Special Education / Meet the Teachers

Allison Baker
Allison Baker will be starting her 19th 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, who attend Chestatee, 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. 722267	f38244@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Kennedy Bennett
This year will be Kennedy Bennett’s second year teaching and second year at Chestatee. Ms. Bennett received her degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education with a reading endorsement at the University of North Georgia. She is very excited to be back at the T!
	Ext. 722345	f38244@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

	Emily Castleberry
	This will be Emily’s 5th year at Chestatee Elementary and 6th year teaching in Forsyth county. Emily received her Bachelor's in Education from Furman University in Greenville, SC. Emily and her husband, John Castleberry have two children who are Chestatee Eagles, William (5th grade) and Luke (2nd Grade). After a few years as a stay-at home mother, Emily dove back into her passion for teaching. This will be her 3rd 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. 722172			ecastleberry@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Courtney Dougan
	This will be Mrs. Dougan's 15th year at Chestatee Elementary. Mrs. Dougan is originally from California, but graduated from Liberty University in Virginia with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, and moved to Forsyth County, Georgia shortly after graduation. Chestatee has been home to Mrs. Dougan for her entire teaching career, where she has taught kindergarten, 1st, 4th and 5th grades. After a brief retirement to be a stay-at home mom, Mrs. Dougan came back as an instructional assistant in kindergarten for 4 years. She joined the special education team as an interrelated resource teacher last year. Mrs. Dougan, her husband, and 2 children live in the Chestatee school district, and both of her children attended Chestatee. Walker is currently in 8th grade and Bailey is in 6th grade at Little Mill Middle School.
	Ext. 722441			cdougan@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 16th year as a special education teacher, and she is very excited to be coming back to 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 8th year at Chestatee Elementary and her 17th 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 certification 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. 722441	bhagler@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Diane Hansen
This will be Mrs. Hansen's 19th 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 certification 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. 722267	dhansen@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Lori Holbrooks
This will be Lori Holbrooks' 29th 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 5nd 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 4th 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 2023-2024 school year. She loves being a part of Chestatee!

Ext. 722324

f38880@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Lacey McClellan
	This will be Lacey McClellan's 9th year teaching, and 7th year at Chestatee. Mrs. McClellan received her bachelors degree from Kennesaw State University. She is so excited to work with all the wonderful students and staff at Chestatee.
	Ext. 722409			lmcclellan@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Gillian Nurohen-Doris
	This is Gill Nurhonen -Doris's 4th year at Chestatee. "Miss Gill" graduated from Colorado State University in 1992, with her BSc. in Occupational Therapy degree. She has worked in the pediatric OT field for over 25 years and loves "her kiddos". Miss Gill came from the private practice setting and enjoys spending her days at Chestatee.
	Ext. 722241			gnurhonen@forsyth.k12.ga.us

	Kelly Ortiz
	This will be Mrs. Ortiz's 5th 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 second year in the MO Specialized Instruction teacher for grades K-3. She received her Bachelor's degree and Reading endorsement through the University of North Georgia. She loves being part of the Chestatee family and can't wait to start another year of teaching/ building relationships with her students!
	Ext. 722316			kortiz@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Amanda Pruitt
This will be Mrs. Pruitt's 11th year as an educator. Mrs. Pruitt graduated from North Georgia College and State University with a dual degree in Early Childhood and Special Education in addition to her Reading endorsement. She later graduated from the University of North Georgia with a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education and her Gifted and ESOL endorsements. She has experience teaching, providing special education support, and providing early intervention support to Pre-K through 5th grade. She is very excited to continue to support Chestatee students this year!
	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 tenth 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. Mrs. Sirko has three of her four children here at Chestatee in fifth, second, and kindergarten with a high schooler at North Forsyth. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, traveling (to Disney!), and running.
	Ext. 722415	f32390@forsyth.k12.ga.us