Teachers
Kingfisher's teachers
Teachers facilitate children's ability to represent what they know and imagine. It is not enough to learn by doing, teachers must facilitate talking and thinking about what is being done. Teachers mediate between children's current understanding and what they are on the threshold of understanding by reviewing and helping.
Debbie Gathmann
I am the director of Kingfisher and I've been with the school since its very inception. I always knew that I wanted and needed to work at a small community-based school and Kingfisher is the embodiment of that desire. I am very enthusiastic about our new site and our current school year. We are networking with a few other small schools and I am working with a new charter high school that has exciting plans that might include some of the older students in our school. We have modest goals for each quarter, but this year our goal is much larger. We have already attained provisional accreditation and are now working toward full accreditation from GAC to validate our coursework. We are also codifying the board of directors and reviewing our legal paperwork and insurance paperwork in preparation for writing some larger grants to support our art, music, and science programs. Kingfisher is a wonderful and challenging environment and we intend to keep it that way.
John L Dougan
They call me Mr. John. I have taught early childhood at different times over the past 25 years and have been searching for an opportunity to teach chidren at their level of readiness and with their interests in mind. I believe that I have found that place. I have traveled to East Africa, Europe and the Middle East. I grew up with a menagerie of reptiles, amphibians and rodents, as well as three brothers and a sister. I have a B.A. in Psychology from Johns Hopkins and went through the Psychology M.A. program at West Georgia College. I also have a Child Development Associate which I have renewed twice. I am influenced by my year at the former Dunwoody Montessori Child Development Center and the Reggio Emilio philosophy at the Phoenix School and Clifton Childcare Center.
Lili Crymes
Let me briefly introduce myself. I have a BS from University of Maryland at College Park in Ecology, evolutionary biology and behavior. I have experience working in agriculture out reach and education, gardening and youth leadership. I am an environmentalist and will bring conservation and exploration of the natural world into class as much as possible.
Linda Munson
I have been in education for thirty years during which time I taught mainly at the university level. However, I have also taught elementary and high school. My main teaching field is Language Arts, but, in addition, I have taught in the English Education Department, focusing on courses that teach high school educators how and what literature to teach in their classes. Another area in which I taught is in film and literature. I spent several summers teaching the South Carolina Honors Creative Writing Program for high school seniors at the College of Charleston. Presently, I am giving all my energy to the Language Arts program at Kingfisher Academy. My teaching philosophy is simple. First, love what you do so that you are happy each day--it shows in your performance. Second, create a nurturing, caring environment for your students and never forget that parents have trusted you with the most precious part of their lives. Third, respect each child for his or her potential as an educated human being. Fourth, remember that "kids are kids"--education can be fun and exciting. As teachers, it is our job to make it so. My other interests (besides reading and writing) are sewing, quilting, embroidery, and gardening.
Marilyn McGinnis
I’m Marilyn McGinnis, and I’ve lived in the Grant Park/East Atlanta area for 15 years. Before that, I lived in Indiana, having moved there from my childhood home in Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend Purdue University. I received my BS in nursing from Purdue in 1986 and worked several years as a registered nurse, including two years in a child and adolescent psychiatric facility. In 1995, I began home schooling my older children and from there, began teaching classes through local home schooling groups. From 2001 until 2008, I taught world geography and other classes at New Creation Center in McDonough. Now in my second year at Kingfisher, I am excited to be exploring history and geography with the upper elementary and middle school groups. My four year-old twins, who joined our family through adoption from Guatemala, also attend Kingfisher. My 17 year-old son Luke continues to home school and is establishing himself as a local musical talent. My husband Gene is a biologist on the faculty of Spelman College. Besides teaching and raising kids, my interests include travel, especially to Latin America, working on my Spanish (everyone is invited to the bi-weekly Spanish dinners I organize), reading nonfiction and historical fiction, and various social justice concerns.
Shurron Harris
Hello, my name is Shurron Harris. I both teach and serve at the Kingfisher Academy as a kindergarten and first grade teacher. I have worked in several summer programs as a counselor and teacher. While pursuing my undergraduate degree I have taught as a student teacher of the elementary and high school levels, within the school district of Oxford, Pennsylvania. While in pursuit of my graduate degree I have served in the state of Georgia as a substitute teacher and morning and after-school care provider, at the Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy, located in Decatur, Georgia. Of the successful year here at Kingfisher I will be using the Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to implement activities that will regard the various learning abilities and skills of the student, along with the fundamental educational theories of kindergarten and first grade.
Teachers' planning day
