Electives 

Elizabeth Barton

Elizabeth Barton returns to DCPS as a master educator for music after 12 years of teaching in Fort Worth, Texas and the Washington, DC area. She served as the department chair at Thomas Edison High School in Fairfax County and as director of fine arts at The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. Elizabeth also worked for four years as the assistant director of education at the Washington National Opera.

Elizabeth’s choirs in Fort Worth increased enrollment by 50% during her tenure, and she won a “Score a Goal in the Classroom” award for her students’ achievement in chorus. While at Thomas Edison High School, enrollment in chorus increased by 30% and her choirs consistently scored superior ratings at district festivals. Under her leadership as department chair, Thomas Edison was granted the Blue Ribbon School Award for three consecutive years.

While at the Washington National Opera, Elizabeth received a Distinguished Public Service Award from Montgomery County Public Schools for her work in the Creating Original Opera program. Elizabeth also served as a team leader to coordinate the writing and implementation of a five million dollar Texaco Early Notes grant that was piloted in DCPS, and she led professional development for DCPS teachers for the Opera Look In program.

Elizabeth holds special certifications in the Orff and Kodaly methods and is working towards her endorsement in school administration at the University of Virginia. She is an active member in MENC, ACDA and VMEA. She was a guest panelist for the forum, “Getting Your Students Ready to Audition” for the 2006 VMEA convention.

Elizabeth earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music and her Master of Music from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Elizabeth will be serving as a master educator for Music and Performing Arts.

Felicia Messina-D’Haiti

Felicia Messina-D’Haiti is a National Board Certified Teacher in Art, Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood and taught pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Prince George’s County for over 8 years. Felicia has diverse experience teaching in comprehensive, Montessori, French Immersion, and Humanities and International studies programs. Her leadership experience includes time spent as art department chair and member of the school-based management team, leadership caucus, and instructional leadership team.

Felicia’s parents are both retired DCPS employees; her mother taught at both Tyler and Davis Elementary Schools and her father was a guidance counselor at Roper Junior High (now Ron Brown MS).

For her success in the classroom, Felicia was recognized as the Maryland Art Education Association’s Outstanding Middle School Art Teacher for Prince George’s County. She also received the Maryland State Excellence in Education Award from the Alpha Delta Kappa International Honorary Sorority for Women Educators, of which she is a member. Felicia is a member of the National Art Education Association, the National Staff Development Council, and the Maryland National Board Network.

As part of the National Board Certified Teacher Leadership Development Program, Felicia spent more than two years creating professional development programs and providing support to teachers pursuing National Board Certification. Felicia taught candidate support sessions, created a professional development program for a Title I school, and conducted presentations on teacher quality at local and national conferences.

Felicia received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts in Art History from Rutgers University, and an Advanced Graduate Specialist Certificate in Curriculum Theory and Development from the University of Maryland.

Felicia will be serving as a master educator for Art.

Bashea Jenkins-Imana

Bashea Jenkins-Imana comes to DCPS as a master educator for music after 12 years of teaching in Washington, DC and Prince George’s County, Maryland. During her time in the classroom, she developed and implemented lesson plans for Head Start through sixth grade students, as well as created cross-curricular lessons that integrated academic subjects like literacy and math to help improve students’ proficiency. She also utilized technology to teach music theory and introduce students to digital recording.

Bashea wrote and directed several school plays and musicals while serving as choral director with over 80% of her participants maintaining the honor roll. She served as assistant director of the Prince George’s County Honors Chorus and mentored new music teachers.

Outside the classroom, Bashea has worked as a drama and dance instructor, served as cultural arts director for summer enrichment programs for at-risk youth, and founded V.O.I.C.E (Valuing Our Incredible Children Everyday) Youth Choir. She currently teaches private piano lessons and is also a professional singer, songwriter, and producer.

Bashea studied Music Education at West Virginia University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a minor in Music from Towson University. Bashea is currently pursuing an Master of Arts in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

Bashea will be serving as a master educator for Music and Performing Arts.

Miriam Kenyon

Miriam Kenyon is a native Washingtonian and a product of DC Public Schools. She taught Health and Physical Education for eleven years in DCPS, teaching students from Head Start through twelfth grade at four different schools across the city.

Miriam has held a variety of leadership positions during her tenure with DCPS, serving as athletic director at Bell Multicultural High School and Browne Educational Campus, health and physical education department chair at Browne Junior High School, and supervisor of an elementary school summer sports program. She has also taught at Phelps Senior High School and Paul Junior High School.

Miriam significantly expanded athletic and physical education programs in her schools. She coached championship teams in volleyball, basketball, and softball and started new programs in wrestling, dance, swimming, and double-dutch.

Miriam has also served as a lead health and physical education teacher and curriculum writer for DCPS, playing an important role in the development of health and physical education pacing guides, resource guides, and assessments. She has delivered many district-wide professional development sessions.

Miriam earned her Bachelor of Arts from George Washington University and is serving as a master educator for health and physical education teachers.

Saundra George

Saundra George joins the Master Educator Program after teaching art at the elementary, middle, and high school levels for 23 years in Indianapolis Public Schools. 

For the past four years, Saundra has been engaging in action research on developing an art curriculum that restructures art instruction to more closely mirror instrumental music instruction. This curriculum allows students to master individual skills and then build on this skill base, and it has been effective in improving student participation and outcomes in art.

Saundra’s professional development expertise is in teaching across the curriculum, and she has served in various leadership capacities including her school’s site-based decision making committee and the Indianapolis Education Association. Thirty of Sandra’s students received awards in the 500 Art Festival, and one student was honored with the Scholastic Gold Key Award.

Saundra received her B.S. in Education from Bowling Green State University and studied at Wilke University’s National Institute for Professional Practice. Saundra is an accomplished figure painter and has been honored with several local awards for her work.

Saundra will be serving as a master educator for Art.