Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Georgia Darlington to welcome new faculty and staff
Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Rome, GA
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Darlington to welcome new faculty and staff

August 1, 2012 | 7150 views
Darlington School is pleased to welcome the following new faculty and staff members in 2012-13. All will begin in July unless otherwise noted.

Crystal Brim will teach Upper School Spanish. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Education from Campbell University and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Indiana University. She also holds a certificate from the University Honors Program in Foreign Languages in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Brim has nine years of teaching experience, most recently as chairperson of the world languages and ESL department at The Ross School in East Hampton, N.Y. She also speaks French.

Kyle Colavita will serve as head of Moser House. He holds a B.S. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from Clemson University and an M.S. in Health, Exercise and Sport Science from The Citadel Graduate College. Most recently, he served as an assistant sport physiologist at the United States Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Joey Connell will be the Middle School learning specialist. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from Shorter College and an M.Ed. in Special Education from Walden University. He is also finishing up his Ed.S. in Curriculum and Development. Connell has six years of teaching experience at West Central Elementary, where he served most recently as special education lead teacher and department chair. He is certified in general special education (P-12) as well as special education in reading (P-8), math (P-8), language arts (P-8), science (P-8) and social studies (P-12). He is also a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and the Council for Exceptional Children.

Chris Eberhart
will teach seventh-grade math and eighth-grade science. He holds a B.S. in Biological Science/Pre-Professional Medicine from Florida Atlantic University and has four years of middle grades teaching experience. Most recently, he served as a math teacher for the Center for Advanced Academics and Technology, a magnet program at Oak View Middle School in Newberry, Fla. He has also coached volleyball and baseball.

Jessica Guadagno has been named head athletic trainer. She holds a B.S. in Exercise Science from Brevard College and an M.S. in Athletic Training from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. During her graduate studies, she completed clinical rotations with UTC Women's Soccer, Lakeview Fort Olgethorpe High School and McCallie School. Her research focused on prediction models for ankle sprain risk for college football players. She is currently employed by Floyd Medical Center and is a member of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association.

Michael Hall will be the assistant librarian at the McCallie-Kennedy Library. She holds a B.A. in English from Berry College and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama. She has four years of experience working in libraries, most recently as a library page at The Hoover Public Library in Birmingham, Ala. Additionally, as an undergraduate student she served as circulation assistant and reserves specialist at the Berry College Memorial Library for three years and spent one summer as inter-library loan assistant. Hall is a member of the ALA's Reference and User Services Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Rachel Harrison
will teach first grade. She holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and an M.Ed. from the University of West Georgia. She has taught first grade at Midway Primary School for the past four years and also teaches gymnastics and tumbling at Hot Shots. Harrison is no stranger to Darlington, having directed Cheerleading Camp for the past couple of years. She is also the wife of Upper School math teacher Kent Harrison (’01). 

Laura Hicks will teach fifth grade humanities. 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 has 18 years of teaching experience, most recently as an instructional coach at Cave Spring Elementary School. In this role, she was responsible for supporting the implementation of standards-based instruction, assisting in differentiating instruction, and analyzing test data. 

Luke Ivey will teach Middle School history. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Kenyon College, where he also played varsity football. Previously, he was an intern for Rep. Bart Stupack (D-MI) in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as weight room supervisor at Kenyon College. He also held a number of leadership positions within his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, including president.

Preston Jacobs ('07) will teach Upper School history. He holds a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most recently, he worked in the business world as a QA tester at Hughes Telematics in Atlanta. He is eager to get back to academia and looks forward to putting his three years as a member of UNC's crew team to work as a crew coach at Darlington.

Henrik Malmberg will teach Upper School science. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Lund University Institute of Technology in Lund, Sweden. A native of Sweden, he also completed vocational programs in outdoor leadership and in travel and tourism. Malmberg comes to Darlington from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, where he was a full-time faculty member supporting substitute teacher needs for all grades. There, he also coached middle school robotics, soccer and co-led Discovery outdoor expeditions. He is fluent in English, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.

Cynthia McGehee will serve as an Upper School learning specialist. She holds an A.A. in Liberal Arts from Pensacola Junior College, an A.S. in Optometric Technology from Southern College of Optometry and a B.S. in Finance from Auburn University. For the past four years, she has served as director of student engagement and success at Shorter University. Previously, she was co-coordinator of academic services for the university. McGehee is no stranger to Darlington, having worked for several years as a tutor and substitute teacher.

Michael Nealis will teach Middle School math. He holds a B.S. in Middle Level Mathematics Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and is also certified in Elementary Education. He completed his student teaching in fifth and sixth grades at Clarion Area Elementary School and Clarion Area Junior/Senior High School. He also worked for three years as an intramural referee at his university, where he was a member of the basketball team and won awards as a scholar-athlete. 

Matthew Peal will teach Upper School history. He holds a B.A.S. in History from the University of Georgia and an M.A. in Education Leadership from Columbia University Teachers College. Peal has six years of experience teaching, coaching and working with student leaders. Most recently, he served as AP U.S. and World History teacher at The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. There, he was also lead adviser to the junior class, adviser of Junior States of America, and assistant baseball and football coach. 

John Plough will serve as Upper and Middle School theater director. He holds a B.A. in Electronic Communication and Multimedia from Assumption College, an M.A. in Theatre Education from Emerson College and an M.F.A. in Dramatic Media from the University of Georgia. He has also attended summer intensives for improv and acting in Chicago and New York. At UGA, Plough taught Introduction to Acting and served as a teaching assistant for Theater Appreciation.

Kevin Ray will be assistant director of Darlington School Soccer Academy and head girls' coach. He holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Montevallo and has coached soccer for 13 years. Most recently, he was assistant men’s soccer coach at Auburn University – Montgomery. Previously, he coached at Huntingdon College and for the Panama City Pirates, the Eclipse Soccer Club (a Nike Premier Club in Houston, Texas), the New Territory Fusion Soccer Club and Troy University’s NCAA Division I Women’s Program. He has also been involved in the Alabama Youth Soccer Association for nine years as a head coach for the Olympic Development Program. A native of England, Ray came to the United States in 1997 to attend college. His wife, Tinsley, is joining the faculty as pre-K teacher.

Tinsley Ray will teach pre-K. She holds a B.S. in Mass Communication from the University of Montevallo and an Alabama Professional Educator Certificate in Elementary Education from Huntingdon College. She comes to Darlington from Bear Exploration Center, a mathematics, science and technology magnet school in Montgomery, Ala., where she has taught for the past three years. Most recently, she taught fourth grade. She has also taught first grade. Her husband, Kevin, is joining the faculty as assistant director of Darlington School Soccer Academy and head girls' coach.

Paige Rogers will be the kindergarten teaching assistant. She holds an Associates in Applied Technology of Radiologic Technology and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Shorter University. She has six years of experience working with preschool-aged students, most recently as a pre-kindergarten paraprofessional at Pepperell Elementary School. She also worked at Garden Lakes Baptist Preschool and Mt. Alto Baptist Preschool. Rogers is no stranger to Darlington. This year, she is director of Camp Delightascope, after serving as lead activities teacher since 2009. She also owns a children's consignment store.

Melja Seibert will teach second grade. She holds a B.S. in Education from Bowling Green State University, an M.S. in Education from Nova Southeastern University, Georgia State Teaching Certification and Florida/Georgia State ESOL Endorsement. Since moving to Adairsville, Ga., earlier this year, Seibert has served as an adjunct early childhood educational instructor at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Previously, she spent six years teaching second grade and two years teaching kindergarten at Spirit Elementary in Deltona, Fla.

Mark Tunnell began his work as admission officer on April 2. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Shorter College and served most recently as the director of alumni relations at Shorter University. He also has more than a decade of experience in sales. He and his wife Kim, who serves as director of fine arts at Darlington, are the parents of current students Jack ('15), Hillary ('18) and Sarah ('22).