The Founding Committee began with a few grassroots local parents wanting an alternative in education. From there, they reached out to longstanding regional educators and other parents to round out the Can-Do Crew.  Even the naming of the school came from a democratic process of community input, ceremony, and recognition.

Founding Mamas: Danna Smith & Julie Williams (special thanks to Lori Park)

Our Team

Board Of Directors

DANNA SMITH

Chair of the MSCS Board, Danna is Acting Executive Director of Dogwood Alliance, www.dogwoodalliance.org, a non-profit she helped found, whose mission is to protect Southern Forests from the impacts of unsustainable forestry practices.  Since founding the organization in 1996, Danna has successfully pioneered national campaigns focused on transforming the market demand for paper in the U.S.  Her bachelor's is in Political Science (University of South Carolina), and her law degree is from Emory University. After practicing law for several years, Danna worked on environmental campaigns with Greenpeace.  She, along with her husband Jay McCarthy and 6-year old daughter, Summer, live in Brevard.

828-242-3590

danna@dogwoodalliance.org

JOHN SHACKELTON

John has been an educator for 30 years, teaching everything from second grade to college freshmen now as Adjunct Instructor at AB Technical College.  Paving new paths in education, his school administrative experience spans seventeen years in non-traditional private schools, most recently as Executive Director of Rainbow Mountain Children’s School in Asheville. Some of his articles on holistic education can still be read on the website www.rmcs.org.  He lives in Asheville with his wife, Ruth.

828-582-7326 

mythmaker@charter.net

KAREN HOLT

Karen is the Founder/Director of the Montessori School of Anderson www.msasc.org in SC.  She raised her daughter, Julie Williams, in that school.  Under Karen’s 35 years of leadership and nurturance, the non-profit school has grown from 14 students in the basement of a church to over 250 students ranging from infants through high school.  She has served as an advisor to growing Montessori schools both internationally and in the United States, presented at numerous workshops on experiential education, and is actively involved in Peace education.  She has been a part-time resident of Brevard for over 8 years. Karen's personal investment in the success of MSCS is Skyler, her grandson. 

864-226-5344 

neatgal@aol.com

HARVEST LEASURE

Vice Chair, Harvest, was home schooled through 4^th grade and then attended a cooperative school that his parents helped create. He has extensive experiential and outdoor education experience, including leading backcountry trips for a Quaker camp, serving as a wilderness specialist for the Wilderness Leadership Academy, and facilitating a ropes course and adventure program with Inner Quest.   He also worked with the NC Outward Bound School for 4 years as an Instructor and Whitewater Specialist in the mountains of North Carolina and the Florida Everglades.  Harvest lives in Brevard with his wife, Chanley Layton, and daughter Arawen, where he operates his own construction company, Harvest Home Improvements.

828-877-6631

harvestcedar@yahoo.com

TARA MCDONALD-TINER

Webmaster and school grantwriter, Tara owns CoachWrite Editing & Writing, www.coachwrite.net. She has a BA in sociology from Coker College and MAEd from Western Carolina University in multi-displinary studies, sociology, and anthropology.  She's a former Learning Consultant and Adjunct Instructor of sociology, religion, and study skills for Southwestern Community College in Sylva, NC. A graduate of Coach University's 2 year Life Coach Training Program, she's also trained in Partnership Studies, Non-Violent Communication, Formal Consensus Decision-Making, and anti-oppression activism.  Tara and her husband, Jubal Tiner (who runs the literary magazine, www.pisgahreview.com) have a daughter, Olivia, age 4.

828-885-6075 

jubaltara@yahoo.com

RICK HASTINGS

Rick is our newest board member and has joined our board seamlessly, bringing a wealth of knowledge, experience, and solid ideas.  He works a chef and handyman.  He and wife Salli Lewis, a psychologist, have two kids, Stro (age 9) and Maryella (age 4), who both attend MSCS.

828-553-9511

rick.hastings@hotmail.com

WE ARE LOOKING FOR BOARD MEMBERS! SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS TO DANNA SMITH. 

Classroom Aids

Parents volunteer in the classroom to help with art projects, coordinate potty breaks during outdoor time, and provide skilled general aid, as well as bringing joy and nurturing to the kids.  Many of our parents have a particular talent or skill they have bring to share with the classes, like Spanish, music, and art.

Our Staff

The staff we have chosen to lead this school embodies all our hopes and dreams for what Mountain Sun Community School is.  They are bright, creative, talented, well-educated, resourceful, joyful, and intelligent.  They are life-long learners. Their education, experience, and rapport with kids are outstanding. Among a pool of truly amazing candidates, they stood out, and we are proud to have them.

Elementary Teacher

Becky Langerman  

Becky earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Loyola College in Maryland in 2000 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Appalachian State University.  She is an AMI-certified Montessori elementary teacher and a certified family services counselor.  Becky has seven years of classroom experience, having worked as a lead teacher in Montessori schools in Santa Cruz, California, Bowie, Maryland, and Palm Harbor, Florida.  Complementing her classroom experience, she has also completed Positive Discipline training with Dr. Jane Nelsen.  In the summer prior to her first year at Mountain Sun, Becky trained in holistic pedagogies.  Last year, she seamlessly integrated holistic education methods with Montessori in her role as lead teacher pf our 3-6 year old class.  This year, she moves up to our new elementary class of 6-9 year olds.

Primary Lead Teacher

Shana Cloer ("shay-na" "cloe-er") combines her fresh, freespirited imagination with cultural studies and a Masters in sociology.  She's been a preschool director and has many years' classroom experience.  Best of all, she brings us her fun whimsical soul, and she will be teaching Spanish!  She is the mother of Harvest, age 7 (not to be confused with grown-up Harvest on our board).  Last year, Shana served our primary class as a part-time Assistant Teacher with Becky.  This year, Shana will be full-time with our 2-5 year olds as its lead teacher, while also serving our kindergartners in the afternoons.  Shana co-creates the nurturing atmosphere of Mountain Sun! 

Assistant Primary Teacher

Tina Leonard

Tina's calm demeanor promotes that feeling of security and stability in our preschool classroom.  Recently, an educational administrator with over 30 years' experience observed Tina in action and said she was the most natural Teaching Assistant she had ever seen.  Tina moved to NC from Florida in 1997 and worked for a financial executive for 7 years before becoming a SAHM to her oldest daughter.  Tina served as Secretary of our Board during Mountain Sun's first year of operation.  She was also our volunteer Teacher's Aide, where she gained hands-on experience.  72 544x376 Normal 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Now she will serve as part-time Assistant in our primary class.  She’s married to graphic designer Scott Clark, a Grocery Manager at Food Lion.  Their children are Katie, age 5, and Izzie, age 2. 

School Director

Julie Williams 

Last but not least is the Co-Founder and former Chair of the Board, Julie, who will now be full-time as Director of MSCS!  The heart of our school, she has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, including administration and teaching in non-traditional learning environments. She formerly worked at The Outdoor Academy at Eagle's Nest, www.enf.org, as Assistant Head of School and as Human Resources Manager, successfully coordinating the SACS (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation process for the school.  Julie also has extensive educational experience in Montessori schools, both as a student and a teacher.  She lives in Penrose, NC, with her husband, Tom, and son, Skyler.

828-966-9333

Email: julie.mscs@gmail.com