Clinical Staff

Kevin Goodnight
Kevin Goodnight has been working with children with developmental disabilities or autism for over nineteen years. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas Tech University. He is currently completing his Master’s Degree in Psychology Specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis and is under supervision to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Kevin is a husband and father and he loves to travel and play golf in his free time. His focus is helping children find a path where they can thrive and flourish.

Julie Dyer
Julie Dyer is a therapist at Vanguard Preparatory School and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is responsible for group therapy and crisis management within the school. Julie has been with Vanguard since 2007 and has worked with children and teens in a therapeutic setting since 2003. She is most interested in helping children feel successful in their environment and also to learn more about themselves and how to collaborate with others. Julie graduated with a Masters Degree in Science in Clinical Psychology from Radford University in Virginia.

Janette Warne
Janette Warne has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and over 20 years experience treating communication disorders in medical, educational, and university settings. Her primary areas of interest are diagnostics, phonology/highly unintelligible speech, and language-literacy. Janette is also a Vanguard mom and she is committed to helping families discover the difference Vanguard can make for their children.

Jason Mishalanie
Ph.D., Psychological Testing, Neurofeedback and Clinical Program Advisor
Academic learning at Vanguard is distinguished by several critical advantages: a competency-based curriculum aligned to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and customized to each child, a transdisciplinary approach reinforcing key lessons across academic subjects, access to a variety of ways to gain and demonstrate knowledge, and profound respect for individual student interests and gifts.
Competency-based learning leads to better student engagement and better outcomes because the pace of learning is customized to each student. A student who excels in reading but struggles in math, for example, may take college courses in English literature while getting additional help with High School mathematics. The learning process enables students to master skills at their own pace—a pragmatic approach that enhances intellectual engagement while mitigating the potential for frustration and boredom.
A transdisciplinary approach creates unity in different areas of study, helping students to make connections between different types of knowledge. A Social Studies lesson about different political views in a constitutional republic will be reinforced by a Mathematics lesson measuring levels of public support for such different views. English assignments often embed key figures from history during a given period, and study of great accomplishments in science will be reinforced through reading biographies of Nobel Prize winners.
A variety of ways to gain and demonstrate knowledge facilitate early identification of a child’s natural gifts. A child who writes a mediocre essay about the forest biome, for instance, might very well shine in creating a visual model and making a verbal class presentation on the impact of people on the land and resources.
Respect for each child’s individual interests can become a clear path to academic growth in other areas. A passion for oceanography, say, or a fascination with a certain type of art can open the door to a whole world of accomplishment in a child who may previously have had difficulty due to lack of focus.
The curriculum for all students aligns with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and national standards of Activities of Daily Living (ADL). All classes take place in a therapeutic environment expertly addressing social-emotional behaviors that might otherwise impede academic learning.



Vanguard Preparatory School
4240 Sigma Road Dallas, TX 75244
(phone) (972) 404-1616
(fax) (972) 404-1641
(email) [email protected]
Accredited By Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools | TEA Approved | Copyright @ 2018 Vanguard Preparatory School | All Rights Reserved