RCA Welcomes New Faculty and Staff

With 30 new fifth graders arriving in the fall, RCA is preparing for growth.  Three exceptional persons will join the RCA family this August.

Basil Lee, who will teach mathematics at the Academy, has spent most of his life teaching others.  He tutored his peers in high school and college.  He coached 9 and 10 year olds in a Boys Club basketball league, taught CPR to his employees, and taught Sunday school before deciding to change his career from engineering to teaching.

Basil, a graduate of Cornell University’s engineering school, received his teaching credentials from the University of West Georgia.  Basil has been employed with the Fulton County School system since 1991.  He taught both middle school and high school.  He currently teaches Calculus, Advanced Algebra & Trigonometry, and Algebra 2 at Benjamin Banneker High School in College Park, Georgia.

Basil is passionate about his students realizing their dreams.  His high expectations are directly related to the high achievements of his students.   Basil has received numerous awards recognizing his exceptional accomplishments, including Banneker High School Teacher of the Year, Fulton County Teacher of the Year, and Atlanta Braves/AT&T Educator of the Year.  He was also chosen as a member of the prestigious USA Today’s All-USA Teacher Team.

Candice Jackson joins us as development assistant, assisting in areas of fundraising.  Originally from metro Atlanta, Georgia, Candice is a 2005 graduate of Howard University. During her undergraduate studies at Howard, she took advantage of the many community service opportunities working with youth, and these sparked her interest in education. After she graduated from Howard University with a degree in marketing, she accepted an analyst position with Fannie Mae. After two years of working professionally, Candice decided to return to her home state and pursue a Masters degree in Public Administration at the University of Georgia. To expand her knowledge of and professional experience in nonprofit management and local government, she has worked in a number of environments including the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, the Zeist Foundation, and DeKalb County Government.

Kenneth Adams will serve as student activities coordinator for the Academy.  In May 2009, Kenneth received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with a minor in African American Studies.   During his collegiate years, Kenneth was involved with UNC at Greensboro’s Student Activities Board, working in a supervisor role for the campus game room.   Kenneth was also involved in club sports and represented the university in many tournaments. 

 Community service was an important part of Kenneth’s activities as well.   Kenneth was a frequent volunteer at the Greensboro Urban Ministry where he helped to feed the homeless and served as a tutor to several area youth.   Social injustice is an area of interest for Kenneth.  In addition to his classroom studies on this subject, he also spent time working with a labor union in Raleigh to help fight against this issue.
 

Kenneth is a former student of Ron Clark’s.  He has traveled to several places around the world with Clark including South Africa, Costa Rica, Japan and England.  Kenneth was born in Oklahoma and then moved to Aurora, North Carolina as a child.  His family still resides in Aurora.