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Welcome to Park Street Elementary School, home of the Park Street Panthers!
Dear Panther Families,
My name is Diona Brown and I am the proud principal of Park Street Elementary! It is truly an honor and a
blessing to be a part of this wonderful community.
My passion for education began as a child watching my mother and grandmother teach and
impact the lives of students. I decided to pursue a career in education early on, and earned my
Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Education from the University of Delaware. My love for education
continued while teaching Spanish at Northwestern Middle School. I later earned a Specialist of
Educational Leadership degree from Kennesaw State University, and was promoted to the role of
Assistant Principal at New Prospect Elementary.
One of my favorite leadership quotes by Lisa Haisha is, “Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader, they set out to
make a difference. It’s never about the role, always about the goal.” My goal is to serve our
students, staff and community to help make a positive impact and difference in our students’
lives. As a team, we are focused on student achievement and creating an atmosphere where
students learn, grow, and thrive.
In closing, I look forward to collaborating as a school to help our learners reach their full
potential in both academic excellence and personal growth. Thank you for trusting me with your
most precious possession!Your Proud Panther Principal,
Diona Brown, Ed.S.________________________________________________________________
Estimadas familias de las panteras:
¡Mi nombre es Diona Brown y soy la orgullosa directora de la escuela primaria Park Street! Es verdaderamente un honor y una bendición ser parte de esta maravillosa comunidad.
Mi pasión por la educación comenzó cuando era niña, viendo a mi madre y a mi abuela enseñar e
impactar la vida de sus estudiantes. A temprana edad decidí seguir la carrera en educación y obtuve mi Licenciatura en Educación del idioma Español en la Universidad de Delaware. Mi amor por la educación continuó mientras enseñaba Español en la escuela intermedia “Northwestern”. Más tarde estudie una especialización y obtuve el título de Especialista en Liderazgo Educativo de la Universidad Estatal de Kennesaw, y fui ascendida al cargo de Subdirectora en la escuela primaria “New Prospect”.
Una de mis frases favoritas de liderazgo pertenece a Lisa Haisha y dice: "Los grandes líderes no se proponen ser líderes, se proponen hacer la diferencia. Nunca se trata del rol, siempre se trata del objetivo ". Mi objetivo es servir a nuestros estudiantes, al personal y a la comunidad para ayudar a generar un impacto positivo y hacer una diferencia en la vida de los alumnos. Como equipo, estamos enfocados en el rendimiento de los estudiantes y en crear una atmósfera donde ellos aprenden, crecen y prosperan.
Para terminar, como escuela en su conjunto espero colaborar para ayudar a nuestros alumnos a alcanzar su máximo potencial tanto en la excelencia académica como en el crecimiento personal. ¡Gracias por confiarme a tu posesión más preciada!
Su orgullosa directora de las panteras,
Diona Brown, Ed.S.
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Ashley Bagwell-Assistant Principal
Ashley Bagwell is a native of Georgia, graduating from Agnes Scott College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She spent her first ten years of teaching in Douglas, County where she obtained her gifted certification and co-authored a Math and Science Curriculum for the National Science Center. In 2002, she joined the Marietta City Schools team at West Side Elementary. During this time she earned her Masters of Education from Brenau University as well as her Leadership Certification from KSU. She is excited to start her eighth year as an Assistant Principal as a Park Street Panther!
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Alex Soto- Assistant Principal
Alex Soto, originally from New York City, moved to Atlanta in 2001. He graduated from Georgia State University in 2005 with a degree in US History. Before going to graduate school, Mr. Soto started teaching in Henry County via Georgia TAPP. He moved to Cobb County Schools in 2007 having served as both special education and general education teacher in different schools. He supported new educators at the New Teacher Institute, delivered professional development for Elementary English Language Arts, Co-Teaching models for IRR & General Education teachers, Differentiated and Data Collection for Special Education teachers, and IDEA Compliant IEPs. He graduated from Lincoln Memorial University with a degree in Curriculum & Instruction in 2013 and a degree in Educational Leadership from Berry College in 2017. He is proud to be a new member of the Marietta City Schools family and serve as the Assistant Principal for Park Street Elementary. GO PANTHERS!
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Dr. Velisa Caldwell-
Special Education Administrator
Dr. Velisa Caldwell is presently the Special Education Administrator (K-5). She has served for 21 years in Marietta City Schools. Her leadership experience spans across grades K-8. Dr Caldwell’s journey in education began her freshman year at the University of West Georgia (UWG) where she participated in a mentoring program at a local elementary school. After earning her B.A. in Psychology in 1992 from the University of West Georgia, Dr. Caldwell worked in a hospital setting serving adolescence with emotional and behavior difficulties for five years.
Dr. Caldwell entered Marietta City Schools in 1997 as a Special Education Teacher for students with Behavior Disorders. Not only has she worked as a special education teacher, she also served as the 8th grade girls basketball coach and 9th grade girls’ volleyball coach. Dr. Caldwell earned a master's degree in Education from Central Michigan University in 1998, and in 2008 she received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Capella University.
In 2010, Dr. Caldwell transitioned from Marietta Middle School (MMS) to Park Street Elementary (PSE) as the Special Education Team Leader. She values the role of mentors in her life and she has enjoyed mentoring PSE staff members to help them become the best they can be. Dr. Caldwell believes all students will be successful with perseverance and a nurturing environment.
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Heather Welch- Academic Coach
Heather Welch has been a teacher for 22 years. She has taught every grade level kindergarten through fifth grade. Heather first started working in Cobb county schools as a remedial, special education and PE paraprofessional before becoming a first year teacher in 1997.
In the year 2000 Heather decided to make a move to Fulton county schools where she stayed for 14 years. During that period of time she opened a brand new school, was awarded teacher of the year two times (2006 & 2013), had multiple student teachers, served as a mentor teacher and taught county professional development. She taught many different grade levels and was later promoted to Curriculum Support Teacher (like an administrative assistant). This role provided her with administrative experiences such as advising new teachers, coaching/evaluating teachers (TKES) and serving as a professional learning facilitator.
Heather’s passion has always been helping other teachers help students. Coming to Marietta City schools was an opportunity for her to serve as a leader and instructional coach at Park St., Elementary school...her dream job!
Expertise:
Teacher Support Specialist
New Teacher Induction
Varied grade level experiences to draw upon
Supervising Teacher to Preservice teachers
Coaching Cycle
Professional Learning development
Instructional Strategies
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Sharon Worley- Academic Coach
Sharon Worley has been teaching for 30 years. She has known since elementary school that she wanted to become a teacher. After teaching students during the day she would teach English to adults from various countries in the evenings. Sharon has taught in grades 3-5. She received her National Board Teaching Certification in 2002. Sharon is originally from North Carolina and moved to Marietta, Ga in 2004.
Sharon began working at Park Street Elementary in 2004. While at Park Street she has received several awards. Some include: Outstanding New Employee, Outstanding Certified Employee, and Outstanding Marietta City Schools Employee, and Teacher of the year in 2012. She has scored ELA items for the Georgia Milestone Assessment and helped develop curriculum maps for Marietta City Schools in Mathematics.
Sharon’s philosophy of education is simple. She believes that all children deserve and are entitled to the best education possible. She believes that all children can be successful if given the necessary tools for success. Working with classroom teachers and students has been a lifelong goal of Sharon’s and she is honored to be able to do this with the teachers at Park Street.
Expertise:
Strong base of knowledge of curriculum
Best practices and trends in education
Coaching support that remains student focused
Instructional Strategies that are challenging and engaging
Mentor new teachers
Modeling lessons
Classroom management
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MTSS Coordinator- Idris Johnson
Mr. Idris Johnson is an experienced educator. Driven by his passion for service, he takes great pride in providing the best opportunities for students to learn, grow, and thrive at Park Street Elementary. As an Early Intervention Program Specialist, his primary goals include developing social, personal, and academic skills to prepare students for higher levels of education.
In addition to his primary job functions, Mr. Johnson has new leadership roles, where he serves as the MTSS Coordinator, 504 Coordinator, and the i-Ready Program Data Specialist. I-Ready is an online program for reading and mathematics and consists of two parts: diagnostic assessment and daily instruction. Mr. Johnson utilizes i-Ready to assist teachers in determining student needs, personalizing their learning experience, and monitoring student progress throughout the school year.
Mr. Johnson earned his Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Central Michigan University, a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from Fort Valley State University.
