Our Team

Faculty

The amazing team at Foundations have earned degrees and certifications in a variety of subjects, including Special Education, Child Development, Psychology, English, Math, Science, Musical Theatre, Business Administration, Amen Clinic Brain Health, Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Program, and more. Additionally, our teachers are required to participate in extensive on-going training throughout each school year in order to maintain certification in the Foundations program.

Over the past decade, our team has developed individualized plans for hundreds of at-risk students who struggle with learning challenges, as well as students who have been impacted by early childhood trauma.

MEET OUR TEAM…

Jimelle Carlson

Co-Founder / School Director

Hello, my name is Jimelle Carlson, and I have the honor of being the School Director for Foundations Cognitive Schools. As a teen, I volunteered in a special education classroom, and I knew instantly that my mission in life was to work with at-risk youth and to help find solutions for struggling students who so often fall through the cracks. At Foundations Cognitive Schools, our vision has been to develop a program for children that offers hope, and helps students grow to their full potential. Our goal is to move beyond the standards of traditional special education, and to instead focus on cognitive development and the psychology that produces long-term change in the brain. As a result, we have watched student after student experience growth, and in-turn, find joy and self-confidence that they previously did not think was possible. I feel blessed beyond measure to get to spend my days doing what I love and being part of our students’ growth journey.

I am a certified Amen Clinics Brain Health Specialist. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Arizona State University and a Master of Education: Inclusive Learning, Special Education, and Universal Design from the University of San Diego. I am a certified Arrowsmith Cognitive Teacher, I have received certification in TCU’s Trust-Based Relational Intervention Program, Moyer’s Learning Systems, Advanced Brain Technologies Listening Program, and am a licensed Tomatis Practitioner.

My husband, Ed, and I have six wonderful children between us – three boys and three girls – and two precious grandchildren. We also have a goofy German Shepherd, and two cats (who think they are dogs), so our house is definitely full of love and laughter. We are very involved at our church, where I assist the tech team, my husband plays guitar, and our children sing on the worship team.

One of my favorite quotes is, “We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.” – Charles R. Swindoll