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Partnership administrative and managerial staff in McKeesport, Reading and Philadelphia provide direction, commitment and guidance to those involved with the statewide PEPP effort.
Contact Us
Partnership administrative and managerial staff in McKeesport, Reading and Philadelphia provide direction,
commitment and guidance to those involved with the statewide PEPP effort. The PEPP staff represents a
vast wealth of knowledge, many years of outreach experience and an overall passion for the empowerment
of Pennsylvania youth. Program leadership plays a major role in the success of any collaboration or
partnership. This PEPP Staff is positioned and committed to the academic progress and post-secondary
matriculation/graduation of all Partnership participants.
PEPP McKeesport
Darrell Thomas
Director (Statewide Operations)
dgt2@psu.edu
Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus
106 Main Building
4000 University Drive
McKeesport, Pa. 15132
Phone: 412-675-9183; Fax: 412-675-9224
Darrell Thomas is Director of statewide operations for the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP). The Partnership, an early intervention unit in the College of Education - Office of Multicultural Programs, operates in McKeesport, Reading and Philadelphia. He designed and implemented the PEPP Academy and PEPP Institute extended school-day models and the Middle School Academic Bowl, all of which have been replicated at a number of other Penn State Commonwealth Campus locations.
Anne Jones
Program Assistant
amj2@psu.edu
Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus
106 Main Building
4000 University Drive
McKeesport, Pa. 15132
Phone: 412-675-9183; Fax: 412-675-9224
Anne Jones is Program Assistant to the PEPP Director. Anne has been with PEPP since 1989 and with Penn State University since 1980. Mrs. Jones assists the PEPP Director in all operational and budgetary phases of the partnership program. This includes supervising Penn State students as Learning Assistants, teachers as Site Supervisors and office staff at other PEPP locations.
Jeannetta Thomas
Educational Diversity Specialist
jlt30@psu.edu
Jeannetta Thomas is the Partnership Educational Diversity Specialist. Jeannetta's duties include the development of innovative and practical educational programs that are designed to: enhance PEPP participant academic performance and indivdual self-esteem; promote group/team learning and peer teaching; increase understanding and apppreciation of multicultural learning/teaching; and improve PEPP Learning Assistant (PLA) understanding of the student populations that they assist, on a statewide level.
Guadalupe Kasper
Program Manager
gur10@psu.edu
Penn State Berks Campus
238 Luerssen Building
Tulpehocken Road, Box 7009
Reading, PA 19610
Phone: 610-396-6272; Fax: 610-396-6271
Guadalupe Kasper was hired as the Program Manager for PEPP Reading in January 2005. Many people in the College of Education will recognize her previous name, Guadalupe Rivera. Guadalupe graduated with a bachelor's degree in Anthropology and went on to pursue a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Temple University. Guadalupe teaches Anthropology at Penn State Berks.
In her time with PEPP, Guadalupe has greatly expanded the program's presence on the Penn State Berks campus, in Reading, and in Berks County. When she first arrived at PEPP Reading, there were only a handful of PLAs and several dozen PEPP students involved. Now PEPP Reading consists of approximately 35 PLAs per semester and 200 students at five school sites.
Jackie Confalone
Administrative Support Assistant
joc10@psu.edu
Penn State Berks Campus
238 Luerssen Building
Tulpehocken Road, Box 7009
Reading, PA 19610
Phone: 610-396-6270; Fax: 610-396-6271
Jackie Confalone is the Administrative Support Assistant for PEPP Reading and has been employed at Penn State Berks since August 2007. Jackie holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Elizabethtown College. After being home for many years to raise her two children, Jackie went to work part-time for Governor Mifflin School District in Shillington, PA in the Special Education and Public Information Offices. Jackie assists the Program Manager in all operational, program, and budgetary phases of the program.
PEPP Philadelphia
Maria Schmidt
Assistant Dean for Multicultural Programs
Penn State University Park Campus
123 Chambers Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-0904
mjs125@psu.edu