Staff Profiles
Rhonda is the
Director of McGregor Preschool. She started at McGregor in 1985. She has taught
Kindergarten, First Grade and Preschool. She has a Masters of Education in
Early Childhood Education from University of South Carolina. Rhonda also teaches Early Childhood
Education classes as an adjunct instructor for Midlands Technical College and is a Master Trainer for South Carolina continuing education. She is married
with two sons – one a 6th grade teacher in North Carolina and the other in high school. She enjoys
running and reading.
Paige started
teaching the two day three year olds in 2006 and she is thrilled to be the
Kindergarten teacher starting in 2007. Paige is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early
Childhood Education and a Master of Education degree in Reading. She is a former Kindergarten and 1st
grade teacher. She has been married to her husband, Brad, for 25 years and has
four children. Hayley is at University of South Carolina, Lenlee is at Irmo High School, Cole is at Irmo Middle School and Reece is at Irmo Elementary. Paige
has been a member at McGregor since 1994 and serves as a Sunday School teacher and Youth Leader. In her spare time (ha ha),
she enjoys watching high school and college football, photography, scrapbooking
and cooking.
Jenny is the
associate teacher in the five year old Kindergarten Class, and she has taught
at McGregor since 1985. She has an AD from the University of South Carolina and she worked for the Federal
Government for 10 years before coming to McGregor. Jenny has been married for 36
years and has a son, Justin, who earned his Ph.D. from USC in 2006 and works as
Senior Research Engineer for Exxon/Mobil in Houston, Texas. His wife, Valerie, teaches 2nd
grade. She also has a daughter, Amanda, who has a MAT in Education and a
Master's Degree in Mathematics. She teaches math at Charleston Southern
University. Amanda’s husband, Dan,
attends graduate school at the College of Charleston. Jenny’s favorite pastime is going to
movies.
Jan is the co-teacher
for the five day four year old class with Amy Sgorrano.
She started teaching at McGregor in 1987 when her children attended. She
graduated from Columbia Business College with a degree in Secretarial Science,
and worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for twelve years prior to
being a stay-at-home mom. Her children both are USC graduates and both live in Columbia. Her
daughter, Neilly, is married to Michael Weeks from
Cameron, SC and her son, Harrison, is a Graphic Designer with IMIC Hotels in
Irmo. Jan enjoys reading, gardening and crossword puzzles.
Amy teaches the five
day four year old class with Jan Croft.
She graduated from The State University of New York at Plattsburgh with a degree in Elementary
Education. Amy is married to Todd with
three children: two boys, eight and six, and one girl, three. She enjoys going to the beach, camping,
swimming and reading.
Jude teaches five
day four year olds with Laura Hamilton and also teaches science to our
Kindergarten and four year old classes. Jude started substitute teaching at
McGregor in 2006 and began teaching full time in 2007. She has a Bachelor of
Science degree from East
Carolina University. Jude and her husband, Hunter, have been
married for eleven years. He is a Meteorologist at the National Weather
Service, and they have a six year old son, Hayes and an older daughter, Lainey. Jude has been a stay at home mom for the past 7
years. She and her family moved to Irmo last year to be closer to family in North Carolina.
Laura teaches
five day four year olds with Jude Coleman. She started at McGregor in 2005.
Originally from New
York,
she attended college for Nursing at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, New York. Laura has been married to her husband,
Scott, for 20 years. They have three
children Alexa (16), Bryce (13) and Gabi (9). She
enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her family and pets. She and her
family attend Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church.
Kay has been
teaching at McGregor since 1995. She is currently teaching the three day four
year old class with Karen Fields. Prior to becoming a McGregor Preschool
teacher she was an active member of the McGregor Preschool Board. Kay,
originally from Tennessee, graduated from The University of
Tennessee at Memphis with a B.S. degree in dental hygiene.
For several years, in Memphis and Atlanta, she worked as a dental hygienist. Before
coming to work at McGregor Preschool, she also worked as a corporate events
planner. She has been married to her husband Mike for 25 years, and they have
two children. Her daughter Mallory is a Clemson University graduate and lives here in Columbia.
Her son, Mitch, is now a freshman at Clemson. Kay’s interests include
reading, playing tennis, and traveling with her family. She and her family
attend Riverland Hills Baptist Church.
Karen co-teaches
three day four year olds with Kay Corbett and the two day three year olds with
Kathy Young. She began teaching at McGregor in 1999. She has a BA in Elementary
Education from Augusta College (now known as Augusta State). After graduation, she taught in the
Reading Recovery Program for 1st through 5th grades at Wheeless Road Elementary School in Augusta, GA. She is married to Curtis Fields, a USC
School of Engineering graduate. He is employed with SCANA. They have called
Irmo home for 26 years. They have three children. Justin (24), Ali (21), and Hayden
(13) are McGregor "graduates". In her spare time, she enjoys looking
through cookbooks for new ideas in the kitchen, gardening, and trips to the
beach!
Maureen
co-teaches three year olds on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 2 ˝ year olds on
Tuesday and Thursday with Kellie Leslie. Maureen has taught at McGregor since
2001. She is married to Mark and they have three children. Maureen moved from Forest Hills, NY to attend the University of South Carolina. Go Gamecocks!
Kellie teaches
three day three year olds and two day two year olds with Maureen Taylor. She
started working at McGregor in 2006. She has two children, Nicolas and Jake who
both attended McGregor Preschool. She has a BA in Sociology from West Virginia University. Kellie is originally from Moorestown, New Jersey. She enjoys working with a local pet
rescue organization. Come see me if you would like to add an animal companion
to your family!
Beth teaches
three day three year olds with Kathy Young and two day two year olds with Kim
Neville. Beth started teaching at McGregor in 1999. Beth is married to Chris
and they have three children: Michaela (14), Sadie (10) and Callahan (2). All
three of her children have gone to McGregor Preschool and Callahan is currently
enrolled there now. Beth attended college at Salem State where she majored in Elementary
Education.
Kathy teaches
three day three year olds with Beth Bradley and two day three year olds with Karen
Fields. She has taught at McGregor since 1996. Over the years, she has taught
the one year old, two year olds and four year olds. Kathy has a BA Degree in
Psychology: Guidance/Counseling from Newberry College and a MEd degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina. She lives in Lexington with her 14 year old son, Chandler, who is a 9th grader at Lexington High School. They are members of Lexington Baptist Church. She also has two adult sons – Will
lives in Charleston and Brad who also lives in Charleston with his wife, Jade and daughter Kali
Price. Prior to moving to Lexington four years ago, McGregor was their
church home for 20 years.
Kim teaches the
two day two year olds with Beth Bradley. She has served on the Preschool Board
of Directors, been a member of Parent Council, and Parent Council President for
two years. She and her family are members of McGregor Presbyterian Church. She
also taught the preschool Sunday School class at
McGregor for 4 years and the Kindergarten Sunday School class. She and her
husband have two girls, Katie (10) and McKenzie (7), who both attended McGregor
throughout their preschool careers. Both of her girls are now at Irmo
Elementary. Her favorite past times include spending time
with her family, boating, and traveling.
Katherine is our
newly appointed Business Manager for the Preschool. She taught at McGregor
Preschool from 1996 to 2008 in various age groups. Katherine graduated from USC
with a BS degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. She and her husband
Tom have 2 boys. Katherine is a very active member of Union United Methodist Church in Irmo. Her family loves to play
tennis. Katherine is currently playing on 3 tennis teams.
Susan teaches
three day two year olds with Lynne Medlock. She has been at McGregor since
1988. She attended USC – Spartanburg. Susan is married to Scott Dickerson and
has two children – Matt, 26 and Megan 22. Their family is a member or McGregor.
They enjoy the beach and attending USC football games.
Lynne teaches
three day two year olds with Susan Dickerson. She started teaching at McGregor
in 1995. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Auburn University where she met her husband, Joe. They
have three children – Hannah 18, a freshman Clemson, Hunter a senior at Irmo High School, and Erin 7, a second grader. Her family
enjoys the beach, playing tennis and snow skiing.
Lisa teaches the
Mothers Morning Out classes with Brenda Teague. She began teaching at McGregor
in 2002. She holds a B.S. degree from California State University at Northridge. She also works with after
school children at All Star Gymnastics in the afternoons. Lisa is married with
two daughters and she enjoys scuba diving, cross stitching and reading.
Brenda started at
McGregor in 1994. She has worked with 2 and three year olds and currently co-teaches
the Mothers Morning Out class, five days with Lisa Rasnick.
Brenda is married and has two grown daughters. The Teague family has lived in Columbia for 23 years, originally from Charlotte. Brenda attended Western Carolina University. She loves most any beach, spending time
on the lake with family and friends and supporting the USC Gamecocks. Along
with her family, she is an active member at Union United Methodist Church.
Amy began at
McGregor as a substitute teacher in 2007.
This year she will be teaching music. Amy has a Bachelor’s Degree in
Family Studies from Messiah College in Pennsylvania. Amy has taught preschool and directed
an after-school program. For the last 6 years, Amy has stayed home with her
children – Mackenzie (6) and twins Cierra and Skylar (3). In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with
her husband of 12 years, playing with her kids, reading, and listening to
music. Currently, Amy directs a children’s choir and sings with the worship
team at Ashland United Methodist Church. Amy always looked at music as a hobby
and is very excited to share her love of children’s music here at McGregor.
Chris, also known
as Senora Manley is our Spanish teacher. She came on board in 1999 when her
daughters were students at McGregor. Her experiences include a center Asst.
Directorship, supervision and curriculum writings for infant/toddler programs,
internships through Johns Hopkins Child Life Program and travels to South America where she practiced her Spanish while
visiting day care centers. Chris has her AA from Villa Julie College, MD in
Child Development and Children in Health Care and her BS in Early Childhood
Education with a Spanish Minor from Converse College. Chris enjoys her family including her
husband, James; daughters, Amanda, Melissa, Sydni, Alex and Rachel and twin
grandsons – Jayden and Jordan.