The teachers and staff at Reading Friends of Aledo are what makes our school different. Our teachers are loving, nurturing professionals who embrace each child and their individual learning style. We are pleased to present our team for the upcoming school year:
Diane Taylor
Owner
Diane Taylor is the owner of Reading Friends of Aledo. She holds a Business Degree in Management from Texas Wesleyan University, where she graduated with honors. Although her college years and beyond took her down the business path, Diane’s goal was to eventually come back to her first love of teaching children.
After 25 years in the banking business, serving as a Senior Vice President at JPMorgan Chase, she and her husband Paul welcomed a new addition to the family. Rainey Taylor was born in 2006 and joined her sister Rachel, who was 10 years old at the time. It was this special and unexpected event in Diane’s life that motivated her to make a life change.
When Rachel graduated from Pre-K at the Reading Friends School in Fort Worth at age five, Diane knew that she wanted to be a part of the program. With the emphasis on education in the Aledo area, Diane felt that the time was right to bring Reading Friends to Parker County. The school opened its doors in January 2008 and was expanded to offer a K-Bridge and Kindergarten program in 2009. After ten years in their first location, Diane was able to purchase land and build her dream school in Aledo. She opened the doors of the current location on Bailey Ranch Rd. in January 2019.
Diane is an active member and supporter of the Aledo AdvoCats, served 11 years as the Co-Chair of the Aledo ISD School Health Advisory Committee, served and held an executive position on the Board of Directors of the Aledo Education Foundation from 2014-2022, was a community representative on the Aledo ISD Project 2025 Team, and volunteers her time throughout Parker County. As the owner of Reading Friends of Aledo, she is the sponsor of the Aledo ISD Teacher Crisis Fund and is proud to be an Aledo ISD Bearcat Backer. She also provides Annual Scholarships to Aledo ISD seniors through the Kelli Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund, and is a member of the East Parker County Chamber of Commerce.
Diane has been married to Paul Taylor for 35 years. Their oldest daughter, Rachel, her “inspiration” for becoming an owner of Reading Friends, just graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law, and has taken a position with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in Fort Worth. Her youngest daughter, Rainey, who was her “motivation” for opening the school in Aledo, is a sophomore at Aledo High School. Diane has also been blessed with being named the Guardian of Brooke Miller, age 15, who was the daughter of Kelli Miller, a long-time teacher at Reading Friends, and dear friend, who passed away the first week of school in 2021.
Diane looks forward to introducing the real magic behind Reading Friends in the coming weeks: her dynamic team of teachers and front office professionals!
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Janet Sepanski
Director
Janet joined Reading Friends of Aledo during the 2012 school year as the Assistant Director. She graduated in 1990 from Texas Christian University with a BA in Education. Janet spent eight years with the Fort Worth ISD, teaching young children, before deciding to start a family of her own. Janet enjoyed raising her four children and volunteering at their schools for the next 12 years. When her youngest child went off to school, Janet decided that she needed to find something that would allow her to be with young children, yet be available for her own children at the end of her day. Reading Friends of Aledo was the perfect fit! Janet was promoted to Director of the Preschool in 2013 and welcomed Sharon Gribble that same year as Assistant Director. Janet and her husband, Tom, have been married for 27 years and have four children, Anna, Lily, Rubye, and Tommy.
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Sharon Gribble
Assistant Director
Ms. Sharon’s daughter, Alyssa, was in our very first Pre-K class when we first opened in January of 2008 and her son, Sean, was in the first kinder-bridge class. Once all her children were in school, she starting subbing for us and has been a permanent addition to our staff for over ten years as our Assistant Director.
Ms. Sharon graduated from Texas A&M University as a civil engineer and worked in that field for a year and a half before following her husband, David, of 30 years, around the country with the Marine Corps. David was a Marine Corps pilot flying the F-18 for 15 1/5 years and now flies for UPS.
Ms. Sharon and her family have lived in Aledo for 19 years. She enjoys exercising, gardening, and spending time with her 4 children Morgan, Kyle, Alyssa and Sean. She feels incredibly blessed to work at RFA with amazing ladies and the best families that make up the happy place.
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Joan “Mimi” Nicholson
Resident Grandma
Mimi is in charge of making all things better!
“Mimi” is the Mother of Diane Taylor, and is the school’s resident Grandma! When a child needs an extra hug or reassurance, Mimi is there to provide comfort. You will often see Mimi at the front door handing out “bubbles” (hand sanitizer), assisting in the restroom, and tending to boo-boos. When parents are late to pick-up their child, it is Mimi who will assure the child with a nice book or a hug for reassurance.
Mimi has been married for 69 years to “Papa” and has four children and nine grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. She is an avid Texas Rangers fan and enjoys Aledo Bearcat Football. There is a sign by the front door of the school that reads: “When all else fails, ask Mimi!” Everyone loves Mimi and we are proud that she is a part of our school!
Kindergarten
Christy Jarvis
Kindergarten Teacher
We are excited to welcome back Christy for her 14th year with our program! Ms. Christy was instrumental in developing our K-Bridge and Kindergarten curriculum! Christy has a degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina with a concentration on Psychology. Prior to moving to Aledo, Christy taught Kindergarten in Kernersville, North Carolina, where she implemented varied teaching strategies and techniques with much success.
Christy was the perfect addition to our team when we launched this program in 2009 as she has proficiency in Guided Reading, Saxon Math, Write from the Beginning, and Technology Integration – all of which is used in our Kindergarten and K-Bridge programs today. Her classroom management style and her ability to create unique lesson plans proved to be a valuable part of the Kindergarten program.
Christy and her husband, Mike, have been married for 23 years and live in Aledo. They have two sons and a daughter; Grayson (22) is an A&M graduate and currently working on his masters, Gunter (21) is in his third year at Oklahoma State and Maddy (17) is a senior at Aledo High School and a graduate of Reading Friends of Aledo!
K-Bridge
Courtney Betancourt
K-Bridge I Teacher
Ms. Courtney is in her fifth year at Reading Friends and has taught Developmental (2’s), Pre-Kindergarten and is in her second year of teaching K-Bridge.
Courtney received a B.S. degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at Arlington. She worked in the legal field for 10 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. In 2013, Courtney began working as a substitute teacher for Aledo ISD. It was during this time, that she discovered her passion for working with children. She has numerous hours of specialized training in Early Childhood Development.
Courtney has been married to her husband, Chris, for 22 years. They moved to Aledo in 2003 and have two children. Their daughter, Avery, is a sophomore at Texas A&M University majoring in Engineering and their son, Ben, is a freshman at Aledo High School.
Heather Davenport
K-Bridge II Teacher
Heather has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity University and a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from TCU. She has taught in several different settings including private school, public school, and homeschool co-ops. The majority of her teaching years have been with children in grades K-3. Heather also had the privilege of homeschooling her own 5 children for 10 years. She has a passion for teaching young children to read!
Heather and her husband live in Aledo and have four daughters and one son. When not in the classroom, she enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with her family.
We are delighted to welcome back Ms. Heather for her second year teaching our K-Bridge students!
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Pre-Kindergarten
Brandy Wert
Pre-K Language Teacher
Ms. Brandy is in her 9th year at Reading Friends. Ms. Brandy graduated from Texas Tech University {Wreck ‘Em} with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Upon graduating, Brandy worked as a Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher for several years before starting her own family. Once her youngest started school, she was ready to go back into the workforce as a preschool teacher in a class of four year olds.
Brandy has been happily married to her husband, Scott, for 28 years. They have two children, Lacey and Carson. Lacey, a graduate of Texas A&M, is finishing up her final year of OT school in San Antonio and will be getting married this December! Carson is a senior baseball player at Howard Payne University.
Ms. Brandy is very involved at her church, Trademark Church, in Fort Worth. She serves weekly in the children’s ministry. Her favorite pastime is cheering on her adult children in what they love…whether it is being a “fake” patient for her daughter or in the stands cheering on her son. In her free time she enjoys quality time with her husband, working out, reading, decorating, and making things on her Cricut.
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Connie Hayden
Pre-K Discovery and Art Teacher
Connie is in her 12th year at Reading Friends of Aledo. Like so many of our teachers, we got to know Connie when she would substitute teach for us during the 2008-2009 school year and then asked her to join our team permanently in 2009. Connie has extensive knowledge working with young children as she has been teaching preschool-age children for more than 22 years and is one of the most respected teachers in the community.
Connie has been married for 34 years to Terry and they have four children: Brittanie, Briley, Bryce, and Brant, who is also a graduate of Reading Friends K-Bridge program! She also recently became a Grandmother of four!
In addition to her numerous specialized training hours in Early Childhood Development, Connie also majored in Child Development at the University of North Texas.
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Emily Warren
Pre-K Math and Science
Emily is enjoying her second year at Reading Friends of Aledo, joining us this year as our Pre-K Math and Science Teacher! Ms. Emily attended the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in early childhood development. Over the years she has taught in Fort Worth, Crowley, and the Aledo ISD school district.
Emily and her family moved to Aledo in 2007 where her 4 children have all attended school. Parker, a voice over actor and musician, lives in Fort Worth. Her daughter, Pace, attends the University of Texas in Austin. Reece, attends Texas Tech University, and Ryan is a sophomore at Aledo High School. Emily and her husband, Brian, have been married for 26 years.
Ms. Emily has stated that working at Reading Friends of Aledo “…is my dream job”! Two of the things she enjoys the most are getting to see the next generation of students begin their education, and also to be able to work alongside some of the most talented and gifted teachers in the community. The students LOVE Ms. Emily’s fun personality and can’t wait until Tuesdays and Thursdays when she performs her amazing Science experiments! We all agree that Ms. Emily has been a great addition to our team of dynamic teachers!
Primary (3’s)
Lindsey Merrill
Primary Language Teacher
Lindsey was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. She graduated from All Saints Episcopal School and then earned her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from TCU. After graduating from TCU, she taught at Reading Friends in Fort Worth for 2 years and then got married and started raising a family. She currently lives in Aledo with her husband Ryan and their 4 boys, Walker (16), Bo (14), Parker (11) and Reece (7), who graduated from Reading Friends of Aledo. When Lindsey is not teaching, she enjoys spending time watching her boys play ALL the sports and traveling to their family ranch in South Texas. She is looking forward to her 3rd year teaching Primary Language at Reading Friends of Aledo.
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Linda Groce
Primary Math/Art Teacher
Ms Linda‘s interest in Reading Friends began three years ago when two of her grandchildren were attending the school. The following year she became a substitute teacher at RFA and knew that was what she wanted to do full-time. The next two years she taught in the Development and Primary classes. This is Linda’s 3rd year as the Math teacher for the Primary classes.
Ms. Linda received a BA degree in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. She worked in her field of study at the Tandy Corporation for two years before becoming a stay at home mom and working alongside her husband in his computer business. During these years, she also consistently taught four year old Sunday school classes, as well as Sunday and Wednesday evenings, VBS, and once a month Friday Couples Night Out at her church. She also taught the Bible Class at TAFA, a home school group, for 9 years while home schooling her 4th of four children.
Ms. Linda enjoys reading, swimming, and preparing for and working with her students at RFA. The loves of her life are her high school boyfriend and husband, Tim, her four daughters, and her 14 grandchildren, one of which is newborn in September. We adore Ms. Linda and her passion for the children at Reading Friends of Aledo!
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Kathryn Allen
Primary Gross Motor and Developmental (2’s) Teacher
Kathryn Allen is in her fifth year at Reading Friends and has taught Kindergarten, K-bridge, and is in her third year of teaching our Primary (3’s) and Developmental (2’s) students, which is her true passion.
She has worked with children for over 20 years and is very passionate about what she does. Majoring in Early Childhood Development lead her to a profession teaching preschool. She has enhanced the Developmental curriculum by adding new songs, books, puppets, and activities.
Kathryn has been married for over 25 years and is excited about building a forever home that should be finished by the end of October. It will have room for a garden, fruit orchard, farm animals and her favorite live Christmas trees!
Her son, Conner, is in the US Navy and is stationed in San Diego on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Her daughter, Samantha, attends Weatherford Junior College and also works at Reading Friends of Aledo in the Developmental (2’s) class with her mom.
Kathryn is very proud of both her children and is very excited to be a part of the mother-daughter team this year!
K-Prep I
Molly Hagen
K-Prep I Teacher
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K-Prep II
Jennifer Cheak
K-Prep II Teacher
(Bio and photo coming soon!)
Developmental (2’s)
Samantha Allen
Developmental Teacher
Samantha Allen is one of two Developmental teachers who work as a team with our littlest students. The fun and unique thing about this team is that it is a Mother-Daughter team with Samantha sharing a classroom with her Mom, Kathryn (Bio above)! Samantha grew up and graduated from Aledo, Texas and is a student at Weatherford Junior College on her days off. Samantha is following her in Mom’s footsteps in the early childhood education field and has completed numerous professional education courses in the field.
Samantha, like her Mom, has a special way to connect with children. She is calm, loving, and passionate. We are delighted to have Samantha on our team for the 2022-2023 school year!
Heather Thomasson
Developmental Teacher
Heather is in her first year of teaching at Reading Friends of Aledo but she has been a part of our program since 2019 when she first enrolled her son, Olin, in our K-Prep program. Heather holds a BA in psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and an MS in Marketing from Texas A&M University. After graduation, Heather joined H-E-B grocery company as a candidate in the School of Retail Leadership. After two years of training, she was promoted to Assistant Store Director. She then served as a Center Store Director over grocery, drug store, and pharmacy. Needless to say, Heather is one of H-E-B’s biggest fans!
After five years in the grocery industry, Heather married her husband, Phillip, and stayed home to raise three children. Their two sons are in fourth and second grade, and their daughter is in her final year at Reading Friends in Ms. Christy’s Kindergarten Class. Heather enjoys reading books, spending time with her family, and cheering on her kids in basketball, baseball, and dance.
Heather stated “…it is an honor to be a part of such a great team of teachers at Reading Friends”; however, it is all of us at Reading Friends that is honored to have Heather on our team!
Debbie Grischow
Developmental Teacher
(Bio and photo coming soon!)