Meet our team
Meet our Special Education Teachers
Special Services Teachers
Jessica Bain
Jessica started with Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy's (OVCA's) high school in 2020 teaching personal finance and special education. She is in her 14th year as an educator. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from University College London, a master’s degree from University of Southern California, and a professional certificate from University of California at Riverside. She has worked in Oklahoma and abroad and is thrilled to be in Oklahoma and part of the OVCA team!
Clarissa Basora
Clarissa started with OVCA in 2020 after one year of teaching in Tulsa Public Schools. She is a special education case manager. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northwestern State University and is currently working on a master's degree in special education with applied behavior analytics at University of Oklahoma. Before becoming a teacher, she worked in the medical field for 10 years as a medical scribe for hospitals, doctors' offices, and surgical centers. She loves to travel with her husband and have grand adventures. When not at work, she is exploring new places, food, and experiences.
Cara Bass
Cara teaches high school special education math at OVCA. She has been teaching math for more than 16 years and moved to OVCA in 2018. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University in 2005.
Janis Burton
Janis is a high school special education teacher. She started with OVCA in 2014 and has been teaching for 17 years. She earned a teaching certificate through University of Georgia, an MBA from Mercer University, and a BBA from University of Missouri. She started teaching after retiring from AT&T in 2000. Janis has taught in Georgia, Kuwait, South Korea, Kosovo, and Oklahoma.
Kelly Cook
Kelly is a special education teacher with more than 20 years of experience in her field. Kelly holds a BA in liberal arts, elementary education and special education. She holds certificates in mentally handicapped, severe-profound/multiple disabilities, learning disability and mild-moderate disabilities.
Kim Evans
Kim has been a special education teacher for more than 16 years. She started with OVCA in 2020. She has two bachelor's degrees, one from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the second from Northwestern Oklahoma State University at Alva. She has met a lot of famous people and has traveled to all 50 states.
Tiffany Furr
Tiffany is a special education teacher servicing both 2nd and 3rd grade students. This is her first year with OVCA. She has been teaching since 2008 after earning her degree from Northeastern State University in education. She holds certifications for both early childhood education and K–12 special education.
Bobbi Gore
Bobbi is an elementary special education teacher.
Ann Guerrant
Ann is an English language arts teacher who joined OVCA middle school in 2019. She enjoys reading, writing, and the joys of being able to go on adventures through a book, which is why she chose this subject to teach. She is grateful that OVCA can provide students the ability to grow and learn in the safety and comfort of their own home.
Sara Jackson
Sara is a University of Central Oklahoma graduate with a BA in English. She began her teaching career at Jarman Middle School in Midwest City teaching 7th grade English language arts (ELA) for four years. Sara then taught 7th grade ELA at OVCA middle school for three years, took a year off, and is back at OVCA middle school in an ELA special services position.
Amy Jaques
Amy Jaques (pronounced jay-cues) joined OVCA as a special education teacher in 2010. She also worked for Arizona Virtual Academy for one year. Before her virtual education years, she taught at Skyline High School in Arizona.
Rebecca McGuffin
Rebecca is one of the 5th grade special education teachers who joined the team in 2016. She has been teaching for approximately 15 years. Rebecca earned her BA and master’s degree in special education at the University of Oklahoma. She holds certifications in mild-moderate and severe-profound special education and elementary education.
Morgan Miller
Morgan began with OVCA in 2020 after six prior years of teaching. She has taught kindergarten, 2nd, and 3rd grades and special education. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and loves all things OSU!
Patience Newsom
Patience is a middle school special education and math teacher. She has both a bachelor's and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Oklahoma. In 2020–2021, she marked her 5th year at OVCA.
Lori North
Lori is a graduate of East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. She is certified in early childhood, elementary and special education. She has been teaching since 2012, including general and special education and has served as a special education director. She taught 4th grade for OVCA from 2015–2018, is currently serving as a 4th grade special education teacher, and she sits on the 2020–2021 school year special education advisory board. She believes school choice is important for all and is so excited to once again be a part of this fantastic program.
Michelle Ochsner
Michelle is a 5th grade special education teacher. She started with OVCA in 2019. She graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science in education in 2011. Her major areas of study included special education, elementary education and early childhood education. Prior to coming to OVCA, she taught for Edmond Public Schools for nine years, working with special education students in grades K–8.
Melissa Parks
Melissa is a special education math teacher who joined OVCA middle school in 2020. Previously, she spent 20 years in education serving in many positions (teaching, counseling, principal, superintendent), teaching a variety of subjects (special education, math, character education, AVID, psychology, personal financial literacy, senior seminar), and serving in a variety of roles (coach, athletic director, AVID district director, special education director, Title I coordinator, outreach and community relations). She has an AA in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from Rogers State University, BSEd in special education from Northeastern State University, MHR in human relations-counseling track from University of Oklahoma, and she has completed all but her dissertation for an EdD in school leadership from Concordia University.
ReJeana Payne
ReJeana has been an educator for 24 years and is in her 3rd year with OVCA as a high school special education teacher. She received a doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma. She plans to continue to build strong relationships with students and families each year. ReJeana strongly believes highly effective instructional strategies will allow students to make academic gains and provide them with living skills that will enable them to be productive citizens within their communities.
Denise Phillips
Denise teaches special education English. She joined OVCA in 2019 with 10 years prior experience in education. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Oklahoma.
Madonna Pittman
Madonna has been a special education teacher for 25 years in Oklahoma and Nevada. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma, a master's degree from the University of Phoenix, and EdS from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Nicole Price
Nicole is a 6th grade math teacher who started with OVCA in 2020 after 19 prior years teaching experience. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from West Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in special education/educational diagnostician from Texas Tech University, and a specialist degree in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University. She has been a teacher, diagnostician/psychometrist, and an elementary and high school principal.
Karlena Riggs
Karlena is a middle school teacher for the OILERS program. She started with OVCA in 2015 after teaching special education for three years prior. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tulsa. In addition to teaching, Karlena is a singer and actress and regularly performs in the Tulsa area.
Mary Riley
Mary is an elementary special education teacher who started with OVCA in 2018 after 14 years prior experience. She has a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in special education.
Jennifer Sissom
Jennifer joined the OVCA middle school team in 2014. Currently, she teaches special education math. She has more than 19 years of teaching experience. Jennifer completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics in 1996, and a master's degree in science education in 2018. She is certified to teach mathematics, science, and special education.
Beth Spinks
Beth is a special education teacher who started at OVCA in 2019, having been in education for more than 10 years. She was a teacher in Texas for eight years. She has a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. She started in elementary special education and was moved to high school in 2019 to fill a need and is glad to be back "home." She believes anyone can learn if information is presented correctly for them.
Danielle Stevens
Danielle is currently a SPED ELA teacher who started with OVCA's high school in 2020. Previously she taught for six years in the Tulsa, Union, and Muskogee districts. She has a bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University. She loves to write, even in her free time.
Shannon Truelove
Shannon is an 11th grade ELA special education teacher who started with OVCA in 2020, and she has been teaching for more than 14 years. After she received her degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, she went right to work teaching at Mustang High School for seven years and then Yukon Middle School for another seven years. Her favorite things to do include teaching, reading, and spending time with her husband and children.
Melanie Vann
Melanie graduated with an elementary education degree from University of Oklahoma, and she earned a master's degree in instructional leadership academic curriculum with an emphasis in mathematics. She has taught in Norman, Florida, and Edmond including pre-K through 6th grade. Her passion is special education. She has a special needs daughter and understands the challenge but is excited by seeing her educational growth.
John Warrior
John is the 12th grade ELA special education teacher. He started with OVCA in 2020 but has been teaching since 2005. He holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from Oral Roberts University. Teaching is his second career.
Mindy Wells
Mindy is a 2005 Texas Woman's University graduate with a bachelor's degree in business administration education. Mindy began her teaching career in Texas and started at OVCA in 2020 with 15 years of prior teaching experience.
