Kelly Martens

Mrs. Kelly Martens received her BS in Elementary Education from the College of Charleston. She has taught a variety of subjects and grades. She also ran a private, home daycare for several years. Mrs. Martens taught kindergarten the year that CREECS opened and then switched to 4K where she has been happily teaching ever since. 

Claudia Kornack

Mrs. Claudia Kornack graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in French. She is the teacher’s aide in Kindergarten, assisting Mrs. Harley. She taught at Archibald Rutledge Academy for many years and is also proud to have founded TW Graham and Co Seafood Restaurant with her husband, Pete.  She has two beautiful children, Mary and Aaron, and loves food, books, and flowers!     

APRIL ZORN

Mrs. April Zorn graduated from Winthrop College with a B.A. in Psychology. In 2012 she earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the College of Charleston. Mrs. Zorn has many years of experience working with young children. This is her fifth year as the first grade teacher here at CREECS. When she is not in school Mrs. Zorn enjoys spending time with her family, fishing, camping, boating, going to the beach, and her favorite – shopping!

Danielle Castellaccio

Miss. Danielle Castellaccio graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.S. in Education. During her time at Miami University, she gained experience in Preschool, Elementary, and Special Education. Following graduation, Miss. Danielle taught elementary in a variety of educational settings. She has enjoyed teaching at Montessori, STEM, and Marine Science based schools, but eager to experience the natural environment at CREECS. Miss. Danielle is a Lifetime Girl Scout Member who had earned her Silver and Gold Award. When she isn't teaching, Miss. Danielle enjoys tackling DIY projects, swimming, painting, reading, and traveling.

ASHLEIGH MCCLELLAN

Ms. Ashleigh McClellan is thrilled to be working at the school she grew up in! She graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Early Childhood Education. This is her third year at CREECS and her second year in third grade. Ms. McClellan has always loved working with children and is excited to share her love of learning with them! In her spare time she enjoys playing the piano, boating, baking, and spending time with her dog, Kingston. 

ANGELA TREPTOW

While earning her MBA in Germany, Mrs. Angie Treptow taught ESL (English as a Second Language) and it was there that she discovered her passion for teaching. She's taught for over ten years, teaching everything from English at children’s summer camps to university business courses. This will be her third year teaching at CREECS. She lives in McClellanville with her husband, Joachim, and their two sons, Benjamin and Samuel, who attend second and fourth grade here at CREECS. They love being part of the CREECS family!

CHRISTY CONNELLY DAWSEY

Mrs. Christy Connelly Dawsey is the fifth grade teacher at CREECS. She attended Clemson University and received a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.Ed. in Reading Education. She also has an associate’s degree in nursing and worked for ten years as a registered nurse in the operating room. She enjoyed her years as a nurse, but decided that teaching at CREECS was where she really wanted to be. This is her fourteenth year in the classroom.

Tracy Thornley

Ms. Tracy Thornley is an empathetic teacher with a keen interest in promoting positive growth in academic, social and emotional well-being for students. She is fundamentally grounded in goal-oriented education. Ms. Thornley is intrinsically motivated to make education meaningful and enjoyable; her affinity for the arts, music, poetry and language are interwoven in the fabric of the classroom curriculum. In 1995, she attained an MAT in History with additional coursework in Social Studies; furthermore, she completed her certification in Elementary Education from the College of Charleston in 2012. In addition to academics, Ms. Thornley loves to spend time with family and friends traveling, biking and hiking. One of her future goals is to resume work on a historical book of fiction called Puttin’ In, which is based on true events surrounding the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and its cataclysmic reverberation in the lives of a SC tobacco farming family. 

Abby Duncan

Ms. Abby Duncan earned a degree in accounting and later went back to school where she received a Master of Arts in Teaching from the College of Charleston. Her first job out of college was on a horse farm where she worked under a dressage trainer, training horses and teaching riding lessons.  After that she began her math teaching career at Archibald Rutledge Academy where she taught for 14 years. Ms. Duncan then taught in the Charleston County schools for 4 years. She joins us this year at CREECS to teach sixth, seventh and eighth grade math. Ms. Duncan’s hobbies include riding and training horses and running. 

Margaret Crouch

Ms. Margaret Crouch is the Principal and Eighth Grade ELA teacher at CREECS. She received a B.S. in Sociology and Education from the College of Charleston and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University. She has been working as an educator for 21 years. She is passionate about CREECS and its mission to instill a "love of place" in its students. 

Blythe Brown

Ms. Blythe Brown is the Visual Art teacher and Yoga teacher at CREECS.  She received her BA in Studio Arts from the College of Charleston, and an MAT in Art Education from Western Carolina University. She specializes in integrating core subjects and movement into the visual arts. During her free time she teaches adult art classes as well as yoga at the McClellanville Arts Council. On the weekends she enjoys working on her tiny home bus and paddling in the creeks.

Please visit recent school artwork at https://www.facebook.com/CREECSART/

Allie Kreutzer

Ms. Allie Kreutzer started coming on vacation to Kiawah Island when she was 2 years old and her love of the ocean and the Lowcountry has been going strong ever since. She got certified to SCUBA dive when she was 13 and knew she wanted to learn everything she could about the ocean. She moved to Charleston to go to graduate school in 2007 and graduated 3 years later with a Master's in Marine Biology never thinking she would end up as a teacher. Through her work with the SCORE program, a volunteer based oyster restoration program, she realized that she truly enjoyed passing on her interest in the natural world to others! From SCORE she moved to take over running the educational programs at the Sewee Center and a few other nature centers in the state for Friends of Coastal South Carolina. That's where she learned about CREECS and was more than excited when they invited her on to teach environmental education full time in 2014

Beth Baldwin

Ms. Beth Baldwin has a B.S. in Elementary Education from the College of Charleston. Ms. Baldwin lives in McClellanville with her husband and two children, Bootsie and Morrison. She is currently serving as the Reading Coach and Interventionist. She is an avid reader, and her favorite children's author is Roald Dahl.

Melinda Benson

Ms. Melinda Benson is in her third year at CREECS as the Special Education Coordinator. She has worked as a special education teacher for over 35 years. She served as the Special Education Coordinator and Assistant Principal at Bridgewater Academy Charter School in Myrtle Beach before moving to Mt. Pleasant four years ago.  She has a B.A. in Deaf Education, Learning Disabilities and Elementary Education from Converse College in Spartanburg and a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of South Carolina.

John Galbary

Come back soon for more info.

Vanessa Herron

Ms. Vanessa Herron is a teacher at CREECS who works with students in 5k, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. She went to school at Towson University in Towson, MD, and earned a BS in Infant and Primary Special Education. She is dual certified in general and special education, and specializes in individualizing the curriculum for her students. Ms. Vanessa has taught in Maryland for the majority of her career, but decided to relocate to South Carolina at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year. In her spare time, Ms. Vanessa enjoys reading books, spending time with her family, and watching football. Go Eagles! Please feel free to contact her with any questions or concerns. 

Laura Koelling

Ms. Laura Koelling is the school nurse. She has been a Registered Nurse since 1997 and worked as a Neonatal Nurse for 16 of the last 20 years.  She loves taking care of babies and children.  Laura is a lifelong resident of McClellanville and has two beautiful girls, Baker and Hope.  

Joanna McClellan

Joanna McClellan is the Administrative Assistant here at CREECS. She received her B.S. in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. This is her fifth year at CREECS and she loves to help the students out with anything they may need! She has lived in McClellanville all her life and in her free time enjoys the outdoors. Her favorite place is on the water!

Leslie Shumard

Leslie Shumard is a teacher's aide in the special education department at CREECS. She has been a parent volunteer and substitute teacher in previous years and could always be found helping out somewhere on campus. She loves CREECS and is so excited to be a part of the team! Leslie earned her BA in religious studies and her AFA in theatre from North Greenville University in Tigerville, SC. Leslie resides in Georgetown, SC with her husband and 2 children. In her spare time, she loves to read, watch football (Go Gamecocks), and basketball (Go Wildcats) but most of all she loves spending time with her family, especially at Disney World!

Joanna H. McClellan

Joanna H. McClellan is a paraprofessional in the Special Education Department at CREECS. She was and the Archibald Rutledge 3K Assistant teacher last year and a substitute teacher and a parent volunteer many years before that. Joanna and her husband reside in McClellanville with their 3 children, who all attend CREECS. When not watching Clemson football, Joanna enjoys being with her family shopping, traveling, boating and being outdoors!

Georgia Tisdale

Ms. Georgia is our physical education instructor. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree and Teaching Certificate from Winthrop University in Physical Education, which included health and science.  After graduation, she taught Physical Education and coached the girl’s varsity basketball team for 5 years at Fort Johnson (now James Island) High School.  After that she married and moved to McClellanville.   While in McClellanville Ms. Georgia taught 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades, and coached the girl’s junior varsity basketball team for many years at Archibald Rutledge Academy.

Taking a brief time away from the classroom, she worked with the local and state shrimping industry through a grant from Clemson University. She later became the Marketing Director for the South Carolina Shrimping Association.  Ms. Georgia said she will always have a heart for and deep belief in our local and domestic shrimping industry. When the grant was completed, she eventually returned to Archibald Rutledge Academy operating under Connections Academy for two years and taught 2nd grade. This will be her 4th year at CREECS.

Ms. Leslye Tobin-Cobb

Ms. Leslye Tobin-Cobb is a teacher at CREECS who works with students in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  She received a BS in Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disabilities (LD) and Educable Mental Handicaps (EMH) from the College of Charleston. She has been an administrator, coordinator, and/or educator for 24 years both in the general and special education settings in Georgia and South Carolina. 

She is a strong advocate for children and environmental issues and has lived her life with the motto, “The purpose of life is to matter- to count, to stand for something, to make it have some difference that we lived at all." by Leo Rosten.  She is passionate about CREECS and what it has to offer the Charleston Community.

In her spare time, Ms. Leslye enjoys spending time with her children and fur babies, reading, hiking, bird watching, gardening, exploring new places, and crocheting. She is also a big fan of the Clemson Tigers, her father’s alma mater.  Go Tigers!