Meet
Meet
Stefanie Dreizen is an educator with 30 years of experience as a middle and high school English, Social Studies, and Humanities teacher, including at the Middle School International Baccalaureate Program at Lincoln Elementary School in Chicago. In addition to her broad classroom experience, Stefanie spent five years as a high school instructional coach in Washington, D.C., where she trained teachers and administrators on high-impact instructional practices and engaging technology, developed online literacy resources to enhance the existing curriculum, implemented a comprehensive writing program and led college/scholarship essay workshops for high school seniors.
At the start of the summer of 2020, Stefanie integrated her instructional and educational technology experience to co-found A Bridge to Fall, an online summer enrichment program to prepare students for the upcoming academic year. In 2022, Stefanie returned to her favorite city, Chicago, and founded Level Up Education. At the core of both Level Up Education and A Bridge to Fall is the belief that learning, whether in person or online, can be rigorous, meaningful, and, most importantly, engaging.
In her free time, Stefanie loves traveling, watching movies, volunteering for local animal rescues, and spending time with her sassy 13-year-old Shih Tzu, Charlotte. Stefanie earned her B.A. in Journalism from New York University and her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Gregory Thompson is a native of the Chicagoland area. As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), he received his Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism. He later earned his Master’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction from UIUC. In 2017, he gained his Illinois Middle School endorsement along with an endorsement in English Language Arts and Social Studies.
For the past 22 years, he has taught fourth grade, coached award-winning debates team, and is currently teaching 8th grade ELA and U.S. History at the Lincoln Elementary Pre-International Baccalaureate Program in Chicago.
In addition to teaching full-time, coaching debate, and serving on the Local School Council as a teacher representative, he is also a private math and study-skills tutor for students in grades 3-6th. In his spare time, Greg Thompson gives back by mentoring young adults through their high school and college careers.
When he is not teaching, tutoring, or mentoring, Greg enjoys running, biking, reading anything published by Toni Morrison, and listening to a variety of music ranging from Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin to the Afro-Cuban All-Stars.
William McMurtrey has been in education for more than twenty years, fourteen of which were with Milwaukee Public Schools. While in Milwaukee, he taught Middle School English Language Arts and Social Studies. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Alverno College in Milwaukee. Currently, William McMurtrey teaches World History 1 and 2 for the District of Columbia Public Schools. He has a Master’s in History from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Concordia University of Wisconsin. Outside of work he loves traveling, he has been to five continents and he loves live music.
Sarah Elias is a French literature teacher who lives in the East of France. She studied during five years in Metz where she obtained a Bachelor as well as a Master diploma in Modern French Literature.
After she got the CAPES, the Certificate of Aptitude for Secondary School Teachers, she taught for one year in Talange in a middle school, before she decided to move to Luxembourg in order to live in an international environment.
Since 2018, she has taught at the International School of Luxembourg, a middle/high school which welcomes students of 80 nationalities, grades 14-20 years old, into the heart of Luxembourg.
Every day, she encourages her students to discover the beauty of French literature from Middle Age until 21st century as well as improving their writing and ability to think critically.
Sarah believes that teaching is a mission, especially in these uncertain times. She truly believes that education can make a better world. When she isn’t teaching, Sarah likes spending time preparing French pastries and playing the guitar.
Cheron started her education career in 2006 as a founding kindergarten and 1st-grade teacher at Septima Clark Public Charter School for Boys in Washington, D.C. She then served as their Dean of Students before working as a teacher and administrator for the District of Columbia Public Schools.
In 2019, Cherron relocated to New York City, where she is the Community School Director at the Bronx Career and College Preparatory. As a consultant for Level Up Education, Cheron helps students to map out their post-secondary plans. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Howard University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Trinity University in Washington D.C.
Michelle Thompson, a Chicago native, began her professional writing, editing, and consulting career immediately upon graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1998. She started as a writer, editor, and contributor at CCH, Inc., a Wolters Kluwer business and leading provider of customer-focused tax, accounting and audit information, software and services for professionals in accounting firms and corporations. Later, Ms. Thompson would serve as Senior Operations Consultant for Francorp®, an international management consulting firm specializing in franchise development.
With over twenty years of experience, Ms. Thompson is an independent writer, editor, and business consultant. She performs operations consulting, editing, ghostwriting, and co-authoring services for a wide range of authors and other professionals. Most notably, she co-authored the authorized biography of legendary
trial attorney James D. Montgomery, Sr., “Full Circle – Race, Law & Justice: Inside My Life: Attorney James D. Montgomery, Sr.” and served as developmental editor for Dr. Elisa P. Bell’s book, “Are You Culturally Competent? Clinicians Discuss the Relevance of Cultural Competency in Their Practices.”
Personalized Tutoring and Academic Coaching Virtually and In-Person (Chicago) for Grades 4-12.