Directory

Nikki received a masters degree in educational leadership from Wright State University and a BS in elementary education from Miami University, Ohio. Nikki taught First and Second Grades and coached high school boys/girls tennis and girls basketball in Englewood, Ohio, for five years. Nikki then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to help open a new school and become the second grade lead teacher. After marriage, she moved to Augusta, Georgia, where she was a math coordinator for Sylvan Learning Center before relocating to St. Louis. Nikki has been the co-director of Simply Mathematics in Webster Groves, has made presentations for Teach for America's teachers, and substituted for Community School before joining the staff in 2010. She was a Lowenhaupt Award winner in 2016. Nikki enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, being outdoors, playing various sports, and playing the piano.

Kristin is the Assistant to the Head of School at Community. Kristin was born in St. Louis, moved to Belgium and Minnesota, then returned to St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri St. Louis with her bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in management and international business. Kristin previously served as Receptionist/Administrative Assistant at Community School. Prior to coming to Community School, Kristin’s background included working for Marriott International and Village Lutheran Church Preschool, as well as being a stay-at-home mom.

Kristin and her husband have two children. During her free time, she enjoys watching her children’s sports games and theater performances, as well as volunteering at her children’s school, cooking, and crafting.  

Jen is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Community School. Previously, she worked at the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement and the Office of Sustainability at Washington University. She has held several leadership roles in sustainability organizations across St. Louis and Northwest Arkansas.

Jen has a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Vassar College, and a Master of Arts in Communication and Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband Christopher and daughter Evelyn.

Donna has worked in the accounting field for more than 30 years. The first 22 years were spent working for profit-driven organizations. Eight years ago, Donna made the conscious decision to move to the nonprofit accounting field with the desire to work for mission-driven organizations. Most recently, Donna was the Chief Financial Officer with Connections to Success. Prior to Connections, Donna was the Controller with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. She earned her Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Missouri–St. Louis and her MBA from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. Donna was also a board member with United for Children and is a current board member with Men of Valor. Outside of work, Donna’s favorite hobby is quilting. 

Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her master’s degree in School Counseling from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has spent the past five years as a school counselor in St. Louis Public Schools but she is no stranger to Community School. While in graduate school, Taylor was a substitute teacher here and is very excited to be back! She and her husband have two children, a cat and a dog. When there is free time, she likes to explore new restaurants, paint, read and travel.

Before coming to Community in 2012, Lori taught at the Clayton Child Center for 26 years. She has also worked as a parent educator through the Parents as Teachers program. Lori enjoys spending time with her three children, as well as boating, traveling, and attending sporting events.

Darla graduated from University of Missouri St. Louis with a degree in elementary education/special education and is certified in Early Childhood Special Education and Learning Disabilities. At Community since 2005, Darla previously worked for the St. Louis Special School District and St. John’s Mercy Child Development Center. At St. John’s, she administered screenings; supervised, consulted, and provided in-service training to staff of the onsite daycare/preschool program; and taught pre-school age children in a team teaching arrangement with physical therapists and speech and language pathologists. Darla likes to read. She and her husband, Rick, have three children, two beautiful granddaughters and an adorable grandson. Read more about Darla in her Faculty Friday feature.

Kara graduated from Saint Louis University with a bachelor in elementary education and is certified in elementary education and early childhood. She recently earned her master's of education in special education from Webster University. Before joining Community School, Kara taught kindergarten and first grade at Better Learning Communities Academy. Outside of school, Kara enjoys running, reading and playing with her daughter.

Rebecka Briney joined Community School as a First Grade Teacher for the 2021-2022 school year. Rebecka graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a B.S. in Education and is currently earning her master’s degree in Reading and Dyslexia Certificate from Webster University. Rebecka has taught abroad in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. She spent the last eight years teaching kindergarten through third grade at Premier Charter School, with five years spent in first grade where she was awarded the Early Childhood Teacher of the Year as a first grade teacher for the 2018-2019 school year.

In her spare time, Rebecka enjoys traveling, hiking, working out and spending time with friends, family, and pets (Bentley, her golden retriever mix, and Alaska and Brooke, her two cats).

Jessica graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a bachelor of science in elementary education. She also completed her masters in elementary education from University of Missouri St. Louis. Jessica began teaching first grade here in 2004. She and her husband, Jason, have one son, a student at Community.

Wendy is a 2004 transplant to St. Louis from Indianapolis. She taught in Indianapolis public schools, Rockwood School District and has been an Assistant Principal in Wentzville School District for the past four years. She is happy to be back in the classroom again! During her free time (that is not spent at a dance competition or soccer game for her children), she enjoys traveling with her husband. Read more about Wendy in her Faculty Friday feature.

Megan received a B.S. in Psychology and a Masters in Elementary Education from Truman State University and recently earned her Educational Specialist degree in Mental Health Practices in Schools from University of Missouri. She has been teaching for fourteen years in St. Louis Public Schools, Community School and most recently as an English and social skills teacher at an international school in Dongguan, China. While living in China for three years, Megan studied Mandarin, taught English, and traveled South East Asia with her husband, Rob.

Mitzy Barnstead joined Community School as a Fifth Grade Teacher for the 2021-2022 school year. Mitzy earned her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her master’s degree as a Reading Specialist from Lindenwood University. She went on to earn an Advanced Science Certificate from Washington University and an ELL (English Language Learner) Certification from UMSL’s TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program. Mitzy has been teaching for fourteen years at Iveland Elementary in the Ritenour School District alongside her husband, Adam Barnstead. During that time, she spent eight years teaching in the upper grades, four years as a Reading Specialist for K-5, and the last two years as an ELL teacher.

Mitzy and Adam have two children who attend Community School. Harper is a second grader and Quinn is in Junior Kindergarten. In her spare time, Mitzy loves being outdoors, reading, and spending time with family.

Joey Murphy is a Sixth Grade Teacher at Community School. Joey is a native Saint Louisan. He earned a bachelor of arts in religion from Princeton University in 2002. He was a member of the charter corps of Teach for America in Saint Louis where he taught fourth grade in the Saint Louis Public Schools. Joey went on to attend the Yale Divinity School where he earned a master’s of divinity in 2007. Since that time, Joey has spent six years teaching at a private high school, as well as working for over ten years with the Aim High program. He joined the Community School family in the fall of 2017 working in the school’s extended day program and Homework Club. Joey is a local sports and live music enthusiast.

Jen Gosnell has joined Community School as our Academic Technology Specialist and Advancement Database Manager for the 2020-2021 school year. She received her bachelor’s degree in Russian Language and Literature from Middlebury College, and her master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She spent twenty-three years working at John Burroughs School, first as a librarian, and then as a computer teacher and academic technology specialist.

Jen is connected to Community School in many ways. Her daughter Maggie is a recent graduate, and Jen and her mother Judy Tisdale are alumnae, as well. Jen’s mother was Community School’s science teacher for thirty-eight years. In her spare time, Jen loves to garden and sit on her screened porch with a good book. She and Maggie have three cats. A fun fact: Jen spent five years working in Moscow as an interpreter and translator.

Sandra has her bachelor's degree in elementary education and her master's in special education/curriculum development from Boston College. She has been at the school since 2003, and has won Community's Lowenhaupt Award. Sandra enjoys traveling with her husband, John and visiting family in Boston. She and her husband have one son, a student at Community. Read more about Sandra in her Faculty Friday feature.

Veronique was born in Marseille, France, and moved to the United States in 2001. She joined the Community faculty in 2010. She began her studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris where she studied English. Veronique is fluent in French, Spanish, and English. Veronique and her husband Cyril have two children - Thomas and Sebastien. Veronique enjoys traveling, cooking, and scuba diving. Learn more about Veronique in her Faculty Friday profile.

Debbi has been a Community School librarian since 1999. Her undergraduate degree is from Saint Louis University and she has done post-graduate work in Library Science at the University of Missouri. After a career in banking, Debbi spent 15 years as a homemaker and community volunteer, particularly enjoying those hours spent helping out in school libraries. Her hobbies include gardening, tennis, travel and reading, and she is always ready to learn something new, or to go outside and play with her grandchildren.

Kathy is the Upper Division Science Teacher. Kathy received her Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Missouri Columbia and her M.A. in education from the University of Missouri St. Louis. She began her career teaching seventh grade science for nine years in a public school setting, then taught 4th-6th grade science for six years at Chesterfield Day School. Kathy lives in St. Charles with her husband Jason and daughter. During her free time, Kathy loves to travel, spend time outdoors, volunteer at church, and enjoy the company of her family and two cats. Read more about Kathy in her Faculty Friday feature.

Joe Mohr is a certified elementary classroom teacher who double majored in Elementary Education and Special Education from Winona State University in Minnesota, Joe has taught in Chicago, Portugal and St. Louis. He even started a woodshop program for children with autism while teaching in Chicago. Joe is also a freelance writer, illustrator (Robot+Bike=Kitten) and cartoonist (Broster, etc.). He, his wife, and his three children enjoy traveling, camping, biking, playing sports, going on nature hikes, and just generally being together.

Alissa received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Directing from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota and is certified in Elementary Education as well as middle and high school English. Alissa was a founding member of Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis and has worked in educational outreach, marketing, and development at Center Stage in Baltimore, and at Steppenwolf Theatre and Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. For the last fifteen years, Alissa has been adapting books and tales for performance and directing shows in schools. As a Teaching Artist with Springboard, she taught literacy and character education through the production of original plays and taught playwriting to fifth graders as part of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis WiseWrite program. In her free time, Alissa enjoys writing plays, reading and spending time with her husband and three children. She is on the Board of the Kirkwood HighSchool Players.

Rita received a B.S. in elementary education as well as an M.A. in special education from the University of Missouri- St. Louis. She has more than twenty years of teaching experience working with grades four through eight. Prior to coming to Community School in 2012, she taught at Clayton Academy. Rita enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, as well as cooking, gardening, music and vacationing at the beach.