Experienced educators in physical education, art, dance and music will bring decades of collective expertise to students who enroll this fall at the university’s new full-day, private elementary school serving children with dyslexia.
Four dedicated educators will serve as part-time teaching faculty in physical education, art, dance and music this fall at the Roberts Academy at Elon University, a new private elementary school for children with dyslexia preparing to open its doors for the first time.
Stephen “Steve” Marquis will lead physical education activities, Cammie Berrier will inspire students with art lessons, Heather Pike will introduce students to dance, and Lara Davis will share her lifelong passion for music, expanding the range of learning experiences available to third- and fourth-grade students during the academy’s inaugural year.
The Roberts Academy uses the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction and welcomes its first students in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue for the start of classes on August 18.
The academy will expand to grades 1-6 once a new building opens for the 2028-29 academic year on East Haggard Avenue near the university’s Danieley Neighborhood. Each classroom eventually will be capped at 12 students.
Roberts Academy at Elon University is the most recent of four university-based private schools established through transformational gifts from philanthropists Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida. Similar academies exist at Vanderbilt University, Mercer University, and Florida Southern College.
Roberts Academy at Elon University Enrichment Educators for 2026-27
Stephen “Steve” Marquis
With three decades of experience as a physical education teacher and coach, Steve Marquis has focused his career on helping students develop physical fitness while understanding the connections among exercise, nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
A graduate of Springfield College with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, Marquis most recently taught at Kiser Middle School in Greensboro after spending nearly two decades at East Chapel Hill High School.
Marquis also brings extensive coaching experience to Roberts Academy. He served as head varsity cross country coach at East Chapel Hill High School from 2006 to 2020 and head varsity track coach from 2006 to 2017, along with coaching basketball. His work as a coach has been recognized with multiple Coach of the Year honors.
“As a young child, I was fortunate to have many positive role models who taught me the importance of physical activity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” Marquis said. “Their influence shaped my belief that physical activity plays a vital role in a child’s growth and development.
“Physical activity improves attention, memory, and muscular development while reducing the risk of many health problems. Most importantly, it supports a child’s mental and emotional well-being. I want my students to understand that overall health includes physical, mental, and emotional wellness, and that caring for each of these areas helps them lead happier, healthier lives.”
Cammie Berrier
Cammie Berrier brings more than two decades of experience teaching art in Guilford County Schools along with extensive experience introducing children to art through museums, galleries and summer programs.
A magna cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Berrier earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art education with a minor in English. She spent more than a decade as the art specialist at E.P. Pearce Elementary School in Greensboro following earlier service as an art specialist at 11 Guilford County elementary schools.
During her career in Guilford County Schools, Berrier held leadership roles among elementary art educators and mentored student teachers from UNCG. Student artwork produced under her instruction was selected for exhibitions at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh.
Since 2019, Berrier has continued working with children and the arts through Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, where she serves as a docent and summer art camp instructor. In that role, she develops curricula for weeklong camps for elementary-aged children and leads museum tours.
“I believe the arts are absolutely vital to the development of children,” Berrier said. “Over the years I have taught visual art, I have seen students grow in confidence, creativity and joy in the art-making process. For many students, it is a rare chance to relax, to try new things without fear of failure, and to process and express their emotions. Through considering the work of other artists, students gain an appreciation of other cultures and discover unique ways of seeing the world.”
Heather Pike
An experienced dance educator whose work has focused extensively on inclusive instruction, Heather Pike brings to Roberts Academy more than two decades of experience teaching dance to children with a wide range of abilities.
Pike earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance education from East Carolina University and a Master of Arts in dance education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where her graduate research focused on inclusive dance education.
She works in various capacities as a teaching artist, designing curricula and teaching dance residencies in the community. This includes her work as lead teaching artist with Arts Together in partnership with Access/VSA in Wake County, where she teaches dance residencies in public pre-kindergarten settings.
In addition, through her role as an artist in residence with The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, Pike has taught dance for students with profound disabilities in Orange County Public Schools. She has also worked through the United Arts Council’s Artists in Schools program to lead dance workshops and residencies that integrate dance with literacy instruction for students with different learning styles in elementary schools.
Pike previously served as a lead teaching artist for Carolina Ballet’s educational outreach programs that brought dance to Title I pre-kindergarten classrooms and elementary students through dance and literature integration. While working as a teaching artist, she has been on faculty at Barriskill Dance Theatre School teaching pre-ballet through advanced ballet for several years.
Pike more recently has served as a guest lecturer in Elon’s Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, sharing expertise in dance pedagogy and integration with students studying special education and children’s literature.
“I am passionate about creating inclusive, accessible dance spaces for exploration of artistic expression and communication,” Pike said. “By sharing the joy of movement with my students, I believe integrating dance into everyday learning is a powerful way to strengthen self-awareness and build relationships with others. Dance not only gives students a creative outlet for moving their bodies, but it also provides access to kinesthetic learning and an opportunity to strengthen social-emotional skills.”
Lara Davis
Lara Davis is the owner and founder of Kidstunes Music & Movement program, which serves thousands of children from birth through prekindergarten in dozens of childcare centers throughout central North Carolina.
Davis attended the University of North Florida as a National Merit Scholar and holds a bachelor’s degree in music education, her Level 3 Certification with ECMMA, and has worked as a music educator with young children for over 25 years.
Davis began playing the piano at age 5. She also sings, plays recorder, ukulele, some guitar and percussion. Her background and experience include many years as both performer & accompanist for the renowned UNF Jazz Choir and Chamber Singers, extensive work with music and children in various settings from birth through middle school, varying exceptionalities classrooms, churches, and as director of numerous all-school musical & special event productions.
She has incorporated her experience and research into the very heart of the Kidstunes program, composing original music, continually updating the curriculum & resources, marketing and expanding their services, and personally mentoring each Instructor. Davis is a regular presenter at both national and regional conferences for various organizations in the fields of early childhood and music education, and her in-service training workshops are accredited by the NC Division of Child Development.
“Music has been a passion throughout years of teaching children from infancy through middle school, in public and private schools as well as individual settings,” Davis said. “I have watched countless children who struggle in other academic or behavioral areas truly thrive through music, and I’ve often seen their increased involvement in music translate into growth in other areas such as math, focus, confidence, and self-discipline.
“Most importantly, music gives children a powerful way to express themselves, trust their creativity, experience joy, and find emotional release through listening, moving, playing, and creating. To me, that is the true gift of music. It meets children where they are and gives them another way to discover what they are capable of.”