Inquisitive, action-oriented, and engaged in constant improvement
At Envision Learning Partners we share the same goal of transforming the educational experience with our educational division, Envision Schools, but we seek to do so on a larger, national scale. Envision Schools has transformed the lives of a diverse range of students over the last decade – including most of whom will be the first in their family to graduate from college – by engaging them as learners and preparing them for their futures.
As educators ourselves, we’ve been in the trenches, developing and teaching the Envision model, and we’re driven to create the kind of excellent educational environments that support deeper learning, because we passionately believe, and have the results to show for it, that by engaging students today, they become lifelong learners capable of navigating the world around them for the rest of their lives. We’re committed to ensuring that all K-12 schools can prepare students adequately for success in the world that lies beyond their doors – in college, in careers, and in life and build this capacity in classrooms, schools and districts across the country.
While we may be separate from Envision Schools, Envision Learning Partners is not run as an entirely independent entity – our team not only has its roots in the Envision teaching and learning approach, we continue to collaborate closely and cross pollinate with Envision’s instructional leaders – and this is what contributes to our magic and keeps us actively learning right along with you. We’re genuinely excited about what we do, and the ongoing opportunities for transformation it brings–both to us, and the innovative educators we work with, at Envision, and beyond.
JOIN OUR TEAM
We are currently seeking candidates for a Senior Director, District and Leadership Development.
Learn more about our team, and what motivates us, by clicking on our pictures below.
Erika Andrew
Danielle Johnson
Rachel Maida
Jill Schiager
Lanny Cheuck
Kyle Hartung
Symon Hayes
Jennifer Villeneuve
“Twenty-six years ago, Jesus, one of my very first students, came to my class faithfully, engaged in the discussion, but never turned in a single assignment despite my endless attempts to reach him. The day he dropped out of school, he told me “Thank you. I know you tried your best, but school doesn’t work for me.” It didn’t work for most of us. My journey has been to imagine and design schools that engage, inspire and support the students that need them while simultaneously doing the same for the adults who give their all to serve them well.”
Erika Nielsen Andrew has over 25 years of experience as an educator, teacher educator, administrator, consultant, coach, researcher, and curriculum developer. She began her career as a high school social studies teacher and also holds an administrative credential. She has been at the center of Envision Schools since the beginning coaching teacher leaders, administrators and leadership teams, coordinating the beginning teacher program and leading professional development.
Prior to joining Envision Schools Erika led the Urban School’s Network and the Teaching and Learning Alliance both housed at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. In this capacity she coached Bay Area schools and districts, including those engaged in state take over and comprehensive instructional reform, as well as those affiliated with the Annenberg funded Bay Area School Reform Collaborative.
Erika received her Masters in Education from Stanford University in 1987, and a PhD in Educational Administration from UC Berkeley in 1995. She loves clogs, baking and champagne and imagines that someday when she retires she’ll own a café staffed by students where educators come to think and learn in a room filled with artifacts of exemplary practice, inspiration, white boards, warm cookies and comfort food.
“The most inspiring thing I’ve seen at Envision Schools are the culminating defenses of their portfolio by articulate, college-ready seniors who I taught as shy or overly excitable or unmotivated freshmen. Why wouldn’t I want to help bring an opportunity for such powerful and crucial transformation to other schools?”
Danielle Johnson came to Envision Schools in 2004 as a founding teacher at City Arts and Technology High School (CAT) in San Francisco. Her roles at CAT included teaching 9th through 12th grade history, advisor, lead teacher, and BTSA coach. She helped advise the College Success Portfolio history/social science task overview and rubric, and develop CAT’s benchmark portfolio defense system. Now, as Director of Program Development for Envision Learning Partners, Danielle works closely with teachers in other districts to shift to a performance assessment system through training, tools, and coaching in order to ensure students’ readiness for college and career.
Before coming to Envision, Danielle taught ethnic studies at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in San Francisco and spent a year teaching English language and US history and culture in Yantai, China.
Danielle holds a CA teaching credential in social science and German and MA in Education from Mills College. Danielle has a passion for travel and baking birthday cakes.
“I’m appreciative of the opportunity to help foster change in our educational landscape for those who have traditionally been underserved. There is nothing more rewarding than a former student ecstatically relaying his or her triumphant college experience.”
Rachel Maida embarked on her journey at Envision Schools in 2006 as a 9th and 10th grade English teacher at City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco. Prior to joining the founding team of Envision Learning Partners she oversaw a highly successful reading intervention program at all four Envision Schools. She also served as an advisor, BTSA coach and testing coordinator.
Prior to coming to Envision, Rachel taught 9th and 11th grade Humanities and a mixed level film class at High Tech High Bayshore in Redwood City.
Rachel has a CA teaching credential in English, is a certified Read Right trainer and received her BA in English and Film Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Additionally, she spent a semester studying in England through UCLA’s travel abroad program.Rachel enjoys reading, yoga, hiking, rock climbing and spending time with her fabulous husband and two amazing children.
“A crucial component in supporting the entity of a community is ensuring that all voices within that community are given not only the opportunity to participate, but also the tools necessary to exercise their own social and political efficacy. I believe that in working with mission based organizations, I am supporting that ideal as well.”
Jeong Shin comes to Envision Schools with fourteen years of work in the public sector in areas ranging from legal advocacy for prisoners in British Columbia to affordable housing for homeless women and children in Chicago. Her most recent job was working as a Program and Operations Manager for the San Francisco affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) where she implemented technology based solutions to improve efficiencies in operations, data management, and program delivery.
Jeong has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Indiana University and is in the process of completing a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management from Spertus College. Jeong enjoys sewing, knitting, and reading novels written during the Golden Age of Mystery.
“Sometimes I just imagine what our world would look like if every child were educated to high levels. Would we have a cure for cancer? Other political system options? What other challenges could be solved if every student graduated from high school fully prepared to go to college and make an impact in their chosen career field? The Envision model inspires students to engage meaningfully in their education and become lifelong learners and achievers.”
Jill Schiager came to Envision in 2012 to support the ongoing growth of Envision Learning Partners. Prior to joining Envision, she consulted to education support providers and served on the leadership team that helped Oakland Unified School District return to local control and become the most improved large urban district in California (six years running). While at OUSD, Jill created the entrepreneurial Operations Support unit and managed teams focused on classified staff professional development, central office process improvement, customer service training, development, and communications. Earlier professional experiences included foundation management and international development.
Jill has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA in Russian language from Arizona State University. She loves to explore new ways of thinking and being and new cultures, languages and places — ideally on foot.
“I have always questioned my role as a truly effective teacher as I would help my students graduate from high school and enter college, only to see them drop out within the first year and enter the world of retail. After preparing my students for the portfolio defenses, I truly see how transformative our work is and how we teach them to persist and succeed beyond the walls of our school.”
Lanny Cheuck came to Envision Schools in 2008 as a lower division English teacher and advisor. It was then that she became acquainted with performance assessment as she prepared her advisees for the Benchmark Portfolio defense. For the next two years, she became the lead teacher of her academic family and constantly worked on making the portfolio system more efficient throughout the year. Her roles included portfolio lead, English lead, and BTSA coach. One of her major strengths as a teacher leader is working collaboratively with a small team to come up with creative solutions. Her work was recognized Envision-wide when they awarded her the “Critical Thinker” award in 2011. Within her own academic classroom, Lanny worked on using Socratic Seminars and cultural circles as a way to push different ways of assessing her students.
Now, Lanny works as a consultant in NYC partnering with iZone and NYC DOE schools.Before coming to Envision, Lanny taught in the New York City Department of Education for 7 years. Her experience ranges from a middle school taken over by the Superintendent’s office to a huge traditional high school with over 4000 students to a small new high school with a focus in advisory and PBL. She also has experience as an account executive in both advertising and in sales in the urban fashion industry.
Lanny Cheuck holds a credential in teaching English in New York and California. She has a M.S. in Education from Mercy College and an administrative certificate from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Lanny is an avid traveler who enjoys spending summers in South America learning Spanish. These days she enjoys being a new mother to her baby girl.
Kyle Hartung has worked in small, urban public schools for 14 years as a classroom teacher, school administrator and instructional leader in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area and Cambridge, MA. He is currently an advanced doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) where he conducts research on the use of virtual games as an assessment environment, and their potential to inform our understanding of how 21st century skills are developed and acquired.Prior to coming to HGSE, Kyle was a member of Envision Schools’ Education Team, providing coaching and professional development to school leaders and teachers on school design, project-based learning and the systematic implementation of performance assessment.
Beyond his work with ELP, Kyle is a research assistant with Learning Innovations Laboratory (LILa) at Project Zero, and has recently consulted with Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) to prepare a facilitator’s guide for the NYC High School Performance Assessment Pilot project, and with Metiri Group on their Assessment Portal for 21st Century Learning.
In his free time, Kyle loves to spend time re-living childhood with his kids, keep up with the world of fantasy literature and hopes to one day take the all the kids in the neighborhood on a role-playing adventure to find out why the dragons left the world and what we can do about it.
“When I first started teaching, one of my most challenging classes was a language arts class for students with emotional and behavioral learning disabilities. After introducing the idea of studying Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, the class collectively agreed that instead of reading and then writing about it, they wanted to ‘do’ it. As a demonstration of their understanding, the group of twenty-two 9th grade boys presented their dramatic interpretation of the book to an audience of 300 high school students. The cast won the award for best dramatic production of the year and, as a result, I was convinced of the power of doing. I strive to support teachers in the creation of learning experiences and environments where students of all abilities are continually inspired and engaged in learning and given opportunities to learn deeply and show their understanding through the power of doing.”
Symon Hayes has 20 years of experience as an educator, teacher educator and coach. He began his career as a freelance artist and moved into education after the collaboration with students and disabled young adults on art projects sparked his intrigue with the power of creativity and it’s impact on learning and development. After graduating from the University of West of England with a Bachelors Degree, he taught language arts, drama, and art within the Special Education Department of a secondary school in South wales for seven years.
Symon moved to USA in 2000 to teach Middle School in Vail, Colorado and served as the building Instructional coach and then as district coach for secondary schools. In 2007 he joined Expeditionary Learning as a coach and facilitator of professional development. Symon moved to Oakland in June 2012 and joined Envision Learning Partners as Director of Professional Development. He coaches and supports teachers in the Bay Area and other districts as they implement performance based assessment. He loves art and mountain biking, and hopes one day to provide opportunities for learners of all ages to indulge in arts projects and experience the joy of creating.
“Something magical happens when leaders stop and reflect on the deeper intent of their work, when ‘what matters?’ becomes the driving force in aligning an organization’s mission, goals and actions towards achieving social change. Envision Learning Partners asks this and other important questions and seeks to understand the answers in ways that strengthen the teachers and schools they serve, and ultimately contributes to improved student lives. It’s an honor to support this work through evaluation coaching.”
Jennifer works with non-profit and philanthropic leaders and organizations to plan for and measure social change and impact. Through evaluation and planning coaching, she helps clients to clarify the key components of their work and to identify indicators of change they aim to achieve. Jennifer works with teams to develop and use evaluation tools in order to strengthen an organization’s capacity to learn and grow. She also has considerable experience conducting external evaluations for a range of clients, including a number of educational and civil rights advocacy organizations, community colleges, foundations and other non-profits.
Jennifer holds a Ph.D. in Policy, Organization, Measurement, and Evaluation and an M.A. in Education Administration from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in Higher Education and Adult Development from University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.