ANDREA ROBINSON CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER
Andrea has 23 years of working in the field of education as an educator,
instructional coach, building leader, and state DOE employee. She
received her BA from Indiana University in elementary education
and her master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. Andrea
worked as a teacher in the intermediate grades in a Title I
elementary building. She received the Sallie Mae First Class
teacher award and Olin Davis Award. She was also recognized
for her passion in teaching when she was honored with the
district-wide Indiana Teacher of the Year award in 2009. She
eventually became the instructional coach for her a K-5 building
where she used her knowledge of best practices to lead other
educators in professional development, classroom management,
differentiation, PBIS, tiers 1-3 instruction/intervention and data
analysis to drive effective classroom instruction. As a building leader,
she helped lead her building from an accountability grade of an F to an A
in two years. Andrea has also provided professional development for the University of Indianapolis’
elementary education program and for educational webinars with Kappa Delta Pi. Andrea most recently
worked at the Indiana Department of Education in the Office of School Improvement as an Outreach
Coordinator for Marion County, working closely with schools and districts to develop best practices for
schools in turnaround status.
Andrea is responsible for delivering curriculum and learning materials to support teacher and leadership
development, building teacher capacity and their understanding of best instructional practices, creating
professional development programs based upon needs determined through classroom observations,
assisting teachers and leaders with effectively using formative data for differentiating and adjusting
instruction, and conducting regular classroom observations and providing feedback to support the
growth of our teachers.
AMBER DECKARD DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT
Amber is an accomplished Executive in the nonprofit industry. She
has over 20 years’ experience in nonprofit leadership including
human resources and talent management. Amber first joined
the team in 2010 as a Regional Director for Summer
Advantage where she was instrumental in helping the
program reach thousands of scholars across the country. In
2014, Amber was called to serve as a Regional VP for a
national nonprofit charged with improving birth outcomes
and health equity for moms and babies in the US. During her
tenure, Amber was successful in building teams across 26
Markets in the Midwest, supporting a reduction in both
premature birth and health equity disparities – both critical
focuses for the Foundation.
Amber leads the department responsible for talent sourcing, interviewing, and hiring of our
nationalteam, regional teams, summer seasonal staff and all school-based personnel including
academy leadership, teachers, and support staff. The department also manages talent systems,
strategy planning and recruitment data.
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