North Star Academy Board of Trustees 2025-26
North Star Academy Board of Trustees 2025-26
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Beth Danesco
Ms. Danesco has worked in education for 25 years, primarily teaching writing and humanities-related subjects. She spent the last nine of those years as at The Education Cooperative High School in Walpole. She previously worked as a substitute coordinator and METCO tutor for Sharon High School and operated a small multi-cultural extracurricular program there.
Ms. Danesco is a playwright whose works for stage have appeared in New York, Providence, Chicago, and elsewhere in the US. She is the founder of The All Stories Theater Company where she also directs and produces works for stage and makes the occasional film. She has been a member of the all-volunteer staff of The National Black Doll Museum of History and Culture for the last ten years as a writer and researcher. She holds a BA in History from Providence College (RI) and an MFA in film from The University of Miami (FL). She is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Ms. Danesco has worked in education for 25 years, primarily teaching writing and humanities-related subjects. She spent the last nine of those years as at The Education Cooperative High School in Walpole. She previously worked as a substitute coordinator and METCO tutor for Sharon High School and operated a small multi-cultural extracurricular program there.
Ms. Danesco is a playwright whose works for stage have appeared in New York, Providence, Chicago, and elsewhere in the US. She is the founder of The All Stories Theater Company where she also directs and produces works for stage and makes the occasional film. She has been a member of the all-volunteer staff of The National Black Doll Museum of History and Culture for the last ten years as a writer and researcher. She holds a BA in History from Providence College (RI) and an MFA in film from The University of Miami (FL). She is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Becca Jackson
Mrs. Jackson has twenty-five years experience in teaching, including as an adjunct instructor of English at Boston's Fisher College and Wentworth Institute of Technology as well as South Suburban Community College in Chicago, IL. She has tutored extensively, helping students in middle school and high school with test preparation, ELA curriculum and other academic topics. She has spent the last two years as a mentor/1:1 paraprofessional at The Education Cooperative High School in Walpole.
Mrs. Jackson is the co-founder of Sankofa Journey, a grassroots racial reconciliation consultancy facilitating small group conversations for private and municipal organizations. She and her husband are also the founders of Earthen Vessels Ministries which oversees multiple micro/home churches in the Norwood-Walpole area.
Mrs. Jackson has an M.A.T from the University of Alabama/ Birmingham and a BA in English from Boston College. She and her husband have two adult children. She is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Mrs. Jackson has twenty-five years experience in teaching, including as an adjunct instructor of English at Boston's Fisher College and Wentworth Institute of Technology as well as South Suburban Community College in Chicago, IL. She has tutored extensively, helping students in middle school and high school with test preparation, ELA curriculum and other academic topics. She has spent the last two years as a mentor/1:1 paraprofessional at The Education Cooperative High School in Walpole.
Mrs. Jackson is the co-founder of Sankofa Journey, a grassroots racial reconciliation consultancy facilitating small group conversations for private and municipal organizations. She and her husband are also the founders of Earthen Vessels Ministries which oversees multiple micro/home churches in the Norwood-Walpole area.
Mrs. Jackson has an M.A.T from the University of Alabama/ Birmingham and a BA in English from Boston College. She and her husband have two adult children. She is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Manny Calvao
Mr. Calvao has been an educator for nearly a decade. In eight years at The Education Cooperative (TEC) High School in Walpole, he assisted, co-taught and led a wide array classes. These included Social Studies classes such as World History, Criminal Justice, and US History, and STEM classes including Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Computer Science, Computer Aided Design, and Robotics.
Mr. Calvao also developed TEC's first computer programming classes and designed a basic robotics elective. For several years, he coordinated TEC's STEM curriculum. He additionally sat on Cooperative committees focused on technology in education and cybersecurity.
Before becoming a teacher, Mr. Calvao had a long career as an IT professional working in both the private and public sectors. He holds a degree in History from Framingham State University. He is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Mr. Calvao has been an educator for nearly a decade. In eight years at The Education Cooperative (TEC) High School in Walpole, he assisted, co-taught and led a wide array classes. These included Social Studies classes such as World History, Criminal Justice, and US History, and STEM classes including Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Computer Science, Computer Aided Design, and Robotics.
Mr. Calvao also developed TEC's first computer programming classes and designed a basic robotics elective. For several years, he coordinated TEC's STEM curriculum. He additionally sat on Cooperative committees focused on technology in education and cybersecurity.
Before becoming a teacher, Mr. Calvao had a long career as an IT professional working in both the private and public sectors. He holds a degree in History from Framingham State University. He is a Mass DESE licensed teacher.
Debra Britt
Ms. Britt is co-founder and executive director of The National Black Doll Museum in Mansfield, MA and a nationally recognized expert on the art, craft, and history of Black dolls. She has used art, storytelling and dolls to share African American culture with audiences of all ages, including thousands of school children, throughout New England.
Ms. Britt is a MassHumanities and Mass Cultural Council grant recipient and has received community service awards from the town of Mansfield and The Massachusetts Black & Latino Legistlative Caucus among other organizations. She is the co-founder of The Southeast Massachusetts Juneteenth Coalition and a member of The Reckonings Project at Northeastern University.
Ms. Britt recently devised the Fall 2022 exhibit “What Only You Could Make” at the Beard & Weil Gallery at Wheaton College, showcasing the Museum’s signature handmade African wrap-dolls. In the last year, she's also curated work at The Wenham Museum and Worcester's McDonough Art Center. As an artist, Ms. Britt is also a quilter, collagist, poet and exhibit designer.
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