Academics

Joy Bacon

Joy Bacon came to BSA in 2012 from elsewhere in City Schools. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in English and Journalism from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, an MAT from Johns Hopkins University, and a graduate certificate in administration from Towson University. She has supported teachers in professional learning through programs with Teach for America, the National Endowment for the Humanities, College Board, and the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies (ICJS). You can also find her in an independent bookstore or on a good hiking trail.

Jennifer Becker

Jennifer Becker joined the Baltimore School for the Arts family last year after 17 years as a teacher in Baltimore City Schools. She has her BFA  from Virginia Commonwealth University and her MFA from University of Maryland College Park. She is passionate about teaching coding  especially to the creative students at BSA and loves seeing the amazing projects they come up with.

Gerad Bandos

Gerad Bandos joined the Baltimore School for the Arts family in 2017, after four years teaching in Howard County, Michigan, and Ohio. He is passionate about science and committed to helping children move forward in life. Bandos received his bachelor’s degree in science education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He focuses on making scientifically literate citizens and artists, and dabbles personally in art, whether building his own furniture or introducing his own children to music.

Megan Bremer

Megan Bremer has split her professional career between human rights advocacy and classroom teaching. Her teaching career began in a high school in Boston, but soon led her to non-traditional venues. She taught “know your rights” workshops to detainees and psychiatric patients in federal and state custody, and taught undergrads how to interview survivors of torture and conduct human rights research. For more than a decade, she worked outside of the classroom as an advocate, including her work as a legal services attorney representing non-citizens in immigration detention.  She also briefly served as a Child Protection Consultant with UNICEF in conflict and post-conflict zones before returning to the classroom. A graduate of McGill University, Bremer holds a juris doctor/master of public health joint degree from Northeastern University School of Law and Tufts University as well as a master of education degree from Harvard University.

Carissa Fleck

Carissa came to BSA in 2022 after 9 years working in Baltimore City and County schools. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Studies and Secondary Education from Boston College and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction (ESOL) from Loyola University.

Jodi Fetterolf

Jodi Fetterolf joined the BSA English Department in 2023, after 17 years in other schools across Maryland, India, and Vietnam,. She moved to Maryland to teach after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in English Education.

Jodi achieved National Board Certification in 2011 and was selected to participate in the Educational Seminar in India through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2013. During her seven years living in teaching in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she completed a Masters through Endicott College in International Education with a focus on Teaching English as an Additional Language.

She loves reading as books have always provided opportunities to expand her worldview and bear witness to the lives and truths of others.

Damien Ford

Meg Grouzard

Meg Grouzard has been teaching at Baltimore School for the Arts since 2011 and has been teaching in Baltimore City Public Schools since 2005. Originally from Colorado, Grouzard moved to Baltimore after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor degree in history and political science. While teaching in Baltimore, she also earned her master’s in teaching from the Johns Hopkins University. Since working at BSA, Grouzard has also earned her National Board for Professional Teaching Certification, Special Education Certification, and Model Teacher status for the district.

Danee Jackson

Shameka Jackson

Darryl Johnson

Officer Johnson makes sure that all of our BSA students are safe. He’s here during regular school hours, as well as special events. He’s the welcoming face in the front lobby and outside.

Valerie Johnson

Valerie Johnson has been an educator in the Baltimore City Public Schools since 2005. She has served as a middle and high school social studies teacher, instructional coach, and advocate for civics education. She received National Board Certification in 2010. In 2014, she spent the year teaching English in Chiang Mai, Thailand and has been teaching at BSA since her return. She has a bachelor’s degree in History and Women’s Studies from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s degree in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. She is a mentor teacher with the Center for Civic Education and a professional development leader for City Schools.

Anne Laro

Anne Laro earned her bachelor of science and master of science degrees from Towson University and received a certificate from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. She entered the Baltimore City Public School system in 2008. Since then, she has worked to lead the way to develop and present “the student-led/driven IEP.” Another area of particular interest is delivering accommodations in performing and visual arts. Prior to entering the Baltimore City Public School system, she taught for nine years in Maryland non-public special education schools. Laro is also currently the coordinator of music programs at Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she also teaches applied oboe, various music history courses, and chamber ensemble. An oboist, she enjoys spending her free time performing in the United States and abroad.

Meredith Simmons

Meredith Simmons has served as the BSA school librarian since 2022. With over two decades of experience in education, she has taught students ranging from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Meredith holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Outside of her work of assisting students with research and reading, she also enjoys spending her free time riding her horse, a rescued thoroughbred.

Erica McLaurin

Erica Tolentino

Erica Patterson began teaching at in Baltimore City in 2006 and began teaching at Baltimore School for the Arts in 2012. Originally from Michigan, Patterson moved to Baltimore after graduating from the University of Dayton with a B.S. in education and allied professions (physical education). While teaching in Baltimore, she also earned her master’s of education in educational leadership from Loyola University of Maryland.

Frank Roblin

Frank Roblin joined Baltimore School for the Arts in 2018 after teaching mathematics the previous 14 years in other Baltimore County and City high schools and at the community college level. He earned a B.S. in applied mathematics in 2003 and an M.A.T. in secondary education mathematics in 2005, both from Towson University.

Alicia Tatum

Maria Tronolone

Maria Tronolone joined the BSA community in 2018 after teaching in other district high schools and at the university level. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duquesne University, a master’s in teaching from Johns Hopkins University, and a certificate in administrative leadership from Towson University. She plans to pursue an Ed.D in the near future. She has spent time as an instruction coach for City Schools, but is overjoyed to be back in the classroom sharing her love for mathematics with her students.

Thomas Ventimiglia

Thomas Ventimglia teaches Screenwriting for the Charles C. Baum Film & Visual Storytelling Department and English for the Academic Department. He is a graduate of New York University, Johns Hopkins University, and Queens College, City University of New York. In 2014, he co-directed The Founders, a documentary about the founding of The Baltimore School for the Arts. In 2017, his feature screenplay When We Fall earned a development grant from the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, where he is a fellow. His fiction has appeared in magazines such as The Baltimore Review and The Potomac Review. Currently, he is completing Turf Valley, a comedic web series about dads.

Abby Warren ’92

Abby Warren graduated from the school’s Theatre Department in 1992, and has served on Baltimore School for the Arts’ counseling staff since 2008. Previously, Warren was a domestic violence counselor for Queen’s Legal Service, served as a child advocate for the Children’s Safety Project in Manhattan, and also worked as a school counselor for the New York City Public Schools. After graduating from BSA (Class of 1992, Theatre), Warren received her B.A. and M.S.W. from New York University, and also attended Columbia University School of Nursing. She has a master’s degree in counseling education from McDaniel College.