Upper School / Poplar / 6 to 12

Corey Stewart

English Teacher

I am a native of Philadelphia educated through the Philadelphia Public School System. I am the proud mother of a toddler. I graduated from Lincoln University and am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. I started my teaching career in 2011. I am extremely passionate about education and working with young people. Teaching is not just work for me, this is a ministry that I love and I am well equipped for. My favorite quote is “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Spending time with family and friends gives me great joy. I absolutely love music. My favorite dish to prepare and eat is spaghetti. I am extremely humbled and excited to serve our students at The City School.

Peyton Jefferson

Teacher's Assistant

My name is Peyton Jefferson and l am a retired NYC teacher. I am originally from Harlem and l have always enjoyed visiting Philly. I moved here a year ago this month [12/2024]. I live in Fairmount with my husband and 2 daughters who are away at college. I work at the Poplar campus in the am and Fairmount in the afternoon. I have found The City School community to be very welcoming and supportive.

Kayley Fjording

Math Teacher

Michael Weatherbe

PE Teacher

I am very passionate about teaching the next generations. I have always loved working with children ever since I was a teenager. I know it is important because they make the next big decisions for the world we live in today. I love to use certain interests that have helped me with life in order to connect with children. For example, like basketball, math, bible, english etc.

Amalia Davis

School Counselor

Serving at a Christ-centered school, where I have the privilege of supporting students both emotionally and spiritually, has been one of the most rewarding and meaningful opportunities of my life. TCS has been a blessing. During my free time I love to read, learning new crafts, volunteering, and hiking, and thrifting with my husband.

Maria Dreher

Spanish Teacher

Daniel Jackson

Dean of Students

“I am most excited to be at City Schools where I can now freely pray with the children.”

Rev. Daniel M. Jackson is a motivated individual whose passion for life is empowering, which shows through his love for God and for people. Most recently, Rev. Jackson was an educator in the Philadelphia Charter School District. He served the Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School for 18 years in roles such as the Dean of Students, Assistant Dean of Students and was also the Head Coach of the Boys Varsity Basketball Team for 14 years until his early retirement to focus on his pastoral journey. Rev. Daniel M. Jackson currently serves as the Senior Pastor of New Kingdom Baptist Church, where he continues to push the vision of the church which is dedicated to creating a holistic life-changing experience for all. Rev. Jackson has a sincere love for God and the youth. He strives to carry out God’s mission and is very excited about what God is doing in the lives of young people.

John Deaton

Interim Principal

I was born and raised in North Alabama. I graduated with a double major in Sociology and Vocal Performance from UMass Boston. I have a Master of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary, and finished the coursework for a Master of Science in Education with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis at Temple, but stopped short because I was offered a teaching job that I just couldn’t turn down. I taught at a charter school in North Philadelphia for 6 years. Prior to teaching I served for 12 years in various full-time roles as Youth and Music Director, Christian Education Director and served 8 years as Pastor.

Jessica Sinagra

Art teacher

“I am a visual artist who became a christian during college. Since then I can’t stop seeing the wonder of God’s creativity in this messy world. With joy, I get to teach children how to see, to use artistic media, and to create their own original artwork.”

Cherie Hackett

Office Manager

Cherie joined our team as an Office Assistant and began serving each campus as a support in the office alongside the Office Manager Team. She now exclusively serves the Poplar campus, and joins the City School with a wealth of experience in planning and organization. Cherie stated that she is “excited to join the mission!”

Vicki Taylor

Academic Support Coordinator

“God called me to Spruce Hill Christian School in 1984, and it has been my joy to serve here over the last 4 decades. I love being part of a community of learners. Math is my favorite subject, and I enjoy traveling and crafts. I am a foodie and Birds fan. “In West Philadelphia born and raised,” and when I was teaching middle school in the church building down the street, the front door to my home was closer to my classroom than my classroom was to to school office!”

In addition to having served as a Teacher, Principal, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and now Academic Coordinator at the Poplar Campus, Vicki continues to teach algebra classes and loves sharing her joy of theatre with students. She “falls in love with books” and says her favorite is always something newly discovered, most recently Melanie Shankle’s Nobody’s Cuter than You: A Memoir about the Beauty of Friendship. Vicki lives in University City with her husband Paul.

Noel Terrell

Music Teacher

“Music is more than notes and harmony–it’s a way of unleashing your emotions. Music moves people. It brings us together. It glorifies God. My dream is to share the power of music with my students.”

Noel has served as a Musical Director and keyboardist for diverse musical acts like Pharrell Williams, Meek Mill, and Jill Scott. He also toured Europe with British hip-hop/r&b duo Floetry and currently performs with his contemporary Christian band, The Browne Boyz. Noel is happily married and has two sons, Roman and Lincoln.

Rich Lindberg

HS English Teacher

“My goal is to help students become intelligent and engaged people in this world. Through books, I am hoping they will understand how to live on this planet, how to interact with others, and how “to be.” I am hoping that they will leave my class being a better writer, a thinking person, and a strong Christian.”

Rich lives in Roxborough with his wife and loves living in “an honest-to-goodness world-class city.” His favorite book is Frederick Buechner’s Godric, a semifictionalized account of the life of medieval saint Godric of Finchale, who inspires Rich to be a more humble and self-sacrificing person. He is also an avid cyclist and bikes to work almost every day, even in the dead of winter.

Ken Hunsberger

HS Math Teacher

“Over the years I have come to believe that an education is not complete if it is not Christ-centered. As a Christian school, we can offer more than excellent academics—we can introduce students to the one who created everything we learn.”

Ken lives in Chester County and enjoys his early morning commute on the train. Ken is an avid reader and has lately been on an Agatha Christie kick. He also enjoys crossword puzzles, crypto-quotes, and Sudoku, and he tends a bountiful vegetable garden at home.

Katelin Conde-Rodriguez

College Guidance Counselor

“The City School embodies so many of the values I hold dear, not least of these is shalom, the wholeness and completeness God desires for his people. I began my work with the City School three years ago as an intern from Mission Year, an urban ministry program dedicated to pursuing justice, peace, and reconciliation in the city. It became apparent to me early on that this was a special place where we not only pursue shalom by providing accessible and excellent education, but also raise students up to bring shalom to their city.”

Katelin lives in South Philly, “near a little enclave of City School folks.” When she’s not reading something that challenges her perspective, she enjoys watching nerdy tv shows, baking and cooking new recipes, and spending the day at the beach. And while Katelin’s heart belongs to Philly, her football loyalties are still in the Midwest—Go Pack Go!