Meet Our Team
Core Essentials has a dedicated — and fun! — team to write and support our values education curriculum. We use first hand knowledge of counselors, teachers, and administrators to write the curriculum fresh each year.
Kim Davis
Kim loves school! With 24 years as an educator in a school she attended as a child, Kim taught 4th and 5th grades for 15 years, was a Math Coach for 6 years, and is currently the Assistant Principal. She sees first hand that values education truly has a lasting effect on a student, transcending cultures and time.
You know that Kim is a fun, and fit addition to our team when you see her dress up in her ORIGINAL cheerleading uniform! She actually is a sports fanatic, being a mother of two athletes. In addition to her day job, Kim coaches cheerleading for a high school and teaches future educators at Brenau University. Kim is married to Phil and they have two college age sons.
April Bagwell
In the days of glue sticks and crayon boxes April Bagwell found her place in the world as a writer. After several years as a student herself, April became a teacher. Her class not only consistently made high test scores on state writing tests but also became respected for the strong community and character building that her writing instruction facilitated. Today April uses those skills as an elementary school counselor.
As a part of the Core Essentials team, April has been able to combine her writing experience and real-world elementary school knowledge with her passion for helping schools connect with families. If the message is strong and clear at school, the kids will do the work of getting it into their homes. April is married to Jeremy and they are proud parents of Paisley, almost 2 and Weston, born in October!
Staci Brown
Staci loves kids. Simple as that. From her education to her life’s work, that’s pretty apparent. Staci received her bachelors and masters degrees in education and is currently a 6th grade science teacher. She is the co-director of Camp Rocks (a summer camp) and secretary for Square Peg Ministries (a non-profit organization for immigrant children). In addition, Staci has worked in children’s ministry.
Her creativity shines through in her blog. Visit her at http://stacijbrown.blogspot.com/ And who would’ve thought she is a master puppeteer! Staci knows that teaching kids foundational values is so important and she loves how Core Essentials does that.
Lauren Terrell
Lauren found her love for writing early and was fresh out of high school when she first found her niche with Core Essentials! For the last ten years later, she has worked in student ministry and worn multiple hats including choreographer, video producer and editor, but always staying true to her roots as a writer. In her downtime, Lauren picked up a degree in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in Special Education.
She and husband, Clete, are the best aunt and uncle team on the planet and now are using those skills on their own little beautiful bundle of joy, Ellary, born in October. That and her passion for creative writing, teaching, and kids, make her a great addition to the Core Essentials Team.
Robyn Hood Black
Robyn, yes, she really is Robyn Hood, and writes children’s books! She loves making author visits in schools and in the community. One of her books, Wolves, an interactive, nonfiction book involved a lot of research covering all major aspects of wolf life history, so she was a natural to write the “Nature’s Way” animal profiles for Core Essentials.
Robyn even volunteers with wolves at a local Wildlife Preserve and is working on clicker training a male wolf pup! Find out of Robyn’s adventures on her website, www.robynhoodblack.com. Robyn is married to Jeff and is the mom to a college junior and a high school senior.
Lisa Wilkins
When you think of the perfect 1st grade teacher — you’d be thinking about Lisa! A passion for teaching combined with a love for children was what completely made Lisa a great choice to help with our K-2 curriculum. She knows first hand what that age group identifies with, engages in, and remembers!
Lisa and her husband, Woody, love to spend days on the lake with their two children – a college senior and a high school senior. If not on the lake, then Lisa is happily attending a concert or listening to a new live band!
Sarah Lee
Sarah had the experience and knowledge to foster our School XP resource. Sarah lead a small group of volunteers and touched about 3500 elementary students in their Kokomo, Indiana community with a “School Experience.” Now Sarah helps others get started with a monthly assembly as well as using her knowledge in the community and in school to be a great resource.
Sarah lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with her husband, Mike, and five-year-old son, Mason who gives her first hand knowledge of Core Essentials in his school - and infant daughter, Makenna.
Shani Godwin
As the most experienced member of the Core Essentials team, Shani lends guidance to most every aspect of the program! She represents Chick-fil-A Corporate and their Corporate Purpose to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. That’s why so many of the Franchised Restaurant Operators offer programs like Core Essentials that help to enrich their local communities.
Elizabeth Carswell
We’ll warn you now that if you get Elizabeth started talking about Core Essentials — you’ll see her eyes light up and her excitement for this program show through – even if it is just on the phone or over email! We think she sleeps really close to her laptop because she always seems to be around to start a conversation about Core Essentials! As the person on the other end of the customer service line and the fearless leader of our team, Elizabeth loves to listen to feedback and do what she can to help.
Elizabeth has four children – all now in their twenties (and three still in college!). Her children were all lucky enough to have experienced Core Essentials in their elementary school, so she’s seen what a effect it has first hand!