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Academics

Academic Dean & Dean of Admissions - John Nichols

Mr. Nichols joined BSA in 2009 from New York City where he worked with the president of New York University to found a tuition-free high school.  Through his work for NYU, he studied the curricular programs of hundreds of schools around the country and helped to develop a wide-ranging plan including best practices in everything from the latest in technology to faculty enrichment programs, from teaching ethics across the disciplines to a coordinated program of mathematics and science.  Prior to his work at NYU, Mr. Nichols served as Dean of Students at Trinity School in New York for 14 years.  Mr. Nichols has an AB from Harvard University and a JD with honors from Boston University School of Law.  He is an English scholar, musician and a writer.

Assistant Principal - Charelle D. James

Ms. Charelle D. James joined the Baltimore School for the Arts’ administrative team in January 2008.  Ms. James began her career with Baltimore City Public Schools in 1994 as a Secondary English teacher at the middle school level and later went to the National Academy Foundation High School (then known as the Academy of Finance) where she served as a Program Facilitator for six years and then Program Director for four years. Ms. James earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Spelman College (Atlanta, GA) and a Master of Science in Education and Supervision and Administration both from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD).

Academic Department Head - Tucker Foehl

Mr. Foehl joined BSA as the Academic Department Head in 2009 from the Calhoun School, a progressive independent school in New York City, where he taught courses in U.S. History, English, and American Studies. Mr. Foehl earned his undergraduate degree, with honors in African American Studies and American Studies, from Wesleyan University, where he published his undergraduate honors thesis, entitled “Writin Is Fightin: Literacy, Violence, and the Making of Frederick Douglass’s America.” Following his work at Wesleyan, Mr. Foehl was accepted into the Ph.D. program in American Studies at Yale University, where he received a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy. While at Yale, Mr. Foehl presented his work to the American Historical Association, the International Oral History Association, the Center for African American Studies (CAAS), among other organizations. He has taught a wide array of undergraduate courses at both Yale and the New College of California, and he currently teaches an honors American Studies seminar at BSA.

Math - Dr. Renu Ahuja

Dr. Renu Ahuja has been a faculty member at BSA since 2002. She has extensive experience teaching a variety of mathematics courses to precollege students in India and the United States. Her areas of expertise include Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Analytical Geometry, Statistics, Calculus AB & BC, Differential Equations, and Business Mathematics. She received her B.S. (Honors) Mathematics, M.S. (Mathematics), and M.Ed. Degrees from India and Ed.D. in Mathematics Education from Morgan State University. Her research and publications focus on the teaching of mathematics at the secondary and undergraduate level and she has presented her research findings at national and international conferences.

Spanish - Rachel Goodman

Rachel Goodman lived and studied in Copiapo, Chile as a Rotary International exchange student after high school. She attended Binghamton University and received a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a concentration in Latin American Literature. Ms Goodman also studied at Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently, she is pursuing her M.A.T. in Spanish through SIT, formerly the School for International Training. Ms. Goodman has traveled extensively, particularly through Spanish-speaking countries.

English - Ruth C. Foreman Gladney

Ruth C. Foreman Gladney graduated magna cum laude from Morgan State University and began her teaching career in the Baltimore City Public School System. During her tenure as an English teacher, she received a Master’s degree in Urban Education from Morgan State University and a second Masters in Leadership and Administration from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.  For a number of years, she served as secretary for the Maryland Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, and she wrote curriculum for the Baltimore City Public Schools. Currently, she serves as financial secretary for her high school class, and she is a member of the Baltimore County Morgan State University Alumni Association.  Of the thirty-five years she has been an educator, twenty-five years have been spent at the Baltimore School for the Arts where she teaches English to ninth and tenth graders. She is also the yearbook advisor and a mentor for a number of students. As she states, “no job has ever offered me greater rewards or satisfaction.” Ms. Gladney is also the proud parent of four children and proud grandmother of  four grandchildren.

Social Studies - Thomas Askey

Thomas Askey came to BSA for the 2010-2011 school year after spending 3 ½  years teaching American Government and US History at Patterson High School and Chinquapin Middle School in Baltimore City. He graduated with honors from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in History. He is currently finishing his M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Leadership from Loyola University. Prior to teaching, Mr. Askey was a classically trained chef who received his culinary degree from The New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT. Currently, Mr. Askey teaches World History and American Government at BSA.

Math - Nick Esposito

Nick Esposito earned his Bachelor's Degree in Communication with specializations in Journalism and Media Production from Villanova University. He is currently earning his Masters of Science in Education with a concentration on Urban Education at The Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Esposito has experience tutoring SAT Prep and teaching mathematics in Philadelphia.

Science - Ilene Strain

Ilene Strain joins the academic department to teach Chemistry, Honors Chemistry and Algebra I. She comes to BSA from Patterson High School. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a B.A. in Spanish and completed her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University in May 2011.

Special Education - Nadine E. Kane

Nadine E. Kane received her B.S, and M.E. from Coppin State University. She has also completed graduate work at Strayer University. Through her work in the Baltimore City Public Schools, she has pioneered inclusion programs for diverse learners as she continues to do at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

English - George Kessler

George Kessler attended Johns Hopkins University and The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and received his M.A. from Towson University.  He has taught History at Western High School (1977-1989) and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (1989-1995) and has been teaching at BSA since 1995.  He is also the father of two current BSA students, a professional violinist, is a former Jeopardy contestant and he has forty years of amateur baseball experience.

Special Education Coordinator - Anne Laro

Anne Laro earned her Bachelor of Science & Master of Science degrees from Towson University and received a certificate from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. She entered the Baltimore City Public School system in 2008. Since then, she has worked to lead the way to develop and present "The Student Led/Driven IEP". Another area of interest is delivering accommodations in Performing and Visual arts. Prior to entering the Baltimore City Public School system, she taught for 9 years in Maryland Non-Public Special Education Schools. Ms. Laro is also currently a faculty member at Notre Dame of Maryland University where she teaches Music History. An oboist, she enjoys spending her free time performing in the US and abroad.

Social Studies - Christina Duncan Evans

Cristina Duncan Evans has a Bachelor's Degree in History from Dartmouth College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. In past years she has been a Teacher Leader and a Baltimore Mayoral Fellow, and is currently a seminar instructor in Classroom Management at Johns Hopkins University.

Social Studies and English - Warren Moore

Warren Moore earned a B.S. from Towson State University and a Masters in English from Loyola College. In addition to teaching at Loyola College and the College of Notre Dame, he has been a teacher and an administrator for over forty years in the Baltimore City Public School System, spending the last twenty years as Academic Department Head at BSA before retiring in 2010 and returning as a part-time teacher of English and senior seminar.

Science - Stephanie Rafferty

Stephanie Rafferty graduated cum laude with B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy/Astrophysics from Florida Institute of Technology in 2005. She then went on to pursue a Masters of Science in Physics, with an emphasis in physics and astronomy education, from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2007. She is currently finishing a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Rafferty teaches Physics, Conceptual Physics and Algebra I.

Librarian - Debra Rogers

Debra Rogers graduated from University of Maryland, College Park in 1976 with a B.A. in Library Science Education. Ms. Rogers has been BSA’s librarian since November 1982.  She has been with Baltimore City Schools since 1977 and was an elementary school librarian for five years.  She also serves as the school’s archivist.

Science - Nancy Street

Nancy Street graduated from Goucher College with a BA in Chemistry/Biochemistry in 1980. She worked for 12 years for the Maryland Department of Health as a chemist in the lab and in the field of epidemiology with many of the state health registries. As the recipient of a Christa McAuliffe Scholarship, she completed a Master of Arts in Teaching from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 1996.  She has been teaching Biology at BSA for 14 years. Her husband, David, is a frequent substitute at BSA who also volunteers to assist during many biology labs. She has facilitated school visits by the mobile MDBIOLAB Biotechnology Program and the BIOEYES Zebra Fish Genetics Program and was instrumental in helping to design BSA’s new biology lab facilities.

Spanish - Michael Tabegna

Michael Tabegna joined the BSF staff as a French teacher in September of 1982 as the school began its third year.  A native of Berks County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Tabegna graduated from West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania in May of 1980.  During his junior year in college, he studied at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France  in the Centre de Formation Pédagogique, a program to train teachers of French as a foreign language.   He taught French for a year in Arcadia High School in Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore before coming to the School for the Arts.   In 1992, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study the plays of Molière in Paris, France.   In 1994, he received a MA in French literature from Towson University.  Shortly after that, he began to prepare  for the school’s conversion from French to Spanish as its foreign language.  He studied two summers in the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain,  and two summers in Puebla, Mexico.  He has been teaching Spanish at the school since 2004.

Math - Rachel E. Turner

Rachel E. Turner received a B.S. in mathematics from Morgan State University, an M.S. in information systems from the University of Baltimore, a Graduate Certificate in Business from the University of Baltimore, and post graduate credits from Johns Hopkins University, Loyola College, Goucher College, Towson State University and the University of Baltimore.  She serves as one of 150 National Instructors for Texas Instruments, Teachers Teaching with Technology (T 3) educational division. She is also the recipient of numerous national awards for teaching including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Walt Disney Company American Teacher Award, Tandy Technology Scholar-Outstanding Teacher for Academic Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Computer Science, Maryland State Teacher of the Year Finalist, Baltimore City Teacher of the Year, and the Kurt L. Schmoke Excellence in Teaching Award. She has co-authored two mathematics/technology books, authored an Algebra Online course for Texas Instruments, and authored activities for PBS MATHLINE High School Project – Focus on Algebra.  She also served as a national question writer for MATHCOUNTS.

English - Thomas J. Ventimiglia

Thomas J. Ventimiglia has been teaching English for twelve years, the last five of which were spent at BSA. Previously, he taught at Deer Park High School in New York. He received his B.A. in English at New York University and M.Ed. at Queens College, and most recently completed an M.A. in Writing at the Johns Hopkins University. He has published fiction and non-fiction in the Baltimore Review and Potomac Review among others. Currently, he teaches both the honors and regular English courses for all grade levels and is the adviser of Madison & Cathedral, BSA's literary magazine.

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