Administrative Staff

For contact information, see your School Directory or our Contact Us page.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

John Heffernan, Director

John has 15 years experience as an elementary teacher at the Sierra School in the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC's Bank Street School for Children, and most recently, Durham's Forest View Elementary School. John believes in supporting students to take risks and assume greater responsibility for their learning, and he has consistently sought out schools with a constructivist, inquiry-based mission that place a high value on parent involvement and professional development for teachers. John received a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Philosophy, Psychology and Studio Arts from Georgetown University and an M.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education. He is also a National Board Certified Teacher and has held leadership roles on the Governance team of Forest View Elementary, instructed UNC student teachers, and guided study groups for colleagues. John's commitment to excellence and his ability to inspire others is reflected in his selection as a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teaching Fellow in Japan, a Kenan Fellow (training teachers statewide in science education), and a trainer and planner for the NC Science Leadership Institute. He lives in Durham with his wife, Karen, his three daughters, and numerous pets.

Paula Januzzi-Godfrey, Assistant Director and Development Director

Paula has over 25 years experience in the field of education, most recently as a teacher of exceptional children at Forest View Elementary and as a dual language program teacher for 4th and 5th graders at Southwest Elementary. Paula has enjoyed many pursuits: teaching literacy through photography, working with "Student U" in Durham as a teacher mentor, and founding and directing Busy Street Children's Museum from 1996 to 2002. She has also been involved with family support systems, both as an adjunct instructor at Meredith College, and as a participant in a family support project with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Paula has served on the founding board of Durham's Partnership for Children, as well as on other boards and committees in Durham whose missions are to advocate for children and families. Paula enjoys volunteer work in El Salvador in the summers, and she traveled to Guatemala with other DPS teachers in 2007. Paula's philosophy is, "Love what you do and feel that it matters -- how could anything be more fun?"

Lucia Marcus, Professional Development Director*

Lucia graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts in Winston-Salem and has a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. In 1997, Lucia received a graduate degree in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College of Education and Parsons School of Design. She has been an art teacher for K-8th grades in the Sampson County Schools, in elementary schools in Washington, D.C., and at the Smithsonian Institute. Lucia directed the Opequan Day Care Center in Winchester, Virginia, and most recently taught art at the Duke School. Lucia also has a studio in Durham where she creates and shows her own art. 
*Lucia is also CPSC's Art Teacher.

Kathryn Meyers, Board Chair

Kathryn has been a PTA President and long-time member and Chairman of the Durham School Board. Kathryn has also served as a member of the NC Charter School Advisory Committee. She is presently Business Manager at Ellis Winters LLP, a Cary law firm.

Vicky Patton, Board Member

Vicky has served as an assistant to President Terry Sanford at Duke University and led the effort to relocate the American Dance Festival from Connecticut to Durham. She was a founding Board member of the Duke School for Children and president of its Board of Directors. Vicky received her MBA at the Duke Fuqua School and more recently served as the Executive Director of The Governors Center at the Sanford Institute for Public Policy. Vicky wrote the CPSC charter application, is President of our Board of Directors, and loves working at the school.

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Amy Elmore, After-School Director

Amy and her family moved to Durham 3 years ago from Chicago and love their new, much warmer home. She was a Theatre major at Hofstra University and spent several years in sales and marketing at Showtime Networks before deciding to change career tracks and move into education. She spent the last year teaching sixth Grade Language Arts in Roxboro and is really excited to be working in the Durham community at CPSC. Her daughter is a student at CPSC.

Heather Cook, Media Education Specialist/IT Director

Heather Cook taught fifth grade at CPSC for several years and is excited to start up the school's Library and Media Education Program. Heather, raised by two educators in a farming town in southern Minnesota, has a penchant for diving in and getting her hands dirty. She believes in the power of individual experience and has found that CPSC's project-based learning community creates life-long learners through authentic exploration. Incorporating these values, Heather hopes to create a vibrant program in our school library that empowers readers, writers, creators, and critical thinkers young and old. When she's not at CPSC, Heather can be found cheering on the Durham Bulls, doting over her son Ellis, standing side-stage at her husband Phil's concerts, or digging in her garden.  Check out the Library/Media Education Program website.

Jonathan Hemingway, Maintenance Coordinator

Jonathan grew up in New Jersey and has made Durham his home since 2005. A 2008 graduate of TROSA, he still spends a lot of time across the park at TROSA with his friends. Jonathan loves keeping things in order and in their best working condition.

Laura Hitt, Business Manager

Laura comes to CPSC with 14 years of accounting experience, with the past four years working in education and nonprofit accounting. She earned a BS in Accounting from Strayer University and plans to continue working on her MBA while at CPSC. Laura has a passion for nonprofits and children’s well-being, and has found that she is happiest working in a financial role for an organization that combines these interests. She has served on the board for a children's sports nonprofit organization, and she also volunteers at her church in various capacities. Laura moved to North Carolina from Pennsylvania to be closer to family; she has three children and three cats.

Tonya Hunt, Office Manager

Tonya worked for Genecare, a medical genetics center in Chapel Hill, and before then gained training in business and management procedures at Blue Cross/Blue Shield for eleven years. She is a Durham native and graduated from Southeastern Academy with a degree in Administration. After years of working in corporate America, Tonya made a commitment to return to work with and provide for children. Her decision to join CPSC was clinched when a friend said, "Tonya, with as much time as you spend at the school and with your knowledge of kids, why not do what you enjoy doing and get paid for it?"