I am the mother of two wonderful children. Originally from New Jersey, I have been in Baltimore for 8 years. I entered the teaching profession because my daughter displayed a love for learning at a young age, which sparked my love for educating and continuing education. Since moving here, I have taught 3rd grade, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade mathematics, 8th grade science, and summer programs with High School students at Morgan State University, Baltimore City Community College, and ConneXions High School. I currently teach 7th and 8th grade mathematics. I have earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Montclair State University in New Jersey, a Masters in Education from UMBC, and an Administrative Certificate from John's Hopkins University. My belief is that it takes a family (at home and in school) for students to achieve academic success. The students need to feel that the teachers, as well as the parents, have a vested interest in their learning. I present learning opportunities in which the students can make connections between the content areas and discover how their lives relate to what they are learning. They appreciate and understand mathematics when it applies to their lives.

I graduated from Carver Vocational Technical High School. My trade experience/profession is Dressmaking & Licensed Beautician. I am also an Avon Representative (Fragrance/Beauty/Etc. Sales). After graduating from high school I worked in my grandmother’s Confectionary Store, (Cashier/Clerk), until we lost the store in the Martin Luther King riots and the times changed where the store was being robbed too often. I also worked in a beauty salon and attended college. I have college background at University of Baltimore and Community College of Baltimore. I have worked in the BCPSS for 31 years. I started out as a Lunch Monitor for 3 hours daily at #112, an elementary school on Laurens & Woodyear Streets. When #112 closed I became a Paraprofessional/Office Assistant at Rosemont Elementary, (#63). I was in charge of the Lunch Program (cafeteria duty, processing lunch applications, selling lunch tickets, & assisting the cafeteria manager with counting/banking the money). Other school sites were Pimlico Middle, (Lunch Program/Office Assistant), Grove Park Elementary, (Office Assistant/Secretary, Lafayette Elementary, (Secretary), and here at ConneXions CLA, (Secretary). I learned my counseling skills from a very experienced counselor at Grove Park Elementary. My people skills come from working with the public in some capacity from childhood to present. I enjoy working with our young people. They need someone to talk to and hear what they have to say, someone to make them think about their accountability for their actions and what the consequences are for those actions be they good or bad. I am proud of our young people when they talk to me and realize on their own how they could have handled a situation that could have keep them from being sent to the office for a discipline problem. I am proud and fortunate to have the skills and knowledge to help guide our young people in a positive direction of life.

I earned my Bachelor’s degrees in French and Spanish through the University of Houston, Texas. My study included a year at the University of Strasbourg, France and one summer at the total immersion program (le CEGEP) in Jonquiere, Quebec. Then, as a student, I frequently traveled to France, Spain, Canada, South America, Africa, Haiti and Mexico. And, as a student teacher, I taught both French and Spanish at the International Embassy School in New Delhi, India. Before becoming a language instructor, I served as a Telemetry Operator and French Translator for the University of Houston and NASA in collaboration with the Space Center in Toulouse, France. As a translator I visited many countries around the world, such as Egypt, which is part of Africa, as well as Kenya and other parts of Africa. I thoroughly enjoyed my first safari there as well. My visits also included parts of Turkey, Bulgaria, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Islands of Mauritius and La Reunion. I was stationed with a group of American, French and Russian Scientists at a French military base in the Kerguelen Islands, 3000 miles south of Madagascar. Later, during my career, I completed my Masters in Spanish Literature in Soria, Spain, and began a Masters in French in Angers, France near the Loire Valley. I also completed graduate study at Penn State University in Distance and Adult Education as well as Instructional Technology. Currently, I am studying, exploring and enjoying the noble language of Korean at Penn State. I was an instructor in the State College, Pennsylvania for 15 years where I taught Spanish, French and English as a Second Language, and have instructed learners of all ages, Elementary, Secondary, University, and Adults. As a teacher in Texas, I taught via satellite into many classrooms throughout 30 states. My interest in non-traditional education is what brought me to Penn State and to ConneXions. Other interests of mine include but are not limited to listening to Handel Operas, and painting children’s portraits in the style of the 18th Century painters of early America. This year my goal at ConneXions is to incorporate the many educational opportunities in the Baltimore area. The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Museum have many valuable programs that I have already begun to incorporate into my curriculum. This year the Walters has a program called “Revive, Contemplate, and Integrate” designed especially for the integration of other disciplines and art into the curriculum already in place at ConneXions. The Baltimore Museum of Art also has an outreach program which has provided me with a multitude of wonderful posters of many famous French and Spanish Artists. I am anxiously awaiting our visit dates with the students at ConneXions for both the Middle and High School. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience if you have any ideas or information you can share as well. I would be very interested in knowing more about this wonderful city. Have a great year!

Dana Polson is a Co-Director, teacher, and founder of ConneXions Community Leadership Academy. At ConneXions she has taught Social Studies, US History, and English, coached policy debate, served as an advisor, and worked collaboratively on all facets of school administration. She is currently working on her PhD in the Language, Literacy and Culture program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Ms Polson holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and an MA in Music from the University of Virginia, and she earned a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, studying viola performance with John Graham. She has worked as a string quartet violist, violin and viola teacher, chamber-music freelancer, and in music administration. Ms Polson is a card-carrying alumna of the Resident Teacher Program, and taught history and law at Baltimore City's Carver Vocational Technical High School for 4 years.

I am a wife and mother of three beautiful but busy children. I was born and raised right here in the city of Baltimore. I am a graduate of Western High School and I received my Associate of Science Degree in Business Administration from Baltimore City Community College. To further my studies and enhance my knowledge in the field of Business I obtained my Bachelors Degree In Business Administration and Healthcare Management from Saint Leo University in Tampa, Florida. I chose healthcare as a specialization because it focuses on the management of mental health programs. The management of mental health is relevant to the school system because it focuses on the needs of the students and the many personalities we encounter in a day. It is important to relate to and understand children of today’s society. Thanks for your interest in our community.

I got off a plane in Baltimore to teach seven years ago, and never quite made it back to the West Coast. This is my second year teaching science at ConneXions, and I love the atmosphere. The positive energy of both students and staff makes it a wonderful place to work. I am a nationally certified science teacher, with prior experience at Robert Poole Middle and Lombard Middle. My goal for all science students at the X is for them to become scientists – to be able to look at the world around them, and analyze any situation using the same skills a scientist would. This helps them to make informed decisions about issues around them, and become responsible, empowered citizens of both our community and the world. I’d also like to teach all of them to knit, but that’s another story.

Coach Brooks serves as the athletic director for ConneXions Leadership Academy. He was born in Stuggart, Germany and raised in Washington, D.C. He earned his degree in Sports Administration from Morgan State University. Coach Brooks served as the Physical Education teacher at Furman L. Templeton for six years before joining the staff here at ConneXions. Coach Brooks has a vast amount of experience in his field. From 1998-2001 Coach Brooks had the opportunity to travel the country with a Division I basketball team as an administrative assistant for Morgan State Men’s Basketball. During this same time, he was also the sports editor for the Spokesman Newspaper, an on-campus publication. In January of 2000, Coach Brooks had an opportunity to complete an internship at Fox 45 in Baltimore, Maryland. Coach Brooks has continued to be active in the sports community. Beginning October 2006, Coach took over the junior varsity basketball program at Edgewood High School in Edgewood, Maryland a position he still holds. Coach Brooks worked as a coach at the University of Virginia basketball camp and was a guest speaker at the Choo Smith Basketball camp this summer. Outside of coaching and teaching, Coach Brooks enjoys playing golf and establishing and maintaining salt-water aquariums. Coach Brooks brings a strong athletic background and knowledge to the team at ConneXions. He will be an asset to the ConneXions family tree.

Kutia Jawara began dancing at the age of three (according to her mother J) in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has studied West-African, modern, ballet and jazz, and uses modern as a platform to showcase these different techniques. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, Kutia moved to New York where she continued her training at the Ailey School, and Steps on Broadway. At the age of 15 Kutia got her first teaching job at the All Saints summer program. Since then, she has taught in the Arts in Education program in Brooklyn, and DC; and is the director and founder of the Shange Youth Performance Group, which through its performances at Artscape and Sankofa has provided a place for dedicated young dancers to shine. Kutia know that the focus, and discipline that was part of her dance training has helped her become the woman that she is off the stage and outside of the studio; and she is excited to have an opportunity to give her students at Connexions some of the tools they will need to shape their own futures.

My Name is Ibrahim Turay Jr. I am first generation Sierra Leonean. I graduated from Morgan State University in May of 2000 with a Bachelors of Political Science and international Studies degree. I am currently attending the College of Notre for a Masters Degree in Leadership and Education. I teach our children the art of Social studies and the world around us through geography. I am a teacher of five years experience and your children are my best teachers. I am blessed to be part of a proactive staff that agrees with this famous song,” I believe that children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way…” I am fond of travel and have been to several countries in Africa, throughout the Americas and the Carrribean. I am a musician and seek to master my self through the arts.