STUDENT SUPPORT
The Student Support Team is dedicated to supporting the individual needs of students and classrooms to ensure that every day at Hope Creek Academy is one founded on healthy relationships, creative and inclusive problem-solving, and a commitment to academic and social-emotional success.
Mr. Miller
School Counselor
Taylor Miller recently completed his Master’s Degree in School Counseling from North Carolina Central University. Prior to serving as Hope Creek’s School Counselor, Mr. Miller worked as both a classroom teacher and student support specialist since joining the school in 2016. Mr. Miller believes that students achieve success when the partnership between school and home is strong and when students can see the results of their hard work through positive feedback systems. In his free time, Taylor enjoys playing golf and listening to the Grateful Dead.
taylor.miller@hopecreek.net
Mr. Dixon
Student Support Specialist
Salem/Colan Dixon is originally from Fayetteville, NC, and has a background in both criminal technology and criminal justice, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree from Appalachian State University. After graduation, Salem joined Hope Creek Academy as a primary teacher and transitioned to student support specialist in 2023. Salem’s philosophy is rooted in a trauma-informed approach that believes that every child deserves to feel safe, seen, and heard. Through positive relationships and role modeling, Salem believes that a child’s capacities to self-regulate, engage socially, and experience joy are skills that can be cultivated and sustained throughout a lifetime.
colin.dixon@hopecreek.net
Ms. Newman
Student Support Specialist
Ms. Newman started her career at Hope Creek Academy as a classroom teacher in Independence Academy. While there, she developed her own perspectives and ways of integrating social-emotional learning into her Language Arts classes. After certifications in both Social Thinking and Mindful Schools curricula, she moved to the Student Support staff where her philosophy is rooted in the belief that each student’s grounded experience of his or her world is the doorway to success. Success comes in many shapes and sizes, and when we can skillfully relate to ourselves as we are, we can skillfully make use of all the resources around us.
julia.newman@hopecreek.net