FACULTY & STAFF BIOS

JONI SHAW-PROPHETE School Nurse

Joni Shaw-Prophete has been a nurse for 27 years including 10 years as a public health nurse in Boston providing health education through workshops and small classes. The other portion of her nursing career has been in school nursing which she has come to love. Born and raised in Boston, Joni raised her children here as well. She is a mom of 7 (4 biological and 3 bonus children) and a Nini (grandmother) of 2. Joni’s passion is helping people understand and have access to comprehensive healthcare and she’s always looking for ways to both educate and empower the community. Joni can be reached at jshaw@ beaconacademy.org.

What are your hobbies outside of work/school?

Double Dutch, gymnastics, and dancing.

SARAH SMITH Director of Student Support Services

Sarah White Smith has over 13 years of experience as an urban school counselor, most recently serving as the founding school counselor at the Orchard Gardens Pilot School, a former Level IV school located in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Prior to her career in school counseling, Sarah worked as an after-school program director for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Urban Services division, providing place-based extended day programming for middle school students residing in public housing communities in the Metropolitan Nashville area. Sarah holds both a B.S. in Human and Organizational Development (Organizational Leadership and Effectiveness Concentration) and an M.Ed. in school counseling from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Sarah can be reached at ssmith@beaconacademy.org.

What is a life lesson you have learned?

When you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything at all. Take a moment, reflect, ask for help, and the next steps will become clear. Impulsive decisions are rarely the best ones.