Who Can Help?

Administrative Structure & Roles

The Children’s School has a team of four professionals to jointly meet the administrative needs of our active laboratory school (left to right: Miss Hancock, Ms. Drash, Dr. Carver, Ms. Yetter).  We all strive to know each child and to interact with them frequently.  We are all available to serve the educators, students, families, and researchers.  At the same time, we each focus distinctive talents in different areas, so here are some helpful hints about who to approach for which issues.

• Miss Hancock (lh37@andrew.cmu.edu)
• Ms. Drash (adrash@andrew.cmu.edu) 412-268-2199
• Dr. Carver (sc0e@andrew.cmu.edu)
• Ms. Yetter (kyetter@andrew.cmu.edu)

Dr. Carver, the Director, takes primary leadership for school programs and staff development. She recruits educators, coordinates professional development and outreach efforts, and manages the school web site, as well as leading the school’s NAEYC accreditation process. She observes the classroom frequently and provides support for new curriculum development, alternate teaching strategies, ways to meet individual student needs, etc. She prepares the whole school communications and serves as a resource for parents with questions about child development, education, special needs, and family issues. Dr. Carver coordinates all uses of the Children’s School as a psychology laboratory, including undergraduate courses, graduate student research, and faculty research. As a teaching professor in the Psychology Department, Dr. Carver also teaches undergraduate courses, serves as an advisor, and participates in other department and college events. As the Associate Dean for Educational Affairs in the Dietrich College, Dr. Carver leads the college-wide curriculum and assessment efforts, organizes networking and professional development for graduate students, and serves on university-level committees to coordinate across colleges.

As the Administrative Coordinator, Ms. Drash manages the office operations and equipment, answers the primary school phone number, takes messages, and monitors all observation and research activities, as well as handling entry and exit via the security system. Ms. Drash also develops most of the Administrative Team’s creative communication through cards and videos.

Miss Hancock, an Educational Administrator, handles program administration issues, including managing the school calendar, ordering materials, conducting safety drills, monitoring the school’s email account (cmuchsch@andrew.cmu.edu), handling student allergies and medications, and working with our health and safety consultants. She also coordinates requests for Carnegie Mellon services, particularly those regarding facilities and security. She takes a lead role with teacher mentoring and consultation for the kindergarten educators and families, as well as in recruiting businesses to contribute scholarship funds through the Pennsylvania EITC and OSTC programs. She led our transition to the digital FACTS Student Information System several years ago and continues to help staff and families utilize it effectively.

Ms. Yetter, a part-time Educational Administrator, concentrates her administrative efforts on family support, beginning with recruiting, tours, and initial admission, but also including tuition payments, scholarship assistance, and re-enrollment. She coordinates family involvement, resources, and special events, and she also serves as the primary mentor for preschool educators. In addition, Ms. Yetter coordinates undergraduate support at the school, manages our school library, and leads the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. This year, she is leading our foray into social media via Instagram and Facebook.

Along with Dr. Carver, the Educational Administrators collaborate to maintain strong relationships with local schools, to broaden our public relations, to manage the school budget, to secure funding for special projects and scholarships, to maintain the school’s NAEYC accreditation and PA private academic school licensing, to represent the school in the local, national, and international education community, and to continually seek ways to improve all the services we offer.

Most importantly, we’re all here to help provide an excellent early childhood program for your children. If you have a question or concern and are not sure which administrator to approach, feel free to ask your child’s teacher or to call the school office. We’ll be happy to direct your call. You may also contact us through email for quick questions or comments you may have.