The following faculty and staff members will take on new and/or additional job roles in 2013-14:
Chris Allen will take on an additional role as sophomore class grade level chair. He has been at Darlington since 2006 and serves as an Upper School counselor. He holds a B.A. from Carson-Newman College and an M.A. from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology (later renamed Argosy University) in Atlanta. He and his wife, Julie, are the parents of current students Amelia ('19) and Ellie ('22).
Chris Babb will teach Upper School science. He has been at Darlington since 2011, serving most recently as a sixth-grade science teacher. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from California State University at San Luis Obispo and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Hawaii at Honolulu. He also holds a Georgia Science Certificate and a Georgia Earth/Space Science Certificate for grades 6-12. Babb has more than a decade of teaching experience at both the high school and college levels. He is the father of Arden ('14), and his wife, Jill, is head of Cooper House.
DeLean Brandon will serve as assistant director of day admission for Lower School. She has been at Darlington since 2010, serving most recently as 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. Brandon 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).
Ivy Brewer will take on an additional role as senior class grade level chair. She has been at Darlington since 2007 and currently serves as associate dean of college guidance. She holds a B.A.
from the University of Georgia and an M.A. from Florida Gulf Coast University. She is also a Certified Educational Planner and a member of both the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling. She is the mother of current student Molly (’20).
Janice Cox will be lead instructor of the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 1990, serving most recently as a kindergarten and pre-first teacher. With over 30 years of experience in elementary education, Cox holds a B.A. from Berry College. She 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).
Jody Deaton will be an instructor in the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 2005, serving most recently as a second-grade teacher. With over 20 years of experience in elementary education, Deaton 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).
Chris Eberhart will take on an additional role as PK-8 athletic coordinator. He will continue to coach baseball, volleyball and teach seventh-grade math and eighth-grade science. Eberhart has been at Darlington since 2012 and holds a B.S. in Biological Science/Pre-Professional Medicine from Florida Atlantic University.
Julie Fine will teach fifth-grade humanities. She has been at Darlington since 2010, serving previously as sixth-grade humanities teacher. She holds a B.A. in English from Berry College and an M.Ed. with Certification in Secondary English Education from the University of Georgia.
Jennifer (Brewster) Helbing ('98) will serve as dean of students for PK-8. As such, she will enforce discipline, shape positive behavior, promote honor and cultivate leadership within the student body. Helbing has been at Darlington since 2007, serving most recently as learning specialist and dean of the Lower School. She holds a B.S.Ed. from the University of Georgia and an M.Ed. from Georgia State University, and has more than a decade of experience in education.
Laura Hicks will serve as coordinator of the PK-8 Teaching and
Learning Center as well as learning specialist for grades 3-5. She has been at Darlington since 2012, serving most recently as fifth-grade humanities teacher. She holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Berry College, an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Jacksonville State University, and a Specialist Degree in Leadership and Administration from Lincoln Memorial University. She also has 19 years of teaching experience.
Brian Inman will take on an additional role as junior class grade level chair. He has been at Darlington since 2002 and currently teaches ancient world history, AP art history, U.S. history and world religions. He holds a
B.A. and an M.A.T. from Carson-Newman College. Inman has been recognized with the Significant Contributions to the Darlington Community Award and Darlington's Oscar Betts '19 Master Teacher Award, Beachum Master Teaching Award and the Excellence in Teaching Award. He and his wife, Tara, who is director of ESL and spiritual life coordinator, are the parents of current student Maggie ('19) and have three other children.
Owen Kinney will take on an additional role as science department co-chairman. He has been at Darlington since 1999 and currently teaches AP environmental science, environmental science, robotics and zoology. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Berry College and an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia. Kinney has been recognized with the Significant Contributions to the Darlington Community Award and Darlington's Brown Faculty Award, Beachum Master Teaching Award and Oscar Betts '19 Master Teacher Award. He was also named a Toyota International Teacher in 2006, and in 2010 he received a Fulbright Award to study Education for Sustainable Development in Japanese schools. He and his wife, Rebekah, who is an instructional technology specialist for grades PK-4, are the parents of current students Ian ('17), Elliot ('19) and Noah ('23).
Yensen Lambert will take on an additional role as interim chairwoman of the world languages department. She has been at Darlington since 2010 and holds a B.A. in Spanish from Rutgers. She has also completed additional studies at Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) and Hunter College (N.Y.) Lambert is a native Spanish speaker with more than a decade of teaching experience. She has taught beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish as well as ESL and elective courses, including Latin American culture, ballroom dancing and Zumba Fitness. A trained interpreter and a skilled written translator of literary work, she is the mother of current student Ezra ('22).
Alan Parish will teach journalism, graphic design 1 and graphic design 2 (yearbook), while continuing to serve as head coach for cross country and track and field. He has been at Darlington since 2005, serving most recently as assistant athletic director and graphic design teacher. Parish holds a B.S. in Graphic Design from Samford University and an M.A. in Leadership from Shorter University. He is a two-time Darlington Coach of the Year and two-time Rome News-Tribune Coach of the Year. He and his wife, Jessica, live on campus with their children, Sam (’26), Maylin and Paige.
Lauren Peal will be head of Regester House. She has been at Darlington since 2012, serving most recently as crew coach. She holds a B.S. in Biology from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and is certified in CPR and First Aid. She has seven years of experience in education, serving as a seventh-grade science teacher at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla., before she and her family moved to Rome. Peal also spent four years as a residential advisor for the Exploration Intermediate Program in Wellesley, Mass., supervising two female residence halls. She and her husband Matthew, a history teacher at the Upper School, have two young children.
Angela Pieroni will serve as dean of studies for PK-8, in addition to continuing her teaching responsibilities. As such, she will assist teachers in building a repertoire of mission-appropriate best practices for the classroom; help with the planning, implementation and evaluation of standardized assessments; monitor lesson plans and grade books; and oversee progress reports, report cards and grading scales. Pieroni has been at Darlington since 2001, serving most recently as dean of grades 7 and 8. She holds a B.S. from the University of Dayton and an M.Ed. from Walden University. Pieroni has been recognized with Darlington’s Brown Faculty Award, Beachum Master Teaching Award and Wood Faculty Professional Development Award. She and her husband Joe, a math teacher at the Upper School, are the parents of current students Gianna (’17) and Jonathan (’19).
Tinsley Ray will be an instructor in the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 2012, serving most recently as pre-K teacher. With five years of experience in elementary education, Ray 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).
Jennifer Sikes will take on an additional role as freshman class grade level chair. She has been at Darlington since 2010 and teaches AP English Literature, English 1 and English 2 Honors. She is also
The Inkslinger adviser. Sikes holds a B.A. from Shorter College and an M.A. from Clemson University. She also has a decade of teaching experience at the college level.
Beth Smith (’87) will teach first grade. She has been at Darlington since 1994, serving most recently as a kindergarten teacher. With over 20 years of experience in elementary education, Smith holds a B.S. and an M.Ed. from Auburn University. 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).
Chad Woods will take on an additional role as director of operations for Coosa Junior Golf Academy while continuing to serve as chairman of the math department. He has been at Darlington since 2006, currently serving as the school's master scheduler and teaching Algebra 1, Algebra 2 Honors, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics and Multi-Variable Calculus. Woods holds a B.S. from the University of West Georgia. He and his wife, Lindsay, have two children, one of whom is current student Ava Ann ('26).
