The work that we do is made possible by the unwavering commitment of our school and district partners to building educational equity .

This year, we wanted to spotlight some of the outstanding people we get to work with year-round. So, we asked our partnership directors to nominate those doing exceptional jobs in transforming their schools’ advanced academic pathways.

Our Opportunity Champions go above and beyond the call of creating access to rigorous courses for their students. They are passionate and dedicated educators who give voice to the EOS vision and translate that vision into action for school community. We are lucky to work with them.

Meet our inaugural class of EOS Opportunity Champions below, and look out for monthly profiles that dive deeper into their work and missions!

Shontel Newsome

“I am pleased to nominate Shontel for her exceptional work on supporting her district’s equity goals. Shontel’s leadership and innovative strategies significantly boosted teacher buy-in and participation – all the high schools have a site lead and equity team!! Shontel’s enthusiasm and commitment bring an infectious energy to the team, fostering a collaborative and positive atmosphere. Her ability to connect with diverse groups and inspire action has made the initiative impactful.” – LaShone Singleton, Partnership Director

Emily Stevenson

Assistant Principal, Eastern Guilford High School

Guilford County Schools, North Carolina

“Emily is a true advocate for all students. In her time at Eastern, she has completely revamped the way that the EOS model is used to support students and staff. She works diligently to ensure that targeted outreach takes place to ensure that historically underrepresented students are aware of all of the advance opportunities available to them. She also consistently analyzes EOS data to ensure that student and staff voices are not only heard, but that those same voices are apart of the process when improving school practices. It is a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated partner.” – Stephanie Sherer, Partnership Director

Nicole Luke

Assistant Principal, North-Grand High School

Chicago Public Schools

“Nicole Luke is a true Equity Champion. Nicole has stated, “Prior to our partnership with EOS, our school was predominantly recommendations-based when it came to AP classes. That was an inequitable practice that gatekept access to a lot of students. Now that we’ve had the partnership with EOS, and we have the data, and we have the tools, we were able to strategically identify students for outreach.” She is an advocate for utilizing EOS resources (portal, reports, partnership director) and has made major cultural shifts within her school’s community. She has led her equity team and staff. Although Nicole has recently transitioned from North-Grand, their practices have yielded a significant increase in their AP access for African American students, particularly African American males. Since the start of the partnership, Nicole has led her team to add more sections of particular classes because of the high request rate from students to be enrolled. Trusted adults are valued and supported; therefore we’ve seen some very favorable outcomes as it pertains to students really wanting to be in these classes based on the conversations that they have with their trusted adults in the building – to the point where the school has had to make organizational shifts in order to meet the demands.” – Erin Davis, Partnership Director

Dr. Elizabeth Severance

Director of Advanced Academics, Austin Independent School District

“Dr. Severance works tirelessly to support her schools and their needs, showing an incredible dedication to each student’s success. She passionately goes above and beyond to make sure every school gets the support and resources necessary for every student to achieve their personal goals. Her commitment is evident in the way she tailors her efforts to meet the unique needs of each school, ensuring that students have what they need to reach their full potential. Through her relentless dedication, Dr. Severance makes a meaningful difference in the lives of students, helping them turn their dreams into reality.” – Candice Morris, Partnership Director

David Larson

Superintendent, Glenbard Township High School District 87, Illinois

“David Larson is a true champion of educational equity. Since 2012, he has led the Glenbard school community, and thousands – literally thousands – of underserved and underrepresented students have enrolled in AP and dual enrollment courses since Glenbard joined EOS in partnership in 2014. David’s leadership is centered on service to students, and he holds his school administrators and teachers to the highest standards. By focusing on equity-centered capacity building of the adults he leads, he has addressed head-on the social, political, and cultural contexts that impact education. This has ensured that all students, especially those furthest from opportunity, are well-served. Glenbard students have thrived because of the adults who emulate the care and expectations that David models through his work. His leadership not only has improved academic success but also enhanced the overall development of students and the engagement of families in the educational process. David’s legacy will be the lasting impact his leadership has had on equity, access and student success.” – Paul DeAngelis, Regional Director of Partnership Development

Kim Becraft

Middle Years Program Coordinator, Seneca Valley High School

Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland

“Kim is absolutely invigorated by this work. She is constantly on the EOS Portal, generating new reports from the reports we share with her. Last year, she led her team in adding 249 students (a 19% increase!!) to AP/IB classrooms. Given such an increase last year, her hope was just to sustain that momentum and her team accomplished that (and surpassed it) this year by adding 3% (49) students this school year – that makes for 66% of low-income/BIPOC students enrolled in AP/IB. Kim shares ALL information EOS shares with her with her entire school, really driving school-wide efforts to increase access, reduce biases and stigmas, and sustain successful classrooms.” – Erika Cabrera, Partnership Director

Porsha Denson

Assistant Principal, South Gwinnett High School

Gwinnett County Public Schools, Georgia

“Dr. Denson is a true equity champion. She truly believes in fostering the unique abilities and skill sets of every student she serves. Dr. Denson is a true advocate, working tirelessly to ensure that all students have the opportunity to pursue advance opportunities in their areas of interest. She is a passionate innovator, who, in her first year, in a new building, re-branded and re-marketed the AP program so that students feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, participating in advance opportunities. This strategy also has served as a way to promote AP courses to potentially interested students. Dr. Denson has been a phenomenal site lead. She has lead and engaged her equity team throughout the full implementation of our model.” – Stephanie Sherer, Partnership Director

Keanon Thompson

Advanced Placement Program Support Specialist, Chicago Public Schools

“Keanon continues to set the bar high as it relates to the CPS Partnership. He has been instrumental since the inception of this partnership on how to integrate the A4E model across all partners involved within the CPS caseload. He is involved in every convening, every school visit and all thing EOS as it relates to the betterment of the district. He presents on how EOS has changed the scope of educational practices at the College Board’s national conferences each year. He is a huge advocate in believing that what we do helps all children and how supporting our vision balances the needs of all programs in all schools.” – Thomas Kirkley, Partnership Director

Heather Sheehan

Guidance Counselor, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts

New York City Public Schools

“Heather Sheehan is a phenomenal school leader who served as the AP for ALL coordinator at John Bowne High School in New York City. EOS began our partnership with Bowne in 2016, and Heather has shown year after year her commitment to changing policies to support students and providing them with as many pathways and opportunities as possible. She also focused on including faculty and staff on the schools equity and opportunity journey by coordinating the distribution of trusted adult and study skills support certificates to acknowledge the hard work of her colleagues. After 12 years at John Bowne HS, Heather is excited to start a new role at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (another EOS partner!).” – Jamila Humphrie, Partnership Director

Lauren Wolkin

English Teacher, Cypress Hills Collegiate Preparatory School

New York City Public Schools

“Lauren Wolkin has been a trailblazer in our partnership, and enthusiastically leads the Cypress Hills community. Over the years, she has utilized all the tenants of our model and that commitment has influenced the way teachers engage in the classroom, and with EOS.  Cypress Hills Collegiate Preparatory School has been with us for four years and has a proven record of striving for equity and excellence and has faithfully worked with EOS to improve year over year. In 2020 when we began our partnership, 17% of their school population was participating in advanced courses. Fast forward to this school year, 98% of their population are participating in advanced courses. They’ve expanded from originally offering one AP course in 2020, to offering seven AP courses in this current school year, as well as implementing an IB program. This rapid success and continued pursuit for equity in programming and student experience is exactly why they received this award.” – Tyler Hicks, Partnership Director