Victoria Aponte, Lead Academic Coach
Victoria Aponte completed her M.Ed in Educational Leadership in 2013. She has been working in education since 2004 as a teacher, literacy supervisor, and academic coach. Vicki has wrote articles for the Rutgers Department of Literacy magazines. In addition, she enjoys reading, traveling, and Disney!
Stephen Chicano, Lead Academic Coach
My role as the Mathematics Lead Academic Coach for the Acceleration Network is to support schools to improve student achievement. One of my greatest joy’s in education is supporting teachers to improve their instructional practices and seeing the results in the classroom with their students. I have been in education for 18 years, having obtained my B.S. in Mathematics Education and my M.S. in Educational Leadership. I have been in the Acceleration Network since its inception, having taught at Thomas A. Edison High School where I was also the Academic Teacher Leader and School Based Instructional Specialist before moving into my current role. I look forward to working with all of you to help Accelerate our Students!!!!
Jennifer Neal, Lead Academic Coach
Hello, my name is Jennifer Neal and I am excited to be a lead academic coach for the network. I received my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Shippensburg University and my Masters Degree in General Education from Grand Canyon University. I have been a part of the School District of Philadelphia for 17 years. I was a middle school math teacher for 10 years and a math academic teacher leader for 6 years before moving into this role. I am looking forward to working with all teachers and staff that are a part of the Acceleration Network.
Allison Seger, Professional Learning Specialist
Allison Seger is a professional learning specialist for the Acceleration Network. She is a passionate advocate for culturally relevant and sustaining education as a driver of social change, a perspective honed during her years as an educator in indigenous communities. She previously served as an instructional coach for Baltimore City Public Schools and Saint Francis Indian School on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where she was also a classroom teacher. She holds a MA in educational leadership from the University of South Dakota and a BA in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University. She believes educators must support students as they develop their voices as writers, grapple with issues that they feel passionate about, and become leaders within their communities and the world.
Alba Blandino, Prevention and Intervention Liaison
Alba moved to Philadelphia from the Dominican Republic as a HS Junior and is a proud Edison HS graduate! Alba attended Penn State (WE ARE!) for both undergraduate and graduate school, obtaining degrees in Biobehavioral Health (B.S.) and Mental Health Counseling in Schools and Communities (M.Ed). Prior to working at the district, Alba worked in research as well as various roles in mental health, including as a child trauma therapist. As a trauma therapist, Alba provided the full spectrum of services, including comprehensive psychosocial evaluations, intensive case management, weekly therapy, parent/caregiver groups, and advocacy. Alba worked with caregivers and other social service workers (CUA, DHS, Child Advocate Attorneys, and CA Social Workers) to stabilize the children’s recovery environment while simultaneously embarking on the difficult path of actively processing traumatic experiences. A large portion of Alba’s trauma treatment work involved providing expert testimony in Philadelphia’s Family Court, educating family court judges and child attorneys on the impact of trauma on children and the necessary recovery environment each child needed to heal from their trauma.
Alba joined the district in October 2018, excited about the path the state and district were embarking on to bring trauma-informed practices to education. Alba is excited to talk with anyone about trauma and it’s impact on children’s development and presentation (i.e. behaviors), and collaboratively come up with approaches or solutions to support each and every student. Sometimes this takes the form of advocating for proper evidenced-based treatment from our service providers, but most times by advocating for patience and persistence on the part of our teachers, counselors, and administrators, as well as educating others on topics such as vicarious traumatization and emphasizing the importance of educator wellness and self-care.
Alba is excited to be a part of the Acceleration Network, and work with leaders and teams who believe in our children’s potential and resiliency, who see beyond their often times challenging behaviors, and are personally invested in removing all and any barriers to learning, propelling our students into the bright futures they deserve and are so capable of achieving.
Dianna Phelps, Climate and Culture Coach
Dianna Phelps is a school-based mental health professional with a proven track record of success in providing evidence-based supports and interventions to students and schools. Prior to joining the School District of Philadelphia, she worked in Chicago as a school counselor and dean and in Atlanta coaching teachers in behavior intervention under a disproportionality program that was aimed at plugging the school-to-prison pipeline.
In her current role as Climate and Culture Coach, she is dedicated to supporting school communities in creating and sustaining inclusive, kind and equitable learning environments where all students can thrive. Dianna’s areas of expertise include building Tier 1 problem-solving teams, social emotional learning, restorative practices and multi-tiered systems of support. She hold a masters degree in counseling from Louisiana Tech University and has completed a post-graduate program at Loyola University Chicago in advanced school-based mental health practice.
Outside of work, Dianna loves to travel, garden and create spaces and opportunities for diverse groups of women to come together with the intentional purpose of building community and joyful connection.