Faculty/Staff

I am a graduate of the former St. Peter’s Catholic School and Lancaster Catholic High School. I have my degree in Early Childhood Education which I have worked for the past 16 years, prior to having children. This is my second year here at Our Lady of the Angels as the Advancement Director, but have been volunteering for the past 11 years. My husband Joe and I have two beautiful children, Olivia in 4th grade and Joseph in 1st, both attending Our Lady of the Angels. This school is definitely my second home. As a child this was such a special place for me and my family. I am honored to give my children the same experience that I had as a child. There is no place that I would rather be than Our Lady of the Angels.

In the 2018-2019 school year, I will be teaching Kindergarten. This will be my first year teaching at OLA! I am a graduate of Gwynedd Mercy University where I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree in Early and Special Education. I currently live in Hershey, PA with my family and my two dogs, Finny and Charlie. It is such a privilege to be a part of a wonderful community here in Columbia and I look forward to meeting all of my students this year.

I’m looking forward to beginning my seventh year at Our Lady of the Angels teaching Pre-School. This is the most wonderful place to spend my days…I love being here to pray and play, and work among you! I graduated from Immaculata University with a degree in Education. I have been teaching Pre-K for 34 years, including two assignments in the Dioceses of Paterson and Newark, NJ. My husband Mike and I have 5 beautiful children…each so blest with wonderful spouses! We are so enriched in each of them. They are our greatest treasure! We are honored to have 23 grandchildren. They are pure joy! We are busy with our parish family at Historic St. Mary’s, Lancaster. It’s a wonderful life! God bless us all as we spend this year together at OLA!

My name is Joanne Beattie and I am the new Preschool teacher here at Our Lady of Angels.   I live in Lancaster with my husband and two children.  My son, Tommy, is eight and my daughter, Jocie, is six.  We have a Boston Terrier, rabbit, and fish.  My family loves the outdoors and we enjoy camping, fishing, and hiking.   We attend St. John Neumann in Manheim Township.

My preschool teaching experience includes many years in Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Lititz.  My education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Temple University.  I obtained a Masters Degree In Early Childhood Education from Millersville University.  I am so excited to meet your children and learn with them this year!

Education: MA in Religious Studies Years at OLA: Since the consolidation of the two schools and several years before at HT School

I am excited to be the Technology teacher/ Learning Support teacher. This is my second year at OLA. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a teaching certificate as well. I have 15+ years of teaching experience. I live in Jacobus, PA with my husband Adam, my 6-year-old son Dylan and our dog Maverick. Dylan will be entering Kindergarten this year. I am absolutely happy to be at OLA. The school is my second family.

I am excitedly beginning my 7th year of teaching 4th grade at Our Lady of the Angels. Growing up as a Catholic school student I spent a lot of time assisting with various grade levels in the Parish School of Religion (PSR) program at St. Leo’s. I continued to do so throughout my 4 years at Lancaster Catholic, before venturing to Shippensburg to attend college. At Shippensburg University, I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Immediately following graduation, I resumed my activity with the PSR program at St. Leo’s, this time becoming the lead teacher for pre-k, kindergarten, and 5th grade classes. While doing so, I worked as a manager for a candy store and enrolled in the education program at Millersville University. A few years later, I graduated with a teaching certificate and master’s degree in Elementary Education. After receiving my certification and degree, I worked as a teacher for Head Start and as a substitute teacher for a number of school districts and grades. I was, and continue to be, thrilled to have found a home here at OLA. Outside of school I stay very busy. My husband, Ben, and very active children, Joey (7) and Kateri (4) keep me on my toes and constantly moving. I enjoy having adventures with them and also spending some of my time helping the community as a volunteer firefighter, public safety educator, and child passenger safety technician.  In the very little bit of free time I do find, I enjoy traveling (especially to the beach), working out, drinking coffee and reading. I am looking forward to sharing some great books with my students and am excited to watch them learn, laugh, and grow this year!

I am a lifetime resident of Columbia, Pennsylvania attending Holy Trinity School for elementary school and graduating from Columbia High School as well as Millersville University. I am also a lifetime member of Holy Trinity Church. I began my teaching career at Holy Trinity School as the 4th Grade Teacher in 1988 and continue today as the 2nd Grade Teacher for Our Lady of the Angels Catholic School. I am proud to say I am beginning my 29th year of teaching. I was honored to be the recipient of the Diocese of Harrisburg – Golden Apple Award in 2011. My husband Vernon and I have two children and one beautiful granddaughter: Brittany, 27, married to Marcus Cantrell. Brittany is a nurse at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina where she works in Pre-op and Recovery in the Cath Lab. They have a beautiful baby girl, named Sophia. Our Son, Christopher, 24 works in the accounting office for Kleen-Rite. He is currently working through his CPA exams. A quote that I truly love is: I call my students “my kids” because in our year together they aren’t just kids on my class list they become a part of my heart….forever!

I grew up in Colchester, Connecticut. I am a graduate of Lebanon Valley College and hold a degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. I have spent the last three years teaching special education. I taught 8^th and 9^th grade special education in Virginia, and then I moved back to Pennsylvania and taught Emotional Support and Life Skills Support. This will be my first year teaching at OLA and I am looking forward to a great year! I love teaching and I am excited to spread my love of learning to the students at OLA and to journey with them as they learn and grow. Currently, I am working on obtaining my Masters in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Messiah College. I love teaching, but also enjoy traveling, reading, spending time with family and friends and volunteering in the community. I am a member of Mary Mother of the Church and enjoy helping with the LifeTeen program there. I’m blessed to begin teaching here at OLA!

My initial area of study in college was accounting. I quickly came to realize that my greatest desire was to be a teacher and soon changed my major to elementary education. I graduated from Shippensburg University and my first teaching job found me right here in Columbia at St. Peter’s School. After 3 years at St. Peter’s I moved to Kauai, HI and spent 3 years there as well as 3 years in Fallon, NV. I did not teach while in Kauai but did teach the Seriously Emotionally Handicapped Junior High class in Fallon, NV. I moved back to Columbia and taught for 3 years as a long term substitute teacher in the Manheim Central School District. I was offered a job as a 7th grade teacher at Holy Trinity School in Columbia and have never regretted taking that position. I have been in Catholic education ever since, 26 years, and am truly grateful.

I am a graduate of York College of PA. I did my graduate work at Millersville University. My first teaching assignment was at St. Peter’s in 1974. I then went to the former St. Mary’s in Lancaster as a full-time substitute. From there I returned to Columbia and taught at Holy Trinity from 1989 until 1998 when we became Our Lady of the Angels. I have been here ever since. Every day is a new experience when teaching Middle School and I love it! This is year 44 and God willing I will be here a few more.