CPI has assembled an accomplished team with extensive experience in teaching, training, and operating high-quality schools, led by principals Sheila Balboni and Bruce Bean.



Sheila Balboni, M.Ed.
Executive Director

Sheila has overseen the continued growth of CPI and has established a reputation as a leader in the field of education. She is the founder of numerous non-profit education programs, including preschool, after-school, and workforce development initiatives. She is also the founder and director of Community Day Charter Public School. Sheila has served on numerous state level task forces and planning committees concerning policies and programs in support of families. She is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Board, past President of the Massachusetts Charter Public Schools Association, and past President of the Massachusetts Association of Child Care Agencies. Sheila holds a Master's in Education from Framingham State College and a Master's in Education, Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.



Bruce Bean, Ph.D
Data Manager

Bruce has been involved in various forms of data analysis for more than thirty years. Working as an accountant, he created a complete custom software general ledger package and other software programs. As the founder of his own economics software company, Bruce created custom software that contained over 14,000 economic and financial time series that gained national acclaim. For the past twelve years, he has worked for The Community Group and Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he has created custom data tools that present assessment data to teachers and administrators in an easy-to-use form. Bruce earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of New Hampshire.

Our Trainers

Eileen Bond

Eileen’s work in education spans several grades and subjects. She brings a great deal of classroom experience, as well as educational research, to her role as facilitator. In addition, she has been a tutor, curriculum consultant, curriculum designer, and coach. Among other areas, Eileen specializes in curriculum alignment and adolescents’ academic achievement. Her doctoral dissertation was titled Improving the Academic Achievement of Sixth Grade Students Who Do Not Perform at Grade Level in Mathematics. Eileen holds degrees from Nova Southeastern University, Wheelock College, and Harvard University.

Jill Butler

Jill is beginning her fifth year as a seventh and eighth grade middle school math teacher and her 14th year as an educator. In addition to being a classroom teacher, she has ten years of experience as a paraprofessional. Jill has worked with regular education students, as well as students with mild to severe special needs. She has spent a great deal of time analyzing data to better serve the needs of her students. Jill earned a BS degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Charley Easley

Charley has been a teacher since he retired from the Navy in 1994. He has been with Community Day Charter Public School since its opening in 1995, and has taught second through seventh grades during those years. He is primarily a Math teacher, but he also teachers English Language Arts and Social Studies. He earned a BA in Government from New Mexico State University, an MA in Urban Studies/Public Administration from the University of Maryland, and a M.Ed. from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. Charley is married and has two children in college.

Karen McCartney

Karen has worked as a classroom teacher and math specialist at Community Day Charter Public School for the last four years. Along with classroom experience in grades 2-5, she also brings experience analyzing data and using it to inform instruction. She received her B.S. in environmental science from the University of Rochester and her M.Ed. from Boston University.

Kathy Schardin

Kathy has been the full-time math tutor at Community Day Charter Public School for nearly six years. Prior to this, she was the center director and education director at a major tutoring center. This involved designing programs to remediate students in Language Arts and Math, while partnering with their parents and teachers. She received her education at Ladycliff College and Merrimack College. Kathy is also a choir director and singer.

Brian Selling

Brian Selling began his teaching career in the U.S. Army, where he taught ROTC cadets at the University of Notre Dame and taught literacy to GED candidates. Brian also taught others how to fly helicopters. Following his retirement, he turned to teaching all subjects to a much more important audience: fifth grade students. His background in math and statistical analysis enable him to identify trends and causality. Now in his eighth year as an elementary education teacher, Brian is experienced with different states' standardized testing programs and protocols, and teaches 5th grade at Community Day Charter Public School.


Tricia White

Tricia is a reading intervention teacher for grades K-5. She has a background in Information Resource Management and received her Bachelor of Science from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. She continued her education after a career change and received her masters in Elementary Education from Salem State College. Tricia enjoys using data to enhance her students' learning. She looks forward to another year of collaborating and consulting with classroom teachers at Community Day Charter Public School.

Tricia Xavier

Tricia brings to CPI a compassion for learning and experience working with children ranging from pre-school to eighth grade. Her role as an educator has taken many forms, including classroom teaching, tutoring, and therapeutic services for students with special needs. One of Tricia’s areas of expertise is collecting, analyzing, and using data about her students. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Human Development from Boston College and a Master’s degree in Education from Emmanuel College.