Staff Profiles

Mike Malone- Head of School

mmalone@southcityprep.org

Mike Malone is the Founder and Head of School for South City Prep. Mike is a graduate of Greenville College and has over 10 years teaching experience working in a variety of educational settings. For six years, Mike taught middle school science and social studies at St. Louis Charter School. While at St. Louis Charter School, Mike received the “Teacher of the Year” award, held numerous leadership positions, and assisted in writing the school wide curriculum. For two years, Mike worked for the Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) as the Director for Member Services and New School Development. While at MCPSA, Mike helped design the association’s new school development program, increased school membership to over 85%, and initiated cooperative purchasing programs including Staples Advantage and the NWEA/MCPSA consortium. Mike will receive his degree in Education Leadership, with a charter school focus, from Central Michigan University in August 2011. Mike has an unwavering belief that all students can learn and looks forward to helping every South City Prep student get to college. In his free time, Mike loves to hang out with his wife, Erin, and two children, Yuri (4 years old) and Kye (2 years old).

Kelli Best-Oliver- Director of Curriculum and Instruction

kbestoliver@southcityprep.org

Kelli Best-Oliver has over nine years experience in education as both a program coordinator and classroom teacher, and was part of the founding team of South City Prep. She holds lifetime teacher certification in Secondary English in the State of Missouri. Kelli has always sought out diversity in her work environment, with stints at Truman State University’s Multicultural Affairs Center, US DoDD Schools, Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District, and the University of Missouri-St Louis, and is committed to education reform as a tool for change towards a more socially-just world. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Secondary Education from Truman State University, where she was captain of their three-time conference-champion women’s soccer team. Kelli is currently a doctoral student in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Critical Pedagogy at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota. Her in-progress dissertation is on critical education in charter schools. Kelli resides in the 23rd Ward with her husband, Chris Oliver, and son, Simon Oliver, and is active in the St Louis food community.

Kate Kozlowski- Literacy Specialist

kkozlowski@southcityprep.org

Kate is the Literacy Specialist for South City Prep. After graduating from Earlham College in 2006 with a BA in English, Kate entered the Teach for America program to teach middle school language arts in St. Louis. Kate has worked in public and private schools in the St. Louis Metro area, as well as taking time to teach in Napa Valley, California and Jimma, Ethiopia. Recently she graduated from Saint Louis University with her MBA and Master of Educational Leadership. When not reading, which is rare, Kate is busy taking care of her three chickens or riding her pink bicycle around town.

Laurie Brockhaus- Student Support Coordinator

lbrockhaus@southcityprep.org

Laurie Brockhaus is the Student Support Coordinator at South City Prep. Laurie holds a BS in Elementary Education from Illinois State University and a Master of Social Work degree from St. Louis University and has over 10 years experience working with youth as a teacher and social worker in a variety of educational and community settings. Most recently, Laurie worked as Youth Education Specialist at Catholic Charities Southside Center, where she oversaw the instruction of after-school curricula and served as an educational advocate for youth and their families in area schools. Her other professional experiences have included directing a summer recreational day camp, teaching middle school French in the University City School District, and coordinating a college access program for middle and high school students in the Jennings School District. Laurie is also a certified yoga instructor, currently teaching weekly classes at Urban Breath Yoga in Dogtown and the St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center, and she has researched and presented on the benefits of incorporating yoga techniques into classroom and mental health settings. Laurie is excited to join the South City Prep team and looks forward to supporting students and families in her role.

Chad Hull- 5th Grade Math

chull@southcityprep.org

Chad Hull is the 5th grade Math Teacher for South City Prep. Chad graduated from Grinnell College in 2005 with a BA in Economics and East Asian Studies. Upon graduation, Chad was accepted into the Teach For America program and spent 2 years as a special education and general education math teacher at Cleveland Junior Naval Academy. During that time, Chad coordinated the school’s service learning program and created an after school tutoring program for athletes. Chad taught math for the next year at Currey Ingram Academy, an independent school for students with learning disabilities in Nashville, Tennessee. After a two year hiatus to study educational policy at the University of Kansas, Chad returned to the classroom and St. Louis as the Lead Teacher at Shearwater High School. Chad has a two year old puppy named D and recently completed his third half marathon.

Michelle Keeter- 5th Grade Social Studies/Science

mkeeter@southcityprep.org

Michelle Keeter is the 5^th grade Social Studies and Science Teacher for South City Prep. Michelle is a St Louis native who graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002 with a BA in History. After moving back to the St Louis area, she completed a MA in Teaching Social Sciences at Webster University. During this time she taught both middle and high school students in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights school district. Several years later, Michelle transitioned into teaching only middle school for the Ferguson-Florissant school district. The birth of her daughter, Ansley, prompted a brief stay at home to enjoy motherhood. An opportunity to start an alternative program for females in Charlotte, NC allowed for a change of pace. While in NC, she worked with a wide range of students in multiple alternative settings over two years. Michelle’s family returned to St Louis and she began teaching at Shearwater High School. She enjoys spending time in the great outdoors and going to music concerts.

Redrick Taylor- 6th Grade Social Studies/Science

rtaylor@southcityprep.org

Redrick, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois is thrilled about joining the South City Prep team as a middle school teacher. Redrick graduated from Valparaiso University with a Bachelor of Social Work and a minor in Political Science. He is a current corps member with Teach For America, and was selected from over 46,000 applicants nationwide. TFA is a national corps of recent college graduates who commit to two years of teaching in under-resourced urban and rural public schools. Before he begins his position at South City Prep, Redrick will participate in an intensive training program to develop the skills and knowledge needed to make significant gains in student achievement. He will teach in a summer school program run by Teach For America for low-income students in the Chicago Public School District, under the supervision of experienced faculty and teachers. Redrick is honored to provide students with the same opportunity to succeed that he was given as a child. “I feel my responsibility will stretch far beyond a lesson plan. I plan on being a role model for children to look up to. I am living proof that, if given the proper resources to succeed, any child can attend and graduate from college regardless of their ethnicity or socioeconomic status, and I plan on doing everything I can to make that happen for children in St. Louis”.

Carissa Roller- 6th Grade Math

credeker@southcityprep.org

Carissa Redeker is the 6th grade Math Teacher for South City Prep. Carissa graduated from Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana in 2007 having majored in Social Work and Spanish. After graduation, Carissa moved to St. Louis to teach at Confluence Academy – Old North as a member of Teach for America. In her first year Carissa taught Kindergarten through 8th grade Spanish before transitioning to being a 3rd grade classroom teacher in her second year. During those years Carissa helped coach girls’ volleyball and basketball as well as graduate with a Masters in Elementary Education from UM-St. Louis. She then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a year to be with her fiance where she taught 4th grade at a charter school. Carissa happily returned to St. Louis in 2010 and went back to Old North to teach 4th grade. In her free time, Carissa enjoys spending time with her friends and 2 dogs, Sunday and Oreo.

Michelle Oyola- 6th Grade Communication Arts

moyola@southcityprep.org

Michelle teaches 6th Grade Communication Arts at South City Prep. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism from Webster University, Michelle was employed as the Web and youth editor at The Washington Missourian newspaper. Through working with her teen staff, she developed a passion for teaching and joined Teach For America in 2008. For the following three years, she taught various ELA subjects at Construction Careers Center Charter High School. While at CCC, she founded the drama club and sponsored a creative writer’s group, a Dungeons and Dragons campaign group, and an anime fan club. She served as the ELA department head. Michelle holds her Master of Arts degree in secondary curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She and her husband, Luis, welcomed their first child, Leon James Oyola, April 30, 2011.

Erica Stearns- Music

estearns@southcityprep.org

Erica Stearns is the music teacher for South City Prep. She grew up in Chicago and spent seven years of her life singing, performing, and traveling around the world with the Chicago Children’s Choir where she developed her passion for music. Erica graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a vocal emphasis. After graduation, Erica was accepted into the 2008 Teach For America Corps in St. Louis where she spent two years teaching 5th grade at Columbia Elementary and Herzog Pilot Academy. While teaching 5th grade, Erica earned a Masters in Elementary Education at University of Missouri – St. Louis. After her two-year commitment with TFA, Erica began teaching general music at Jefferson Elementary. Erica founded a choir program consisting of two leveled choirs who performed in school concerts and special performances off campus. She also facilitated unique performances for the entire student body at Jefferson including a flash mob! Aside from planning unique learning experiences for her music students, Erica loves spending time with her 1 year old pug puppy named Lola Jacqueline and training at Absolute Martial Arts in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for her debut Mixed Martial Arts fight.