truman State University. Over the past 13 years, Anne has taught students in kindergarten-5th grade. She has a passion for cooking, and earned a Culinary Arts Degree from Westlake Culinary Institute in California. Anne, her husband Jon and their daughter, Sophia, recently moved to the area from Kansas and now reside in Cornelius.
email:
abroz@woodlawnschool.org
Karen Bowman, Publications, received her Bachelors degree in Technical Writing and Journalism from Ferris State University, where she also competed in cross country and track. For the past 6 years, she has coordinated Woodlawn's student yearbook, The Mighty Oak, and newspaper, The Lamplighter. She has also coached Woodlawn's boys and girls middle school cross country teams.
email:
karensbowman@yahoo.com
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Angela McKenzie, Head of School, earned her Bachelors degree in Education from 
Dwayne Bowman, Founder, recently retired from the technology/software industry. During his 14 years in that field, he helped build companies such as Apple Computer, Corbis, and Amazon.com, and was awarded 9 patents dealing with information retrieval. Along with his wife, Karen, he recognized the need for a new private school in the Lake Norman area, and founded Woodlawn in 2002. His educational background includes degrees from 