About Us

meet our leaders

WE ARE DRIVEN TO SPARK A LIFELONG LOVE
OF LEARNING IN ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.

Leadership Team

Maureen Israel

Superintendent/Principal
Contact: Email

Ms. Israel has deep and meaningful experience as a teacher, innovator, and principal, including more than a dozen years with YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, where she grew out a 6th-12th grade campus which was ranked in the top 7% of all 18,000+ public high schools in the nation.  In a community where only 7% of those over the age of 25 have a college degree, her school held the distinction that over 85% of her three senior classes have matriculated into college, proving what is possible for all learners.  She holds a Masters in International Education Policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame. Originally from Michigan, Maureen has lived and worked in education in Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston, and now the Bay Area. Equity, inclusion, and choice are the driving reasons that Ms. Israel continues to work in charter public schools, and she is thrilled to be a part of BCS, to continue pushing what is possible for students.

Daniel Gross

Middle School Principal
Contact: Email

Mr. Gross has been a teacher at BCS since 2007, is National Board Certified as a Middle Childhood/Generalist, and has been the middle school team leader for the last four years. He is thrilled to continue working with the middle school team to continue to refine and cultivate the innovative programs that are synonymous with BCS. Mr. Gross has experience implementing several inquiry-based units and is a passionate advocate of teaching digital citizenship in the classroom. Mr. Gross values a collaborative and community-based classroom and works with learners to take meaningful risks. Before coming to BCS, he taught at an elementary school in Georgia, focusing on English-language learners and students with special needs. He has a multiple subject teaching credential, and earned his Masters in Elementary Education and Teaching from the University of Georgia and his Bachelor’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from Emory University.

Dr. Keri Montesino-Stewart

Elementary School Principal, North Campus
Contact: Email

Bio coming soon!

Lisa Stone

Elementary School Principal, South Campus
Contact: Email

A founding staff member at BCS, Ms. Stone has been a teacher for more than 20 years and a long-time mentor and coach of colleagues. She is National Board Certified as a Middle Childhood/Generalist; has received numerous recognitions, including SCCOE Charter School Teacher of the Year; and has worked with institutions such as the d.school at Stanford University, Teachers College, and the Krause Center for Innovation. She was also teacher-of-the-year in multiple, very diverse public school districts before coming to BCS. Ms. Stone has taken on several roles throughout her years at BCS: Upper Elementary and Middle School Team Leader, Student Council Advisor, Conflict Manager Advisor, Strategic Planning Committee Action Team Member and Team Leader, Beginning Teacher Mentor, and Literacy Coach. She has a multiple subject teaching credential from California State University at San Diego and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Elika Fredrickson

Chief of Academics and Educational Services 
Contact: Email

Wanny Hersey

Founding Superintendent Emeritus

Mrs. Hersey is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of cultivating excellent teachers and establishing innovative programs for students. An educator for over 30 years, Hersey started in the classroom as a teacher in Vancouver, Canada. Her award-winning career in education includes teaching and administrative experience spanning elementary, middle and high school.  Under her leadership, BCS has achieved national recognition for excellence in education. The school has been named an exemplary Visual and Performing Arts school, earned the distinction of being a California Distinguished School (two times) and was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014-15. Since its inception, BCS has been ranked in the top 1% of all public schools in the state; in 2015, BCS was named the top scoring K-8 public school in California. In 2016, BCS was honored to be designated an Exemplar School by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning and in 2018, the first school in the US to be inducted into the P21 Global Schools Network.



 
Bullis Charter School (BCS) is a free public charter school authorized by the Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) and subject to the fiscal and programmatic oversight of the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE).