New Faculty
James Bolden is teaching Middle School English and coaching Middle School swimming. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BA in English, from Southern University Law Center with a JD, and from Rosemont College with an MA in Education. In addition, James is currently earning his MS in Educational Leadership and Administration from Saint Joseph’s University. For the last seven years, James has worked at Holy Child School at Rosemont, where he taught fifth grade English and Social Studies, eighth grade English, and coached swimming. James will be traveling each day from his home in Mt. Airy with his son Nicholas, who will be in ninth grade.
Rachel Codkind OPC '11 will return to PC as the Assistant Director of Admissions. She earned a BA from Franklin and Marshall College and an MS in Education, Culture and Society from the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, she has worked as a post-secondary counselor at Fusion Academy and in the admissions office of F&M.
Anne Coleman joins the English faculty from the University of Pennsylvania, where she recently completed a masters in cognitive development. Previously, Anne taught Upper School English and served as a dorm head for seven years at Westtown School. Anne is a lifelong Quaker and a devoted advocate for Quaker education, having attended Westfield Friends and Swarthmore College; she also serves on the board of Haddonfield Friends. Anne has an extensive background in theater and will be supporting our winter production by building the set. Anne is moving from Center City to Manayunk, where she just closed on her first home!
Ansley Cox is the new Facilities Director. She succeeds Bill Quinn Hon. 1689, who is retiring after 28 years in this role. Ansley has worked in construction management for the past 16 years. Her most recent project was the construction of the new Lower School at Springside Chestnut Hill. She also has managed projects at Germantown Academy, Abington Friends, Westtown, Shipley, Princeton Academy and many other schools in the area. Ansley is a graduate of Lafayette College, where she majored in Engineering and Art History and was captain of the women's lacrosse team.
Richard DeSalvo is teaching Middle School Chinese, in addition to one section of Chinese 3 in Upper School. He also will coach Middle School swimming and baseball. Richard majored in Anthropology at Sewanee: The University of the South, graduating in 2008, and he spent the following three years teaching and studying in China. For the past eight years, Richard has been in Deerfield, Mass., teaching, coaching, and living in the dormitories at Eaglebrook School, a boarding school for boys. Richard recently moved to Lansdale with his wife, Nina, who will be teaching Chinese at Strayer Middle School in Quakertown.
Jeremy Eith joined the Penn Charter community as an athletic trainer this August. Prior to Penn Charter, he worked at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., for three years as an athletic trainer. In addition, he taught a sports medicine class in the upper school and assisted with concussion research with the University of Virginia’s Department of Kinesiology. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut in 2014 and earned his master’s at the University of South Carolina in 2016. While in South Carolina, he worked at South Carolina State University and AC Flora High School. He is originally from Marlton, NJ.
Jake Ernst is working as a part-time assistant teacher in first grade and assists with the early care program in Lower School. He graduated from Ohio State University, where he majored in Early Childhood Education. After graduation, he worked as a preschool teacher, mainly with children ages two and three. He is currently in his final year of a master's program in Early Childhood Education at Temple University. He was also a lifer at Germantown Academy.
Naté Hall joins the Penn Charter community as Associate Director of Admissions for Lower School. Her admissions career began at her alma mater, the University of Michigan where she received a BA in Communication Studies and Spanish and an MA in Higher Education. During her time in Philadelphia, she has worked at a college access non-profit, called Philadelphia Futures, in college admissions at Bryn Mawr College and as a college counselor and diversity coordinator at both the Baldwin School and Friends Select. She joins our community with her two sons, Noah, who will be in fifth grade, and Braden, who will be in third grade.
Lisa Howard is teaching sixth and seventh grade science and working in the MS IdeaLab. She graduated from the University of Dayton, where she majored in Middle Childhood Education. While in college, she spent time teaching science in Zambia. After graduating, she taught science, math and robotics in high-need schools in Louisville, Ky., while earning master's degrees in Teacher Leadership and Curriculum Instruction and Design. Lisa recently relocated to Collingdale with her husband and three-year-old daughter.
Amanda Lee is teaching biology, advanced biology, and chemistry and assisting students in the Science Help Center. Originally from Louisiana, Amanda moved here after college and has taught in Philadelphia and New Jersey public schools. Her most recent teaching assignment, at Bishop Eustace, a private Catholic high school in New Jersey, gave her the opportunity to lead service learning trips to New Orleans for the last three summers. Amanda enjoys gardening and learning new baking skills at her home in Pine Hill, NJ.
Sam Lindauer is teaching three content areas in the science department: Earth and Space, Chemistry, and Physics and assisting with the Upper School boys soccer program. Sam graduated from McGill University with a degree in Earth Science and the University of Southern Maine with an MS in Education. Prior to moving to Philadelphia this summer, he worked for six years at a public high school in southern Maine. Sam lives in Cedar Park, West Philadelphia, with his partner, Sarah.
Julia Morelli is a part-time Assistant Music Teacher in Lower School. She is the Haverford School’s Director of Lower School String Ensembles and a Teaching Artist for Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Tune Up Philly. In addition to teaching, Julia is an active cellist, playing throughout the region. She received a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a Master of Music in Cello Performance from Temple University. She looks forward to her short commute to Penn Charter from Bala Cynwyd, where she spends time with her baseball scout boyfriend, Kevin, and her Husky pup named Viggo.
Peter Morton is teaching two sections of ninth grade Social Studies and two sections of Latin. He is also assisting both the service program and the Latin Club. He received his BA, MA, and PhD, all in Classics, from the University of Edinburgh, before working there as a postdoctoral researcher for two years. After that he spent three and a half years at the University of Manchester, where he was lecturer in Roman History. He moved to Philadelphia this summer with his wife, Nicole, and his two chinchillas, Clodius and Milo, and will be commuting from Chestnut Hill.
Madeleine Perlmutter OPC’13 is a part-time assistant teacher in Clare’s first grade classroom. She is a graduate of New York University, where she majored in Education Studies and Child and Adolescent Development. She most recently lived in the Canary Islands where she completed a Fulbright teaching grant with a side project looking at the impact of project-based learning on language acquisition within a bilingual classroom. Maddie is excited to be back in Philadelphia after six years away and enjoys exploring her new neighborhood in South Philly.
Lori Swartz is teaching health and physical education and serving as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in the Blaine Center. She is a graduate of Temple University, where she earned a BS in Exercise and Sports Science. After graduation, she spent a year working here at Penn Charter as a part-time strength and conditioning coach and substitute teacher. This summer she worked as an exercise science intern for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where she gained invaluable experience working with the Catapult system, a device that takes numerous measurements that can be used to analyze an athlete's performance.
Nina Wojtowicz joins the Lower School as the Literacy Coordinator. She graduated from Penn State University’s College of Education and earned her MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career teaching third grade, which she did for five years. Later, Nina served for seven years as a language arts specialist in the Haddonfield Public School district. She and her husband, Brandon, live in West Philadelphia.
Long-term substitutes
Mariam Freeman is teaching Middle School French and one section of Upper School French 3 while Aude Simon is out on leave. Mariam has taught French and English at both the middle and high school levels in New Jersey, Illinois and Florida as well as Developmental English at the Community College level. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature and French and a master's in Education, with a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This summer, she relocated from Florida to her new home in Rydal, Abington Township.
Jill Bown, a veteran educator, will return as a fourth grade substitute while Laura Valdmanis is out on maternity leave. Jill will be with us until early December.
Urban Teaching Fellows
Aarionna Goodman graduated in May 2019 from Bryn Mawr College. She earned a BA with a major in English and a minor in Africana Studies. While at Bryn Mawr, Aarionna worked as a classroom aid at the Phebe Anna Thorne Kindergarten in Bryn Mawr, mentored students in Bryn Mawr College’s Quantitative Center and was student coordinator at Ardmore Community Tutoring. During her Penn Charter rotations, Aarionna will be in the Middle School. Christie Pearsall will be her mentor as she works with seventh and eighth grade students in English classes.
Luciany Melo da Silva graduated in May 2017 from Pennsylvania State University. She earned a BS in Marketing and Management. Following graduation, Luciany became a corps member in Philadelphia City Year, working with ninth grade students at the Penn Treaty School. During her second year in City Year, Luciany was team leader at Thurgood Marshall School, leading a team of seven AmeriCorps members who worked with students in fifth through eighth grades. During her Penn Charter rotations, Luciany will be in the Lower School. Teodora Nedialkova will be her mentor as she works with third grade students.