- Community Charter School of Paterson
- Administration
Administration
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Mr. Curtis Palmore
Chief Executive Officer/Superintendent
Mr. Curtis Palmore started his career as an educator in New York City through Teach for America in 1995. Mr. Palmore was a classroom teacher for many years within the New York City Public School system. He later transitioned into school leadership and led as Assistant Principal and Principal in traditional public and public charter schools in New York City. He later was the Founding Principal at Exceed Charter School, a turnaround school in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, N.Y. In his first two years as principal there, his team increased academic student performance by 27% (ELA) and 56% (Math) on state exams.
Mr. Palmore is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Community Charter School of Paterson (CCSP), in New Jersey. He is leading strategic initiatives including content, assessment, and staffing improvements. Under his leadership CCSP has received a successful full 5 year charter renewal, expanded and opened a new middle school and gymnasium, and developed a number of academic and school-based programs in its new strategic plan.
Mr. Palmore holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Morgan State University. He has graduate studies from Fordham University and an Educational Leadership Master’s Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. Mr. Palmore is currently a candidate for his doctorate in Education Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Mr. Craig Smith
Business Administrator
Mr. Craig Smith
Business Administrator
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Mrs. Giselle Vannoy
Chief of Staff
Giselle Vannoy formerly known as Ms. Gonzalez has been with this amazing school for over 10 years. She is currently the school’s Chief of Staff. She works closely with the CEO and school leaders to effectively support leadership in developing, supporting communicating, aligning and maintaining the highest quality of educational programs and services.
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Dr. Makeba McCray
Director of Instructional Technology and Assessment
Dr. Makeba McCrayDirector of Instructional Technology and AssessmentDr. McCray is a 23-year veteran of education. She is a graduate of Kean University where she conferred her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership in 2019. She was awarded the 2020 Student Paper, Project and Creative Work Award by the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at Kean University for her dissertation which is also published. Previous to Kean University, she received a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s degree in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University Madison Campus.
Dr. McCray entered education as a substitute teacher while in college and then transitioned to the position of Technology Coordinator and also held positions of Social Studies instructor in Irvington and Graphic Design instructor and Technology Coordinator in Plainfield. While in Plainfield, she was also the adult education Computer Applications instructor. Additionally, she served as Technology Coordinator and Assistant Principal in the comprehensive high school and two of the Performing and Fine Arts schools in the East Orange School District. Dr. McCray is proud of servicing all grades levels from Pre-K to Adult.
Dr. McCray has enjoyed an exciting dual career in technology and instructional leadership, earning certificates in Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), A+ (Computer Hardware), Intel Master Teacher and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). She also learned programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and C# to build mobile and academic web apps for education. For her dissertation, she developed the math app "Fractionville" which focused on 3rd grade introductory fractions reinforcement. Because of this effort, the 3rd grade students increased their PARCC math scores by 36% and outperformed the state and the district in the Numbers and Operations - Fractions standard band. Her service as an instructional leader provided her the opportunity to develop and implement structured instructional practices to ensure scholars are prepared to enter the workforce as entrepreneurs, founders, change makers and professionals. Dr. McCray is proud to be considered an "African-American woman in Tech" and an instructional leader and she intends to utilize her skills and strategies in her new home of CCSP.
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Ms. Renaysa Schratz
Executive Assistant
Ms. Renaysa Schratz
Executive Assistant
With over 15 years of experience in professional office executive assistant positions and a track record of strong performance in high-volume, high-pressure environments, Renaysa skillfully manages administrative duties for CCSP.
Renaysa is active in the community and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. She holds a BA in English from Fort Valley State University, a historically black university in GA.
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Mr. Luis Castillo
Technology Coordinator
Luis Castillo
Technology CoordinatorI attained a Master’s Degree in Technology Management from Marist College.
My mission is to use my 30+ years of Technology Knowledge and Management from my private sector professional experience to help and support our CCSP’s administration to provide and implement all the technological opportunities available to our scholars.
My vision is to always keep abreast of all the new technology to make sure our scholars use technology to be ready for the future.