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St. Paul's Episcopal School
517 Columbus Ave.
Waco, Texas 76701
254-753-0246
FAX 755-7488
info@stpaulsschoolwaco.com

Melisa Bennett
		Personal Information:My name is Melisa Bennett, Pre-K teacher at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School. I am married to Jamey. He works for Texas Life Insurance Company. Our daughter, Morgan, is a St. Paul's graduate. She graduated from Texas Christian University in May and has moved to New York City to find a job in the fashion industry. We have a house full of pets! A white male cat named Casper, and two Calico female cats named Kit and Kitty. We have two female dogs, a white Spitz mix named Cotton and a new Westie puppy named Makenzie. My husband and I were both born and raised in Waco and attended St. Paul's school as children. I am also a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. I enjoy reading, baseball, and spending time with my family and friends.

		Educational Information: I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and a minor in Speech. After college I taught in the Waco Independent School District for six years. I taught at Crestview Elementary School in the fourth grade for two years and in the first grade for four years. I have been teaching at St. Paul's Episcopal School for twenty-two years. I taught in the first grade for twenty years and PreK for the past two years.

Professional Information: I have attended many training sessions over the years. Math Their Way, Love and Logic, TRIBES, Safegaurding God's Children, Reading Recovery - Reading Records, Integrated Thematic Instruction, several Leap Frog Educational training conferences, many Southern Association of Episcopal Schools conference trainings, several National Association of Episcopal Schools conference trainings, IB-PYP level one, IB-PYP level two, and IB-PYP level three training.

Susan Cleveland
Personal Information: My name is Susan Cleveland and I am a Pre-K teacher at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School. I have one son named David who attended St. Paul's Episcopal Day School. David recently graduated from Texas Christian University. Currently, David is pursuing a career as a Home Builder in Ft. Worth Texas. David recently married my precious daughter- in-law, Maggie, who teaches First Grade at Tanglewood Elementary in Ft. Worth. I have no grandchildren but I have a beautiful black lab "grand dog", Brinkley. I love animals! I have a yellow lab named A.J. and a chocolate lab named Maggie. Also, I have an adorable, spoiled, calico cat named Tuttie Pearl. I was born in Waco, but moved away for ten years with my parents, when my dad was transferred. Our family moved back to Waco when I was in high school. I am a parishioner of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. I enjoy quilting, needlepoint, Sudoku and basketball.

Educational Information: I attended Baylor University and graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Art. After college, I taught in the La Vega Independent School District for four years, where I taught sixth, seventh and eighth grade Art at J.P. Miles Middle School. I have been teaching at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School for fifteen years. My classroom experience at St. Paul's has been teaching three year olds for two years and four year olds for thirteen years.

Professional Information:I have attended many training sessions over the years which include: National Association for the Education of Young Children, TRIBES, Love and Logic, Math Their Way, Reading Recovery-Reading Records, and Safegaurding God's Children. I have attended numerous Leap Frog Educational training conferences, Southern Association of Episcopal Schools conference trainings, National Association of Episcopal School conference trainings, and IB-PYP level one training.

Gazala Siddiq

I was born and raised in Pakistan even though my parents were originally from Kashmir, India. I spent most of my childhood in the Northern areas of Pakistan since my father was appointed as Commissioner of Northern Areas. Living there, I had the wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful valleys, including the famous, Hunza Valley.

I received my early education from Gilgit and later on completed my diploma in teaching from the Board of Education in Islamabad, Pakistan. My career started as an art teacher at a high school. In years to come, I also taught Urdu and History to 6th and 7th grade students. My experience as a teacher was great, since I was highly appreciated and loved by my students. I believe teaching is a great profession since we get the chance to educate the young people in our world today, who will become tomorrow's leaders.

I moved to America in 1993 after getting married to my husband in 1991. My husband graduated in 1984 from UTA. He is a U.S. Army Veteran. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Center of Waco. Also, he is a board member of the Waco Greater Interfaith Conference and the City Race Community Coalition.

I have three children. Bilal, 13, attended St. Paul's beginning in PreK and graduated in 2006. He now attends Vanguard Preparatory School. Harris, 7, is in second grade. He has attended St. Paul's for the past 3 years. Asim, 6, is in first grade. This is his second year at St. Paul's. I am truly happy to have started my career here in the United States as a teacher's aide. Thus once again, I can pursue my passion of teaching. I plan and hope to complete all necessary skills and education to work as a primary school teacher.