South Delco News

Benchmark School issued the following announcement on Aug. 12.

Benchmark is delighted to welcome the following new faculty and staff to our school! Please wish them a warm welcome when you see them. 

DREW KELLNER

Our new Facilities Director Drew Kellner was so excited to come to Benchmark that he moved across the country for the role. Drew had been living outside of San Francisco and working at The Nueva School as their Facilities and Operations Manager, where he oversaw the final stages of construction of a new high school building, including hiring and training operations staff and preparing the move-in. Prior to that, Drew served as a Facilities Manager at Target, overseeing a full remodel of one of the highest-grossing stores in the country. 

In the role of Facilities Director here at Benchmark, Drew manages the physical upkeep, repair, and maintenance of the building, systems, grounds, and cleaning programs. We are fortunate to have Drew’s talents on our team, particularly now, as we initiate our first-ever Campus Master Plan. 

MARIE RIM

Some may remember Marie from her time supporting Alex Templeton this past school year, while Marie completed her graduate studies at Chestnut Hill College. We are delighted to welcome Marie back to campus full-time as a Co-Teacher in the middle school, working with Alexis Caporizzo. 

Marie has a Dual Masters of Education in Special Education PK-8 and Early Childhood Education from Chestnut Hill College. Marie is also an artist, with an undergraduate degree in Painting from Pratt Institute, and an MFA from Penn State, in addition to a BA in Liberal Studies from West Chester University. Marie has served as a Visiting Artist at many colleges and universities, including Temple, Brandeis, Dartmouth, and Cooper Union, and has taught English and Language Arts at a range of schools in the Philadelphia area, including The School in Rose Valley and Mastery Charter School. This past summer, Marie was a Head Teacher in our own Benchmark Camp Language Arts program.

MIKAELA YATSINKO

Mikaela joins Benchmark as a Co-Teacher in the middle school, working with Jesse North. Mikaela is already steeped in Benchmark pedagogy, having spent the past summer as a Head Teacher in the Benchmark Camp Language Arts program. 

Mikaela has a BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Villanova University, and completed the Post Baccalaureate Teaching Certificate Program at West Chester University.  Before coming to Benchmark, Mikaela most recently worked as a Reading Paraprofessional in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. Prior to that, Mikaela served as a student teacher in the Radnor School District and as a long term substitute and paraprofessional in the Penn-Delco School District and the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. Mikaela kicked off her teaching career serving a year with AmeriCorps in Philadelphia.

What else is new?

Stefanie Frayne will be leaving the Main Office to take on the new role of Associate Director of Annual Giving and Marketing and Communications. We are glad that Stefanie will share her many professional talents in records management, organization, and communication with our Development and Marketing and Communications departments. 

Dr. Heather Warley will move from the classroom full-time into the role of Director of Institutional Research. In this newly established position, Heather will help Benchmark enhance its reputation as a national leader in practitioner research and use of data to inform continuous learning and improvement within the classrooms. Heather holds a Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Virginia and has supported research efforts at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. Heather will work closely with our Director of Innovation Emma Mattesky and Head of School Chris Hancock. 

Original source can be found here.