Jason Bryant joined Imagine Schools in August 2005 after leaving The AES Corporation, where he worked for 14 years.  Jason held various positions within AES that led him to live in Virginia, California, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Spain.  Jason came back to the United States to spend more time with his family and to start a new career.  He was drawn to working for Dennis Bakke once he learned what Imagine Schools was trying to accomplish.  Jason graduated from Huntington University and earned an MBA from George Washington University.  Jason began work with Imagine trying to develop schools in the Indiana market.  His servitude now extends throughout 21 campuses in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Jason is determined to change public education, dedicating his efforts to improving charter law and encouraging others through mentorship in Imagine philosophy, resulting in expanded educational opportunities and choice for  parents and children.

Joe Palmer has been working with Imagine Schools since 2010. Before coming to Imagine Schools Mr. Palmer spent 7 years working in various fields including education, social work, and business. He taught special education for 3 years in Akron, working with at-risk youth and high school drop outs.  He also served in the Air Force National Guard for 6 years while in college. Mr. Palmer graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He then received a Masters in Special Education from the University of Akron. He recently completed a second Masters degree in Educational Administration at the University of Cincinnati.

Last year he had the pleasure of serving Imagine Romig Road Community School as the Title I and Response to Intervention coordinator. He helped Romig Road Community School develop a program centered around differentiated instruction and the use of data. Mr. Palmer truly believes every student can learn at a high level. He has extremely high expectations for his students and his teachers. He has a passion for education, and hopes to integrate the Imagine Schools shared values (Integrity, Justice, Fun) deep into the culture of Imagine Academy of Columbus. He plans to make Imagine Academy of Columbus a fun and safe environment where students love to come and learn every single day.

He is married to Sarah Palmer, and currently resides in New Albany, Ohio with his two dogs.

 

I am very excited and very honored to be a part of Imagine Schools staff.  Although this is my first year, I plan to be here many years to come.  In the past, I was a Parent/Teacher Liason for a Columbus City school, PTA President and Girl Scout Leader.  I am a married to a  wonderful man and I have a son that is attending school in Atlanta and a daughter who is a junior in a local high school.   In my spare time, I enjoy serving in my ministries for my church and spending time with my family.

My name is Nick Harris and I am a licensed School Psychologist.  My responsibilities at the Academy of Columbus will include Title I Coordinator, Assessment Coordinator, and School Psychologist.  Before coming to the Academy of Columbus, I spent three years working as a school psychologist at charter schools in Akron, Ohio.  I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at The Ohio State University in 2006.  After graduating from OSU, I attended the School Psychology graduate program at Kent State University where I received my Master’s of Education and Educational Specialist degrees.

My mission as a school psychologist is to collaborate with educators, parents, and other professionals to promote the most successful and nurturing environments for children.  It is my hope that these environments will help these children prosper academically, socially, and emotionally.  My experiences and knowledge of the field of school psychology will aid in guiding each child I encounter towards success in all aspects of their lives. 

I am a Highly Qualified Intervention Specialist (K-12).  I earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Kent State University and a Master’s of Science in Education at The University of Akron.  I joined the Imagine family in 2010 in Akron, working as an Intervention Specialist for students in grades 1-4.  Prior to beginning at Imagine, I worked as an Intervention Specialist at an alternative program for high school students in grades 9-12 with academic and behavioral needs.  I also have 3 years experience working in the mental health field. 

This year, I am taking on a new role as the Special Education Coordinator.  My mission in this role is to collaborate with all team members and be sure our students receive all the appropriate skills to be the most successful they can be, both academically and behaviorally.  Education is my passion and with my knowledge I will help guide each student towards success. 

Carly Weber graduated from Ohio University in 2005 with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  She has taught kindergarten, first, and second grade.  This will be Mrs. Weber's seventh year teaching and second year at IAOC.  She is excited to start teaching our shared values to the youngest students in our school.  Mrs. Weber enjoys spending time with her family as well as her two dogs Reese and Cloie.

Hello! My name is Amy Hilbert and I am a fourth/fifth grade Language Arts teacher at Imagine Academy of Columbus. I received a degree in Strategic Communications from Ohio State University in 2006. I soon realized that my passion was in education and decided to go back to school. I completed the Teacher Licensure program at Capital University in December of 2011. I enjoy Language Arts and Social Studies, which I will incorporate with the students of Imagine. In my spare time, I love to read, travel, and try the multitude of amazing restaurants in Columbus! I can't wait to start the year and I look forward to meeting all of the students and families!

Hi, my name is Nicholas Nocera  and I am the Art teacher at Imagine Academy of Columbus. I graduated from Kent State University with my Bachelor’s degree in Art Education with a focus on printmaking. This is my sixth year teaching an at IAOC.  In my free time I enjoy traveling, creating art, spending time with family. 

My name is Kevin Darthard Jr. and I am the Physical Education teacher here at the Academy of Columbus. This will be my sixth year teaching since graduating from the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. There I majored in Physical Education and obtained my teachers license as well as my B.A. in 2006. While attending college I played for the basketball team and was able to build friendships, travel, as well as compete while having a successful collegiate career. I still am able to stay close to basketball by coaching the Men’s Basketball Team at Columbus State Community College.

In being a Physical Education teacher I believe in life long fitness. I believe that children are not getting enough adequate daily exercise. So, Physical Education is a very important way to introduce an abundant amount of sports and activities to the youth. In return, hopefully a child will find a particular activity that they will want to participate in not only in school but for a lifetime. In all, Physical Education is a class where students will learn the importance of: discipline, keeping a routine, participation, teamwork, cooperation, being active and having fun!