Meet the Team

Component 1

• Paul Parkison

  University of North Florida 

  Paul Parkison is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida. With a diverse range of expertise, his areas of specialization include Academic Discourse, Assessment, Cultural Studies, Educational Curriculum, Pedagogy, Philosophical Studies and Teaching, Learning and Curriculum. Paul Parkison earned his bachelor's degree at Wabash College and his master's degree at Vanderbilt University. Paul also received his Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction at The University of Memphis.

• Tabbatha Johns

  Clay County District Schools

  Tabbatha Johns earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of North Florida. Tabbatha’s professional experience includes being a secondary English teacher, school counselor and school administrator. Her dedication and passion for helping students see the possibilities in their future have driven her to specialize in school counseling and more specifically in helping to train and support other school counselors. She is currently the Secondary School Counseling Specialist in Clay County and is focusing her attention on bringing new opportunities and refining the support that school counselors offer students in Clay County. As a part of the Project Prep team, Tabbatha hopes to help the next generation of educators thrive.

Component 2

• Lunetta Williams

  University of North Florida 

  Lunetta Williams, a former elementary teacher, received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Reading Education from the University of Florida. She has published in journals such as Journal of Educational Research, Reading Psychology, Journal of Research in Childhood Education and Childhood Education. She received the University of Florida College of Education Dissertation Award, University of Florida Outstanding Alumni Award and University of North Florida’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. Additionally, she was a co-recipient of the International Reading Association's Albert J. Harris Award and Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA) Conference’s James E. McLean Outstanding Distinguished Paper Award.

• Jeania Jones

  University of North Florida 

  Jeania Jones is an Elementary Co-Curriculum Area Directorr, an instructor, a Professional Development School’s Faculty in Residence and Clinical Supervisorr in the Teaching, Learning and Curriculum department, at the University of North Florida. Prior to UNF, she was a teacher, mentor, literacy lead teacher, grade level chair and mentor teacher in the Duval County Public School. Jeania has been recognized as an American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) Holmes Scholar and a 2022 recipient of the Vicki Cornett Student Caring Award. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a cognate in Leadership and her research focuses on how both background experiences and teacher prep experiences contribute to and influence teacher candidates’ Culturally Responsive Teaching Self Efficacy for teaching Black elementary students.

• Shaundricka Medlock

  Clay County District Schools 

  Shaundricka has taught in public education for 21 years in various states and countries. She has served as a peer coach and instructional support teacher and leader. Currently, she supervises elementary education teacher candidates and coordinates internships in Clay County District Schools. She supports teachers and administrators with professional development and best practices at PDS and partnership schools. Shaundricka received her bachelor's degree from The University of Louisiana at Monroe and her master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University in Elementary Education. She is currently working on a doctorate in curriculum and instruction at the University of North Florida. Shaundricka is the owner of Dricka’s Cookie Jar and in her free time, she bakes and decorates custom cookies, reads, travels with her husband and all things clinical education. Shaundricka is committed to teacher development by recruiting and retaining as well as supporting all stakeholders through clinical practice and professional development.

Component 3

• Rachelle Curcio

  University of North Florida 

  Rachelle "Shelly" Curcio is an Assistant Professor for Teacher Education at the University of North Florida. Shelly's research and interests are grounded in an inquiry stance and focus on aspects of clinically-centered teacher preparation with an emphasis on preparing teachers for 21st-century classroom contexts. Specifically, Shelly's research is centered on the supervision and coaching that occurs in clinical spaces, as well as the cultivation of teachers' critical curriculum literacy skills connected to their role as curriculum makers. Shelly attended the University of Florida for her Ph.D. and served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, district resource teacher and assistant principal in Hillsborough County Schools for 18 years.

• Robin Bossinger

  Clay County District Schools 

  Robin Bossinger earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education at the University of North Florida. Robin served in a variety of roles in education over the past 16 years including as an elementary teacher, teacher of gifted and talented, technology teacher, secondary reading coach, professional learning specialist and Assistant Principal in Clay County District Schools. In her current role as Coordinator of Teacher Support she builds meaningful partnerships between school leaders, new teachers and academic coaches to support those joining the profession. It is this passion for building the capacity of early career professionals that has led her to an exciting role as a member of the Project PREP team for Component 3. She is excited to partner with the University that launched her onto a successful career in education.

Component 4

• Diane Yendol-Hoppey

  University of North Florida 

  Diane Yendol-Hoppey is a Professor at the University of North Florida in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum. Diane has served in a variety of teacher education leadership positions throughout her career. Each of these positions required extensive collaboration with school district, corporate and non-profit partners interested in improving teaching and learning. Her work has united practitioners and university faculty in creating nationally recognized school-university partnerships characterized by strong clinical practice. Diane’s research focuses on facilitating teacher learning across the career span through enhanced clinical practice, job-embedded professional development, teacher leadership and school-university partnerships. Diane has co-authored and edited over 20 books and published 73 peer reviewed journal articles. Her work has appeared in such journals as Teachers College Record, Educational Researcher and Journal of Teacher Education. Diane currently serves on the editorial team of the Journal of Teacher Education and is an editor on the forthcoming Handbook of School-University Partnerships. Diane highly values her first 13 years in education as a PK-5 teacher in Pennsylvania and Maryland and notes that those years were critical to her growth and development as a teacher educator across her career.

• Tiffany Bazemore

  Clay County District Schools

  Tiffany has served the students and families of Clay County for fifteen years. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Saint Leo University with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. Tiffany worked as a reading teacher for students in grades 4-6 where her goal was to instill a love of reading in her students. Tiffany's strengths in the classroom are student engagement and building positive relationships with her students and families. Tiffany has worked as a department chair for several grade-levels and supported teachers as a mentor. Tiffany has worked as a Title I Coordinator and Instructional Coach. She currently works as a Professional Learning Specialist for Clay County District Schools. In this role, she develops and facilitates professional learning opportunities for teacher leaders. A main focus of her work is developing professional learning communities that are data responsive through collective responsibility and inclusive of all student needs. 

• Laura Boilini

  University of North Florida

  Dr. Boilini began her career as an elementary teacher and art teacher. She then became an Assistant Principal, Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent in Indiana. In Florida Dr. Boilini has served as an Elementary Principal, Director of Career and Technical Education, Dean of Arts & Sciences at the community college level, and is now enjoying incredibly her time as a Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Director in the Educational Leadership Program. She derives great joy in working with her "awesome" students, helping them to achieve their goals!

  A recent publication involved “listening to her students, aspiring leaders” as they expressed their strengths and growth areas as aligned to professional standards. The work has impacted the courses in the degree and was published in 2020 and entitled: The voices of our students: What we can learn from aspiring leaders. Southeast Journal of Educational Administration, 19 (2), 105-128.

  Dr. Boilini is an artist and enjoys painting landscapes, florals, and abstracts in acrylic and oil and shows and sells her work at the St. Augustine Beach Art Studio Gallery in St. Augustine Beach, Florida. Dr. Boilini also enjoys teaching others painting techniques and offers art and leadership sessions as part of her service work for a variety of groups at UNF and also in the community.

  Awards

  Being named teacher of the year for her district for two years in a row by her peers is Dr. Boilini's favorite award because she was chosen by her wonderful colleagues! She was chosen to represent her district as the teacher of the year for a Phi Delta Kappa workshop where she was later chosen as one of six teachers in Indiana to lead professional development in the area of "Maintaining Teacher Effectiveness," a broad-based program that covered many topics from curriculum planning to student engagement. She has been chosen to serve on several state committees and teams and has found these experiences incredibly valuable. At UNF Dr. Boilini has been awarded the “Above and Beyond” recognition for COEHS for going above and beyond in her work with and for students and staff.

Component 5

• David Hoppey

  University of North Florida 

  David Hoppey, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Special Education and the Director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the University of North Florida. He teaches methods courses to both special education and general education teacher candidates and mentors teacher candidates in the field. He also teaches doctoral seminars on special education leadership, teacher education and qualitative research methods.

  His scholarship focuses on special education policy, teacher education, and school university partnerships. He has published in leading journals such as The Journal of Special Education, Teachers College Record, Learning Disabilities Research and Practice and Teacher Education and Special Education. He is a co-editor of a book series on Advances in Teacher Education. He is a co-editor of, School University Partnerships, the research journal of the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS).

• Jennifer Shepard

  Clay County District Schools 

  Jennifer Shepard is the Director of Professional Learning for Clay County District Schools, working collaboratively with district and school leaders to foster a culture of learning throughout the district. She takes a systems approach to professional learning for teachers and leaders across all levels of experience to cultivate coherent learning for all within the organization.

• Crissy Benton

  Crishana "Crissy" Benton is in her final semester of UNF's doctoral program in Educational Leadership. Crissy received her bachelor's in Journalism from Florida A&M University and graduated from UNF with an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. In the 17-year span of her career, Crissy has been a leader in K-12 education and has worked both as faculty and in student services in higher education. Her current work as a Director of Student Services at The Covenant School of Jacksonville aligns with her desire to widen access points for underrepresented student groups. Among her work and doctoral studies, Crissy also represents her cohort on the Ed.D. Steering Committee and works as a Graduate Assistant in both research and teaching. Crissy is driven to infuse trauma-informed practices in higher education and her research interests are educational equity in the virtual classroom and whole-person productivity in faculty research performance.

• Michelle Russell

  Born and raised in Jacksonville, Michelle Russell is a Florida native and current Doctoral student at the University of North Florida. She has nine years of teaching experience between Duval and Clay County District Schools. At present, she teaches 6th grade Reading and Language Arts with an emphasis on targeting differentiation in instruction and promoting student growth. As a proud University of Florida Gator turned Osprey, she approaches K-6 education with a desire to give a voice to both underrepresented leaders and learners. Her goal is to uphold a banner of bridge-building between traditional education, cultural diversity and inclusion. She believes that Project PREP provides the opportunity to realize these goals as a concrete and sustainable solution to renew the outcomes of education for the foreseeable future.