Special Education / Meet the Teachers

Allison Baker
Allison Baker will be starting her 20th year of teaching. She holds a bachelors and a masters' degree in educational fields. She went to elementary school after spending 15 years in middle school. Allison is the mother of two boys, and is married to Jeff. She is an avid dog lover and looking forward to beginning another great year in the special education department at the “T!”
	Ext. 722415	f38244@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Emily Castleberry
This will be Emily’s 6th year at Chestatee Elementary and 7th year teaching in Forsyth County. Emily received her Bachelor's in Education from Furman University in Greenville, SC. Emily has two children in Forsyth County schools, William (6th grade) and Luke (3rd Grade). After a few years as a stay-at-home mother, Emily dove back into her passion for teaching. This will be her 4th year as a Special Education teacher at Chestatee. She is extremely excited about being a part of the Special Education team again this school year.
	Ext. 722213	ecastleberry@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Crissy Buice
Mrs. Buice has been teaching at Chestatee for a number of years. She received her Bachelor’s degree from North Georgia College and State University. She double majored in Elementary Education and Special Education with endorsements for Gifted and Reading. She received her Master’s degree in Education from Kennesaw State University with an added endorsement for Autism. Mrs. Buice has taught general education, specialized instruction, and special education classes throughout the years. She loves being a part of Chestatee's Family!
	Ext. 722423	cbuice@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Leigh Clark
	Leigh Clark is a physical therapist and has been working in the Forsyth County School System since July 2006; previously she worked for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She travels to several schools in the school system, yet she has had the opportunity to serve Chestatee since her start in 2006. Ms. Clark works with special education students in the educational setting to improve accessibility to their environments. She loves being at the “T” as much as her schedule allows!
	Ext. 722241			lclark@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Kim Cottrell
	This will be Kim Cottrell's 2nd year teaching at Chestatee. Mrs. Cottrell received both her Bachelor's and Master's Degree from University of North Georgia. She has 16 years experience teaching middle school and elementary school students. She is very excited to be apart of the IRR team at Chestatee!
	Ext. 722409			f44449@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Hanna Fyle
Hanna Fyle loves it at Chestatee. She graduated from the University of North Georgia with her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Special Education. She can not wait for the amazing relationships she will build this year at the T.
	Ext. 722320	hfyle@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Shannon Grindle
This will be Mrs. Grindle’s 17th year as a special education teacher, and she is very excited to be at Chestatee. Mrs. Grindle graduated from North Georgia College with a B.S. in Education. She also holds a master’s degree in Content Literacy from Lesley University, and she has her gifted endorsement. Mrs. Grindle has spent all her years teaching in Forsyth County and she attended Forsyth County Schools, including Chestatee, from grades K-5. She has taught all elementary school grades as a special education teacher in both the IRR and Specialized Instruction settings.
	Ext. 722417	sgrindle@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Brooke Hagler
This will be Mrs. Hagler's 9th year at Chestatee Elementary and her 18th year as an educator. Mrs. Hagler graduated from Berry College with a degree in Early Childhood Education and an ESOL endorsement. She later completed the requirements for her math and gifted endorsements as well. She completed her master's in Special Education of General Curriculum at Kennesaw State University with a certificate in leadership (Tier 1`). She has had the privilege of teaching 1st, 4th, and 5th grades. She is looking forward to another great year at Chestatee!
	Ext. 722459	bhagler@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Diane Hansen
This will be Mrs. Hansen's 20th year of teaching and there is no place that she would rather be than at Chestatee Elementary! Mrs. Hansen received her B.S.in Psychology and Master of Social Work degrees from Georgia State University, her teaching certificate from UGA, and her Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Piedmont College. She has taught at all elementary levels and looks forward to serving in the lower grades this coming school year. Go Eagles!
	Ext. 722213	dhansen@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Lori Holbrooks
This will be Lori Holbrooks' 30th year teaching at Chestatee. Mrs. Holbrooks received her Bachelor's From UNG and her Master's degree from GCU. She has taught all grade levels Pre K - 5th. This year is her 6th year of being the Special Education Department Chair Lead Teacher. She loves all the Chestatee Eagles. Once an Eagle- always an Eagle.
	Ext. 722401	lholbrooks@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Donna Hopkins

This will be Donna Hopkins 5th year at Chestatee Elementary. Mrs. Hopkins received her Bachelor's degree in English and Elementary Education from Potsdam State College in New York State. She is excited to continue teaching SBA for the 2024-2025 school year. She loves being a part of Chestatee!

Ext. 722324

f38880@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Lacey McClellan
	This will be Lacey McClellan's 10th year teaching, and 8th year at Chestatee. Mrs. McClellan received her bachelors degree from Kennesaw State University. She is so excited about working with all the wonderful students and staff at Chestatee.
	Ext. 722415			lmcclellan@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Julie Nepple
	This will be Julie Nepple's 1st year at Chestatee. Ms. Nepple has been in Forsyth County for 5 years and teaching for 22 years. She moved to Georgia 10 years ago from Indiana. She graduated from Ball State University with her bachelors degree and earned her Masters degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. She is very excited to start her new role as an IRR teacher serving Chestatee students. Julie has a true love and passion for teaching and connecting with students. She is thrilled to be a part of the Chestatee family and looking forward to a great year!
	Ext. 722415			f38168@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Gillian Nurohen-Doris
	This is Gill Nurhonen -Doris's 6th year at Chestatee. "Miss Gill" graduated from Colorado State University in 1992, with a BSc. in Occupational Therapy. She has worked in the pediatric OT field for over 30 years and loves helping "her kiddos". Miss Gill has specialized training in Sensory Integration Therapy, Behavior Intervention, Parent Education, etc. She came from the private practice setting and enjoys spending her days at the “T”, as part of the special education team.
	Ext. 722241			C00940@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Kelly Ortiz
	This will be Mrs. Ortiz's 6th year at Chestatee in special education. She has taught Kindergarten IRR and Virtual for Specialized instruction for SBA/MCA/MI/MO. This year she will continue her third year in the MO Specialized Instruction teacher for grades K-4. She received her Bachelor's degree and Reading endorsement through the University of North Georgia. She loves teaching special ed!
	Ext. 722316			kortiz@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Amanda Pruitt
This will be Mrs. Pruitt’s 12th year teaching for Forsyth County Schools. Mrs. Pruitt was named Chestatee’s 23-24 Teacher of the Year. She holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Special Education from North Georgia College and State University and her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from University of North Georgia. She also has her Reading, Gifted, and ESOL endorsements. Mrs. Pruitt has experience teaching, providing special education support, and providing early intervention support to Pre-K through 5th grade. She is also proud to support Chestatee’s positive behavior interventions and supports as a Tier 1 Coach.
	Ext. 722328	apruitt@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Jennifer Sirko
Mrs. Sirko has been a part of the Chestatee family since 2019. She is looking forward to entering her eleventh year of teaching and another year as a Special Education teacher. She is a proud graduate of Georgia State University with her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. The whole Sirko family is proud to be in the East Cluster. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, traveling (to Disney!), and running.
	Ext. 722459	f32390@forsyth.k12.ga.us