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| Copyright © 1985 - 2008 The Information Age, Inc. Licensed to Carroll County Schools. |
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| Copyright © 1985 - 2008 The Information Age, Inc. Licensed to Carroll County Schools. |
Donna Nicholas, Ed.S.
Donna Nicholas has 30 years of experience in the field of special education and has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 1978. Prior to becoming director of the Exceptional Children’s Services program, Ms. Nicholas served in the following roles: teacher at Mt. Zion Elementary School, educational diagnostician, and assistant director of Exceptional Children’s Services. Ms. Nicholas holds a number of degrees from the University of West Georgia including a Bachelor’s of education in mental retardation, Master’s in interrelated special education, and Specialist degree in learning disabilities. She holds state of Georgia certification in director of special education, educational leadership, instructional supervision, data collection, early childhood education, special education general curriculum, special education learning disabilities, special education preschool, and special education Language arts, math, reading, science, and social studies. She is a member of the following professional organizations: Georgia Association of Educational Leaders, Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education, Council of Exceptional Children, Georgia Association of Instruction and Supervision, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Association of Educators, Georgia Association of Educators, and Carroll County Association of Educators. Ms. Nicholas’ dedicated service to the field of special education and children with exceptional needs has been recognized by numerous awards. She received an Outstanding Young Woman of America award in 1982, was special education teacher of the year in 1985, and was deemed a Nationally Recognized Educator in Special Education Administration in 2004. Donna and her husband reside in Villa Rica with “Patch,” their Jack Russell terrier. They have 4 children and 7 grandchildren.
Danny Hicks, Ed.S.
Mr. Hicks is the assistant director of Exceptional Children’s Services and administers the School Psychology program for Carroll County Schools. Mr. Hicks has an A.B. degree in social work from the University of Georgia and an Ed. S. in School Psychology from Georgia State University. He is certified in administrative supervision and school psychology. He is also licensed in the state of Georgia as a licensed professional counselor. Mr. Hicks’ experiences in addition to school based practice includes the provision of child and adolescent mental health services in residential and hospital programs, community mental health centers, and independent practice. Mr. Hicks has served on committees to establish evaluative standards for Georgia school psychologists and on the Board of Directors for the Mental Health Association of Atlanta. He has co-authored professional publications and has presented at national conferences. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of School Psychologists in 2002. He has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 1987.
Jackie Powell, Ph.D.
Dr. Jackie Powell began her educational career with the Carroll County School System in 1982. She received her doctoral training in rehabilitation and special education at Auburn University. She acquired a specialist degree in behavior disorders and a masters degree in learning disabilities from the State University of West Georgia. Dr. Powell is also a trained facilitator for positive behavioral and instructional supports. She is also recognized by the state of Georgia as a trained data collector and obtained additional course work at the State University of West Georgia leading to additional certification in the areas of educational leadership and director of special education. Dr. Powell’s undergraduate degree was in special education in the area of mental retardation. She has served as a classroom teacher, Georgia Learning Resource System (GLRS) Program Specialist, the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Part D consultant for the Georgia Department of Education in the Division for Exceptional Students, and an assistant principal at LaGrange High School. Dr. Powell is currently the assistant director of Exceptional Children’s Services and administers the Effective Behavioral and Instructional Supports (EBIS/PBIS) program for Carroll County Schools. Her research interests include areas related to behavioral prevention/interventions and at risk students. She has presented workshops to many school systems around the state of Georgia. Jackie, her husband, Darnell, and son live in Villa Rica.
Dr. Cindy Jenik is an Exceptional Children’s Services Coordinator. She has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 1987. Dr. Jenik holds certification in leadership fields including educational leadership and director of special education. Dr. Jenik received her doctoral training in school psychology at Auburn University and masters and specialist level training at Georgia State University. Dr. Jenik is both certified with the state as a school psychologist and licensed for private practice. Dr. Jenik’s undergraduate degree was in speech/language pathology. Prior to her current role as ECS Coordinator, she served as a speech/language pathologist, educational diagnostician, school psychologist, and lead school psychologist within the district. Dr. Jenik serves as training director of the psychology internship program which is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. Her research interests include areas related to suicide prevention and work with students considered to be “slow learners.” She has presented research findings at local and national conferences and has been primary author for a number of professional journal articles/publications. She has been a member of the executive board of the Georgia Association of School Psychologists. Cindy and her husband, James, have one daughter and live in Villa Rica.
Wanda Witt, M.Ed.
Wanda Witt has been employed with the Carroll County School System for many years in a number of different capacities. She has served as a teacher, community employment facilitator, diagnostic lead teacher, lead teacher for the intellectual disabilities/self contained special education program, instructional facilitator, and currently instructional coordinator. Wanda’s educational background is diverse. Her undergraduate degree from the University of West Georgia was a double major in psychology and sociology. She has a master’s degree in special education from Georgia State University. Wanda holds professional educator certification in educational leadership, director of special education, instructional supervision, middle grades education (4th-8th), special education adapted curriculum (p-12th), special education general curriculum (p-12th), special education preschool, and special education language arts, math, science, and social studies cognitive level. Wanda’s professional interests include transition and employment for youths with disabilities. She enjoys supporting teachers in educating students and assisting them with curriculum and instructional needs. Wanda was Teacher of the Year in 1987 and received the Outstanding Young Educator of the Year award in 1988.
Carmen Hewett, M.Ed.
Carmen Hewett has worked in the Carroll County School System for seven years. She has worked in the elementary and middle school settings as a special education teacher. She has also served as the In-School Coordinator for several years. She obtained her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Jacksonville State University. Current certification includes special education consultative and elementary education. She was the recipient of the YES I CAN award in 2003. She is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and Georgia Association of Educators. She currently works as an Instructional Facilitator for the school system. Carmen lives in Villa Rica with her husband Michael, and her two sons, Brayden and Cameron. She is an active member of The Church at Mirror Lake.
Lori Horn, M.Ed.
Lori Horn has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 2001. She received her undergraduate training in Music Education and master’s training in Special Education at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. Ms. Horn provides training for Carroll County Schools in the following courses: Learning Focused Strategies Days 1-4, Learning Focused Strategies Catching Kids Up, Learning Focused Strategies Mathematics 6-12, Effective Strategies for Struggling Readers in the Elementary Setting, Effective Strategies for Struggling Readers in the Secondary Setting, Successful Team Collaboration, Georgia Performance Standards ELA 4-8, Math K-2, and Math 8, Scaffolding Instruction and Assignments, and Differentiated Instruction. Her professional interests include music therapy, understanding the unique needs of middle school learners, effective school scheduling, standards-based classrooms, interventions and effective instruction in mathematics, and inclusive practices. Ms. Horn resides in Acworth, Georgia with her husband and enjoys scrap booking, reading magazines, boating, entertaining family and friends, and playing with her boxer, Apollo.
Tonya Jiles, M.Ed.
Ms. Jiles has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 1989. Presently an instructional facilitator with Exceptional Children’s Services, Tonya began working with the school system while enrolled in college as an undergraduate. She worked as a paraprofessional and substitute teacher while attending classes at the University of West Georgia. Ms. Jiles holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Speech/Language Pathology from the UWG. She is presently pursuing an Education Specialist degree in Educational Administration at Jacksonville State University. Ms. Jiles worked for seven years as a speech/language pathologist with the Carroll County Schools prior to becoming an instructional facilitator. In addition to speech/language, Ms. Jiles’ professional interests include autism and literacy. Ms. Jiles has received a number of awards and special recognitions including Carroll County Special Educator of the year through the Civitan Club and Mentor of the Year for speech/language pathology for the State University of West Georgia. Tonya and her husband, Steve, reside in Carrollton with their 3 children, Ashley, Tyler, and Alison.
Connie Mount, BS.Ed.
Connie received her formal training in speech/language pathology at Ohio State University and has been in the field over 30 years. In Ohio, Connie did volunteer tutoring with the Ohio School for the Deaf and with inner-city youth. She traveled to rural areas to provide therapy to children whose schools could not afford therapists. She worked for two school systems in Ohio where she held licensure and served as an officer in local professional organizations. Connie has been employed with the Carroll County School System for over 20 years. She worked as a speech/language pathologist in various schools throughout the system. It was her work with students with significant physical and cognitive disabilities that kindled Connie’s desire to seek out ways to empower students to participate more fully in daily life. Connie has participated in numerous assistive technology trainings with some of the pre-eminent assistive technology experts in the country. Connie’s expertise in assistive technology assisted students with their communication, daily living, and academic needs. Connie is co-founder of the Carroll County Assistive Technology Team (CCATT) which provides recommendations for technology solutions to enhance student achievement and access to the curriculum. In addition to certification as a speech/language pathologist, Connie holds the preschool handicapped endorsement. She is a trainer for a number of learning focused strategies modules and the struggling reader course. She is In-tech certified and a trainer for the special education In-tech modules written by the Georgia project for Assistive Technology. She and her colleagues have developed many training seminars for teachers. Connie has been the recipient of a number of awards including Carrollton Civitan Club Teacher of the Year award and the PDK Innovative Teacher of the Year. She has served on school leadership teams and has served as in-school coordinator for special education. Connie and her husband, Doug, have a teenage son, Jonathan. They are active in their church and enjoy spending time with their family including many nieces and nephews.
Jeff Pence, M.Ed.
Jeff is an instructional facilitator with Exceptional Children’s Services. Jeff has been with the Carroll County Schools since 1999 and was employed as a school psychologist prior to his current role. Prior to coming to Carroll County Schools, Jeff worked for one year in Ohio as a School Psychologist. He has received Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Sociology at the University of Toledo, a Masters degree of Education in School Psychology from Bowling Green State University, and a Certificate of Advance Studies in School Psychology (equivalent to a Specialist Degree) from Bowling Green State University. He is currently a member of the Georgia Association of School Psychologist, the Georgia Association of Educators, The National Association of Educators, and the Georgia Crisis Assistance Team for Schools. Jeff is also a certified instructor of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention in association with the Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc. and the International Association of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. His professional interests involve intervention based assessment, curriculum based assessment, curriculum based measurement, crisis intervention, systemic interventions, traumatic brain injury, and parental resources to mention a few.
Nina Warren, M.Ed.
Nina has been employed with the Carroll County School System since 1987. She taught students with intellectual disabilities for a number of years. She has served the need of preschool-age students at Preschool Assessment and Learning Services (PALS) since 1991. Prior to coming to Carroll County, Nina taught inclusion classes in two other school systems and also worked in a residential hospital and a training center. Nina holds a Masters of Education degree from the University of West Georgia. She is a member of the Georgia Association of Educators and National Education Association. Her professional interests include developmental delays, autism, and behavioral issues.