At Crabapple Academy, our teachers come from all different backgrounds and have a variety of personalities. One thing that they all have in common is a genuine love and concern for every child. We are very proud of our teachers.

   
Infant Room:

    Roberta Williams was hired to be our After School teacher in April 2006 and did a wonderful job but soon discovered a special interest in our Infant Room.  She had former experience working with Special Needs adults.  Roberta moved to Georgia from South Carolina.  She is the youngest of five children and has a huge extended family.  Her hobbies are reading romance novels, doing crossword puzzles, and watching “Rug Rats”.  She sings in her church choir and likes to travel to South Carolina to visit her family.  In spite of her love for the Infants, she can’t quite bring herself to separate from the Schoolers, so she still drives one of our vans and fills in on Field Trip adventures.  

        Debbie Wingler (Summer Deb) has worked in the Infant Room since the spring of 2005.  She is a preschool teacher in the mornings at a local church preschool during the school year and works full time at Crabapple in the summer (hence the nickname “Summer Deb”)  During the school year she works at Crabapple in the afternoons.  She has been to Australia and to the Mall of America.  She has been married to John for 29 years and has a son Zach, 22 and a daughter Jessica, 20.  Jessica subs for us in the Summer. Debbie is a “PK”—Preacher’s kid.  She likes the Infant Room because it is so much fun to see them grow and learn each new thing and there’s nothing like the cuddles they give!

 Toddler Room:

      Kitty Hassim has worked in the Toddler Room since 1993. It is not unusual for her to get visits from teenagers who were once her students here. Kitty is originally from Trinidad. She is married to Jamal and has two grown daughters, Alisha and Zalima, a son, Ahmad, and two grandsons Nuh and Abdillah. Kitty likes plants, flowers and walking. When asked to describe herself, Kitty said, “I am spoiled rotten!” She enjoys spending every day with all her "babies" in the toddler room and is an anchor at the school. Everyone loves her! 
    
    Ophelia Haley “Ophie” was born in Elberton, Georgia. Her family moved to Atlanta when she was five years old. She attended Murphy High School in Kirkwood and graduated at the age of 16. When she was in her 20’s, she met and married David who was a design engineer. They had one child named Shelia. They were married for 48 years when he passed away on March 5, 2002. Miss Ophie worked for Sun Trust bank for 46 years before retiring in 2002. In 2003, she sold her home in Conyers and moved into an in-law suite with her family in Alpharetta. After a few months, she grew bored and came to work in the Toddler Room at Crabapple Academy which she says has given her so much joy and pleasure.

Twos Room: 
 
       Lisa Sollenberger first began teaching at Crabapple Academy in 2001.  She is married and has two boys.  Lisa is originally from Orlando, Fla.  She loves the beach and palm trees (in fact she collects palm tree decorations) She enjoys music, shopping, family, friends and cleaning (which is a good thing to enjoy in a class full of two year olds!).  Lisa is attending Chattahoochee Tech where she is working on her Child Development Associate degree. Lisa is the youngest of 5 children. She likes working with kids and especially likes the twos because they start to express their own personality and are a fun age…they say the funniest things!
    
Threes Room:

       Zanifer Kumar is originally from Trinidad. She joined our staff back in 1993 and has spent time with many of the classes. She has been working with the Threes Room and the Pre K for many years now. Zanifer is married and has three grown children and a new grandson. The staff can vouch for her excellent cooking and baking skills because she is always bringing treats for the staff (Yummy!). She is definitely a “jack of all trades” at Crabapple Academy. She has driven the van and sometimes cooks the meals. Zanifer likes bowling, old movies and reading. She's a mainstay at Crabapple and we hope she'll give us another 18 years of teaching. 

Private Pre K:

     Miss Kira became the teacher of our  Pre K Prep in September 2010.  She has been working with young children for eight years  and is a few credits short of obtaining her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Perimeter College.  Miss Kira has two children at Crabapple Academy—Elijah and Sophia.  Kira was born in New Jersey but has been in Ga. for nine years.  Her interests are reading fiction and watching movies.  She loves Pizza! 

GA Pre K:
    
    Niztbell Herde originally is from Venezuela and has a four year degree in early childhood education. She graduated from Luis Beltran College in Venezuela. She has worked in our baby room and in our two year old room but moved to Pre Kindergarten in the summer of 2006 (she started here in in 2000). She is a very organized teacher who develops weekly plans that are fun but include many Pre K skills as well as social experiences. She likes to cook, exercise and travel. Niztbell also likes to go to the movies and collects perfumes. She is married and has two sons, Luis and Manuel. The children all adore her.