True North Rochester Preparatory Charter School

Ms. Shells attended Hampton University where she earned a B.A. in Psychology. Directly after graduation she became an at-risk high school counselor in a School to Work program through a youth advocacy program in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. From that point, she joined Teach For America, a critically acclaimed national teaching service initiative, and was placed in Baltimore, MD. She taught 3rd and 4th grade while working full time on her M.A. degree at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Elementary Education. After fulfilling her commitment to TFA, she moved to New York City, where she taught at the state testing level and completed a second M.A. at Pace University, majoring in Educational Supervision and Administration. Ms. Shells then became a part of a new Lead Teacher initiative, training NYC teachers on best educational practices. While serving as a Lead Teacher, her school was featured in the New York Times for the greatest 4th grade ELA gains in NYC.

Dan Deckman Chief Operating Officer

Prior to joining Rochester Prep, Dan Deckman most recently worked for two years as Research Analyst & Marketing Coordinator at Civic Builders, a nonprofit real estate development organization that strives to implement facilities solutions for New York City charter schools. Previously, Mr. Deckman developed a deep background in legal and investigative analysis, including over four years as Senior Litigation Paralegal at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton. In addition, he has held roles managing political campaigns at the state and local levels. Mr. Deckman holds a B.A. degree from Fordham University.

Doug Lemov Uncommon Schools Managing Director

Doug Lemov is a Managing Director of Uncommon Schools and Superintendent of its True North Public Schools network. Mr. Lemov is formerly the President of School Performance, an Albany, NY-based organization that helps schools maximize student achievement by using data to drive decision-making. He was formerly Vice President for Accountability at the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute, the leading authorizer of charters in New York, where he designed and implemented a nationally recognized school accountability system. He is also a founder and the former principal of the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School in Boston, a high performing urban charter school. He served as a consultant to such nationally known organizations as KIPP, New Leaders for New Schools and Building Excellent Schools and is a Trustee of the New York Charter Schools Association. He holds a BA from Hamilton College, an MA from Indiana University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.