Leadership

The Newark Educators’ Community Charter School Board of Trustees consists of nine individuals who bring significant experience in the areas of urban education, child development, social services, non-profit governance and social justice advocacy. The Bank Street College of Education will provide on-going professional development opportunities and support the Newark Educators’ Community Charter School as a demonstration site where educators from all Newark schools can observe a successful learning community in action. While the challenges facing students in urban schools are significant, this school will demonstrate that they are surmountable.

Principal & Founder
Joyce Kornegay will lead the school as principal. She has extensive experience in Newark schools as a principal, assistant principal and teacher working with a wide range of students including English Language Learners and special education students. From 1995 - 2006 Mrs. Kornegay served as Principal of the Newark Public Schools District's Fifteen Avenue School, which services students in pre-school through grade seven.  As Principal, Mrs. Kornegay has annually developed and implemented school-wide goals and on-site school improvement programs that were based on critical analysis of school needs.  She has developed and managed an ongoing school-based budgeting process that supports the needs of classroom teachers, support staff, students and parents.

Founders
Lynne Einbender is a Graduate Faculty member at the Bank Street College of Education and teaches courses in the Reading and Literacy Program.  As a teacher educator, she has worked with teachers at every point along the professional learning continuum from student to novice teacher to veteran, in a wide variety of school settings, including urban, suburban and rural public schools, independent schools and colleges. Since 1994 her work as a staff developer has supported professional learning in the teaching of reading, writing, social studies and science.  From 2000-2007 she collaborated with Joyce Kornegay, principal at the 15th Avenue School, and her staff to enact this goal. As a result of these collective efforts, the quality of curriculum and instruction improved bringing about an improvement in student achievement across the grade levels that has won the school accolades.

Xiania Foster taught kindergarten, first grade, and second grade in the Newark Public School system for seven years. While at 15th Avenue School, she volunteered countless hours to help organize student, family, and literacy programs. During her tenure at 15th Avenue School, she founded and directed the Family Involvement Committee. Mrs. Foster received a Governor’s Teacher’s Recognition Award in 2006. Before joining NECCS, Ms. Foster worked as the education program manager as well as the education policy analyst in the Office of the Mayor in Newark. Her career in Newark also included a fellowship in Leadership Newark. She served on the Board of Governors of Westover School and the Newark Preschool School. She holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and is current completing her M.S. Ed. from Bank Street School of Education. She will begin studying administration at Columbia’s Teacher’s College in June 2010.

Margot Hammond has worked with children, families and educators as a teacher and school leader, program and staff developer in a variety of capacities and diverse settings. Beginning with a strong foundation as a classroom teacher of both pre-school and primary age children, Ms Hammond has worked for more than 35 years to improve education and learning in both independent and public schools. As a result of a ten year collaboration with Clinton Avenue and Fifteenth Ave Elementary Schools, project demonstration sites, Ms. Hammond and fellow Bank Street staff developers were able to support the design and implementation of a comprehensive curriculum, instruction, assessment and family involvement initiative. This long term intensive approach led to significant improvement in the quality of partnerships with families, professional development for educators, achievement for students and improved scores on district assessments and state wide tests. Ms. Hammond currently serves as Director of the Center for Early Childhood Professionals: Division of Continuing Education, which brings,  professional development services, quality improvement and excellence in education to educators, families and children in New York City, Newark, New Jersey and beyond.