Kristy is a Pawleys Island local. She was born in Columbia, SC, but her father grew up in a house on the island and moved the family back to Pawleys when she was 11 years old. Kristy moved up to Myrtle Beach after graduating from Waccamaw High School. There, she worked as a real estate paralegal for eight years while completing an associates degree in paralegal studies at Horry-Georgetown Technical College and, subsequently, a bachelor of science in political science at Coastal Carolina University.

After enjoying four years as a stay-at-home-mom, Kristy moved back to Pawleys Island with her husband, Dave, and their two children, J.D. and Allie. While building their house in Pawleys, Kristy became excited about a new choice in education for her children and began following Coastal Montessori Charter School’s progress. When she learned of an administrative opening she knew it would be the perfect position for her. With a strong background in administrative work and a love of children, not to mention working where her own children would attend school, it was a perfect fit!  Kristy has been in operations at Coastal Montessori Charter School since it opened in 2012.  Her children both attended CMCS for grades 1-8 and now attend school at Waccamaw High School.

When she’s not at the school, Kristy enjoys spending time outdoors, reading and baking.

Ms. Natalie loves educating children, and especially loves seeing how their eyes light up when they learn something new. She has been in the education field since 1996, working in home daycare centers (where she learned all she knows in this field), and for seven years at the Navy Child Development Center at Anacostia Annex in Washington, DC. She has been at Coastal Montessori Charter School since 1012.

Ms. Natalie grew up in Maryland where she lived most of her life before recently moving to South Carolina.  She was working for a nonprofit after-school program when she heard about Coastal Montessori Charter School and decided she had to be a part of this great school as it got off the ground.

Ms. Natalie enjoys being with her husband and two children, reading, music and cooking.

Shari moved to South Carolina in 2020 from Long Beach, NY.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, and Masters Degree in Special Education. Shari has worked in the education field for fourteen years. She started her career in education as a teaching assistant. This inspired her to go back to school to earn her degree in education.

Shari Joined CMCS in 2021 and is currently one of the upper elementary lead teachers. This year Shari started her journey towards earning her Montessori Certification, which she is very excited about.

Shari has a love of animals, nature, and can be quite crafty. She loves spending time with her family, taking walks on the beach, reading and bird watching. Shari is a big fan of ice hockey. Her son, Kenny, is the Assistant Captain of CCU’s ice hockey team, GO CHANTS!

Ms. Shari couldn’t be happier to be a part of the CMCS family.

If you could have dinner with a famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Claude Monet

He is my favorite artist and I am so inspired by his work! I would love to ask him about his works and life. And maybe follow dinner with a painting session together!

From a young age, Hillary always knew she wanted to help young people. She grew up in Canton, MI, with a very loving family. Family has always been so important to her and continues to be a source of strength and inspiration for her. Her family were the driving force behind her deciding to become a teacher and chase her dream of helping young people. Along her journey, Hillary had the pleasure of working with a variety of children from teaching preschool to working with at-risk teens in an after-school program.

After gaining her degree in elementary education from Eastern Michigan University, Hillary began teaching with young 5′s in a pre-kindergarten program until an opportunity came to teach at a Montessori school. She had only heard a little about Dr. Montessori and her theory on education, but was instantly intrigued and drawn to learn more. After gaining her Montessori training, Hillary taught upper elementary for two years before finding out about Coastal Montessori Charter School. It was a hard decision to move from her hometown and family, but Hillary was excited to start a new journey in South Carolina!

Outside of teaching, Hillary loves to try new things and endeavors in many different interests. She enjoys drawing, painting, writing short stories or poetry, crafting, exploring nature, and so much more. Currently, Hillary is learning how to play guitar and it proves to be a challenge, but so much fun!

Ms. Lisa and her husband moved to Maryville in June, 2019.

She has spent the past 14 years working in education. Ms. Lisa joined CMCS in August of 2019. She is currently working on her Montessori teaching certificate and is excited to become more versed in the Montessori way of learning.

In her spare time, Ms. Lisa enjoys walking on the beach, relaxing on her porch and exploring the area.

Katie grew up in Spartanburg, SC. She graduated from Pfeiffer University with her bachelor’s degree in 2018, and her master’s degree in 2019. When she graduated, she moved to Pawley’s Island because she always wanted to live near the beach. She began her teaching career in Georgetown County at Kensington Elementary and then joined the CMCS family in 2019. Katie gained her Montessori certification in 2020 and she is currently one of our upper elementary teachers. Katie played volleyball at Pfeiffer University and is now the head volleyball coach at Waccamaw High School. She loves to run on the beach, workout, spend time with her family and friends, fish, hunt, and she will be getting married in 2022! Ms. Katie is extremely grateful to be part of the CMCS family.

Jamie is originally from Richfield, OH, which is a small community near Cleveland. She relocated to South Carolina a few years ago and currently lives in Pawleys Island.  As a little girl, Jamie would sit in her basement and play school with her grandma. She knew early on that she wanted to be a school teacher and wanted to be the one to help make a difference in a child’s life.  Jamie has worked very hard over the years earning an associate’s degree in public service early care and education from Horry Georgetown Technical College.  She graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a bachelor of arts degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Jamie has spent many years working with children in summer camps, day cares, and preschools and has a passion, love and heart for working with children. When Jamie heard about CMCS she knew she had to jump at this opportunity.

Jamie is married to Kevin and feels truly blessed to be part of the CMCS community.

The sci-fi author Robert Heinlein said, “When one teaches, two learn”.

Ms. Brandi is life-long learner who is so very excited to be joining the Stingray family at Coastal Montessori Charter School. Ms. Brandi has worked with Georgetown County School District her entire adult life. She has served in many roles over the years. She has work as an Early Childhood Coordinator for Save the Children, and as a teaching assistant in special education, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten. She and her husband have 5 children who range in age from 8-27, two grandsons ages 2 & 4, and 3 very spoiled dogs. She enjoys spending time in nature, baking, sewing, and gardening.

Ginny grew up in Summerville, South Carolina. She attended the University of South Carolina and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She began her teaching career in Dorchester District Two, where she taught first grade for two years at Newington Elementary School.

Ginny married her husband, Reverend Ross Chellis in 2012 and moved to Hampton, S.C.. She taught first grade in Hampton School District One for four years. Ginny and her husband were blessed with three boys: James Edward (8), and identical twins Gaines and Patterson (5). She stepped away from the classroom in 2016 to stay home with her children. During this time, Ginny and her family moved to Spartanburg, S.C. before settling in Georgetown, S.C.

Ginny has worked as a preschool teacher at Westminister Preschool in Spartanburg, S.C. and as a reading tutor at Kensington Elementary School. Ginny loves working with the youth at Duncan Memorial United Methodist church where her husband is the pastor. Ginny loves spending time with her boys, exercising, shopping, and painting in her spare time. As you can see, Ginny enjoys interacting and encouraging young people even when away from the classroom. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work part-time as the Reading Coach at CMCS. She looks forward to building relationships with both the students and teachers so they can accomplish big things together!

Teresa received a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina.  She earned a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Winthrop University during her first five years of teaching.  She has taught all of the early childhood, primary and elementary grades.  Teresa has been trained extensively in specialty areas including reading recovery and in small group intervention through graduate work at Clemson University and the South Carolina Department of Education.

Teresa has endorsements by the SCDE as literacy teacher, literacy coach, and is currently completing graduate coursework for endorsement as literacy specialist.

She earned an Ed. S. degree from coursework at both Clemson University and the University of South Carolina and is excited and dedicated to the continued excellence of Coastal Montessori Charter.