Contact Us

Dr. Kate Maxlow

FLEx Program Founder

HCS Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Dr. Kate Maxlow began teaching in 2004 and has worked as a third- and fourth-grade teacher, an instructional coach, an educational consultant, a virtual teacher on Outschool, and a professional learning coordinator. She is passionate about instruction that is FUN and brings learning to life. She loves trying out new ideas for learning games on her husband and children, who are almost always good sports about it.

Dr. Jennifer Thomason

Coordinator of Innovation and Digital Learning

FLEx Program Director

Dr. Jennifer Thomason started her educational career in 2010 teaching 5th grade. She loves collaborating with teachers to brainstorm innovative ideas to use in the classroom virtually or in person. She has a passion for science, curriculum, and ensuring equity for all students. In her freetime, she enjoys reading, watching movies, going to the beach, and going on adventures with her family and friends.

Gary Skeen

FLEx Family Support Specialist

HCS Virtual Partnership Specialist

Gary Skeen is in his 13th year as a Virginia educator. During his career, he has taught music as a band director across the Commonwealth at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. His favorite aspect of education is building a classroom community that works together and where every student feels supported. He is an avid college football fan and is always cheering on the Tennessee Volunteers every fall.

Jennifer Lockett

FLEx Family Support Specialist

HCS Virtual Partnership Specialist

Jennifer Lockett has been in education for 19 years and has taught 8th grade and 5th grade. One of her favorite things about teaching is watching students see connections between what they are learning and their lives. She enjoyed completing her student teaching in a DoDEA school in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Belinda Flucker

K-2  Lead Instruction Designer

HCS Digital Learning Specialist

Belinda Flcuker is currently enjoying her seventh year in education. She previously taught history to some of the brightest and most inquisitive young people she knows. Her favorite things about education are building relationships and creating engaging learning experiences for students. She's also a busy mom to the best little boy she knows and two cats who make her laugh each day.

Shannon Pohlman

Middle School Lead Instructional Designer

After graduating from Radford University with a degree in Exercise, Sport, and Health Education, Shannon was unsure that she wanted to be an Athletic Trainer.  She went back to school and earned a M.A.T. in Teaching with a concentration in Science.  She started her teaching career at Davis Middle School (now Tarrant) teaching 7th grade Life Science.  She taught there for 3 years and then moved to Phenix PreK-8 School in 2010 when it opened to teach 8th grade Physical Science.  After being in the classroom for a 6 years total, she took a position as a Curriculum Integrated Technology Teacher for 1 year.  The summer of 2014, Shannon became the Secondary Science Teacher Specialist for Hampton City School.  During her role in that position, she wrote curriculum and assessments for secondary science, helped with grant work including a grant from NOAA and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that allowed teachers and students to explore their environment on land and in the water.  She was with the science department for 8 years.  

She is happy to join the IPL team during the 2022-2023 school year and will be focusing on the middle school FLEx curriculum.  

When not at work, Shannon loves being with her family and friends.  She lives with her husband, Matt (a teacher at Kecoughtan High School) and 2 sons, Gunnar (7) and Rhett (2).  She loves to travel (cruising and camping), taking pictures, and shopping.