Cor creative partners is a small team of long-time educators, led by Maureen + James. We partner with school leaders to develop joyful, smart professional development plans to improve student outcomes. We directly support educators with curriculum design + implementation and leadership development through the academic setting. We support school leaders with building sustainable systems for school improvement. We coach leaders and classroom teachers, facilitate group professional development experiences, offer consulting services, and contribute to a community of thought leaders by writing, speaking, and producing videos. Through all of this work, we hope to help school leaders, classroom teachers, students, and families experience increased belonging, growth, success, and wellbeing in our school systems. We hope to contribute to a culture in which we all love school.
love school.
Maureen Chapman loves school. Maureen is a lifelong educator who taught for 15 years in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and spent eight years in school leadership. As a Curriculum Director and the head of an Instructional Leadership team, Maureen oversaw curriculum, resources, student data, instructional coaching, professional development, new teacher induction, and career education. Since co-founding cor creative partners, Maureen has leveraged her experience, expertise, and love of education to her work coaching, consulting, and facilitating professional development programs. Maureen speaks publicly across the country and is the author of multiple publications on building leadership skills in the academic setting. Her book with James, Leaders of the Class: Five Units for Teaching Leadership Skills to Secondary Students, is due out in August.
maureen I co-director
James Simons loves school. Prior to co-founding cor creative partners, James Simons served as a high school principal and dean of students, an instructional coach, a middle and high school English teacher, a visual storyteller, and a writer. In his current role, James coaches school leaders and classroom teachers, facilitates team- and school-level professional development, offers consulting services, and contributes to a community of thought leaders by speaking, producing videos, and writing. James has presented at local and national conferences, and along with Maureen, he has written a book for Solution Tree: Leaders of the Class: Five Units for Teaching Leadership Skills to Secondary Students, due out in August.
james I co-director
sarah I instructional coach, designer + facilitator
Sarah Riemens loves school. A passionate life-long learner and advocate for educational equity, Sarah seeks to make classrooms spaces of support, challenge, and growth for all students. At cor, Sarah takes the lead on instructional coaching, curriculum implementation, and all things social studies. Before joining the team, Sarah spent 15 years in the classrooms of East Los Angeles and Roxbury, Massachusetts. She has taught a variety of English, history, and social studies courses; yet is most passionate about Advanced Placement Capstone, which exposes high schoolers to academic research through project-based learning experiences. An empathetic listener and creative problem solver, Sarah is always looking forward to meeting new educators!
Andrew Rocca loves school. A passionate educator and coach, Andrew believes in the power of a solutions-oriented social studies classroom that emphasizes skills such as high-level research, writing, and collaboration to solve the problems of the future. Before joining cor, Andrew served on the New England Regional Advisory Board for the College Board and worked with new teachers in an instructional coaching and curriculum-building capacity. Andrew excels in building rapport with his colleagues and fellow educators, advocating for rigorous yet authentic academic experiences for students. He is excited to continue to work closely with other passionate educators from across the New England region.
andrew I instructional coach
Zane Ranney loves school. Specializing in the Harkness method, Zane has taught middle and high school mathematics for over a decade using a problems-based and student-centered approach. Zane has also served as a grade dean, mentor, professional learning facilitator, and DEIJ leader. In his role as an instructional coach, Zane thrives on being in community with teachers and nurturing a culture of collaboration and reflection. At cor, Zane actively works towards creating an inclusive environment that fosters joy and a sense of belonging, where everyone is appreciated, valued, and supported.
zane I instructional coach
Our partners include…
testimonials
“James and Maureen are smart, caring, and fun. They understand the challenges and constraints that educators face, and they know how to create programs that increase capacity and maximize impact.”
“Maureen and James share an unwavering belief in the power of student and educator potential coupled with a strong understanding of evidenced-based measures to foster a supportive culture of high expectations. They listen to the voices in the field to understand and meet educators where they are at to build professional, collaborative teams inspired by actionable goals. For years, they have brought empathy, joy, and passion to their work supporting my math team to implement practices best aligned with our spoken values.”
“James’ collaborative and guiding approach is continuously present in his work as he leads students and teachers to dig deeper into their strengths and work outward for growth and efficacy. James is compassionate, nurturing, intuitive, and always striving to be in touch with students’ and staff’s needs.
Maureen’s focus is continuously on enhancing teaching and leading in the classroom through curriculum design and professional development. Similar to James, students’ needs are always at the forefront of her work. She leads with passion, always working to put vision into action. This is obvious in her efforts on facilitating collaboration, professional learning, and teacher growth. She works to encourage teachers to make connections between all their professional development, their curriculum planning, and what is really happening in the classroom with reflection on results.”