By Debbie Adams
Mount Pleasant Elementary School welcomes several new members to the staff for the 2020-21 school year.
Terri Booth will be serving as a school nurse this year. She served as the school nurse at the school previously in 2004.
She is from Northern Virginia where she graduated from Robinson High School. She studied nursing at Northern Virginia Community College and then at Radford University. She has family in the area and moved to Roanoke, but then relocated to Florida in 2014. She says she has now “come full circle” in returning to Roanoke once again.
Booth has worked as the school nurse at Hidden Valley High School and at William Byrd. She says she enjoyed being able to work with students at William Byrd who she had years before worked with at Mount Pleasant.
“I love school nursing,” Booth says. “It is challenging right now in these difficult times, but we are taking each day as a small victory.
“The staff and students at Mount Pleasant are remarkable,” Booth said. “The kids are doing so well” with all the changes and changing health guidelines.
“If there is a silver lining in all this, hopefully we will see less flu and fewer colds this year, with all the health precautions being taken and personal space being more respected,” Booth said.
Anthony Bryant is working as an instructional assistant for special needs students. He is from Vinton and a graduate of William Byrd High School. He majored in art at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has worked in Special Education for several years.
“I love working in elementary schools with special needs children,” Bryant said.
Bryant is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard, a certified Personal Trainer, and a deacon at Vinton Baptist Church.
Angela Cooper is preschool instructional assistant at Mount Pleasant.
Melissa Elyard is a nutrition associate at Mount Pleasant Elementary. She is from Roanoke and a William Byrd High School graduate. The company where she has worked for 13 years is going out of business and the “job in nutrition is perfect with my daughter’s schedule,” she said.
“I love being able to work at Mount Pleasant,” Elyard said. “I attended school here as a child, so I have many wonderful memories here and look forward to making new ones.”
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, along with cooking and baking.
Jimmy Mullins has come to Mount Pleasant as a building operator this year.
Holly Palmieri is working as a preschool instructional assistant. She grew up in Roanoke and graduated from Northside High School in May 2020. She is currently studying Early Childhood Development at Virginia Western Community College.
“I have been working with kids since I was 14,” Palmieri said. “I did two internships in high school and then worked at Lakeside Daycare the past two years. I am very happy and excited to be working at Mount Pleasant. Everyone has been so welcoming and kind to me!”
Kristen Seth will be working as a reading specialist at Mount Pleasant. She is originally from Grand Junction, Colo., but has been living in Vinton for seven years. She earned her Elementary Education degree from Florida Southern College and her Master’s in Education from the University of Virginia. She has taught for 15 years – eight in Henrico County and seven in Roanoke City.
“I’m looking forward to joining the community at Mount Pleasant that I’ve heard so many great things about!” said Seth.
Her two children attend Vinton schools. Her son is a third grader at Herman L. Horn and her daughter is in the sixth grade at William Byrd Middle School.
As for her special interests, “I enjoy spending time outdoors (hiking, kayaking) with my husband and two children. I also enjoy photography, traveling, puzzles, and brush lettering.”
Stephanie Webster is a one-on-one instructional assistant with a second grader. She comes from Bedford and graduated from Liberty High School. She has been working with children for 18 years.
Her children attend Mount Pleasant Elementary. She was a substitute last year with the student she is currently working with on an individual basis.
“I enjoyed working with him so much I decided to stay and become full-time,” Webster said. “I love Mount Pleasant. I have the best bosses and co-workers.
“My husband grew up in Mount Pleasant and once we got married, we moved back to the area because we loved it so much,” she said.
