Institute Fellows

Dr. Peggy Pelonis

Dr. Peggy Pelonis was raised in Los Angeles, California. She has earned a Doctorate degree in Education from the University Of Bath, UK, an M.Sc. degree in Counseling and School Psychology from California State University, Fullerton (where she also received two awards for Outstanding Student and Outstanding Researcher), an Executive M.B.A. from the University of Indianapolis, and a B.S. in English Literature and Psychology from the American College of Greece.

Dr. Pelonis is a Licensed Psychotherapist and Certified School Counselor in the State of California and holds school leadership certification from the Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Education. She is a National Certified Psychologist and holds a diploma in Clinical Hypnosis. Dr. Pelonis was on the staff of Cal State University Fullerton as well as the University of LaVerne teaching in the Master’s Psychology programs, she was on the staff of the Adlerian Training Institute, USA and is currently on the staff of ICASSI (International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes). She is Chair of the Special Interest Group of the European Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS) and works with Middle States Association (MSA) as a leader for school accreditation.

An active leadership and personal and professional growth coach and trainer and a facilitator of school leadership and transformation, Dr. Pelonis conducts workshops in Europe, the Middle East, and the USA. Her work with educators and professionals across the globe focuses on initiating and navigating Change and she is a frequent lecturer at conferences as well as an invited speaker on various TV and radio programs. Her work on Coping with Change, Resilience as well as on Leadership in Education and Educational Transformation has been cited in journals, magazines, and books. She is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and magazine & newspaper articles, as well as three books: *”Resilience and the Internationally Mobile Family; Navigating Changes and Transitions”, *”Change in the journey of life” and “Υπάρχω Αλλάζω” (I Exist, I Change). Her Doctoral work involved international schools from around the world examining the views of Heads of Schools and Principals regarding professional development in such schools. Published articles include:* An International Perspective of Academic Leadership, * Providing Exceptional Educational Experiences to Students with Financial Need; A Modern Challenge for International K-12 Schools, * Leading Educational Change to Transform the Community, * Modeling 21 st Century Education with Intentional Excellence, *Can Good Citizenship be Taught? * Metamorphosis; A Collaborative Leadership Model to Promote Educational Change.

Dr. Andreas Tsokos

Dr. Andreas Tsokos is the director of the IB and AP programs and Division Chair of Mathematics.
Dr. Tsokos was born in Cyprus. He attended the University of Birmingham in the U.K with a full scholarship and was awarded a double Honors degree in Physics and Mathematics. At Birmingham, he received the Nora Calderwood Prize for the highest achievement in the final examinations. He obtained a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in the USA.

Dr. Tsokos has served as Assistant, Deputy, and Chief Examiner for IB Physics. He is the author of Physics for the IB Diploma, Series and Differential Equations, IB Physics in a nutshell, and about 20 research papers dealing, mainly, with Quantum Chromodynamics. In one paper he showed how the high-temperature limit of chiral gauge theories leads to the appearance of topological mass terms for the associated gauge fields. His main interests are Physics, Mathematics, and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

He has been a faculty of ACS Athens since 1995.

Dr. Evelyn Toumpakari

Dr. Toumpakari was born and raised in Athens and attended the University of Athens where she studied Mathematics. She obtained an M.Sc. in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago on a full scholarship from the University while being an honorary scholar of the Onassis Foundation.

Dr. Toumpakari has made presentations at several mathematics conferences in the US. Recently she presented at the 1st Congress of Greek Mathematicians on a statistical project she participated in at the Childhood Cancer Research Group at Oxford. Her teaching experience includes a variety of undergraduate classes at the University of Chicago, mentoring gifted teenagers at a math-themed summer camp, and teaching underprivileged students in the Chicago Public Schools as well as teaching A-levels in the UK. Since June 2019 she has been a Senior Fellow of the Institute at ACS Athens.

Dr. Toumpakari has been a teacher of mathematics at ACS Athens since 2012 and this year is teaching IB Higher Level Math Applications and Interpretation and Pre-Calculus.

Natasha Stratoglou

Ms. Natasha Stratoglou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She holds a B.A. in French Literature from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an M.Sc. in Management of Cultural Institutions from the Greek Open University. Postgraduate work also includes studies in Human Development at the University of La Verne, Athens, Writing Across the Curriculum at the University of Berkeley (extension), Education at the University of Athens. She has been at ACS Athens since 1990, where she has taught in all three education levels all levels, French and Greek. She has served as Foreign Language Coordinator in the Middle School, Middle School Yearbook Advisor, French Trip advisor, French Club and Greek Club advisor, and Cairo Exchange advisor.

She is a member of the Greek Applied Linguistics Association. She has attended IB Middle Years Program conferences in Athens and Istanbul, several Learning Differences Conferences, and two NESA conferences held at Athens. She has presented her work in two conferences for graduate students of Museum Studies organized by the University of Athens, Museum Research section.

She is currently attending a course in “Teaching Greek as a second and foreign language” in the Aegean University.

Through her experience and knowledge, she supports, encourages, and inspires children. She is an enthusiastic, motivating teacher that creates diverse, exciting, and provoking challenges to promote learning.

MaryAnn Augoustatos

MaryAnn Augoustatos is an educator. Her field of specialty is high school mathematics and international school administration. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, and being of Greek descent she has spent 33 years as an educator at the American Community Schools of Athens Greece ( ACS Athens). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Masters of Arts in Education. She is a certified International School Administrator and has received her secondary mathematics teaching certification from the State of New York.

She is currently the Director of the Learning Commons at ACS Athens, an entity in our school that she was instrumental in co-establishing. The Learning Commons is the center of student and faculty collaboration, learning, research, and knowledge construction at ACS Athens. This learning space provides our students and faculty with state of the art facilities, such as a media studio, a math and science studio, a writing/research studio, an incubator of students’ creative ideas, an Artificial Intelligence lab, and more. These spaces are staffed with professionals having expertise in the fields of Mathematics, all Sciences, Writing, Research, Literacy, STEAM education, and Media. Students and faculty function as architects of their own learning as they pursue their intellectual curiosities. The Learning Commons is commonly referred to as the heartbeat of education at ACS Athens.

Prior to being a Director of the learning Commons, she spent almost a decade as a Middle School principal at ACS Athens and almost two decades as mathematics department chair.

Upon entering ACS Athens she taught mathematics for 20 years and spent 16 years of her instructional career as the Mathematics Department Chair having created the position of Elementary School Math Specialist and the ACS Athens Mathematics Competition as a few of her highlights. Her teaching experience consists of High School Mathematics courses throughout all academic levels with an emphasis on IB and Honors level courses. Two years prior to becoming Principal, she assumed the position of JK-12 Technology Department Chair concurrently. During her principalship, she began a completed and full curriculum review process for all courses school-wide at ACS Athens.

Additionally, Ms. Augoustatos is a chair of the Middle States Association. She has been on multiple team visits as a team member and chair serving the Committee of Institution-wide Accreditation of the Middle School Association of Colleges and School (MSA) in the Middle East and Europe. At ACS Athens she is currently chairing the re-accreditation process school-wide through MSA’s sustaining excellence protocol.

Amalia Zavacopoulou

Ms. Zavacopoulou was born in London, but was raised in Athens and attended a British international school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Social and Political Studies, a four-year course with majors in History, French and Italian from University College London, and a Masters degree in Journalism from University of Westminster, London.

A qualified secondary school teacher, she taught French and Spanish in an inner city London school through Teach First, a ground-breaking graduate training program that combines two years teaching in challenging London schools with business and leadership training. She also worked as a substitute teacher in over 20 different London schools in long-term and short-term placements for a further two years.

She joined the ACS Athens team in 2010 and started working in the Writing Center, where she helped and advised students on a variety of written assignments. She has since been involved in many aspects of school life: she coaches the ACS Athens Academy debate team, has participated in the Mentorship Program and has co-presented a workshop at the NESA Conference. In 2016 she co-presented a paper at the ICODL Conference and also co-authored an article, “Humanities Program: An Innovative Classic,” that was published in the book Revolutionizing K – 12 Blended Learning Through the i2Flex Classroom Model. This year she is teaching IB TOK Senior Seminar, team-teaching Humanities and Grade 9 Europe and the World, as well as serving as Division Chair for Humanities and Physical Education.

Dr. Liana Tsigaridi

Dr. Liana Tsigaridi holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics, from the University of Patras, with the highest grade of the graduation year and award from the State Scholarships Foundation, an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics, from the Technical University of Athens, a second M.Sc. in Astrophysics, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Applied Mathematics, from the NKUA, in the field of Galactic Dynamics on a full scholarship from the Leventis Foundation.

Dr. Tsigaridi has participated in many Research Programs funded by the Academy of Athens in collaboration with the Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (RCAAM), with publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presence in numerous conferences. She has also participated as a visiting researcher in the project “Galactic Potential Extraction” at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich, Germany.

Dr. Tsigaridi has been teaching Mathematics for over 14 years. This is her fourth year at ACS Athens. The last three years she has taught Geometry with Algebraic Topics Regular/Honors, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Regular/Honors, IB Mathematical Studies, IB Mathematics AA SL Year 1 and also had the position of the Math/Science Studio Coordinator. This year she will be teaching IB2 SL Mathematics AA, Geometry with Algebraic Topics and Heart of Mathematics in the Academy. Dr. Tsigaridi will also serve as Fellow of the Institute of ACS Athens.

In parallel with her academic studies Dr. Tsigaridi has also completed degrees in Music and Dance. She plays the Piano and the Viola and has been a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Athens since 1991. She is also a member of the Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Julia Tokatlidou

Ms. Tokatlidou completed her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the School of Law and Economics at the Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki in 1981. She continued her studies in Toronto, Canada, where she completed her Master of Arts in Economics and all but the thesis requirement for the Ph.D. program in Economics. In 2013 she received her M.B.A from the University of Indianapolis as well as her Certificate for International School Leadership.

Ms. Tokatlidou has been a member of the ACS Athens community since 2005. Initially, faculty member teaching IB Economics, followed by eleven years the Director of the IB program and since September 2010, the Director of the IB and AP programs. In 2014 she became Vice Principal of the Academy and has been closely involved in the development of the Virtual School.

For more than a decade, Ms. Tokatlidou has worked along with the IB Diploma and AP Faculty in expanding and enhancing the IB and AP programs at ACS Athens. Curriculum and professional development of faculty where central tasks in achieving the goals and making the IB Diploma program one of the best programs in Greece and the world as is evident by student learning and performance outcomes.

Julia Tokatlidou currently leads The ACS Athens Virtual School working with faculty in developing and adapting curriculum for Online High school courses. The project placed ACS Athens amongst the leading schools that incorporate and effectively apply educational technology to address different types of learners and offer an extended variety of courses.

Further, Ms. Tokatlidou believes in learning and citizenship development through service and innovative projects as well as in personal growth through education. She spearheaded the ACS Athens Youth to Youth Educational and Social Integration Program addressing the social and educational needs of unaccompanied minors in Athens through a student-to- student partnership learning model since January 2017. The program now includes the Part-time Youth-to-Youth and Business-to-Youth programs that run on Saturdays which involve numerous student and faculty volunteers, and the full-time Youth-to-Youth program for 18 unaccompanied minors which is now in its second academic year.

Ms. Tokatlidou, as an educator, strives for life-long learning unconfined by physical proximity, to promote global citizenship, effective risk-taking, and ethical decision making. She has led various workshops and has published in numerous scientific journals.

Dr. Evangelos Syropoulos

Dr. Evangelos Syropoulos holds a BA in English Language and Literature (1995), an MA in English Literature and Culture (1999), and a PhD in Musical Theatre (2008) from the School of English of Aristotle University, Greece. He conducted postdoctoral research and/ or taught drama/ theatre courses at Aristotle University, Ghent University (Belgium), and Goldsmiths College (University of London). His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals in Greece, Belgium, and the UK. He is also a College Board-certified AP Capstone teacher, receiving his training at McBride High School, Long Beach CA, in 2017.

This is his fifth year at ACS Athens. For the last four years, he worked as Writing/ Research Studio Coordinator and additionally taught IB English A: Literature, IB English A: Language and Literature, IB Theory of Knowledge Senior Seminar, and Film Writing/ Production. He also co-coached the ACS Athens Academy Duet Acting team for the Panhellenic Forensics Association Tournament and participated in the Mentor Program and the New Colleagues Mentor Program.

This year, he teaches IB English A: Literature Year 1 and Year 2 and IB English A: Language and Literature Year 1 and Year 2.

Dr. Syropoulos also joined the ACS Athens Institute as Fellow, designing and teaching an online course in English Literature for ACS Athens Virtual.

Dr. Aggeliki Stamati

Dr. Angeliki Stamati is faculty of Academy Mathematics and also a teaching fellow in the Institute of ACS Athens. She holds the following degrees:

• Ph.D. in Mathematics, Department of Mathematics (2011), School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens Diploma – School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technological University of Athens. In the field of Systems Theory.
• MSc in Mathematics – Postgraduate Program “Applied Mathematical Sciences” (2006), National Technical University of Athens, School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, and Marine Engineering
• Diploma – School of Applied Mathematics & Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens.

Dr. Stamati earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees while completing the accelerated program in Applied Mathematics and Studies of Science from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. She then went on to complete a second Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics, majoring in Mathematical Analysis. Having identified a distinct passion in her field, Dr. Stamati successfully earned her Ph.D. in Systems Theory from the National Technical University of Athens on a full scholarship from the Papakyriakopoulos Foundation. She has published numerous articles in academic journals such as IEEE, Transactions on Automatic Control, International Schools Journal, and many more. During her Doctoral Dissertation, she lectured in various schools, such as:

• the School of Applied Mathematics and Studies of Science of the National Technical University of Athens and
• the School of Technical Education of Engineering Officers of the Hellenic Army.

After attaining her Ph.D., Dr. Stamati worked:

• as a visiting professor in the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, at the Department of Economics,
• as a Scientific Associate in the Technological Institute of Piraeus,
• and as an Instructor in the School of Greek Navy cadets.

She has taught Calculus, MATH 100, Linear Algebra, Optimal Control, Higher Mathematics, and Programming Software such as MatLab and Mathematica. She has also participated in research programs focused on the design, development, and implementation of mathematical algorithms. Dr. Stamati started working at ACS in 2014. Since then she has taught various courses such as: Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Honors, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Regular, Algebra 1, Intro to Computer Science, and Science.

Dr. Stamati will be teaching this year IB1 Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL, Algebra 2, and Trigonometry Honors and Geometry with Algebraic Topics Honors. She is enthusiastic and eager to share her love of mathematics, and she aims to transfer this enthusiasm to her students on a daily basis.

Her motto is “The only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics” – Paul Halmos.

email: stamatia@acs.gr

Dr. Elina Prodromidi

Dr. Prodromidi earned a B.Sc. in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Essex, UK. She then continued her graduate studies at Imperial College London, UK, where she obtained a M.Sc. in Immunology and a Ph.D. with a full scholarship in Renal Medicine and Stem Cell Biology. She has worked in research and her scientific work has been presented in conferences world-wide, and has been acknowledged numerous times with international awards, such as the Best New Scientist (2006, UK). She has also published articles in scientific journals and co-authored books.

After the completion of her post-graduate studies and since her return in Greece, Dr. Prodromidi has worked both as a research scientist and an educator. To her, teaching means inspiration, creativity, and even challenge to pass on knowledge and ethos to every student. Her teaching experience ranges from middle school students through university students. Recently, she co-authored the book entitled “Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2Flex Classroom Model” contributing to this novel pedagogical approach introduced by ACS Athens.

Chris Perakis

Ms. Perakis was raised in Newport, Rhode Island. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Elementary and Special Education from Salve Regina College and a Masters of Arts in Special Education from Lesley College. She is currently working on a post graduate degree on Improving Student Learning and Quality of Teaching in International Schools from Buffalo State SUNY University. Ms. Perakis holds several teaching certificates including certificates for teaching students with mild-moderate-severe learning differences and handicaps.

For the past ten years, she has co organized the ACS Athens Annual Learning Differences Conferences, a continuing effort to raise awareness on the subject of educating children with learning differences. Ms. Perakis has also served as a team member on the Committee of Institution-wide Accreditation of the Middle School Association of Colleges and School (MSA), and on the study and research group at John Hopkins University for bringing the CTY program to Greece.

Since 2010, Ms. Perakis has been selected to serve on The European Council of International Schools (ECIS) Special Education Needs (SEN) Committee. She is also the Vice President for the Professional Special Education Society in Greece, a founding member of the Hellenic Institute for Study and Research of Learning Disabilities and serving on the IB Special Education Needs (SEN) Committee, as well as, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Education committee for Learning Differences.

Dr. Ioannis Kerkines

Dr. Kerkines received his B.Sc. in Chemistry (1997) and his M.Sc.(1999) and Ph.D.(2003) in Physical Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) under the direction of Aristides Mavridis.

He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the NKUA (2004-2006) with Aristides Mavridis, at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA (2006-2008) with Keiji Morokuma, and at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (2008-2011, 2013-2015) with Ioannis Petsalakis and Nektarios Lathiotakis. His research focus has been the application of Quantum Chemistry to novel main-group and transition-metal chemistry, as well as to the study of the interaction of materials with light for modern energy applications.

Dr. Kerkines has been teaching Chemistry since 2000. Before joining the ACS family in 2017, he had worked in the private sector as a content creator for e-learning courses and phone support for students from 4th to 12th grade (Chemistry, Physics, Math, Geography, Biology) as well as in a tutoring center for Panhellenic examinations. He also worked as a quality control head in a cosmetics company, being responsible for ISO and ΕΟΦ accreditations. At ACS, he has taught IB Chemistry HL/SL and IB Environmental Systems & Societies SL. He is excited to bring to the classroom his mix of experiences.

Dr. Kerkines has been author or co-author of over 30 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented his work in scientific conferences in 12 countries. He has received scholarships from the Association of Hellenes from Egypt, the Hellenic State Scholarships Foundation, and the Marie Curie Foundation (twice). He is the recepient of the 2008 Atlanta Area Chemical Physics award for his postdoctoral research, and he has briefly worked at CERN (Switzerland) and Karlsruhe University (Germany) as a visiting scientist. A firm supporter of the communication of science to the public, he received the honor to give invited talks at the Athens Science Festival/Cafe Scientifique Athens (2016), as well as at the inaugural Pint of Science Greece (2018).

Dr. Kerkines was born and grew up near the center of Athens, Greece. In his spare time (which he has almost none), he enjoys lifting weights and engaging with website design and development.

Dr. Antonis Karampelas

Dr. Antonios Karampelas holds a B.Sc. in Physics, an M.Sc. in Astrophysics, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He has been a post-graduate researcher at NKUA and the National Observatory of Athens, and he has participated in European Space Agency’s (ESA) research programs in Astrophysics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning, mainly as a member of the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium of the Gaia Space Mission.

Dr. Karampelas has been in education since his early academic years teaching Science and Mathematics at all levels, and he is active in introducing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into K12. This is his fifth year at ACS Athens where he will be teaching high school Physics and S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) – a course developed by him, and will be serving as the Artificial Intelligence Framework Coordinator. Additionally, he will continue to lead the ACS Athens team of students and faculty who designed scientific experiments that were autonomously conducted in space inside the Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule (May & December 2019).

Dr. Antonios Karampelas is a co-author of more than 60 publications (peer-reviewed articles, contributions to conference proceedings, etc.), a reviewer of scientific and educational articles, a member of the International Astronomical Union, the International Astrostatistics Association, and the Hellenic Education Society of S.T.E.M., as well as a fellow of the Institute of ACS Athens.

Kathy Jasonides

Ms. Kathy Jasonides holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a member of the Academy faculty at the American Community Schools of Athens, Greece, since 1974.

Since retiring from full-time teaching in 2008, Ms. Jasonides has continued to team teach the Honors Humanities courses and also serves as Chair of the Division of Language and Literature. In addition to the two-year Honors Humanities program, Ms. Jasonides and her teaching partners have developed three additional online Humanities courses which offer the highlights of the program’s interdisciplinary approach, including the field study opportunities, to both ACS Athens and non-ACS Athens students who are not enrolled in the regular program.

She has co-authored articles on field study as a strategy for interdisciplinary study and has participated in presentations at NESA conferences and the ACS Athens Conferences on Learning Differences. She recently co-authored a chapter in the 2016 publication “Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Model.”

Dr. Likourgos Hristakos

Dr. Hristakos completed his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Lancaster in the UK. He then continued his graduate studies in experimental physics (M.S) at the University of New Hampshire in the USA. Following this he successfully defended his Ph.D. in experimental low temperature physics at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. Dr. Hristakos worked as a post-doc research scientist at the Centre des etudes atomiques in Saclay-France and at the University of Tuebingen in Germany.

He has taught IB physics at ACS for a decade and he has also worked as an AP physics teacher at the American School of Dubai. He is currently the Division Chair of Science & Technology at ACS Athens.

Dr. Jenny Grigoropoulou

Dr. Jenny Grigoropoulos was born in Athens, Greece, and raised in Maryland, U.S.A. She holds a B.Sc in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in International Business Administration, Teaching Studies Degree and Certification, and a Doctorate degree in Education, Leadership, and Management while pursuing her Post-Doctorate Degree in Education, Leadership, and Management.
She received her BSc Degree in Business Management and Marketing, her M.A. degree in International Management and Business Administration, and earned her Teaching Education degree and certification in the United States, qualified to teach ESL/EFL K–12 and Business Studies 6 – 12. She is an IB educator as well as an IB examiner for Business Management. In May 2019, she graduated from St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, earning her Doctorate Degree in Education, Leadership, and Management.
Dr. Grigoropoulos is a contributing author of the books “Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2Flex Classroom Model” and “Handbook of research on K-12 blended and virtual learning through the i²Flex classroom model”. She has authored articles, such as The Role of Ethics in the 21st Century Organization (IJPE-April 2019), and is the co-author with Dr. Gialamas of the manuscript, “Educators Leaders: Inspiring Learners to Transform Society by Becoming Architects of their Own Learning” (IJPE – October 2018) and with Dr. Pelonis, Dr. Gialamas, and Dr. Cherif of the manuscript, “How Can Manifesting Leadership Skills Infused with Ethos, Empathy, and Compassion, Better Prepare Students to Assume Leadership Roles” (IJPE, February 2020). She has presented her work and practices in colloquiums and conferences. She is one of the founding members of the Recycling Project, which is a school-wide initiative.
Dr. Grigoropoulos is the ESL/EFL K-12 Coordinator. Additionally, she has been teaching ESL/EFL classes for Elementary School and Middle School grades 1 – 8 to non-native English speakers since September 2014. Overall, she has been an ESL educator for 25 years. She has been actively involved with the Saturday Youth-to-Youth program since the initiation of the program, providing unaccompanied minors with skills and knowledge of the English language.

Dr. Tonia Firigou

Dr. Fyrigou is a foreign Language Teacher (French and Greek). She earned a Bachelor’s in French Literature from the Greek Capodistrian University of Athens and in 2008 she received her master’s degree in the History of French Civilization again from the Capodistrian University of Athens. Dr. Fyrigou defended successfully her doctorate thesis in History of French Civilization on July 2012 and received her doctoral degree. The thesis title was “Antonin Proust et son voyage en Grece”.

She has been working in the ACS faculty community since 1999 and has taught both in Middle School and High School. She is an IB teacher and an IB examiner in French language. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Hellenic American University in Athens, teaching undergraduate students in the department of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies.

She has established different educational collaborations between ACS Athens and other institutions worldwide. Dr. Fyrigou was one of the first faculty who participated and completed successfully the pilot program at ACS Athens, which started in 2013-2014 academic year. She has designed, developed and implemented a course in French language and culture based on the i2flex methodology and innovative teaching and learning approaches.

She recently authored a chapter in the 2016 publication “Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i 2 Flex Classroom Model.” The title of her chapter is “Evaluating the i2flex educational experience via the Community of Inquiry (CoI 2000)” Tonia Fyrigou has also presented her work in different colloquiums and conferences.

Dr. Tonia Fyrigou is a life-long learner, an open mind person with ethos and values with innovative ideas who always strives for excellence in education.

Labrini Rontogiannis

Ms. Labrini Rontogiannis was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and moved to Athens in 2004. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology at McGill University and a Bachelor of Education, specialization in Science and English Literature, also from McGill. Ms. Rontogiannis has also received a M.Ed. specializing in Educational Technology through an online program at the University of Calgary.

Ms. Rontogiannis has been teaching at the ACS since 2005 and she takes pride in getting involved in all aspects of student life; both in and out of the classroom.  She has taught Language Arts in the Middle School and Academy and Science in the Middle School. She has coached Girls Junior Varsity and Varsity Volleyball teams for a number of years, at ACS Athens and in Montreal Public Schools.

Ms Rontogiannis has also taken part in many professional development opportunities both in Athens and abroad, as well as presented her own work at a number of conferences. In 2014, she presented at the ICALT conference in Athens, and was the recipient of the Best Poster Award. She has also designed and implemented both the Online Summer Health course that she has been teaching since 2014, as well as the eighth grade i2Flex Health course that she designed and taught in 2016 and is still running today. She has also taught online course through ACS Athens Virtual.

This year Ms Rontogiannis is teaching 10th grade Health, both F2F and through ACS Athens Virtual and is the coordinator for ACS Athens Virtual and Technology Integration.

Trina Langsenkamp

Trina Langsenkamp holds a Masters’s degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Art Education from The Ohio State University. She has a K-12 visual arts education licensure and certification from the state of Ohio.

This is Ms. Langsenkamp’s fifth year teaching Visual Arts at ACS Athens. For three years, she worked as the K-5 Visual Arts teacher and Elementary Yearbook Coordinator, and this is her second year in the Middle School and Academy. Currently, she teaches Print Publications 1 and 2, Design, Drawing and Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy as well as Design 8 at the Middle School. She is also the Academy Yearbook Coordinator and an adjunct teaching fellow for the ACS Athens Virtual School.

Previously, Ms. Langsenkamp worked as an Artist in Residence for Project Zero (PZ) at Harvard University. During the residency, and in conjunction with PZ’s Out of Eden Learn project, she developed methods and practices for integrating mindfulness into the arts curriculum.

Ms. Langsenkamp is currently a freelance painter whose work primarily focuses on abstraction and landscapes. In 2019, she presented work at international art fairs, such as Art Athina and Art Thessaloniki with Epsilon Gallery. In 2018, she was a resident artist at The Mudhouse in Agios Ioannis, Crete. In 2015, she presented at the Ohio Art Education Association conference on her work with sensory engagement in art-making and was the recipient of the 2015 Fergus Fellows Award. Ms. Langsenkamp’s interest in international arts education began when she studied in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. She later studied at the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica, where she worked directly with arts educators in public, private and non-traditional education sectors.

Evdokia Sotiropoulou

Ms. Evdokia (Evi) Sotiropoulou holds a Masters degree in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She hasa teaching license in Massachusetts and is certified to teach Visual Arts K-12.

Ms. Sotiropoulou was born and raised in Athens, Greece and moved to the United States seven years ago for her studies. She is an ACS Athens Alumni of 2011, attending the school from junior kindergarten to 12th grade. She received her B.F.A. in Illustration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

After graduating, Ms. Sotiropoulou worked as an art teacher at a Greek-American bilingual school in Arlington, Massachusetts and discovered her passion to teach art. She then decided to continue her studies and received her M.A. in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.

This will be Ms. Sotiropoulou’s third year at ACS teaching 8th grade Design and 6-8th grade Art Studio.

Ms. Sotiropoulou’s ultimate priority as an educator is to create a student-centered classroom, where her students feel comfortable to design and express themselves freely.

Dimitra Psoma

Ms. Dimitra Psoma holds a Greek Language and Literature Bachelor’s Degree from the National University of Athens (Greece) majoring in Linguistics, and a Master of Arts in Translation from the University of New Hampshire (USA).

Ms. Psoma has been teaching English and Greek to students of all levels, as well as preparing students for their university Entrance Exams for 12 years. Last year, she taught the Greek Isotimia Program at ACS Athens and also served as the Writing Studio Supervisor. This year, she is teaching Greek to elementary students from kindergarten  to-5th grade and Greek 2 in Middle School. This is her fifth year at ACS Athens.

Charoula Kouppa

Ms. Kouppa holds a BA in Philosophy, Pedagogy, and Psychology from the University of Athens and an MSc in Inclusive and Special Education from the University of Edinburgh. Upon her graduation, Ms. Kouppa began working in various high schools in Scotland. She taught Social Studies at Burnhouse School and also worked as a shadow teacher at Gracemount High School in the city of Edinburgh.

Ms. Kouppa joined ACS Athens in 2016 as a Humanities/Language and Literature substitute. Since then, she has been involved in many aspects of the school’s life. She has worked in the Writing Studio where she assisted students in developing their personal voice on a variety of written assignments and college essays. Ms. Kouppa has also been an IB CAS advisor, Study & Organizational Skills instructor and participated in the Mentor Program.

This will be her third year as a Counseling Specialist, guiding the 11th and 12th-grade students through the college application process. In her spare time, Ms. Kouppa enjoys being a world traveler and an avid reader.

Matina Katsiyianni

Academic credentials

• Degree in Mathematics, 2003, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
• Master of Science in Economic Mathematics, June 2006, National Technological University of Athens, Greece

Working/Teaching experience

• IB MATH TEACHER – MATH INSTRUCTOR/TEACHER, 2005 – Present, American Community Schools of Athens
• Math Instructor – Private Educational Institutions: Metehmio, Epignosi
• Senior Supervisor – Athens 2004, Olympic & Paralympic Games
• SAT Math Instructor for High School students – American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Instructor for Middle School & High School students for the “Gateway Program” – American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Computer science instructor for the Summer Camp program – American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)

Ms. Katsiyianni is a student-centered Math Teacher with 10 years of experience, delivering teaching expertise, as well as optimizing student success, progress, and learning outcomes for 6th -12th graders. Qualifications include a Degree in Mathematics and MSc in Economic Mathematics. Creative and resourceful in adapting instructional strategies to meet unique student needs. Passion for education and an unwavering commitment to optimizing student and school success.

Open-minded in order to implement the best practices in class and always seeking the best professional development opportunities for the benefit of her students. She possesses several technical skills, including MS Office Suite, Moodle classes, Skyward, Google classroom, use of Interactive whiteboards, Geogebra, MATLAB, MathType, SPSS, Minitab, E-Views, C, and FORTRAN. Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in many educational conferences and workshops. Among them the NESA conference in Instabul in 2015, where she presented her work: “Hooked on Mathematics”.

Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in ACS Athens initiative to publish a book on its revolutionary blended teaching methodology titled Revolutionising K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model (Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas, 2016).

Publications

• Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas. Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model. Information Science Reference, 2016. Co-Author for the Chapter: “Hooked on Mathematics”

Educational Licences

• QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS (QTS) for the United Kingdom
• Teaching license in Secondary Education of Mathematics in the EU under the Council Directive 2005/36/EC

Presentations

• MoodleMoot Conference in National Technological University of Athens Designing, implementing and evaluating K12 Blended Learning through the Quality Matters Framework: A Step-by-Step Approach (Nov 29-30, 2018)
• 9th International Conference in Open and Distance Learning Conference’s main subject: “Learning Design”
• Conference organized by “Ellinogermaniki Agogi” in Athens, Greece Conference’s main subject: “Innovation and Research in ODL and in ICT”
• NESA Conference, Istanbul, Turkey – Presentation title: “Hooked on Mathematics (Mar 20-23, 2015)

Heike Arnold

Ms. Arnold earned a Bachelor Degree of German Linguistics and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2007, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Arnold also obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Education and Media from the University of Rostock in Germany in 2014 and a Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Duisburg/Essen in Germany in 2023.

She specializes in teaching German as a foreign language. In addition to German and English, she also speaks Greek and French.

A member of the ACS Athens faculty since 2010, she teaches the Middle School and High School students German as a foreign Language, as well as develops e-learning concepts for foreign languages in general, which will be applied to her academic research. A fellow of the ACS Institute, Ms. Arnold participates as an online instructor at the ACS Athens Virtual Program and prepares students for the AP German Language and Culture exam. In 2024 and in cooperation with the ACS Athens Innovation Lab, Ms. Arnold also participated in an educational pilot project of integrating Virtual Reality as an innovative learning space into language teaching.

Ms. Arnold co-authored a chapter in the 2016 publication “Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning Through i2Flex Classroom Model” and in the 2021 publication “Handbook of Research on K-12 Blended and Virtual Learning Through the i2Flex Classroom Model”. In addition, she provides professional development (presentations, workshops, and webinars) to other foreign language teachers in Greece and abroad.

Since 2017 Ms. Arnold has been working as an accredited TestDaf examiner. TestDaf is one of the mandatory language proficiency tests for foreign students who want to enter a German university.

Ms. Arnold was born and raised in Germany and moved to Athens in 1996.

Rhodell Fields

Rhodell Theodore Fields was born in Germany and was raised between the U.S and Greece. He studied piano and theory at the National Conservatory of Athens – Greece and then moved to the U.S where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music Composition from the University of South Florida. He taught Music Theory, Orchestration and Advance Oral Skills for music major students at the university level for three years.

In 2008 he was one of only five finalists for the terminal DMA Music degree at the world’s top music institute, the Juilliard School. As a pianist, he has been a performer with a long roster of well-known artists both in Greece and abroad. As a composer, he has been commissioned numerous works and his compositions have been featured and performed in numerous international events. His large orchestral works can be found in worldwide CD and digital media distribution.

Maria Falidas

Ms. Falidas earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College. She earned her Master’s degree in Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College and her Master’s degree in Mathematics Education from the City University of New York at Hunter College.

Ms. Falidas holds a permanent New York State teaching license and she has worked in New York City public and private schools. In addition, she worked as a lecturer for the Mathematics Department at LaGuardia Community College in New York. Ms. Falidas has been a teacher of Mathematics at ACS Athens since 2007.

At ACS Athens she is a member of the National Honors Society committee and an advisor for the Mathematics Literature Club. She is currently a member of Thales and Friends.

Dr. Marco Crivellaro

Born in Italy, Dr. Marco V. Crivellaro holds a BA and a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Ferrara (Italy), an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno (U.S.A), and a Master in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.) A licensed teacher, and a certified ESL instructor, he’s also a member of the IATI (Italian Association of Translators and interpreters), and of the IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting).

A polyglot, he has worked in Italy, the U.S.A., France, Monaco, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore teaching Comparative Literature, History (with an emphasis on the Renaissance and American History), Ancient Greek, Latin, Classical Civilization, Literary Humanities, Western Civilization, Italian Literature, Art History, Philosophy, and English as a Second Language.

Dr. Crivellaro’s interests primarily focus on the cultural continuity of the classical heritage in the modern and contemporary society. He joined ACS in 2018 as a Social Studies Substitute Teacher and Writing Studio Assistant, since the year 2019-2020 he coordinates the library and its activities. He has designed and taught an online Summer course on IB research and academic ethics has conducted seminars about how to do academic research and how to use information and reference management software, and a course of Italian for Native Speakers. As the MS and Academy Librarian, he has created the ACS Virtual Library (comprehending books and periodicals accessible in electronic formats) and implemented the Dewey Decimal Classification throughout the whole printed collections of the H.J. Sabbagh Library.

His goal as the ACS Librarian is to make the Library a multitasking hub for academically reliable and ethically conducted research.

Justin Cramer

Mr. Justin Cramer grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri. He went on to Buena Vista University where he earned his B.A. in General Science with an emphasis on Biology, and Secondary Education. He taught at Centerville High School in Centerville, Iowa for three years teaching a variety of science subjects including Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Science, and Chemistry for grades 7-12. He moved back to Kansas City and taught at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri for five years teaching Biology, Physical Science, and Astronomy. He earned a M.A. in Secondary Education Administration from University of Central Missouri in Education and has aspirations of becoming a school principal.  Along with teaching, Mr. Cramer will be the Coordinator of Professional Development and Growth.

This is his sixth year at ACS Athens and he will be teaching ninth grade Biology, Earth & Beyond, and Health. His goal as a science teacher is to help students find at least one scientific fact that amazes them.

Outside of school Mr. Cramer enjoys being active, playing sports (and watching his beloved sports teams), watching movies, listening to music, traveling, visiting the beach, and reading.

Angela Chamosfakidis

Born in Montreal Canada and raised in Athens Greece, Angela E. Chamosfakidis graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, Pedagogy, Psychology (concentration in Psychology). For her graduate studies she attended McGill University in Canada where she received a Masters degree in Educational Psychology with a research focus on teachers’ expectations of children of divorce. She also taught in primary and secondary schools in the wider area of Montreal for several years. Upon her return to Greece in 2003, Ms. Chamosfakidis accepted a position at KETHEA where she provided educational and counseling services to adolescents and young adults with substance abuse problems, for over 10 years. As part of her professional development in the field of addiction, she received a post graduate certificate of specialization in the “Administration and Social Planning in the field of Drug Addiction” by the Athens School of Public Health in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

Since joining ACS Athens, in 2014, Ms. Chamosfakidis has been teaching IB Psychology and Theory of Knowledge. She also serves as an Advisor for the Model United Nations (MUN) program and has held the position of the Curriculum Coordinator of the Youth to Youth (Y2Y) project, an ACS Athens initiative to attend to unaccompanied refugee minors’ learning, social, and emotional needs. Ms. Chamosfakidis is passionate about teaching and learning and committed to supporting students and their individual needs.  She has twenty years of hands-on teaching experience and her mandate lies in Learning by Doing. She holds a teaching certification by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and the Greek Ministry of Education and she is a certified IB Psychology examiner.

Spyros Arsenikos

Mr. Arsenikos was born in Athens, Greece. He was raised in Melbourne, Australia. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Master in Environmental Chemistry and Technology obtained from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. During his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, he participated in numerous oceanographic and environmental programs.

He has been in education since his early academic years teaching science to students of all levels. Since 2010 he has been responsible for the creation of multiple e-learning projects in chemistry and math for elementary, middle and high school students.

Mr. Arsenikos deeply believes in hands-on learning as a vital component in the process of fostering scientific thinking in students.

He is excited that he’ll be able to share his love for science at ACS and support students to creatively discover on their own, new ideas and concepts.