Our Administration

Ellen and Alan Farnsworth are the owners of Crabapple Academy. Alan recently retired after teaching full time as a Latin teacher at Walton High School. Alan has brought his passion for excellence and his educational expertise to environment at Crabapple Academy. Ellen is our creative powerhouse (and photographer in residence) here at Crabapple Academy. She has her Bachelor of Arts: studying art history, philosophy, literature and film. Ms. Ellen created our Crabapple Academy Legacy Curriculum (A Renaissance Approach to Early Childhood) in 2017. Her inspiration to light a fire in each child’s heart to find, perfect and share their gift is a source from which she draws a huge inspiration in her work. 

She creates an environment here that speaks to the children on a whole-child level and is meant to inspire them to excel in all areas. Ms. Ellen has 17 years of experience in Early Childhood Education. Ellen loves to document the children's growth and learning as a narrative of their journey at Crabapple Academy through her photography. She and Alan have two children, Ivy and Knox, and live here in the Crabapple community. 

Our Director, Micah Miller, has brought three children to our program at Crabapple Academy (two of whom are still on site). She is the engine that makes our team run smoothly and move forward, keeping us all motivated to give our kids the our best every day. 

A home-grown Georgia girl, Micah grew up in Cherokee County, where she met her husband and childhood sweetheart, Blake. They stay near family, raising their three children: Margo, Ash and Sunny. 

Micah's interest in Crabapple Academy and Early Childhood Education began when her oldest child started at C.A. and she was hired as Preschool teacher. Her kindness, consistency, organization, knowledge of early childhood development and work ethic made her a favorite as a teacher here. 

Micah's Director Training in Early Childhood safety, care and curriculum make her a great leader and asset to our parents. She knows all of the safety, health, developmental, food prep, staffing and state-required regulations inside and out. She is well-versed in the stages, phases and expectations for kindergarten readiness, as well as individual milestones and goals for each age and classroom.  

Micah knows each child and family by name and can address both easy and less-easy conversations while keeping each child's well-being as the top priority. She is that rare combination of kind-hearted and practical that just naturally brings out the best in parents, teachers and kids at Crabapple Academy. 

 Our Assistant Director, Jennifer Mallory, has her fifth baby currently here at Crabapple Academy. 

After some years at home with her children, we were so delighted to have Jennifer join our team/family here at Crabapple Academy. 

She began in our infant room and quickly showed a gift for caregiving and parent connections. Her "zen" demeanor creates a calm, happy atmosphere everywhere she chooses to be; often, as everyone enters and exits at our front desk/lobby. 

Jennifer's social butterfly and "people person" disposition brings our community closer. She knows every child, every family and teacher here. Jennifer goes the extra mile to make everyone feel acknowledged and comfortable through the details: recalling cute classroom moments, child favorites and comforts, all the siblings, and even how to handle an "off day" with personal attention and care. 

Jennifer is our resident Procare Curriculum (and app) expert, helping staff use the Procare software to plan learning activities in art, music, small groups, movement, outdoor play and more. She's also great at making sure notifications and updates current so that our parents stay in touch with their child's activity throughout the day. 

 In sum, Jennifer is the mom friend our parents didn't know they always needed at our front desk daily.