At A Developing Mind Academy and The Circle of Care Early Childhood Center, we strive to provide teachers and administration that are at the top of their class.
Administration
Pascale Lucie Cafferty was born and raised in France. She graduated with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the French University of Caen. She has strived to create environments for children to achieve their full potential. Having had difficulty liking school as a child, Pascale created The Circle of Care Early Childhood Center with her own past experiences in mind. She wanted to create an environment where children could excel academically and look forward to coming to school.
When asked about her role as owner/director of A Developing Mind Academy and The Circle of Care Early Childhood Center, Pascale stated, “It is not always easy to fulfill the commitment and responsibilities that come with my job but it’s worth it when I walk through the classrooms and I see all of the children happy and learning in a peaceful environment. It makes all of the sleepless nights worth it.”
When she is not working, Pascale enjoys skiing, horseback riding, and being with her family. Art is also one of her great passions in which she aspires to do more in the future.
IBI Program
Barb Bradbury
Clinical Supervisor for the IBI/Habilitative Intervention Program
Barbara Bradbury was born in California but raised in Nevada where she married her childhood sweetheart and raised a family. She has lived here for about 7 years and loves this beautiful area. Barbara received a degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Nevada, Reno, and has worked with children in one capacity or another for the past 30 years. She has worked as a therapist for the past 5 years providing Intensive Behavior Intervention (IBI) services to children ages 2-18 and has worked with Family Support Services for the last 3 1/2 of those years. During her time in Idaho, she has obtained certification as a Developmental Specialist for children birth to 17 years of age. Barbara recently took the position of Clinical Supervisor for the IBI/Habilitative Intervention Program and is excited to be a part of this amazing program which provides services to children in an exclusive setting.
Kindergarten Program
Jessica Molenda
Kindergarten Teacher
Jessica was born in Yakima, Washington. She graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2010, with a focus on Elementary Education with a major in Reading and a minor in Early Childhood Education. After graduating, she worked as a substitute and para educator for 2 years. Then she moved to Wolf Point, Montana, and taught fifth grade for a year. She then moved to Williston, North Dakota, and taught 1st grade for 3 years. Then she moved to Tioga, North Dakota, and taught Kindergarten for 7 years. During this time, she received her Master’s in Trauma-Informed Education from Columbia College in South Carolina. She then moved back to Washington and taught 2nd grade for 2 years. She is delighted with the opportunity to teach Kindergarten again. She is very excited about being Montessori Certified in January 2026. She spends her free time with her dog and two cats.
Elementary Program
Afton Allred
Lower Elementary Teacher
lowerelementarydm@gmail.com
Afton was born in Seattle, Washington, and moved to North Idaho at 7. She graduated from Timberlake High School and, from there, went to Cleveland State University. She received a full-ride scholarship to play softball as a Division 1 athlete. While in attendance, she received her bachelor’s degree in the Science of Education.
She has been an employee at A Developing Mind Academy since 2015, working with a range of ages from toddlers to a one-on-one Behavioral Interventionist, and is now one of our certified Lower Elementary Teachers. Afton prides herself on bringing a love for learning to every child she crosses paths with. She hopes that in the role of teaching, she can instill a proper understanding of what it means to be a kind and respectful individual above all else and, of course, an exceptional educational experience for all the children that cross her path.
As a retired athlete, she loves to be active outside of work. Her hobbies include slow pitch softball, disc golf, and spending time with her fiancé and family.
Krystle Street
Lower Elementary Teacher
Krystle was born in Anaheim, California, and moved to Washington State in the 2nd grade. She graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor’s in Social Science, focusing on Human Development and Psychology, in 2007. After graduating she worked within the insurance field. As her kids became school-age, she worked within the schools as a Paraeducator, doing both one-on-one and MTSS work. With her love for children, her coworkers and family encouraged her to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher and she went back to school and graduated with her Masters in Teaching, Elementary Education from Western Governors University. She began teaching the next year in a 2nd grade classroom in Oldtown, Idaho. She is currently enrolled in the Lower Elementary Montessori Certification program and will be certified by Spring 2025.
She currently lives in Spokane, Washington with her husband and their two boys. As a family, they love spending time playing games, exploring the outdoors, riding roller coasters, and taking care of their 6 pets- 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 bearded dragons. She looks forward to creating roots within a school helping with programs and watching each student achieve their goals. She loves seeing the students grow in their self-confidence and educational skills
Hillary MacLachlan
Upper Elementary Teacher
Hillary MacLachlan was born and raised in the Foothills of California. She attended college in Southern California but eventually made the choice to serve as a medic with the US Army for five years, serving with the 101st Airborn Division and deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.
She is happily married and has four children. She was fortunate enough to be able to stay home during their earliest years, while also earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Montessori Early Childhood Teaching Certification. She was employed as the toddler teacher at Circle of Care Early Childhood center, which offered an invaluable insight into the early development stages. Hillary went on to earn her upper elementary Montessori certification and now teaches upper elementary at A Developing Mind Montessori Academy.
Three of Hillary’s children currently attend The Circle of Care Early Childhood Center, A Developing Mind Academy, and Developing Mind Middle School. Hillary and her husband feel strongly that a positive early education experience lays the strongest foundation for their children’s future wellbeing. When Hillary is not at work she enjoys spending time playing with her children and crocheting.
Lauren Leiker
Upper Elementary Teacher
Lauren is an Air Force BRAT and had the privilege of living and traveling abroad in her youth. She lived in the Greater Seattle area for 30 years before moving to Coeur d’Alene in 2021. She is the mother of two amazing young adult children. She also has the honor of being stepmother to the two children of her partner.
Lauren has been supporting and advocating for children and their families for more than 30 years. She has been a teacher, a School Director, a parent educator and coach, a youth volleyball coach, a Girl Scout Troop Leader, and Service Coordinator for her son’s Scout Troop, and more.
She has a BA in Liberal Studies and a Masters Degree in Education. She is also a PCI Certified Parent Coach. She is currently working on her Montessori Certification for Upper Elementary.
Specials Programs
Patricia Hebert-Jenks
Specials Teacher
Ms. Patricia was born in France, and while she spent most of her life there she moved to Coeur d’Alene in 2010. While in France Patricia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a diploma in International Commerce and Management of Businesses. However, her true passion was always the Culinary Arts and she has pursued, for the last 20 years, training with French chefs. In our community, she is best known as A French Woman in Idaho and has been providing cooking classes and pop-up dinners on a regular basis. She is also an active volunteer at the Village Bakery where every Tuesday she bakes French quiches and pastries. She enjoys teaching French classes and baking classes at A Developing Mind. Children and staff members at A Developing Mind look forward to a new gourmet treat prepared and baked by her students each Wednesday.
Patsy Anderson
Spanish Teacher
Patsy Anderson is a native Spanish speaker from South America. She was born in Ecuador, the country famously known for the Isla Galapagos (Galapagos Island). Prior to her family relocating to the U.S. at eight years old, she studied English as a second language in her native country, nonetheless, while continuing her schooling, many of her childhood summers were spent abroad to continue to learn and maintain her Ecuadorian Spanish language and culture.
She graduated from South Bay College of Business, and for 25 years her work experience was in special projects, business translations, and interpretations for major companies in California.
Ms. Patsy says being bilingual has blessed her to assist others, it has broadened her career path that leads her to teach Spanish to children/young adults for over 10 years. Teaching is her pride and joy, it’s been phenomenal seeing student growth from Pre-K to 8th grade. She is a true believer that learning a second language at an early age is beneficial, the child adapts to it like music to their ears. She is also TPRS certified (Teaching Proficiency thru Reading and Storytelling), a fun and visual comprehensive method of storytelling to convey the language through physical command and response techniques.
In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and anything that involves quality time with her family. She also loves to garden, attend to her pets (especially her chickens), and make custom jewelry.
Jing Zhou
Mandarin Teacher
Ms. Jing Zhou was born and raised in Beijing, China. She received a BS Degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering from Jilin University in 1982 and Masters Degree in Computer Science from China Ministry of Aerospace in 1985. While in college, she taught English to early primary school children in China. Her work experience was in Software Development and rose through corporate ranks to become a vice president in a large Beijing software developing company in charge of software development management and HR.
She moved to the United States in 2014 and married her “western man”. Her daughter still lives in Beijing and is a Medical Doctor specializing in Thoracic Surgeries.
Ms. Zhou enjoys investing in the stock markets for pleasure and profit. She also enjoys going on sightseeing trips with her husband and going fishing.
Ms. Zhou looks forward to teaching her students Mandarin Chinese and teaching those students about Chinese Culture and History. She is also a devout adherent to Traditional Chinese Medicine Practices. She hopes that her instruction will give these students a leg up in future opportunities in business and/or government work as the Chinese Language is becoming a very important skill for future relationships in business and government. The best way to negotiate a favorable outcome for a project is to negotiate in the other person’s language sitting across the table from you. The language skills that these students are being given will make them exceedingly valuable in the future.