Meet Our New Faculty - Ms. Sheena Dasani

Ms. Dasani joins us to teach Math II and III. Ms. Dasani graduated from Princeton University in 2008 with a BA in History and then went on to earn the Masters in Bioethics from the Perelman School of Medicine whilst also obtaining her law degree from the UPenn Law School in 2012. Ms. Dasani has had an interesting array of positions since graduation which include clerking in the Boston and Ohio courts, being a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel at Penn, program managing at Penn and Columbia, and running her own SAT Prep/College Admissions counseling company. She taught for one year at Phillips Academy, and has tutored extensively in advanced math. All of this pales in comparison, though, to her coxing her Varsity Eight to 4th place at the Head of the Charles in 2005 for Princeton.

Meet our faculty - Mr. Michael Farrow, Biology & Digital Music Creation

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mr. Michael Farrow.

Michael Farrow began his life and education in the Northeast US.  He received a degree in Biology and Adolescent Education at Houghton College in western New York.  While in college, he toured in two bands and wrote and recorded multiple EPs. Upon graduating he immediately began teaching Biology at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, NC.  

Mr. Farrow then began to play music more actively for churches, weddings, and other special occasions.  In 2007, he released an eponymous album and a successful YouTube music channel with over 2,000 subscribers and one cover video reaching the 100,000 view mark.

Over the last few years, he has commissioned work that has been recorded and performed by multiple churches. He currently directs music at Hawfields Presbyterian Church in Mebane for their Saturday night service. 

Meet our staff - Mrs. Karen Mudd, Office Assistant

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest staff member, Mrs. Karen Mudd.

Karen Mudd earned a Bachelors of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Marketing from Loyola College in Baltimore. After working in the corporate world in both Maryland and North Carolina, Mrs. Mudd transitioned into being a stay-at-home mom of three wonderful children and professional volunteer. Mrs. Mudd volunteered with RTHS during the inaugural year doing a potpourri of tasks and projects.  She was in charge of organizing and coordinating the school-wide outing to As You Like It and the spring Flex days. She is looking forward to working with the students, staff, and parents of RTHS.

Meet our faculty - Ms. Jessica Warren, Art

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Ms. Jessica Warren. 

Jessica C. Warren is an arts educator and arts programs director with more than 15 years of experience cultivating the creative process of individuals.  She earned her B.F.A in Visual Art and B. S in Art Education from Western Carolina University and started her teaching career teaching high school in Boston, Massachusetts before coming to North Carolina. Ms. Warren taught at Raleigh Charter High School from 2003-2008.  

In 2003, she became the Alamance County Arts Council’s Program Director planning the programming that the Arts Council provides to the community, including a highly competitive NEA grant to bring arts educational programming to the county.  She put on major exhibition events such as Willow Walk Holiday Invitational (a biannual sculpture show with over 100 artists participating), as well as the Wooten Family Foundation Exhibitions. In 2011, she helped bring  to Alamance County the world-renowned J. Seward Johnson, Jr.'s trompe l'oeil painted bronze statues. 

For the last two years she has developed and taught a curriculum for an entirely digital art program at a New Tech Network school. Ms. Warren received her M.F.A in Visual Arts from Vermont College in 2004.  The M.F.A in Visual Arts program was one which empowered her to create and sustain vital and generative practices. The program’s precedent-setting pedagogy is based on the understanding that art does not exist in a void but within a social context, and that process is part of the product.  It is with the experiences from this program that Ms. Warren continues to be a showing and practicing artist.

Meet our faculty - Mrs. Traci Barger, History

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mrs. Traci Barger.

Traci Barger is joining RTHS from Orange County Schools in Hillsborough, NC.  Mrs. Barger is originally from Asheville, NC but moved to the Triangle area eight years ago.

Mrs. Barger is a certified middle school and high school social studies teacher with a Bachelor of Science Degree, summa cum laude, in History Education from Appalachian State University. She is also a graduate of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program and holds National Board certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Social Studies.

Mrs. Barger has spent the past six years teaching middle grades social studies and English language arts at C.W. Stanford Middle School in Orange County. She has twenty years' experience teaching both middle and high school and is excited to be joining the staff at RTHS.

Meet our faculty - Mr. Paul Wiedmer, World Languages

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mr. Paul Wiedmer. 

Paul Wiedmer was born in Switzerland to a Swiss father and an American mother.  He is a bilingual German and English speaker, as well as being a citizen of both Switzerland and America.  By his teens, Mr. Wiedmer had also acquired French and Spanish. After moving to the United States, he studied languages at NC State University and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Spanish. He holds a teaching license for the state of North Carolina for both Spanish and French, and was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.

After teaching French and Spanish at Broughton High School in Raleigh for a year, he was accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill to attend graduate school in Spanish Language and Literature with a full scholarship.  After attending UNC, he joined the faculty at NC State as lecturer in Spanish and has taught there for nine years.

Mr. Wiedmer now joins RTHS as a part-time World Language faculty in search of new opportunities.  He will teach Spanish and is designing the new German language program.

Meet our faculty - Mrs. Lisa Austin, Math

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mrs. Lisa Austin.

Lisa Austin is a graduate of the University of Rochester in New York where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. As an engineer, Mrs. Austin worked on Air Force and Navy aircraft for Grumman Aerospace in New York and Florida. She also worked as a design engineer on cryogenic vessels in support of the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center and breathing apparatuses for a home healthcare company in Florida. It was at the Kennedy Space Center that Mrs. Austin joined the corporate-education partnership and started tutoring math and judging science fairs at the local schools. Mrs. Austin has been tutoring high school students in Algebra I and II; Math 1, 2, and 3; Geometry; Pre-Calculus, and Calculus for many years. 

Mrs. Austin left the engineering field to pursue her passion for math and love of teaching.  She has taught middle grades math for the past six years, including Common Core Math 1.  Her engineering experience will be a great complement to her teaching at RTHS.  Mrs. Austin is certified in North Carolina and holds a Lateral Entry Teaching License.

Meet our faculty - Ms. Jessica Bonner, Math

We are excited to share with you a little bit about our newest faculty member, Ms. Jessica Bonner.

Jessica Bonner is a graduate of the Mississippi University for Women. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with Teacher Certification and a minor in Business Administration. She is certified to teach grades six through twelve in the state of North Carolina, as well as grades seven through twelve in the state of Mississippi. She was one of ten 2013 Mississippi Professional Educator Student Interns of the year. 

Ms. Bonner’s extensive internships and experience include teaching Pre-Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Algebra III, and Pre-Calculus as both inclusion and honors courses. She is a strong believer that instilling a love and understanding of mathematics in students can create endless opportunities for a young adult’s career path. 

Meet our faculty - Mrs. Norma Pedersen, Chemistry

We are excited to share a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mrs. Norma Pedersen.

Norma Pedersen earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Capital University in 1987 and her M.S. degree in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University in 1993. Her research focused on hormone regulation of gene expression and she has published two peer-reviewed articles. She was awarded the Samuel B. Tove Award for Teaching in Biochemistry in 1991.

Since 1993, Mrs. Pedersen has taught science to students of all ages. She taught Chemistry and Organic Chemistry at Wake Technical Community College and NC State University for over six years. She then moved to St. Timothy’s School in Raleigh, where she taught science enrichment to all of the elementary students and Physical Science to the middle school students. In 2007, she moved to St. David’s School in Raleigh, where she taught Chemistry, Honors Chemistry and AP Chemistry. She served as Science Department Chair and Faculty Advisor to the Honor Council and also coached the Brain Game team.

Meet our faculty - Mrs. Jessica Fager, Guidance Counselor

We are excited to share with you a little bit about our newest faculty member, Mrs. Jessica Fager. 

Jessica Fager earned her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience with honors from the Ohio State University in 2009. While at Ohio State, Mrs. Fager worked for three years in the Office of Admissions, helping high school students navigate the college application process. She also volunteered at the Student Wellness Center, assisted in a research lab, and was a member of the First Year Connections team helping new students transition to college life.

Mrs. Fager enjoyed her work with the Office of Admissions so much that she went on to receive her M.S. in School Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011. While earning her masters, she interned at Northwest High School in Guilford County. Mrs. Fager was also the Substance Abuse Information Program Coordinator and provided information about substance abuse as well as counseling to UNCG students.

For the past two years, Mrs. Fager has worked supporting students at Culbreth Middle School in Chapel Hill. She is excited to work with the students and staff of RTHS!

Meet our faculty - Mrs. Leatha Fields-Carey, Associate School Officer and English Teacher

We are excited to share with you a little bit about our newest faculty member, Ms. Leatha Fields-Carey.  

Mrs. Fields-Carey, a member of the first group of North Carolina Teaching Fellows, earned a B.S. in English/Secondary Education from Appalachian State University and graduated summa cum laude from Campbell University with an M.Ed in English/ Secondary Education. 

A National Board Certified teacher in English Language Arts, she previously taught with Johnston County Schools for twenty years, serving as English department chair, Peer Coaching coordinator, mentor coordinator, School Improvement Team chair, SACS accreditation team chair, and testing coordinator.  She was a semifinalist for Johnston County's Teacher of the Year in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2009. 

In addition to high school teaching, Mrs. Fields-Carey has also trained lateral entry teachers through East Carolina University's Project ACT program and currently teaches part-time at Campbell University.  Mrs. Fields-Carey has taught Standard, Honors, and Sheltered English I, Standard and Honors English II, Standard and Honors English III, English IV, and Creative Writing.  An avid writer herself, Mrs. Fields-Carey has contributed to the UNLV's Word River literary review and the website 1More Film Blog, as well as co-authoring a chapter of Cambridge University Press' Linguistics at School (2010).