What do a math specialist, a world-class debater, and a corporate leader all have in common? They are the three new key academic team members at the Partnership for Inner-City Education. As Superintendent Kathleen Porter-Magee noted after her first day working with her hand-picked team Lauren DelFavero, Director of Math Achievement; Sesenu Woldemariam Recruiting & Research Associate; and Dorothy Seaman, Academic Associate, “I was so impressed – though not surprised – at how seamlessly my team integrated into our first day of training and conversation with our six principals. Individually and as a team, they have already taken on challenges enthusiastically and thoughtfully.”
Ms. DelFavero comes to the Partnership most recently from Success Charter School where she just learned that 96% of her 5th graders scored “fours” – the highest level – on the NY State Math test. A self-described teacher from the word go, Lauren looks forward to achieving the same results for all 2,168 students in the network. “It is such hard work. My kids were so determined and the fact that they did so well is such a testament to them. I’m so proud of them and am so honored I was part of their academic growth and their success.”
With an honors degree in English from Yale University, and originally from Texas, Sesenu found the Partnership from a listing on Idealist.com which seems more than apt for a young man who created and ran a nationally-ranked debate team, beginning in his middle school years. While at Yale, Mr. Woldemariam was a critical member of the debate association earning the distinction of being the first African-American ever to reach the final round of the North American Debating Championship and the quarter final round of the World Universities Debating Championship. Watch out students, there may be some debating in your future.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dorothy spent several years working as a successful analytics leader with the Burger King Corporation. Yet she craved work that was both challenging and mission-driven. Shifting gears–dramatically–she left the corporate world to spend a year working intensely with AmeriCorps at Miami Edison Senior High School where she led in-class and after-school lessons for high school mathematics. Part of her responsibilities included professional development and behavior coaching for the ninth grade student body. Ms. Seaman is thrilled to be part of the team that is charged with strengthening principal and teacher capacity with the specific purpose of raising high the academic achievement levels of all students in the Partnership.
Please join us all in welcoming Lauren, Sesenu and Dorothy as you see them in the halls and classrooms of our schools.