Joy Marcus

Joy Marcus is from London, Ontario, Canada and holds dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, due to her mother’s roots in Amarillo, Texas. Joy’s lifelong love of languages was kindled when her parents enrolled her in the French Immersion program offered in Canada’s public schools. She later became interested in learning Spanish while studying at Western University and interrupted her formal education to spend a year living in Santiago, Chile. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Joy went on to earn a Bachelor of Education degree and then spent two years gaining invaluable experience as a substitute teacher for the public school board in her hometown.

Joy’s travel adventures continued when she moved to São José dos Campos, Brazil in 2009 where she learned Portuguese while working at Esfera Escola Internacional for six years. There she trained as a Primary Years Program teacher and grew in her practice of inquiry-based learning while acting as a lead English teacher in each of the primary grades. Joy was also delighted to play an instrumental role in helping students develop a love for reading as a specialist library teacher for grades 1-5.

In 2015, Joy began teaching at Magellan as the first grade English teacher. She soon became fascinated and intrigued by a specific subset of students who, despite great effort on their part, struggled to acquire basic reading and writing skills within the regular classroom. Motivated by an acute desire to help these students succeed, she embarked on a journey to learn how to teach reading and writing using an explicit, multisensory and systematic approach. She is set to become a fully qualified Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) through the Academic Language Therapy Association in the fall of 2022.

Joy was thrilled to transition into the role of Language Specialist to provide reading intervention classes for students in grades 1-3 who need specific support to become independent readers and writers. She is passionate about children and feels incredibly fortunate to be a part of the Magellan community.

Outside of school, Joy enjoys gathering around food with friends, running Austin streets and trails with her dog, Mr. Darcy, and exploring the Hill Country.

LEARNING SPECIALIST - K-3 ALLISON MCCALLUM

Allison is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Most recently she served in administration at Langston Hughes Academy Charter School in New Orleans as the Response to Intervention Coordinator. She has taught K-5 English at the International School of Denver, the Harriet Tubman Montessori Charter School, and the International School of Louisiana. Allison taught English at Magellan from from 2018-2019 and colleagues are delighted at her return.

Allison enjoys working in a multi-cultural environment, building meaningful relationships with students, families, and colleagues. She is passionate about advocating for and supporting students with learning differences and strives to instill this enthusiasm in her students through identifying unique learning styles, interests, and talents.

Allison holds a Bachelor of Science degree in History and English from Mississippi College and a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from the University of New Orleans. She holds a dual certification in elementary education and special education.

Allison enjoys reading and cooking in her free time.