INCOMING FACULTY AND STAFF 2011-12

Katie Alaniz is teaching second grade, where she shares classroom duties with Christi DeSpain. Now entering her ninth year of teaching, Katie has been a second grade teacher at AOS and taught first and second grade in HISD. Katie graduated magna cum laude from A&M and received her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Baptist University in May 2011. She begins work on her Ph.D. this fall at the .

Shelby Hammer , Head of Middle School, comes to R.O.B.S. from the Highlands School in Birmingham, Alabama, where she served as Head of Middle School for four years. Shelby has prior experience teaching history and English at the middle school and high school levels, as well as working in the areas of Admission and Communications. Shelby graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in history from Duke University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She also holds a M.A. in History from the University of Alabama. Shelby’s children David (5 th grade) and Betsy (1 st grade) join her at R.O.B.S. this year.

Dawn Hanson, Ph.D. , Interim Head of Primary School, has been working on our campus as a behavioral consultant and individual assessment evaluator in the Primary School for the past two years. She has worked as a psychotherapist at Yellowstone Academy and a psychologist in crisis intervention at HISD. Dawn obtained a B.S. in Psychology and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Howard University. She is currently working towards a Masters of Theology degree from Theological Seminary. Dawn has been affiliated with R.O.B.S. as a past parent and active participant in the Character Committee.

Connie Eslinger, Ph.D., will serve as part-time Primary School Learning Specialist. Connie is a psychologist in private practice, working with children from ages 2 to 18 and their families. Connie has expertise in conducting educational and psychological evaluations, as well as evaluations for attention disorders and autism-spectrum disorders. Previously, she worked in the Cypress Fairbanks ISD as a school psychologist for 15 years and taught Kindergarten for 13 years. Connie received a B.A. from Southwest Baptist University, a Masters in Early Childhood Education from McNeese State University, and a Masters and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas.

Kathleen Kaminsky joins R.O.B.S. in the position of K – 8 Learning Specialist. Kathleen has worked at The Hewitt School in New York City since 2004, where she served in roles including Coordinator of Learning Resources for grades 4 – 12, Middle School Learning Specialist for grades 4 -5, and Interim Director of Middle and Upper School Admissions. Kathleen also has experience as a classroom teacher in grades 3 and 4 and a private tutor for grades 1 - 8. Kathleen received a B.A. cum laude in Elementary Education with Moderate Special Needs and Human Development from Boston College and a M.A. in Learning Disabilities with a concentration in Gifted Education from Columbia University.

Natalie Kirklin will teach Middle School Spanish. Natalie graduated cum laude from Texas Christian University with a major in Spanish and a minor in Educational Studies. She has completed a Spanish literature graduate summer program in Madrid, Spain. Natalie previously taught middle school Spanish at Westchester Academy for International Studies in Spring Branch ISD and Grady Middle School in HISD. Natalie is married to R.O.B.S. alum Brad Kirklin.

Dee Moore , fourth grade teacher, joins R.O.B.S. from Memorial Drive Elementary School, where she taught third grade for four years and was nominated for Teacher of the Year in 2010-11. Dee is a graduate of Texas A&M with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She worked as a college intern in the White House Office of Presidential Scheduling in 2005. She has shared her love of God with children as a Young Life leader and a counselor at Camp Ozark.

Susan Neuhaus joins the Discovery team this year. Susan is a speech and language pathologist who has worked in private practice and in the Hays ISD. Susan graduated with honors from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Communication Disorders and holds a M.S. in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas. Susan has participated actively at R.O.B.S. as a volunteer and in Bible study. Her children Bo, Griff, and Alex are in first grade, Kindergarten, and Discovery, respectively, and she is married to R.O.B.S. alum Charlie Neuhaus.

Christa Pryor joins R.O.B.S. as Lower School librarian. Christa has served as a school librarian for six years at Briargrove Elementary, , and Fort Bend ISD. She also has six years of teaching experience in grades 1, 4, and 5. Christa earned a M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas and graduated magna cum laude from Miami University in Ohio with a B.S. in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish.

Kim Sumbera , Readiness teacher, is trained as a speech and language pathologist. She joins us from the Speech and Language Remediation Center, where she worked for 13 years. Previously, Kim provided speech, language, and auditory training therapy for hearing-impaired children, along with inservice for teachers and training for parents, at the Houston School for Deaf Children. Kim obtained a B.S. in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas and a M.A. in Communication Disorders from the University of Houston.

Ranelle Woolrich will be the Lower School computer teacher. Ranelle comes to R.O.B.S. from , where she held a variety of administrative and teaching positions. Most recently, Ranelle served as Academic Coordinator for the Middle School. She also taught 6 th grade English, 8 th grade speech, and 7 th grade Bible, as well as serving as Middle School Counselor and Bible Department Head. Ranelle holds a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Houston Baptist University and a B.S. in Elementary Education with distinction from the University of Kansas.

Eleanor Zook , Kindergarten teacher, spent the last decade at St. Luke’s Day School, serving as a lead teacher in Prekindergarten for the last five years. She also has taught cooking classes to students in grades K-2. Eleanor received a B.S. with high honors from Auburn University and participated in the School Literacy and Culture Project at the Rice University Center for Education, where she served as a resident teacher from 2004-05.