Paragon Prep

Joey was born in Albuquerque, NM and was raised in El Paso, TX. After graduating from high school he worked while going to college part-time; eventually going to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and transferring to and graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas, majoring in Psychology with in minor in Communication. Joey then moved to Austin, TX in 2007, continuing to work and eventually received his masters degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas in Austin in 2013.

​Joey has been working with children for more than 15 years, 7 of them within the educational system. He has two young children of his own.

​“I’m trying to make people become the best versions of themselves possible, all the while appreciating the struggle that it takes. Life is not measured on where one ends up, but the obstacles one had to overcome to get there.”

​Mr. Joey joined the Paragon Team in 2015.

Mr. Joey’s YouTube Channel.

Valor Program

Ms. Sreekantham joins Paragon with 8 years of science teaching and curriculum development experience. She earned her BS degree in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology from the University of California, and an MS in Biotechnology from Penn State.

A resident of Austin since 2003, she worked as a DNA analyst for a decade before shifting gears to teaching. Her passion for excellent education extends to UT – mentoring college students in the UTeach program – and also extends to her service on the Board of Directors at Williams Community School.

Rama Sreekantham joined the Paragon Team in 2020.

Kate Wade graduated with a Bachelors of Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Her major was Textiles and Apparel, which included fashion design, visual displays and graphic art combined with a science aspect of chemistry labs and fabric testing. While studying fashion, she developed a strong admiration for costume design, and it continues to be a source of her inspiration. While attending UT, she developed skills that would lead into working on fashion shows, collaborative projects and avant-garde photo shoots with local artists.

​Her passion has always been pursuing a career in art. She has been a practicing artist from a young age, exploring many different forms and media. Kate has since finely tuned her skills in acrylic painting and pastel drawing, with an emphasis on mixed media. She continues to play with art while working in her studio in her spare time.

She began teaching adults to paint in 2012, and found the pure joy of helping others how to hone their skills. Teaching kids was the next part of her calling, and she found immense joy working with the youngest artists. She continues to work with kids, teaching ceramics and pottery painting.

She has a young artist of her own named Zeke, who is the center of their world. They enjoy spending as much family time as possible. Kate is excited and eager to share her love of teaching and learning with the Paragon community.

​Kate Wade joined the Paragon Team in 2018.

Jacob was born and raised in San Antonio and moved to Austin where he graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2013. He received a Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health Education, with a specialization as a Fitness Instructor. Jacob spent his college years learning about the human body and gained valuable experience training athletes and the general public through class work and internships.

Along with coaching at Paragon, Jacob is a Lonestar Soccer Club Jr. Academy coach. He also has experience as a speed/agility and strength coach for youth athletes of all sports, ages, and skill levels.

​He is excited to continue using his skills to help Paragon students grow on and off the field, in all aspects of life.​

Jacob White joined the Paragon Team in 2013.

Mr. Wyatt grew up in Bellville, a small town in Texas. He graduated from Southwest Texas with a B.A. in Anthropology. Followed by a Master in Religious Studies from Austin Seminary. Retired from AISD after 24 years of teaching 8th grade American History at Murchison Middle School. Outside of work, Mr. Wyatt enjoys triathlons and puttering around his workshop.

Rachel Yeager was born in New Jersey and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she participated in high level competitive soccer and basketball and eventually ultimate frisbee– experiences which influence her coaching style today.

In 2012, she moved to Austin to participate in the Personal Trainer Certification Program at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Professional Education in collaboration with the World Instructor Training Schools.  Rachel is a level I Certified Functional Strength Coach, and hopes to complete level II in the future.  Rachel’s experience with coaching youth is extensive and well rounded.

Rachel served as a lead coach with Soccer Shots where she became an expert in developing motor skills for children 2-8 years old via soccer.

She honed her craft with Lonestar Jr. Academy and Soccer Shots for more than a decade and is a Licensed Soccer Coach via US Soccer.

Her experience with middle and high school aged children came from her coaching position at Meyer Athletic Development where she taught sport related speed and strength training.

Rachel still maintains a passion for ultimate frisbee and plays on the Austin Torch, a women’s and non-binary professional ultimate frisbee team.

She is a founding co-president of this non-profit team and has served in this role since 2019.  Rachel brings unique and valuable  knowledge to coaching and physical education curriculum design via her passion of efficient strength training, injury prevention and developmentally sound curriculum design. Rachel joined the Paragon Team in 2021

Crystal Young holds an education degree from the University of North Texas and has enjoyed 23 years of teaching young children in the Dallas and Austin public school systems. Most recently from Austin’s Sunset Valley Elementary School, she was their Teacher of the Year for the 2014-15 school year.

Ms. Young looks forward to putting her knowledge and experience to work in the shaping of her own Pre-School Program at Paragon, working with the school’s littlest of learners. Crystal enjoys cooking/baking, catching up with friends over dinner, making jewelry and scouring the internet for new things to learn.

​Crystal Young joined the Paragon Team in 2017.

Patty Young graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Illinois University, where she also swam. After graduating in 2008, she left the midwest and came to Austin, TX to teach 8th grade Writing at Ojeda Middle School in Del Valle ISD. She spent 6 years teaching at Ojeda, followed by 2 years at Del Valle High School. Her most recent teaching experience was 7th grade language arts at Murchison Middle School.

Patty loves to organize, swim, and spend time with those she loves, even if that means FaceTiming her nieces and nephews that live in Illinois and California.

Ms. Young joined the Paragon team in 2022.