Staff
A message from the desk of Dr. Sarah M. (Sally) Butzin President & Executive Director
I’m glad you found our web site, and appreciate that you’ve taken time to learn more about us. I’m very proud of our staff’s outstanding work to serve children far and wide. Since our founding in 1995, ISI’s programs have impacted hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and education leaders.
Our vision is to inspire joyful learning by changing how instruction for learning is delivered. Our mission is to enhance classroom instruction through technology and active learning.
I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about our work as you explore our web site. Please feel free to contact me directly at sbutzin@ifsi.org if you’d like more information.
Sarah M. (Sally) Butzin, Ph.D. President and Executive Director
sbutzin@ifsi.org
Dr. Butzin is the co-founder of the Institute for School Innovation. She serves as President and Executive Director of the Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Elementary Education from Florida State University, a Master of Science in Reading and Elementary Education from Florida State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from DePauw University.
Dr. Butzin has been an educator and child advocate for over three decades. She is developer of Project CHILD (Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered) and co-developer of Project TEAMS (Technology Enhancing Achievement in Middle School). She is a past board president of the Florida Center for Children and Youth, and was appointed to serve on the business advisory council of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. She was also appointed to the National Governing Board of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Diffusion Network. Dr. Butzin has published widely in educational and technology journals. She serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Instructional Media and the Journal of School Choice. Dr. Butzin’s first book, Joyful Classrooms in an Age of Accountability: The Project CHILD Recipe for Success, was published by Phi Delta Kappa in April, 2005.
Winifred (Winky) Jenkins-Rice, Vice President and Director of Educational Programs
wrice@ifsi.org
Ms. Jenkins-Rice holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and Elementary Education from Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA and a Master of Education degree from Pennsylvania State University in Curriculum and Instruction. She also holds certification in Exceptional Education and Varying Exceptionalities (K-12). Ms. Jenkins-Rice has been an educator for over twenty-five years in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. Ms. Jenkins-Rice was a former CHILD teacher and consultant before working full time for ISI in 1995. She piloted the first CHILD cluster for exceptional students and co-authored the CHILD Special Needs Inclusion Guide. She was a founding board member for a charter school in St. Marks, FL and continues to work within the charter school movement. Ms. Jenkins-Rice is active in her church with children and youth ministries.
Diana R. Paulson, NBCT, Senior Program Specialist
diana.paulson@gmail.com
Ms. Paulson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in Computer Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is also a National Board Certified Teacher. Ms. Paulson has been in education for over 25 years, teaching in five different states and at every level -- kindergarten through eighth grade. She has had experiences in the parochial schools of New Mexico, the private schools of North Carolina, as well as public schools in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina and Florida.
Ms. Paulson has served as a mentor to student teachers and was honored as Teacher of the Year from Union County, NC. She has been recognized as an education innovator, starting two unique programs in her county: a collaborative teaching environment between regular and special education, and a county-wide literature project. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences and written and received grants totaling close to $25,000 for various ideas including school-wide publishing centers, Math Scrapbooking, ESOL integration, and Learning Math Through Games. She also served as a teacher ambassador on a trip to Puerto Rico for her district.
Ms. Paulson is a former CHILD teacher and regional coordinator for Osceola County, Florida. Diana also facilitates the Florida Online Reading for Professional Development course through the University of Central Florida.
Cathy Campanile, Director of Operations
ccampanile@ifsi.org
Ms. Campanile holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Ms. Campanile worked as an account executive for a private firm in Miami for six years and then moved to Tallahassee where she worked as a Management Analyst for the Department of Health for eight years. She then took on a position as Office Manager for a small IT firm in Tallahassee. Ms. Campanile took off two years from the working world to spend more time at home with her husband and children. She was hired as the Operations Coordinator for the Institute for School Innovation in August of 2007. Ms. Campanile is active in her church and loves to spend most of her time with her family and her animals.
Julie Switzer, Training Facilitator
jswitzer@ifsi.org
Ms. Switzer holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Ms. Switzer taught school for six years, five of them as an Intermediate CHILD specialist in an Imagine Charter School in Osceola County. She was involved in a pilot program integrating the Leap Frog School’s LeapTrack System with CHILD in her classroom.
Ms. Switzer was also a CHILD consultant for three years, coaching and supporting new CHILD teachers. She has presented numerous sessions at district workshops. Ms. Switzer has been serving as the Training Facilitator at ISI since June of 2008.
Tanisha Denegaul, Operations Assistant
tdenegaul@ifsi.org
Ms. Denegaul is a native of Roswell, New Mexico and now lives in Tallahassee. She is a proud mother of two girls. She spent 5 years teaching pre-k when the children were young. Tanisha also is culinary trained and enjoys cooking and entertaining.
Associates
Lyn Channey, CHILD Facilitator- New Britain, CT
channeyL@csdnb.org
Ms. Channey has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and Science Education and a Masters of Sciences Degree in Mathematics from Central Connecticut State University. She is also a PIMMS Fellow (Project to Increase the Mastery of Mathematics and Science).
Ms. Channey was a middle school Math and Science teacher for 13 years and an Elementary Numeracy Resource Teacher for 2 years. Ms. Channey was chosen Teacher of the Year for both Pulaski and Louis P. Slade Middle Schools and received a Science Teacher Award from the University of Connecticut. She has mentored several student teachers and first year teachers and has served on several State of Connecticut panels for writing CMT items and the checklist for special education students. Lyn is currently mentoring and coaching over thirty teachers in New Britain, CT.
Debbie Haan, CHILD Regional Coordinator-Okaloosa County, FL
haandb@cox.net
Debbie Haan is the product of, and a testament to, the educational system in Okaloosa County, Florida. She graduated from West Florida University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. After teaching at Combs New Heights Elementary for nine years she then transferred to Walker Elementary, teaching grades one through five. Debbie was a CHILD teacher for five years before accepting the position of coordinator for Okaloosa County. She has been recognized as Teacher of the Year and has served as a mentor teacher each year for the past five years. Debbie is also a certified Six-Traits trainer and was educated at the Six Traits Institute in Portland, Oregon. Along with serving as the coordinator for the CHILD classrooms in Okaloosa County she is also an assistant to Jacqueline Craig, principal of Northwood Elementary in Okaloosa County, where she oversees discipline and professional development for all CHILD teachers.
Ms. Haan is active in Relay-for-Life, raising funds for cancer research. She is also active in the Arthritis Foundation, raising funds for juvenile arthritis awareness and research. She and her family belong to the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach.
Colleen Henderson, CHILD Program Coordinator for Imagine Schools West Florida Region
colleen.hendserson@imagineschools.com
Colleen has a Bachelor of Science Degree in English from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. She is currently continuing her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Colleen taught about ten years of Pre-K at Tyndall AFB and Keesler AFB. She moved to Florida in 2005 and taught fourth and fifth grade at a private school.
Colleen came to CHILD in 2006 as a Primary Writing Teacher at Imagine School at North Manatee and taught there for two years. During that time, she was named Teacher of the Year for the school and the Central and West Florida Region. Colleen became a CHILD Consultant in 2008. She has presented sessions at the CHILD conference and Summer Institute. This year she began her new position as Project CHILD Program Coordinator for all Imagine Schools in the West Region.
Consultants
The Institute also contracts with over 60 certified Project CHILD teachers and administrators to mentor and coach fellow educators new to school innovation.