Resource Teachers and Assistants
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| Mrs. Ahmadzai |
| ESOL/HILT Teacher |
noorsama.ahmadzai@apsva.us
Mrs. Ahmadzai was born and raised in Afghanistan. She has a Bachelor of Science + 30 in Elementary Education and holds a Virginia teaching endorsement in English as a Second Language.This is her 26th year teaching in Arlington County and her 22nd year teaching at Patrick Henry Elementary. She has taught grades K to five. Married for 30 years, Mr. and Mrs. Ahmadzai have four children, two of which have their graduate degrees, one in college and one in high school. Mrs. Ahmadzai enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling and cooking Afghani cuisine. |
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| Ms. Lewis |
| ESOL/HILT Teacher |
susan.lewis@apsva.us
B.S., Early Childhood Education, University of Virginia
M.Ed., Reading, University of New Hampshire
English as a Second Language, Virginia Certification Ms. Lewis grew up in Arlington County where she spent countless hours reading at the Glencarlyn Library and participating in children's theater. Naturally, she became a reading specialist and an ESOL/HILT teacher to share her love of literature and languages. She has taught in Maine, Virginia, Ecuador and Thailand. Ms. Lewis enjoys baking, hiking off the calories and art. |
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| Ms. Snodgrass |
| ESOL/HILT Assistant |
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Exemplary Project
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| Ms. Spranger |
| Exemplary Project Coordinator |
susan.spranger@apsva.us
Susan Spranger has been teaching for almost 20 years. She taught in Alexandria and Washington, DC before settling into APS in September of 2000. Since working at Henry, she has taught 5th grade and 4th grade and is currently the Exemplary Project Coordinator. Henry’s exemplary project is “Creating Community Connections through Service Learning.” Mrs. Spranger loves introducing and implementing service-learning projects into classroom lessons, creating an environment in which children begin to think about themselves as contributing members of a community. For more about this position and the projects happening on a school-wide scale and at each grade level, please see the link on our school’s webpage. In addition, Mrs. Spranger coordinates many Schoolyard Habitat activites. She enjoys bringing children outside to observe nature. “There are countless lessons that can be done in a garden that correlate with objectives from just about every subject area.” On a personal note, Mrs. Spranger is married with two young daughters, named Stephanie and Gabrielle. She enjoys the beach, being outdoors in all seasons, and spending time with her family and friends. |
| Math Coach |
| Mrs. Lynch |
| Math Coach |
laurel.lynch@apsva.us
B.A. Sociology, Mary Washington College
M.S. Elementary Education, concentration in mathematics, Mary Washington College
Mrs. Lynch is a native of Arlington County. She graduated from Arlington County Schools and moved back here after college. Some things she enjoys are reading, being outside (except in the winter), talking with new people, and pasta! |
Clinic
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| Ms. Campbell |
| Nurse |
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| Ms. Silva
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| School Psychologist |
| Ms. Reich |
| Psychologist karen.conner@apsva.us
Karen Reich is in her fourth year in Arlington Public Schools and at Patrick Henry. Ms. Reich was born in Maryland but lived in Illinois for several years. She majored in psychology and the University of Maryland and continues to be an avid Terrapins fan. She went on to receive a Master of Arts and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from George Mason University and is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She enjoys getting to know the Reich loves traveling, cooking, reading, crafts, and spending time with her family and friends. |
| Reading |
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| Ms. Glick |
| Reading Teacher |
| Mrs. Glick grew up in a southeastern PA farming community and moved to the D.C. area 20 years ago. Her first full time teaching job was in a Patrick Henry kindergarten class. Since that time she has enjoyed teaching second, third, and fifth grades. A common thread of pleasure through each of those grades has been teaching children to understand and enjoy reading. She is happy to be part of the reading team at P. Henry as a half time Title I reading teacher. She enjoys spending free time with her husband Del, extended family and friends. Exploring the streets, local parks, restaurants, and museums in D.C. is also a fulfilling way to spend her time. |
| Mrs. Cowden Reading Specialist B.A. Elementary Education, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN M.S. Literacy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA I grew up in Buffalo, New York, where snow is plentiful and summers are mild, but now call Arlington home, where I have lived for the past 20 years. Our four children were all born here and each attends, or attended, Arlington County’s public schools. After teaching preschool and kindergarten for many years, I directed a local preschool while, at the same time, earned a Master’s Degree in a program focusing on best practices for teaching children to read. I am passionate about childhood reading programs because confident readers are more than just life-long readers -- they become life-long learners. In my free time I love to exercise, to watch my children’s activities and, of course, to read. |
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| Ms. Service |
| Reading Teacher |
susan.service@apsva.us
MA in Education (Reading) from Virginia Tech
BS in Art Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania Ms. Service grew up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the home of the weather forecasting groundhog. Earlier in her teaching career, she taught elementary art in Arlington as well as in New Jersey. Additionally, she helped to establish and provide instruction to Patrick Henry students through the Drawing on Language program. Her outside interests include reading, art, developing conversational Spanish, music and traveling. She enjoys spending time with her husband John and their two cats, Henry and Inky. One of her great passions is to travel to Mexico each summer along with a team of others from the US. They work with the Mexican community on various educational projects. |
| Dr. Stone Reading Specialist |
Social Worker
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| Ms. Greenwood |
| Social Worker |
colleen.greenwood@apsva.us
Ms. Greenwood loves being the Patrick Henry School Social Worker! This is her third year at Patrick Henry. She previously worked for the Teenage Parenting Programs in APS. She currently works at Patrick Henry, Oakridge, Nottingham and does preschool evaluations. Ms. Greenwood enjoys getting to know the students and families at Henry and is available to provide support and resources to the Henry community. Ms. Greenwood is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and speaks Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities, traveling, music, art, reading, cooking and spending time with loved ones. |
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Ms. Deasy
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Speech Pathologist
maria.deasy@apsva.us
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| Ms. Deasy was born and raised in Massachusetts (Go Red Sox!), and received a B.A. in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross in the 1980’s. Her initial career was in business. She moved to Northern Virginia in 1988 to work in telecommunications. After she married her husband Jack they moved to Santiago, Chile for three years for his job. Upon returning to the U.S., she stayed home for several years to raise their three children, Anna, Tim and Matt. They all attended Arlington Public Schools, and loved living here. When she was ready to return to work, her sister-in-law inspired me with her glowing satisfaction with her work as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Ms. Deasy went back to school with the tremendous support of her family, and received a degree from George Washington University in 2005. While there, she concentrated studies on their new auditory learning program, which supports the development of spoken language in children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Upon graduation, her family moved to Guilford County, NC so she could work in a private practice that contracted with the public schools to provide auditory, speech and language therapy to children, especially those who were deaf or hard of hearing. In 2008 her husband’s job brought them back to the DC area, and they decided they had to live in Arlington, of course! She was thrilled to be offered a position in the school system, and is excited to have colleagues with so much expertise in other areas of speech-language pathology, hearing impairment and education. |
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| Ms. Platz
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| Speech Pathologist |
bridgett.platz@apsva.us
Ms. Platz is originally from the suburbs of Chicago. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Illinois State University. Bridgett worked for two years in the Chicagoland area before she and her husband moved to Capitol Hill. She joined the team at Arlington Public Schools in 2010 and is currently working as the speech-language pathologist in the Communications Classrooms at Patrick Henry. Ms. Platz’s great loves in life are exploring the city with her husband, spending time with her cats, and trying new and interesting food.
Caroline Page Speech Pathologist Raised just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, Miss Page received her B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from University of Cincinnati (Go Bearcats!!). She received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the George Washington University. When she isn’t hoping her hometown will win a major sports title, Miss Page loves to read, watch movies & play kickball on the National Mall!
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| Resource Teachers |
| Ms. Cary |
| Resource Teacher |
jeanne.cary@apsva.us
This is Ms. Cary’s ninth year teaching at Patrick Henry. She moved to Arlington from Rochester, NY in 2003 in order to begin her new teaching career. This year (2010-2011) Ms. Cary will work primarily with third, fourth and fifth graders but she enjoys working with students in all grades. She has a Master’s Degree in Education from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a BA from Syracuse University. Before she became a teacher, Ms. Cary worked in business and healthcare and got to travel around the country a great deal. When she’s not teaching, she loves to read, do things outdoors, and visit with friends and family. |
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Ms. Kelly McDonald
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| Resource Teacher |
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| Ms. Casillas |
| Resource Teacher |
amy.casillas@apsva.us
Amy Casillas was born and raised in Arlington County. She is the youngest of five children and has an identical twin sister. People still often confuse them, which is easy because they live less than a mile apart. Amy graduated from LaSalle University in Philadelphia with her Elementary and Special Education Certification and did her graduate work at the University of Virginia in Special Education. This is Amy's 14th year teaching in Arlington County, but her first at an elementary school. She previously taught at Jefferson and Gunston Middle School and Yorktown High School. Although nervous at first, she absolutely loves teaching elementary school - especially at Patrick Henry! Amy has two sweet boys, Nicolas age 10 and Henry age 7. Amy loves spending time with her family,exercising, and coaching her son's basketball team! |
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| Mrs. Bovino |
| Resource Teacher |
| BA Special Education K-12 Master of Arts Degree Special Education Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorders K-12 Degrees from University of Northern Colorado- Greeley, Colorado |
| Mrs. Bovino grew up in St. Louis, Missouri (Go Cardinals!) and moved to Greeley, Colorado to go to college. She started her career there in a small town near the Rocky Mountains where cows would wander onto the playground and bald eagles flew overhead. But once she moved to Washington, DC to be with her very funny husband and very funny cat, Emily, she has never regretted it. Mrs. Bovino loves being a teacher at Patrick Henry and has taught almost every grade there since 1991. Mrs. Bovino loves the way children think and the interesting things they say. They make every day different and unique! When she isn’t at Patrick Henry, Mrs. Bovino loves to cook, take photographs, travel with her husband, learn how to do new things and read, read, read! Her dream is to write a book and get it published. When she is too old to be a teacher, she wants to volunteer in a zoo because she loves animals and the children who come to see them. |
Miss Magid was born in El Salvador, but grew up in Washington, DC. Upon graduating high school, Miss Magid attended McDaniel College where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Miss Magid moved back to D.C. to attend Graduate school at American University where she received her Masters in Special Education. She taught for 5 years at The Lab School of Washington, a private school in D.C. specifically for students with learning disabilities. After receiving her Masters Miss Magid moved from D.C. to the Arlington area and is very eager and excited to be working with the students, parents, and staff here at Patrick Henry!
Miss Magid loves to play soccer and tennis in her free time. She enjoys running, reading, shopping, watching football, and spending time with her friends and family. Miss Magid is a huge Redskins fan. Football season is her favorite time of year! She is thrilled to be teaching at Patrick Henry for another year!
Veronica DelBagno
Resource Teacher
Christian Nelson
Resource Teacher
Ms. Christian Nelson is ecstatic to begin a new school year with the amazing Henry students. Ms. Nelson is originally from Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Special Education-Deaf Education. She has worked in Detroit and Stafford Public Schools. Also, Ms. Nelson attended Strayer University and obtained a degree in Education Management. Ms. Nelson has worked with elementary and middle school age children servicing various academic needs. She is a true advocate in helping student’s reach their highest potential
Holly Burningham
Resource Teacher
Hello, my name is Holly Burningham. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. I moved east to attend Southern Virginia University where I received a B.A in Physical Education, Recreation Administration in 2009. Upon graduating, I worked as a special education paraprofessional in the Buena Vista City School District. I moved to Alexandria in 2010 and worked as an assistant in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program at Patrick Henry Elementary. In 2011, I completed an M.Ed in Special Education at Marymount University. While earning my graduate degree, I interned in kindergarten, multi-age, second grade, and high school classrooms, as well as a self-contained Multi Intervention Program for Students with Autism (MIPA). After graduating from Marymount University I knew I wanted to return to Henry. I am so happy to be at Henry with so many wonderful families!
Tiffani BlackwellResource Teacher
tiffani.blackwell@apsva.us
This is Ms. Blackwell’s fourth year working at Patrick Henry Elementary. She grew up in Arlington and attended Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and Wakefield. After graduating from Wakefield High School, Ms. Blackwell attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and earned her Bachelor of Science then continued on to receive her Masters of Science in Special Education. Ms. Blackwell returned to Arlington with the hopes of working for Arlington Public Schools. When Ms. Blackwell is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, running, and playing with her two dogs.
Resource Assistants
Asif Rehman
Resource Assistant
asif.rehman@apsva.us
Anna Blanchard
Resource Assistant
Robert Perez
Resource Assistant
Mr. Perez is a native of the area. He was born in Washington D.C. and has lived in the northern Virginia area most of his life. He completed his undergraduate degree in Communications from George Mason University and has received a graduate degree in Elementary Education from Mary Washington University. Not only does he teach kids, but he has also taught adults English as a second language while living in Europe. His favorite sports teams are the Nats, Skins, Caps & O's. Baseball is his favorite sport as he often visits the batting cage. He is thrilled to be part of the Patrick Henry community!!!
Andrea Hollowell
Resource Assistant
| School Test Coordinator |
| Ms. Edgell |
| Test Coordinator |
karin.edgell@apsva.us
University of Virginia - Administrative Endorsement; Roosevelt University - M.A. - Special Education; University of Illinois - B.S. Elementary Education; M.Ed. - Reading Karin Edgell grew up in central Illinois, but she has lived most of her adult life in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduating from college, Karin has spent her entire career in education. Currently, she is a Principal's Designee and a Special Educator at Patrick Henry School. Teaching English and Social Studies in middle school and English and Special Education in high school were prior experiences. She is married to an intellectual property attorney and has one son, who is with the Department of Commerce. Leisure time activities include golfing, biking, walking, exercising, and attending cultural events. Professionally, Karin believes that all children can be successful learners given the appropriate opportunity and an effective environment. Positive encouragement for every student in essential. Personally, Karin believes that teachers will be more effective if they broaden their outside interests and engage in healthy, diverse activities. |
Technology
Kathy GustInstructional Technology Coordinator
Mrs. Gust grew up in Lakeland, Florida and graduated from University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and has a Master of Arts in Educational Media/Instructional Technology from Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in Special Education and a certificate in Assistive Technology at George Mason University. After operating her own business while her four sons were growing up she worked in business offices as a computer technology trainer. She was a middle school computer skills teacher in the foothills of North Carolina until she became an instructional technology coordinator in Burke County, NC. She taught business and computer technology for middle school and high school at HB Woodlawn before becoming the instructional technology coordinator for Patrick Henry Elementary and Campbell Elementary. She is also certified in special education and specializes in assistive technology needs for students.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and four grown sons and two grandsons. She also enjoys reading and taking short trips on the weekend.
Resource Coordinator
Donna Townsend
SPED Coordinator
Occupational Therapist (OT)
Amy EngelOccupational Therapist
Tara Kamis
OT Assistant
Physical Therapist (PT)
Sally Tumolo
Gifted Resource Teacher
Donna English
School Based Sub
Dan Tuttle
Extended Day Supervisor
Kathy Robinson
Supervisor
Lul Hussein
Assistant
Cafeteria
Karen Navarro
Supervisor
Custodians
Marshall Cunningham
Head Custodian
T. (Snow) Nguyen
Edgar Delao
Maria Marquez
