Claire McConnell
Chief Executive Officer / Owner
Claire has worked at ‘The Balanced Scholar After-School Program’ since it’s beginning. She spent her afternoons alongside Renee Pitchford, program founder, organizing games and activities that would be beneficial to learning, yet stimulate each child in his or her own individual way. After being diagnosed with Dyslexia in 2018, Claire made it her mission to educate families and their children about the myths that often linger around language-based learning disorders. Claire was fully remediated from Dyslexia in 2020 by Dr. Tim Conway and his online programs, NOW!-Neurodevelopment of Words® programs, which are evidence based programs that are peer reviewed with Randomized Controlled Trials. Current research has shown that adding hours to the school day would greatly benefit America’s students, so Claire plans to design a program that benefits the whole child at school while keeping home in mind. Claire is working on her Elementary Education degree while she is planning meaningful, rigorous activities for TBS students. Stay tuned for more information on Claire’s Home-School Connexion Project for Dyslexic Learners!
Director of Academics
Davidica McConnell
M. Ed. Reading, Literacy, & Assessment
Davidica has been a public educator for over 20 years and has served students in Walton County, Florida since 2015. Having had a learning disability that went undiagnosed until college, Davidica knows what it is like to try your hardest, but fall short even on your best days. Davidica has spent the time since graduating from college with her degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education in 1999 researching and looking for ways to improve educational systems for all children, but especially children with learning disabilities. Davidica received her Master’s in Reading, Literacy, and Assessment in 2016 and has worked tirelessly since to improve systemic reading failures at every level from local to national. Davidica has served on the FLDOE committees to revise the state standards to what we now know as the B.E.S.T. Standards in all English Language Arts areas as well as content areas, and recently served on the committee to revise the Florida Teacher Certification Examination in the fields of Pre-Kindergarten and General Knowledge.
Davidica has been an independent contractor for Cambium Learning Group and a National LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading & Spelling) Professional Learning Facilitator working in California, New Mexico, North and South Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia to provide essential professional development to teachers and administrators in the science of reading. Davidica has spent the last three years working on Dr. Tim Conway’s administrative team for the NOW! - Neurodevelopment of Words Company® providing life-changing therapy to students who have language-based disorders such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia. Davidica continues to advocate with families, teachers, and students through her own company, Emerald Coast Educational Consulting, and she recently joined the Lexonik US® team as an independent contractor to help educate administrators, teachers, school staff and parents in the science of reading and how to eradicate illiteracy in the United States.
Lead Primary Teacher
Corinne and her husband, John, raised their family in South Carolina for many years before moving to Santa Rosa Beach.
Corinne worked for nine years as a Kindergarten Assistant in an award winning school district in Fort Mill, South Carolina. She has also worked as a 4K assistant in a high school lab program for students aspiring to become teachers. Corinne has worked for The Balanced Scholar for three years, beginning with the after school program alongside Claire.
Corinne loves teaching and spending time with the “littles” since she and John are empty nesters. She enjoys the small, loving environment of The Balanced Scholar and loves the “lightbulb moments” when the learning clicks in students!
Corinne loves the beach, walking, decorating, spending time with family, and spoiling her sweet rescue dog, Mia. Corinne has two beautiful daughters who visit and whom she visits often.
The Balanced Scholar is thrilled to have Corinne on board as her knowledge of curriculum, strategies, and practice have all been key components building the primary TBS program.
