Dr. Ben Chavis is a Lumbee Indian from North Carolina. He received his PhD from the University of Arizona. His specialties are administration, business, and curriculum. His leadership is marked by a no-nonsense approach to student academic improvement. Dr. Chavis believes in hard work and no excuses.

Miss Albright was born and raised in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, where she majored in French. After graduating in 2005, she moved to France, where she taught English to elementary school students in the French public school system. In her spare time, Miss Albright enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time outdoors.

Mr. Berniker grew up near Berkeley, CA, before attending Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, he worked as a software engineer and baseball umpire before dedicating himself to teaching.

Mr. Eng was born in Honduras, but spent most of his life growing up in San Jose, CA. He played organized tackle football for 7 years and has been involved with tae kwon do for over 15 years. Mr. Eng was sponsored by Power Bar in tae kwon do competing at the national and state level. He graduated college from San Francisco State University with a degree in Kinesiology concentrating in physical education.

Ms. Halling grew up moving back and forth between a farm in Idaho and the cities of California's Central Valley. She graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a BA in Philosophy. Ms. Halling loves writing, reading, traveling, and teaching. She is dedicated to using her own education and knowledge to instruct children, and she is very excited to be working at AIPCS.

Ms. Heinke, an Illinois native, is currently as Master of Music candidate at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studies the flute with Timothy Day. Ms. Heinke earned her Postgraduate Diploma in flute in 2005 from the Royal College of Music in London, where she was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholoar. She earned her Bachelor of Music from teh University of California at Santa Barbara, graduating with Highest Academic Honors.

Ms. Kreth grew up in San Diego and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in History and Spanish. While in college, she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and traveled to France and Cambodia. After graduation, she moved to Cambodia to do research on pedagogy in Cambodia. Some of Ms. Kreth’s interests include browsing local bookstores, exploring different restaurants, backpacking and cooking.

Leah Rose was born in Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Rose’s passion for teaching comes from her parents: her father teaches 4th grade in Harlem, and her mother teaches middle school American History in Queens. Ms. Rose attended public schools in Brooklyn, and then went on to attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. At Wesleyan, Ms. Rose received a degree in Women’s Studies and played four years of rugby.

Ms. Shewmon grew up near Chicago, IL, before attending Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. After she earned an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, she taught sixth grade for three years in a public school system. Ms. Shewmon graduated with a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2006. Currently, she teaches sixth grade at AIPCS and is excited to be a part of such a successful education system.

Ms. Tallerico was born in San Francisco, CA, and grew up in Albany, CA, where she attended Catholic elementary and middle school, followed by Albany HS. Ms. Tallerico graduated Cum Laude from St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA, in 2006 with a BA in Child/Adolescent Development/Psychology. Coming from a family of teachers, Ms. Tallerico has always understood the importance of a solid education and hard work. Ms. Tallerico is excited to join the AIPCS family.

Ms. Truong is from Saigon, Vietnam, where she attended the School of Pedagogy and taught math for 18 years. After coming to this country, Ms. Truong earned her AA Degree from the College of Alameda. As the Math Specialist at AIPCS, she strives to help her students understand the basis of Algebra and Geometry, so they can improve their abilities to solve mathematical problems.

Claudia Walker is a Bay Area native. After graduating from Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, she attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. Majoring in English and Business, she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Upon graduation, she moved to New York where she worked as an analyst for a major Wall Street investment bank. Now that she's back in her hometown, she's thrilled to be teaching some of the smartest 8th graders in California.