Day One
Asterisk ( * ) indicates that the presenter will be presenting on multiple days.
Dr. Kim McKnight
Title: Anna Lou and Bob Schaberg Endowed Chair of Practice – Director of VCU’s Center for Teacher Leadership – Executive Director of RTR Teacher Residency
Contact: mcknightkw@vcu.edu
Bio: Kim McKnight is a leading national expert in teacher residency and apprenticeship programs. She is the Director of the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University where she leads teacher mentoring, supporting teachers in the National Board certification process, and preparing teacher leaders for hard to staff schools through the RTR teacher residency. You can go to teachrtr.org to learn more about the RTR program. McKnight attended the University of Virginia where she received her Bachelor’s in Sociology and Master’s in Elementary Education. In her first year of teaching, she received the Virginia Lottery Super Teacher Award in a surprise assembly. A few years later, McKnight earned National Board Certification in teaching as an Early Childhood Generalist, which 4% of teachers are National Board certified nationwide and recently successfully maintained her certification in December, 2024. Kim coached teachers in City of Richmond Public Schools on an evidence-based intervention to help students with problem behaviors while she earned her PhD in Educational Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Session Title: Strengthening Education Through the RTR Teacher Residency: A Dual Strategy for Recruitment and Retention
Description: This session will explore VCU’s RTR program, the largest and longest-standing teacher residency program in the Commonwealth. Participants will discover the benefits of a teacher residency as a teacher recruitment and retention strategy. Attendees will learn about the program’s background, its key benefits, and the essential components that contribute to its success. By understanding these elements, participants will gain insights into how teacher residencies can strengthen the educational workforce and improve overall teacher quality.
The VCU x CodeRVA Lab School Overviews on Day 1 and 2 will be given by Dr. Kume Goranson and Dr. Kim McKnight.
Dr. Kume Goranson
Title: Executive Director of CodeRVA Regional High School
Contact: dennykh@vcu.edu
Bio: Kume Goranson joined CodeRVA Regional High School as Executive Director in January 2020 after serving 21.5 years in Chesterfield County at the division level in Human Resources and School Leadership, as an assistant principal at Matoaca Middle School, Robious Middle School, Cosby High School, and Bailey Bridge Middle School, where she also served as principal for six years. Kume is a proud graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Women’s Studies; a Master of Teaching in Secondary Education; a Post-Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership.
The VCU x CodeRVA Lab School Overviews on Day 1 and 2 will be given by Dr. Kume Goranson and Dr. Kim McKnight.
Day Two
Ms. Caren Roberts Williams
Bio: Caren Roberts Williams is the Director of Curriculum and Systems for Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT). NEAAAT is an innovative public charter school in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. She leads some of the school’s innovative projects: Learning Mastery, PoG Evidences of Learning, and Data Protocols for Student Learning. Ms. Williams currently collaborates with Grebing Analytics to create Next Generation Data Dashboards to fully realize personalized learning and student empowerment through data literacy and Regional Laboratory Southeast (REL) in transitioning to Standards-Based Mastery/Competency-Based Learning. Ms. Williams is parternering with Techademics to increase parent/student communication by developing an app for the school’s Learning Mastery data sets.
Ms. Williams has served over 20 years in education. She began as a secondary social studies teacher and then an instructional coach before transitioning to administration. She is passionate about providing powerful technology-infused learning experiences to students and has provided professional development for teachers and administrators across the state of North Carolina. She has also been a presenter at the ASCD conference as well as the Carnegie Summit for Education.
Ms. Williams holds a B.A. in History and a M.A.T. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a M.S.A. from Elizabeth City State University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher (AYA Social Studies), Gifted Certified Educator, and a Certified Technology Education Leader (CETL). Ms. Williams is currently enrolled in East Carolina University’s E.d.D program for Educational Leadership. Her dissertation is focused on under-represented subgroups in the NC’s college and career readiness achievement levels.
Ms. Williams currently resides in her hometown of Tyner, North Carolina with her daughter Charli Grace and her English bulldog Winston. When not at school she can be found with her family and a good book on one of North Carolina’s beautiful beaches.
Title: Director of Curriculum and Systems
Dr. Andrew Harris
Bio: NEAAAT’s founding leader, Dr. Andrew Harris, currently serves as the school’s CEO. He began his career as a science teacher and coach, and has since served schools and districts in a wide range of roles. Prior to founding NEAAAT, he collaborated across communities and states to develop innovative schools, programs, and professional learning. Dr. Harris holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. His doctoral research centered on improving educational equity, emphasizing school choice in rural communities. He currently resides in Elizabeth City, NC, with his wife, Kim, and their four children.
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Kimberly Mawhiney
Bio: Mrs. Kimberly Mawhiney, Director of STEM and Grants at Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies, holds a bachelor’s degree in Science and a Master’s in School Administration from Elizabeth City State University. In her 20 years as an educator, she spent 16 years at Currituck County High School, where she taught AP Chemistry and served as the Science Department Chair for the last 10 years there. Among the accomplishments throughout her educational career, Mrs. Mawhiney was named a Kenan Fellow, 100kin10 Fellow, Hope Street Group Fellow, a NASA NC Space Education Ambassador, and Currituck County Science Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Mawhiney supports educators, both internally and externally, to develop the capacity to design and facilitate rigorous, engaging, ambitious, authentic, and innovative projects that challenge students to grow increasingly aware of the interconnectedness of the schoolwide curriculum. She advocates for coaches and students while growing and maintaining connections that foster partnership, resource development, and understanding throughout the local and global community.
Title: Director of STEM and Grants
Mrs. Lindsey Cahoon
Bio: Lindsey Cahoon is the Professional Coach and Beginning Teacher Coordinator for Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT). She has been part of the NEAAAT family for 6 years where she started as the 8th grade Mathematics Coach and Core Team Lead. In 2021, she transitioned into her current position as the Professional Coach and Beginning Teacher Coordinator. Lindsey has been in education for 21 years with many of her years as a middle grades math teacher in Currituck County and Pasquotank County Schools. Lindsey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Grades Education with concentrations in Mathematics and History and a Masters Degree in Mathematics Education from East Carolina University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher (YA Mathematics) and a Gifted Certified Educator.
Accomplishments throughout her career have been Currituck Beginning Math Teacher of the Year (2005), Currituck County Middle School Teacher of the Year (2009), Elizabeth City Middle School Teacher of the Year (2015), Sanford Teacher of the Year for North Carolina (2018), and Teacher of the Year at NEAAAT (2021). Mrs. Cahoon supports educators to create engaging, hands-on experience in their classrooms and navigates them on their educational journey.
Mrs. Cahoon resides in Elizabeth City, NC with her husband, Nick and 11 year old son, Cameron. In her downtime she enjoys reading, sports, boating and spending time with her family.
Title: Professional Coach and Beginning Teacher Coordinator
Dr. Tinkhani Ushe White
Title: Director of Systems Transformation, Educational Transformation – Senior Associate, Networked Improvement Science
Contact: twhite@carnegiefoundation.org
Bio: Dr. Tinkhani Ushe White is the Director of Systems Transformation at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She leads work that seeks to learn how systems transform to make education more engaging and relevant for the lives our young people wish to live and serve society. Passionate about access and economic mobility, Tinkhani works to empower others to solve problems through skill development. She holds an Ed.D. in educational leadership and policy from Virginia Tech, a master’s in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a bachelor’s in mathematics from the State University of New York at Geneseo. Additionally, she mentors future educational leaders as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia and participates in dissertation committees at Virginia Tech.
Description: A discussion of the new education architecture and how Carnegie is seeking to learn about how to root, scale, and sustain a broader set of goals, more rigorous and relevant learning experiences, and meaningful and actionable signaling systems. We will examine some of the catalyzing forces that support and work against these moving educational innovation from the margins to the mainstream.
Names of Presenters: Dr. Tinkhani Ushe White, Director of Systems Transformation
Organization: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Presentation: Future of High School: Moving from the Margins to the Mainstream
Day Three
Dr. John Baaki
Bio: Dr John Baaki is a designer, design studio geek and an associate professor in the Instructional Design and Technology program at Old Dominion University. What gets him up each morning is the power and magic of the design studio space. As designers of change, we design to act. A question that always intrigues him is what can we learn from all the wonderful designers around us?
Ms. Kaitlyn McCoy
Bio: Kaitlyn is an experienced educator and program manager focused on makerspace and innovation, with a passion for providing hands-on learning experiences for K-12 students and youth groups. With a background in librarianship and makerspace, she works to integrate creative, interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the digital divide and foster a maker mindset. As a program manager at the ODU Brooks Crossing Innovation Lab, Kaitlyn designs and delivers programs that emphasize critical thinking, problem-solving, and real-world application in fields such as robotics, hydroponics, and design thinking. She is committed to creating inclusive, innovative educational spaces that support students’ growth into the future workforce.
Ms. Kristy VanderRoest
Bio: Kristy VanderRoest has been teaching secondary English and social studies for seventeen years, first at Bailey Bridge Middle School in Chesterfield County and currently at CodeRVA Regional High School. Kristy has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum Development from Marygrove College. Kristy’s interests include blending strands, reading across disciplines, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and developing the genius in all students.
Title: Teacher
Contact Information: kristen.vanderroest@coderva.
Mr. Zach Jernigan
Bio: Zach Jernigan has been teaching science at the middle and high school levels for nine years. He is a proud graduate of James Madison University, earning both his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Art in Teaching. Zach was honored as Educator of the Year in 2022 by rvaTech/. He is currently teaching Computer Science Investigations at CodeRVA Regional High School.
Title: Teacher
Contact Information: zachary.jernigan@coderva.org
