About Us

Athens Learning Group is a non-profit consulting firm that partners with school systems, non-profits, governments and foundations to increase the competitiveness of secondary students in higher education.

Team

Melissa Kaplan
Literacy

Melissa Kaplan, a founder and Partner of Athens Learning Group, is one of the founding teachers of View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School. As English Department Chairperson of the Middle and High Schools, she designs and implements teacher trainings and facilitates ongoing professional development. In 2005, under her direction, View Park students closed the Language Arts achievement gap between African-American students and their White peers.

Melissa graduated cum laude from DeSales University with a double major in Secondary Education and Theatre Arts. She has completed graduate training in philosophy and rhetoric and is pursuing her M.Ed through UCLA's Principal Leadership Institute. In 1999, Phi Delta Kappa honored her as an outstanding young educator and, in 2003, she was named ICEF’s Teacher of the Year. Melissa lives in Burbank, CA with her husband.

Robert Schwartz
School Leadership

Robert Schwartz is a founder and Partner with Athens Learning Group. He is the founding Principal at View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School and has led the growth and expansion of the high school from 75 9th graders to 375 students in grades 9-12. Under his leadership, View Park Prep has achieved some of the highest test scores in the state, including an 8 out of 10 API in its second year. As instructional leader, Robert has facilitated the complete curricular design of the school's rigorous academic program focused solely on the mission of the school, "To prepare students to attend and compete academically at the top colleges and universities in the nation."

Before becoming principal, Robert taught two years at View Park Prep Middle School; he was named teacher of the year both years and lead teacher in his second year. As a 1994 Teach for America Corps member, he spent eight years at his initial placement site, Stevenson Middle School in East LA, becoming science department chairperson after his second year. Between the two schools and Teach for America, he has trained over 150 teachers. He graduated from Binghamton University cum laude with a double major in Biology and Classical Languages and earned his MA in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration at the Rossier School of Education at USC. He lives in Redondo Beach, CA with his wife and twins, a boy and a girl.