Meet the Education Team
Kara Grafft
Kara Grafft is an Education Liaison with Four Oaks Education. Kara’s experience in mental/behavioral health and inpatient and community based services is complemented by the many years she’s spent studying and teaching yoga, meditation and mindfulness techniques. Kara is deeply invested in helping to create and support systems that are focused on the well-being of children.
“I feel so fortunate to work with and support educators in the state of Iowa. The capacity for our school systems to support not only the academic achievement of our children, but their physical and mental well-being is tremendous. I am inspired by the possibilities every day.”
Megan Isenberg
Megan has provided social work services in Cedar Rapids area for 13 years. Ten of those years have focused on high-poverty neighborhoods, such as Wellington Heights and Oakhill-Jackson. With a background in school social work, Megan has partnered with vital neighborhood schools to bring much needed resources to youth and families in high-risk neighborhoods. She has mentored numerous social workers, educators, and administrators in implementing a coordinated care model for integration of education and community-based support services.
As a Licensed Master Social Worker, Megan provides essential support to the administrative team at the neighborhood elementary and middle schools. She assists schools with developing a consultation process for educators seeking assistance with students experiencing Adverse Childhood Experiences, establishing a coordinated referral and care system, and facilitating ongoing communication and case management between the school system, community service organizations, and families.
Since 2020, Megan has been the Four Oaks Prevention Services Director. In this role, Megan provides administrative oversight of a variety of youth, family, education, and community prevention services. Outside of Megan’s role at Jane Boyd, she holds an adjunct faculty position at Mount Mercy University’s Department of Social Work. In this role Megan serves as an educator and mentor to students as they pursue higher education in the helping fields.
Kelli Mitchell
Kelli has been apart of Four Oaks for the last 13 years working in the residential programs and helping bridge the gap with the schools. Kelli also has her Master’s in Science of Education School Counseling.
Kelli has spent the last 9 years building relationships with the Mason City School district and school districts in North Iowa in effort to help understand how trauma has impacted youth’s thoughts and reactions to stress and guide the staff’s interactions with youth.
Kelli oversees the daily operations of Therapeutic Classrooms hosted at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Community School District as well. She has worked closely with the education staff in providing insight, trauma-informed approaches, support, and an environment where kids can find success in school and love learning again.
Brittany Roberts
Brittany Roberts is an Education Liaison with Four Oaks Education. Brittany’s background is in public school education, where she served as a high school teacher and instructional coach. She focuses on implementing best classroom practices in social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, and other aspects of wellness and regulation. She is very passionate about helping adults practice a work/life balance, emotional regulation, and self-awareness in order to model real strategies and thinking for students.
Brittany partners with school districts to determine goals for social-emotional learning and restorative practices and then provides professional learning and modeling around those topics. She is thankful that school districts are focused on providing a socially and emotionally safe environments that will help kids thrive not only academically but also as gracious and resilient members of society.