Carolina School for Inquiry

Terri Washington has 21 years of experience teaching
kindergarten to fourth grade. She is a National Board Certified
Teacher and has expertise in the area of early literacy instruction
and the multiple intelligences. She has been a member of the
South Carolina Reading Initiative and Reading First. She has a
Masters plus thirty in Education from the Citadel, a M.Ed. in
Education from Cambridge College and a Bachelors degree in
Early Childhood Education from Winthrop University.

Dr. Verdie Samuels has 25 years of teaching experience in
kindergarten, first and second grade. She has also taught at
Ohio State University and South Carolina State University. She is
a National Board Certified Teacher and is experienced in
multiage teaching. She has a Ph.D. in education from Ohio State
University, a M.Ed. in Counselor Education, and a BS in Early
Childhood Education from South Carolina State University. Her
doctoral research was on cultural voices and how they are
embraced in the teaching of reading.

Chris Richards has a Masters of Arts in Teaching in
Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina and was an upper elementary teacher at CSI in 2006-2007 .
This experience has given Chris ample training in inquiry
based instruction. He has worked in multiage settings with
children in after-school and summer programs and has done
his student teaching in third and fourth grades. He also has
in BA in psychology from the University of South Carolina.

Melanie Johnson has five years teaching experience. She has taught second, third, fourth, and sixth grades, as well as reading at the community college level. Melanie has a Masters of Education and a Bachelors in English from Converse College. She has extensive literacy training which will be of benefit in her inquiry-based classroom. She has recently relocated to Columbia from Boiling Springs, SC with her husband, two sons and a Boston Terrier.

Lindsey White received her BA in English and MAT in Learning
Disabilities from the University of South Carolina. She has been
a resource teacher in Richland District One for eleven years and has taught students in kindergarten through 5th grade at AC Moore and Meadowfield Elementary. Her teaching experience and training include co-teaching and the inclusion model. She has
also taught in several multiage settings through the Extended
School Year program. Lindsey looks forward to another exciting year with the Carolina School for Inquiry.

Tanya Wilson has eight years of experience in speech and language pathology. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of SC State University. She is certified by the SC Department of Education in speech therapy, has the Clinical Certificate of Competence (CCC’s) through the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and license from the SC Board of Examiner’s. She is a member of the SC Speech and Hearing Association (SCSHA) and ASHA. Tanya has worked in two school districts, serving as the speech therapist, self-contained teacher, and resource teacher. She has had experience working with various special education populations, including PMD, TMD, ED, EMD, LD, and VI. Tanya is a native of Sumter, SC and currently resides in Columbia with her son, Tyreek. Her aspiration is to pursue a doctorate in Healthcare Administration with the goal of having her own private practice.

Jacqueline has been an educator for over 17 years. She has acquired a Masters plus 30 Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina and is a National Board Certified Teacher. She has an undergraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism and worked for South Carolina ETV for several years. Jackie is married with two children, and enjoy sports, reading, jazz and gospel music. She spends spare time playing and teaching tennis. She decided to become an educator to inspire children to learn, after working with her own children during their developing years. Jacqueline believes that children have a lot of talent and we need to find ways to tap into them.

Markesha is currently a Doctoral Student in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program at the University of South Carolina. She also received her B.A in English from USC prior to receiving her Ed.S in Counselor Education with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is currently Board approved for the NCE. She is currently a member of Chi Sigma Iota, American Counseling Association, SACE, and AACE. She has presented nationally at AACE conferences and the Southeastern Conference on Cross-Cultural Issues in Counseling and Education and locally at various seminars throughout South Carolina on various therapeutic issues for children and adults. She has strong research interests in Feminist Theory, Multiculturalism/Transculturalism, Family Systems, at risk-youth, examining Mental Health in the legal system and incorporating Spirituality into Therapy. In addition to working to strengthen the children and families of Carolina School for Inquiry, Markesha also teaches and serves as a Research Assistant with various developmental projects at the University of South Carolina. Markesha is a native of Pageland, South Carolina, but presently resides in Columbia.

Mary Gholz is in her seventh year teaching early childhood/elementary students. She has spent the past five years as an educator in a charter school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mary obtained a Masters of Education in Early Childhood Development from The College of Mount St. Joseph and has a Bachelors degree in Human Development/Family Science from The Ohio State University. She is certified to teach English as a Second Language through the International Teacher Training Organization and has spent the past two summers teaching English to children, adolescents and adults while living in various cities in Mexico.