Faculty & Staff
Carly Sinnadurai
DIRECTOR
Carly Sinnadurai is an artist, teacher, muralist, mom, nature-lover, and a cheerleader for creativity. She is an art education graduate of Florida State University. Also having spent time at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, she founded an arts non-profit organization, The Sharing Tree, 13 years ago. Known by kids citywide as Miss Sunny, she enjoys every minute of sharing the gift of art, nurturing hearts, and fueling wild imaginations no matter where she roams.
It all began in the cold tundras of Minnesota, when she was a little girl and frequented a local art haven, which planted the creativity seed and inspired her to open The Sharing Tree in 2009. Carly has dedicated herself to inspiring creativity, innovative thinking, and collaborative problem-solving among children and families through creative experiences, art and educational opportunities. She was one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know in 2019.
Carly has worked as an artist, teacher, and director in many amazing places; from Railroad Square and LeMoyne to The School of Arts & Sciences and Cornerstone Learning Community. Thrilled about her new role with Magnolia School, she is excited to continue her mission of nurturing creative kids, wild imaginations, and happy hearts.
Susan Smith
School founder
Susan started The Magnolia School in 1985. She taught there for 15 years, and also taught for 4½ years at other area public and charter schools.
Although she is no longer a teacher at The Magnolia School, she was a member of the school’s board of directors from its inception until 2017. She enjoys working both with the students and as a mentor to the teachers.
Susan has a bachelor’s degree in Music (she loves singing with her students!), and master’s degrees in both Humanities and Elementary Education, all from The Florida State University.
She has a wonderfully creative husband who was very involved in the early years of The Magnolia School. They have a son (now an engineer) and a daughter (now a dancer), both of whom attended The Magnolia School before the inclusion of the middle-school grades.
Pam Maldonado
K-2nd grade teacher
Pam enjoys learning and experiencing life alongside the students as they explore all areas of the world. The abundance of hugs and love she experiences feeds her desire to continue to make a difference in children’s lives.
Pam, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from The Florida State University, has been the K-2 teacher at The Magnolia School since 2000. Previous teaching experiences include five years at Wee Care as a pre-K teacher, five years at Head Start in Oregon as a pre-K teacher and a term at Tallahassee Junior Museum as a Saturday pre-K teacher.
Pam enjoys spending time with her four adult children and four grandchildren. Her life is more complete with the many adventures she shares with her family.
Juniper Bambach
K-2ND GRADE TEACHER
Juniper came to The Magnolia School in January 2002. She has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from FSU and worked at The Creative Preschool before coming to The Magnolia School.
She has four children: Sage, Jaidyn, Sona, and Ayana, all Magnolia School graduates. Juniper's first experience with the school was as a parent. Unhappy with her daughter's experience in public school, she enrolled Jaidyn at Magnolia. She volunteered at the school, and instead of pursuing a job in public school as she'd planned, she became a “front-room” teacher. When her youngest daughter Ayana was born, she felt “the love and support I got from this community proved what I have always known—this is my home.”
Stacey McConnell
3rd-5th grade teacher
Stacey graduated from Florida State University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. After teaching in the public school system through 2002, she took time away from a professional career to raise and homeschool her two children. In 2011, shortly after enrolling her two children, Aidan (Magnolia class of 2018) and Liam (Magnolia class of 2021), at Magnolia School, she began teaching as a substitute, then later as a full-time co-teacher in the 3rd-5th grade classroom.
Stacey enjoys reading, researching, being outdoors, and spending as much time as possible with family and friends.
Rachael Calloway
3rd - 5th grade teacher
Rachael graduated from Florida State University in 2008 with a Bachelor's in English and a minor in humanities. After homeschooling her children, Bodhi and Lillian, for the last few years, she has decided to pursue her passion for education full-time and is excited to be joining the Magnolia team beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. When she's not knitting, sewing, or reading, she's spending time with her family (preferably at the beach!).
Paige Brey
Middle-school teacher
Paige discovered The Magnolia School in the summer of 2000 when she was searching for a more academically-challenging environment for her oldest child. Since then, she's attended 19 straight Halloween parties and over 20 camping trips and enjoyed teaching in both the back room and the middle school.
Prior to having children, Paige taught English and Theater Arts in the Houston Independent School District and at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida, where she was named Teacher of the Year in 1993. She holds a B.A. degree in Anthropology and English from Rice University (cum laude) and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
When she is not teaching, Paige enjoys hiking in the mountains with her husband, Bill, and visiting her children Amelia (Magnolia class of ’08) and Max (class of ’12).
Noah Dobson
Math Teacher
This will be Noah’s 7th year working as a member of The Magnolia School staff. Noah is currently teaching our 5th and 8th-grade math groups. He is passionate about education but mostly math. Noah has earned his AA from TCC and is working on a bachelor’s in Pure Mathematics at Florida State University. Noah is an overall amazing human and serves as a wonderful role model. He is especially well-versed in Conscious Discipline. He is hopeful that his kindness and patience will offer a safe and open-minded education to any students he has the opportunity to teach. And a huge congratulations to Noah and his fiancé who got engaged at our last Fall Camping Trip at Topsail Preserve.
Melinda Stanwood
Middle-school teacher
Melinda Stanwood began teaching in the back room at The Magnolia School in 2018, with her youngest three children in attendance. She is grateful to be back to teach in the Middle School! Melinda has a diverse background in teaching, editing, ministerial, and legislative work. She has a B.A. in Communications and Theology (summa cum laude) from Alvernia University and a master of liberal arts degree in Government from Harvard University (magna cum laude). Currently, Melinda also works as an instructor of political science at Tallahassee Community College and the Director of Children and Youth Ministries at John Wesley United Methodist Church. Melinda, a native Tallahassean and SAIL High School graduate, has a large network from her homeschooling days and enjoys engaging in community service. Melinda is happily married to Gregg, a professor and neuroscientist at Florida State University. Together, they have six children at home, ranging from middle schoolers to college students: Thomas, James, Joey, Charlotte, Alex, and Colin. When she is not working or spending time with her very large extended family, Melinda enjoys writing letters, engaging in politics, watching old movies and television shows, and making epic road trips. She is proud and thrilled to be part of the amazing Magnolia family!
Mikaela Dobson
Teacher
Mikaela has been at Magnolia since 2019! She teaches our After-School program, and she teaches in the 3rd - 5th grade classroom in the afternoons. Mikaela is currently studying to attain her A.A. at TCC.