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
Dayna Lindsay
Kindergarten Teacher
Dayna Lindsay was born and raised in Harrison, Idaho. She graduated from Lewis-Clark State College in December of 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. In August of 2021, she completed her Montessori Early Childhood Certification.
Becoming Montessori Certified was always a goal of Dayna’s. She uses the Montessori Method daily in her classroom and in her home with her son. Her favorite aspect of her job is the activities and experiences her students get to have every day.
Dayna lives in Post Falls with her husband, son, and dog. She loves to read and write in her free time and spends a lot of her time enjoying North Idaho’s natural spaces.
Eryn Higgins
Kindergarten Teacher
I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a military family, and eventually ended up in western Washington, where I did most of my growing up. I have lived in eastern Washington for the last 5 years. I managed behavioral group homes for 4 years before transitioning to education. I started with FSS about 2 and a half years ago. I attend Grand Canyon University and will obtain my Bachelor of Science in Counseling this fall. I am down to my final courses and plan to start my master’s program in the summer of 2024. I started as an assistant teacher with A Developing Mind and later completed my Montessori Early Childhood Education certification through NAMC in December of 2022. I spent a year shadowing Ms. Dayna before earning the opportunity to open a new Kindergarten class for our school.
In my free time, I enjoy being outside hiking or spending time by the lake as well as spending time with family and friends. I am a fan of last-minute road trips and love any opportunity to experience something new.
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.
Joseph Teixeira
Lower Elementary Teacher
Joseph Teixeira was born in Denver, CO. He was raised in the Littleton area, where he struggled with the Public School system. He spent 3-5th grade at a Montessori charter school which completely changed his view of learning and education. He participated in the Boy Scouts of America, reaching Life Scout rank, and developed a deep love of the outdoors. Joseph attended Colorado State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Joseph is currently enrolled in the Lower Elementary Montessori Certification Program and will be fully certified by the end of 2022.
Joseph has been teaching since 2016 in various settings throughout Colorado, Utah, and Idaho. Joseph enjoys spending time camping, gathering morel mushrooms, photography, and hunting. In addition to outdoor activities, Joseph enjoys all forms of artistic creation, including a passion for music, drawing, and experimenting with new art mediums. Joseph has also taken to animal husbandry and working with agricultural animals. He worked with WTRRA in Salmon Idaho as the lead volunteer for therapeutic horse riding classes. He and his partner now have a large animal family that includes dogs, cats, goats, chickens, horses, and more.
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.
Nicole Yearsley
Upper Elementary Teacher
Nicole Yearsley was born in Anaheim, California, and moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho when she was 13 years old. She graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After college, she began working as an assistant teacher for Developing Mind, with hopes of becoming a lead teacher once an opening became available.
After a couple of years of assisting in the classroom, she worked as a certified Behavioral Intervention therapist for a year, also with Developing Mind. She also became a certified Montessori Early Education teacher. She taught as a Lower Elementary teacher for three years. After these three years in Lower Elementary, she’s found her current and favorite home in the Upper Elementary classroom. She absolutely loves working with this age group. She enjoys leading her students towards independence and becoming who they are meant to be. Every year she strives to teach the whole student, not just academically, but also socially and emotionally. She always finds opportunities to have her class learn to be selfless and help others.
She spends her free time hanging out with her husband and adorable little boy, writing her first novel and scrapbooking. She also loves to dance, exercise, read, and play games with friends.
Middle School Program
Kylie Comer
Middle School Teacher
Kylie was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, and now resides in Post Falls with her two sons, Chance and Koda. She graduated from Mead High School where she was captain of the Dance Team, as well as class President. She spent most of her weekends and summers traveling for dance competitions and conventions, where she won many titles and dance scholarships. After high school, she retired as a competitive dancer and, from there, went to Eastern Washington University where she graduated in 2020 with a Bachelors in Secondary Education. In May of 2023, she completed her Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in just four, short months!
Kylie has been teaching middle schoolers since 2021, and prides herself in being a passionate, empathetic learner and educator. She hopes that she can create a positive learning experience for her students, as well as have an impact on every student of hers and build lasting relationships where students of hers feel loved and cared for.
In her free time, Kylie’s hobbies include reading, painting, going to coffee shops and restaurants with friends, and spending lots of time with her sons and her family.
Specials Programs
Heather Rivière
Specials Teacher
Heather Rivière teaches Specials (Electives) and facilitates after-school activities for students in grades K-8. Classes and activities have included Coding, Robotics, French, Entrepreneurship, Art, Gardening, Cooking, First Lego League Robotics Competition Team, Intramural Battle Bots, 3D Printing, and Chess. She also coordinates ADM summer camp activities with her colleagues.
Heather grew up in northern Minnesota where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in French from Hamline University. She then moved to Paris, France, and obtained Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees in English from l’Université de Paris VIII, focusing on English<>French Translation. After living, studying, and working in Paris for 16 years she moved to CdA in 2008 and obtained teaching certification from Lewis-Clark State College with an endorsement in French.
“Jack (Jill?) of all Trades” describes her career path perfectly! House Painter, Gardener, Nanny, Hat Designer, Business English Teacher, International Language Camp Lead Counselor, Translator, HR assistant, Executive Bilingual Assistant, French Teacher, Translation/Localization Lead Project Manager, HR Senior Recruiter, Head Hunter, Business Owner/Manager of a French Crepe Food Truck Business, and now Specials Teacher!
She has been teaching at A Developing Mind Academy since 2018 and LOVES having the opportunity to work with students again. She strives to inspire them to try new things and not be afraid of failure, to have grit and persevere, to collaborate respectfully with others, and to take pride in hard work. The dragonfly sculpture in front of the school – that she welded during the covid shutdown and invited students to help turn into a “living garden sculpture” – is a perfect demonstration of this.
Just before covid hit, Heather accompanied students, parents/guardians, and staff members to France for an amazing week-long trip as their EF Tours Group Leader. She looks forward to organizing more educational trips abroad with ADM students in the future!
Heather’s free time is spent with family and pets, doing DIY and art projects, gardening, and traveling whenever possible. Her artwork is available at The Art Spirit Gallery in downtown CdA.
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.