North Campus

 

Administration

 

Mark Butler - Athletic Director
Graduate of Pensacola Christian College with Master in Secondary Education and Western Kentucky University with BS in Communications/History. Since 1989 he has served as an Athletic Director, Teacher, Administrator, and Coach. Mark is married to Shannon, and together they have served at Foundation Academy since 2010 and have three children attending FA.

 

Ruth Ann Farmer – NILD
Graduate of University of Phoenix with Masters in Special Ed. and BA in Biblical Ministries from Luther Rice. She is a professionally certified Educational Therapist. She has been Program Director of NILD since 2004 with over 18 years experience as an Education Therapist. She is married and as has 3 grown sons.

 

Shawn Minks – Head Master
Graduate of Columbia International University with Masters in Ed. Administration and a BS in Elementary Ed. &  Bible from Northwestern College. He has been Headmaster at Foundation Academy since 2007.  He holds a Lifetime ACSI All Levels Principal Certificate. He is married to Carol Minks and has 3 children attending FA. Prior to FA, he served as a Middle School Principal, Dean of Students, HS Basketball & Tennis Coach and secondary instructor of Health, Bible and Leadership classes.

 

Tanya Murphy, M.Ed. – Elementary Assistant Principal
Graduate of Pensacola Christina College with Masters in Ed. Administration and a BA in Elementary Ed. She served eight years as an administrator and full time classroom teacher on the elementary & high school level in Northern Virginia. Returning to Winter Garden, she began teaching at FA in 2002, 4th grade one year and 5th for seven years. During her time at FA, she has served as the After School Care Coordinator and Elementary Curriculum Coordinator. She holds a Lifetime Educator’s Certificate from ACSI. In 2010, Tanya accepted the position of Elementary Assistant Principal.

 

Angel A. Whitehead - Elementary Principal
Graduateof Jones International University with Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration, Summa Cum Laude and additional graduate work at Liberty University in Christian Counseling, BS in Journalism at Ohio University, additional undergraduate work at Florida Southern College in Elementary Education. She has specialized training with Childhood Development, Behavior Management, Educating Children with ADD/ADHD, Active Parenting, The Five Love Languages of Children. She has taught K-4th grades. She has been with FA since 1997 and became the Elementary Principal in 2003. She is married to David and has 2 sons, Jonathan and Bryan.

 

 

 

 

Teachers & Staff

 

 

David Baginski – Assistant Athletic Director, Elementary Sports Coordinator
David started with FA in 2010; coming to us from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale where he was working with the Ministry Services. He is married to Christy and they have two children, who both attend Foundation Academy. They attend Harvest Bible Chapel in Windermere. He enjoys sharing the Word of God to groups as well as one on one discipleship.
 

Sonda Connolly – 3rd Grade Teacher
Graduate of Luther Rice with Masters of Arts in Christian Education and Florida State University with BS in Elementary Education. She is married to Thomas and has two adult children. She attends First Baptist Church of Central Florida and teaches an adult ladies Life Group. She enjoys teaching in a Christian school, reading, and spending time with her four grandchildren.

 

Tabitha Crabtree – Speech Therapist
Graduate of UCF with MS Communicative Disorders and Auburn University with BS in Early Childhood Special Education. She was born in Orlando; grew up in West Orange County; member of FBC/Winter Garden for over 30 years. She is married with two children, Ella & Owen. She has worked with children for over 15 years and with FA since 2004! 

 

Lisa Crain - Kindergarten
Graduate of Florida State University with BS in Child Development. She started teaching when her youngest began school at Foundation Academy and she loves teaching Kindergarten.

 

 

Stephanie Emanuel - 5th grade
Graduate of University of Central Florida with BS in Education. She has over twenty years experience in education. She is married to Charles and the have two daughters, Erin and Taylor, in which FA has played a huge part in their lives.
 

 

Heather Graziotti - 2nd Grade Teacher
Graduate of Liberty University with a degree in Elementary Education. She is originally from Canada and is thankful that their family currently resides in sunny Florida. She is married and has three children who are all at Foundation Academy. Her family attends First Baptist Church of Windermere. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and is currently training for a marathon.

 

Debbie Gunter - TEACH Therapist
Graduate of Baptist Bible College East in Boston with MA and an AA in Bible. Attending Liberty University for Elementary Education degree. She is married to Tim and has three grown children. She enjoys teaching piano, gardening and an occasional weekend treasure hunt at yard sales. 

 

Joyce A. Heath - Preschool
Holds her Child Development Associate Credential and Florida Director Credential. She is married to Benny and has two daughters. Both daughters attended Foundation Academy. She and her husband enjoy going on missions trips.

 

Jayne Henry - North Campus Technology
Jayne is married to Scott and has a son, Marshall who attended Foundation Academy for 13 years, a step-daughter, Ciara and one granddaughter, Chloe.

 

Billie Holmes - 2nd Grade
Graduate of Columbia International University with B.S. in Elementary Education and Bible. She joined the Foundation Academy in August 2010. Prior to working at FA, she taught 2nd & 4th grade at Blue Lake Academy. She has taught in both christian and public schools in South Carolina and Pennsylvania. She is married to David and they have two children: Amanda and Caleb.

 

Amy Jennings - Preschool
Holds a CDA and also Florida Child Care Professional Credential. Amy has been at Foundation Academy since 1994 and was a student in the late 1960’s. She has attended FBC/Winter Garden since the age of 3. She is married to Danny and has 1 son also named Danny.

 

Amy Johns - 5th Grade
Graduate of Liberty University with M.Ed. and Clearwater Christian College with BS in Business Administration. She is married to Joel and has two children, Abigail and Andrew, who attend Foundation Academy. 

 

Deborah Johnson- Preschool/Elementary Art
Deborah is married and has one daughter attending UCF. She is from Ohio and has been working at Foundation Academy for 15+ years and was a volunteer for 3 years before that.

 

Trish Johnson - Receptionist North Campus
Trish has been associated with Foundation Academy since 1985 when her daughter started kindergarten. She worked for FA from 1986 to 1994 and 1999-present. She is married to Roger DeKema and has three children, one of which is attending Foundation Academy. We attend FBC/Winter Garden.
 

 

Cynthia Kime - Preschool Music/Elementary Drama
Graduate of University of Kentucky with Masters in Education; Asbury University with BS in Music Education with vocal performance emphasis. She is married to Dan and has 3 girls who attend FA. She shares her passion for music and theater with her students. She is member of First Baptist Church of Windermere.

 

Sandra Krepfle - K4
Graduate of Maranatha Baptist Bible College with BS; Majored in Bible and Secondary Ed., minored in Math and History. She started teaching 5th, 2nd, and then to Kindergarten. She has a son and a daughter who both attend Foundation Academy.

 

Melinda Leiferman – 4th Grade
Graduate of University of Houston with Masters in Elementary Ed and Lamar University with BS in Accounting. She is married to Jim and has 3 children - Mathew, Meredith and Michael.
 

 

LaFaye Lewis – 2nd Grade
Graduate of Indiana State University with BA in Education. She taught kindergarten in Indianapolis for eight years. She and husband, Michael have two sons Jalen and Jaren. She started working at Foundation Academy as a substitute and has now been with FA since 2006 as a 2nd grade teacher.

 

Laura Longino – 1st Grade
Graduate of University of Phoenix with Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and Stephen F. Austin State University with BS in Elementary Education. She has a Kindergarten Endorsement and a Theater Arts Minor. Her two daughters, Katy and Vivian, attend Foundation Academy. They are members of FBC/Winter Garden.

 

Suzanne MacDonald - 3rd Grade
Graduate of Judson College with a Bachelor of Science Elementary Education.

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Anna Martin – NILD Therapist
Graduate of Lynchburg General Hospital School of Nursing with an RN degree and St. Joseph's College with a B.S.P.A. in Ed. She has been involved in the NILD-Teach/Discovery program in the Orlando area for over 32 years. Married 47+ years and have one daughter and three grandchildren.

 

Tammy Mears - K-4 Teacher
She currently holds a Child Development Associates Degree and Florida Child Care Credential. Tammy has taught at FA for 16 years. She is married to Randy and together they have two college age daughters, who attended FA through 8th grade and a son who attends FA. Her family attends Mosaic Church. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading and camping.

 

Vicky Mobley- 4th Grade
Graduate of University of Southern Mississippi with a BS in Elementary Education. Married to Rob for 25+ years. Has two children, Rob III and Laura. She lives in Winter Garden and is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Winter Garden.

 

Sylvia Norman - Elementary Spanish/Computer
Graduate of University of Florida with BS in Business Administration/Finance. She is a native of Nicaragua, Central America.
She has been an IBM – Systems Engineer, a homemaker and now elementary instructor with Foundation Academy. She is married to Robert and has 2 daughters Katharine & Amanda.

 

Kelly O'Connor, RN, MSN, FNP-C
Graduated with Masters of Science in Nursing. She is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She began her career as an Emergency Room/Trauma Nurse in 1994 and has been a Nurse Practitioner in Urgent Care and Cardiology for 12 years. She is married to Chris and has 2 children at Foundation Academy, Ethan and Brooklyn. She has been with Foundation Academy as the School Clinician since 2009.

 

Anna Pillow- Substitute Coordinator
Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida Southern College with a BA. Currently, she is certified by the state of Florida in Exceptional Student Education K-12th grades, Journalism 6th-12th grades, and Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum. She resides in Windermere with her husband, Jim and their children and has two daughters attending FA. When not teaching, she enjoys reading a good book and running or biking the West Orange trail.

 

Beverly Powell - Preschool
National  Child Development Associates Certification. She has been married to James Powell for 40+ years and has two grown sons and three grandchildren.

 

Lindsay Prather - Elementary Physical Education
Graduate of Cumberland College with BS in Communication Arts. She is married to Gordy and has 2 children, Lain and Noah. When not at FA she is doing something with the youth group at West Orange Church of Christ where her husband is the Student Minister. She loves to be outside playing with her kids, playing sports, hiking, and camping.

 

Sarah Reynolds – Elementary Honors Instructor
Graduate of UCF with BS Management. Married to Keith and has two children, Brett and Amy, who both graduated from FA. She enjoys reading and spending time outside with her two dogs. She currently has her dream job of teaching the Honors program.

 

Twila Romoser – 3rd Grade
Graduate of Eastern Illinois University with Bachelor of Arts. She is married to Rick and has 2 sons, Lucas and Jacob. She enjoys traveling with her husband.
 

 

Kim Saunders - K-4
Kim is married to Mark and has three children, all of which have attended FA. She has a Child Development Associates degree and has been teaching at Foundation Academy for over 10 years.
 

 

Michelle Schiller- Kindergarten
Graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts. She started teaching at Foundation Academy in the fall of 2007. She is married to Robert and has 6 children, one of which attends Foundation Academy. Our oldest graduated from FA in 2007.

 

Jennifer Siracusano – SGI History and NILD Therapist
Graduate of Adelphi University with BA in Anthropology and is a NILD professionally certified educational therapist (PCET). She is married to her high school sweetheart, Vinny and has three children that all attend FA.
 

 

Vinny Siracusano - Elementary & Middle School Art
Attending Trinity College. Before joining the faculty of FA, he worked as an animation artist for WDW Feature Animation Studios, for 12 years, in both California & Florida. He also has his own design & build firm, Kablooie Design Group which creates 3-dimensional wall sculptures. He has been recognized by the Orlando Museum of Art as a featured “Artist of the Month”. He is married to Jennifer and they have 3 children who attend FA.

 

Sandra Smith - 5th Grade
Graduate of University of Florida with BS in Zoology. She is married to Mike and has two children, Ryan and Sarah, who attend Foundation Academy. 

 

 

Carole Vickers - NILD
Carole Vickers has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education working with children. For the past 10 years she has been an educational therapist certified by the National Institute for Learning Development. She joined the Foundation Academy in 2010. She is married and enjoys spending time with their 5 grown children and 1 grandchild.

 

Jan Walls - Librarian - North Campus
Graduate of Florida Technological University, (now UCF), with a BS Degree in Medical Record Administration and post graduate courses in teaching, reading, and technology. She is also a registered Health Information Management Administrator. She is married to Rodney and has a daughter who is a FA graduate. She is an active member of FBC/Winter Garden, Winter Garden Lion’s Club and Garden Patch Squares of Ocoee.

 

Deborah Winningham – Music Teacher
Graduate of Liberty University with B.A. in music. She is married to Pastor Jonathan Winningham and has one daughter. She coordinates elementary chapel for the north campus of FA, teaches elementary music, and serves as the Interim Worship Leader and Choir Director at The First Baptist Church of Montverde alongside her husband.