Daniel Baron– Co-Founder – Principal Teacher - Bloomington Project School

Daniel Baron has spent more than 30 years working in public, private and Native American education, pre-K through college, as a teacher, coach, whole-school change facilitator and curriculum developer. Daniel is a founder and board member of the Harmony Education Center in Bloomington, Indiana. Currently, Daniel is the Senior Fellow of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) on special assignment to Indiana University’s Center for Research and P-16 Collaboration. For the last 15 years, Daniel’s work has focused on providing exemplary professional development to school districts and equity-based projects across the country, including partnerships with Indiana University and the University of Indianapolis, the Small Schools Coaching Collaborative, the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Rural Schools and Community Trust, and ATLAS Learning Communities. Daniel served as the co-director of the NSRF for 6 years. Daniel writes a monthly column called “The Instructional Leader” for National Association of Secondary School Principals’ journal, Principal Leadership.

Jayme Donnelson – Attorney – Drewry Simmons Vornehm, LLP

Courtney Flessner – Intermediate Classroom Teacher – Indianapolis Project School

Courtney has been in education for over 12 years.  In 1997, she received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Butler University in Indianapolis.  Upon graduating, she taught grades one through three in the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township for three years.  In 2000, she relocated to New York City where she pursued an M.A. in Politics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.  In 2002, she began work on her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at the same institution.  During her time in New York, she taught grades four, five, and six in two different independent schools.  After graduating in 2004, she taught fourth and fifth grade in Janesville, WI while her husband continued his graduate work in Madison.  She is the mother of two future TPS students, Abel and Adelyn.

Norman Gwaltney – Co-Founder – Technology Infusion Teacher – Indianapolis Project School

In 1994 Norman Gwaltney walked into his Key Learning Community middle school German classroom to find 6 desktop computers. So began his passion for technology in the classroom. Technology became an important tool in his classroom as well as the computer elective he taught for 7 years. His interest in technology led him to pursue a Masters Degree in Educational Technology. Norman was, during this period, a part time instructor at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis teaching the blended class (part online part classroom) Computers in Education. In the 2002 school year Norman received his Masters Degree in Educational Technology and took a position at the Key Learning Community as the Technology Coordinator. He developed a digital progress report as his Masters project which is still in use today. As technology coordinator Norman managed hundreds of computers, facilitated digital portfolios, trained teachers and students on IPS Online and developed a one-to-one laptop program. He is a member of the International Society for Technology in Education and the local Indiana Computer Educators. At the end of the 2006-2007 school year, Norman took a position as Technology Staff Developer for Wayne Township. He continues to seek ways in which technology can be implemented to engage students and document their growth.

Mike Higbee – Facilities and Business / Member of Project School Business Advisory Council

Mike Higbee is President of Development Concepts, Inc. (DCI). His role as principal-in-charge is to work directly with both private and public sector entities to encourage planning and development efforts that are consistent with a community’s goals and objectives. He works with groups at various points in the development process, from defining a potential development concept through actual project implementation. Mike lectures at conferences, training programs, and workshops for universities, not-for-profit groups, private corporations, and public sector entities on topics such as urban planning, development packaging, building economic development capacity, and organizational development.

Mike’s primary expertise is in the area of urban redevelopment. Specifically, Mike advises the DCI planning team on development strategies as they relate to overall planning objectives and recommendations, including: land use, real estate development opportunities, project phasing, leveraging public/private investment, cost estimates, organizational roles and responsibilities, fiscal impact analysis, and creating private developer interest.

Dennis Jackson Ed.D. –Vice Chair in the Division of Psychology at Martin University

Laura Perlman – Business Owner, Supporter of the Arts and Neighborhood Business Leader

Dr. Azure Smiley – Educator, Special Education and Multi-Cultural Education Specialist / Member of Education Advisory Council

Azure grew up in Whiteland, Indiana. She received her Bachelor of Arts in education degree from Marian College in 1998. She was a special education teacher for the Town of Speedway for six years. In 2000 she earned her Master of Science in effective teaching from Butler University. She was named a 2001 IPALCO Golden Apple Award Winner for excellence in teaching. In 2003 she earned a Leadership Training Grant from the US Department of Education to pursue her PhD in Special Education at Indiana University. While at Indiana University, Azure worked on international special education projects in Bangalore, India and Quito, Ecuador. She has sat on the Board of Directors of the Council for Exceptional Children, presents research nationally in the fields of special education and multicultural education, and was a 2007 American Educational Research Association Emerging Scholar nominee. Currently Dr. Smiley is an assistant professor of special education at the University of Indianapolis and does local and national advocacy work focused on the implementation of special education legislation and equity.

Dr. Sharon Wilkins – Educator / Member of the Education Advisory Council, Community Advisory Council, and Parent Organization

With more than 30 years of experience in public education, Sharon now works as a school change facilitator with the high school transformation work. She has been a teacher at the high school and middle school levels, a high school principal and central office administrator. As a high school principal in Indianapolis and education director for high schools in Seattle, her work focused on creating and supporting high schools as equitable communities of learning for all students and adults.