Enrichment Teachers' Photos

Coach Shawn is in his 8th year of teaching. At his previous charter school he served many roles over the years —teaching PE and guiding 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders as a classroom teacher. Whether students are in the gym or diving into academics, Coach Shawn aims to make learning engaging, active and fun while still holding students to high expectations. Outside of work Coach Shawn enjoys spending time with his 2 month old son Shai, watching sports events and getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. I am so excited to be joining the team!!!

Ocean Mason holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Spanish from George Mason University. During undergrad, Ocean studied abroad for a semester and attended Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. They studied the Spanish language and taught ESL to sixth graders. In 2015, Ocean joined AmeriCorps as a literacy tutor at KIPP:DC in Northeast, Washington, DC. In 2017, Ocean completed their Capital Teacher Residency at KIPP:DC and received their certification in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. In 2018-2019, Ocean taught PK-5th grade as a Visual Arts Teacher and Staff Yoga Instructor at Stanton Elementary in Southeast, Washington, DC. In 2019-2020, Ocean was a part-time Yoga & mindfulness teacher for the Van Ness community as well as a part-time Yoga, Mindfulness, and Visual Arts teacher at Hendley Elementary in Southeast, DC. Ocean is a registered 200 hour yoga instructor and received extensive training in Children's Yoga, Mindfulness, and Trauma-Informed Classrooms. Ocean began practicing yoga as a young teenager and has made it a part of their life's pursuit and looks forward to continuing this healing practice with the community at Van Ness Elementary. Ocean grew up in Washington, DC, but currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia with their husband, Kenneth.

Melinda Holly has been teaching as a public school music educator for 12 years in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She holds a BA and MA in music education from West Chester University and Montclair State University, respectively. A vocal music specialist, Melinda has also taught general music classes that integrate world music studies, social justice, and cultural responsive pedagogy. At her previous school she led school-wide musical productions and world culture exhibitions, which she instituted. In 2019, she had the opportunity to teach English and drama abroad in Yuncheng, China. Outside the classroom, she enjoys teaching private instrumental music lessons to children of all ages. Melinda aims to leverage arts education and the language of music towards realizing the social, emotional, and intellectual growth of all students. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels, practicing jiu jitsu, and hiking with her dog Athena.

Aryssa Damron is the Van Ness ES librarian. She previously served as the children's librarian at the Southwest Neighborhood Library and the Capitol View Library in DC. She has her MSLS from the University of Kentucky and a BA in English from Yale University. She's active in professional development organizations like ALSC, and is serving on the 2025 Caldecott Committee. She loves reading, writing, theatre, and her cat, Koshka. Her favorite recent reads include The Skull by Jon Klassen, The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, and BIG by Vashti Harrison. She is so excited to be an Otter.