KATHERINE SUMRELL
ELEMENTARY

Katherine is currently a student at Appalachian State University where she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Child Development. She is a member of the Appalachian Community of Education Scholars. Katherine has experience in elementary classrooms and tutoring a variety of subjects. She values education and believes that every child deserves individualized support to be successful in the classroom. Her goal is to foster a passion for learning and confidence in all students.

DAN MAIULLO
MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL
SAT, ACT, & GRE PREP

Meet Dan, our lead high school math and science tutor. Dan was originally a businessman who began his teaching career through SAT classes. SAT tutoring led to tutoring in calculus, physics, chemistry, and other subjects. Dan found that he really enjoyed explaining the subject matter to students. Dan holds a graduate degree in Law from Rutgers and has over fifteen years experience tutoring students.

Patti Hensley
ELEMENTARY

Patti graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Reading.  She is National Board Certified . Patti recently retired from teaching with over 30 years in Title I Reading, fourth grade, first grade, and most recently Kindergarten.  She is so excited to work with students at High Country Academy!! Patti considers it an honor and a challenge to find strategies that help children learn best.  Children learn in such a variety of ways, and it’s always exciting to find the way that suits each student best.

 Susan Copeland

EC & Elementary & Middle School

 Susan is a recently retired, certified, Special Education teacher of 45 years.  She attended Appalachian State University and has enjoyed a career focused on helping students in grades K-6 grow academically, emotionally, and socially.  Along with teaching all elementary level subjects, she is Orton-Gillingham trained and is passionate about using her knowledge to provide explicit, multi-sensory, direct instruction to build the reading skills students need to grow and be successful.  Susan taught her final 6 years at Mabel School in Watauga County.   Prior to that she resided in Hertford Co, where she taught in both public and private schools.  In addition, Susan owned a learning center for 21 years, where she and a team of tutors provided private tutoring to students from kindergarten through high school ages.  Her goal is to build relationships with her students, determine their strengths and weaknesses, and develop an individualized plan to meet their needs.  We are excited to have Susan join our team.

Christy Laws
Middle/HIgh School

Christy is a veteran teacher who has taught middle school math and language arts for over 27 years. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University. Christy holds a North Carolina teaching license in middle school language arts, math, social studies, and science, a K-12 reading license, and a National Board Certification in middle school language arts. Christy’s work with children is rooted both in her faith and in the belief that all children deserve the opportunity to learn. Her goal is to work with students to help them find the best strategies to make this possible.

Tressie York
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Tressie received her Bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University and Master's Degree from UNC-Charlotte. She is licensed by the state of North Carolina with three certifications: Music Education K-12, Elementary Education K-6, and Teaching English as a Second Language K-Adult. Her teaching experience includes public school instruction, small group instruction, and one-to-one tutoring. Tressie enjoys the challenge of pinpointing a student's specific areas of need and customizing a learning plan to meet those needs.