Meet our Acorn Team
PASSION PREVAILS HERE
CHRIS MANNEN
SCHOOL FOUNDER, TEACHER MENTOR
Chris graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Kentucky University. She taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grades in Lexington, Kentucky and in Greeley, Colorado while her husband Tony attended graduate school. They came to Idaho in 1975 for Tony to teach Speech and Drama at The College of Southern Idaho. She then taught kindergarten in Kimberly until their twin sons, Josh and Dan, were born in 1977. When they began preschool in 1980, Chris became involved as an aide and then as a teacher at Horizon Learning Center. Chris, Diana Westermann, and Bernice Roesler started Acorn when Horizon closed. Chris has taught preschool, kindergarten, primary, and advance students. Chris says she has loved watching Acorn grow.
Terri Swensen
HEAD TEACHER & ELEMENTARY TEACHER 1ST - 2ND GRADE
Terri graduated from Brigham Young University with a BS in Elementary Education, after finishing her student teaching in China. She taught 4th grade in Utah for two years and then moved to California with her husband, Andrew. While in California, Terri spent time as a substitute for various elementary schools until she and Andrew moved back to their hometown of Twin Falls. She is a proud mom of 4 boys and a daughter-in-law. She enjoys family time, reading, puzzles, outdoors, traveling and teaching awesome students at Acorn Learning Center! Terri happily re-entered the wonderful world of teaching in 2012 and taught kindergarten at Acorn Learning Center for the past 11 years. She is excited to teach the 1st and 2nd grade students and looks forward to a spectacular year!
JaNae Swensen
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER
JaNae Swensen is excited to be teaching kindergarten at Acorn Learning Center. JaNae grew up in South Jordan, Utah right in the middle of a large family of 7 children. She earned her BS Degree in Early Childhood Education from Utah State University in Logan, Utah. She taught summer migrant school with HeadStart in Logan and was a nanny for a family in addition to her student teaching assignments associated with her degree. After graduating and having her first child in Logan she moved to Twin Falls with her husband to work in the family business (Swensen’s Markets). JaNae is the mother of five wonderful children- 3 girls and 2 boys. JaNae has been actively involved in her children's education / music / sports and 4H. In 2018, when her youngest child started Kindergarten, JaNae joined the acorn staff as the preschool teacher. JaNae now teaches Kindergarten at Acorn and she loves it!! JaNae also loves to cook, bake, read, sing and enjoy the outdoors with her family.
Alexia mireles
ELEMENTARY TEACHER 3RD - 5TH GRADE
Alexia was born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated from both College of Southern Idaho and Boise State University. Most of her free time is devoted to her four younger siblings. A fun fact is that she and her youngest sibling are 25 years apart! She has experience in early childhood education as well as administrative roles.
kAYLA KIDD
PRESCHOOL TEACHER
Kayla or Mrs. Kidd was born and raised here in Twin Falls. She has a husband and two daughters, AceLynn 7 and McKenna 3. She also has a small white fuzzy Pomeranian named Tinsley! In her free time, she loves spending time outdoors camping, hiking, swimming, and making memories with her family. She also enjoys baking yummy treats in the kitchen! She is currently studying elementary education.
Felicity Bearce
PRESCHOOL AID
Felicity, also known as Mrs. Annie, was born and raised here in Twin Falls. After high school she joined the Navy and left home for a couple of years. She returned home to raise her babies and has loved every second of it. Her families is made up of 3 daughters, Braylynn(7), Zailee(4), Kingsley(3), and 1 son, Bennie(3 months). Her family enjoys being outside spending time together and going on adventures! She is overjoyed to have the opportunity to help in the classroom and watch your children grow throughout the school.
LEANNE SASSER Harless
ART TEACHER
LeAnne received her BFA in sculpture and photography in 2002 from the University of Montana. She is a practicing sculptor and her favorite medium is steel. In 2014, she worked on a collaborative large-scale sculpture at American Steel Studios in Oakland, CA and on the Jewels art vehicle at the Xanadu community center in Boise. She displayed a sculpture in the Magic Valley Art and Soul in 2016. LeAnne lives in Kimberly with her children and dogs, Buddy and Sadie. They enjoy traveling, playing outdoors, rock climbing, bike riding and funny movie nights with popcorn. Teaching art at Acorn is one of the highlights of her week. She looks forward to making lots of fun art projects and exploring with the students this year as they develop their artistic skills.
taylor cornell-holyoak
MUSIC TEACHER
Taylor Cornell grew up in Twin Falls and continues to raise her family here. She is excited to join Acorn Learning Center. She loves the arts and can’t wait to enhance students' appreciation for music. She has a background in theater and voice, loves learning and having new experiences, and has a passion for teaching.
