PK-8: Personnel Announcements for 2013-14

I am writing to make you aware of the following personnel changes that will take place in the coming year for grades PK-8:

As you know, Lea Duncan is retiring after more than two decades in Lower School admissions. We will miss her dearly but we are excited to welcome DeLean Brandon as assistant director of day admission for Lower School. DeLean has worked in the Admission Office since 2010 as the coordinator of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program and assistant director of financial aid. She will continue to oversee these two areas as she works to build enrollment for the Early Learning Academy and grades 1-4. DeLean holds a Master of Taxation from the University of Georgia and has worked previously as a tax consultant in both Atlanta and Greensboro, S.C. She and her husband, Jody, are the parents of current students Ivy (’16) and Emily (’19).

As we prepare to launch the Early Learning Academy next year, I am pleased to share that Janice Cox, Jody Deaton and Tinsley Ray will be working in collaboration to lead this exciting new program.

• With over 30 years of experience in elementary education, Janice will serve as lead instructor of the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 1990 and holds a B.A. from Berry College. Janice has been recognized with Darlington’s Awsumb Faculty Award and Brown Faculty Award, the Rome News-Tribune Best Teacher Award, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. She and her husband, Steve, are the parents of alumni Halei (Cox) Mattocks (’92) and Jarrad Cox (’94).
• With over 22 years of experience in elementary education, Jody has taught second grade and kindergarten at Darlington. She came to the school in 2005 after working for Rome City and Floyd County Schools. Jody holds a B.S.Ed. from the University of Georgia and an M.Ed. from Berry College. She has been recognized with Darlington’s Brown Faculty Award and was one of the inaugural recipients of the Carla and Leonard Wood Faculty Professional Development Endowment Award. She and her husband, Paul, are the parents of current students Jared (’16) and John-Prosser (’20).
• With five years of experience in elementary education, Tinsley has taught pre-K at Darlington since 2012. She holds a B.S. from the University of Montevallo and an Alabama Professional Educator Certificate in Elementary Education from Huntingdon College. Previously, she taught fourth and first grades at Bear Exploration Center, a mathematics, science and technology magnet school in Montgomery, Ala. She and her husband, Kevin, who is assistant director of Darlington School Soccer Academy, are the parents of current student Addie (’22).

Beth Smith (’87) will teach a second section of first grade. With over 20 years of experience, she has taught at the Lower School since 1994 and holds a B.S. and an M.Ed. from Auburn University. During her tenure, she has been recognized with Darlington’s Beachum Master Teaching Award and Brown Faculty Award. She and her husband, Scott, are the parents of current students, Bailey (’15), Avery (’17) and Anne Scott (’20).

Pam Sullins, who has served as executive assistant to the director of Middle School and the academic dean since 2007, has accepted a job teaching marketing education at Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., and will be leaving Darlington at the end of the week. She has 14 years of teaching experience prior to her time at Darlington and is looking forward to getting back into the classroom. It has been such a pleasure working with Pam. She has been a wonderful resource to both our students and parents, and we will all miss her. We have already begun the search for a qualified replacement and will let you know as soon as a decision is made.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.