Our Team

Dr. Bartling served in the public schools of Wisconsin for 32 years before joining Open Sky Education and its Character Formation Project in 2013. Her experience as a classroom teacher, district-level director of curriculum, assessment, instruction and staff development, elementary principal, high school principal, and district superintendent brings to HOPE Christian Schools and the Character Formation Project a depth of practical knowledge about the way students learn and school climate and culture are created.

Throughout her career, Dr. Bartling has collaborated with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies to increase educational experiences for students in global education, world languages, STEM, college and career preparation and character education.

Dr. Bartling earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, her master’s degree from Marian University, and her doctoral degree in urban education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in character education from the University of Birmingham in Great Britain with the support of the Kern Family Foundation.

Ashley Boyte is a graduate of Culver-Stockton College with a degree in Business Administration. While she majored in Business, working with students has always been a passion. Upon graduation, she joined Teach for America and was placed to teach in Milwaukee. She taught Kindergarten for two years at HOPE Caritas while attending Cardinal Stritch University. She graduated from Cardinal Stritch University in 2017 with a Master of Arts in Urban Education. Upon graduation and finishing her Teach for America commitment, Ashley knew she still wanted to work in a school setting. She sought a role where she could incorporate her business skills with her desire to serve children. Ashley became the School Operations Manager for HOPE Caritas and then transitioned to the role of Regional Operations Specialist, and is now serving as Director of Operations for HOPE Christian Schools Wisconsin Region.

Mr. James Degnan is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science.  While he majored in Environmental Science, ensuring scholars receive an excellent education has always been a passion of his. In addition to Environmental Science, James also has a passion for technology and business. James was the School Operations Manager for HOPE Caritas for the past 4 years. The SOM role was a perfect fit to combine all of the areas he was interested in. This year, he is starting his new role as the Regional Choice Compliance Officer. He is excited to continue to serve across the HOPE network.

Angela is a native of Louisiana and has resided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the past 32 years. She is a wife and has three adult children and four grandchildren. Angie earned her bachelor’s degree from Alverno College in Professional Communication & Business Management and recently completed her Master’s Degree in Innovative Leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Angela’s professional career experience ranges from Human Resource Management, Corporate Recruitment, Administrative & Executive Administration in the non-profit and corporate sectors and today the field of education in which she worked at Milwaukee Public Schools for 6 years in middle school special education as a Deaf & Hard of Hearing Educator and Calvary’s Christian Academy School of the Arts as the Principal.

In 2003 Angela joined Calvary Temple church, now Resurrection Power Ministries under the leadership of Apostle Rosie Harvey (King). She served in various areas of ministry as a teacher in the Children’s Church for 9-13 year olds; ministry of help, cups ministry, and continues to work on the Ministry Administrative team, prophetic and intercessory team; and has been a-part of the Special Events team since 2005.

Angela has been a-part of the leadership team of RPM for the past 16 years and continues to invest in leadership development by attending annual leadership conferences through Power & Light Evangelistic Church under the leadership of Apostle Benny & Prophetess Geraldine Dozier, and through the Center for Urban Teaching & Leadership program.

Recently, Angie joined HOPE Christian Schools Prima as the Principal and is looking forward to her new journey in education.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, taking long walks in her neighborhood or by the lake, reading, cooking, and traveling.

Edie is a graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran College where she majored in education. As a college student, she was awarded the “Impact Award” recognizing her leadership and contributions to the mission of the college. As a teacher she continued to demonstrate the importance of the teacher as a leader, serving at St. Marcus, HOPE Christian School, and EAGLE College Preparatory Schools in Arizona. While at EAGLE, she completed her Master’s Degree program in Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University (ASU).

Edie moved back to Milwaukee in 2009 to assume another leadership position as Director of Coaching for the Center for Urban Teaching. She mentored first and second year teachers organized regular small group mentoring meetings and coordinated the Urban Conference in Milwaukee.

In 2011, Edie returned to St. Marcus where she served as a kindergarten teacher, an instructional coach, Director of Primary, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Assistant Principal. In 2015, Edie joined the HOPE team as a Founding Principal. Edie received her master’s degree in educational leadership from Alverno College in 2016.

Casandra Delgado is incredibly excited to lead our first HOPE Christian School in Racine, WI. Her mission as an educator is “to deliver proficient lessons that scholars deserve.”

Casandra began her service in Racine, WI at HOPE Christian School Via in 2015 as the founding second grade teacher. In the summer of 2017, she became the Dean of Students and then fall of 2019 Dean of Instruction. While at HOPE Via, she specialized in school culture, academics, and building lasting relationships with scholars and families.

Prior to joining HOPE, Casandra completed her student teaching at a public district middle school Bridges program. It was this experience where the Lord opened her heart, and she had a passion to work in urban education. She started her first teaching job at St. Rafael the Archangel where she taught 2nd grade.

Casandra participated in numerous leadership trainings and has had the opportunity to be led by some of the best leaders in today’s education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Middle School Education grades1-9th and a minor in Geography through Carthage College and received her M. Ed. Administration Leadership from Alverno College. She also holds a Principal & Director of Instruction license in the State of Wisconsin.

During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Mando, 7 year old Sebastian and 2 fur babies Marshall and Oswald. She also has developed a passion for running and look forward to participating in her first full marathon Spring of 2021.

Jameela believes that God has a purpose and a plan for every teacher and scholar at HOPE and is very fortunate for the opportunity to help each scholar and teacher reach their full potential. Jameela comes to the role after serving schools in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, bringing a wealth of experience to her new role. She began her educational career as a Teacher Assistant, then progressed to lead teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and now principal at HOPE Semper.

Mrs. Lee is a graduate of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications. She went on to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership from William Carey University in Gulfport, MS. While serving as Assistant principal in Gulfport, Jameela also completed the National Institute for School Leadership through the University of Mississippi.

Jameela has a passion for teaching others about Christ and is able to fulfill her passion at Christ the King Baptist Church. She is a member of the family life ministry and teaches Sunday School and Wednesday night bible study. Jameela feels blessed to be part of an organization that embodies her belief in Christ first, preparing for college, and building strong character in the next generation.

Mrs. D.F. Russell has been in the education field for more than 17 years, serving as an educator, leader, motivational speaker, and author.

A native of Milwaukee, she began her career with the Milwaukee Public School system as a middle school English Language Arts teacher. From there, she traveled to the Midwest as a reading/writing curriculum coordinator. She relocated to St. Louis to serve as Assistant Principal for one year before being promoted to Principal of the Confluence Academy Old North Campus where she served for three years, leading a staff of 90 members and more than 1,000 students. She later moved to Chicago where she served as Director/Principal of the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago for four years. While there, she received a Principal Achievement Award in the city of Chicago and was honored by the Mayor of Chicago as one of the city’s 82 principals who made “exceptional growth” in one year. In 2014, Mrs. D.F. Russell was recruited back to Milwaukee to serve as the first Executive Director of Acelero Learning Wisconsin, a major Head Start organization. Fueled by her true desire to work in urban education and help prepare young people for their life’s work, she accepted the role of Principal at HOPE Caritas in 2018.

Mrs. Russell received her formal education from the Milwaukee Public School system and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after attending Tuskegee University in Alabama for her first two years of undergraduate study. She holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Takeyla Sirmons has been an educator for 18 years. She joined HOPE Christian School in 2015. During her time at HOPE, she has held various positions as teaching assistant, lead teacher, regional literacy lead, Dean of instruction, and Principal at HOPE Fortis. Takeyla exemplifies positive, professional leadership that makes a difference in the lives of the students and staff at HOPE Fortis. She has led the implementation of new programs and best practices for teaching and learning. Takeyla continues to grow in her walk with Christ, as a leader, and teacher by building positive relationships with co-workers and families. Her favorite scripture is Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Takeyla’s tenacity, organization skills, capacity for curriculum and standards alignment, as well as lifting instructional rigor led her to be appointed to Regional Literacy Leader, where she supported literacy instruction for all HOPE Christian Schools.  While still maintaining her duties as Dean of Instruction, Takeyla served on a committee with other HOPE Principals to plan, develop, and deliver summer professional development to the entire HOPE network.

Takeyla received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from University of Phoenix, and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University. She lives by the quote, “Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift”.