SaraH Dean

Hi, I am Sarah Dean. I am so excited to be the 4K teacher at CREECS. It’s going to be a great year full of new friends, new adventures, and new discoveries. This is my 2nd year teaching at CREECS. I am a Charleston native. I graduated from College of Charleston with a Bachelors in Elementary Education. After college graduation, I moved to North Carolina. While living in one of the largest school systems, I taught Pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st grade in Guilford County Schools for 10 years. Then, my husband and I moved back to the Lowcountry to raise our two boys. McClellanville is a special place and we love living here in all its beauty. When I am not in the classroom, I love to spend time with family and friends in the boat and relaxing at the beach or reading a good book!

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!     

Gabbe Gregorie

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Shelby Severns

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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 fifth year at CREECS and her fourth 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 fifth year teaching at CREECS. She lives in McClellanville with her husband, Joachim, and their two sons, Benjamin and Samuel, who attend fourth and sixth 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 sixteenth 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 23 years. She is passionate about CREECS and its mission to instill a "love of place" in its students. 

Allie Kreutzer - Environmental Education

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

Crystal Herron - Middle School Science

Mrs. Crystal has a love for science and nature. She is eager to share her enthusiasm with future generations. Mrs. Crystal grew up in Charleston and developed a deep appreciation for the unique ecosystems the Low Country has to offer. She graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Marine Biology. Beginning as a volunteer educator with organizations including SC DNR and the Museum of Coastal Carolina, eventually she became the Environmental Education Coordinator for Friends of Coastal South Carolina, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Forest Service support group at the Sewee Center. During her time at the Sewee Center, she developed a relationship with the students and teachers at CREECS, pathing the way to become the middle school science teacher and lower elementary environmental education teacher. She continues to be a guest speaker and educator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and provides guided nature tours during the summer months. She promotes a strong sense of curiosity, independent critical thinking, and ethical social and emotional well-being in her classroom.

Nicole Sloan - Drama

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Beth Baldwin - Reading Coach

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.

APRIL ZORN - Response to intervention (RTI)

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. 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!

Joanna McClellan - Administrative Assistant

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 sixth 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!

Brooke Forbes - special education coordinator

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Allison Fender - Elementary School Special Education Department

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Joanna H. McClellan - Special Education Aide

Joanna H. McClellan is a paraprofessional in the Special Education Department at CREECS. 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!

Ms. Leslye Tobin-Cobb - Special Education Teacher

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 26 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!

Leslie Shumard - special education Aide

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!

Andrea Urbanski - School Nurse

I've been a RN for 10 years after graduating from MUSC, all up until this year in the hospital setting for Neuro & then Postpartum/Women's Surgical. Prior to that, I was in Social Services for almost a decade after graduating from Clemson University. Go #1 🐯Tigers! I enjoy camping, yoga and all variety of adventures in my free time with the my two little CREECS students, the hubs & 2 old lady dogs. We're hoping to become McClellanville's newest residents soon!

Amber Williams - Physical Education

Ms. Amber Williams has lived in McClellanville most of her life. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2015 with a bachelor degree in Biological Sciences. She enjoys sports, spending time with family and friends, and all things outdoors! This will be her third year at CREECS. Previously, she was a long-term sub in Kindergarten, Special Education Aide for a year, and a sub for Physical Education last year. This will be her first year as the Physical Education teacher and she couldn’t be more excited!