About the instructor

Debbie Lanier has been teaching for more than 21 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.

Some of the schools that have had Nature in a Nutshell classes: Cherokee County
Arnold Mill Elementary  
Cobb County
Brown Elementary
Bullard Elementary
Compton Elementary
East Side Elementary
Keheley Elementary
Kemp Elementary
Lewis Elementary
Rocky Mount Elementary
Russell Elementary
Still Elementary    
Paulding County
Panter Elementary
Shelton Elementary  
Private Schools
Alpharetta Montessori School
The Porter School
Kid Connection - Canton
Bridgeway Academy - Alpharetta
First Baptist Christian School - Kennesaw

Mrs. Lanier also works with the Epstein School as a science consultant and has helped with teacher training for Cobb County Schools.