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Denise Lessow, Ed.D.,
joined Pinnacle as its Executive Director in July 2004. She has
a doctorate in Education from Indiana University-Bloomington, and brings
25 years of experience as a
professional educator and consultant. Dr. Lessow's education
background includes science and math instruction, curriculum
design, gifted & talented, multiple intelligences, assessment,
and teacher development. She has created exhibits for science
and history museums nationwide, and served as Research Director
with CILS Consulting for over 10 years. Dr. Lessow is a past
Board Chair of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. |
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Discovering 25 years ago
that her oldest son had dyslexia prompted Connie Giles
to seek out a program that would meet his needs. At that time, a dePaul Saturday Tutorial Program and Summer School were the only
programs in existence in Bloomington to teach children who learn
with dyslexia. Upon enrolling her son in the program, she became
an active tutor, which led to supervisory positions in both
programs for the next six years. During this time she was also
teaching in a special education program in the local high
school. Mrs. Giles was instrumental in
beginning the Bloomington dePaul School (now Pinnacle), where
she became a teacher in its second year of operation. Mrs. Giles is trained in the
Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching linguistics. |
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Melanie Jones holds a Bachelor of Science from the
University of Tennessee and a Master's in language education with a
reading specialization at IU. Mrs. Jones has taught language, math, social studies,
and health. This year, Mrs. Jones leads Pinnacle's
Kindergarten program. She is a
member of the International Reading Association, and has also taught in Tennessee and Missouri. |
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Allison Hess joined the Pinnacle School faculty in
the summer of 2006. She teaches elementary language, math,
science, and environmental education. Miss Hess is
completing her Master's of Education at IU. She has a
Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan and is
certified in elementary and special education. She is also a
certified Project Wild instructor, and coordinates Pinnacle's
project with Sycamore Land Trust. Miss Hess is a member of the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. |
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Courtney McCullough
earned an Indiana University
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a concentration
in language arts. She focused on linguistics and sign
language. Among her other experiences teaching children,
she served with the AmeriCorps America Reads program. At Pinnacle, she teaches
elementary language arts and student leadership skills. |
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Lauren
Russell holds a
Bachelors of Science from Indiana University that included
emphases on literature, Spanish language and science. She
has taught for the Center Grove School Corporation, and is
certified in Project Wild. At IU, Miss Russell was the Community
Services Director for the Golden Key honor society. She
joined the Pinnacle staff in 2007 to teach intermediate and
middle school students. |
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Kelly
Sage has joined
Pinnacle to teach middle school and high school language and
drama. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Radford University,
and taught in Virginia since 2004. She has extensive experience
in the instructional uses of technology, including collaborative
environments. Mrs. Sage sponsored a creative writing/literary
magazine and was her school's Advance Placement coordinator. She
is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English and
the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. |
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Devin Blankenship completed a Bachelor of Science in
secondary education through the Community of Teachers program at
IU. He holds concentrations in speech communication,
theater, multicultural education, and social studies, with a
focus in geography. Mr. Blankenship has taught in Martinsville, Indiana
and County Donegal, Ireland. He teaches middle and
secondary classes and serves as Pinnacle's Program Development
Director. |
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Judith
Watt has
Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of New Mexico
and a Masters Degree from Lewis University. She has 10 years of
instructional experience, and this summer is teaching students
at the Yerkes Astrophysics Academy for Young Scientists. Ms.
Watt has earned several grants, including an award from the
National Endowment for the Humanities. She is a member of the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National
Science Teachers Association. Ms. Watt teaches Pinnacle's
middle and high school math and science classes. |
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Stephanie Ray
managed a commercial art department for over 10 years and has
taught art for 4 years at all grade levels. She has a
Bachelor in Fine Arts from Indiana University and is a
certified art educator. Ms. Ray is a member of the National Art
Education Association and the Art Education Association of
Indiana. She teaches sculpture, fine arts and graphic arts, and
coordinates the student gallery.
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Alisa
Sanabria was
awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M. She is a
classically trained pianist with a background in choral music.
She taught in Austin before joining Pinnacle. Mrs. Sanabria is a
member of the Association of Texas Professional Educators. |
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Ross
Blackburn has a
degree from Northeastern University and is a certified K-12
educator. He worked
as a graphic artist for over 10 years and has taught for the
past several years. Mr. Blackburn led the 2007 student/community
collaborative art project that created our Pinnacle Pachyderm
sculpture. |
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Amelia
Newcomer-Leas
earned a Bachelor of Arts at Earlham College in Anthropology
with a minor in Spanish and Hispanic Studies. She has
professional experience as a language educator and tutor. Ms.
Newcomer-Leas is internationally certified as an ESL instructor
and taught at the University of Guadalajara. At Pinnacle, she
teaches Spanish language and culture, and works with the
after-school program. |
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Amber Friesen holds certifications in elementary and special
education. Mrs. Friesen holds a Bachelor of Arts with a
major in history and is completing a Master's of Education at IU. Her professional experience includes several years of
teaching
in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. She has been at
Pinnacle since 2005. In 2007-2008, she is tutoring in our
after-school program while completing coursework for her
Master's degree. |
