Darlington is pleased to welcome the following new faculty and staff members for the 2019-20 school year. Click here to read about faculty and staff at Darlington who have taken on new roles.
Misty Boling will be teaching sixth and seventh grade English. She holds a B.S. in Home Economics and Child Development from the University of Georgia and Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from West Georgia College. She has over 32 years of practical teaching experience with elementary and middle school students in a variety of educational settings, most recently at Charleston Day School.
Elizabeth (Collier) Bruce (‘03) will be head of of Cooper House, Darlington’s first year experience house for girls. She holds a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Auburn University and has a decade of experience of working with children and college students, most recently as house parent for the College and Career Program for WinShape Homes. She is married to Justin Bruce, Upper School learning specialist, and they have two daughters, Annie Ruth and Rosie.
Carrie Caldwell will serve as learning specialist in the Pre-K to 8 Teaching and Learning Center. She holds a B.A. in History and Politics from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia and a Master of Arts in Teaching form Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. Caldwell has nearly 20 years of teaching experience, most recently at the Rectory School in Pomfret, Connecticut. She is trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach and is a member of the International Dyslexia Association.
Chandler Cryer will serve as Upper School Spanish teacher. She holds a B.A. in both Spanish and Teaching English as a Second Language from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee and a Master of Arts in Teaching Language from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Cryer has extensive experience in teaching and tutoring students learning English as a second language and has taught Spanish to elementary, high school, and undergraduate students. She has traveled to 14 different countries and has spent the last year living in China, teaching English.
Avery Cypress ('14) will serve as assistant director of boarding admissions. He holds a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish from Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was a recipient of an academic and track and field scholarship. While in college, Cypress served as a writing tutor in the Queens Center for Student Success, advising undergraduate and graduate students with developing better habits and techniques of writing. He also served as lead university fundraiser for the school, where he worked with the Advancement Office on their annual fundraising initiatives. Cypress is relocating to Darlington from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he served as a customer service representative for AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.
Julie Grigsby will serve as learning specialist in the Pre-K to 8 Teaching and Learning Center. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Elementary Education from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. Grigsby is coming to Darlington from Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and has recently completed The Complete Reading Series, a 70 hour comprehensive reading series that covered early literacy development, phonics, Latin and Greek, comprehension, learning disabilities and dyslexia. She has also been trained in Orton-Gillingham through the Georgia Educational Training Agency.
Leigh Hadaway will serve as Upper School history teacher and head swim coach. A recent graduate of Berry College, Hadaway holds a B.A. in both Visual Communication and History. A leader on campus, Hadaway served as a First Year Mentor and was also communication coordinator for the Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship, of which she was a recipient. She received the N. Gordon Carper Scholarship, and the Noel and Todd Carper Award for the junior History major with the best overall academic record in history courses.
Damon Harvey will serve as band director for grades 4-12. He holds a B.A in Music from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania; Master of Arts in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio; and is currently completing a PhD in Music Education with West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. Prior to becoming a full-time student and graduate teaching assistant at West Virginia University, he served as director of bands and choirs for six years at the Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia where he worked with a variety of music classes including middle and high school band and chorus.
Jaclyn Haynes will serve as Upper School chemistry and environmental science teacher. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia and Master of Education in Educational Technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has also completed graduate-level gifted coursework at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Haynes has over 16 years of teaching experience and has taught science at several area high schools, most recently at Rome High School.
Chrissy Hughes will serve as advancement services officer, overseeing all gift entry and reporting and database management for the school. With a career built in strategic marketing and communications as well as partnership development, Hughes will support the overall fundraising goals of the school and activities related to database management and alumni relations. She will also serve as the primary liaison between the advancement and finance departments and work closely with the admissions team to integrate new students and parents into the school’s database.
Dr. Toni King will serve as Upper School biology and anatomy and physiology teacher. With over 20 years of research and collegiate-level instruction, Dr. King comes to Darlington from Georgia Highlands College in Rome where she has served as an adjunct instruction in the Division of Natural Sciences. She holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was a postdoctoral research fellow in molecular oncology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and in microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.
Christina Kopp will serve as full time art teacher for grades pre-K to 8. A recent graduate of Berry College, Kopp holds a B.A in Art Education. She has experience in elementary, middle, and high school art classrooms where she has assisted students of all skill levels and needs, most recently at Rome High School.
Lauren Loy will serve as assistant controller in the business office. She holds a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences from the University of Georgia and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Shorter College. She has 17 years of experience in public accounting and is CPA certified, most recently serving as an accountant at Haynes and Moore, LLC, a Rome-based CPA firm. Lauren is married to Shannon and their son Jackson is a rising fifth-grader.
Joe Pitts will serve as head of Neville House. He holds a B.S in Education and Exercise Science and Master of Science in Human Performance and Sports Studies from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has served as head strength and conditioning coach at North Florida Christian School, Miller School of Albemarle, and Kennesaw State University; deputy sheriff at the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Canton, Georgia; and most recently as inspector aid for Atkins Global.
Kristin Sukhanath will serve as Upper School math teacher. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics with a minor in Business Administration from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. She has over a decade of teaching and tutoring experience in the high school and post-secondary classroom setting, serving most recently as an independent tutor in both Painted Post, New York and Rome, Georgia.
Anna Swafford (‘11) will serve as head softball coach, assistant track coach, and strength and speed assistant. She holds a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences and a Master of Science in Sports Management and Policy from the University of Georgia. Swafford was a four-year scholarship athlete starter for the University of Georgia softball team where she completed her collegiate career as seventh overall at UGA in homeruns, first overall in hit by pitches, and top 10 overall in stolen bases. Since graduating from UGA, she has served as a middle school PE teacher, varsity softball head coach, and middle school track and field head coach for Mount Pisgah Christian School.
Jenifer Thoem will be serving as part time art teacher for grades pre-K to 8. She holds a B.F.A in Ceramics from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. Thoem has 25 years of teaching experience as a studio art teacher, helping students develop artistic skills and an appreciation for art through collaboration, connection and real world application. She has been serving Darlington since 2017 as visiting artist and substitute teacher.
Nathan West will serve as head boys' basketball coach and assistant athletic director. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. At the collegiate level, West played a year at Marion Military Institute before transferring, and finishing, his next three years at Birmingham Southern College where he was a co-captain and his team won a conference championship in 2010. With over nine years of coaching experience, he comes to Darlington from Franklin County High School in Eastpoint, Florida where he has served as head boys' basketball coach and assistant principal for the past two years.
