Main Street School Staff

Tanya Apana - Founder, Head of School

High School & Middle School Teacher

I received my BS in Biology and science teaching certification, and my Master's in Education for Transformative School Leadership, from Iowa State University. I started my teaching career as a high school science teacher, but finally found my niche creating an independent learning community. I have been leading and teaching at Main Street School since its inception in 2006. Apart from a passion for teaching, I enjoy spending time with my 3 kids and 2 dogs, traveling, digging in the dirt, and playing in nature.

Amysue O'Connor - Assistant Head of School

Bio Coming

Kelly Donnelly - Lead Primary Teacher

My name is Mrs. Kelly Donnelly (Ms. Kelly), and I have the honor of being your child's teacher this 2025-26 school year. I am originally a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native, and have a great passion for teaching and learning. I currently hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (English and History Minor) and recently attained my Master's Degree in Effective Teaching (Endorsement in Gifted and Talented K-12) from Drake University. I have had the opportunity to teach in a variety of amazing places over the past 30 years as an educator in Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Iowa & Dublin, Ireland. Over the last 18 years, I have called Iowa home and have been very active in early childhood advocacy and education. I also enjoy spending time with my beautiful family, traveling, meeting new people, and learning about other cultures. My husband, Jason Donnelly, is a commercial photographer, and we have been blessed with four children and our fur baby Teddy.

Isaac Anderson - Early Elementary Teacher

My name is Isaac Anderson (Mr. Isaac), and I am so excited to welcome new and returning students to the Main Street School family. I was born and raised here in Norwalk, Iowa, and have been teaching at Main Street since 2021. I found my passion for teaching in high school while volunteering as a tutor for refugees in the Des Moines area. I graduated from Iowa State University in 2020, and I am currently working on my Master's of Elementary Education at Western Governors University. As a Main Street alumn, I know the value of project-based learning and being in a smaller school environment. In addition to my passion for helping students grow, I love spending time in nature, surrounded by plants and animals, traveling, and seeing as much of the world as I can.

Upper Elementary Teacher

Bio Coming

Kara Hess - 5th - 6th Grade Teacher

Hello! My name is Kara Hess, and my students know me as Ms. H. I am so excited to be a part of the Main Street School community, where I will be teaching fifth and sixth grade! I bring over 15 years of teaching experience to our school, including working with four-year-old preschool, fifth grade, and serving as a middle school behavior associate. I also come from a family of educators, as my mom was a teacher, and my brother and sister-in-law are teachers too.

I am a proud Indianola native, having graduated from both Indianola High School and Simpson College. It is wonderful to live, work, and raise my family in the community I love. Outside of school, I stay busy keeping up with my family, including my 13-year-old boy/girl twins and my three-year-old. You can usually find me at the field cheering on my oldest at baseball and softball games. In my free time, I love spending time with my family, listening to good music, enjoying good food, spending time with my pets, traveling, writing and reading.

Jenipher Sutherland - Middle School Teacher

Secondary Art Teacher

Bio Coming

Kamerhe Lane - Secondary Teacher

My name is Kamerhe Lane, and I’m the secondary Social Studies teacher at Main Street School. I’ve lived all over the United States and the world, but I’m an Iowa girl at heart. My wanderings started at 17 years old when I spent a year in Resistencia, Argentina as a Rotary foreign exchange student. In college, I spent a semester in Grantham, England and another in Kampala, Uganda before graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in International Studies with specialties in Political Science and Anthropology. I did a fifth year to obtain my teaching certificate and taught in alternative schools in California and Iowa before returning to teach at Norwalk Middle School. I then spent seven years teaching abroad in the Middle East in what was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career. After a 10+ sabbatical from teaching, I’m ready for the new challenges and rewards that await me at Main Street School.

Sheri Florez - Secondary Teacher

I am Ms. Sheri, and I have taught at Main Street School for 9 years which happens to be longer than anywhere else in my 45-year teaching career. I have taught in a variety of schools, in a range of levels, in many different classrooms. I started my teaching career in the 1970s in Peace Corps/Zaire (Democratic Rep. of the Congo now) and went on to teach in Seattle, WA; Houston, TX: Knoxville and Indianola, IA as well as in private international schools in Turkey and Kuwait.

Suffice it to say, I like to change climates from time to time. I love new experiences and learning about new places, cultures and people. That’s one of the things that brought me to Main Street. I have loved the freedom to teach a curriculum that speaks to the interests of our kids while holding them to high standards. Teaching is said to be a career, but for me it has been my passion. When I am not teaching, you will find me enjoying my other passion: reading history and political science books on my porch with a glass of iced tea or coffee.

Sarah Jorgenson - Music Education

I have been teaching both privately and in the collegiate setting for nearly 20 years. I began my musical journey by graduating with a classical voice performance degree and extensive master’s pedagogy classes from the University of NE- Lincoln. After an exciting career as a professional in musical theater, I met my husband and planted roots in Des Moines where I’ve taken on my favorite role of being a mama to four amazing kiddos. I am also the founding director of Rising Stars Show Choir 4 Kids, a non-audition fully inclusive choir for children of all ages and abilities and a teaching artist with City Voices Des Moines.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Statement

Main Street School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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