All Staff Directory - HCP-Kingfield

Leadership Team | Operations Team | Teaching Staff | Student Support

Leadership Team

Antoinette Strain

Dean of Students

astrain@hiawathaacademies.org | 510-504-3680

Antoinette Strain was born and raised outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She studied K-8 Education at the University of New Mexico with a concentration in Teaching English as a Second Language. Post-graduation, Antoinette taught middle school math and science in the Oakland Unified School District where she also acted as a department head and district teacher leader. Prior to joining the Hiawatha team, Antoinette coached first and second year teachers across the Twin Cities and participated in a year-long institute with New Leaders focused on developing site leadership skills. Antoinette is excited to bring her experience with positive behavior supports, restorative practices, and social and emotional learning to her role as Dean of Students.

Daryn Woodson

Dean of Student Support Services

dwoodson@hiawathaacademies.org | 612-990-7221

A nomad at heart, Daryn was born and raised in several cities in the Midwest but left the cold for the warmth to receive her undergraduate degree in TV and Film from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduation and missing her parents, Daryn moved back to Minnesota and worked for the CW Twin Cities for two years before leaving it all to teach English in Japan for a year. Following Japan, nomadic Daryn made pit stops in Hawaii and the Bay Area before settling into Los Angeles, where she received her Masters in Special Education and taught for five years in Watts at Alain LeRoy Locke High School. Daryn has slowly drifted back to Minnesota and is very excited to serve in her new role as Dean of Student Support Services at HCP-Kingfield.

Gabriela Stiteler

Assistant Principal

gstiteler@hiawathaacademies.org | 202-316-8271

Ms. Stiteler is the assistant principal of Hiawatha College Prep-Kingfield. After graduating from Oberlin College, Gabi moved to Washington, D.C. and worked at KIPP DC: Key Academy in a variety of teaching capacities over the course of her seven years there. In 2014, she completed her M.Ed. at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology. Gabi moved to Minneapolis and taught as the founding eighth grade literature teacher at Hiawatha College Prep in 2014. Her literature classes had some of the highest achievement gains in the network, with nearly 80% of eighth graders meeting or passing their growth goals. In addition to teaching, Gabi has been a Grade Level co-chair for four years at HCP-K. Gabi loves the students and families that she works with and enjoys being part of the HCP-K and South Minneapolis communities.

Matt Toppin

Principal | Hiawatha College Prep-Kingfield

mtoppin@hiawathaacademies.org | 612-802-5521

Mr. Toppin is the principal of Hiawatha College Prep-Kingfield. After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College, Matt began his career in education teaching high school math in Miami through Teach for America. After returning to Minnesota, he served as an instructional coach for beginning teachers, then returned to classroom teaching as the founding seventh grade math teacher at Hiawatha College Prep in 2013. His math classes had some of the highest achievement gains our network has seen and in 2016 over 90% of his students reached their growth goals. From 2016-2018 Matt served as the founding Dean of Instruction at Hiawatha Collegiate High School. In his time at HCHS he has helped grow the school from 100 to 290 students and led the efforts to increase ACT scores by an average of 2 points each year. Matt brings a solid 5-12 lens to his leadership and is excited to ensure our middle school program achieves unparalleled academic growth in the years to come.

Sabrina Edwards

Dean of Students

sedwards@hiawathaacademies.org | 612-310-7792

Ms. Edwards is the Dean of Students of Hiawatha College Prep Kingfield. Her work is centered on providing a positive school culture where students and staff feel valued, respected and included. After graduating from college, Sabrina began working in Central Florida at a local university in Student Affairs. In her work, she connected college students with the local community, while providing them with valuable experiences applicable to their studies. She left education to work in the business sector. She held many roles some including allocation, operations, marketing, leadership training and human resources. She also taught classes as an adjunct professor. After working in the business sector for several years, Sabrina was not self-fulfilled in her intended purpose and wanted to make a positive impact and mentor students of color. In 2017, Sabrina relocated to Minnesota to take on the position of Director of Operations for HCP-K. After working for a year in the role, she wanted to work with students more closely. Sabrina is excited to work with families and students, in addition to partnering with the local community to provide students with a well-rounded educational experience.

Operations Team

Arthur Bishop

Cafeteria Lead

abishop@hiawathaacademies.org | 612-578-4595

Brandon Gill

Director of Operations

bgill@hiawathaacademies.org | 612-217-4495

Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Brandon earned his B.A. in Economics and Public Policy at Brown University and his M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. His career in education spans several schools, organizations and states, including Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Prior to moving to Minnesota, Brandon worked as the Operations Manager for two successful charter schools in NYC: Success Academy Charter Schools and Future Leaders Institute Charter School. He enjoys working to ensure that students, families, and staff have all the resources needed for an exceptionally high-quality education. "Being the Director of Operations at Hiawatha College Prep also allows me the opportunity to help work toward educational equity for all students regardless of background."