Behind the scenes (masked and happy!) planning for an amazing 2021-22 school year.
Meet the 2021 – 2022 Teaching Team!
Joel Dankoff
Joel will lead the History & Social Studies program at Revolution. He has taught Global History, United States History, World Religions, and History of Architecture for over fifteen years, most recently at Fleisher Art Memorial and Friends’ Central School. He also taught World History at Wayne State University in Detroit. Joel has a BA in History of Art & Architecture from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and an MA in History from Wayne State University with coursework at the University of Pennsylvania. Joel developed and implemented a Student Leadership Training Program for high school students at Friends’ Central. He also worked as an Admissions Counselor at the University of Chicago. Joel has lived in Philadelphia for nearly twenty years and uses the city itself as a classroom to engage students.
Charles Green
Charles will teach Visual Art & Communication. Through guided experimentation in materials and processes, Charles will teach Revolution school students to connect their art to bigger issues in the world around while embracing their strengths. Charles received his Bachelor’s in Studio Art from the College of Charleston (COFC), has a Master’s in Arts Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and is currently pursuing a post-baccalaureate degree at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.
Sadie Kenyon
Sadie will teach Algebra II, Precalculus, STEM in the Project Lane, and will serve as a Chemistry teaching assistant teaching. Sadie is a graduate of Haverford College and received a Bachelor’s of Science with a major in Physics and minor in math. Sadie spent three years as a teaching assistant for an introductory Physics course at Haverford where they discovered that the vast majority of problems students encounter in early physics were highly mathematical, mostly related to Algebra and Calculus. Additionally, much of Sadie’s undergraduate career was spent conducting research regarding various physics/astrophysics topics, from pulsars to soft matter. They spent their senior thesis researching light pollution on Haverford’s campus.
Dirk Parker
Dirk will teach Physics and Algebra I. He has over 17 years of teaching experience and before joining Revolution School taught science at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and St.Peters School where he also served as Director of Innovation. Dirk also at developed a robotics and boat building course at Girard College. He even did the go-cart construction process with our students during year one! Dirk is married with two children and enjoys building skiffs in his spare time.
Mike Pardee
Mike will take on a new leadership role this year serving as Program Director in addition to teaching US Literature and Language to 11th and 12th graders. Before joining Revolution School, Mike served as Associate Director, Dean of Faculty, and Academic Program Director at Lab Atlanta, a similarly innovative, place-based, civically engaged semester-school program for 10th graders. Mike also served as the Associate Director of Community Engagement for the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University, dedicated to nurturing tolerance among people of all and no faiths, especially youth, and to studying the conditions in which tolerance and intolerance flourish. Mike has served as Director of Character Education at the Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas, and as Executive Director of the Leadership Initiative at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. He also has several years’ experience teaching and coaching at various independent schools, including Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. Mike did his undergraduate work at Princeton University, earned his M.A. in American Studies from Boston University, and a second M.A. in private school leadership from Columbia Teachers College. His years of research and first-hand experience inform his ongoing exploration of both the theoretical and practical applications of leadership training and character development at Revolution School.
Diana Misdary
Diana will teach Geometry and Arabic. Diana began her career as an Americorps member with the Martin Luther King Day of Service. Following her second year of service at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, she joined the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows to work in the classroom full time. Diana began teaching at KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy as the first Arabic teacher in KIPP’s national network. There, she coached slam poetry and served as world language department chair. Most recently, she taught in the Philadelphia School District as a math teacher. Diana completed her BA at Villanova University, M.A. at Chestnut Hill College and M.S. at the University of Pennsylvania. Diana enjoys yoga, reading, running and restoring vintage furniture.
Jeanne Mulvanerty
Jeanne will be teaching English and co-teaching School of Thought Seminars in addition to serving as Lead Administrative Coordinator and Board Liaison. Jeanne started her career in education at Pope John Paul II in Royersford, PA, where she taught Freshman English and Creative Writing, and was named Teacher of the Year for her work with the school’s foreign exchange students and the school’s ESL program. She later joined The Concept School in Westtown, where she practiced differentiated learning techniques and taught several levels of high school English, Transitions, Creative Writing, and Improv. She also led the school’s theatre program, coordinating the annual Shakespeare festival and spring mythology performances. Jeanne has also served on the Board at St. Katharine of Siena School in Wayne, PA, where she helped to raise over a half-million dollars and helped to establish an annual giving fund. She has also been involved in the PAIS and Middle States accreditation process at both the elementary and high school levels. Outside of education, Jeanne has also worked in sales, marketing and administrative roles in the Pharmaceutical and Finance Industries. In her free time, Jeanne is currently working on her Project Based Learning certificate at Pennsylvania University. She also loves attending personal essay writing workshops, long walks (preferably on sunny beach days), and spending time with her husband, Mark and her four grown children. Jeanne holds a Masters’s in Secondary English Education from Cabrini University and a Bachelors’s of Arts in English from Fordham University.
Chris Moller
Chris will teach Chemistry. He has a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania and began his career in biomedical research where he was involved in the molecular biology of immune responses to viruses such as influenza. He then undertook a career in venture capital where for 25 years he developed and invested in biotechnology companies throughout the U.S. He was a founding partner of Devon Park Bioventures and retired in 2017. Since then Chris has taken an interest in teaching math and science to high school students. He finds real pleasure in teaching and communicating the excitement of scientifc ideas with the hope of inspiring young minds to pursue careers in science or medicine.
Jane Shore
Jane will co-teach School of Thought Seminars in addition to serving as Director of Research and Innovation. Jane holds a Doctorate in Bilingual Special Education from George Washington University, where she was a Title IV bilingual fellow, and a Master’s in Applied Linguistics from Georgetown University. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Philadelphia Youth Network, where she has the opportunity to amplify PYN’s work on behalf of future-ready youth in Philadelphia. She is a proud founding member of the Independent School Cooperative, and a member Transcend Education’s “Yellow Hats” school builders. Jane’s passion lies in using research to aid in improving outcomes for traditionally under-resourced populations. From positions as a human rights activist in San Pedro, Costa Rica to a teacher, educator, and documentarian in Washington, DC, she aims to bring the research story to practical conversations. Her work has appeared in educational journals and book chapters, most recently The International Journal of Applied Linguistics, The Journal of Reading Psychology, Teachers College Record, Bilingual Research Journal, The Journal of Learning Disabilities and Sage Publication’s MethodSpace.
Virtual Back-to-School Briefing This Week!
We hope everyone will join us online on Wednesday, September 1 from 5:30 – 6:45 PM for an important back-to-school briefing. We will cover important health and safety information, hear from the 2021-2022 teaching team, and debut Educate – our new student information system and communication tool. Our Zoom room will open at 5:15 PM. Click HERE to join. (ID: 84056440970 Passcode: kPE8Otoj)
Health & Safety
We continue to monitor COVID-19 related health and safety concerns. Please carefully read our policies and HERE, and note that these may be revised at any time, per CDC guidelines.
Click HERE for Henry’s recent letter to the community regarding the school’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.
Back-to-School Forms
Many thanks to those who have completed their forms for the coming year. All relevant forms must be completed prior to the start of school and are only accessible through Educate to fully enrolled students.
- If you are fully enrolled and have not received an email with links to back-to-school forms, let us know at: contact@revolutionschool.org.
- If you have not completed your enrollment agreement through TADS, please do so as soon as possible so you can access these forms and other important information. If you need tech support from TADS to complete your agreement, please contact their family support team directly at 1-800-477-8237.
Technology Needs
Given our experience last school year, and the surge of the Delta variant, consistent and dependable access to a computer and internet at school and at home is essential for every student Revolution School school student. Students are welcome to use their own device(s) or use a school-issued Chromebook to support their learning needs.
If your student plans on using a Revolution School issued Chromebook, please let us know through THIS FORM by Wednesday, September 1.
School Day & Student Schedules
This year, the school day starts at 8:30 AM and ends at 3:30 PM. On the first day of school, students should arrive at 230 S. Broad between 8:00 – 8:30 AM. We will have greeters in the lobby and a special treat (donuts!) for students from 8:00 – 8:45.
Student-specific schedules will available on Educate next week.
Summer Work
Reminder! Students should complete our summer book selection, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, and consider reflection queries by the first day of school. CLICK HERE to access the reflection Google Doc.
Virtual Back-to-School Briefing
Wednesday, September 1, 5:30 – 6:45 PM. Click HERE to join (ID: 84056440970 Passcode: kPE8Otoj)
First Day of School
Wednesday, September 8, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM