Divisions
The critical elements in academics and curriculum design development of ACS Athens is its unique structure of Academic Divisions and school-wide Coordinators. This flexible and highly productive organizational academic scheme allows the school to fully optimize and enhance curriculum development and delivery across the schools, benefiting the students throughout all subjects and of every grade level. By linking the UN’s 17 Sustainable Goals and Conscious Citizenship into lesson planning and implementing Artificial Intelligence into the Science and Technology course structure, the ACS Athens K-12 Curriculum is one of the most innovative in 21st Century learning. When our students complete their learning here, they will enter the world as impactful global citizens equipped with a holistic education of the highest caliber.
Mathematics
Ms. Falidas earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College. She earned her Master's degree in Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College and her Master's degree in Mathematics Education from the City University of New York at Hunter College.
Ms. Falidas holds a permanent New York State teaching license and she has worked in New York City public and private schools. In addition, she worked as a lecturer for the Mathematics Department at LaGuardia Community College in New York. Ms. Falidas has been a teacher of Mathematics at ACS Athens since 2007.
At ACS Athens she is a member of the National Honors Society committee and an advisor for the Mathematics Literature Club. She is currently a member of Thales and Friends.
email: falidasm@acs.gr
Science
Dr. Prodromidi earned a B.Sc. in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Essex, UK. She then continued her graduate studies at Imperial College London, UK, where she obtained a M.Sc. in Immunology and a Ph.D. with a full scholarship in Renal Medicine and Stem Cell Biology. She has worked in research and her scientific work has been presented in conferences world-wide, and has been acknowledged numerous times with international awards, such as the Best New Scientist (2006, UK). She has also published articles in scientific journals and co-authored books.
After the completion of her post-graduate studies and since her return in Greece, Dr. Prodromidi has worked both as a research scientist and an educator. To her, teaching means inspiration, creativity, and even challenge to pass on knowledge and ethos to every student. Her teaching experience ranges from middle school students through university students. Recently, she co-authored the book entitled "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2Flex Classroom Model" contributing to this novel pedagogical approach introduced by ACS Athens.
email: prodromidie@acs.gr
Technology
Ms. Labrini Rontogiannis was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and moved to Athens in 2004. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology at McGill University and a Bachelor of Education, specialization in Science and English Literature, also from McGill. Ms. Rontogiannis has also received a M.Ed. specializing in Educational Technology at the University of Calgary, Canada.
Ms. Rontogiannis has been teaching at ACS since 2005 and she takes pride in getting involved in all aspects of student life; both in and out of the classroom. She has taught Language Arts and Science in both the Middle School and Academy. She has coached Girls Junior Varsity and Varsity Volleyball teams for a number of years, at ACS Athens and in Montreal Public Schools.
Ms Rontogiannis has also taken part in many professional development opportunities both in Athens and abroad, as well as presented her own work at a number of conferences. In 2014, she presented at the ICALT conference in Athens, and was the recipient of the Best Poster Award. Ms Rontogiannis authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Model” titled “Flipping and Flexing in Science: Video lessons and the i2Flex Model”. She has also written a number of articles for both school publications Ethos and Lancers Illustrated. On the virtual learning front, she has designed and implemented both the Virtual Health course that she has been teaching since 2014, as well as the eighth grade i2Flex Health course that she both designed and taught. She has also taught online courses through ACS Athens Virtual.
This year Ms Rontogiannis is teaching 10th grade Health, both F2F and through ACS Athens Virtual and is the coordinator for ACS Athens Virtual and Technology Integration.
email: rontogiannisl@acs.gr
Language & Literature
Dr. Evangelos Syropoulos holds a BA in English Language and Literature (1995), an MA in English Literature and Culture (1999), and a Ph.D. in Musical Theatre (2008) from the School of English of Aristotle University, Greece. He conducted postdoctoral research and/ or taught drama/ theatre courses at Aristotle University, Ghent University (Belgium), and Goldsmiths College (University of London). His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals in Greece, Belgium, and the UK. He is also a College Board-certified AP Capstone teacher, receiving his training at McBride High School, Long Beach, CA, in 2017.
At ACS Athens, he worked for four years as a Writing/ Research Studio Coordinator, helping students develop their writing and research skills. He also taught IB English A: Literature, IB English A: Language and Literature, IB Theory of Knowledge Senior Seminar, and Film Writing/ Production.
This year, he teaches IB English A: Literature Yr. 1 and Yr. 2 and IB English A: Language and Literature Yr. 2 while serving as Division Chair of Language and Literature.
Dr. Syropoulos also joined the ACS Athens Institute as a Fellow, designing and teaching an online course in English Literature for ACS Athens Virtual.
email: syropoulose@acs.gr
Dr. Fyrigou is a Language Educator. She earned a Bachelor’s in French Literature from the Greek Capodistrian University of Athens and in 2008 she received her master's degree in the History of French Civilization. Dr. Fyrigou defended successfully her doctorate thesis in History of French Civilization on July 2012 and received her doctoral degree.
She has been working in the ACS faculty community since 1999 and has taught both in Middle School and High School. She is an IB teacher and an IB examiner in French language. Additionally, she has been selected by Widener University to teach as an Adjunct Professor a course named Values and Ethics in Education for a doctorate degree program in Low-Residency EdD with a Focus on International Schools Leadership. She is also an adjunct Professor at the Hellenic American University in Athens, teaching undergraduate students in the department of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies.
She has established different educational collaborations between ACS Athens and other institutions worldwide. Dr. Fyrigou has designed, developed and implemented different courses in French and Greek language and culture based on the i2flex methodology and innovative teaching and learning approaches.
She has authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Model." The title of her chapter is “Evaluating the i2flex educational experience via the Community of Inquiry (CoI 2000)”
She has also authored a chapter for the enhanced book version 2021 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Model." The title of her chapter is "The effectiveness of the i 2 Flex methodology and the CoI (Community of inquiry) in demanding educational fields."
Dr. Tonia Fyrigou has also presented her work in different colloquiums and conferences. She is a life-long learner, an open mind person with ethos and values with innovative ideas who always strives for excellence in education.
email: firigout@acs.gr
Dr. Jenny Grigoropoulos was born in Athens, Greece, and raised in Maryland, U.S.A.. She holds a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration in 1989, from the University of La Verne.
She received her M.A. degree in International Management and Business Administration, in 1992 and earned her teaching education and certification in the United States, qualified to teach ESL/EFL K–12 and Business Studies 6 - 12. She is an IB educator as well as an IB examiner for Business Management. In May 2019, she graduated from St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, earning her Doctorate Degree in Education, Leadership, and Management.
Dr. Grigoropoulos is a contributing author of the books Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2Flex Classroom Model and Handbook of Research on K-12 Blended and Virtual Learning through the i²Flex Classroom Model. She has authored articles, such as “The Role of Ethics in the 21st Century Organization” (IJPE-April 2019), and is the co-author with Dr. Gialamas of the manuscript, “Educators Leaders: Inspiring Learners to Transform Society by Becoming Architects of their Own Learning” (IJPE - October 2018) and with Dr. Pelonis, Dr. Gialamas, and Dr. Cherif of the manuscript, "How Can Manifesting Leadership Skills Infused with Ethos, Empathy and Compassion, Better Prepare Students to Assume Leadership Roles" (IJPE, February 2020) . She has presented her work and practices in colloquiums and conferences. She is one of the founding members of the Recycling Project, which is a school-wide initiative.
Dr. Grigoropoulos has been teaching ESL in the Middle School and the Elementary School for grades K – 5 to non-native English speakers. Overall, she has been an ESL educator for 35 years. She has been actively involved with the Saturday Youth-to-Youth program since the initiation of the program, providing unaccompanied minors with skills and knowledge of the English language. In addition to her teaching assignments, educator of the EFL Language Arts and Language Development courses, she is the ESL/EFL K-12 Coordinator.
email: grigoropoulouj@acs.gr
Ms. Sophia Tsinakis was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She has earned a Master's in Elementary Education and a K-12 English Language Learners endorsement at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology - with a minor in Art Therapy - from Lesley University in Cambridge Massachusetts.
After teaching for four years at an innovative elementary public school in Nashville, Ms. Tsinakis joined the ACS Athens faculty in 2018, originally teaching first grade during the 2018-2019 academic year and fifth grade during the past academic year. For the present academic year, she looks forward to furthering the aims of ACS Athens in the newly created position of Literacy Coordinator. The ultimate objective of the literacy program is the development of readers and writers across the grade levels. To this end, she will facilitate the development of an ongoing collaborative literacy learning culture that will align reading and writing curriculums (including Phonics and Grammar). Moreover, she will champion teachers to support students in writing with fluency for an audience, about topics they care about. Last, but not least, she is committed to contributing to the development of excellent online literacy learning at ACS Athens.
Ms. Tsinakis has a great passion for teaching and her priority as an educator of young minds is to assist children of diverse backgrounds to find meaning, passion, and direction in their educational experience, and ultimately in their lives. Ms. Tsinakis is committed to fostering, inspiring, and sustaining high levels of authentic learning in all students as a path through which they become active, compassionate, independent, and global learners. The principles and inspiration of Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project have been a guiding influence in her pursuit of refining and growing her literacy instruction.
Ms. Tsinakis has a strong professional interest in curriculum design and professional development. Specifically, she has served as a scope and sequence writer for Metro Nashville Public Schools, was a member of the vertical K-4 planning team, and has led literacy workshops at the school and district levels. During the past two years, she provided ongoing literacy professional development in and outside of ACS Athens. In particular, she created and presented a professional workshop at the Pinewood American International School in Thessaloniki and one (in collaboration with Evi Eyloyias of ACS Athens) at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki. She served on the ACS Athens Elementary Literacy Team and implemented the balanced literacy model of instruction in her classrooms. Furthermore, in collaboration with her curriculum partner Laura Kollintzas of ACS Athens, she reshaped the Grade 5 literacy curriculum and augmented it with new components, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Throughout her career, Ms. Tsinakis has participated in various professional development seminars and webinars. For example, she attended the Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project Unit of Study seminar in Atlanta (December 2015); the English Language Learners Summer Institute of Metro Nashville Public Schools (June 2016); and the Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project Writing Institute: Grades K-8 (July 2017) in Barcelona. Most recently, she attended the virtual institute by Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project, Teaching Literacy Virtually and with Magic: Grades K-8 (April 2020). Additionally, she attended a number of webinars by Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project: Building Schoolwide Excellence in Reading and Writing (December 2019); Deepening Reading Comprehension Across Complete Texts, based on Jennifer Serravallo's research and education theory (May 2020) and by Chapters International - Coaching in Education: What it is, What it isn't, and Why Coaching is Essential by Jim Knight (May 2020); and The Power of Making Thinking Visible (June 2020) by Ron Ritchhart and March Church.
While teaching in Nashville, she was a finalist for the Teacher of the Year, recognized as a Literacy Leader by the District Director of Literacy, was interviewed and observed by the National Public Radio program, Mind/Shift, and one of her guided reading lessons was filmed by the district as an example of exemplary reading instruction. Additionally, she collaborated in the SAIL Project (Survey, Analyze, Infer, Link) with education researcher Kathy Ganske of Peabody College to pioneer innovative and engaging word study instruction. She was featured in the November/December 2016 edition of The Reading Teacher, in the article SAIL: A Framework for Promoting Next-Generation Word Study by Kathy Ganske. Moreover, she is a contributing writer in the 2018 published revision of Word Sorts and More by Kathy Ganske.
email: tsinakiss@acs.gr
Greek Language & Literature
Ms. Pisanias, has been teaching in the Modern Language Department at ACS Athens since January 1995. While at ACS Athens she has taughtboth Greek Language B classes and Greek Language & Literature classes. She has taught Modern Greek for the IB Diploma for more than 20 years and currently she is teaching Modern Greek IB Language A: Language and Literature.
Ms. Pisanias holds a Bachelor of Arts in Greek and French Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Masters in Translation from Universite de Mons-Hainaut & Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium and a Masters in Education from the Hellenic Open University. The post graduate courses she has taken are in the areas of Child Development, Cross-cultural Education, School Administration and Distance Learning. The subject of her thesis was "Communication and Interaction between students in Distance Education". She has represented the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges as a member of an accreditation Validation Team.
While at ACS Athens she has been advisor of the Greek Literary Magazine, the Greek Club and several class Councils. Since September 2017 she is the Coordinator of the Greek Language Department.
email: pisaniask@acs.gr
Social Studies
Ms. Zavacopoulou was born in London, but was raised in Athens and attended a British international school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Social and Political Studies, a four-year course with majors in History, French and Italian from University College London (2004), and a Masters degree in Journalism from University of Westminster, London (2008).
A qualified secondary school teacher, she taught French and Spanish in an inner city London school through Teach First, a ground-breaking graduate training program that combines two years teaching in challenging London schools with business and leadership training. She also worked as a substitute teacher in over 20 different London schools in long-term and short-term placements for a further two years.
She joined the ACS Athens team in 2010 and started working in the Writing/Research Studio, where she helped and advised students on a variety of written assignments. She has since been involved in many aspects of school life: she coaches the ACS Athens Academy and Middle School debate teams, has participated in the Mentorship Program and has co-presented a workshop at the NESA Conference. With her teaching partner she has also developed and taught authentic Humanities courses for ACS Athens Virtual. Currently she is teaching IB TOK Senior Seminar, team-teaching Humanities and Grade 9 Europe and the World, as well as serving as Division Chair for Social Studies, K-12.
email: zavacopouloua@acs.gr
Physical Education
Mr. Dimitropoulos is a Physical Education Teacher and Coordinator for Physical Education. Mr. Dimitropoulos was raised in Athens, Greece. He earned his Bachelor Degree in Physical Education from the University of Physical Education and Sport Science in Athens and then received his Masters Degree in Sports Management, through a program ran by the International Olympic Committee, from University of Lyon, France.
Mr. Dimitropoulos has worked as the Baseball Competition Manager for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and has also observed the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. He has published a book on baseball.
He recently authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Mode".
He has also worked as a basketball coach in Greek Professional League and has attended a number of basketball clinics in Greece as well as in the States.
Mr. Dimitropoulos is a certified lifeguard and an emergency responder (CPR/First Aid for adult/child/infant).
email: dimitropoulosa@acs.gr
Arts
Sophia Stella Soseilos was born in Bonn, Germany, did her High school years in Nicosia, Cyprus and completed her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts Education from at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa. After that, she enrolled in the Drama Department of the same University doing Theater Design. Since then she has worked in South Africa, Greece and Cyprus as an Artist, Art Teacher, Interior Designer and Stage Designer for numerous theaters and TV set productions.
She is, at the same time, a qualified and experienced Art Teacher with international teaching experience both as a private and school teacher. Simultaneously Ms. Soseilos is a writer. Her short stories are published in two books. She holds a Master’s degree in Creative writing from the University of Western Macedonia, in Greece.
Ms. Soseilos is in ACS Athens since 2012. In addition to teaching, she is the Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator.
email: soseiloss@acs.gr