About the instructor

Debbie Lanier has been teaching for more than 25 years. She began her teaching career as a Montessori teacher in Athens, Georgia, then returned to school and earned a BS in Agriculture from the University of Georgia with a major in Plant Sciences. After working in the landscape and nursery industry for seven years, Mrs. Lanier became certified in Early Childhood Education and taught at High Meadows School in Roswell, Georgia. She began teaching in the Cobb County School system in 1994. In 1996, seeing a need for science education in elementary school, Mrs. Lanier developed a science program called “Nature” for Compton Elementary School. She taught the Nature program at Compton for nine years, to all students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Mrs. Lanier was District Science Teacher of the Year in 1997 and in 1998 was Compton’s Teacher of the Year and was a TBS Super Teacher.

Mrs. Lanier has developed many successful experiential lessons that integrate science with other subject areas, teach required content, and spark in students an interest in and curiosity about the natural world.