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Meet Our Team

 

Kelly Corbett

Director of Teaching & Learning

Kelly Corbett has served as a principal, assistant principal, district assessment specialist, and teacher. Her experience includes extensive work with at-risk students, center-based special education programming, Title I, II & IV, EL students and families, project-based learning, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, and staff development specializing in assessment analysis. In addition, she has wide-ranging experience working with diverse populations, facilitating extra-curricular activities, implementing PBIS, forming partnerships with community organizations, engaging families, and managing financial resources.

As the Director of Teaching & Learning, she oversees the development and implementation of the district's curriculum programs and staff development activities to comply with federal, state, and district standards. She also ensures that curriculum and staff development align with the ISD 728 Strategic Plan.

Kim Boyer

Curriculum Specialist: 6 -12 Health, 6 - 12 Math, and Middle School AVID

Kim joins the Teaching and Learning team with degrees in 5-12 Mathematics Education from Bemidji State and a Masters in Teaching and Learning from St. Mary’s University.   She has spent her career educating, inspiring, and empowering math students at ISD 728, where she was awarded Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2021.  For over two decades, Kim has gained expertise in curriculum implementation and development, instructional strategies, Standards alignment, educational best practices, and school leadership through her many experiences and roles in a wide variety of district committees and initiatives.  She is thrilled to continue her passion for collaborative teaching and learning by supporting in the areas of Secondary Health, Secondary Math, and Middle School AVID.

Nichole Abernathy

Curriculum Specialist: Secondary Science, E-12 Music, Art and P.E., and Media Specialists

Nichole Abernathy is an experienced Secondary Science teacher with licenses in Middle School Science, Chemistry, and Earth Science. As a teacher, Nichole developed several project based learning curriculums, wrote and implemented multi-grade level electives, collaborated extensively to embed content literacy in the science classroom, and engaged in many years of co-teaching with Special Education and English Language Educators.  Prior to joining the ISD 728 team, Nichole served as the Innovation Facilitator of Warroad Public School District.  In this role, she was responsible for supporting teachers in all content areas across the spectrum of grades PreK-12 in curriculum and standards reviews, facilitating strategic improvement, and supporting ed-tech integration and professional learning.  Nichole brings the Teaching and Learning Team a passion for educating with intentionality, creating space in curriculums for students to take ownership of their learning, and fostering professional collaboration.

Rachel Drapeau

Curriculum Specialist: Secondary English/Language Arts, Social Studies & World Languages

Rachel joins the Teaching and Learning Team for the 2023-2024 school year as a Curriculum Specialist supporting the areas of secondary English/Language Arts, Social Studies, and World Languages. Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in English Teaching from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Differentiated Instruction from the American College of Education. Rachel has spent the majority of her education career as a high school English teacher in Mandan, North Dakota. After relocating to Minnesota from North Dakota, Rachel worked as a high school English teacher in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Rachel looks forward to the opportunity to collaborate with and support teachers in ISD 728 in order to create engaging and effective learning opportunities for all students.

 

Gretchen Fisher

Curriculum Specialist: E-5 ELA & Social Studies, Achievement & Integration Program

Information to come!

Becky Herbert

Curriculum Specialist: E-5 Math, E-5 Science, K-5 Health, Enrichment Services, & Media Specialists

Becky joined the Teaching and Learning Team in 2019 after 16 years of both elementary and middle school experiences. She has her Masters in Teaching and Learning and a K-12 Administration Licensure.  As a curriculum specialist, Becky supports teachers in the areas of E-5 Math, Science, and Health as well as K-12 Enrichment Services and Media Specialists. She enjoys supporting educators so they can support students well.

Tina Kowalski

District Literacy Coordinator

Tina Kowalski joins the Teaching and Learning Team as one of two District Literacy Coordinators. She brings over 22 years of experience in education as an Elementary Teacher, Interventionist, Reading Specialist, and Administrator. With a Masters degree in Reading Curriculum and Instruction and an Educational Specialist Degree in school leadership, she brings a passion for education, especially in supporting and building literacy frameworks that are effective and essential for our students.

In her role as District Literacy Coordinator, she teams with Melany Wellnitz to establish systems; provide professional development and coaching; and build administrative and staff knowledge of the Science of Reading to support the MN Read Act legislation.

 

Amy Lord

Career & Technical Education (CTE) Coordinator

Amy Lord is the coordinator of the ISD 728 Career and Technical Education Program, which works to prepare students for college or career life after graduation. Amy's role supports ISD 728's mission to empower students to become positive contributors to our global communities.  Her focus has been developing partnerships with community organizations, higher education institutions and local businesses to coordinate career exploration events, job shadowing, guest speakers and internships for students. She also facilitates a network of career exploration resources, aligns career pathways with the labor market, coordinates a variety of programs such as Perkins V, advisory committees, and applies for grants in support of coordinated programs. Amy has over 20 years of workforce development, career counseling and grant writing experience.

Leah Sams

Curriculum Specialist: Career & Technical Education (CTE) & HS AVID

Leah joins the Teaching and Learning team for the 2023-24 school year with teaching licensures in Elementary Education, Middle School Science, Secondary Health, and Secondary Health Sciences.  She also has a Master’s in Teaching and a Specialist in Educational Leadership degree with K-12 Administration Licensure.

Leah started her teaching career in the Anoka-Hennepin School District.  The last 7 years, she was part of the Learning and Teaching Team for St. Cloud Area School District 742.

As a Curriculum Specialist, Leah works with Career and Technical Education and High School AVID for ISD 728.

Melany Wellnitz

District Literacy Coordinator

Melany joins the Teaching and Learning Team for the 2023-2024 school year bringing twenty four years of literacy and leadership experience to ISD 728 as one of two District Literacy Coordinators. She holds a 7-12 English Language Arts license, as well as K-12 Principal and District Superintendent licenses. Prior to joining ISD 728, Melany served as the Director of Teaching and Learning for Pipestone Area Schools for six years, the Director of the Southwest Prairie Regional Center of Excellence for three years, and as a secondary ELA teacher for 15 years. 

In her role as District Literacy Coordinator, she teams with Tina Kowalski to establish systems; provide professional development and coaching; and build administrative and staff knowledge of the Science of Reading to support the MN Read Act legislation.