CUSA Leadership Team

Anna Hadgis is CUSA’s Principal. Her years in private and public education have imbued her with a keen desire to make sure that all children have the opportunity to obtain the best education possible. She will now share her tremendous energy and talent with CUSA. Anna served as Head of the Lower School at The Episcopal Academy and at The Shipley School, both in suburban Philadelphia. In 2006, she joined the Russell Byers Charter School in center-city Philadelphia, becoming Assistant Principal in 2007 and Principal in 2009. Prior to Russell Byers, Anna was a Philadelphia School District “Reading First” coach. Anna earned both her BA and MA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied classical archaeology. While living in Connecticut and teaching in the Greenwich school system, she earned a Master’s degree in education from the University of Bridgeport. After returning to the Philadelphia area with her husband and three children, Anna received her principal certifications in both elementary and secondary education at Widener University where she is currently pursuing an EdD in administrative education.

Akosua Watts is CUSA’s Assistant Principal. Akosua possesses a unique talent for empowering children to learn and motivating teachers to bring their best to the classroom. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and was named the Helena Rubenstein Foundation Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she earned a Master’s degree in elementary education. Upon graduation, she taught for four years at Hugo Newman College Preparatory School-P.S. 180 in New York City. While serving as Adjunct Professor at Mercy College and as a Fellow Advisor to the New York City Teaching Fellow Program, she helped to prepare prospective teachers to enter high-need schools in the New York area. Akosua joined the Russell Byers Charter School in Philadelphia in 2005 as a 2nd grade teacher and later served as the school’s Instructional Guide before becoming Assistant Principal in 2009. She completed her Principal Certification program at Eastern University.