Holy Trinity Parish Preschool Staff

Director-Kay Watkins
watkins@htparish.com
404-371-1310
Kay retired from Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation where she was the Cultural Arts/Recreation Supervisor for 18 years. She holds a master of science in recreation from Oklahoma State University and a B.A. in English from Mercer University. Kay is a professional storyteller and traveled to Russia with other storytellers through People to People Ambassadors in 2006.



ASSISTANT DIRECTORS

Jenn Crooker, has many roles at HTPP including Assistant Director and Exploratorium Coordinator. Jenn designs the curriculum for all Exploratorium participants and coordinates the program. Under her expert direction this program is encouraging our children to become lifelong lovers of learning. She is also actively involved in all fun-raisers with particular emphasis on Santa's Gift Shoppe (she makes a cute elf) and Party Like a Preschooler.

Michelle Cullen is our Assistant Director on Wednesdays specializing in programming for our teachers and our children, fine tuning special offerings for both. She is also in charge of curriculum, especially in our outdoor environment.


CLASSROOM TEACHERS

Courtenay Dutton is our LEAD TEACHER I with Kindergarten Readiness. Courtenay's B.A. is in Journalism from the University of Georgia (ranked the #2 school of Journalism in the country). She brings a wide range of experience to us including working for herself in freelance marketing. Courtenay makes terrific photographs for our fundraisers.

Sahnika Rhodes is the Lead Teacher II for Kindergarten Readiness for older three year-olds. A graduate of DeKalb Technical College, she holds a Diploma in Early Education, Program Director Certification and After School Instructor Certification. Sahnika is the mother of three children.

Natalie Caudle teaches our youngest Pre-K class (PreK B). She has experience in both the public and the private setting, was a Lead Kindergarten teacher and an Extended Learning Program Coordinator for Fulton County schools. She has a Master's in Education in Early Childhood Education and a B.A. in psychology with a minor in Biology.

Royce Mitchell, the baby of nine children, has 10 nieces and nephews. He worked as a tutor at Price Middle School, spring '07 and became a permanent substitute at Holy Trinity in spring 2008. Royce is now our LEAD TEACHER II in Pre-K B. He is currently attending DeKalb Technical College, studying for his associate degree in early childhood education. Upon graduating from DeKalb Tech, he plans to attend Georgia State for his bachelor's degree in education.

Giselle Caban is LEAD TEACHER I for our Preschool Prep A class. She is working on her certification in Early Childhood Education through Prescott College and has a Bachelor of Arts in Ballet Education from the Royal Academy of Dance from the University of Surrey, London, England. Giselle is also teaching our elective ballet class for children ages 3 and up on Wednesdays during Lunch Bunch.

Sandra Hyde is LEAD TEACHER II for Preschool Prep A. Sandra is the busy mother of four children, so she brings much personal experience to her classroom.

Tomeka Ragsdale is a student at Georgia State University majoring in journalism. Here at Holy Trinity she is the LEAD TEACHER II for Preschool Prep B. She has previously worked with children in the non-profit sector and is a mother of twin boys. She enjoys working with toddlers very much!

Holly Gange is LEAD TEACHER I for Mix-It-Up (Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays) and Little Bits (Tuesdays-Thursdays). Holly has a Bachelor's degree in Global Studies from Warren Wilson College outside Asheville, North Carolina.

Whitney Cheek teaches Mix-It-Up (Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays) with Holly. Whitney's resume is fascinating--she spent time working at Southern Living Magazine as a Test Kitchen Specialist in order to work with Frank Stitt. She has a degree from Culinard-Culinary Institute of Birmingham at Birmingham, Alabama.

Elizabeth Thorne teaches Tuesday/Thursday children attending Little Bits (a little older than our Wiggle Wobbles). She has a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Georgia where she studied abroad one summer in Verona, Italy. She has taught middle school and has been a nanny for two small children before joining our staff.

Alexandra Sia, instructor for our very youngest Wiggle Wobbles and the youngest Mix-It-Up group, has a Master's Degree in Cello Performance from Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Along with her other responsibilities, Alex is the musician-in-residence at HTPP, educating the children 3 years old and up about the symphony and the variety of instruments involved in a symphony so that HTPP students are prepared for the school's annual field trip to see an actual performance by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Natola Hyde teaches our youngest Mix-It-Up (Monday-Wednesday-Friday) and Wiggle Wobbles (Tuesday-Thursday) classes. She is one of 12 children herself and as a result has spent a lot of time caring for nieces and nephews. She originally comes from Jamaica but has been in the United States for many years and is a graduate of McNair High School. Natola has also worked in childcare for the YMCA.


SPECIALS TEACHERS

Leigh Brunet teaches music on Mondays and Wednesdays and accelerated art on Fridays, designing the unique and wonderful art work we use for many of our fun-raisers. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Auburn University. Leigh is also our Marketing Director, in charge of our monthly newsletters, our publications and our web page.

Michelle Decker has traveled all over the world and has family who live all over the world. She is teaching Globe Trotting on Tuesdays and Thursdays and music for our youngest students who only attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Mary Miller, a Master Gardener, is our Gardening teacher on Thursdays and Fridays, a class for every child in our school. Our gardening class is our accelerated science program for all preschoolers. Mary worked as Director of Decatur Recreation for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experience in outdoor education for our school.