Mrs. Debbie C. Ray, Principal

dcray@wcpss.net

Debbie C. Ray is a graduate of East Carolina University where she obtained a BS Degree in Intermediate Education with concentrations in Science and Language Arts. In 2005, Mrs. Ray obtained a Master of School Administration Degree from North Carolina State University. She has been an educator in the Wake County Public School system since 1989. Before accepting the principalship at Crossroads Flex High School, Mrs. Ray served as the Assistant Principal of Instruction at Wake STEM Early College High School, an assistant principal at Panther Creek High School and West Cary Middle School. She also served as an administrative intern and Instructional Resource teacher at Leesville Road Middle School. Her educational career began as a classroom teacher at A.G. Cox Middle School in Pitt County, North Carolina before joining the Wake County Public School System community as a teacher at West Cary Middle School.

She is honored to be the principal at Crossroads Flex High School, where innovation and high expectations will continue to inspire high performance. She is looking forward to working with an extraordinary group of educators who have fearlessly broken away from the norms of a traditional public-school classroom into a world of digital blended learning where students are actively engaged in a 21st-century learning environment. She is also looking forward to forming productive partnerships with families and community leaders as we prepare Crossroads Flex students to be college and career-ready while working towards becoming experts in their individual pursuits.

Mrs. Natascha Genova, Assistant Principal

ngenova@wcpss.net

Ms. Nartarshia Sharpe, Dean of Students

nsharpe@wcpss.net

Nartarshia Sharpe comes to Crossroads FLEX after working the past nine years as a professional school counselor at Panther Creek High School in Cary, NC.  This is her twenty-third year in education.  She began her career in education as middle school language arts and social studies teacher went on to work for several years in Central Office for Wake County Schools. 

Ms. Sharpe is a graduate of UNC Charlotte where she earned a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She holds two Master’s degrees from NC State University, one in Curriculum and Instruction and the other in School Counseling.  She earned National Board Certification in K-12 School Counseling in 2012.  In her free time Ms. Sharpe likes to read, travel and take pictures.

Mrs. Aimee Diem, Intervention Teacher

adiem@wcpss.net

Aimee Diem is excited to be joining the Crossroad FLEX family as the intervention teacher. She has spent most of her career as a special education teacher and case manager. Ms. Diem has a true passion for working with students and helping them find success. She understands that all students learn differently and strives to provide them with the support they need for a rewarding educational experience.

Ms. Diem holds North Carolina teaching certifications in English, special education, and health and physical education. She has coached high school tennis and high school women’s basketball. She has in-depth experience working with struggling readers and is certified to teach different reading programs.

Ms. Diem grew up at the beach in New Jersey. She graduated from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and attended graduate school at Rowan University in New Jersey. She lived in Maryland for 15 years before moving to North Carolina in 2014. Ms. Diem has 2 daughters and 3 rescue dogs. In her spare time she can be found tending to her plants, taking pictures, or reading a new book.

Mrs. Melinda Hope, World Languages

mhope@wcpss.net

Mindy Hope is a Raleigh native who attended Wake County Public Schools and has worked in education for 13 years. She holds a BA in Spanish and Psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master’s in Teaching Secondary Spanish from Johns Hopkins University. She was a Teach For America – Baltimore Corps Member and is a National Board Certified Spanish Teacher. She has taught High School Spanish for 11 years; first in Baltimore, MD, then in Ann Arbor, MI, and then at Broughton High School here in Raleigh. She has also worked at Athens Dr. High School as a Guidance Technician and a liaison and advocate for ESL and immigrant students, and most recently as an Academic Coach with the education technology company Edmentum. She is excited to get back to teaching Spanish and the Crossroads FLEX community this year!

Ms. Hope has also coached Lacrosse at many of the schools she has worked at and has taught swim lessons at City of Raleigh pools. She enjoys watching and playing sports, running, traveling, live music, being outside, and spending time with family. Ms. Hope lives with her husband, dog, and 2 little boys who keep her very busy!

Mrs. Natalia Kilpatrick, Career Development Coordinator

nkilpatrick@wcpss.net

Mr. Austin Lewandowski, Science

alewandowski@wcpss.net

Austin Lewandowski comes from Michigan where he studied and previously taught. At Spring Arbor University, Mr. Lewandowski earned his Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education with a focus in all of the sciences. He is certified to teach everything from the smallest quantum particle to the largest celestial mass.

Over the past four years of teaching various science subjects, Mr. Lewandowski has learned that experiencing science is very different from reading about science. He has developed numerous lessons that incorporate moving models and hands-on activities. His passion for reaching students is evident in the care he exudes for the individual and presentation of the content.

Mr. Lewandowski has previously coached baseball and Quiz Bowl. In his spare time, he and his wife travel around seeking adventure. Mr. Lewandowski is excited to continue his career with the opportunity to teach at Crossroads Flex!

Mr. Jeff Lindstrom, CTE

jlindstrom@wcpss.net

Jeff Lindstrom is a Graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor Degree in Business Education and Walden University with a Masters Degree in Education.  He has been teaching for 20 years in the Chapel Hill and Wake County School Districts teaching in CTE.  He also has experience teaching college at Wake Tech Community College for eight years as an instructor in computer courses.  He was a college athlete playing four years of Division I tennis and holds various individual tennis records in college.  He also has ran seven marathons including qualifying and running the Boston Marathon three times. He enjoys learning and spending time with his family and friends. He is excited about joining Crossroads Flex and helping students reach their goals and aspirations.

Ms. Karen Oviatt, English

koviatt@wcpss.net

Karen Oviatt graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree, majoring in English Education and minoring in Psychology. She has been a teacher at both Orange High School in Orange County and Panther Creek High School in Wake County and has taught all levels of 9-12 English. She is a National Board Certified teacher and is Advanced Placement certified, having taught both AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition for over a decade. Ms. Oviatt has experience teaching online courses as a writing instructor for Duke TiP's eStudies program and has also been an instructor at Duke's Young Writers Camp. In addition, she developed, and coordinated an in-school, peer-staffed Writing Center and has served as a department leader and Teacher Mentor.

After serving over 20 years in a traditional classroom, she is excited to be joining the staff at CrossroadsFlex and to be a part of the blended learning experience. Ms. Oviatt likes to read, travel, and spend time with family and friends. She's a bit of a performer and will tell you stories and show you pictures of her dog if you show the slightest inclination of interest. She also loves to learn new things: she's currently taking acting classes and is thinking about learning to knit or crochet and starting a podcast. She is eager to meet the students at Crossroads Flex and learn about the pursuits they passionately follow.

Mrs. Miller Spencer, Math

mcspencer@wcpss.net

Miller Spencer joined Crossroads FLEX after working as a Secondary Math Lead Teacher for Lee County Schools.  Prior to that Ms. Spencer taught at Lee Early College in Sanford, NC. Ms. Spencer was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow at Meredith College, where she graduated with her BS in Mathematics, a minor in English, and a Secondary Teaching Licensure.  She also holds a Master’s in Educational Media from Appalachian State and is currently pursuing graduate coursework in Mathematics. In her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking, and exploring the local greenways.

Ms. Spencer is passionate about making math accessible and relatable to students.  She is excited to be a part of the unique and innovative educational experience provided to students at Crossroads FLEX!

Mrs. Kasey Turcol, Social Studies

kturcol@wcpss.net

Kasey Turcol graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia with her undergraduate in Sociology and History.  As an undergraduate, Mrs. Turcol focused her studies on institutions and their impact on society. She wrote her thesis on Alcatraz, tracing the manner in which the National Park Service interprets prison history through the federal penitentiary as societies views on crime evolve. Additionally, she spearheaded two major research projects: a quantitative study for Rappahannock Legal Service in which she was able to indicate the strengths and weakness of their free legal services, and an in-depth qualitative study of young adults with vision impairments and how they navigated early education. The latter research project was presented at Pi Gamma Mu’s Triennial International Conference in 2014 and truly inspired Mrs. Turcol to continue work in the field of education.  In 2015, she earned her Master’s in Education implementing an action research project aimed at teaching twelve grade government students media literacy skills necessary to be politically aware citizens in the digital age.

Mrs. Turcol moved to North Carolina after getting married in August of 2015. She is endorsed in the state of North Carolina to teach 6-12 Social Sciences and 6-12 English Language Arts. She believes that education must be interdisciplinary for it to have a lasting impact on the student.  As a teacher, she emphasizes the importance of reading and writing skills through primary source analysis. Mrs. Turcol encourages all students to continue learning as she, too, intends to continue her education and return back to school for a doctorate degree.  She is excited to work with the talented and innovative students at Crossroads FLEX!

Mrs. Cheryl Brown, Lead Secretary

cbrown5@wcpss.net

Cheryl Brown comes to Crossroads Flex High School after working for 9 years at Wake STEM Early College High School, in Raleigh, NC as Lead Secretary and Bookkeeper.  She has worked in WCPSS for 20 years at several schools.  She worked as a Data Manager at Apex High School then left and worked at the Department of Public Instruction as Technology Support Analyst.  She missed being in the school setting and decided to return to WCPSS and helped to start Holly Grove Middle School as Data Manager.  After almost a year at Holly Grove Middle she received an opportunity to start Wake STEM Early College High School as the Lead Secretary and Bookkeeper.

Mrs. Brown is a native New Yorker and graduated from Pace University, in New York City with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Her initial career started in Computer Operations and later Programming at IBM Corporation in Upstate New York.  She relocated to Raleigh, NC with IBM and later worked as a Quality Assurance Analyst at SAS.  After starting a family, she decided to accept a job in WCPSS so that she would have the flexibility of her children’s schedule.  In her spare time, she likes to watch football and college basketball, read and spend time with her grandson.

Ms. Jennifer Wilkerson, Data Manager

jwilkerson@wcpss.net

Jennifer Wilkerson comes to Crossroads Flex High School after working nine years in the Wake County School System as an Instructional Assistant and a long-term substitute teacher.  After researching Crossroads Flex and learning about its vision for young people, she knew it was where she needed to be and did not hesitate to apply when a clerical assistant position became available.

Ms. Wilkerson was born and raised in Virginia but has lived in North Carolina long enough to be considered a “North Carolinian”.  She graduated from Pensacola Christian College with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a minor in Music.  She is an avid sports fan, and she considers her greatest accomplishment to being a mother to her three sons.

Mrs. Tracy Jones, Teacher Support

tjones19@wcpss.net