Administrative Staff
Meet the Forest Charter School administrative staff, dedicated to serving the needs of the Forest Charter School community. Our administrative offices are located in historical downtown Nevada City.
Administrative Bios
Sandy McDivitt
Executive Director
36 years of diverse experience in the field of education, teaching in most grade levels as a traditional then bilingual/multicultural educator, I joined the charter school movement in 1994. I hold both a BS and MA from the University of Colorado. My home state of California beckoned for me to return in 1990 only to find innovative California educators seeking solutions for a faltering educational system. Not only did I join the charter school movement, but my son insisted on a Personalized Learning program for his high school years giving me a broader perspective of the opportunities in dynamic partnerships between parents, students, and educators. As co-founder of Forest, it has been a pure delight to work with a dynamic, professional and enthusiastic team.
Debbie Carter
Business Director
I began my career in education in 1990 while my children were attending a local charter school. With a background in finance, I became the Business Director at Forest Charter School in 2001. I enjoy the challenges of charter legislation, managing the financial health of the school and being an active partner on the administrative team. I look forward to continuing to be inspired by Personalized Learning.
Peter Sagebiel
Academic Dean
I began my teaching career in Marin County and taught English for seven years before relocating to Nevada County four years ago. My teaching credentials are a Masters Degree in Humanities from Dominican University. In addition to serving as Academic Dean at Forest Charter School, I work closely with my wife Kim in the FCS College and Career Center. I help to oversee Forest’s academic program, work with our co-op sites, update and implement Forest Charter School’s A-G classes, and continue to look at ways to keep improving the challenging process of serving high school students in a Personalized Learning Program.
BJ Hatcher
Vice Principal
I received my B.S. in History from the University of California at Santa Barbara. This interest in history led to teaching. I received my teaching credential from Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village and from there I did my student teaching at Truckee High. I then went on to teach Social Studies to both secondary and middle school students and currently teach U.S. History at our Grass Valley block classes. As Vice Principal, I facilitate the High School Review Board (HSRB) directing students towards a solution based accountability process.
Kim Sagebiel
College and Career Counselor
I had been teaching English for 7 years before starting at Forest Charter School as our College and Career Counselor. I received my degree in Education from Dominican University. I offer individualized college planning for high school students. I recommend that students start planning for college early even if they are not sure yet what their plans are after high school. I also teach at the Grass Valley block classes.
Molly Harrison
School Psychologist
I earned my teaching credential and BS in Psychology from Nazareth College of Rochester. When we moved to Truckee, we home schooled one of our three children and I taught Montessori kindergarten and preschool. Following my intense interest in understanding and supporting student learning and behavior from a biological as well as an environmental perspective, I completed graduate school at Sacramento State University with a Masters in Counseling and National Certification in School Psychology. I trained with Educational Neuropsychologists, completed an internship at the UC Davis MIND Institute and I have worked in alternative education as well as large traditional districts. I love helping children discover how and why they think and feel the way they do and giving them tools to live their lives more fully.
Valerie Jones
Resource Facilitator
My educational background is in Natural Science and Cytotechnology where I worked for 11 years before relocating to Nevada County to find a more rural setting and to homeschool my two children. We had the wonderful fortune to have Sandy McDivitt as our Education Specialist, and my children thrived in Personalized Learning. I am the Resource Facilitator at Forest Charter School and am enthusiastic and committed to supporting the work of our students, families and staff in our dynamic school.
Theresa Smittle
Administrative Business Services
I started my career in the school environment as a school secretary at a local charter school. I have been at Forest Charter School for four years working as a Business Assistant, handling the instructional budgets and purchasing instructional materials. I love the professional, friendly work environment and seeing first hand the amazing choices in education we have in Nevada County.
Janne Delhez
Student Records
I began working in education at Earle Jamieson High School in 1998. The work was enjoyable and challenging. I learned so much there and with all that knowledge and enthusiasm, I was hired to help start Bitney Springs High School, which was the first charter high school with the Twin Ridges School District. This was an incredible experience – one I feel so fortunate to have been a part of. I am presently very content and also challenged here at Forest Charter School. Forest Charter School is a wonderful program with a wonderful staff.
Johanna Stephan
Business Assistant
I am very thankful for the opportunity to work for Forest Charter School. I
bring with me, 18 years of diverse experience in the medical field and look
forward to utilizing my skills at FCS. Being the mother of a kindergartner
and being concerned about her education, I must say that I am fascinated and
excited to learn more about the personalized learning movement.
Rebecca Armstrong
Student Services Assistant
Working at Forest Charter School has been great. I am very happy to be a part of such a wonderful learning environment. This has been a learning experience for me to understand how the personalized learning works. I have seen students excel in this environment when traditional schools were not working for them. It is a great program to be a part of.
Nancy Nobles
Administrative Assistant
After raising two sons and co-owning a small family business for 20 yrs. I returned to school in 2000. While attending the Grass Valley campus of Sierra College I became a student/employee. As office manager of the campus tutor center both an interest and joy in working within the education field was sparked. Working with the enthusiastic team at Forest Charter School continues that path.
Jenna Johnson
I begin my involvement with the charter movement in 9th grade at Horizon Instructional Systems Charter School. With Forest Director Sandy McDivitt as my ES, I graduated from Horizon in 1997. I've been a member of the Forest Charter office team since we opened our doors as the Bitney Springs K-12 program in 2001. I'm currently finishing my B.A. in Psychology at Sacramento State University and plan to earn a teaching credential in order to continue serving our students as an ES in the future.
Erin Hunt
(Bio coming soon)