Staff

Ms. Hankins is beginning her second year of teaching kindergarten and is excited to become a founding teacher at NSAES. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education with a focus in Early Childhood Education (Pre-K - 3).

 Ms. Hankins loves elementary education because she values the importance of building a solid educational foundation for her students. As a Kindergarten teacher, she loves to incorporate student creativity and individuality into her instruction throughout each core content area. She is driven by her students' energetic spirits and she aims to set the bar high during their first critical years of learning.

As a passionate and lifelong learner, Ms. McGowan began her journey in education by earning her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Memphis. She then pursued her Master’s degree in instruction and curriculum with a focus on elementary education.

With five years of experience, and a supportive educational background, Ms. McGowan describes herself as a versatile educator who believes in a participatory pedagogical approach. It is with this approach that she creates conducive environments that aims for cooperative learning within the classroom, and the integration of various learning strategies, catered to the visual, kinesthetic and auditory learner.

As an educator who has been privileged to work in a variety of settings, she has also had the opportunity of working with a wide variety of students, including those afflicted with ADHD, cerebral palsy, exceptional learners, and autism. It is from this experience, she has been able to remain sensitive to the uniqueness of each student’s needs, provide individualized support and cultivate a supportive and positive learning environment.

Through her teaching, Ms. McGowan aims to provide an alternative method of traditional teaching methods, promote individual growth and critical thinking skills.

Ms. Hunter recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from The University of Tampa. She also graduated with a reading and ESOL endorsement. She is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but moved to Memphis to be part of Teach for America. During her time in undergrad, Ms. Hunter studied abroad, participated in tutoring programs and completed four internships in elementary school classrooms. When she is not teaching, she loves the outdoors, traveling, reading and playing with her dog Vincent. What she loves most about teaching is seeing her scholars grow each and every day into strong, independent and creative people. 
We are ecstatic to have her on our team for the upcoming school year. 

We are excited to have Ms. Stephanie Bailey as a Kindergarten teacher at Power Center Academy Elementary School this year. She has been a part of the Gestalt family going on three years now and says she truly could not imagine working anywhere else. She received her Bachelor's degree in Teaching All Learners K-6 from the University of Memphis and has been teaching Kindergarten ever since! She genuinely love teaching elementary- Kindergarten being her favorite. When teaching Kindergarteners, a lot (though not all) of the things she teaches them are brand new. When asked what she loves about Kindergarten she responded, "It's really fun and exciting to teach children things that they have never thought of or heard of before. I get to see the little light bulbs go off in their brains (I tell them it oozes out of their ears it's so big) as they make new connections to materials. I can't even describe the feeling I get when they recognize a new word in a book, in the hallway, or figure out a math problem on their own. Kindergarten often times lays the foundation for how children see and feel about school for the rest of their lives and I love being a small part of their big journeys ahead." We are looking forward to this year and cannot wait to see what's in store!!

It is my pleasure to introduce Ms. Sharon Jones who will be our Kindergarten Resident Teacher. This opportunity is the last step she will take before receiving her multiple subject credentials in elementary education from Liberty University. In 2010, she graduated from Crichton College with my Bachelors Degree in Biology and has been furthering her education since.

Throughout the last four years, she has had several experiences with different grade levels and classrooms, such as substituting, observing, and teaching lessons. Her mission as a resident teacher is to help children discover the joy of learning, and to help each child develop a strong belief in his or her own ability to achieve. We are so excited she has chosen to continue her learning and growing with us at Power Center Academy Elementary School. Together we will make this year the best year possible for your child.