Meet our Elementary Core Teachers
Abigail Cooner, Kindergarten
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Mrs. Cooner graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and an Early Childhood through 6th Grade teaching certification. She is also certified in English as a Second Language and spent time teaching abroad in Mexico and London.
Mrs. Cooner has experience teaching in Head Start, Kindergarten, and Second Grade. She taught most recently in FWISD for two years before joining CLPS in 2018. Mrs. Cooner and her husband got married in 2015 and moved to Fort Worth. They are involved with the young adult and children’s ministry at Antioch Community Church. Their daughter, Julianna was born in 2019. When Mrs. Cooner isn’t teaching, or chasing Julie around, she enjoys reading, DIY projects, and anything outdoors. |
Lisa Ernest, Kindergarten
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Mrs. Ernest graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science in Education in May of 1990, taught for six years for FWISD, and invested 19 years homeschooling her three children. The knowledge she gained homeschooling far exceeded anything she had learned anywhere else.
Her family came to CLPS when her oldest son was in fifth grade and her middle daughter was in third (2008). Over time, the Ernests took more and more classes and enjoyed the fellowship and the comradery that CLPS offers. She began teaching Art 1 in 2017. Mrs. Ernest met her husband, Phil, at the University of Oklahoma. Before they married, they and a group of around ten others, moved to Fort Worth to be a part of Hope Church, where they are still members. They were married in 1993 and have three children. Ryan and Anna have both graduated from CLPS and Rosalie will graduate in 2025. |
April Smith, First Grade
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Mrs. Smith graduated from Texas Womens University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education.
Mrs. Smith taught 2nd grade in the Crowley ISD for 5 years, then became a Reading Specialist in the Everman ISD for 1 year. After having children and staying home for 12 years, she began teaching First Grade at CLPS in 2016. Mrs. Smith is the wife of Larry Smith, and has three children: Connor, Cason, & Jocelyn. She is an active member of her church, serving in the Middle School Ministry as a girls small group leader. When she is not teaching, some of Mrs. Smith's hobbies include time at the lake, camping, spending time with friends, bargain shopping and flea markets! |
Marcy Lacy, First Grade
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Mrs. Lacy graduated from Texas Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She is certified in Elementary Education (Pre K-6), Early Childhood, and English as a Second Language.
Mrs. Lacy taught 2nd Grade in Arlington ISD for six years and K-6th Spanish at a private school in Arlington for four years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She has enjoyed teaching at home through the university model since her oldest child started kindergarten in 2012, and she is so excited to join CLPS as a First Grade teacher in 2019. Mrs. Lacy lives in Burleson with her husband Clint and their five kids. They attend Living Church in Mansfield. Some of her hobbies are digital scrapbooking, taking road trips with family, and organizing all the things. |
Jenn Pope, Second Grade
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Mrs. Pope studied education at TCU and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Development and Family Studies from UNT. Mrs. Pope is certified in elementary education (K-4), Special Education (K-12), and English as a Second Language.
Mrs. Pope joined the staff of CLPS in 2016 after teaching 11 years in public education. She has experience working with all primary grades, special education, and ESL students. Mrs. Pope most loves teaching Second Grade at CLPS. Mrs. Pope lives in Burleson with her husband and four children and attends 7 City Church in Fort Worth. Her husband Andrew is also an educator. They enjoy spending time at the ballpark, trying new restaurants, listening to live music, and participating in their church small group. |
Emily Burt, Second Grade
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Mrs. Burt graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and is certified in Early Childhood through 6th grade education, K-12th grade Special Education, and English as a Second Language.
Mrs. Burt began teaching at CLPS in 2020. She taught Kindergarten for five years prior to joining CLPS in public and private education. Mrs. Burt and her husband married in 2020 and live in Fort Worth. They are members of Antioch Community Church where they serve in the young adult ministry and she serves in the children's ministry. Mrs. Burt loves working on home and yard projects with her husband, spending time with family and friends, and enjoying a day at the lake on their boat. |
Camille Johanson, Third Grade & Art
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Mrs. Johanson received a B.S. in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. She is certified in ESL, Reading, and Gifted and Talented.
She always wanted to teach young children, and has been teaching for more than twenty years. She began teaching at CLPS in 2009 after teaching at various private and public schools in Texas and New York. In her words, "CLPS has blessed my family in so many ways. I enjoy being a part of this ministry." She has been married to Roger Johanson since 1998. She has three children, one who graduated from CLPS and one who still attends. She grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and our family currently lives in Crowley, Texas. She enjoy spending time with her family, friends and various pets. |
Brook Campbell, Fourth Grade & Drama
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Mrs. Campbell graduated from Texas Wesleyan University with a degree in Elementary Education (1-8) with a specialization in Theatre. She has completed course work from TWU and SMU in philosophy for children and gifted education.
Mrs. Campbell began working at CLPS in 2017 after retiring from 29 years in the Mansfield ISD where she taught grades 1-4 and was a gifted and talented specialist and a curriculum writer and trainer. Mrs. Campbell has been married to her high school sweetheart since 1988. She and her husband have raised three delightful young men Cody, Luke and Samuel. Mrs. Campbell is a partner at Hulen Street Church where she and her husband share in the children's ministry. |
Emily Scheffler, Fifth Grade
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Emily Scheffler received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Reading from Dallas Baptist University in 2001. She classically educated her four children at home for K-6th grades before enrolling them at CLPS for 7th-12th grades. She has been part of the Christian Life Preparatory School teaching team since 2016.
Mrs. Scheffler married her high school sweetheart, Matt, in 2000 and they are currently raising their four children, Noah, Caleb, Hudson and Annie. In her free time, Mrs. Scheffler loves cheering on her kids in sports, serving alongside her husband at their new church plant, Christ Fellowship Bible Church, and sharing a home cooked meal with loved ones. |
Angie Lewis, Sixth Grade English & Math
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Mrs. Lewis received her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Recreation with an emphasis in Therapeutics from the University of Oklahoma.
Mrs. Lewis began teaching 6th grade at CLPS in 2011. She considers it a privilege and honor to work with the students, families and staff at CLPS. Mrs. Lewis is married to Jim, an application engineer, and has 3 grown children who graduated from a University Model school. During her summer break, she loves to wade fish in Rockport, Texas. |
Sharon Amberger, Sixth Grade History
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Sharon Amberger graduated from Ouachita Baptist University with a degree in History and a minor in Biblical Studies.
Mrs. Amberger has been the Youth and Government adviser since the fall of 2011 she taught World History/AP World History from the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2019. She has taught 6th Grade U.S. History since the fall of 2019. Mrs. Amberger, along with her family, has attended Christ Chapel Bible Church since 1998. She has been a 4th Grade Girls Sunday School teacher, 5th/6th Girls Small group leader, 7th/8th Girls Small Group Leader and High School Girls Small Group leader. She enjoys scrapbooking, spending time with family, hiking, biking, swimming. She and her husband Brad have three children, Joe, Ryan and Sarah. Joe graduated from CLPS in 2014, followed by Ryan in 2017 and Sarah in 2020. |
Kaycie Wallace, Sixth Grade Science
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Mrs. Wallace graduated from University of Texas at Arlington with a B.S. in Biology. After graduating she went to work in the Oil and Natural Gas Industry for 9 and a half years where she gained invaluable experience in the field of environmental engineering. Currently, she is working on certification through ACSI. She has been teaching at CLPS since 2017.
Mrs. Wallace and her husband have two children, Parker and Conner. They have attended Hulen Street Church in Fort Worth since 2005 years and have love to see the church grow and change so much over the years saying, "we have a big heart for our church family!" On a typical weekend the Wallaces like to have friends and family over for dinner and play dates in their home. They also like to find new adventures around Fort Worth and typically can be found working on one or more home improvement projects. Mrs. Wallace's hobbies with her family include finding new restaurants, attending car shows with her husband, riding our bikes on the trinity trails, the Fort Worth Zoo and Museum of Science and History. |
Meet our Elementary Elective Teachers
Cassie Nickle, PE
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Mrs. Nickle graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2007 with a degree in Elementary Education.
Mrs. Nickle began teaching at CLPS in 2019. In the past she has taught first and second grade in Fort Worth ISD. Mrs. Nickle has been married to her husband David since 2007, and they have three children: Colt, Hendrix, and Hadley. Hendrix and Hadley have both attended CLPS since they were first graders. Along with spending time with their family and friends, her family loves to play baseball, camp, and travel. Mrs. Nickle has also been a newborn photographer since 2017. |
Lydia Laughbaum, Art
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Mrs. Laughbaum received a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Howard Payne University and a Master's degree in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Seminary.
Prior to having children, Mrs. Laughbaum taught four years of third grade in the public school system. Her children started at CLPS during their elementary years and both graduated from this school. When her youngest child started college, Mrs. Laughbaum began teaching Art III at CLPS. She and her husband are members of Hope Church in Fort Worth where she has worked with the children's ministry since 1988. Their daughter, Rebekah, is married and lives in Colorado while their son, Timothy, is in process of finishing college. She enjoys cooking and gardening and occasionally finds the time to read a good mystery! |
Katie Hernandez, Computer
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Mrs. Hernandez graduated from Kennesaw State University with a degree in Communications. She received her teaching certification from TMATE. She has a Generalist 4-8 and an ESL certification.
Mrs. Hernandez began teaching in January 2014 in Alvarado ISD as a 5th grade ELAR teacher. She has also taught AVID focusing on Math and Reading . For the last two school years, she has been the instructional coach in charge of professional development for her campus. This is her first year at CLPS. She has been married to her husband David since 2012. They welcomed their daughter, Mary Ella, in 2019. They enjoy spending time outside with her and their two German Shorthaired Pointers. They also love cooking, working in their gardens, and spending time with friends and family. They attend Watermark Fort Worth. |
Sarah Morgan, Computer
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Sarah Morgan has received her BFA degree in Film/Television/Video with a Minor in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has received her Elementary EC-4 Education degree from Region XI.
Sarah has worked in FWISD teaching third grade and at CLPS teaching third grade and computer courses since 2004. She has taken a short hiatus to raise her 3 young children, 2 of which attend CLPS. She has recently joined CLPS again teaching computer courses and checking on her children. Sarah is married to another computer techie- Mark, and they have three children. They love to worship together, travel together, and serve together. |