Meet The Team

The WAY Central Office team is committed to providing high quality programs and services to our students, staff, schools, and families.

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Rich is a proven leader in non-traditional education at the local, regional and state levels. With more than 20 years of progressive experience in education as a counselor, building administrator, central office administrator and assistant superintendent, his passion is working with district professionals to implement the most supportive, enriched environment possible for learners.

Rich has been often called upon to share his expertise with other educators in a variety of settings - including presentations at state and national conferences.

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Madeline serves as the Superintendent of WAY Charter Schools. Madeline has been a leader in blended and project based learning since 2008. She provides our partnerships with experience gained from years in education serving as a classroom teacher, building leader, community outreach and quality assurance director. She is a mentor for students, teachers and administrators.

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Michelle Sarkody has been with WAY Program since 2010. She is currently serving as the Director of Compliance and Accountability for WAY Program.

A few of Mrs. Sarkody’s responsibilities include completion and submission of numerous state and federal forms on behalf of the Academy sites Michelle also assists with WAY partner sites with the same task, ensuring compliance documents are completed, submitted, and uploaded to the Academy site authorizers, handles pupil accounting for Academy site locations, REP reporting, MCIR reporting and much more.

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Alexandra has been with WAY since 2017. She is currently the accountant for WAY Program. She is also the Pupil Accounting Officer for the WAY Academy sites and handles various aspects of state reporting. Alexandra has worked at charter schools for over 10 years in different positions. Within these different positions, she has really enjoyed working with students and educators but most importantly she looks forward to continuing being a part of the WAY Program family.

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Thea Daniels, Director of Finance, has 18 years of experience in school finance. Prior to joining WAY Program, Thea was employed with several Public Schools working with both thriving and financially challenged schools districts.

Thea has direct knowledge of Public School Academy Budgeting, Cash Management, Auditing Standards and establishing strong Internal Controls. Thea also has more than 5 years of experience working with Grants and Federal Funds.

Thea holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Cleary University. Thea Daniels is also a member of MSBO (Michigan School Business Officials) where she holds a CFO and BOM certification.

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Brett serves as the Assistant Director of Development at WAY. As a high school English teacher, he loved designing instruction and bringing creative ideas to life. Brett comes from a classroom teaching and instructional design background. Prior to joining the WAY team, he spent several years teaching at public schools and Wayne State University.

Outside of the office, you’ll find him reading, playing board games, and hiking with his son and wife.

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Darrell administers the overall goals, policy, workflow, and projects for the multimedia and technology departments. This includes the design, development, and support of web-based initiatives, video needs, marketing initiatives, pupil accounting, and technology services. He is also responsible for aligning multimedia technology services into a unified, formal structure and provide supervision, leadership, implementation, and strategic planning for these services.

Darrell's twenty-plus year career in Instructional Technology and Web Application Development has encompassed a diverse set of experiences, from hands-on technology development and implementation to project management and administration for Wayne County and statewide school systems. During this time he has successfully completed many large-scale technology initiatives, including the acquisition, logistics, and implementation of distance learning technology packages for Detroit Public Schools, enterprise-level technology deployment for Wayne County schools, and development of statewide government streaming video systems for Michigan REMC Association and the Michigan Department of Education.