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Amana Academy's Faculty
Consistent with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) regulations as they apply to charter schools, Amana Academy has actively sought the most highly qualified staff possible. All Amana faculty and staff have been rigorously screened on the basis of their academic credentials, relevant experience, validated evidence of student achievement and recommendations from previous employers, parents and the community.
As even the youngest of children can aspire and exemplify Amana principles, so too will they react to examples that are inconsistent with these values. Amana Academy educates by example. As such, Amana Academy staff must exemplify the qualities we strive to guide our students towards. In the words of our partner ELOB, we are not passengers but a "crew". Therefore, ideas and actions of all staff affect the course to which we steer ourselves. As we truly are "charting new waters" with our unique emphasis on high academic achievement, communication excellence, Arabic, ethical character and stewardship, we strive to attract and retain individuals who show enthusiasm for and commitment to these areas.
The Organizational Structure of Amana Academy is available in pdf format:
Amana Organizational Chart
Amana Academy Administrators
Amaris Mohler
Principal
email: amohler@amanaacademy.org
This is Ms. Mohler's second year as Principal at Amana Academy. She came to Amana from Houston, Texas where she served as a principal in Spring Branch ISD. Her 10 year career in SBISD included time as a bilingual elementary teacher, counselor, assistant principal, and finally principal. Ms. Mohler is certified in both the states of Texas and Georgia as an elementary teacher (1st-8th), Bilingual/ESOL teacher (1st-8th), Spanish teacher (1st-8th), Counselor (K-12th), and Administrator (K-12th). She received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and Spanish from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. Her master's degree is in Counseling from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. She achieved her Administration Certification from St. Thomas University in Houston, Texas. Ms. Mohler is affiliated with several professional organizations including: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Georgia Charter School Association, National Charter School Association, and National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Jelena Naim
Instructional Guide
email: jnaim@amanaacademy.org
Since 1983 Jelena has held various positions of increasing responsibility devoted to teaching English and English as a Second Language. She has taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at the American Cultural Center in Alexandria Egypt, at the Oxford County Language Office in Oxford England, and most recently as a Lecturer in the Department of Applied Linguistics & ESL at Georgia State University.
In addition to her classroom teaching experience at Lilburn Middle School in Lilburn, Georgia, Jelena has conducted teacher training programs for international middle and high school teachers and developed curricular materials at Georgia State University. At GSU, she also coordinated learning labs and student activities for the Department of Applied Linguistics, where she served as chairs of the Lecturer Search Committee and Student Evaluation.
Jelena has a Bachelor's Degree in French with a minor in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago; she completed here Master's Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has studied abroad in France and Spain, and she is certified in Middle School teaching from Mercer University Graduate School of Education.
Jelena was one of a dozen core team volunteers who developed the Amana Academy concept and saw it through to State approval. She served on the Education and Human Resources committees and as Secretary on Amana's Founding Board. Her contributions have been significant, and combined with her educational experience she is especially qualified to be Amana's Instructional Guide.
Gloria McLean
Director of Student Services
email: gmclean@amanaacademy.org
Sumayya Allen
Business Administrative Assistant
email: sallen@amanaacademy.org
Mary Maher
Principal's Administrative Assistant
email: mmaher@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Maher graduated from Georgia State University in 2003 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism, concentration in Public Relations, and a minor in Speech. In September 2007 she received her Certification in Marketing from Gwinnett Technical Institute. Ms. Maher is also a certified CPR/First Aid Instructor with the American Health and Safety Institute.
She resides with her family in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Rana Darvesh
School Data Clerk
email: rdarvesh@amanaacademy.org
Amana Academy Teachers and Support Staff
Angelique Barnett
Kindergarten Teacher
email: abarnett@amanaacademy.org
Theresa Ardolino
Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
email: tardolino@amanaacademy.org
Imani Miller
Kindergarten Teacher
email: imiller@amanaacademy.org
Mrs. Miller has been teaching for 4 years. She most recently has been a Kindergarten teacher at Marietta Charter School. She is a certified as a teacher in the state of Georgia and has a BA in Child and Family Development. She is also certified as a Montessori teacher.
Dawn Fakhoury
Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
email: dfakhoury@amanaacademy.org
Leslie Morrison
Kindergarten Teacher
email: lmorrison@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Morrison comes to us with 12 years of teaching experience. Most recently she has been a kindergarten teacher at Mimosa Elementary School in Fulton County. She is certified in both California and Georgia. She has a BS in Early Childhood Education and has held many leadership positions.
Basma Elashker
Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
email: belashkar@amanaacademy.org
Nashwa Hanna
1st Grade Teacher
email: nhanna@amanaacademy.org
Mrs. Hanna has been teaching for the past 5 years. She came to us from Memphis, Tennessee where she taught 1st grade for the past two years. She has a BA in Human Development, is certified to teach in the state of Tennessee K-8th grades, and is proficient in Arabic and Spanish.
Samantha Tunick
1st Grade Teacher
email: stunick@amanaacademy.org
Natasha Condoll
2nd Grade Teacher
email: ncondoll@amanaacademy.org
Mrs. Condoll most recently has been teaching 2nd grade at Woodland Elementary Charter School in Fulton County. She has been a teacher for over 10 years. She is certified in the states of Georgia and Lousiana for K-5th grades and ESOL. Throughout her career she has served as coordinator and chairperson for various committees and teams. She has a BA in Education and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction.
April Rumple
2nd Grade Teacher
email: arumple@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Rumple has recently graduated with an MA in Early Childhood Education. She will begin her teaching career at Amana. Her BS is in Human Development and Family Studies. Most recently she has completed student teaching at Beaver Ridge Elementary. She will be certified in the state of Georgia this summer.
Denise Klein
2nd Grade Teacher email: dklein@amanaacademy.org
Julia Ramsey-Guy
3rd Grade Teacher
email: jguy@amanaacademy.org
Julia determined to be a life-long learner while growing up in the beautiful southeast. She attended the University of Georgia and happily accepted a degree in Art Education in 2002. While at the University of Georgia, Julia's devoted much of her time to volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, an organization she intends to support as long as she is able.
After graduating from U.G.A., Julia began a three year adventure in the Arizona desert. Julia desired to continue her support of nonprofit groups, and after joining an organization called Teach for America, Julia was extensively trained and began teaching in the fall of 2002 at an inner city school in Phoenix. Her experiences teaching fourth and fifth grade were motivating, challenging, and incredibly inspiring. While teaching in Phoenix, Julia also completed a Masters in Education program at Arizona State University.
In October of 2004, she jumped for joy as she and her husband, Jeffrey Guy, were married. Their decision to move to the Atlanta area is closely linked to Julia's desire to teach at Amana Academy and Jeff's pursuits as a visual artist. Her initial excitement after first seeing the school website only grew as communication continued with Amana staff. Although her experience and dedication give her confidence in her teaching abilities, she knows that she will continue to learn and grow everyday.
She is especially looking forward to working with a unique, enthusiastic staff and delving more deeply into contemporary, dynamic instruction as outlined in the ELOB model. Ms. Guy taught 2nd grade last year and is looping with that same class again this year for 3rd grade!
Anika Daniels
3rd Grade Teacher
email: adaniels@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Daniels has taught for 9 years. Most recently she has been teaching 6th grade at Carmody Hills Elementary in Washington D.C. She has a BS in Psychology and an MA in Teaching. She is a certified teacher that has provided professional development and leadership in many areas throughout her career.
Cheryl Dill
3rd Grade Teacher
email: cdill@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Dill has been a 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher for the past 8 years. Most recently she has been teaching 5th grade at Langston Hughes Elementary in Washington D.C. While there, she has served as the grade level chair for the past 4 years. She has a BA in Communications and an M.Ed. in Elementary Education.
Vicky Castro
4th Grade Teacher
email: vcastro@amanaacademy.org
Paul Dunkleberger
4th Grade Teacher
email: pdunkleberger@amanaacademy.org
This is Mr. D's second year at Amana. His is continually amazed at the love and support that Amana receives from parents, students, and fellow teachers. Believe it or not, Mr. Dunkleberger is a rarity here in the area; a native Atlantan. He received both his bachelors in political science and masters in education from Georgia State University. He is certified to teach grades four through eight.
Merry Herdt
5th Grade Humanities Teacher
email: mherdt@amanaacademy.org
John Temples
5th Grade Math/Science Teacher
email: jtemples@amanaacademy.org
Mr. Temples has taught 6th grade science for two years at Calhoun Middle School. He has an extensive background in outdoor and experiential education. His BS is in Recreation and his MEd. is in Education. He has had experience with teaching conflict resolution and group therapy.
Jean-Jacques Credi
6th Grade Humanities Teacher
email: jcredi@amanaacademy.org
Jean-Jacques Credi, 6th grade Humanities teacher, is in his second year at Amana. He graduated from the University of Rochester and earned his teaching license and Master’s Degree at Indiana University. As a fifth year teacher, Mr. Credi also serves as a National Facilitator with the National School Reform Faculty, an organization devoted to promoting high academic achievement and equitable student outcomes through collaboration and professional inquiry.
Sukhpal Dhillon
6th Grade Math/Science Teacher
email: sdhillon@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Dhillon has been teaching Math to 7th and 8th graders at West Hall Middle School for the past year. She has a BS in Engineering and a BA in Education, both in India. She has just compelted her MA in Middle Grades Education. She is certified in the state of Georgia to teach middle grades Math and Science.
Brooke Heimerl
7th & 8th Grade Science Teacher
email: bheimerl@amanaacademy.org
Mary LoCurto
7th & 8th Grade Math Teacher
email: mlocurto@amanaacademy.org
Rochelle Spears
7th & 8th Grade Humanities Teacher
email: rspears@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Spears has taught Language Arts for the past 4 years. Most recently she has been an English teacher at MceEachern High School. She has a BA in English and an MA in Professional Writing (2008). She is certified in Georgia in English, Behavioral Science, Economics, Geography, History, and Political Science. She is also a published author.
Hana Arslan
Arabic Teacher
email: harslan@amanaacademy.org
Djaouida Bensaadoun
Arabic Teacher
email: dbensaadoun@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Bensaadoun first came to Amana in January 2007 and was previously a kindergarten teacher's assistant. She has a degree in dentistry from Algeria and is finishing her teaching certification through Perimeter College. She currently certified in Georgia as a French teacher.
Eman Maamoun
Arabic Teacher
email: emaamoun@amanaacademy.org
Mrs. Maamoun has been a teacher since 1988 in the United Arab Emirates teaching ESL and serving as a media specialist. She served as a consultant for Amana while developing the charter, specifically working with the Arabic component. Most recently she has been working as a volunteer in various educational institutions in the area of media. She is certified in the state of Georgia as a librarian, to teach ESOL, and as proficient in Arabic. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Information and Library Services.
Ivan Tcherepov
Physical Education Teacher
email: itcherepov@amanaacademy.org
Maria Vaughan
Health/Fitness Teacher
email: mvaughan@amanaacademy.org
Regyna Curtis
Art Teacher
email: rcurtis@amanaacademy.org
Ms. Curtis has been an Art teacher at Neighborhood Charter School in Atlanta for the past 3 years. She has taught art enrichment classes, summer camps, and coordinated the after school program while teaching. Her degree is a BFA in Art Education and is certified in the state of Georgia to teach P-12th grades.
Melissa Singh
Library Specialist
email: msingh@amanaacademy.org
Melissa Singh is a school library media specialist from Long Island, New York. She holds a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from Long Island University and a BA in Elementary Education/Psychology from Dowling College. Melissa has 5 years professional experience at the elementary level in which she had the opportunity to establish and develop a new library facility. She has also administered an enrichment program, providing challenging academic activities to those students in need of more intellectual stimulation. Melissa was attracted to Amana, because of the opportunity to create a customized library that reflects and supports students and staff. She is also interested in the philosophy and learning approaches of a small sized charter school, which is a refreshing change from New York's public schools. Melissa and her husband live in Roswell.
Dannie Jennings
Student Support
email: djennings@amanaacademy.org
Ghada Swadek
Student Support
email: gswadek@amanaacademy.org
Jana Alwakeel
ESOL Teacher
email: jalwakeel@amanaacademy.org
Karen Helz
ESOL Teacher
email: khelz@amanaacademy.org
Laurie Guthrie
EIP Teacher
email: lguthrie@amanaacademy.org
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