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Donnie Stahlke
Before beginning his 20 plus year career as a public-school teacher in Chicago and then in Asheville, Donnie was an artist who exhibited throughout the United States showing work in galleries and museums as well as having had many artist residencies.
Working in mixed media after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in ceramics with a special emphasis in art history, Donnie enjoyed drawing, collage, printmaking, painting, ceramics, cast-iron, performance, and mixed media. His background was a more tradit ... read moreional study of art leaning toward realism and portraiture which led him to combine techniques and materials to complete a more conceptual and thought provoking body of art. It was conducting workshops in art that Donnie realized he was to become a teacher.
As a founding member of The Franklin School of Innovation, he has been an administrator and an Exceptional Children’s teacher. But, TFSI was not the first EL school he helped to start. After being a teacher, coordinator, behavior specialist, and administrator in Chicago Public Schools he worked at the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School-one of the first EL schools. YWLCS was an all girl public charter school on the south side of Chicago which had, among many others, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and even President Barack Obama (he was running for president at this time) give commencement speeches for YWLCS.
After a difficult decision, Donnie and his wife and young children decided to leave Chicago and move to Western North Carolina-that was 13 years ago. Donnie worked at Buncombe County Schools for two years and then received a call from EL about a new charter in Asheville.
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