Millennium Charter Academy - Faculty & Staff

One of the primary factors in making MCA such a great school is our great faculty and staff. All members are highly qualified for their positions, and all posess a great love for the advancement of our students.

Meet our faculty and staff for the 2008/2009 school year!

Kirby McCrary, Headmaster

                          Kirby McCrary earned his undergraduate and first graduate degree from Appalachian State University
                          in Spanish and education. Since then, he has earned a M.Ed. in education administration from
                          UNC-Greensboro. Mr. McCrary came to MCA in 2002 with twenty-two years experience in both public
                          and private education in grades kindergarten through twelve. Before coming to MCA, he served as the
                          headmaster of a K-8 Christian school in Winston-Salem for six years. Before that, he taught in the
                          Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System for ten years, and earlier he taught six years at Forsyth
                          Country Day School in Lewisville, where he also coached wrestling.

Kindergarten Team
First Grade Team
Second Grade Team
Third Grade Team
Fourth Grade Team
Fifth Grade Team
Middle School Team
Specials Team

Kindergarten Team

Pam Chilton - Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
Pam Chilton graduated from North Surry High School and attended Surry Community
College where she earned Child Credientials I and II. She worked at Central
Methodist Child Center as a pre-school teacher for 7 years. She came to MCA in
2001-2002. She is very active with the youth in her church and loves children of all ages.

Nikki Corder - Kindergarten Teacher
Nikki Corder began teaching at MCA as a kindergarten teacher in 2005. She graduated from
North Surry High School, and later received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary
Education from Lees McRae College.

Von McCoy - Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
Von McCoy came to MCA in 2005 as a teaching assistant in Kindergarten. With educational
background and experience in business, she is currently pursuing a teaching degree.
Mrs. McCoy lives in Dobson with her husband Aaron, and her daughter Stephanie who
is an MCA Middle School student.

Joy Parsons - Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Parsons received a Master of Arts in Middle Grades Education from ASU and a B.S. from
Wingate in social science. Since then she has earned NC certifications in birth - kindergarten,
intermediate grades 4-6, social studies grades 9-12, handicapped/disadvantaged, and middle
grades social studies grades 6-9. She and her husband, Phil, have two children, Julie and John.

Donna Pearson - Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
After spending much time in the classroom as a volunteer while her children were in school,
Donna Pearson decided that she was ready to officially be in the classroom as one of
MCA's first grade teaching assistants, and joined the staff in 2006. She lives in Mount Airy
with her husband, Jeff, and enjoys cooking for her family and two grandchildren.

Kara Westmoreland - Kindergarten Teacher
Kara Westmoreland graduated from Wingate College where she received at BS degree
in Early Childhood Education (K-6). She attended graduate school at Appalachian State
University. At ASU, she received a Masters degree in Elementary Education. She has
20 years teaching experience. Mrs. Westmoreland is married to Andy Westmoreland,and
they have 3 children: Austin, Caroline, and John.

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First Grade Team

Jodi Dearmin- First Grade Teacher
Jodi Snow graduated from Surry Central High School. She earned an Associates
in Arts degree from Surry Community College, and she earned her Bachelor in
Elementary Education at UNC at Charlotte. She started teaching at MCA in January of 2002.

Jeanette Leonard - First Grade Teaching Assistant
Jeanette Leonard graduated from North Surry High School. She worked in Carroll County
as a teaching assistant in language development for 10 years before coming to MCA in
2001. She is very active in her church and serves as the church pianist.

Emily Mauck - First Grade Teaching Assistant

Becky McMillian - First Grade Teacher
Becky McMillian came to MCA in 2005 with 21 years of teaching experience in grades K-1.
Prior to MCA, she most recently taught at Mountain Park Elementary. She graduated from Radford
University witha BS in Early Childhood Education is is certified BK-6. She resides in
Cana, Va with her husband Britt. Theyhave 2 sons and 1 granddaughter.

Mary Richardson - First Grade Teaching Assistant

Sheena Slate - First Grade Teacher
Sheena Slate joined MCA in 2007. She graduated from Mount Airy High School, and holds
an Associate of Arts from Surry Community College, and a Bachelor of Science in
Elementary Education from Lees-McRae College.

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Second Grade Team

Sandra Clement - Second Grade Teacher
Sandra Clement teaches second grade at MCA and has been with the school since 2005. She
has a BA in Elementary Education and Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia
Tech. She has taught in Virginia for 31 years and lives in Ararat, VA, with her
husband James. They have one son.

Nicole Fowler - Second Grade Teacher
Nicole Fowler joined MCA in 2007 teaching second grade. She graduated from North Surry
High School, has an Associates in Arts from Surry Community College, and she holds a
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Lees-McRae College.

Anne Haynes - Second Grade Teaching Assistant
Anne Haynes graduated from Mt. Airy High School and attended Surry Community College.
She worked 18 years in engineering at Renfro Corp. She was involved in Help One Student
to Succeed Program (HOSTS) and became interested in working with children. She came to
MCA in the 2001-2002 school year and continues to get more hugs from students than anyone.

Lara Nester - Second Grade Teaching Assistant
Lara Nester was born in Southern California, but she has called North Carolina home for over
twenty years. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in Political
Science and an MBA. She lives in MountAiry with her husband, Keith, and her sons Jake and
Cooper. Her favorite sport to watch is football. Her favorite sport to play is tennis. Lara is
also the MCA After School Academy Director.

Joanie Vaughan - Second Grade Teacher
Joanie Vaughn graduated from Mount Airy High School, then attended Surry Community College
where she received an Associates in Arts degree. She then obtained a Bachelor in
Elementary Education through the Lee's McRae program at Surry Community College,
and has been at MCA since the beginning of the school in 2000..

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Third Grade Team

Beverly Edwards - Third Grade Teacher

Melissa Poole - Third Grade Teacher
Melissa Poole graduated from Western Carolina University where she received her
degree in Educational Media. She then obtained her Elementary Education certification
at North Carolina Central University. She has taught in the Guilford, Wake, and
Onslow County Schools before coming to MCA in 2001.

Alaine Poteat - Third Grade Teaching Assistant
Alaine Poteat graduated from Mt. Airy High School and attended Surry
Community College where she earned her Associates in Art Degree. She enjoys
sports and working with children. She has been at MCA since its inception in 2000.

Lori Spencer - Third Grade Teacher

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Fourth Grade Team

Jessie Branch - Fourth Grade Teacher

Sandy Cave - Fourth Grade Teaching Assistant
Sandy Cave graduated from Surry Community College with an associate's
degree in Business Management. She enjoys working with children and spending
time with her family. She has been at MCA since 2001.

Kim Sawyers - Fourth Grade Teacher
Kim Sawyers graduated from East Surry High School and attended the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. At UNCC, she received a
degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in History. Following graduation,
she taught with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System for four years. She has
taught at Millennium Charter Academy since its opening in the fall of 2000.
Ms. Sawyers is also a Core Knowledge consultant and spends her summers assisting
other schools getting started in the Core Knowledge Curriculum.

Clair Wilkerson - Fourth Grade Teacher
Claire Wilkerson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville where she
earned a degree in Psychology and a K-6 Teaching Licensure. She lives in Pilot Mountain
and began teaching at MCA in 2007. In addition to teaching, she enjoys riding horses,
playing golf, hiking, and traveling.

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Fifth Grade Team

Beth Almy - Fifth Grade Teaching Assistant
Originally from New York, Ms. Almy graduated from Mount Airy High School and attended
St. Mary's and Surry Community College. She has 17 years as a teaching assistant with the
Mt. Airy school system before coming to MCA in 2005. She has 4 grown children and
one granddaughter.

Mandy Dean - Fourth Grade Teacher
Before coming to MCA in 2005, Amanda (Mandy) Dean taught at Caesar Cone Elementary in
Greensboro. She graduated from Lees McRae College with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary
Education. She enjoys reading, and playing tennis in her spare time, and is currently working on her
Master's degree in Technology Instruction.

Theresa Della Valle - Fifth Grade Teacher
Theresa is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated form California University of PA with a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She taught for a total of fourteen years in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ where she earned Middle Grades Language Arts Certification. She then taught seventh and eighth grade language arts for one year in Alleghany County Schools, NC. Theresa and her husband currently live in Mount Airy.

Cassie Robacker - Fifth Grade Teacher
A native of Iowa, she is extremely excited to be joining MCA this fall. She graduate from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA; where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary and Special Education. She is
also endorsed to teach reading K-8. She lives with her husband, Robert and their two cats, Milo and Gracie in Pilot Mountain.

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Middle School Team

Pamela Braley - Middle School Social Studies
After spending several years as a missionary in the Province of Quebec, Pam Braley
graduated from Berkshire Christian College in Lenox, MA with a degree in Theology and
Elementary Education. She has since earned a Master's degree in Instructional Technology
from Appalachian State University. She taught middle grades language arts and social studies
in New Hampshire for ten years, then middle grades language arts and science in Alleghany
County, North Carolina for another ten years. She and her husband reside in Glade Valley, NC.
She has four grown children and eleven grandchildren

Robin Gammons - Middle School Teaching Assistant
Robin Gammons brings experience from the US Navy and five years experience as a
preschool teacher to MCA. She joined MCA in 2004. She and her husband, Eddie,
have twins, Chase and Emily.

Paula Griffin - Middle School Teaching Assistant
Paula Griffin first joined MCA as a parent volunteer in 2004, and that position transpired to a full time teaching
assistant in the MCA middle school in 2007. Although she is the "real" parent of her son, MCA student Banner,
she claims all middle school students as her own! Paula, Banner, and her husband Steve reside in Mt. Airy.

Rob Halpern - Middle School Science
Rob Halpern brings 23 years of teaching experience to MCA as our middle school science
teacher. Eleven of those years have been in NC public schools, and twelve have been with
alternative education and experiential and environmental education. He has a BS in Wildlife
Management from the University of Maine, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Education
from Norwich University. Mr. Halpern lives in Mt. Airy with his wife, Rosemary, and five
children (three of which are triplets!).

Nicole Kesler - Middle School Teacher

Jill Loftin - Language Arts, Drama
Mrs. Loftin is a graduate of Salem College with a degree in English and completed
her graduate hours for teacher certification at UNCG and Salem College. Living in
Mt. Airy, she previously taught for Surry County Schools before coming to MCA in
2005. She has two daughters, both MCA students, one son, and 2 grandchildren.

Bethany Shepherd - Middle School Math, Science, History
Bethany Shepherd completed her degree in Elementary Education at University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. She graduated from ASU with a Master's Degree
in Middle Grades science and in 2000 received National Board Certification.
She has taught 5th grade at MCA since 2001, before joining the Middle School
Team in 2007.

Christie Speer - Middle School Math, Logic
Christie Speer will be MCA’s middle school math teacher. She was a NC Teaching Fellow
at UNC-Greensboro, and she has a Master of Arts from ASU as a Curriculum Specialist.
She has four years of teaching experience before joining MCA in 2006, and lives in Mt. Airy
with her husband, Danny, and their two children.

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Specials Team

Joellen Belton - Challenge Center Teacher
Joellen Belton attended Peace College and graduated from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a Masters in Early Childhood Education from
Gardner Webb University. After teaching 8 years in Robeson County, she moved to
Mount Airy and taught 18 years in the Mt. Airy City School System before coming
to MCA in 2000. Mrs. Belton retired from MCA in the spring of 2005, but contracted
back to the school as part-time Challenge Center teacher. Mrs. Belton says "it's just
such a good place, I couldn't leave!"

Debbi Collins - Challenge Center Teacher, Dean of Students
Debbi Collins graduated from Guilford College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Elementary Education. In 1989 she earned a Masters Degree from Gardner-Webb
University. She taught 27 years in the Mount Airy City Schools system before
coming to MCA in 2000. Ms. Collins teaches challenger center classes for Midde School,
and handles student scheduling and other issues for middle school students.

Steve Braune - Athletic Director
Coach B is a graduate of Appalachian State University wiith a BS in Healthful Living Education,
and minors in History and PE. He serves MCA as Athletic Director and a physical
education instructor. Before coming to MCA, Coach B previously taught
healthful living education and athletics at the Outer Banks of NC. He has
also worked as an Athletic Director in Wilkes County Schools. Coach B is a
wrestling coach, golf enthusiast, and a proponent of all things athletic.

Susan Gunter - Physical Education
Susan Gunter is MCA's physical education teacher with a Bachelor of Science
from Radford University in K-12 and with 6 years of teaching experience before joining
MCA in 2005. She enjoys swimming, skiing, and biking, and is learning white water canoeing
and kayaking. She lives in Patrick County, VA, with her husband, Keith, and three children.
She hopes to encourage a life style of physically-fit-living for all MCA students.

Angie Marion - Librarian, K-3 Technology Instruction
Angie Marion says she is "SSOOOOOO excited" when she joined the staff at MCA in the
library and computer lab in 2006. She has 2 sons who attend MCA, Jared and Ethan. Prior
to joining MCA, Angie had 4 years experience in the computer lab at Franklin Elementary
and one year as Media Assistant at Dobson Elementary.

Mary McCormick - Art Instruction
Mary McCormick has been MCA's art instructor since 2005. She graduated from UNC-Pembroke
with a BS in Art Education, and she has a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University. Before
coming to MCA, she taught art in schools in NC and VA for 13 years. She has also taught art and
photography at Appalachain State University and at Surry Community College. Mrs. McCormick
lives in Mt. Airy with her husband Greg, who is also an artist, and her son Joey, an MCA student,
who says he's an artist too!

Rodney Money - Music
Rodney Money was born in King, North Carolina on January 3, 1978. He graduated from
Appalachian State University in Boone, NC with dual Bachelors of Music in Music Composition
and Music Education. He studied music theory and composition with Dr. Scott Meister and
trumpet with Dr. William L. Jones of the Hayes School of Music there at Appalachian.
Mr. Money's compositions are inspired by many different factors in his life. One of the most
influential events was the untimely death of his mother to cancer when he was only ten years-old.
He is also influenced by his incredible passion for parrots and their conservation. Mr. Money's
compositions are published under Alfred Reed and C. Alan Publications. He currently lives in
Cary, NC with his beautiful wife Tamara where they are co-owners of True Love Aviary raising
handfed, well-socialized baby lovebirds.

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