Pleasant Knoll Elementary New Staff

Panther Family,

Below you will find information about our new staff for the 2020-2021 school year. We are very excited to welcome this talented group of educators to our team. As you can imagine, the hiring process is still taking place as we have a few more positions to solidify in the month of June.

In addition to our new staff, the following changes have been made to staffing/teaching assignments for the 20-21 school year.

• Logan Barnes is moving from 2nd to 1st grade.
• Dianne Dewland is moving from 1st to 2nd grade.
• Jennifer Bower is moving from 5th to 4th grade.
• Iman Spencer is moving from 4th to 5th grade.
• Maria Eby is moving as the Kindergarten Assistant in Rebecca Robinson's room to the Kindergarten Assistant in Michelle Sutter-Hook's room.
• Brooke Hicks is moving from Special Setting to Resource/Inclusion.

I am a husband and proud father of four great children, ranging in ages from 15 to 2 years old. My family and I have a munchkin cat named L.T. and a Chiweenie dog named C.C. We like to go to the beach and Asheville, NC when possible, but most of the time we like to spend time together around the house and in our neighborhood.

I originally started off in a career as a mental health counselor before realizing my calling was in education. I have my Master’s in Social Work and Master of Arts in Teaching (Elementary) both from the University of South Carolina and my M.Ed. In Administration & Supervision from Anderson University.

I was a classroom teacher for 7 years, and a Technology Coach for 9 years. In my career I have worked in Lexington County School District 1, Richland County School District 1, Fairfield County School District, and Lexington County School District 2. I am very excited to be a part of the Pleasant Knoll Elementary School and Fort Mill School District family.

My name is Mya Kelley and I am from Charlotte North Carolina. This will be my 18th year as a speech language pathologist. I have worked in the public school setting in North Carolina for over 10 years and I am looking forward to serving the students at Pleasant Knoll this school year! I live hear in Fort Mill with my husband and our 2 teenage children.

Hello! I'm Riley and I'm super excited to join the staff at Pleasant Knoll! I have over two years of experience as an RBT and I'm thrilled to get to experience what it's like to work in the public school setting. Working closely with teachers to help kids adjust to classroom life sounds so fun and rewarding. I have previously worked in a clinic setting and a private school setting so I think I bring a rounded perspective to the table.

Outside of work (when circumstances are normal) I love outdoors activities like golfing, hiking and playing in various recreational sports leagues. Spending time with my friends and family is very important to me. I can't wait to get started!

Natasha will be joining us as additional support for our English Language Learners. We will update with more information about Natasha soon!

Jaclyn Caryl is a Special Education teacher who loves working with elementary aged students. Prior to joining Pleasant Knolls Elementary, she spent two years teaching at Hidenwood Elementary in Newport News, Virginia. Ms. Caryl grew up in the Charlotte area and is excited to be back home. She has a bachelor's degree in Special Education from East Carolina University. Ms. Caryl enjoys spending time with friends and family and discovering new restaurants. Ms. Caryl always has a smile on her face and enjoys hearing cheesy jokes and puns.

I graduated with my Masters in Special Education in 2010. I have taught in elementary, middle and high school settings and am married and have a little girl named Isabel who is almost 2. I'm excited to be working at PKES, and can't wait to meet everyone... eventually.

My name is Joy Isley and I have a heart and passion for education that started with me becoming a mother to my three children (one son, 8th grader Fort Mill and two daughter's, 7th grader Banks Trail and 5th grader Riverview). As a result of this passion, I founded a nonprofit organization for Arts Enrichment back in 2012 and began partnering with the Wake County School district to offer Art classes in their Student University after school program at Bugg A+ Elementary school. I earned my Associates degree in Arts from Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, NC and I have been attending NC State University to acquire my Bachelors degree in Humanities and Leadership in the Public Sector with tentative completion by Fall of 2021.

My long term goal is to continue my education at the Masters level and work towards becoming an elementary educator within the district. I enjoy reading, writing, dancing, and creating art. I firmly believe and stand by the operating values and core principles set forth by this district in terms of putting Children 1st Everyday and I look forward to coming alongside the wonderful staff of PKES to live of that mission in loving, caring for, and empowering our students while partnering with parents, faculty, and staff to help them reach beyond the stars to acquire the educational success they so richly deserve.

Hello! My name is Kelsey Pettus! I'm so excited to work with the PKES staff and families! I look forward to meeting and getting to know everyone! A little about my professional experiences, I graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007 but quickly decided I was destined for bigger things and went back to school to become an early childhood teacher. At the time, I was going back to school, I took a job in Fort Mill School District in the preschool special services program as an assistant. I worked with them for 2 years and that is where my passion for education began. I finished up the MAT program at Winthrop right before my husband and I got married. Then I received a job working as a 2nd grade teacher at Sugar Creek Elementary. I worked there for 3 years and then moved to Doby's Bridge to help open that school.

I have taught 2nd grade for 4 years and 1st for 2 years. Both grades were fun to teach but with my husband's work schedule I felt I wasn't giving my full attention to my career. Therefore I decided to stay at home with my children. Needless to say, after one year at home I quickly realized that my true passion was teaching children so I ventured out to find something part-time. I have been working at Unity Preschool for 2 years as a lead 3 year old teacher. I truly enjoy children and watching them grow! This past year I did some substitute teaching in the 4K Lab program at Fort Mill High School and realized how much I missed working in Fort Mill School District. A little bit about me personally is that my husband, John, and I both grew up here in Fort Mill. We have been married for 9 years and a few years ago we bought a "fixer-upper" located near Fort Mill Golf Course. John and I have two children, Lily and John Thomas. Lily will be in the 2nd grade and John Thomas will be in Kindergarten here at PKES.

My family and I love spending time outdoors and going hiking and camping. We have 2 dogs, one is a rescue and one is a Boykin Spaniel we got a year ago. We enjoy watching football despite being a house divided (I went to USC and John went to Clemson). Lily and John Thomas are excited to become a part of the Panther community! I'm so very fortunate to get the opportunity to work at Pleasant Knoll in Kindergarten and truly look forward to meeting and getting to know everyone.

I'm Amy Johnson and happy to have this new chapter in my teaching career. After teaching kindergarten and special education for 5 years, I moved to first grade and found my home. I have taught first grade for 18 years. My focus is a classroom where students are part of a community, have hands-on experiences, and the support to try the hard things. I have a son, Cole, who is a junior at Auburn University and a daughter, Grace, who is a freshman at UofSC. My husband, Michael, is very understanding of the time, energy, and money that goes into the passion of teaching.

Hey y'all! My name is Amelia Braun, and I'm so excited to be teaching second grade at PKES! I attended middle and high school in Fort Mill, then went to the University of South Carolina where I studied Early Childhood Education. Go Gamecocks! After graduating, I taught kindergarten in Greenville, SC before moving back to Fort Mill. Aside from teaching, I have two golden retrievers, named Moose (2) and Colt (3), who are basically my children. I love spending time with them, friends, family, reading, shopping, and exercising. Most importantly, I have a love for children and a passion for teaching!

My name is Meredith Jenkins and I am thrilled to be joining the fourth grade team at Pleasant Knoll. While this will be my first year at Pleasant Knoll, I’ve been a teacher for fifteen years, the last five years have been in fourth grade. I cannot wait to get to know your child and share my love for learning and great books.

My name is Ashley Pease. My husband Dustin and I are originally from Charleston, but have called Fort Mill home for the past 8 years. We have 3 children, Kaylee 14, Chase 9, and Walker 4. I am a graduate of Clemson University and hold a Master's degree in Educational Technology. I have 12 years of experience in education and have served many roles including classroom teacher, math coach, and math interventionist. I'm excited to join the team at PKES and looking forward to a great year!

My name is Jessica LaCross, but people typically call me Jessie. This is my eighth year in education. I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, where I grew up and graduated from Louisiana State University. I joined Teach For America and was placed in Florence, South Carolina to teach 6th Grade and taught there for four years. I fell in love with kids and education. I graduated from Francis Marion University with my Master's in Education while I was in Florence. I met my husband in Florence and followed him to Rock Hill, where I taught the past three years. We got married two years ago and live in Tega Cay. We love the Fort Mill area and I am thrilled to be teaching at PKES!

I am so excited to be a part of the PKES family! This is my fourteenth year of teaching elementary visual art and I'm really looking forward to many more great years. Teaching art is a joy and its an honor to do it here with you!

Email: allenc@fortmillschools.org
Website: https://pkes.fortmillschools.org/
Location: 2346 Pleasant Road, Fort Mill, SC, USA
Phone: 8038350090
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pleasantknollelementaryschool/notifications/
Twitter: @PKESAdmin