About Administration
Mike Piscal
Executive Director
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Mike Piscal joined the Agassi Prep team in January 2011. He brings extensive education experience – and success – with him. During Mike’s 22 year career in Education, he taught English at the prestigious Harvard Westlake School for five years before founding the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF). The ICEF Public Schools serve more than 4,600 students in 15 public charter schools in the Los Angeles area, making it the 7th largest charter management organization in the nation as of September 2009. In a community where fewer than 15% of the students who enter 9th grade continue on to a four-year college, Mike built two high schools that are sending more than 80% of their students to four-year colleges. Two more high schools (Lou Dantzler HS and Fernando Pullum HS) will have their first graduating classes in June 2011 and June 2012 respectively.
Along with founding ICEF, Mike also co-founded Families That Can (FTC), a parent advocacy group that worked to support (SB 740) and protect (SB 20) legislation providing facilities funding to charter schools serving low income communities. The group also helped pass legislation (SB 658) that increased facilities funding to $100 million a year.
Mike has received many awards, honors and fellowships for his work in opening doors of opportunity to thousands of minority students, sending hundreds of students to college, closing the achievement gap for countless students in need, and founding fifteen high-performing charter schools. Mike is particularly proud of his schools in eliminating the achievement gap. With over 1,000 students at the elementary school level, his students outperformed students in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica in reading. On the SAT, Mike’s students had the 6th highest SAT’s in Los Angeles out of more than 100 high schools, with only magnet schools and predominately white and Asian schools in the richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles outperforming his students. Most impressive is the 91% college persistency rate of his students in college after 3 years.
Mike is an exciting and valuable addition to the Agassi Prep family, and looks forward to working with our students, faculty and staff. He is particularly known for developing teachers into great instructional leaders and principals.
Below is a partial list of Mike’s awards and milestones:
- Aspen Institute Fellowship Class of 2008, Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellowship Program 2008-2009; a joint venture of the Aspen Institute and the NewSchools Venture Fund. The Program is designed to recognize and support exceptional entrepreneurial leaders who are prepared to address the crucial challenge of transforming public education. Modeled on the Henry Crown Fellowship Program.
- Featured in stories in the New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial page twice, LA Times Editorials, NY Daily News, and many other leading publications.
- Recycling Black Dollars Award, Masters of Education, June 13, 2008 for improving the educational opportunities for African-American students in South Los Angeles and for “recycling” millions of dollars a year through black-owned banks, businesses, and employees.
- In January 2005, Mike was named “Charter School Leader of the Year” for the State of California by the California Charter Schools Association.
- In May 2005, Mike received an honorary degree from his alma mater, Wake Forest University.
- Good Morning America Hero Award, December 2002, for founding the Inner City Education Foundation and View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Schools.
Dwight Sanders
Principal Grades 9th – 12th
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Dwight Sanders is a grateful husband and father. He has been married for 11 years and has two adorable children that are 5 and 7 years old. Mr. Sanders has a B.A. and a Single Subject Math Credential from CSU Dominguez Hills, along with his Master’s in Education from University of Phoenix. Mr. Sanders has passionately educated students in Los Angeles for 14 years. In his first three years, he simultaneously worked at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary as a custodian and teacher’s assistant. Mr. Sanders served, from 1997 to 2011 as an after school teacher/Director, math teacher/department chair, Dean of Students and Principal.
During the 2007 & 2008 school year, Mr. Sanders was appointed as Principal in a K-12 system very similar to Andre Agassi Prep. While academic excellence was a top priority within the culture of View Park Prep (VPP), he also focused on building authentic relationships with all constituents of VPP. Mr. Sanders, along with his talented colleagues, created a culture at VPP where all students and parents were expected to participate in a well-rounded educational experience.
Carla Chambers
Middle School Principal
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Carla Chambers (Middle School Principal) is an award-winning educator with 15 years of experience in education as a master teacher and administrator. She worked as an educator for Long Beach Unified, Los Angeles Unified, and View Park Prep Middle School. She served for three years as the Dean of Faculty at View Park Prep MS before becoming the founding Director of Lou Dantzler Prep MS. Her skill at engaging the middle school learner is phenomenal and has earned the status of being one of the finest educators and teacher trainers in the ICEF Family of Schools, the Long Beach GATE Department and the California Association for the Gifted.
Ms. Chambers earned her B.A. at the University of California, San Diego and her M.A. in Education at Pepperdine University. She received the Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Long Beach – 6th District, the Applause Award from Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dorothy Harper, Honorable Mention PTA Teacher of the Year Award from the Long Beach City Council PTA, nominated for the Disney Teacher of the year award in 2003 and 2004 in Los Angeles Unified School District, and the View Park Prep Teacher of the Year in 2004-2005.
Robin Harris
Elementary School Principal
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Robin Harris, a native of San Diego, California comes from a family of educators. Mrs. Harris initially resisted education as a pre-med major in college she found herself doing more educating of patients prior to them seeing the doctor. It was there that she realized she was destined to be an educator. After college, she was a school nurse and then finally taught third and fifth grades for several years. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Public School Administration. Her desire to make a greater impact in education led her to administration and serving on WASC Accreditation teams; this is her sixteenth year as a principal.
Mrs. Harris has received numerous awards for Academic Excellence in Academic Achievement. As a classroom teacher her students consistently scored Proficient and Advanced. As the school administrator of View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Elementary School her school scored far above Los Angeles Unified School District. She readily acknowledges that it will truly take “THE VILLAGE” to ensure the success of our children in this 21st century. Hence, it must be the goal of all constituents that our Agassi Prep Scholars will attend and compete at the top colleges and universities so that they may return to transform the community at large.
Herbie Walker
High School Dean of Students
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Herbie Walker has worked with Las Vegas youth since 2005 as a volunteer to the Kappa Leadership League. In 2006 he became the Program Director for the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, an organization dedicated to the education and enrichment of at-risk youth, with a primary focus on improving high school graduation rates and college matriculation. In 2010, Mr. Walker joined the Andre Agassi College Preparatory academy as their Director of College Access. Mr. Walker has assisted students on the path to attendance some of the U.S. top colleges and universities such as; The Ohio State University, Hampton University, University of California Los Angeles, Spelman College, Hillsdale College, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Arizona State University, Langston University and many others.
Mr. Walker holds a B.A. in African American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and a MBA in Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Mr. Walker holds deep commitment to public service and helping the Las Vegas community through the support of various non-profit organizations and educational institutions.
Rachelle Nelson
Director of Special Education
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Rachelle Nelson was born in Santa Barbara, California and raised in Los Angeles, California grew up valuing education and educators. As a track and cross country athlete, Ms. Nelson used sports and dance to drive her academic successes. Unfortunately, an injury derailed her sports career at Cal State Northridge. She then focused talents in education arena. After transferring to Illinois State University, she became a much sought after choreographer. After graduation, Ms. Nelson returned home to Los Angeles and began a career in education within the charter school movement, in her grew a passionate for serving at risk students and those students with special needs. Ms. Nelson has built special education departments by implementing legal guidelines and policies, providing professional development on best practices for students with disabilities, providing consultation regarding program requirements, designed intervention programs, and demonstrated model lessons and strategies for teachers. Ms. Nelson earned a B.A. in Middle School Education from Illinois State University and received a Masters degree in Special Education, Mild Moderate Disabilities from University of Phoenix.
Carl L. Britt
Athletic Director
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Carl L. Britt has been with Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 2007. Prior to relocating to Nevada, Mr. Britt served as a Minnesota State High School basketball and football official for over 20 years. He also served as a basketball rules clinician for 10 years as well a member of the MSHSL Official’s Advisory Committee. On the college level, officiated in NCAA Div. III & II men’s basketball and in football, served the Big Ten as an umpire, with two bowl assignments – Cotton Bowl and Holiday Bowl.
Mr. Britt is a Lifetime member of the Minneapolis Officials Association, member of the board of directors and past president of the organization. In 2005, Mr. Britt was voted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame. He was educated in Los Angeles, California attending George Washington Sr. High School and Southwest College.
Chris Smith
Chief Operating Officer
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Chris Smith joined the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy in August 2008. In his current capacity at Agassi Prep, Mr. Smith works with the school’s administration to focus on translating the strategic goals of the Agassi Prep Board into specific and measurable actions within the school. Prior to joining AACPA, Mr. Smith was an instructional improvement specialist for the Lynwood Unified School District in Los Angeles. Mr. Smith entered the education profession as a Teach for America corps member after receiving his M.B.A. in 2001. While a corps member, he worked with students in Kindergarten through 9th grade and was nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year in 2004.
Sandy Tsutahara
Chief Financial Officer
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Sandy Tsutahara is the Chief Financial Officer for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy. Prior to joining Agassi Prep, Ms. Tsutahara worked as a controller for a property management company where she managed a staff of nine and the accounting of 28 entities. Her primary responsibilities included review of financial statements and budget vs. actual analysis included in the monthly financial package, coordination of external audits, and assisting with the annual budgeting process. Ms. Tsutahara also has worked for a publicly held timeshare company where she managed the accounting for their financial services division.
Ms. Tsutahara received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and worked for the national accounting firm Grant Thornton, LLP. She also obtained her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Tammie Grenier
Human Resources Manager
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Tammie Grenier has been with Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy for three years. Mrs. Grenier started with AACPA she brought 15 years of experience in Human Resources, working in the following industries: healthcare, manufacturing and construction. As an HR Generalist she has expertise in many Human Resources areas: recruitment, orientation, benefits administration, workers compensation, employee relations, training, HR reporting and strategic HR planning.
Mrs. Grenier obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Human Resource Management in 2000 from the University of Kennedy Western, and has been certified as a PHR since 1999, and a SPHR since 2002 through the HR Certification Institute. She has been a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) since 1999 and served on the local chapter’s Board of Directors from 2005-2007 (Southern NV Human Resource Association).
Mrs. Grenier was recognized in the Las Vegas Review Journal as “Human Resources 2010 Movers and Shakers.”
Kimberly Adams
Executive Assistant/Parent Liaison
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Kimberly Adams was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Adams grew-up in a family of educators her parents, several Aunts and Uncles have all served in the Kindergarten through 12th grade students. Ms. Adams comes to Agassi Prep with a wealth of knowledge of Parent and Community programs. She previously worked with parent groups and community partners for five years with ICEF (Inner City Education Foundation) Public schools.
Ms. Adams is an alumnus of Howard University and University of Phoenix, earning a degree in Business Management. She is a member of the advisory board for The Foundation for the Junior Blind of America.
Sean Nealy
Director of Curriculum
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Sean Nealy is a native of Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Nealy earned his B.A. in Psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Nealy began his teaching career at Audubon Middle School in South Central LA., where he taught a variety of sixth grade subjects for five years. He then served three years as Assistant Principal at Merkin Middle School. Prior to joining the staff at Agassi, Mr. Nealy was the founding Director of ICEF Vista Middle Academy. In just three years, the school became one of the highest performing schools in California, winning the California Distinguished School award.