Faculty & Staff
There is no shortcut to differentiating learning, our magic is our dedicated staff and our 3-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Chris Chiang
HEAD OF SCHOOL / LINKEDIN
Chris (speaks Mandarin) has over 20 years of project-based (PBL) teaching and coaching. Chris frequently returns to Reggio Emilia for inspiration on place-based PBL. Chris has a masters in teaching from Stanford University, and Masters in Educational Leadership from Columbia University. He is certified in gifted education, and a leader in democratic forms of schooling.
Follow the writings of Chris and the UP team at UP’s school blog.
To schedule a meeting with Chris.
Tanya Sheckley
Founder / Linkedin
Tanya is a leadership coach, education podcast producer, and author of a best selling book on education redesign: The Rebel Educator.
UP Academy was born of Tanya’s quest to find the best education for her three children. This school is created as a legacy, in loving memory of Eliza Sheckley. So every child, of every ability, can reach their ultimate potential.
Grace Minlend
Director of Admissions, Early Elementary Teacher / LINKEDIN
Grace is a global Reggio trained educator with experience teaching in Italy and Germany (speaks German), with a passion for differentiated instruction, robotics, design thinking, and hiking. Learn more about admissions.
Irene Yeh
Director of Operations, LOWER Elementary Teacher
Global educator with experience teaching in Taiwan (speaks Mandarin), with a passion for research on SEL, technology, and on globally raised children. Irene holds a masters in comparative education from UCLA.
Denise Menger
English Language Arts (ELA) Specialist
Literacy and SEL maser teacher with a masters in Curriculum & Instruction. Denise has almost 20 years of teaching experience. In addition to Literacy Specialist work, Denise also teaches at a local co-op preschool, supporting children and their parents in using neuro-based science to support emotional regulation.
Haley Davis
Innovation LAB director
Haley is a professional sculptor and arts entrepreneur who studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. She previously worked as a studio artist for Madame Tussauds, creating wax sculptures. As UP’s Director of the Innovation Lab, Haley brings her expertise in art, design, and fabrication to our students.
Vanessa Leduc
MINDFUL MOVEMENT TEACHER, SCHOOL NEWSPAPER ADVISOR
Certified children’s yoga educator, Vanessa education background has been in journalism and the world of progressive schooling, particularly, Montessori.
Deb Sanfilippo
Music Teacher
Deb is a music educator with with over 20 years music education experience.
Hua (Tina) Xie 谢老师
Mandarin Teacher,
Ping Pong Coach
Chinese educator and competitive ping pong athlete and coach. Hua brings over 18 years of experience working with children and is passionate about developing new ways to teaching Mandarin.
Hannah Erikson
after school director, theater & MATH specialist
A professional actor, Hannah studied theatre arts. Hannah has degrees in mathematics and computer science.
Maria Purcell
Instructional coach, Social-emotional Learning specialist
Maria is a 20-year veteran elementary educator and instructional leader with expertise in neuroscience-informed classroom practices. She is a leader in both Conscious Discipline and Responsive Classroom.