Meet the LS Teaching Assistants

Eight new TAs join the Lower School team, and four return to USN.
By Sierra Smith, Communications Specialist

With the 2020-2021 school year underway, it can be beneficial to get to know the many individuals working with children every day. The 12 Teaching Assistants that support teachers in kindergarten through third grade are an integral part of the team shaping student’s experience at USN. 

“Our Lower School TA team is amazing. Each TA brings something special to our Lower School community. TAs this year have shown incredible flexibility and resiliency,” Assistant Head of Lower School Felicia Holst said. 

Lower School TAs provide support for classroom teachers and students in a variety of ways. They support students not only with their academic learning but also their social and emotional learning as well. TAs engage with and encourage students, adhering to the Responsive Classroom curriculum. With the guidance of lead classroom teachers, they provide support for individual students and small groups, too. 

“They began the year supporting teachers and students during remote learning, and are now making the transition with us to in-person learning. Their support has been particularly crucial during the unique start to this school year. We are so grateful for each of them,” Holst shared. 

Below you can get to know each of these invaluable Teaching Assistants:

Kindergarten Teaching Assistants

Jenny Franklin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in child development and family studies from Middle Tennessee State University and comes to this position with experience working in both public and private school settings including a specialized emphasis on working with children with hearing loss. 

Ellie Lentz ’08 studied art history at Birmingham-Southern College before going on to a nearly 10-year career in Nashville’s luxury hotel industry. Now, as she returns to USN, Lentz feels she’s finally pursuing a long held dream. She has experience working in daycare and preschool settings, and she is particularly excited about the opportunity to support children in their emotional and intellectual growth through her role as a TA. 

Anastasia Teel is a Nashville native and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater from Western Carolina University. She has spent the last 10 years working as a teaching artist with The Theater Bug where she met many USN Tigers as students and fellow instructors. Also, Teel has worked as a performer in Tokyo Disneyland and in New York City as an actor, nanny, and children’s theater teacher. 

Katie Roth ’15 returns for her second year as a TA but has been around USN for most of her life; she attended kindergarten through 12th grade here and her mother, Debbie Roth, has taught at USN for over 30 years. Also, she has worked as a camp counselor at USN since she was 15. Roth graduated cum laude from Sewanee in 2019 with honors. In addition to her role as a TA, Roth coached fifth and sixth grade basketball last year. 

First Grade Teaching Assistants

Megan Birk comes to USN with five years of experience; most recently, she worked as a physical education assistant for kindergarten and first graders in Illinois last year. Birk has a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and is eager to get to know the USN community.

A Tennessee native, McKenna Hoover brings a unique and impressive set of experiences to first grade. She holds a B.A. in sociology with a minor in French from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and a M.A. in French studies with a concentration in teaching French as a second language from the American College of the Mediterranean in Aix-en-Provence, France. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, Hoover spent a year in Avignon, France as an English language teaching assistant in three French primary schools and has been working in various educational roles such as tutoring and assistant teaching since high school. 

Ellen Dudek returns to continue her role as a Teaching Assistant and member of After School staff. She began working in After School in 2017 and joined the TA team in the spring of 2019. She enjoys getting to know students and watching the ways in which they grow and change throughout the year; as a result, she’s committed to helping shape the Class of 2032 into the best students they can be. 

Also, Connor Murphy returns for his third year working at USN after joining After School’s staff in 2018; it is his second semester as a Lower School TA. Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer studies from MTSU and is pursuing his Master of Education there as well. 

Second and Third Grade Teaching Assistants

Caleb Franklin enters his first year at USN with a passion for helping others and a wealth of experience working with children in various roles including summer camp counselor, after school program coordinator, and early childhood educator. Franklin holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in creative writing from MTSU where he’s enrolled again as a graduate student. 

Abby Maynard joins USN as a recent graduate of Belmont University with a bachelor’s degree in music education. Maynard is enthusiastic about getting to know second and third grade students in order to best support their learning needs. 

Angela Tharpe is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she received her M.F.A. in creative writing, and Baylor University, where she received her B.A. in English. She has previous experience as a Creative Writing professor, and high school English teacher; at the elementary school level, she has been a teacher’s assistant, tutor, summer camp counselor, and after-school teacher, as well. Tharpe is looking forward to learning from the excellent Lower School teachers she’s working with and learning from USN’s strong and diverse community.

Anna Youssef is in her second year as a TA at USN after moving to Nashville from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has teaching experience as a preschool Spanish teacher and is enrolled in graduate classes at Ball State University to obtain a master’s in early childhood education.
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