Introducing the Newest Members of our Community
General
8/4/2023
Our new faculty and staff members are excited to be a part of our community! Be sure to say "hello" when you see them!
Nancy Miller, Lower School Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Nancy Miller is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She is joining the Westminster community with 19 years experience. She holds a BA in Elementary Education from High Point University and a MS in Education (PreK-6) specializing in Reading and Literacy from Walden University. Mrs, Miller taught first and second grade at a bilingual IB world school seven years and kindergarten for one year. Prior to that, she spent seven years in South Korea teaching kindergarten at Yongsan International School of Seoul. She was also a reading specialist and primary teacher for four years in her home state. Mrs. Miller loves to travel, sing, and is an avid reader. She has relocated to Augusta with her husband Chris and they have three children.
Jeanne Rausch, Middle School Language Arts Teacher
Mrs. Jeanne Rausch is teaching 6th grade Language Arts, 7th grade Creative Writing, and Foreign Language Prep. She is a graduate of Covenant College with a degree in Middle Grades Education, and Augusta University with a Master of Education in History Curriculum and Instruction. After spending 7 years teaching Language Arts in middle schools in NW Georgia, Evans, and Atlanta, Mrs. Rausch took a hiatus from teaching to be home with her children. She and her family moved to Augusta in 2018, and her children began attending Westminster. After spending the last 2 years substitute teaching at Westminster, Mrs. Rausch is excited to return to the classroom full-time. Her interests include gardening, knitting, and embroidery.
Zac Boatman, Middle and Upper School Physical Education and Bible Teacher
Mr. Zacery Boatman joined Westminster last year as a full-time substitute and will be taking on PE and Bible classes this year. He is a graduate of Liberty University Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and Executive Leadership. He currently serves with the Fort Gordon Chaplains as a Bible Teacher and as Lead of the Ministerial Staff. Mr Boatman retired as a Major of the US Army Signal Corps after 28 years of service. Prior to the military, he served as a Behavioral Health Counselor for six years, focusing on family-centered intervention services. Mr. Boatman is devoted to his family - wife, Stephanie (active-duty military) and two children Alyssa (8th grade) and Genesis (5th grade), both at Westminster. Stephanie is currently serving as an advisor for the Saudi Armed Forces in Saudi Arabia. The Boatman family enjoys traveling outside of the US to expand their world view and playing sports.
Beulah Osiris, Upper School Science Teacher
Ms. Beulah Osiris is excited to continue to teach in the Upper School as a Science Teacher. She will be teaching AP Biology, Environmental Science, Honors Biology and College Prep Biology. She graduated from the University of the Virgin Islands with a BS in Marine Biology and Masters in Environmental Science from Yale University School of The Environment. Ms. Osiris taught in Kissimmee, Florida before she relocated to Georgia five years ago, where she worked as a teacher at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School. Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Osiris spent many years as a Park Ranger at the Virgin Islands National Park Service and Christiansted National Historic Site. She was also the Commissioner of the Virgin Islands’ Department of Planning and Natural Resources. She enjoys the outdoors particularly swimming, hiking, running, biking and camping as well as being an all-sports advocate. Ms. Osiris has two grown children, Winston and Whitney, and her youngest daughter Sage is a senior at Westminster. Ms. Osiris loves the Lord and is blessed to be a teacher at Westminster.
Jamison Fletcher, Upper School Science Teacher
Dr. Jamison Fletcher graduated from Westminster as Valedictorian in 2011. She went on to receive both her MBA and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of South Carolina and South Carolina College of Pharmacy, respectively. After graduation, Dr. Fletcher worked as a pharmacist at Custom Prescription Shoppe in downtown Augusta, serving as the Pharmacist in Charge. Dr. Fletcher has been active in the community, serving as the assistant varsity girls basketball coach at Westminster for the 2019-2020 season, and tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club. She and her husband Will were married in November, and currently attend First Baptist Church of Augusta.
Joshua Shiver, Upper School History Teacher
Dr. Joshua Shiver joins Westminster’s Upper School to teach History. Dr. Shiver received his PhD from Auburn University, his MA in history from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a BA in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Before coming to Westminster, Dr. Shiver served as the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi, and he has taught at the University of Southern Mississippi and Auburn University. Dr. Shiver is currently working on a book examining the individual Civil War soldier’s emotional experiences of war. He enjoys traveling with his wife Morgan, working on cars, and playing with his beloved (weird) orange cat Cheeto.
David Kassner, Upper School Science Teacher
Mr. David Kassner is joining the Upper School to teach science. After military service and a short stay in Augusta to finish college, he returned to the area to teach science in the late 1990s. He had the privilege of serving in three local high schools for 25 years. During this time he and his wife, Teru, saw two of their sons graduate from Westminster. They currently have a rising senior as well. Away from work Mr. Kassner serves as a deacon, yard man, and aspiring mechanic. He and his wife like classic movies; they are currently watching John Wayne’s greatest films on “empty nest” nights.
Carolyn Johnston, Assistant Director of Athletics
Mrs. Carolyn Johnston joins the Westminster family as the Assistant Athletic Director. She received her BA in K-12 Physical Education and Coaching from York University. She was recently inducted into the YU Athletic Hall of Fame for softball. Mrs. Johnston has taught PE to all grade levels, taught high school health, and coached JV and varsity softball and middle school basketball. For the last three years she has served as the Athletic Director at another local private school. Prior to teaching, Mrs. Johnston spent 13 years in Australia working with the Australian Sports Commission to coordinate activity and coaching programs for local and remote indigenous communities. Her husband David works for the Department of Defense at Fort Gordon, and the family is active at New Life Church. Mrs. Johnston and her husband have three children (15,12 and 10) who will be attending Westminster, and when they aren’t at the children’s athletic events, they enjoy camping and kayaking on the lake.
Samantha Barksdale, Director of Academic Support
Mrs. Samantha Barksdale is excited to be joining the Westminster community as the Director of Academic Support. She has a Bachelor's degree from Augusta State University and a Master's in Educational Leadership from Western Governors University. She has served in education for over 10 years, working primarily with students with diagnosed learning disabilities. Mrs. Barksdale has been married to her husband John for six years and has three children. They are members at St. James United Methodist Church in downtown Augusta. Mrs. Barksdale spends her free time outdoors with her family, gardening, swimming, and raising chickens.
Rosie Pope, Director of Marketing and Communications
Rosie Pope joins us as the new Director Of Marketing and Communications. Rosie is the creative mind, marketing expert and co-founder of Rosie Pope Maternity and Baby, a nationally renowned brand and trusted content resource for new moms and moms-to-be nationwide for over ten years. During this time, she created and starred in her own TV show, authored a book, was contributing Editor for Parents Magazine, and designed and created her own fashion lines as well as multiple licenses selling into thousands of stores nationwide. Rosie and her husband have four children (all now at Westminster) and decided to change the direction of their lives to raise their kids with a stronger Christian foundation in a much different community to the one where they lived in New York City. Picking up and moving to Augusta, Georgia mid-pandemic brought them to the Westminster community. Now working on campus full-time is much much cooler to her kids than being in her New York City showroom, and as long as she doesn't sit at their lunch table they are pretty cool with it!
Rahkeem George, Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement
Mr. Rahkeem George has joined the Office of Advancement as the Assistant Director and will be working to serve Westminster with a smile. He has also joined the Athletics Department as the JV Volleyball coach. A native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Rahkeem is used to being in a room full of strangers, or soon-to-be-friends. He graduated from Stetson University with a B.S. in Computer Science. He is an avid musician, an active athlete, and a man of faith. He has been faithfully serving in various capacities throughout the years at the churches he has attended, with a passion for reaching youth and young adults with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. In his spare time, Rahkeem enjoys traveling with his wife of six years, Jessica, and playing competitive basketball and volleyball, lifting weights and participating in his church's worship and serving in the youth and young adult ministries. If you see him, don't be shy; say “hi.”
Westminster Schools of Augusta
