DLA MEET OUR TEAM

Fran Alvis was born in Covington, Kentucky and moved to Wilmington, Ohio when she was 9 years old. She remembers loving school, so being asked to join the Dayton Leadership Academies team in 2016 as the Director of Operations was a most welcome career change. Prior to DLA she worked in the non-profit sector for most of her career. Her most memorable experiences include housing and neighborhood development in Dayton, directing a healthcare for the homeless clinic and an HIV/AIDS service center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and coordinating services for elderly and disabled adults in Lexington, Kentucky. Mrs. Alvis earned her Bachelor’s degree in horticulture and business from the University of Kentucky and her Master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Wright State University. She and her husband have 4 children and 5 grandchildren, and she enjoys cooking and gardening.

Dean of Students
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Dean of Students
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Mr Matthews graduated from Stivers High School for the Arts. He is certified in Violence Prevention, Youth Specialist, and Rites of Passage.

He has worked with youth for over 15 years and is the founder of Chosen Generation Mentoring Program.

He loves the school culture, friendly environment, and the love for family engagement.

Family Engagement Coordinator
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Mrs. Brown was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Stivers school for the Arts- Choir and Band. She serviced children and families for 18 years with emphasis in preschool education. She is a wife and a mom of 5 and a bonus mom of 4. She and her Husband are founders of Verb Ministries where they hope to continue to expand. She am also a parent of DLA which has been an added bonus to her position as Family Engagement Coordinator, to be able to share a space with her children while at school. She truly enjoys assisting and being a service to children and families and people in general and helping to make positive changes and connections.

So the role as Family Engagement Coordinator is the perfect fit.

Dean of Academics
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Brooke Ellington was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated from Thurgood Marshall STEM High School in 2014 and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Middle Childhood Education (Grades 4–9) with a certificate from the Urban Teacher Academy at the University of Dayton in 2018. After college, Miss Ellington began her teaching career at Dayton Leadership Academies, where she served as the 5th Grade ELA teacher for six years. During her time at DLA, she returned to school and earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati in 2022.

Following her graduate studies, Miss Ellington took on leadership roles at DLA, first as the 3–5 Teacher Representative on the Lighthouse Team, and then as the English Department Chairperson—a position she proudly still holds. She is thrilled to serve as the 3–5 Dean of Academics, continuing her mission to support teachers and empower students. In addition to her role at DLA, Miss Ellington is also an adjunct professor in the School of Education at Wright State University. Passionate about student achievement and lifelong learning, she is committed to making a meaningful impact in the lives of both her 3-5 and college students.

Outside of her professional life, Miss Ellington is a proud mother to two energetic toddlers who keep her hands full and her heart even fuller. She enjoys traveling, spending quality time with loved ones, and making memories that last a lifetime.

Senior Dean of Academics
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Sharell Benson was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She earned her highschool diploma from Colonel White School of the Arts. After a few years in the field of early childhood education she pursued her Bachelors Degree. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Central state University.

Ms. Benson worked in early childhood education for over 15 years, which adds up to 20 years in education. Her passion for education began during the early years of parenthood, where she became highly invested in her children’s education. This brought forth a strong passion for education as well as the understanding of what strong family and teacher relationships have in educating the whole child. She began working in the preschool setting and formed and bonded with students and families on this level.

From there and shortly after graduation, she became a Kindergarten teacher at a local charter school in Dayton. The same charter school her children attended during elementary. After spending one school year there, she joined the DLA family in 2016. Best decision of her life she says. She spent the last 3 school years working in 1st grade and the last school year working in 2nd grade. Along with being a 2nd grade teacher she has also held various positions throughout the school. She is the K-2 House team Coordinator as well as the Summer Launch Director.In addition to those titles positions she also volunteers on the PAC committee as well as tutored the boys basketball team this school year.

She is a proud mother of 2, ages are 23 and 21. Teaching and nurturing became my life as she grew with her own children. Working with the team at DlA has afforded her the opportunity to learn from great leaders and teachers. Her passion for education has been strong since her own kids were young and DLA has allowed her to strengthen her passion in every aspect of education.

She enjoys teaching students and seeing the growth throughout the year. She also enjoys working with families, had she not been a teacher that would have been the next calling. Family and education go hand and hand to me. Building relationships with students and families help support students academic growth and teaches the whole child not just part of the child. Mentoring fellow educators has been another passion, since she was a young mom, she’s always felt like she had a story to tell and has always wanted to help others better themselves and reach their fullest potential. In her free time she enjoys cooking, watching food network, reading, watching football, and shopping.

Principal
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Mrs. Kreischer was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and two Master Degrees in Reading and School Administration from Bowling Green State University. After graduating from BGSU, she moved to Las Vegas, NV where she taught preschool and 1st grade for 5 years. She served as the grade level chair and teacher mentor.

In 2017 she joined DLA as a kindergarten teacher, and shortly after stepped into the teacher coach role. As the Teacher Coach for Data and Instruction, she worked with the administration team to lead professional development, coach teachers, and analyze school data. She also served as the track coach for the past two years and is passionate about helping our students find the best in themselves. She is excited to continue to help grow DLA to be an amazing education opportunity for students in our community.  

Executive Director
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Mrs. Asinjo was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College, teaching certificate from San Francisco State University, and Master’s degree in School Leadership from DePaul University.

Mrs. Asinjo started her career in education with Teach For America and taught second and third grades in East Palo Alto, CA and Chicago, IL. As a Teach For America Program Director, Mrs. Asinjo coached over 200 teachers in Chicago. In 2006 she became the Founding Principal of East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School in Northwest Indiana. She expanded the school from 110 to 300 students and led the school to be recognized by the Indiana DOE for the third highest growth (59.5% growth) on NWEA Mathematics out of all schools in the state.

From there, Mrs. Asinjo joined the national team of Lighthouse Academies as the Director of Recruitment and Selection and then served as the Senior Vice President of the Research, Design, and Strategy Team. In that role, she trained and developed school leaders, conducted school quality reviews, and served as an internal consultant for 17 schools in 7 states.

In 2015, Mrs. Asinjo was looking to be back in a school setting and joined the DLA team, first as the Assistant Principal and then as the Principal. In that role she led the team to increase student enrollment from 325 to 500 students, increase staff retention to 90%, increase DLA's report card ratings to 3 stars in Progress and K-3 Literacy, and secured two charter renewals.

In July 2023, Mrs. Asinjo became the Executive Director. In this role she oversees strategic planning, school partnerships and community relations, and HR and talent management. Mrs. Asinjo serves as an ex-officio member of the school board. Additionally, Mrs. Asinjo is an adjunct professor at Wright State University in the School of Education, is an active member of the DREAM Diversity Recruitment Association and serves on the Central State University School of Education Advisory Council.

Mrs. Asinjo and her husband have two children who keep them very active and entertained. When she has time, she likes cooking, hiking, reading novels, and travelling.

Middle School Coordinator
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Debra Walls was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated from Dunbar High School. She attended Wright State University where she received her Bachelors of English degree to teach Middle and High School English. She received a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Antioch University. After completing her education, she left Ohio to move south, She has lived and taught middle school English in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis Tennessee.

She returned to Dayton six years ago where she began working at DLA as a 6th grade English teacher. In the time she has been at DLA, she has been a Teacher Leader in multiple ways. She was the English Department Chair for two years and spent one summer as the Summer Launch Coordinator. Ms. Walls has also been the DLA cheerleading coach for the past 5 years. After teaching 6th grade English for five years and being a Reading Interventionist for one year, Ms. Walls is excited to step into her new role as the Middle School Coordinator.

Ms. Walls has one child, a five year old daughter who keeps her very busy and young at heart. Ms. Walls has always been passionate about working with middle school inner city students. She finds great joy in helping grow students academically as well as socially. Ms. Walls strives to prepare students for not just high school, but the real world and help them realize that they are capable of anything they put their minds to.