EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Art in History and Secondary Education - Social Studies, York College of Pennsylvania
Master of Education in Educational Leadership, Cabrini College
Administrative Certification PK-12, Cabrini College
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This is Mrs. Rhinehart's fifth year at CASA. She is from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Her family includes her husband, Justin, who is a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force, and her two children--a son, Ridge, and a daughter, Spencer. Mrs. Rhinehart enjoys traveling, snorkeling and swimming, reading, cooking and baking, exploring nature, being silly with her kids, and watching true crime documentaries and shows.
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What brought you to CASA?
My sister went to CASA when it was a magnet program in the early 2000s. She is an incredibly talented singer, but the type of music she liked to sing did not fit with our traditional high school music program. When she discovered CASA, it completely changed her life. It made a huge impact on her artistically, as well as giving her an amazing group of supportive and collaborative peers. In 2017, I saw the Facebook posting that CASA was looking for an Assistant Principal. I loved teaching and working closely with my students at Middletown, but was waiting for the right place to have the opportunity to work as an administrator and felt strongly that CASA was "the place" for this next step in my career as an educator.
Where did you work and what was your role prior to coming to CASA?
Before coming to CASA, I taught Social Studies and was the Department Chair at Middletown Area High School for 7 years, and taught 8th Grade Science for the first 3 years of my career at Middletown Area Middle School. In addition to teaching, I coached the girls' varsity softball team for 9 seasons. I was also an advisor to the Pathways to P.R.I.D.E. Career Readiness program, Key Club, and Link Crew.
What is your favorite part of working at CASA?
I love working with young people who are incredibly passionate about something. It is truly inspiring to see students who seek out the opportunity to come to CASA to better themselves academically and artistically.
What is your connection to the arts? How are you an artist?
I have always been passionate about the arts and throughout my childhood found ways to express myself in a variety of art disciplines. I played the flute and piccolo in Camp Hill High School’s marching and concert bands. I enjoyed sketching with colored pencils and painting oil landscapes, and took many classes with the Harrisburg Art Association. I love to dance for fun (my running man is pretty solid). I would consider myself a film buff, and loved to write and perform skits, and make short films with my friends on my parents’ camcorder. I’ve always loved expressing myself creatively and artistically, and love to connect with our students over our shared interests.
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What do you feel is your impact on our school community, students, and culture?
My impact is mostly behind the scenes, so I guess you could say that I’m like the school’s stage manager. I oversee our school-wide programming including our school-wide academic and artistic curricula, our College and Career Readiness program, our CAOLA online learning system, and am the main point of contact for addressing student concerns or needs. I have two goals for every day—to make sure that our students are gaining the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be successful in their future plans, and to ensure that our school is consistently a safe, equitable, and positive space for our students to foster their learning and growth as individuals.
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What advice do you have for our students?
Try new things every day! Looking back on my youth, I often did not take advantage of opportunities to try new things because of my own fear of the unknown. As an adult, I now seek out opportunities that allow me to conquer my fears and break out of my comfort zone. I have found this to be incredibly rewarding over the years.
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Fun facts about Mrs. Rhinehart:
I’m very Type A and organized, but my office is always a hot mess that I’ve just come to accept as my reality.
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I have been obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since I was little. I have a collection of TMNT memorabilia in my office, and my husband and I even had a small Raphael and Michelangelo as our wedding cake topper.
