Lisa Kelly
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Lisa believes that the partnership between home and school has never been more critical than it is today, and that’s what drew her to the Charlotte Mason philosophy at Intown Community School. Raising the next generation of servant leaders is important to the advancement of God’s Kingdom, and partnering with parents in the raising of their children from all standpoints - academically, socially, and spiritually - is both an honor and a privilege. She firmly believes God led her to this special place to work alongside a dedicated faculty and with Spirit-led families.
Administration
Elizabeth Stewart
MIDDLE SCHOOL Lead Teacher
Elizabeth Stewart
MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
Elizabeth has been working at Intown Community School since 2002 and teaching science since 2009. She loves that middle school science covers so many big questions about how the world works, just at a stage when students’ abstract reasoning abilities are taking off, which allows them to apply concepts to their everyday lives. Intown’s emphasis on hands-on learning, relationships, and creativity means that students construct their scientific understanding through a variety of experiences together. Her favorite aspects of her job: being moved by wonder at the beauty and complexity of God’s creation, getting dirty working in the school garden, and being present with students over three years as God grows them towards maturity.
Lucy Ashby
K-5 Lead Teacher
Lucy Ashby
K-5 Lead Teacher
Lucy fell in love with Intown, its desire to respect parents as the primary educators of their children and to produce lifelong learners, back in 2001 when her oldest child entered first grade. She began working here that same year and has worked in a variety of roles, ranging from Lead Teacher for elementary grades, to Student Assistance Coordinator, to First Grade classroom teacher. After 11 years of teaching in a variety of other districts and grade levels, she has found her calling here at Intown. Lucy's education includes a BSE from Kansas University and an MS in Reading Education from the University of Northern Iowa.
Amy Choate
Office/Business Manager
Amy Choate
BUSINESS MANAGER
Amy’s three children enjoyed an Intown Community School education. She and her husband, who are both registered architects, are Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiasts. Amy loves numbers, math, and spreadsheets. She administers various aspects of our school’s business matters.
Heather Hnat
ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR/MAP COORDINATOR
Heather Hnat
THIRD GRADE
Heather graduated from the University of Alabama with a dual degree in Elementary Education and Special Education. She later earned a mster's degree in Early Literacy. After 18 years of classroom teaching in kindergarten, first and third grades, she transitioned to her new role in 2022. Her classroom students, as well as her own three children, have been able to thrive with Intown's hands-on methods and the loving ncommitment to nurture the whole child. This makes her pssionate about welcoming new families to the school community in the role of Admissions Director.
Tricia Washington
SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Ken Evans
Athletic Director/PE
Ken Evans
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Ken has enjoyed being the Athletic Director at Intown Community School since 2011. He previously served as Director of Community Service and Outreach at Intown Community Church. He has 15 years of experience teaching junior and senior high mathematics in Dekalb Schools, as well as over 20 years of urban ministry as a church planter and as the founder and director of IF Coffeehouse in Little Five Points. Ken and his wife Terri are the proud parents of six daughters and eight grandchildren.
Exploratory Teachers and Office Staff
Lauren Candler
DRAMA
Lauren Candler
DRAMA
Lauren is thrilled to be returning to the Intown staff after seven years at home with her young children. Having taught middle school Humanities previously, it is exciting now to teach 6th grade Drama. The annual Shakespeare production has long been one of Lauren's favorite Intown traditions, and she is eager to embrace this new challenge alongside her students. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a middle schooler flourish in an area that may be outside of their skill set or comfort zone. Lauren's oldest son is currently a second grader at Intown and claims that one day he will return as a teacher. Being a part of this community has been the greatest blessing for the Candler family throughout these pandemic years.
Jeanie Carr
RECEPTIONIST
Jeanie Carr
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/RECEPTIONIST
Jeanie is a big cheerleader for Intown Community School! After she and her husband, John, joined the school community as parents when their oldest daughter was in first grade, Jeanie has held several positions within the school: school parent for 13 years, School Ministry Team member, Drama Club Sponsor, Admissions Committee member and finally as her children began to age out of the school she became a member of the school staff as part-time receptionist and administrative assistant. Jeanie loves being part of such a vibrant and loving community and counts it a blessing to be able to serve the students and families of the school and share about Intown with new families.
Holly Evans
Music/Advanced Music
Holly Evans
Music/Advanced Music
Holly started teaching music at ICS in 2016 after 11 years of teaching private piano lessons and once-a-week music classes at St. Nicholas Orthodox Academy. She has a degree in Piano Performance from Georgia State University, where she also sang in multiple choirs and studied music composition. Some of her favorite musical experiences were traveling to Eastern Europe and around the Southeast US on choir tours, and studying piano and voice at festivals in Greece and Germany. She has accompanied and conducted various ensembles in schools, churches and theaters around Atlanta since she was in high school. Holly believes that music plays a vital role in self-discovery and points us towards The Creator. She loves getting to make music with young people every day!
Tina O'Kelley
FRENCH
Tina O'Kelley
FRENCH
Tina is grateful to come back to a school that was so influential for her three children. She is an Atlanta native and attended Berry College and GSU for Applied Linguistics. Tina and her husband were missionaries in Niger, West Africa with Wycliffe and in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with World Relief. An English and French teacher for over 25 years, in the states and overseas, she loves the bridges built from learning a new language - bridges to other cultures, to history, to literature and between the synapses in our brains.
Intown is a terrific environment for French with comprehensible input combined with cultural studies.
It is a joy to be where the students are interested in learning for its own sake and ready to grow in their love of other cultures.
Kelly Pierce
REGISTRAR/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Kelly Pierce
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
After graduating from Auburn with a degree in Office Administration, Kelly moved to Atlanta to take a position with the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) in their administrative offices. After four years there, she left to work at Ronald Blue & Co. in administration for seven years. During that time, Kelly met and married her husband John. She left RBC in 1993 to work from home as a free-lance desktop publisher during the time her children, who are now Intown alums, were young. When they got to be school age, she became the Nursery Director at Intown Church and was there until she started working part-time at Intown Community School in 2007.
Carol Rankin
ART
Carol Rankin
ART
Carol Rankin began teaching at Intown in 1999. She believes everyone was made to create and enjoy beauty. She thinks all her students are artists and her job is to give them skills, provide avenues of creativity, and to help them find their unique artistic voice. She came to Intown with a Bachelors of Fine Art from University of Georgia and has shown her own works in local galleries, the Atlanta Beltline, and The High Museum.
Kate Potter
librarian/Discovery
Lane Wall
special events & parent volunteer coordinator
Katie Thompson
Receptionist
Katie Thompson
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/RECEPTIONIST
Katie enjoys using her administrative gifts as a staff member and sharing her love for the school as a member of the admissions committee. She was blessed to be a full-time stay at home mom for 11 years, and now has the best of both worlds as a part-time administrative assistant and receptionist. She loves helping students, parents, teachers, and visitors feel welcomed and cared for. Believing strongly in Intown’s education philosophy and in its people, Katie and her husband are happy to partner with Intown School in the education of their children.
Rachel Ruiz
SPANISH