Meet the Teachers & Staff

Becky was born in England and graduated from Southampton University, UK with a Masters degree in geology. During this time, she completed an exchange year at Penn state University where she met her husband. Together they moved to Spruce Pine in 2012, where they married and had two children, Louise and Charlie. After the birth of her first child Becky became a stay at home parent and in 2016 Louise attended church street preschool. Becky volunteered in the classroom and began teaching geology to the children annually and found how much she enjoyed teaching preschool children. In 2018 she was excited to join the team as a preschool teacher, and later becoming the director.

In her free time she enjoys, cooking, gardening, hiking and remodeling their ‘fixer upper’.

Margarita was born in a remote village in the Philippines, called Buena Vida, where her mother, brothers and sisters still reside. She finished her elementary grades in Buena Vida and then moved to Makilala, a small town nearby, for high school since there was no high school in her home town. She enrolled in the University of Mindanao, studying Economics. Margarita then moved to Manila and worked as a shift supervisor at a fast food chain. She obtained a job in Hong Kong and where she lived for almost twelve years. In her last four years of living in Hong Kong, she cared for children.

In 1996, Margarita met Ronnie Robinson and they were married two years later. She returned to the Philippines to apply for a visa.  Margarita arrived in the US in the summer of 2000 and a year later her daughter, Hannah, was born. Hannah attended preschool at Church Street and Margarita helped as a volunteer. The teachers recognized her talents and she was hired as a teacher.  In January of 2013 Margarita was awarded US citizenship and currently teaches the preschool children Spanish.

Courtney Tabor and her husband are both natives of Yancey County. Together they have two children, Camilla and Maximus. Courtney went into the veterinary field right out of high school and was a veterinary technician until the birth of her daughter in 2015. She's been a stay at home mom since having her children and was a nanny for about three years. When the position at Church Street became available, she thought it was the perfect opportunity for her to experience a new and rewarding career and still have the time she wanted to spend with her family. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, the outdoors, exercise and tending to her family's small homestead.

Vanessa and her husband Scott are natives to Yancey County. She graduated from Mountain Heritage and attended Mars Hill University. Vanessa has a bachelor's degree in science and business administration. She has two children. Ivy, who will graduate from East Tennessee State in the spring and a son named Cole, who is a junior at Mountain Heritage High School. Vanessa volunteered at Church Street Preschool when her own children attended the school. She has always loved and desired to be a part of our team. Vanessa worked with the learning center in Yancey County and loved being with the children. In her spare time, she loves gardening, fishing, and kayaking. Vanessa looks forward to being a part of each child's life at Church Street. She understands the blessings from shaping our children's future. 

Kaylee Gilmour, born in Iredell County, resides in Burnsville. She loves living in and calling the mountains her home. She graduated from Mayland Early College with an Associates in Arts and married shortly after. Being a wife and mother are Kaylee's greatest joys. She and her husband have two daughters, Evelyn and Audrey. After working full time until her first daughter was 14 months old, Kaylee and her husband made the decision for Kaylee to be a stay-at-home mom. She did so until she became an assistant teacher at Church Street Preschool after witnessing how her daughter Evelyn flourished in the two years she attended.

Many teachers had a profound impact on Kaylee's life throughout her education and she has a lot of admiration and appreciation for the importance of teachers. She is also very grateful for the love many in her upbringing expressed. Specifically, she gives credit to her late great-grandfather for instilling patience, compassion, and kindness within her. 

In her spare time, Kaylee enjoys hiking to waterfalls, working with flowers, and hanging outdoors in her hammock reading.