My name is Karen Newton.  I was born and raised in Cortland, NY.  In my youth, I enjoyed swimming on a swim team, playing lacrosse, and working at a local ski resort.  I attended The College of William and Mary, where I received a BA degree in 2001.  I majored in English with a minor in Sociology. From there, I attended law school at The University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, MD.  I graduated with honors in 2004 and was sworn into the bar of Maryland.

I worked for a brief time in Easton as a family law attorney, but quickly realized that my place was at home raising three wonderful children with my husband Eric.  Eric is a law enforcement officer for the City of Annapolis.  He has been on the force for over 20 years.  Our children are now 18, 15, and 13 years old!  We stay very busy traveling to the University of South Carolina where our daughter is a freshman and watching our boys play ice hockey and lacrosse!  We wouldn’t have it any other way!  In my free time I like to read, travel, scrapbook, and walk my two dogs!

Melissa Mueller became the director of the Presbyterian Preschool in the Fall of 2014, after having taught in the 3 year old class for three years.  She has been a part of the Presbyterian Church since 1998, when her oldest son enrolled in preschool.  All three of her adult children have gone through the church preschool program.  Prior to becoming a teacher at the Presbyterian Preschool in 2011, Missy spent 13 years as a full-time mother and wife.  Throughout that time and still today, she provides administrative support for her family’s contracting business, Mueller Builders, Inc.  In the years before starting her family, she was employed by the law firm of Henry & Price as a legal secretary and Tidewater Tractor as a bookkeeper.  Over the years, Missy has given back to the community in various volunteer positions including the executive board on both Chapel District PTO and Easton Elementary PTO.  In her free time, Missy enjoys reading, relaxing at the beach, crabbing and fishing and spending time with her friends and family. 

My name is Brandi Gavin.  I have been teaching or working with children since 1992.  I worked as a daycare senior staff with 4 and 5 year olds, through college.  After graduating from Towson University with a Bachelors degree in education, I worked as a preschool teacher at a private school for 1 year.  Then I taught 2nd grade for 6 years.  We moved to Easton in 2003 and I became a stay at home mom.  I worked part time at the YMCA, and volunteered at the elementary school.  In 2016 I was ready to return to the classroom, and I worked over the next few years as a prek and kindergarten assistant and as a reading intervention teacher.  I am excited to join the Presbyterian Preschool family, as preschool is my favorite age to teach.

I have been married for 26 years and have 3 children, Nick(25), Evan(22), and Cassidy (18).  I was blessed to be able to stay home with them when they were younger.  We have 3 dogs, Reed, Opie and Oliver.  I also have 7 chickens – who all have Princess names.  I enjoy the beach, Disney, photography, hiking, reading, traveling and spending time with my family.

I am looking forward to all we are going to learn and the fun we will have together.

I am looking forward to joining the PPS family!  I have been teaching in Christian preschools for 24 years both on the Western Shore and Locally.  Locally I have taught two through five year olds at Christ Church Day School for 14 years and three to four year olds at St. Luke’s Preschool in St. Michael’s for the last 2 years.

I am a believer that children learn through play and that the process through which they learn and express themselves is very impactful to building thoughtful connections.  I believe the natural world has so much to teach us, most importantly empathy and compassion but also science, math and language skills.  Language and art is often more meaningful to your children when they can create stories and art with objects that they engage and identify with.  This is a fun and magical time for your children!

On a personal level, I am married to a loving husband and have 2 dogs, 2 cats and 9 chickens!  I am a long distance runner and an avid gardner.  I love to be outside, take pictures and explore.

I know I have wonderful shoes to fill and look forward to getting to know your children and each family.

My name is Jaquelyn Wright.  I am 21 and I’m from Easton and right outside Boston.  My parents were in the military and loved one of the bases down here which is why we have lived here for most of my life.  I graduated from Easton High.  I did the teaching academy there and had an internship at Easton Elementary with one of their kindergarten classes.  I love working with kids and always have.  They’re so fun and I love working with them at a young age because it really sets up the stepping stones for the rest of their education.  I do have a second job that I moved down to part time so I could accept this wonderful opportunity and do what I really want which is to help and teach young children.