Eli Kramer – Executive Director
Eli Kramer is the Executive Director of Hiawatha Academies. He has been an instructional coach with Hiawatha Academies for the past year. Prior to joining Hiawatha, Eli was a founding Dean of Curriculum and Instruction with Uncommon Schools. He taught for six years in New York City at the elementary and middle school level. Eli was a 2003 Teach for America corps member in the Bronx, NY. He holds a B.A. in government from Harvard, a Master's in Education from Bank Street College, and a Master's in Educational Leadership from Brooklyn College. Eli grew up in Minneapolis and is happy to be home.
John Kaczorek – Middle School Principal
John Kaczorek is the Principal of Adelante College Prep, the middle school at Hiawatha Academies. John joined Hiawatha Academies as our founding middle school math teacher. Before joining Hiawatha, John taught 5th grade math at Rise Academy, a high-performing KIPP school in Newark, New Jersey. John was a 2005 TFA corps member teaching in the Bronx, NY. He grew up in Minnesota and attended St. John’s University. John is thrilled to be leading Adelante College Prep during its second year as it moves to its new building.
Robin Fischer - Elementary Principal K - 4
Robin Fischer is the Elementary Principal of Hiawatha Leadership Academy. She has been an instructional leader at Hiawatha for two years. Robin was a 2005 Teach For America corps member in Phoenix, AZ. She has experience teaching elementary school in both Spanish and English. Drawn to the mission of closing the achievement gap in her home state on Minnesota, she joined Hiawatha Academies as a first grade teacher. Robin looks forward to helping push the school and its mission forward in the coming years.
Hattie Carvalho - Assistant Principal K - 4
Hattie Carvalho is the Assistant Principal of Hiawatha Leadership Academy. Prior to this role, she was the Director of Student Services, Special Education Coordinator, and a special education teacher with HLA. Hattie was a 2007 Teach For America corps member in Eastern North Carolina where she taught middle school. She then returned to her home state of Minnesota. She is excited to continue supporting HLA's students, teachers, and families as our scholars climb the mountain to college.
Daniela Vasan - Hiawatha Instructional Leader Fellow
Daniela Vasan is Hiawatha Academies' first Instructional Leader Fellow, preparing to lead Hiawatha's second elementary school, Hiawatha Leadership Academy-Northrop, in Fall 2013. Daniela speaks Spanish fluently and French proficiently, and she earned a double major in Middle Eastern Studies and Spanish Literature & Culture from the University of Virginia. During her second and third years of college, Daniela studied in Jordan's University of Yarmouk in an immersion Arabic language program. After graduating, Daniela served as a Teach For America corps member in Atlanta, Georgia where she taught for four years. Daniela has also worked at Teach For America's summer institute program as a Corps Member Advisor and Curriculum Specialist. Daniela loves to travel and experience new cultures, study languages, volunteer with the Humane Society, and explore her new home: the Twin Cities.
Sean Elder – Chief Operating Officer
Sean Elder is the Chief Operating Officer of Hiawatha Academies. Sean joined Hiawatha in June 2011 and leads development activities and other non-academic operations of the academies. Prior to joining Hiawatha, Sean was the Minnesota Area Manager for Skyhawks Sports Academy, where he managed a region of 7,000 participants and 120 staff for the nation’s largest provider of youth sports programs. From 2004-2006, he served as an Undergraduate Admissions Counselor at the University of Minnesota. Recently, Sean completed a summer fellowship in Chicago with Education Pioneers where he conducted marketing and business development work for Lighthouse Academies, a national charter management organization. An active community member, Sean currently sits on the Education Committee for the Greater Twin Cities United Way. He holds a B.A. in Sociology – Law, Criminology, and Deviance from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.