Founders Library

NJ

Nihat Güvercin, Ed.D. – Bio

View Charter Founders Nihat Güvercin, Ed.D. Chief Executive Officer, iLearn Schools Inc. Dr. Nihat Güvercin is the Founder and CEO of iLearn Schools Inc., a network of 21 charter schools serving over 6,500 students in New Jersey and New York since 2007. Starting as principal of Bergen Arts and Science Charter School, he established iLearn […]

Interview with Nihat Güvercin, Ed.D.

Dr. Nihat Güvercin, CEO of iLearn Schools, discussed his journey from Turkey to the U.S., where he became a physics teacher and eventually led the expansion of iLearn Schools from one to 21 campuses across New Jersey and New York. He emphasized the importance of STEM education starting from kindergarten and the role of character […]

A School Founder’s History: Jamey Verrilli, North Star Academy

Courtesy of The 74 Millionhttps://www.the74million.org/ Transcript Jamey Verrilli, founder of North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey, discussed the school’s inception in 1997. Initially teaching at a private school, Verrilli advocated for free education as a civil right and co-founded North Star with Norman Atkins. The school emphasized community and rigorous academics, inspired by best […]

Shavar Jeffries – Bio

View Charter Founders Shavar Jeffries President, Democrats for Education Reform Shavar Jeffries is a civil-rights lawyer and executive leader with over 20 years of experience fighting for equal opportunity and racial justice. Shavar is a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, where he has litigated complex civil-litigation and class-action matters. Shavar also is president of Education Reform […]

Norman Atkins – Bio

View Charter Founders Norman Atkins Co-Founder, North Star Academy (Newark) Norman leads Together Education, an innovation studio that catalyzes enduring, scalable solutions to our most pressing education challenges. He is the Co-Founder former President of Relay GSE, an accredited institution of higher education that annually trains 5,000 teachers and principals nationwide. In 1997, he co-founded […]

Sarah Tantillo – Bio

View Charter Founders Sarah Tantillo, Ed.D Former coordinator of the New Jersey Charter School Resource Center Sarah Tantillo, Ed.D. is the creator of The Literacy Cookbook (www.literacycookbook.com) and author of The Literacy Cookbook: A Practical Guide to Effective Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening Instruction (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Literacy and the Common Core: Recipes for Action (Jossey-Bass, 2014), Using Grammar to Improve Writing: Recipes […]