Pat Morgan is a Kindergarten teacher.  Pat is a native of Morgantown and a 1982 Graduate of West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s in Human Resources and Education.  She and her husband Terry have three children; Trish and Heather are both married, and have given her two wonderful grandchildren. Ted is currently in the Navy stationed in Japan.  Pat has spent her life involved in the growth and development of young children through foster parenting, scouting, church, and teaching.  Pat and Terry were also the owners of the Morgan Child Development Center.  From 1984-1994 this center provided a safe nurturing atmosphere for infants to preschoolers and their families.  Pat believes that children grow to their highest potential with love, respect, acceptance, and choices.  After the closing of the MCDC, Pat taught for five years at the WVU Hospital Child Development Center before coming to MLA.  In her classroom children will be celebrated for their differences, challenged with fun and humor, and supported by their MLA family.

Corinne Seese is our Middle Elementary teacher. Corinne graduated from WVU in 1993 with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. In the past, she has taught Preschool through 2nd grade at MLA. She returned to MLA after taking time off to spend with her children. She also spent time teaching BOPARC workshops during the summer and working with MLA’s summer program.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, Rachel and Zachary. She also enjoys sewing, crafting, and hiking.

Paula Taylor is the Upper Elementary teacher and has been with MLA since 2002.  She has a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from WVU.  Originally from Charleston, she enjoys spending time with her pets and gardening.  She is also the 4-H coordinator for MLA.  Paula is looking forward to another year as a teacher at MLA.

Anne Smittle is the Early Elementary School teacher. Anne graduated with honors from WVU with a Bachelor's in History. She has taught Pre-K for five years at a NAEYC accredited school in Virginia and was a substitute teacher in VA and in WV. Anne worked as the Assistant Director at Pleasant Day Schools. She attended ODU to obtain her teaching license in Elementary Education. Anne feels children learn best in a positive, accepting environment. She has taught first and second grade at MLA since 2008. Anne is married with two daughters; she loves reading, hiking and gardening.

Amanda Menihan is our middle school teacher. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also has undergraduate degrees from Metropolitan State College of Denver and WVU. Amanda taught in the St. Vrain Valley school district in Longmont, Colorado for seven years, most recently as a 7th and 8th grade mathematics teacher. She enjoys playing with her two children, skiing and tennis. She can be reached by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Caitlin Coulch is an Early Elementary teacher.  Caitlin is from Rockland, New York. She moved with her family to Virginia where she also attended college at Radford University and received her B.S. in Elementary Education. Caitlin spent her time working with children since she was in high school from summer camps to tutoring middle school students. She worked as a pre-school teacher since 2009 and now is trying out 1^st and 2^nd grade! Caitlin loves the NY Yankees. She spends her time watching blue grass bands and camping!

Liz Rossi is MLA's Music teacher. Liz is happy to be working at The Morgantown Learning Academy! A graduate of The University of Michigan's Musical Theatre B.F.A. Program, Liz has Directed, Choreographed, taught and performed in musical theatre productions throughout the United States and Canada. Favorite acting roles include "Small Purple Panda" on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood & "Jennyanydots" in Cats WV Public Theatre, and Elmo/Small Understudy in the Sesame Street Live international tour. Among her favorite experiences, Liz was thrilled to work as an intern to Susan Stroman on the Broadway production of big, the musical. In Morgantown, she has written, directed and choreographed musical adaptations of Children’s books (Read-Aloud for Monongalia County) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Brookhaven Elementary School.) Originally from New York, Liz chose to raise her 2 kids (Isadora and Elliot Dotson) in Morgantown, WV where she is a Musical Theatre coach and teaches jazz, tap, Pilates and musical theatre dance at the Morgantown Dance Studio.

Jen Osha Buysse "Senora Jen" is very happy to be returning as MLA's Spanish teacher. Jen loves using creative methods such as music or special projects to help MLA students enjoy and learn Spanish. Jen learned Spanish in Ecuador during her time as a WorldTeach volunteer, during which she cofounded Aurora Lights, a non profit that brought together children of different cultures to work on environmental education projects.  Once back in the US, she organized two classes of West Virginia students to travel to the Andes as well as the Amazon areas of Ecuador.  Jen has also taught at the West Virginia Scholars Academy, Yale University, the New Jersey School of Conservation, Salem International University, and Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. Jen lives outside Morgantown with her husband, two sons, and many four legged animals.  Jen received her BA in English from the University of Virginia, her Masters in Forestry from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and her PhD in Geography from West Virginia University.

Jeff Ryan is the Art Instructor at MLA.  He received his B.F.A in Ceramics (with K-12 Certification) from West Virginia University in 1996. He has been teaching pottery, handbuilding, and sculpture in many community based arts organizations for over 15 years. In 2001, he lived and worked in Nargarno Karabagh (Armenia) for two years. Working with locals, he oversaw the reactivation of a small village pottery. In 2006 as a graduate student, he traveled to China to study porcelain production and ceramic history. In 2009, he worked with locals in Kabul, Afghanistan as a consultant to produce geometric tile for a non profit organization’s courtyard fountain. His background is in functional pottery, but his current work is a combination of narrative mosaics and geometric tile. This is his second year as the art ancillary at MLA.

Mary Hinchliffe is the Kindergarten teachers' assistant and the Afterschool Director. Mary is a native to Hopwood, PA and graduated from West Virginia University with Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Art History and a Masters in Journalism. Before attending WVU, she studied early childhood development at Westmoreland Community College and worked for Hopwood United Methodist Preschool. She is currently working on her substitute teaching certificate. Before joining MLA, she worked for WVU's newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum, as an assistant arts and entertainment editor and The Dominion Post for five years as a staff writer. Mary resides in Morgantown with her cat, Boots.

We are happy to welcome Andrew Heslink as one of our physical education teachers this year.  Andrew comes to MLA from New York.  He recieved his physical education degree from SUNY Brockport in 2008 and a second degree in Health Education in 2010.  He is currently attending West Virignia University and majoring in Athletic Coaching Ecucation.  For the last few years he has been working as a substitute teacher at a summer recreational director for youths.  He is also a Level 1 certified snowboard instructor through the American Association of Snowboard Instructors and plans to further his education by working at Wisp Resort this winter.  His other hobbies include football, basketball, volleyball, softball, golf, running, hunting, mountain biking and wakeboarding.  He ran in the Pittsburgh marathon in 2010 and the half marathon in 2011.  He loves the outdoors and hopes to one day own a house on a lake so he can enjoy the outdoors every day.

We are happy to welcome Daniel Stratford as one of our physical education instructors.  "Mr S" was born in Carshalton, England, just outside of London. He moved to Morgantown in the fall of 2004 as a member of the WVU men's soccer team, completing his undergrad in PETE with a minor in Health, in 2009. He was selected as the 2009 outstanding undergraduate by the PETE Faculty. Daniel was also drafted in the MLS by DC United in 2008, where he played for one season before returning to WVU to complete his degree. He has spent the last two years playing soccer professionally in both Scotland and England. He returned to US to begin his Masters here at WVU this summer. Daniel is also helping as a volunteer assistant for the men's soccer team.