Principal/ 6th and 8th Grade Religion Teacher/Athletic Director

Mr. Doug Molin grew up in Minnesota.  He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Concordia College, St. Paul and a Master's of Arts Degree from Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA.  His first call was to St. Luke in Santa Rosa, California where he taught, became the Principal and developed an athletic program.  In 1992, he moved to Dallas, Texas, where he served as Principal and taught various middle school subjects at Zion.   He began at Atonement in 2000.  In addition to being Atonement's Principal, he also teaches middle school religion and serves as the athletic director.  He is a recipient of the Wheat Ridge Ministries Hand of Christ award and was twice named Southern District Educator of the Year (Administrator).  He is married to Lynnette Molin and has two daughters.   Deidre, who lives in  California, welcomed their first grandson, Paul in December of 2020.   Lindsey, who lives in Germany, is an elementary school teacher.

Preschool Director/Preschool 3 Teacher

Mrs. Kelly Langston's teaching career started in 2000 teaching preschool at Memorial Baptist Christian School in Metairie, LA.  In 2006, she came to Atonement to teach third grade, which she taught for 11 years.  In 2017, she became the Preschool Director and teaches a PreK3 class, as well.  She is a Louisiana Certified Professional Educator with a Master's Degree in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) and an Associate Degree in Early Child Development.  She received the Educator of the Year Award in 2014.  Prior to teaching, she worked for 11 years in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry.  She is married to Dave Langston and they have 3 children:  Melissa, Linsday and Matthew.  They are also proud grandparents of their grandson Wyatt.  Their son Matthew graduated with Atonement's 2010 eighth grade class.  He is now a Chemical Engineer. Mrs. Langston feels very blessed to be a part of the Atonement family.

pRESCHOOL 3 TEACHER

mRS. nATALIE rAY

Mrs. Ray is a 2012 graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor's degree in elementary education.  She is certified to teach PreK - Grade 5 and has experience in teaching both Kindergarten and Grade 1 having also served as a preschool assistant.  She is a married mother of two, with her daughter currently enrolled at ALS.  

Preschool 4 Teacher


Mrs. Emily Barlow's teaching career started in 2007 teaching 4th grade at Atonement.  Following that school year, she moved up to Junior High to teach ELA.  After teaching in Junior High for 10 years, she moved to PreK4.  She is a Louisiana Certified Professional Educator with her Early Childhood Certification.  Prior to moving to Louisiana, she lived in Ohio, and attended college at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  She is married to Luke Barlow.  The two of them like camping and traveling to visit their families in Ohio and Tennessee.  Mrs. Barlow enjoys sharing her love of reading with all her students.


Preschool 4 Teacher

mISS alyssa dheming


We are pleased to announce the addition of Ms. Alyssa Dheming who will teach in our PreK4 program beginning in August 2023. Ms. Dheming who has done a great job in Atonement's summer camp program since 2018, has also student taught/interned PreK, Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 since 2021. She will graduate from LSU next month with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from LSU. Because of her previous experience with our summer program and with her mother serving as our Grade 2 teacher, Ms. Dheming is very familiar with the ALS community along with the faculty and staff.





Kindergarten Teacher

Ms. Cherie Groth has been the kindergarten teacher at Atonement since 2008.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans.  She has certification in Early Childhood, English as a Second Language and Reading Specialist.  Ms. Groth has experience teaching preschool to fifth grade in private, public and parochial schools.  She was nominated for Elementary Teacher of the Year in Jefferson Parish and Early Childhood Lutheran Educator of the Year.  She is a native of New Orleans and graduated from Faith Lutheran Elementary School and Lutheran High School.  Her paternal grandparents and her father were also Lutheran educators.  Ms. Groth believes an education centered in Christ is very important to the development of the child.

First Grade Teacher

Mrs. Tina Hellmers began teaching 1st grade at Atonement Lutheran School in 2000.  She taught at St. Paul - First English Lutheran School in New Orleans from 1984-1990.  She was honored to receive the Elementary Educator of the Year award for the the Southern District in 2018.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree from Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska and is certified by the State of Louisiana.  She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern District.  Originally from Missouri, Mrs. Hellmers met her husband after moving to New Orleans. They have three daughters, all Atonement graduates.  She enjoys reading, baking cookies and eating at restaurants.

Second Grade Teacher

Mrs. Donna Dheming was born and raised in the Greater New Orleans area.  She graduated in 1994 from the University Of New Orleans with a degree in elementary education and is certified by the State of Louisiana.  She has taught in both public and Christian schools, taking time off through out the years to be a stay-at-home mom.  Mrs. Dheming is married to Jaime and they have three beautiful daughters:  Hannah, Alyssa and Isabella.  The youngest, Isabella, currently attends Atonement.  She loves to cook and bake, especially cheesecake!

Third Grade Teacher

Mrs. Courtney Verde graduated from Nicholls State University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, but soon realized her true passion was teaching. She became certified in Elementary Education and began her teaching career in Ecole Classique. In 2017, she married Aaron Verde, and they live in Metairie with their two sons Elliot and Elias. 


Fourth Grade Teacher

Mrs. Kelli Gremillion is a native of Louisiana.  In 1998, she graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education (Grades 1-8).  Mrs. Gremillion began teaching at Prince of Peace Lutheran School, in New Orleans, until 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit.  Once schools reopened in October 2005, Mrs. Gremillion began teaching at Atonement Lutheran School, where she is also a church member, and still remains there as the 4th grade teacher.  In her teaching career, she taught 2nd grade for 3 years and the rest of her time has been teaching 4th grade.  In November 2015, Mrs. Gremillion was awarded Teacher of the Year for the Southern District.  Mrs. Gremillion is married to Todd Gremillion and they have three daughters:  Karli, Madyson, and Laci.

Fifth Grade Teacher

Mrs. McDow grew up in a family full of Lutheran teachers, which, had her move around all over the Midwest and Texas.  She graduated from Concordia University of Texas with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education in 2012.  She has taught for six years in Lutheran schools in the New Orleans area.  She taught 4th grade at St. Paul in Marigny and has now taught 5th grade at Atonement since 2014.

Sixth Grade Homeroom/Middle School Science & Math

Mrs. Rachel Harney grew up in the North. From early on, she
dreamt of becoming a Lutheran school teacher. In 1986, Rachel
graduated from Concordia College in River Forest, IL. Her first
call was to Salem Lutheran in Gretna, LA. In 1995, she was
called to Atonement Lutheran, where she taught 5th grade,
directed the children's choir and taught music classes. She
currently teaches middle school Math and Science. She loves
teaching and is extremely passionate about her students. In
2016, she took and passed additional Praxis tests, allowing her to
teach high school science courses. She has been teaching in

Lutheran Schools for 35 years. Rachel is married to Ray Harney.
They have three children, all of who attended Atonement. Her
daughter, Mrs. Chloe Soignier, is the 8th grade teacher at
Atonement. In her free time, Rachel loves to spend time with her
grandson, Austin. She also enjoys running, camping and
attending musical events

Seventh Grade Homeroom/Middle School Social Studies/Assistant Principal

Mr. LeBlanc started teaching back in 1996 at Salem Lutheran School.  He served in various capacities including 7th grade homeroom teacher, Youth Director and Assistant Principal until 2011.  Mr. LeBlanc is a graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin where he earned his degree in Mathematics and Education.  He also served one year at St. Cletus Catholic School before joining the Atonement faculty in 2013.  He is happily married to Julie and they just welcomed their son, Christian, in December of 2020.

eighth Grade Teacher

Mrs. Soignier attended Atonement and graduated in 2008. She attended Louisiana State University and University of New Orleans for her teaching certification. She began teaching at Atonement in 2016 and taught third grade for five years. She is now teaching middle school English Language Arts.

Mrs. Soignier enjoys hiking and traveling. She likes spending time with her friends, family, and baby Austin. 

Foreign Language Facilitator/Technology

Mrs. Wismar is an Atonement alumni and married her 2nd grade best friend, Erik, another ALCS alumni.   Their three children all graduated from Atonement, too.  Their two sons, Nikolas and Jakob are both in college while their youngest, Kaitlyn, is in high school.    She enjoys working with children to  encourage excitement about learning, build good character, increase their confidence, and grow healthy and strong relationships, especially their one with Jesus Christ.  She has a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida.  She currently teachers Foreign Language, Technology and General Music at Atonement. 

Music Director and Teacher

Mr. Evan Arceneaux attended Atonement Lutheran School from kindergarten through eighth grade, graduating in 2008.  He graduated summa cum laude from Valparaiso University, an independent Lutheran university in Northern Indiana, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in music (piano performance) and English Literature.  At Valparaiso University, Mr. Arceneaux received a faith-based, liberal arts education, receiving instruction in music theory, ear-training, voice, piano, and organ.  He offers a diverse skill set, which includes improvisation, conducting, hymn-playing, chamber music, accompanying, and ensemble performance.  After graduating from Valparaiso, Mr. Arceneaux participated in a scholarship program that allowed him to spend one year in Rennes, France, where he taught English to French high school students.  Mr. Arceneaux's passion for education has led him to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Centenary College of Louisiana he graduated in May 2018.  Upon graduation, Mr. Arceneaux was state-certified to teach elementary, K-12 music and K-12 French.

Art Teacher

Mrs. Cook was called to teaching art at the very young age of four.  Her imaginary class became real in college during student teaching and she has been at it ever since!

She received her Bachelor's degree in English and Art Education at LSU and her Master's in Gifted Ed at UNO.  She also holds certification for teaching the Severe and Profound Emotionally Disabled and has shared Comprehensive Arts Education strategies in Getty training institutes throughout the country.  She has taught Art to students from PreK to 12th grade in public, parochial and private schools.  Mrs. Cook believes a classroom environment should accommodate the needs of individual students while still promoting a high level of critical thought, lively participation and discussion. 

Of course, Mrs. Cook loves making and viewing art of all kinds.  She enjoys watching her husband renovate their Uptown home and taking long road trips with him and their fifteen-year old "puppy", Buddy D.

PE Teacher

Karol Lee attended Nichols State University where she majored in Physical Education.  She is a member of Atonement Lutheran Church and has been coaching here since 1995.  She has two daughters Kori and Michelle who graduated from Atonement.  She also works as a Rehab Tech at Bayside Nursing Home.

Administrative Assistant/School Office

MISS ABIGAIL POLLET