Led by Rachael Barron, the Effective Students team is a group of successful professionals, educators, counselors, and graduate students imparting skills to a younger generation of students with a focus on building academic grit. Each coach brings a unique set of study tools for students, leveraging their personal experience and The Effective Student™ Method. Students practice study skills online with their coach for specific assessments so they can measure the impact of their efforts right away and be encouraged to persevere.
Learn More About Our Trusted Academic Coaches in Atlanta
Rachael Barron
Founder, Principal Executive Function Coach & Author of The Effective Student™ Curriculum
Effective StudentsMeet Rachael.
A graduate of Emory University, Rachael has spent her professional career coaching and solving complex educational problems. From applying problem solving and vision casting skills in the business environment through applying these principles to the education realm, she excels at helping individual students and families find educational success. Prior to founding Effective Students, Rachael solved complex educational problems in her role as an educational advocate mastering the maze of finding solutions for families within Georgia’s public and private schools, helping the most difficult learners find success.
Rachael now spends all of her time working with children, young adults, and families who are focused on achieving success in their school environment and acquiring a set of self-management skills that last a lifetime.
Korey Lee
Academic Coach & Assistant Center Director
Effective StudentsMeet Korey.
Korey comes to Effective Students as a Chicago native. He is a graduate of Hampton University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. He relocated from the New England area to Atlanta in 2021 and currently resides in East Cobb.
Korey began his career as a High School classroom teacher. It was that direct impact on students that led him to become a lifelong educator. Korey has been in education and specifically private school admissions for the last 15 years. He prioritizes investing in the development of the whole child in their educational journey. Korey has specific experience in boarding school admissions, career education for adults, and corporate training within the fortune 500 space.
For fun, Korey enjoys spending time with his wife Stacey and his two boys Kaleb and Kason. He is an avid sports fan, and loves going out with my family enjoying Atlanta’s robust culinary scene. Like many other parents, Korey’s down time is also spent with his boys in their “current sports season(s)”.
Fun Fact: I am a “Chicago Born and Raised” Green Bay Packer Fan. Go Pack Go!
Talandra Echols
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Talandra.
Talandra comes to Effective Students with a history of impacting her community working with youth. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University in Marketing. With experience in the business world in retail and non-profit leadership, she understands what is expected of students in the long term. Her experience as an innovator coupled with relatability to students enables her to lead them in solving the challenges they face academically helping them develop confidence to self advocate and direct their own learning.
Talandra specializes in working with student athletes in middle and high school as with as students with ASD transitioning to adulthood. She is the designer and coordinator of many of the competitions within Effective Students. She excels at hosting the Grit and Growth Mindset Winter Session.
Talandra enjoys cheering for her daughter (Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Player / Class of 2020) and traveling internationally to watch her daughter play. She also enjoys dining out, relaxing, traveling and laughing with her close friends and family.
Jennifer Hirsch
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Jennifer.
Jennifer is a native of Iowa who moved to Georgia in 2018. She comes to Effective Students with 25 years of experience in education. First in early childhood education as director of a pre-K educational center, which inspired her passion for students and children with learning differences. She moved into special education serving students in preschool through elementary in both with inclusive and integrated elementary K through 6th grade for a total of 16 years. After moving to Georgia she began serving her community by volunteering at Chastain Horse Park in the Hippotherapy program and working with teens in High School ministry at Mount Paran Church.
Jennifer is known for her consistency and persistence with students who struggle with motivation. She has worked with two students featured in the Student Spotlight.
Her experience of raising three children with different learning profiles and working in education has made her passionate about supporting our youth to be independent, successful, and confident young people.
Autumn Roorda
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Autumn.
Autumn comes to Effective Students with a history of working with students for over 10 years. She has experience working with children in the home, school, after school, and clinical setting. Autumn has earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Psychology from Georgia State University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, making music, and painting.
Coaching with Autumn typically consists of 1-2 rapport building sessions to get a baseline of her clients’ needs and to build trust. Sessions after that are focused on building skills such as study skills, time management, and impulse control, depending on each student’s needs. In each session, she prioritizes coordinating intervention methods with each student’s parent to ensure that techniques being used in coaching are able to translate to their home and school environments.
Coach Autumn is equipped to work with a wide range of students from those working in a competitive academic environment as well as those with neurodiverse thinking styles, such as ASD and ADHD.
“Effective Students academic coaching was a tremendous help to our son since he was dealing with some health issues in high school and help him graduate on time. Autumn worked with him for almost a year and we were very pleased with her helping with organizational skills, academic coaching and communication with the parents.”
Julianne Bellevue Smollar
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Julianne.
Julianne is a Learning Specialist with 14 years of experience in education. During her career she has worked in a variety of school settings with students ranging from Kindergarten to High School. She has a passion for identifying the missing pieces in students’ learning and implementing efficient, evidence-based interventions, while not forgetting to have fun along the way.
Julianne has experience in both public and private school settings as a Learning Specialist, currently at The Lovett School in Atlanta, GA. She works with a variety of students, both with and without identified learning disabilities both on improving skills and supporting and coaching executive functioning.
Julianne received her Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Elementary Education from Wheelock College (now part of Boston University) in Boston and a Master of Arts in Special Education from Claremont Graduate University. She has training in the Orton-Gillingham Approach and Multisensory Math.
Julianne excels at working with students at the elementary school level, those with learning differences as well as students transitioning into middle and high school. Julianne is skilled at coaching students to develop the social emotional skills within executive functioning such as emotional control, flexible thinking, and social awareness. She is one of the lead teachers of the Grit and Growth Mindset Summer Camp.
“We love Ms. Julianne! She has been amazing for AG.”
Beth Stanley
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Beth.
Beth is a retired professional ballerina who has a passion for coaching, learning, and positive development. She is a native of Atlanta and attended Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. While in high school, she began her professional ballet track while balancing the pressures of a highly competitive academic environment. At the age of 17, Beth started her professional ballet career. During her 13-year career, she danced with companies in Florida, Missouri, and California.
Beth has ten years of teaching experience and was the Principal Instructor at Central West Ballet Academy for seven years. Her students have earned coveted spots at prestigious programs such as Harvard, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and the School of Philadelphia Ballet. Over the years, she has worked with students ages 10 to 18 from diverse backgrounds. Her passion as an instructor is to utilize evidence-based training pedagogy while implementing a positive mindset and coping strategies.
Currently, Beth is completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Georgia State University. Since beginning her college career, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA while balancing her professional ballet and teaching careers. Beth has also earned her place on the President’s list every semester she has attended, won the Biology Student of the Semester award for 2022, and recently earned the GSU Achievement Scholarship for her academic achievements. She plans to continue her education to attain her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.
“Hi Beth – just wanted to thank you for all the work you have done with XXXX this past year. He really grew and matured in many areas. He exempted out of his two finals by earning As and will finish with a 4.52 weighted GPA this year (all As except a B in French) which is amazing compared to where he was first term. More importantly he has learned organization strategies for life and has newfound confidence in how to achieve his goals by staying on track and having a plan.”
Jim Reed
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Jim.
Jim comes to Effective Students with 26+ years experience as a special education teacher in ALL grades K-12. His classroom experience varies from teaching self-contained classes to co-teaching and other inclusion models. Jim has taught students with behavior challenges, students with Autism, as well as students with dyslexia and other learning differences. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education from the University of South Florida, a Masters in Curriculum from University of North Georgia, and a Specialist, Curriculum, from Piedmont University. Prior to teaching, He worked in the field of architectural graphics and as an 11 year veteran of the US Navy. Jim also coached Special Olympics for 10 years. He has a passion to advocate for his students and to teach them self-advocacy and executive functioning skills to maximize their success.
Jim enjoys working with a wide range of ages and sees the big picture when it comes to transitioning from elementary to middle, and then middle to high school, having worked at all 3 levels. He is a caring, compassionate listener who goes out of his way to help create a feeling of success with his students. In his free time, Jim can be found on his mountain bike, in his kayak, or virtually anything else that includes the outdoors.
Mallory Woods
Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Mallory.
Mallory comes to Effective Students with experience teaching in both elementary and middle school. During her teaching career, she worked in a variety of school settings- public, private and charter schools. She has a passion for teaching life skills and social emotional learning tools to help students become better people in this world.
Mallory is an Atlanta native and attended Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School on full academic scholarship. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Human Services from Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina on full academic scholarship. She then earned a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
During her time earning her Masters, Mallory enrolled in Teach for America where she spent 3 years working in Title I schools in Las Vegas, Nevada. After her time in the classroom, she worked across various school settings in school administration. No matter what position, Mallory has a flair for working with students of all ages to gain tools that help us grow as healthy, high functioning human-beings.
Maureen Carlomagno
College Academic Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Maureen.
A creative and compassionate educator with 20 years of coaching expertise, Maureen Carlomagno provides educational experiences with an empathy-led approach to individual growth.
With a belief that everyone deserves to be supported and connected, Maureen enjoys collaborating with students to implement strategies that are rooted in best practices. She also integrates both academic and self-care principles in her work with students.
Maureen is a Master-level Certified Intrinsic Coach, Certified Health Education Specialist, and National Board Certified Health Coach. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Spanish from Salem College, a Masters in Public Health from Boston University, and a Certificate in Program Management from Boston University.
While she is delivering coaching with Effective Students techniques, her approach can be summarized by the following Stephen Spielberg quote,
“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”
When she is not coaching, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new recipes or working in her garden, and volunteering in her community.
Maureen works with college students virtually around the country and in person in Charlotte.
Curious about how we help students in Atlanta?
