Administration, New Hope International High School, New Hope Academy & Pre-school

New Hope Administration

	Joy Morrow Principal Joy Morrow is the school's principal and president of the NHA board of directors. Her academic background in psychology and in social work informed her practical experience with group homes for delinquent teenagers as well as her extensive work with preschools. In 1990, she co-founded NHA with a group of like-minded parents and has served as principal since. Mrs. Morrow wants to help create "a school community transcending religious, cultural, and racial barriers, where families with shared common values can support each other to raise moral children. This involves big challenges but also big opportunities." Her straightforward style, especially with teenagers, helps them stay on track or get back on track. She's good at helping people see a vision of what's possible, and helping children see what they're capable of, moving in the direction of their dreams. "When I'm working with a class of students I try to make sure no one falls through the cracks," said Mrs. Morrow. "My goal is to work with each child." Her personal approach finds especially satisfying those times when she can really connect with a student in a moment of discovery.
	Marilyn Cohen Education Director, School Counselor Marilyn Cohen teaches Algebra 1 and Geometry, but her main roles at the school are as education director and as school counselor. This Baltimore native has her Master's degree in school counseling from the University of Maryland. She has been with NHA since 1993. She has had many years of experience counseling children of all ages, including three years in Liberia, and six years in Russia at diplomatic schools. Mrs. Cohen has published articles: "Roots of Sibling Rivalry" and "Instilling Respect in Children" in Jones, F. & Jones, B. (1997) Raising Children of Peace, a book on parenting and families. She facilitates meetings between parents and administration to deal with the student's individual needs and/or issues. She also provides academic advice and college planning for students.
	Janelle Hartley Office Manager, Registrar Janelle Hartley is the "hub" of New Hope Academy. A native of Guyana, raised in Brooklyn, NY, and married to a Jamaican, her multi-cultural background and family exemplify NHA's diverse school culture. She attended Pace University to pursue accounting and spent the majority of her career working for financial institutions. This allowed her to develop her strengths in management and customer service while fostering her desire to help those in need. "Mrs. Janelle" joined the school in 2006, along with her son, after transitioning her family to Maryland. "To be in a state without any relatives nearby is difficult," she said, "especially when you have a child. However, being at New Hope fills that void and has helped instilled rare qualities in my son that are hard to find in today's society: respect, unity, ambition, and compassion. Everyone here is our extended family and has treated us as such." Mrs. Janelle wears many hats at NHA. She is the office manager, registrar, medication technician, international student representative, host family contact, and more. She is always willing to answer any questions or provide assistance when needed. If she doesn't have the answer, she will find it!
	Laurie Toker Business Manager Laurie Toker teaches advanced math courses (Trigonometry and Pre-calculus) as well as AP Calculus AB in addition to her primary responsibility as Business Manager for NHA since 1995. Born in Rochester, NY, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Rochester. She is a National Merit Scholar and part of Phi Betta Kappa National Honors Society. She has always had a passion for math, taking an additional 20 credits of advanced math courses, mostly because, as she says, "math is fun." Mrs. Toker has taught every level of math from algebra 1 to AP Calculus using the Saxon math curriculum. She deeply appreciates the Saxon approach where topics are interwoven rather than being relegated to one unit and then forgotten. Students return to the same topic, each time being challenged to raise their understanding to a new level or to extend their knowledge by applying what they already know in a new way. In the end, they achieve mastery.

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