Ashdown School District Welcomes 20 New Staff Members

 Ashdown School District is pleased to include many new faces in its line-up for this school year -- twenty new staff members, in fact, on five campuses.

Margaret Daniels Primary welcomes three new staff members to its kindergarten and first grade classrooms.  Lonni Dollarhide is a familiar face on many campuses because of long-term substituting, but this year will be her first year as a fulltime kindergarten teacher.  Lonni has a BSE from SAU and is married to Dewayne Dollarhide and has two children, MacKynze (6) and Kutter (1). Lonni is on the Little River County Fair and Rodeo Board and is director of the Tiny Tots division.

Mallory Wharton is a kindergarten and first grade special education paraprofessional, currently attending Texas A&M in Texarkana for an education degree. 
Wife of Ryan Wharton and mother of 1-year-old Nataleigh Grace, Mallory feels “blessed to be given an opportunity to work with amazing children…and with teacher and friend Christine Flynt.”

Leigh Ann Tropp will be teaching first grade.  Leigh has six years experience at Harmony Grove and New Boston and earned her BSE at UALR.  She and husband Anthony have a daughter Savannah.  Leigh enjoys reading and traveling and “expects to have a wonderful year with the students.”

C D Franks Elementary welcomes three new staff members. Earning her degree from Texas A&M, Julie Backus will be teaching third grade literacy and social studies this year, although many will recognize her from her involvement in girl’s basketball.  Julie is married to Coach Roy Backus, and they have three children, Brittany, Zach and Rylee Grace.  The Backuses love camping, fishing, and, of course, attending AHS basketball games.  Julie hopes to “create a love of learning in my students…and a strong foundation.”

Also a graduate of Texas A&M, Ashton Parson will be teaching third grade literacy and social studies.  Married to Jason Parson, Ashton loves “spending time with family and at school.”  She “expects a great year, where both my students and I can grow and succeed.”

Kimberly Heron will be teaching art for kindergarteners through third grade.  She earned her bachelors degree from the University of West Florida.  Kim likes “movies, shopping, reading, art history, world art, traveling, and the beach.”

Two new staff members at L F Henderson are Julianne May and Susan Youngblood.  Julianne will be teaching fifth grade math, and Susan will be teaching fifth grade literacy.

Julianne May has a BSE from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas and has taught previously in Phoenix and at the Clark County School District.  She is married and enjoys quilting, sewing, and “mowing my mom’s lawn.” 

Susan Youngblood has attended UALR and Harding where she earned a BS in Early Childhood & Elementary Education and a MAT.  Her previous teaching experience includes The Anthony School, Little Rock, Bentonville, and Hermitage.  She and husband AHS baseball coach Kevin Youngblood have sons Austen, Collin and Hampton and daughters Savannah and 18-month-old twins Taylor and Jordan.  All of the Youngbloods enjoy high school sporting events and Razorback sports.

Ashdown Junior High welcomes two new staff members.  First year teacher Candice Carver will be teaching art with a BSIS degree from Texas A&M.  She is married to Freddy Carver and they have two children, Lorin (13) and Adam (8).  Candice likes reading, camping, and the outdoors, and she hopes “to be the teacher that is remembered as a great influence by my students.”

Elaine Hill will be working at AJHS as the ISS director.  She comes to us from Van Buren and is the wife of the new athletic director, Chris Hill.  Elaine and Chris have two children, Jaden (4^th grade) and Tristen (6^th grade)

New athletic director and head football coach Chris Hill has earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from Harding University.  In his spare time, he likes fishing and, of course, watching sports.  He states that he “would like to see our students grow mentally, physically, and spiritually and become the best they can be.”

In addition to Coach Hill, Ashdown High School adds the largest number of new staff to its roster.  Eight of them are new to our district.

The math department welcomes Debra Walsh, who brings with her 26 years of teaching experience in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas.  Debra will be teaching a variety of math disciplines, including Calculus.  Her BSE was earned at SAU and her MSIS at TAMU-Texarkana.  She and husband Leslie have two daughters and a son-in-law, Meredith and Carol and Marco Tacoviello.  Debra hopes “my students will learn the subject matter and learn to enjoy math.”

Ginger LaVoice Hillis comes to the English department of Ashdown High School after three years of teaching experience in Memphis.  A graduate of U of A in Fayetteville, Ginger is married to dentist Jordan Hillis, and the Hillises just welcomed new son Hunter on Wed., Aug. 13, slightly delaying Ginger’s introduction into the classroom.  Miss Mary Carson will be ably filling in for Ginger for a few weeks.

Lori Altenbaumer will be a promising addition to the biology department at AHS.  A first year teacher, Lori was recently married to Tracey Altenbaumer.

The AHS athletics department welcomes six new additions to the coaching staff and classrooms. 

Jeff Flanigan is the new head boy’s basketball and track coach and will also be working at ALE.  Jeff has formerly coached at SAU, UALR, and Henderson Junior High in Little Rock.  He has 5-year-old twin boys – Jordan and Jayden.

Kevin Youngblood will be coaching baseball and assisting in football, as well as manning study halls.  His BSE is in physical education and social studies, with 29 hours toward his Education Leadership degree, from Williams Baptist College and Harding University.  He has worked at the Arkansas Department of Corrections-DeValls Bluff, Little Rock Hall, Decatur, and Hermitage school systems.  He is married to Susan, new fifth grade teacher mentioned earlier.  He likes to hunt and fish.  Coach Youngblood hopes “to form relationships and get the most out of all students.”

Trent Floyd has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Harding University and will be an assistant coach in football and basketball and teach PE.  He was with the Harrison School District for one year as a coach and teacher.  He enjoys fishing, camping, and water sports and is single.  He, along with all the new coaches, says he is “looking forward to building on the great tradition Ashdown has had” and intends to “take it into the future.”

New PE teacher and assistant coach Jarrod Fannin holds a bachelors degree in health and PE from Arkansas Tech.  He coached at Lafayette County High School for four years.  His wife is Britni, and he likes golf, football, and baseball.  His goal is “for each student to become better as a student, an athlete, and a better person in life.”

William Frazier will teach PE and assist in coaching.  His degree is from UCA, and he coached one year at Caddo Hills and four years at Mountain Home.  He is single and likes golf and horses. 

James Welchel, new social studies teacher and assistant girl’s basketball and volleyball coach, earned his bachelors degree at Harding University.  He has fourteen years experience at Fountain Hill, Wilburn, and Des Arc.  He has a son and a daughter and likes golf and music.  He states, “Attitude + Hard work = Success in all aspects of life.”

Ashdown School District is excited about the new school year, and there is no doubt that each of these new individuals will bring a positive influence to their campuses.