Teacher Bios Final

Administration

Mr. Schaefer has worked at Durham Middle School since the day it opened in the late 1990’s. He grew up in Wisconsin (Go Packers, Brewers, Bucks and Badgers) and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1982. Mr. Schaefer moved to Georgia after he graduated and began to teach in the Atlanta Public Schools for eight years as a Physical Education teacher and coach. Later he moved to the Cobb County School District and have worked at Dickerson, Griffin, Lost Mountain, and Durham Middle Schools. He has received advanced degrees in educational leadership from Georgia State University and the State University of West Georgia. His mother always used to say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Mr. Schaefer tries to kick that up a notch with his motto about behavior and life in generally. He likes to say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, find something nice to say.” He hopes Yogi Berra did not say that first.

Ms. Young is so excited to be at Durham. She has a long history in education as a Special Ed teacher, a Social Studies teacher and an administrator. She even retired and missed it so much, she came back! She likes to read, go to the lake and hang out with her family. She is a BIG Bama fan!

Ms. Doss has had the privilege to be an educator in the Cobb County School System for the last twenty-five years! (Time flies when you are having fun!!) She enjoyed the opportunity to teach Physical Education at King Springs Elementary for twelve years and ISS at Lost Mountain Middle School & Durham Middle School for nine years. This is her fifth year to have the honor to serve as the Assistant Administrator at Durham. She received her B.S. from Berry College in Physical Education and attended Jacksonville State University for her MS and Ed.S in Educational Leadership. The most important thing in her life outside of being an educator is motherhood! She is the proud mom of two sweet sons: Jacob (23) and Daniel (21) whom she is very proud of and loves very much! Ms. Doss is also very proud of her little boat.

Office/Support Staff

Ms. Mumford is a graduate of Brigham Young University. She is Durham's school nurse. Her past nursing experiences are in Neonatology, Cardiology and Mothering. She loves her family, outdoor activities, traveling, reading a good book, organizing stuff and cooking.

Ms. Groll is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She taught at the high school level before becoming a stay at home mom. Prior to joining the Durham staff as a front office clerk, she was employed as a Cobb County substitute teacher. Outside of school, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

Ms. Freshour is the PPC at Durham. She has been with Cobb County for 8 years – 7 of which have been at Durham. The honor of being voted Classified Employee of the Year (CEOTY) at Durham for the 07-08 school year was awarded to her. If you have any questions regarding attendance or i-parent, e-mail Ms. Freshour. She’ll be glad to assist you.

Ms. White has been working for 17 years in the Cobb County School System and her 7th year at Durham. She has 2 sons who attended Cobb County Schools from kindergarten thru 12th grade and graduated from Georgia Colleges.

Ms. Hudgins has been with Cobb County Schools for more than 11 years. She is married and has 3 wonderful sons, a great daughter-n-law, 2 dogs and a cat. Her favorite hobbies are playing with her granddaughter and watching soccer and Alabama Football.

Ms. Johnson has always loved books. Her career began over thirty years ago as a high school English teacher, but she has spent the last ten years “among the books” as a media specialist. Ms. Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and her Masters and Specialist degrees from the University of West Georgia. She has one son and two grandchildren. In addition to reading, her favorite pastimes include travel and bird watching.

Ms. Huffines is a graduate of Middle TN State University with a BFA in Graphic Art. Before starting a family she worked in the Advertising and Public Relations field in the art department. Her family has moved a wee bit over the past 18 years. They have lived all over the southeastern United States. While living in Western Kentucky Mrs. Huffines had the opportunity to teach Art for 4 years in the Marshall County School System. Her husband's work brought them to Georgia. This is her second year at Durham and she is happy to be part of the Durham family.

Mrs. Cox has been teaching in Cobb County Schools for 16 years. Her teaching experience include Health and Physical Education. Presently, her position is the In School Suspension teacher. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree from Kennesaw State College, her Master's degree from University of West Georgia and has just received her certification in Educational Leadership. In the near future, Mrs. Cox plans to return to Kennesaw State University to work on her doctoral degree. In her spare time she enjoys camping, fishing and watching baseball with her family. Go Braves!!!

Ms. Merriweather is a part-time clerk who comes from Cooper Middle school. She started out as a volunteer and has dedicated over seventeen years to the Cobb County school system. Ms. Merriweather's main hobby is sewing but she enjoys collecting anything that has hearts on it. She is the mother of three and soon to be a Grandmother. Mrs. Merriweather is very happy to be a part of the Durham family.

School Counseling

Ms. Lemke is a veteran of 35 years in Cobb County middle schools. She received her Bachelor of Science at Tift College, Masters of Education at Georgia State, Masters of School Counseling at West Georgia College and Education Specialist of School Counseling at West Georgia College. She loves middle school students and believes that they keep you young! She enjoys cooking, antiquing, reading and traveling.

Ms. Wylie was honored to be a counselor in Massachusetts for 8 years before coming to Georgia. She has now been a counselor for 24 years and worked at Lost Mountain Middle School, Tapp Middle School, the West Cobb School, and Durham Middle school during that time. She received her B.S. from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, her M.A. in Guidance and Counseling at Ryder College in Trenton, NJ, and her Ed.S in School Counseling at West Georgia University in Carrolton, GA. In addition, Ms. Wylie is an NCC (Nationally Certified Counselor) and an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). Teaches an incredible Study Skills Workshop in the evenings and summers to elementary, middle, and high school students who are in need of improving their skills. She is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters, Jessica (26) and Jillian (22) and "mommy" to her adorable teacup (2 1/2 pounds!) yorkshire terrier named Angel.

Ms. Barber loves her profession as a school counselor. Settling into it a little later in life, she's glad to be at Durham in this capacity. Her degrees come from Arkansas as well as Georgia with graduate and EdS work completed at GSU. Family life includes three daughters, two grandsons, and two dogs. Hobbies are tennis, gardening (when we can water), and training for triathlons. Newest passion is an orphanage in Uganda which is where she left her heart this past summer. Greatest accomplishment--earning students' trust.

Co-Teachers

Ms. Fuller is a native of Atlanta, and grew up in Cobb County. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia, and a Master's Degree from Nova Southeastern. This is her 4th year as a teacher at Durham, and her 3rd year as a 6th grade teacher. Ms. Fuller is on the Relay for Life committee, and enjoys helping out with fundraisers throughout the year. Ms. Fuller is a diehard Bulldawg fan!!

Mrs. Stahler was born in Wisconsin and then spent most of her childhood in Florida. She has lived in Georgia for about 15 years. She graduated from Kennesaw State University. Go Owls =) This is her first year at Durham and loves it !!! Mrs. Stahler has been married for 5 years to her best friend, Chris. He is a Social Studies teacher and Varsity Boys Soccer Coach in Cherokee County. They have an 8 month old daughter, Samantha Grace who makes them smile every day! Mrs. Stahler loves to travel (especially anywhere with a beach), take pictures, scrapbook, watch football (Go Dawgs) and be outside.

Mr. Maddox grew up on a farm in Middle Georgia, the youngest of two sons. He attended to Georgia College on an Early Admissions program, so never graduated from High School. Enjoys cooking, playing the piano and singing. In addition to teaching, he is the pianist at Sunnyside Methodist Church, near Hampton. Currently, lives in Acworth with Dennis, the BEST DOG IN THE WORLD!! Mr. Maddox's Education included a Bachelor of Music Therapy (1988), Master of Education in Special Ed. (1996) and Specialist in Education in Applied Behavior Analysis/Educational Leadership (2001). He hopes to start a Ph.D. or Ed.D. soon.

Mrs. Rudelich is in her 23rd year of teaching and is a native of Illinois, completing her undergraduate work at Eastern Illinois University and graduate work at Western Illinois University. She is married to Tom (27 years) and has two sons. Gabe is in the USMC, leaving for Iraq in November, and Danny is soon to be leaving for the USMC. She also has two dogs and two cats. Mrs. Rudelich enjoys vacationing with the orphans in Sakhnovschina, reading and cooking.

Ms. Skibbie is a retired LTC with the Army Corps of Engineers. She lived in Japan and Germany for her formative years and attended Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. She graduated with a B.S. in Education with a Parks and Recreation major and a minor in Health Education. After her retirement from the Army, she earned a Juris Doctorate degree and was a Regulatory Affairs Consultant for Fortune 500 firms. After tiring of traveling, she looked for work closer to home and found that she enjoyed the special education field and the environment of Durham Middle School. She is certified in Social Studies and Health and also is one of the Golf Coaches at Harrison High School.

Not Shown Mr. Asbill is a retired military engineer who has been teaching for the past 15 years. He has been married for 30 years and has six children and eight grandchildren. He specializes in helping students who struggle in learning math concepts. He has been on the Durham Middle School faculty for six years and since then worked on the anti-bully committee and sponsors the chess club. Mr. Asbill is proud to be a Durham wildcat and loves being a teacher.

Not Shown Mrs. Brown grew up in Effingham, South Carolina and has been in Georgia since 2000. She has taught at Durham Middle School for eight years and has thoroughly enjoyed working with the students, parents and staff here at Durham. She graduated from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. She and her husband have one daughter and another child due to arrive in May.

Not Shown Mrs. Fousch grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from Dominican College with a degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Education (MEd) from Loyola University. Prior to working with the school system she worked as a counselor for a corporation. She continues to hold my license as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). She has been married for 21 years and have two fabulous children, Alex who is a sophomore at Harrison HS and Andrew who is in the 7th grade at Durham MS. Mrs. Fousch has had the pleasure of working with the Cobb County School System since 1999.

Not Shown Mrs. Waller A native of Muskegon, Michigan, Ms. Waller is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. At EMU, she majored in Business Education with an emphasis in Word Processing Administration. Upon relocating to Georgia, Ms. realized there was a strong need for middle grades teachers and decided to pursue an add-on certification in Language Arts and Social Studies at the middle grades level. Prior to her arrival to Durham MS this school year, Ms. Waller has worked for Devereux Georgia Treatment Network (which is when she added on Special Education certification out of love for working with those students), as well as in the Atlanta Public School District. Ms. Waller is the proud mom of a 5 year old son, Arshad.

Not Shown Mrs. Schoonover was born in Alaska and raised in Virginia. She received her teaching from Radford University. She also holds a Master’s degree and hopes to complete her Specialist degree in December.
She and her husband lived in several states in the northeast and mid-west before moving to Georgia in 1998. Mrs. Schoonover has three children. Two have graduated from Harrison High School and Georgia Colleges and her youngest son will graduate from Harrison High School in 2009. Her family is rounded out with two dogs, and two chatty cockatiels.
Mrs. Schoonover has taught at Durham since 1999. She is one of the co-captains for the Relay for Life team and is secretary for the school council.
Her favorite activities outside of school are being with her family and close friends, reading, learning how to knit, and shopping!

6-1

Ms. Meder has been teaching in various grade/age levels and capacities for some eighteen years. This is her fifth year at Durham, where she thoroughly enjoys working with sixth graders. She has a teaching degree from Dowling College, in Oakdale, New York, as well as graduate study in Community Counseling.

Her avocation is most definitely singing; and she has recently become a member of the newly-formed Cobb Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Ms. Reed

Ms. Miller moved to Georgia in 1981 and graduated from Walton High School in 1983. She attended college at Georgia Southern, earning a bachelor's degree in Middle Grades education in 1987. Ms. Miller came back to Cobb County and began teaching at Tapp Middle School. She has also taught at Mabry Middle, Cooper Middle and McCleskey Middle schools. Ms. Miller has been at Durham for 7 years and loves it. She is married to a wonderful man of 1 ½ years, and has a daughter, Kylee, a son, Matthew, a new step-daughter, Halley, 2 dogs and 1 cat.

Ms. Yergin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Toccoa Falls College in 1994 with a degree in Middle Grades Education and Evangelism. She took courses in LBD at Georgia Tech, was involved in the ESF Grant program and recently finished her gifted certification in Math, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts. She is an officer in the Christian Motorcyclists Association and the local HOG chapter. She loves riding her Harley and teaching her students REAL WORLD applications of MATH. She has 5 children and 7 grandchildren that keep her up to date! This is her 12th year teaching in Cobb county

Mrs. Sawyer is in her 8th year here at Durham and 6th year in the 6th grade. She holds a degree in psychology from Georgia State University and a degree in education from Florida State University. She received her Master of Science in Education from FSU in 2000 and more recently her Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) from GSU in 2004. Durham is a great place to work and learn, and she looks forward to a great year. Go Wildcats!

Ms. Dean has been a teacher for 11 years. For five years she taught 4th grade in Palm Beach County, FL, and for six years, 6th grade Language Arts and Seminar here at Durham. Mrs. Dean attended the University of Florida and earned her BAE from Florida Atlantic University. She is currently working towards a Masters in Educational Technology at Lesley University. Outside of school she enjoys spending time with her husband and her two puppies, Duke and Dobson.

6-2

Mr. Davis

Mrs. Forester has been teaching for 10 years. This is her 2nd year teaching 6th grade social studies. She graduated from Georgia State University with a master's degree in education.

Ms. Walker has been teaching at Durham since it opened in 1998. She has also taught in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Ohio. After graduating from East Carolina University with a BS in Education, she did graduate work at three different colleges since her family was transferred all over the country! Mrs. Walker loves sixth grade and always has the best students! She and her husband are the proud parents of three sons and two Labrador retrievers (Bailey and Hudson).

Ms. Ball was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois (Da Bears!, Go Cubs!!) She moved to Atlanta in 1991. After Merchandising a retail chain for many years, she went back to school to earn her degree in Education. She has two children, Robert, who loves baseball and has since he could walk, and Shelby, who loves to keep Mom on her toes. She also has the best dog in the world, Maxmillian (Max for short) who is a Boston Terrier. Some of her hobbies are: scrapbooking, hiking, and camping. She also loves to visit the mountains of Northern Georgia whenever she gets the chance. This is Ms. Ball's second year teaching 6th grade Science at Durham.

Ms. Reiff has taught for 21 years. She served over 13 of those years at one school in Austell Georgia, and is on her fifth year at Durham Middle School. She spends her spare time with the "love of her life"...her grandchildren. She enjoys reading a good mystery book and watching "American Idol". She loves teaching Math and watching kids get excited when they realize how math is truly important in real life!

6-3

Ms. Craft has been teaching since 1990 and has been at Durham since it opened in 1998. Currently, she is teaching 6th grade seminar and previously has taught 7th and 8th grade science. Ms. Craft graduated from West Virginia University with a Marketing and Retailing Degree, Kennesaw State University with a teaching degree major in LA and minor in SC. She is presently, enrolled at Lesley University for a masters in technology.

Mr. Lewis is a ten year veteran in Cobb County. He received a Bachelor's degree from Kennesaw State University in Middle Grades Education. He also received a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology from Walden University and is currently working on his Specialist degree in Leadership from Nova Southeastern. Mr. Lewis has been at Durham for 3 years

Ms. Ruda has been teaching sixth grade science since 1989. She is a graduate of KSU. Go Wildcats!

Ms. Browning

Ms. Woodall

Ms. Clements has taught 6th grade in Cobb County for 14 years. She has been at Durham since it opened in1998. She graduated from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) and is currently working on her Masters in Educational Leadership at Kennesaw State. Her interests include keeping up with her three college children, reading and travel.

7-1

Ms. Harrell is in her tenth year teaching language arts at Durham. She gets to know her students through their writing, and when they share their thoughts and creativity with her, it is the best part of her job. She also loves the theater, NPR, Grayton Beach, and most all types of music. Mrs. Harrell roots for the Duke Blue Devils in basketball, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in football, and the Atlanta Braves baseball team!!!

Ms. Orlando earned her undergraduate degree in English from Emory University. It wasn't until later in life that the call to the ministry of teaching persuaded her to attend Brenau University to become certified in the field of Middle Grade Education. Most recently, Martha has attained an additional certification in Gifted Education to better serve our students at Durham. She began teaching in public schools in 1998 in Dekalb County, transferring to Cobb when she married Danny, a resident of Kennesaw. Despite the official degrees earned, Martha feels that her true understanding of the "middle school mind" has come from raising her son and daughter through those years and helping to guide her two step-sons through the same roller coaster experience. Her advice to other middle school parents: Take heart, cherish hope, keep the faith, and know that "this, too, shall pass".

Ms. Carter

Mr. Johnson

Ms. Downey

7-2

Mrs. Danowski has been teaching in Georgia for 12 years. This is her 10th year at Durham teaching 7th grade Social Studies. Previously she taught in Missouri. Her interests are spending time with her family, traveling and playing golf.

Ms. Davidson teaches 7th grade Language Arts and is currently on her sixth year teaching here at Durham. She is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a degree in Middle Grades Education. She loves teaching, mostly because the students she has are so much fun to work with. Miss Davidson is a co-sponsor of the Young Author's Club with Ms. Dean and Ms. Orlando. On her free time, she enjoys lots of exercise, especially running. She also loves reading, backpacking, hiking, and pretty much anything outdoors. Although, her most favorite thing to do is spend time with her wild and crazy, hairy mutt terrier, Argo.

Mrs. Herder

Mr. Haughey has two wonderful children in Kindergarten and 2nd grade at Frey. He has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Secondary science education. Mr. Haughey learned enough about life to know that success is mostly a measure of how willing you are to take on the challenges life throws at you. His hope is that all his students will rise to the challenges they face now and in the future, however formidable. He enjoy caving, running, biking, camping, volleyball, woodworking and mostly playing with his kids (yes-even Barbie dolls with his daughter).

Not Shown Ms. Howard

7-3

Mr. Marsh is Married, father of 2, grandfather to 2, and a recent University of West Georgia graduate.

Mrs. Swinford has been at Durham since it opened and has been teaching for over 25 years. She’s taught everything from math to Language Arts. Her oldest student was 75 years old, while her youngest was 10. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, a Master’s Degree in Middle School Education and a Specialist Degree in Adminstration. When she was younger she loved playing school. Now, she gets paid for it. That’s a dream come true!

Mr. Dunn

Mrs. Bitler has taught for 12 years, 10 here in West Cobb. Teaching is her second career after spending 10 years in the Marketing and Special Events. Mrs. Bitler was Durham's 2006 - 2007 teacher of the year. Currently, she is working on her Masters in Education Technology from Lesley University. Travel is a big love of hers and she tries to get somewhere each summer. Other hobbies include scrapbooking and watercolor. She LOVES what she teaches and the children who enter her world! Mrs. Bitler tries to honor her hero Mr. Edwards everyday with a positive outlook and providing opportunities for all children to succeed.

Mrs. Black has been teaching Language Arts for ten years. Teaching, singing, reading, and walking are some of her favorite things to do. Mrs. Black has been married for seventeen years to her college sweetheart and having two boys are the joy of her life. Trent is eight and Davis is three years old. They keep her active and on her toes! Mrs. Black says she is blessed!

Ms. Ott

8-1

Ms. Hartrampf

Mr. Sinco is teaching his second year here at Durham. He came to us from Newton High (Covington, GA) where he taught World and US History. Mr. Sinco received an Economics degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a Social Studies Education degree from Kennesaw State University. He worked at Publix Super Markets as a manager in between those two degrees. Mr. Sinco enjoys working with the Running Club and as a grade level sponser of Student Forum. His wife recently was honored as Teacher of the Year while teaching 3rd grade at Avery Elementary in Cherokee County. The two have a 5 year old Beagle named Watson.

Ms. Davis teaches Math 8 and Accelerated Math 1. She began her teaching career after working as a location scout in the film industry. She attended the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University and Brenau College. She holds a degree in Public Relations from Georgia State University and received her teaching certificate from Brenau College. Mrs. Davis is married to her high school prom date and has a 4-year old son. When not working endless math problems, she enjoys playing tennis, painting and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs. Mrs. Davis has been at Durham since 2000.

Ms. Daniell is a TRUE Cobb County native. Born and raised in Marietta, Mrs. Daniell has watched as Cobb County has grown to the size it is today. Since graduating from Kennesaw State University in 2003, she has taught Literacy, Reading, and Language Arts. She became part of the Durham family four years ago, and has loved every minute of it. Currently, Mrs. Daniell enjoys spending time with her family and CHASING her 8 month old son. In her spare time, she enjoys reading (of course) and playing tennis.

8-2

Mrs. Bell graduated cum laude from Rowan University in New Jersey. Yes, Mrs. Bell started life as a Yankee but loves the state of Georgia like a native. She is married to Richard Bell and has two children, Abigail and Isaac. She has just finished participation in a two year Teaching American History grant entitled "Creating a Nation: Seeds of Democracy", where she studied on site colonial history in Jamestown, Williamsburg and Savannah.

Mrs. Bohannon states, Welcome to 8th grade math! Mrs. Bohannon teaches Math 8 and Accelerated Math 1. This is her 5th year at Durham. Before coming to Durham, she taught for 5 years at Smitha Middle School. She is currently the math coordinator here at Durham. Her undergraduate degree is from Georgia Southern University, where she received a Bachelors in Middle Grades Education and then she completed her Masters at Kennesaw State University, also in Middle Grades Education. She has also added Educational Leadership to her certificate and most recently she has become high school math certified. She works part-time at North Metro Technical College and she is also excited to say that she is expecting her first child. She looks forward to working with you and your child this year.

Ms. Arrese is excited to begin her teaching career at Durham. She is a graduate of Georgia State University and completed her teaching certification program at Mercer University. Her interest include scuba diving, the Atlanta Braves, and college football!

Mr. Placancia was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida where he earned a BA in Communications and BS in Marketing. He moved to Atlanta in 1994 and worked for the YMCA of Atlanta and decided to become a teacher in 1997. He earned a BS in Education from Kennesaw State University a M.Ed. in Middle Grades Education from Berry College and is currently working on his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at Georgia State University. He currently serves in the Army National Guard and teaches education courses at KSU. He loves teaching physical science and involves his students in many hands on activities.

8-3

Mrs. Burgess graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Adolescent English Education. She has taught language arts at Durham for 8 years and is the language arts coordinator for Durham. She, along with Mr. Panter, has been involved with the Character Through Service Learning Project for the past 4 years. Ms. Martin loves to read, go to the movies, and spend time with family. She also has recently become a UGA football fan...Go DAWGS!

Mrs. Maltby says she is married to an awesome man with whom she loves to ride motorcycles, jump out of perfectly good airplanes and travel with. They have 5 great kids between the two of them and 2 adorable grandsons. She likes to dance, play tennis, watch Georgia Tech football, cook, and listen to music.

Mrs. Drawdy graduated from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. She met her husband in college. They have been married for 17 years and have three wonderful children. She has 14 years of teaching experience in high school math. She has taught in both private and public schools. While teaching in Cobb and Cherokee counties, she has sponsored many clubs and activities including, Student Council, National Honor Society and Math Team.

Mrs. Perkins originally from Connecticut, Mrs. Perkins moved to South Florida as a middle schooler. She moved to Georgia in 1998. In 1996 Mrs. Perkins graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor's of Science in Special Education. In 2005 She went on to Brenau University in Gainsville, GA to receive a Master's in Special Education.
Mrs. Perkins has been teaching in Cobb County since 1998. She taught at Campbell Middle, Awtrey Middle and the last three years have been here at Durham Middle.
She has a husband named Clive and 2 children, Cheyenne who is 10 and in the 5th grade and CJ who is 8 and in the 3rd grade. She also has a lovely Siamese cat named Mochachinno.
When Mrs. Perkins is not here at Durham, she enjoys relaxing and socializing with her friends and family, teaching at her church, reading lots of books, and traveling wherever she can.

Mr. Panter is married to his high school sweetheart and has a beautiful 5 year old girl. He graduated with a BBA from Kennesaw State University, a Master's degree from the University of Alabama ,and a EDS degree from Lincoln Memorial University. He worked eight years as a weekly columnist for the Marietta Daily Journal, as a historical consultant for Turner Network Television, and currently writes for the Civil War Journal Magazine. He is in his 15th year as a Georgia history teacher for Cobb County Schools. Mr. Panter is also the Cobb County Coordinator for the Character Through Service Learning Project.

Support Teachers

Mr. Murray is starting his 23rd year with the CCSD. He spent five years on active duty in the USAF in the late 1970's. He is native to the Atlanta area and traces his ancestry in Georgia back to the colonial era.

Mrs. Carmichael's career in education began at Durham Middle School in 2001. As a Cobb County native, it is wonderful to work within the school system that attributed to her love for school. She graduated from Wesleyan College with a degree in English and a minor in Communication. In her spare time, She enjoys playing tennis, attending concerts, and reading books (especially historical fiction).

Ms. Connolly is in her first year at Durham and is delighted to be in such a friendly, organized, and supportive environment. So far her experience has been superb!

She has been married to her husband for nearly 23 years. They met when they were in high school on the swim team. She has two sons who turned out to be pretty good swimmers, too. Her oldest is a freshman swimming for the University of Southern California (Go Trojans!). Her youngest, a high school senior, will complete his 4th year of varsity swimming.

Herlove for teaching and technology go hand-in-hand and she is thrilled to be part of the 21st Century School pilot at Durham. This opportunity is a dream come true.

Mr. Cunningham has been at Durham Middle School for five years. He teaches 8th grade Science. He is a graduate from Kennesaw State University and the University of West Georgia.

Foreign Language

Mrs.Vasquez is presently in her 18th year teaching. She attended Agnes Scott College. She is married and has one son and 3 dogs. Her husband is from Peru and her son is in 10th grade. She likes to read in her spare time and watch horror movies.

Ms. Fugate

Ms. Arnett is presently working on her Master's degree at KSU. She teaches Spanish, ESOL and Seminar.

Connections

Mrs. Culbert is a graduate of Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. While at Jacksonville, she was a member of the Marching Ballerinas. This is a dance team that marches with the band. Mrs. Culbert still loves to dance!
She is originally from Oxford, Alabama. Mrs. Culbert has been teaching since 1976. She has taught in Columbus, Ga., Knoxville, Tennessee, and at Durham. She is married and has one son, Cody, who attends Kennesaw State University. She also has a boxer dog named Bogey.

Mr. Schroter is a graduate of Florida State University with a Masters degree in music education, string pedagogy. He has a Bachelor degree in music education from Nyack College in Nyack, NY. This is his 1st year as orchestra director at Durham, and his 4th year in Cobb County Schools. Mr. Schroter loves all kinds of music, especially indie rock bands who use strings. The true joys of his life are his wife and 2 daughters. They would like a dog someday, but for now they tend to their blue siamese fighting fish named Azul.

Ms. Rickard is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelors degree in Music Education. She was a clarinetist in the Air Force Strategic Air Command Band, the Band of the Air Force Reserve and currently is the clarinet section leader in the Cobb Wind Symphony. This is her 15th year teaching in the Cobb County School District. She enjoys concerts, hiking and kayaking.

Ms. Derrick

Ms. Colvin is a 1978 graduate of Syracuse University with a dual degree in Fine Arts and Education. She has taught art for twenty years in five states. She was honored to be Teacher of the Year in 1998-1999 at Argyle Elementary. She has traveled to eight Euopean countries, visiting each of their major art museums. Recently, she facilitated a historical mural with Durham art students that is now in Senator Jonny Isakson's office in Washington DC.

Mr. Graves graduated from the University of Florida 1967. He is married, has two children and 5 grandchildren. Mr. Graves is presently teaching Health and Physical Education.

Mrs. Lambertson is a Graduate of OSU. She moved to GA in 1990 and has been teaching for 10 years

Mrs. Poole is from Columbus, Ohio and received her undergraduate and masters degree from The Ohio State University. She has been in Georgia since 1982 and happily calls Georgia her home now. She has been teaching for 16 years, all in the Cobb County School District. The last 13 years have been in west Cobb at Lost Mountain Middle School then on to Durham when the school was opened. She has been married for 23 years and has one daughter who is a junior in high school.

Mrs. Taylor is a mother of two children. Her daughter is 17 years old, senior at Harrison High School. Her son is 3 1/2 years old and full of energy. Her husband, Josh, is a firefighter for Cobb County. She has a family dog named Wolfgang. She is a fanatic FSU football fan. Mrs. Taylor has a masters degree in Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University with a undergrad in Special Education from Troy State University located in Troy, Al. This is her 12th year teaching for Cobb County Schools.

Mr. Asher is a 24 year music educator in the state of Georgia. He has taught junior high and middle school band in Albany, Waycross, and Smyrna prior to his current work at Durham Middle School in Acworth. Mr. Asher directs 6th grade band, 7th grade band, Jazz Band, and the Durham Brass Ensemble.
Mr. Asher holds an Educational Specialist degree in music education from Georgia State University, a Masters degree in music education from the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, and a Bachelors degree in music education from Troy State University in Alabama. Asher continues his professional development by playing trumpet in Tara Winds Community Band and maintains affiliation with the International Trumpet Guild, Music Educators National Conference, National Band Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, and is the local school representative for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.

Mr. Hirschorn is in his 19th year of teaching, He attended the New England Conservatory of Music but received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Miami and his Master’s Degree from Florida State University. He is a National Board Certified Teacher. He is presently working towards a Ph.D in Music Education at Georgia State University. His dissertation is related to Creative Development in Choral Musicians. He is a member of MENC, the American Choral Director’s Association and the Music Educator’s Leadership Institute. Mr. Hirschorn has traveled to thirteen countries around the world and loves ancient history, which, along with classical guitar are his two very serious hobbies. He loves Durham and considers himself blessed to have such great students!

Physical Education

Mr. Wishon is a first year teacher. He graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor's of Science in Health and Physical Education. When he is not teaching, he loves fishing.

Mr. Dickson is a first year teacher. He graduated from Kennesaw State University. In his spare time he enjoys working out and sports.

Special Education

Mrs. Weinkle graduated from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Finance. She holds a certification in Special Education from the University of Georgia. Originally she is from Tazewell, Tennessee and moved to Georgia 3 years ago from California. She has lived all over the United States and overseas. Mrs. Weinkle is married, her husband is a retired Marine Corps officer. She has two children, a son attending the University of Tennessee and a daughter a Sr. in High School. Her hobbies are knitting, shopping, cooking, shopping, and more shopping.

Ms. Carroll for the last five years has been a Speech Pathologist in Cobb County. Prior to that she held the same position in New York for 5 years. She graduated from the State University of New York with a BS and received a Master's Degree from West Georgia.

Ms. Noble is happy to be Durham’s Special Education Lead Teacher. With a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, she began her teaching career as a speech pathologist. After a break to raise children, Mrs. Noble came back to teaching as an interrelated special education teacher at East Cobb Middle and then became lead teacher at Lost Mountain and Durham. She has earned her Masters in Education from Georgia State University and her Education Specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University. In 2000-01 Mrs. Noble was honored as Durham’s Teacher of the Year. She now is co-chairman of Durham’s Relay for Life team and quite proud that it is 88 members strong - Durham is ”hunkering down against cancer!” Mrs. Noble thinks Durham is the best and believes that all teachers here work very hard to help every child succeed and have a positive middle school experience. The best part of her life – family!

Paraprofessionals

Ms. Phillips is Married and has one daughter. Her daughter just got married last spring. Mrs. Phillips has been at
Durham for 5 years in Special Education.

Ms. Jacobsen is in her 3rd year at Durham. She been happily married to her husband, Kirk for 23 years. Mrs. Jacobsen has two great children, Sam, 19 years old and Drew, 14 years old. She also has a very fun and crazy golden retriever named, Regi. (The only girl in the family, besides me). Durham is her home away from home. Mrs. Jacobsen loves being here everyday!

Mrs. Sargent has worked in this building since it opened. The first year as a sub, then hired the second year as a paraprofessional. She has been married for 25 years and has 2 sons. Jacob is 20 and in the Air Force stationed at Keesler AFB in Gulfport/Biloxi, MS. and Tyler is 17 and a senior at Harrison High School. She has 2 dogs and works with SEGA, a rescue organization for retired greyhounds. Mrs. Sargent and her husband were born and raised in the Atlanta area.

Ms. Brown has been with the Cobb County school district since 1988. She began her career working as a secretary at the Cobb County Board of Education. After 4 years she became the vocational secretary at North Cobb High School for 12 years. Her present position is a paraprofessional in the Special Education Department at Durham. Ms. Brown is a Georgia native. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, playing on the computer and shopping.

Ms. Connaughton

Food Service