Laura Calvin - Director
Laura Calvin joined the staff of St. Thomas Early Learning Center in 1995 as the morning teacher of the Beginners Program. In 2001, she became the Director of the school. Laura grew up in California and then moved to the Northwest where she attended the University of Oregon. She has a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education.

Laura and her family moved to College Station in 1991 when her husband, Jim, began working at Texas A&M in the Statistics Department. Laura and Jim have three grown sons, one daughter-in-law and are members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

Mary Altendorf - Beginners Teacher
Mary joined the staff of St. Thomas ELC as the beginner's teacher in the fall of 2006. She is a native of Oklahoma and a graduate of Oklahoma State University where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. Mary has taught in both public and private schools. She has been a part of St. Thomas ELC since 1994 when her oldest child enrolled in the Beginner's Class. Mary and her husband, Luke, have four children. When not busy with family or teaching, she enjoys reading and biking.

Nancy Brown - Pre-Kindergarten Teaching Aide
Nancy Brown has been an assistant teacher at St. Thomas for the past 11 years. She has held several positions - Aide in the Beginners class, Aide to several children with special needs, Outdoors Coordinator, and most recently, Assistant to Mrs. Sagong in her Pre-K classes. Nancy received her B.S. in Education from Texas A&M in 1975. She spent the next 20 years seeing the world as an Army officer's wife. She and her family feel privileged to be back in Aggieland and at St. Thomas, where Nancy grew up. Her family has been a part of St. Thomas since it was organized in 1938. Nancy and her husband, Rob, who is a computer specialist, have one son, Will, who is a student at Texas Lutheran University, and two daughters - Sarah, who is a student at Texas Tech University, and Laura, who is a Sophomore at AMC High School. Nancy says this is the perfect job - getting to watch children grow and learn while showing them how much they are loved.

Paula Casares - Lunch Bunch Program and 1st Grade Spanish Teacher
I have been at St. Thomas ELC since 1988-89. I have a wonderful husband and four grown children Ejinio, Julie, Anna, and Steven. I also have three beautiful granddaughters Myranda, Layla, and Alyssa and one handsome grandson Ejinio3. My husband and I still attend Sanctuary of Praise - Church. I also have been very blessed to work here. My youngest son Steven attended St. Thomas and all three of my granddaughters. I am waiting on my grandson. My joy is still spending time with my family. I also have things I have attended - Bryan and College Station Citizens Police Academy and Citizens Fire Academy. Also I have worked with the Children's Museum.

Wendy Castro - Kindergarten Teaching Aide

Katherine (Katie) Shaw Cox, M.A.T. - First Grade Teacher
Katie joined the staff of St. Thomas in the fall of 2007. Katie earned a B.S. in Applied Learning and Development with a minor in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 and a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Grand Canyon University in 2002. Since then, she has taught self-contained Kindergarten - 5th grade classes, multi-age 4th - 8th grade science, and 9 - 12th grade college preparatory science. She comes to us from Southern California where she served as a Science Education Specialist for Eagles Peak Charter School.

Katie and her husband, Sean, have two children and enjoy hiking, camping, bike riding, and spending time as a family.

Karen Eilers - AM Kindergarten Teaching Aide and PM First Grade Teaching Aide
Karen Eilers has been as teacher's aide at St. Thomas' Early Learning Center since 1983. She worked with the 4-year old class for seven years before moving to the 1st grade class. Karen is married and has two grown children who attended St. Thomas ELC.  Previous to her employment at St. Thomas ELC, Karen worked three years as a R. N. in pediatrics. Karen appreciates the philosophy of St. Thomas, where each child is helped to learn how to think and make decisions in an environment that fosters creativity and individual expression.

Helen Flynn - Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Helen Flynn has been part of the ELC community for 10 years - seven of those years as a mom and three as a teacher in the five-day Pre-K room. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 1989 with an English degree and married her husband, John, in 1990. They have three sons - Creed, Boone and Kade. "I have spent many years standing in the parking lot, hanging out on the playground and helping in the classrooms. The philosophy of St. Thomas, the special something that permeates the air in and around this place, the feel of the gardens and classrooms, the warmth and support of the staff have all had a profound influence on my life, as an individual and as a mother, and on the lives of my family.

Nora Lee Hatch - Beginners Teaching Aide, Lunch Bunch Program
Nora Lee Hatch works as the assistant in the morning Beginners Class. Prior to that she worked two years with the Pre-K program. She has been with the ELC for 9 years. Nora Lee and her husband Stephan have lived in the Bryan, College Station area for the last 25 years. They belong and are active in the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. They have 7 children and grandchildren. Nora Lee has been involved in teaching and working with young people for the last 32 years either as a mother, in community service, or serving in the church youth program. "I feel very fortunate to work at St. Thomas ELC where learning takes place in such a positive atmosphere."

Christa Haney - Beginners Teacher
Christa Haney grew up in New York State, received her Bachelors degree from SUNY at Buffalo. She earned her Masters from Indiana University. She taught German and fifth grade in Indiana and Georgia before coming to Texas. Christa is married to Richard Haney, a professor at Texas A&M University, and they have two boys, both of whom attended St. Thomas ELC. Christa has been teaching at St. Thomas ELC since 1990, first as teaching aide to Marilyn Johnson, and beginning in 1994, as the teacher for the Afternoon Beginners class. "Each year the children enter the class with varied skill levels and by the end of the year they are a cohesive group who have learned how to respect each other and complete so many tasks independently. Their transformation is remarkable! This is what makes teaching this age group so rewarding!"

Donna Hajash - Art Education

Jennifer Hixon - Lunch Bunch Program

Beth Lawrence - Kindergarten Teacher
Beth has been employed at St. Thomas ELC since 2002 as the Outdoor Program Coordinator, organizing parent-led garden and playground activities such as Christmas for the Birds and Stone Soup. In addition, she has coordinated a volunteer group called Handy Moms and Dads and organized the maintenance for the Meadow Classroom, gardens and playground areas. She comments the best part of her week is spent teaching science in the afternoons to the first grade class. In 2005, she added Pre K to her repritoire, assisting Helen Flynn in the Five Day Pre K class.

A graduate of Texas A&M with a M.S. in Horticulture Science, she has taught at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Florida and Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas. Most importantly, she and her husband, Glenn, have three children who had the gift of a St. Thomas ELC experience.

Donna Palmisano - Kindergarten Teaching Aide
Donna is Sunny Popp's teaching aide. She graduated from Texas A&M in 1994. She has two children who have attended St. Thomas ELC. Their family has a love for the outdoors and enjoys climbing, fishing, hiking, and Taekwondo. She believes that working with children is a privilege and a joy.

Sunny Popp - Kindergarten Teacher
Senorah (Sunny) Popp has been a kindergarten teacher at St. Thomas ELC since the fall of 1991. Before coming to teach at St. Thomas ELC, she taught preschool at First Presbyterian Children's Center in Bryan, Texas. Sunny grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and received her degree at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. She moved to College Station in 1979 with her husband, Bob Popp, and young daughter. Bob is a professor in the Geology Department at Texas A&M. They quickly added another daughter and son to their family. Reading a great book or taking a restful vacation are on the top of Sunny's hobby list. She has also been a faithful member of an exercise group for several years.

Jin Soon Sagong - Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Jin Soon Sagong was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. She graduated from Korean Christian College in 1974 and taught at Seoul American Elementary School from 1974-1978. She came to the USA to study elementary education at Lubbock Christian College. She received a M. Ed. in early childhood education and a minor in multicultural teaching from Texas Tech.

She worked at South Knoll pre-k from 1989 until 1991, when she joined the staff at St. Thomas ELC. This is her 17th year at St. Thomas ELC. Jin Soon feels that St. Thomas is a small heaven for the children and teachers!

Jodi Sheridan - Lunch Bunch Program
Beth has been employed at St. Thomas ELC since 2002 as the Outdoor Program Coordinator, organizing parent-led garden and playground activities such as Christmas for the Birds and Stone Soup. In addition, she has coordinated a volunteer group called Handy Moms and Dads and organized the maintenance for the Meadow Classroom, gardens and playground areas. She comments the best part of her week is spent teaching science in the afternoons to the first grade class. In 2005, she added Pre-K to her repritoire, assisting Helen Flynn in the Five Day Pre-K class.

A graduate of Texas A&M with a M.S. in Horticulture Science, she has taught at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Florida and Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas. Most importantly, she and her husband, Glenn, have three children who had the gift of a St. Thomas ELC experience.

Mary Skow - Developmental Assessment Consultant
Former First Grade teacher, Mary Skow, BS Ed., is a Developmental Assessment Consultant for St. Thomas Early Learning Center in College Station, Texas. After receiving her degree from Abilene Christian University, Mary taught in Arlington, TX, and has been active as a private reading tutor. Mary states that teaching young children to read is so rewarding for her because it opens up for them a lifetime of learning.

Natalie Smith - Beginners Teaching Aide
Natalie Smith is the teacher's Aide for the five day pre-kindergarten class.  She joined the staff of St. Thomas in 2002 and worked for five years with the beginners. Natalie grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina. She and her husband Steve, a library administrator at Texas A&M,  moved to College Station in 1990. They have a daughter and a son, both teenagers. Natalie loves music, reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Marilyn Wade - Music Program
Marilyn Wade is the music teacher at St. Thomas ELC.  She graduated from Va Tech in 1976, moved to College Station in 1984, and has been teaching piano since 1991.  She is married to Terry Wade, an oceanographer at Texas A&M, and they have twin sons and a daughter.

Wendy Wright - Beginners Teaching Aide