Teachers
Subhadra Mitchell is returning for her second year of teaching at The Cooper School. This year, she is the lead teacher in the Kindergarten/Grade 1 class. Subhadra is a graduate of the University of Florida, with a BS in Special Education and her Masters in Early Childhood Education. She looks forward to new adventures with Jack-a-roo, the class lizard, and in the Japanese Garden. Subhadra can be contacted at subhadramitchell@thecooperschool.org
Anne Wil Wingfield is so excited to be joining The Cooper School as the Grade 2 teacher. She is coming to us from The Catherine Cook School in Chicago, Illinois. Originally a native of Virginia, Anne Wil received a B.A. in Anthropology from The University of the South in Sewanee, TN and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Piedmont College in Athens, GA. Second grade was the year Anne Wil developed her own love for reading and writing. As a teacher, she shares her life long passion for literature with her students. Anne Wil can be contacted at annewilwingfield@thecooperschool.org.
Kay Durette was born and raised on a lake in a small town in Connecticut, and loves all things outdoors! Kay attended Fairleigh Dickinson University on a full-athletic scholarship, and graduated with a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. For the past three years Kay has been teaching third grade at Samuel Staples Elementary School in Connecticut. Kay can be contacted at kaydurette@thecooperschool.org.
A Charleston native, Franci Ollard graduated from Cornell University in 1998 with a BS in Human Development and Family Studies. She moved to Knoxville, TN to attend graduate school at the University of Tennessee in Child Development. Two years later she began law school, and graduated with a JD from the University of South Carolina in 2004. She joined The Cooper School Community in 2008. This year she will be the lead teacher in the Upper Elementary Grade 4/5 Classroom and the Director of Admissions for the new Kindergarten/Grade 1 classroom. Franci can be contacted at franciollard@thecooperschool.org.
Carole Berini is Cooper School’s Teacher – in – Residence. She grew up in the South of France by the Mediterranean Sea, and has always been attracted to the marine environment. She left France at twenty years old to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. She then chose to go back to school and moved to Charleston in order to pursue her Master’s Degree in Marine Biology at the Grice Marine Lab (College of Charleston). She successfully defended her thesis in May 2009, and joined Tidal Trails as a naturalist and educator, introducing people to the local coastal environment through outdoor activities. With Tidal Trails she co-developed the N.A.T.U.R.E. program, which was first offered at the Cooper School as an after school program in the Fall of 2009.
Wei Ma, Cooper School’s Mandarin teacher, was born and raised in China, where she received a B.A in Education. She immigrated to the United States 12 years ago. Wei Ma has been teaching Mandarin Chinese to children in Charleston for several years, and believes learning the Chinese language and culture will give students more opportunity in the future. Wei Ma is also the director of Charleston Chinese Language Center which offers one-on one and small group lessons. She likes to do Chinese calligraphy and Chinese folk dance in her spare time. She lives in West Ashley with her husband Elijah Siegler and two kids, Lucy and Henry.
Tom Noren, Cooper School’s Spanish teacher, was born in Rio de Janeiro where he began his guitar studies at age 12. He moved to Boston in 1988 and attended the New England Conservatory of Music, earning a Masters degree in classical guitar performance in 1994. Tom studied with David Leisner while he was at NEC. Since graduating he has performed and recorded extensively with the New World Guitar Trio and with HourGlass. His recordings can be bought at cdbaby.com.
Tom has taught at the Longy School of Music, Tufts University and at Gordon College. In additional to teaching Spanish, Tom is currently the director of the Childbloom Guitar Program and he also performs in a variety of venues and settings.
SEHA (School of Empty Hand Art) was founded by David Pettus, Sensei, who has been studying & teaching Karate since the early 70’s. The school has a strong foundation in traditional Japanese Kempo Karate. Anne Pettus has been training and teaching with Sensei since the early 80’s. She has a background in education and together they have developed a curriculum that is age and rank appropriate for their students.The youth programs have an emphasis on pre skills training and basic fundamentals. In addition to balance, strenght, and coordination, students are expected to be focused, attentive and follow directions. In our program there is also the component of character development – students are expected to demonstrate respect , courtesy and appropriate behavior in different situations.
Tina Hirsig, Cooper School’s Visual Arts teacher, grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. After graduating from Illinois State University she moved to Boston, Massachusetts were she attended the art studio program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. This experience solidified her commitment to the arts and arts education. Working as an art teacher the next seven years for Kindergarten through Eighth grade she gained the knowledge and experience in art education, arts advocacy, as well as maintaining a studio practice. In 2003 Tina moved to Charleston, South Carolina and has since completed her Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. She is currently teaching visual arts, maintaining a studio practice at the Old Navy Yard in North Charleston (10 Storehouse Row), exhibiting her artwork regionally and nationally, and parenting two young sons with her husband.
Wendy Tahara is the Fiber Arts/ Handwork teacher at The Cooper School. She was raised in southern Orange County, California, and grew up mostly studying piano, but has always loved being creative with all sorts of fibers and textiles. After graduating from Indiana University with a piano degree, she spent many years working as a ballet accompanist, playing in Southern California and Vermont. She moved to Charleston, SC in 1999, and has been keeping an active piano studio at Hungry Monk Music and performing on both piano and celtic harp. In her free time, she loves to knit, and work at KNIT downtown, sew and make jewelry for a small accessories company based in South Carolina called Mei Fashion, and is recently experimenting with clothing design. She lives in Charleston with her husband, Nicholas Butler.
