Chief Executive Officer | Häns Lassiter
Häns Lassiter is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina. Educated in the former Greensboro City School System (now known as the Guilford County Schools), he graduated from James B. Dudley Senior High School.
Upon graduation, Häns entered North Carolina A&T State University, where he majored in Political Science with a minor in History. While there, he was a member of the baseball team, and was initiated into the Alpha Nu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. He served in a variety of leadership roles on campus, including president of the Pan-Hellenic Council & an active role in student affairs.
After graduating, he began his career in education in the former Durham City School System (now Durham Public Schools) as a social studies teacher. Along the way, Häns earned the Master of Arts Degree in History with a minor in Education and North Carolina teacher licensure from North Carolina Central University.
Discovering that he had an overt passion for the learning and teaching process, coupled with a desire to be an agent for change, he earned the Master of School Administration degree from North Carolina State University with North Carolina principal licensure and completed doctoral coursework in Education Administration and Supervision, earning the Education Specialist degree with North Carolina superintendent licensure.
Hans has served in a variety of roles during his thirty-one year career in education: Classroom teacher, High School Assistant Principal, High School Principal, Chief Communications Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, Acting/Interim Superintendent, Transformation and Turnaround Specialist with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
He is the father of three adult children and grandfather to two lovely granddaughters. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, with research interests in improving teacher efficacy and effectiveness, beginning teacher support, innovation in instructional delivery, and assessment design.
Outside of school, Häns enjoys lifting weights, taking in some great college baseball, basketball, and football games, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Chief Academic Officer/ Corporate Enrollment Officer | Deanna Dehner
Deanna Dehner has been with Irvington Community Schools since 2005, initially as a 5th-grade teacher and then Writing & Literacy Coach. She was later promoted to the role of Lead Teacher (now “Principal”) in 2007. Specifically, she has been a building-level leader at ICES through varied changes in academic structure (K-8, K-5, PreK-5) in addition to serving four years as principal at the high school. Deanna received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. Deanna earned a Masters Degree from Walden University in Elementary Reading & Literacy, and a second Masters Degree from Ball State University in Educational Administration & Supervision. She is an experienced intermediate grades teacher and is licensed to teach Kindergarten through 8th grade.
ICES Principal | John Westfall
John Westfall earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Marquette University, in Milwaukee, WI, as well as two master’s degrees (Elementary Education and Special Education) from the University of Missouri in St. Louis, MO. And a third master’s degree from the EPPSP Program for Educational Leadership from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.
Over the past thirteen years he has been blessed to have served many wonderful communities and have worked with some of the most amazing educators in the field of education. His educational journey started as a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma and has brought him to the Indianapolis area, where he has taught in IPS and Pike Township. For the past seven years, he has served as a building administrator, five years at in Indianapolis Public School and two years in Lafayette School Corporation.
Throughout his course as an educator, he has always prided himself on building a positive school culture and atmosphere for students, staff, and families. His hope is to continue to foster the relationships with those in the community and the families of Irvington Community Elementary School. He is a firm believer this can only be done through building positive relationships with the community and its stakeholders. This journey is one that cannot be traveled alone, and he is thankful for his wife, Krista, and two daughters, Emma (10) and Grace (8), along with him as we become part of the Irvington Community School family.
John is beyond excited to be back on the east side of Indianapolis, where he has dedicated so much of his educational life and is truly passionate about being back in the community to serve and lead the students and families of the Irvington Community Elementary School.
ICMS Principal | Rosemary McCloskey
Rosemary McCloskey began her career in education in 2003 as a Science teacher in Jones County, North Carolina. As a military spouse, Mrs. McCloskey continued her career in serving students in South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, and Indiana. In addition to teaching in the secondary classroom, she has also served as a Dean, Instructional Coach, and a Director of Instructional Coaching.
While serving in communities across the United States, she became passionate about ensuring all students were provided rich experiences both academically and socially in order to build the skills necessary for successful post academic endeavors. These successes would not be attainable without the inclusion of three foundational pillars, teachers, families, and community members. Mrs. McCloskey honors meaningful relationships and values input from all stakeholders in order to cultivate a school of equity and inclusivity. As a school leader, Mrs. McCloskey establishes a collaborative culture in which staff members are provided with relevant and impactful support as they continue to build their professional capacity to meet the needs of all students. In 2021, Mrs. McCloskey partnered with the Southern Indiana Education Center to work with school administrators and instructional coaches as they developed intentional teacher support and professional growth through coaching. Mrs. McCloskey received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from East Carolina University. She received a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Maryland and a K-12 administrative endorsement from James Madison University.
IPA Principal | Jana Goebel
Jana Goebel began her career at Irvington Community Schools in the spring of 2011 as a Special Education teacher at Irvington Preparatory Academy. In 2012 she took on the additional role of Special Education Coordinator, helping to systematize and support special education services in grades K-12, and in 2014, she was named Director of College and Academic Services at IPA where she also served on the Indiana State Board of Education’s Graduation Pathways Panel. Jana accepted the position of principal for Irvington Preparatory Academy in 2019. Jana holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education from Manchester College and will complete her Masters of Educational Leadership & Administration in May 2022.