Board Chairperson

Deann McManus is a Success Coach at Newberry High School, where she supports students and educators with a focus on ensuring all students graduate on time ready for college, a career or the military. Before taking on this role in August 2024, she served as the English Proficiency Assessment Program Manager at the South Carolina Department of Education, guiding statewide initiatives to improve assessment and support for multilingual learners (MLs).

With experience as an ESOL teacher in Newberry County Schools from 2012 to 2021 and deep expertise as a Multilingual Learner specialist, Deann is passionate about advocating for MLs and empowering the educators who serve them. She holds a BS in Early Childhood Education from Newberry College, an MEd in TESOL from American College of Education, and is currently pursuing an EdS in Administration from University of the Cumberlands. Deann believes in building collaborative relationships, fostering inclusive practices, and centering student needs in every decision.

Deann also serves as the board secretary for the Newberry County First Steps local partnership and has served as a board member for her local community theater. She has two grown children, a senior dog, and two precocious cats. 

Assistant Director of Fundraising & Outreach

Kristin Craft is an Instructional Specialist in the Dept. of Multilingual Services in Charleston County School District. She holds a BA in Elementary Education with a specialization in Mathematics and a minor in Spanish from Millikin University and an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from The University of Texas at San Antonio. She has taught early childhood through high school learners in four different states. She enjoys writing and intends to become an author of children's books in the near future. She resides in Charleston, SC with her husband and two young children.

Secretary

Megan Todd is a lead ML teacher for Horry County Schools. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Inclusive Special Education with a minor in Psychology of Children with Exceptionalities from SUNY Cortland and a Masters Degree in TESOL from Adelphi University. She is a member of the Programming Committee for the SCML Educator Network and has worked with the Content Committee to create and produce their social media. Megan has experience on her district’s ML curriculum development team and has an interest in the Science of Reading as it pertains to ML’s. Prior to coming to South Carolina, Megan lived in New York and taught for the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and Long Island schools. While in NY, she had vast experiences with co-teaching and the SIOP model. She lives with her husband, daughter, and two animals. 

Treasurer

Laura McAulay has been in education for 10 years and served as a multilingual learner program (MLP) specialist for 8 years. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Programming for the SC Multilingual Learner Educator Network. In addition to her K-12 ESOL certification, she received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (K-6) and a minor in Spanish from Georgia Southern University and has her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Clemson University. She has spent her entire career in South Carolina and taught for both Chesterfield County and York 4-Fort Mill School District. She has experience teaching all K-12 MLs. In Fort Mill, she also got extensive experience co-teaching at the elementary school level which allowed her to develop further classroom experience and an understanding of how to support MLs within the general education classroom. She is passionate about advocating and empowering ML parents and school staff to equitably educate MLs. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, Sam, and is currently staying home with their son, Colin (1).

Member-At-Large

Tory Pennington, PhD is an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Her work centers on emergent curriculum, multilingual literacies, and play-based learning. She collaborates with teachers, families, and community partners to design joyful, inclusive learning environments where children can become infinitely.