Meet The Brighten Staff

 

ADMINISTRATION:

Lisa McDonald - Director:  lmcdonald@brightenacademy.com 

Lisa McDonald worked as an educator for the Douglas County Gifted Program at Mirror Lake Elementary School before coming to Brighten. She has 9 years of educational experience, including both regular and gifted education. She has experience with opening two new elementary schools in Douglas County. Mrs. McDonald earned her Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Program Service Learning and her Gifted Education Add-on certification from Mercer University. She serves as the Brighten Academy Founding Board Vice President. She is a loving wife to Robert, an attorney, and mother to three lovely girls, Halee and twins, Lauren and Abigail.


Angi Andrews - Office Manager:  aandrews@brightenacademy.com

Mrs. Andrews is a founding staff member of Brighten Academy.  Before coming to Brighten she worked in administration for 17 years.  She is married to her high school sweetheart, Joey.  They have two wonderful children: Jake (baseball man) and Abbi (softball girl).  She spends most of her time at the school, ballpark or running her children to their next activity.  She loves spending time with her family, going to the movies and a reading a good book!  She loves her “Brighten Family” and feels blessed to be a part of such a wonderful school.

 

Connie Arnold - carnold@brightenacademy.com

Mrs. Arnold serves as both Assistant Director and Media Specialist at Brighten Academy. She has taught kindergarten and first grade at Beulah Elementary and Mirror Lake Elementary. Mrs. Arnold received her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from West Georgia College. She earned her Master's Degree from Piedmont College and her Specialist's Degree from Lincoln Memorial University. She has served on various school committees including the Relay for Life team and the leadership team. She is married to Brian and has three wonderful sons: Jacob, Ross and Joey. She enjoys outdoor activities such as biking and walking with her family, and of course, READING!

 

KINDERGARTEN TEAM:

Kellie Chaves - kchaves@brightenacademy.com

 

Nicole Folsom - nfolsom@brightenacademy.com

This is Nicole Folsome's 2nd year teaching Kindergarten at Brighten Academy. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. She resides in Paulding County with her husband, Luke and their two sons. Caden is 5 and will be in Kindergarten this year and Chandler is 3. She strongly believes that parent/teacher communication is vital to a student’s academic successand her door is always open. She is looking forward to a wonderful year filled with growth, fun, and a lot of learning and appreciates you sharing your children with her!

 

Buffi Triplett - btriplett@brightenacademy.com

Buffi Triplett has been on the Brighten Staff since 2009. She started as an after school teacher and substitute teacher, and was then hired as a part time paraprofessional in our Kindergarten room. Buffi is the proud mom of two daughters, Raven and Carrington.


1ST GRADE TEAM:

Tori Andrade - tandrade@brightenacademy.com

Tori Andrade came to us from Sweetwater Elementary School in Douglas County where she taught first grade. She had been at Sweetwater since it's opening in 1997. Previous to that, she taught a ½ multiage class and second grade also. Tori received her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Auburn University and her master's degree from Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. Tori and her husband, Jay, live in Douglasville with their two children Joshua and Macy Elizabeth.


Audra Shelton - ashelton@brightenacademy.com

Audra Shelton graduated from the University of West Georgia with a degree in Early Childhood.  She received a job in Douglas County after graduation and just completed her eighth year of teaching.  During her teaching experience, she continued her education and received a Master's degree from Central Michigan University and an Educational Specialist degree from Piedmont College.  During her eight years of teaching, Mrs. Shelton has been a member of the leadership team, the GPS Social Studies facilitator, a mentor teacher, and a member of the school council and professional learning council.  She was awarded the Burnett Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2007.  She has a wonderful, supportive husband and two playful puppies.  She enjoys going to the gym, hiking the trails at local parks, and creating scrapbooks to capture wonderful memories.


2ND GRADE TEAM:

Kristin Anderson - kanderson@brightenacademy.com

Kristin earned her teaching certification from the University of West Georgia. She is currently working toward earning her gifted certification. She is a long time resident of Douglasville and served as PTA President at Bright Star Elementary. She is married to Joel who is a Police Sergeant. They have three children—Brendan, a talented baseball player, Cassidy, a budding cheerleader, and Owen. In her “spare” time Kristin enjoys scrapbooking and spending time with her family. She is extremely happy to be a teacher at Brighten Academy.

 

Rachel Garner - rgarner@brightenacademy.com

Rachel Garner began her teaching career at Brighten Academy in 2009. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgia Southwestern University in December 2008, and is a member of the National Honor Society, Alpha Chi. She resides in Villa Rica, Georgia with her husband Gary, a cardiac registered nurse, and their two children.  Mrs. Garner's son Austin is a baseball and soccer star, while daughter Megan delights in ballet and tap dance. Both children attend Brighten Academy. Mrs. Garner enjoys reading and creative writing. She also loves the second grade, and is anticipating another awesome year for the second grade Brighten Blazers!

3RD GRADE TEAM:

Leigh DeNucci - ldenucci@brightenacademy.com

Leigh DeNucci has been a teacher in the Douglas County School System for more then 16 years. She taught at Eastside, Mt. Carmel, Sweetwater, Bill Arp, and Chapel Hill Elementary Schools. She has a Bachelor's Degree from Auburn University and a Master's Degree from Piedmont College, both in Early Childhood Education. Mrs. DeNucci has completed Teacher Support Specialist training and is currently working toward gifted certification. She lives with her husband, Daniel, and their children Mary Cate, Madison, Meredith, and Nicholas.

 

Tonya Roskaft - troskaft@brightenacademy.com

Tonya Roskaft has taught pre-k, first, second, third and fourth grades in Douglas County. Throughout her years teaching, Mrs. Roskaft has been Language Arts Chair, Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) facilitator, a mentor teacher, staff development liaison, on the leadership team and contributed to the development of the state wide Fifth Grade Writing Assessment. While teaching, Mrs. Roskaft has continued her education, receiving a master's degree in early childhood education and a specialist degree in educational leadership. Currently Mrs. Roskaft is writing her dissertation in order to complete her doctorate in educational leadership. Mrs. Roskaft lives in Douglasville with her husband, Kristian, son Kristoffer and Jenna (their black lab). In her spare time she enjoys reading, playing tennis and traveling.


4TH GRADE TEAM:



Jennifer Hamlin - jhamlin@brightenacademy.com

As a teacher's kid, Jennifer Hamlin grew up loving the sights, sounds and experiences of school. Early in life she caught an appreciation for books, an excitement for ideas, and the joy of learning from her educator parents. She still loves to read for pleasure and self-growth. She writes fiction as a hobby and has had a few short stories published in small press magazines. She loves the outdoors, whether horseback riding, snow skiing, taking long walks in the woods, swimming or just sitting by the pool. She enjoys travel, especially with her family. Mrs. Hamlin and her husband, Pete, have been married for over 20 years. They share their lives with three terrific kids. Ruthie is a gymnast, cheerleader, and avid reader. Taylor is a gifted athlete in basketball and baseball.  They are very proud of their daughter, Kyla,  But the baby of their family really runs the house, their Jack Russell Terrier, Cotton. Mrs. Hamlin is so excited to be a part of the Brighten Academy family.

 

Suzanne Helms - shelms@brightenacademy.com

Suzanne Helms is a lifelong resident of Douglasville. She is very excited to be involved in advancing education in her hometown. She graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education and is currently working on her Master's Degree in Library Media. Mrs. Helms taught second grade at LaBelle Elementary in Cobb County where she was nominated by the county for the Sallie Mae First Class Teacher award. Mrs. Helms left LaBelle in 2001 to stay home with her son, Duncan. She is the loving wife of Jeff, who is an Implementation Support Specialist for Verint Systems Inc..


5TH GRADE TEAM:

Amy Caro - acaro@brightenacademy.com

Amy Caro began her teaching career at Brigham Young University where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education. She worked in Provo, Utah as a Paraprofessional for four years and as After School Director for an elementary school. She taught 1st grade for three years at Timpanogos Elementary. As a first grade educator, she was recognized as the Golden Apple Winner for educational distinction. Mrs. Caro has served as co-chair support, team member for school restructuring, and as First Grade Director. Her most recent position has been teaching 5th grade at Mirror Lake Elementary School. Mrs. Caro is wife to Carlos, and loving mother to three wonderful children, Spencer, Rachael, and Robby.


Kim Engleson - kengelson@brightenacademy.com

Kim Engleson has been with Brighten from the start. She came to us from Mirror Lake Elementary where she was a fifth grade teacher instructing math and science. Prior to that, Mrs. Engleson taught sixth grade math and science in Richardson, Texas for 13 years. She has also taught second grade in Austin, Texas and fifth grade in Sumter, South Carolina. Mrs. Engleson received an honor's degree in education from the University of Southern Colorado. Mrs. Engleson has been married to Larry for over 30 fabulous years. She is a proud mom to Joel, an engineer working in San Diego and to Clint, a University of San Diego law student.


MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM:

Shawne Grogan - sgrogan@brightenacademy.com

Shawne Grogan has more than 10 years of teaching experience in the Douglas County School System. She spent 8 years at Fairplay Middle School,one at Chestnut Log Middle School and one at Holly Springs Elementary School before coming to Brighten. She has taught in both the regular classroom environment and the gifted program. Shawne has served as the department head for the Social Studies department. She was also the team leader for the text book selection committee. Shawne earned her Bachelor's degree in Education from at the University of West Georgia. She has her Gifted Add-on certification. She has been married for over 10 years to her husband Jeff, an IT professional and is mother to their beautiful daughter, Lily.

Laura Rogers -mailto:lrogers@brightenacademy.com

Laura Rogers is energized to begin her third year teaching 7th and 8th grade Language Arts at Brighten. Laura earned a B.A. from DePauw University in both Spanish and Psychology. After college she moved to Atlanta from the suburbs of Chicago and began working for CNN. After working there for more than 7 years she decided to stay at home full-time with her children. As the children got older she returned to the workforce. She taught music at Blackstock Montessori in Villa Rica, directed the children’s choir at church and assisted at a local preschool. She then accepted a position teaching music at Brighten for grades Kindergarten through 8th.  During that time she worked to complete her Masters Degree in Education. Upon completion of her degree she began teaching 7th and 8th grade Language Arts.  She lives in Villa Rica with her husband, Tom and her two children: Caleb and Ethan.

 

Kelly Olvey - kolvey@brightenacademy.com

Kelly Olvey is very excited to be a part of Brighten’s Middle school team this year. Kelly is a lifelong resident of Douglasville where she graduated from Douglas County High School. Kelly graduated with her Associates Degree from Truett McConnell College in Cleveland, GA and she earned her teaching certification from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education. Mrs. Olvey has recently become highly qualified to teach middle school Social Studies and is excited to be back in the classroom. Kelly taught elementary school in Cobb County for 7 years before staying at home with her children, MacKenzie, Brooklyn and Addisynn. Over the last few years, Kelly has served as a volunteer for Brighten where she was Co-Chair for the Birdies for Brighten golf tournament and she helped establish the PTO. Kelly served on the Fundraising Committee and the PTO board. Mrs. Olvey has been married for over 10 years to her husband, Jamie, co-owner of Stone Solutions of Atlanta. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, sewing, and taking pictures.

 

Alisha Nations - anations@brightenacademy.com

 

Alisha Nations is the wife of Berry Nations and devoted mother to Blaton, a senior at Alexander High School. Her family enjoys being involved in the community and working on projects to help the youth of Douglas County.

She has taught fifth grade for two years, and has also worked at Beulah Elementary teaching  summer school and providing tutoring in the after school program.  She is currently certified in early childhood, middle grades, and some areas of high school and special education.   In addition to teaching fifth grade,she has experience in the areas of ESOL, gifted, and special education.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and History with a minor in Teacher Education from Mercer University, a Master’s Degree in Education from Walden University, and currently attends Liberty University where she is pursuing an Education Specialist Degree in Teaching and Learning.

 

Will White - wwhite@brightenacademy.com

 

Will was born in Charleston SC and gradated from Summerville High School. He received his college degree from UGA. Will has taught middle school for 4 years. He enjoys fishing, music and the Georgia Bulldogs. He is married to Kellie and has 2 dogs; Daisy, a yellow lab and Sienna, a rescued Chihuahua mix.

 

Jessica Caballero-Ashmeade - jashmeade@brightenacademy.com

 

Jessica joins the Brighten family from Florida, where she was a 5th grade teacher in the public school system for five years. During that time, she was a member of the district’s Reading Council, served as the fifth grade team leader, and was a science grant recipient. She was born in Detroit, raised in Washington D.C., and lived in and attended college in Florida before relocating to Douglasville to be near family. Jessica has a diverse background, having served as a police officer for four years in her Florida community prior to becoming a teacher. She also spent time as a Park Ranger in downtown Atlanta before joining Brighten. Jessica lives with her husband, Robert, and their two children Jordan and Evan. Both children attend Brighten Preparatory. In her spare time, Mrs.Caballero-Ashmeade enjoys reading, solving math puzzles, playing tennis, and running.




PARAPROFESSIONAL TEAM:

Kimberly Richison - krichison@brightenacademy.com
Kimberly is very excited to be a part of the Brighten team. She has taught pre-K for 4 years and for the past 7 years has taught at a Christian School. She has been married to her husband, Tad, for over 20 years and they have one daughter, Amber. She is looking forward to a wonderful year!

GIFTED TEAM:

Mandie Hardeman - mhardeman@brightenacademy.com
Mandie Hardeman has been teaching for over ten years. She has taught in both regular and gifted classrooms. Mrs. Hardeman earned a Bachelor's degree in Middle Grades Education from University of West Georgia, a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Piedmont College, and is gifted certified. She and her husband, Ronnie, have two children, Olivia and Avery.

Dana Pace - dpace@brightenacademy.com

Dana Pace received an AA in sociology from Florida Technological University and a BA in education from the University of Florida. Her first teaching job was at the DeKalb Training Center working with severely emotionally disturbed and/or mentally handicapped children and adults. She came to work in Douglas County as a behavior disorders teacher and then switched fields and began teaching gifted resource classes. Mrs. Pace taught in several different elementary and middle schools. Mrs. Pace took a sabbatical from teaching to move to Germany with her husband and to raise her three children. She then went back to teaching Program Challenge, and has worked in that capacity for over 10 years. Mrs. Pace has been involved in many community activities, including Friends of the Douglas County Library, Junior League, and the Douglas County Literacy Society. She has also volunteered as a mentor and in other capacities in the public school system. She serves as the Brighten Academy Founding Board Treasurer. Mrs. Pace lives in Douglasville with her husband, Mike. They have three wonderful children: Adam, Andrew, and Becca.



SPECIAL EDUCATION:

Antoinette Andrey - aandrey@brightenacademy.com

Mrs. Andrey is the proud mother of wonderful twins, Malik and Nicolette. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from DeVry Institute of technology and is presently pursuing a Masters Degree in Education. Mrs. Andrey has spent the last five years working in the Douglas County School System as both a Paraprofessional and Long Term Substitute Teacher. Prior to that, Mrs. Andrey worked as a Paraprofessional in the Fulton County School System.
 
SPECIALS TEAM:

Christy House - chouse@brightenacademy.com

Christy House has been a staff member at Brighten since it opened.  She teaches Dance and Movement and Arts and Crafts.  Christy has been married to Bob House for almost 20 years.  They have two wonderful children who attend Brighten, Garrison and Ashley.

Sandi Gore - sgore@brightenacademy.com

Sandi has lived in Douglas County all of her life. After graduating from Lithia Springs High School (1986), she continued her education at West Georgia College & Kennesaw State University. After two years, she made the decision to become a Certified Travel Consultant at Advanced Career Training. Most of her life has been dedicated to working for her sister at Douglas County Dance & Gymnastics Academy. She started at the age of 14 assisting in class and over the years moved up to becoming Assistant Director of the studio. After 25 years she decided to leave the studio so she could be home at night with her family.  She has been married to her husband, James, for over twenty years and they have two children, Chase and Chasidy. She considers it a privilege to teach Physical Education at Brighten Academy.

Tajuan White - twhite@brightenacademy.com

Shequitia Davis - sdavis@brightenacademy.com