Sarah Akers 
School Psychologist

My name is Sarah Akers, and I am thrilled to serve as the new school psychologist at Forestville this year! I will be at Forestville 2 days per week and I will continue supporting Lake Anne Elementary 3 days per week.

This is my 10th year as a school psychologist. Before working in FCPS, I worked in Connecticut for 2 years. I have experience at the pre-K/elementary, middle, and high school levels, but elementary is where my heart is. Within FCPS, I’ve had the opportunity to support a variety of specialized programs including CSS sites at the elementary and middle school levels. I am a dedicated triple Duke, having received my Bachelors, Masters, and Educational Specialist degrees all from James Madison University (Go Dukes!). I am fascinated with the brain and also have a post-graduate certification in School Neuropsychology.

As a school psychologist, my passion is helping children thrive and reach their full potential by better understanding how they learn best and teaching strategies to build resilience. I live in Reston with my husband, 2-year-old daughter, and 14-year-old one-eyed cat. In my spare time, I love spending time with my family, reading, being outdoors, and running.

I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and a wonderful year ahead!

Johanna Conselatore
Classroom Teacher

My name is Johanna Conselatore, and I am very excited to be joining the Forestville staff as a third-grade teacher this year. This will be my 3^rd year as a teacher and my 2^nd year in third grade. However, it will be my first year teaching in Fairfax County and I am looking forward to an amazing year working with the Forestville staff, students and community.

Barbara Hamidi
Instructional Assistant

Hi there, I’m Barbara Hamidi and I am very excited to be joining Forestville as an Instruction Assistant. I joined the Forestville teaching community as a classroom monitor last November and very much enjoyed working with many of the classes and students at Forestville.

I have always enjoyed working and supporting young children as a substitute teacher, classroom representative, girl scout troop leader and swim team board volunteer. I am also on the PTA board at Forestville and will continue to support in different programs as well as my role as assistant treasurer.

I live in Reston with my husband, daughter who attends Virginia Tech and son who is rising 4th grader at Forestville, and our Golden Doodle!

I look forward to continuing to support the students at Forestville and the school community as an Instructional Assistant. Go Cardinals!

Elyssa McKinnon
Advanced Academic Resource Teacher

Hello Forestville! My name is Elyssa McKinnon and I just celebrated my 10th year in FCPS and all 10 have been in advanced academic settings. I was a 3rd grade center teacher at Lorton Station and then moved to Daniels Run to help start the full-time AAP (local level IV) program. Last year, I was the AART at Daniels Run and I’m excited to continue my work as an AART at Forestville.

I moved to Northern VA from Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers!) after attending Duquesne University. My undergraduate is in elementary and early childhood and my masters is from their reading specialist program. While I love Pittsburgh, I completed my student teaching in Dublin, Ireland.

My husband and I spent many years living in Eastern Market before moving to the suburbs and buying our 1st home in Leesburg. We have a 2 year old daughter, Isla, and a shepsky named Hunter, who keep us very busy. We love to travel, spend time at the beach and visit Pittsburgh to go to Steeler games. I love to read, work out and cook. I am so excited to join the Forestville community and know it will be a great year!

Cathy Moran 
Kinder Instructional Assistant

I am a graduate of Langley High School and Virginia Tech. I studied Marketing. I have lived in Great Falls for 32 years. I have four children Molly, Timmy, Rosemary and Vince. I have been teaching school for over 8 years at the preschool and elementary school level. I love yoga, singing, gardening, and sewing. Many people know me from Cathy’s Corner – a gift shop I owned located next to the Old Brogue 2007 -2012.

Sharon Powers
School Counselor

My name is Sharon Powers and I am delighted to be working at Forestville Elementary School this school year! I’ll be serving as the part-time school counselor and working closely with Mrs. Schnaue to ensure we have a comprehensive school counseling program that reaches all students.

I have been a school counselor in FCPS for more than 12 years and have worked at the middle and elementary level. Most recently, I was the singleton school counselor at Vienna ES since 2016 and found my passion for working with students across grades K-6. I love helping students develop and hone healthy coping skills, while building resilience.

As a school counseling professional, I have presented at state and national conferences and have written articles for the American School Counselor Association and other online publications on topics like bullying, mental health and technology. I was also named the Outstanding Leader for Region 1 in 2018.

I live in Reston with my husband, two young children and two Australian Shepherds. We love going on family adventures (dogs included) in our camper trailer and exploring new places.

I am thrilled to embark on a new school year and join the Forestville ES community!

Shana Schnaue
School Counselor

My name is Shana Schnaue and I am excited to be the new School Counselor at Forestville Elementary! I come to Forestville with 16 years of experience as a School Counselor with 8 years in Fairfax County and 8 years in Montgomery County. I spent the last 6 years at Oakton Elementary.

I live in Loudoun County with my husband Will and my two cats, Tank and Tilly. I am an avid reader and love the beach! I can often be found spending time with friends and family. An interesting fact about me is both of my parents work in education. My dad was an elementary school principal, and my mom was a high school counselor.

Professionally, I am a member of the American Counseling Association, where I have organized and led the First Timer’s Orientation at their yearly conference for 10 years in a row.  I am also a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). While in FCPS, I was awarded the Human Relations Award and was awarded Outstanding Leader by the Oakton Pyramid.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year with Forestville’s community. 

Beth Scwaninger
Instructional Assistant

Hello, I’m Beth Schwaninger. I come to Forestville with over 25 years of experience in FCPS. As well as my role an Instructional Assistant, I’ve taught Special Education and 3rd grade.

I live in Herndon with my husband, son and German Shepherd. My son will be a freshman at JMU this year.

I enjoy mountains, beaches, gardening and have recently been bitten by the pickleball bug. 

I am looking forward to the new adventures at Forestville.