Our Teachers

My name is Samantha Elliott. I am the proud owner of three beautiful Goddard Schools. The three schools are located at The Worthington Hills, North High Street in Worthington, and in Grove City. My days are spent bouncing between all three locations, supporting my directors and amazing teachers. When I have a spare moment you will often catch me loving on my two adorable Labradoodles, Scout and Aspen. My husband, Rex, and I, have three lovely daughters; Alexandra, Gabrielle, and Reese. All three have attended my schools. Alex, is now a director at our High Street location! I am proud to be a part of The Goddard School family and I am committed to providing the highest quality preschool experience for the children in our community.

Shelly Kinney is the Director of The Goddard School of Worthington Hills. Miss Shelly has been teaching and directing at the school since 1998! She has an innate passion to teach and care for children. To pursue her passion she has earned degrees in both Elementary Education and in Special Education. Miss Shelly uses her years of schooling and experience to foster a love of learning in her staff and in her students. Miss Shelly is a true pillar of her community, playing a part in so many lives. She can't go many places without hearing "Hi, Miss Shelly!" Miss Shelly's two favorite things in life are her children, Ryan and Sarah, and Disney. Her perfect day would be spent with them on a Disney cruise ship. Miss Shelly is a friend, mother, and mentor to all.

Miss Brooke has been teaching with us since late 2021! She is a kind soul who has truly found her niche in our Infant classroom. She became a lead teacher in the Summer of 2023. Miss Brooke has earned a Bachelor's Degree in English from Wayne State University. She travels to Japan every year with her husband. She can even speak some Japanese; you may hear her singing a song to the babies in Japanese! She enjoys cooking, reading, and playing board games. Miss Brooke likes to explore new places and spend time with her cats.

Miss Taylor has been teaching at the Goddard School of Worthington since 2021; however, she has been a part of the Goddard Family since she was just four years old! That is because Miss Taylor was a student in Miss Shelly's first preschool class! Now, after teaching in all of our classrooms she is the lead teacher in our young toddler classroom. Miss Taylor is true asset to our team. Miss Taylor is a diehard Ohio State football fan. She loves to attend Buckeye games with her friends and family. Miss Taylor also enjoys reading, musical theater, and playing pickle ball!

Miss Teri is a veteran Goddard teacher. She was teaching with us over 20 years ago! After all this time she has returned to us as enthusiastic about teaching toddlers as ever! Miss Teri has a degree in Early Childhood Development and truly has a passion for working with our youngest students. In her free time you can find her spending time with her son, Gabe, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Miss Katerina has joined our team with a ton of enthusiasm and love of teaching little ones. She has been with us since June of 2023. Miss Katerina earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Anthropology. She has many years of experience working in a preschool setting. Miss Katerina is the lead teacher in our older toddler classroom. She enjoys cooking and baking in her free time. On her days off Miss Katerina loves to explore new places with her large family!

Miss Sarah has a Middle Childhood Education Degree from Miami University. She has found her groove leading our Preschool classroom. Her passion for teaching results in well planned and fun lessons and activities which are loved by all of her students. She has been a part of our Goddard family since the fall of 2012. Miss Sarah has two daughters, Eloise and Imogene, who bring joy and spunk to our classrooms daily. She loves all things crafty; including knitting, baking, using her cricut, and doing puzzles. Miss Sarah spends her spare time playing games and watching movies with her friends and family.

Miss Ally joined our staff in July 2021. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University. Miss Ally found her happy place in our Preschool classroom where she loves to come up with fun and messy activities for her students. Miss Ally enjoys spending time on the beach, strolling through Target, or getting cozy with a good book. When asked if she would rather have money or fame, she responded "honestly, I just want to be happy!"

Mr. Tim began teaching with us in the Spring of 2022. He has a degree in Music Education from Capital University. Mr. Tim is the lead teacher of our Pre-Kindergarten program. He wears many hats and has many hobbies. Mr. Tim is very involved in the community. He leads the children's choir at his church, directs children's musicals, and supports his fellow teachers by providing them with caffeine whenever necessary. If Mr. Tim has a weekend free, you can catch him flying into NYC to take in as many Broadway Shows as he can fit!

Miss Colleen is our Pre-kindergarten Plus and School Age teacher. She has earned a Master's Degree in Education and has been teaching with us since 2009. Miss Colleen sparks her student's curiosity through scientific exploration of the world around us. There is no limit to the number of cool facts she has taught our students throughout the years. She fully embraces Ms. Frizzle's philosophy of taking chances, making mistakes, and getting messy! A perfect vacation for Miss Colleen would be relaxing on a warm beach with a good book.

Miss Annie found her home in our Infant classroom in February 2021. She is working towards a degree in Early Childhood Education from The Ohio State University. She has a yellow lab named Knox, that she loves to take running with her. When Miss Annie is able, she enjoys going to Country Music Festivals and taking trips to Disney World. One of Miss Annie's hobbies is reading, she even hosted our first Goddard Book Club meeting! Next time you're here, try and catch Miss Annie stealing a snack from the kitchen!

Miss Rhonda has spent time teaching in almost every classroom. However, she is currently bringing her joy and knowledge to our Older Toddler classroom. She has earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Otterbein University. We have been lucky enough to have Miss Rhonda as a part of our Goddard Family since the Fall of 2017. Miss Rhonda brings a variety of library books to share with her class each week. She truly creates a fondness of literacy in our students. Miss Rhonda has two sons and is a true animal lover, you may see her talking to the critters in our backyard!

Ryan started his journey at The Goddard School as an infant in our Angel classroom in 2001. All these years later he is back as a teacher! Fun fact: he is Miss Shelly's kid! His love and knowledge of our school makes him an incredible asset to our team. In his spare time he enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, trying new restaurants, and reading up on current events. A passion of his is dog training! Ask him all about canine water sports!

Miss Mimi has been teaching at The Goddard School of Worthington since the Spring of 2023. She has a passion for working with little ones and has found her happy place in our Infant classroom. Miss Mimi is rarely seen without a smile on her face. She truly brings joy to every room she enters. A perfect day for Miss Mimi would be visiting a museum and having a lovely park day with her son and daughter. Miss Mimi has always enjoyed working with children. She has experience with diverse groups including children with special needs. We are thrilled to have Mimi on our team.

Miss Monica has been a part of our Goddard family since January of 2019. In 2021, Monica took some time off to travel, spend time with family, and thankfully returned to us in the Fall of 2023. Miss Monica is a ball of energy and will make sure to keep everyone laughing. She is wonderful in any of our classrooms; however, given the choice she will be in the infant classroom every time! A fun fact about Miss Monica is that she is a Disney adult! She even got engaged in front of Cinderella's castle!

Miss Karsyn brought her bright smile to our school in the Summer of 2023. Miss Karsyn is currently working toward her degree in Anthropology. Miss Karsyn is very interested in genetics and genome sciences, she hopes to work in the field in the future. Miss Karsyn is happy to teach in all of our classrooms. She says that starting her morning with toddlers is a perfect way to start the day!

Mr. Ben began joined our team at the Goddard School in Worthington in the Summer of 2023. He has earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. Mr. Ben is comfortable teaching any age; however, most enjoys our Toddler program. In his spare time Mr. Ben enjoys playing video games and spending time with his friends and family.

Mr. Daniel has been teaching with us since the Fall of 2021. He has a bachelor's degree in business from Malone University. Mr. Daniel has taught in almost every classroom; but truly found his niche with our younger students. You will know Mr. Daniel is in the building before you see him; because you will hear him singing first! He is always singing and dancing through the school. One day Mr. Daniel hopes to use his love of song to pursue a career in the field of music.

Miss Rachel has been teaching at The Goddard School in Worthington since the Fall of 2022. She is currently pursuing her degree in Early Childhood Education. Most of the time you will find Miss Rachel in our Pre-Kindergarten or School Age programs. Our students love that Miss Rachel is often bringing in a new library book to share with the class. A fun fact about Miss Rachel is that she enjoys singing and learning new hobbies!

Miss Kaitlyn is teaching with us while pursuing her Bachelor's Degree in criminology and chemistry from Otterbein University. She joined our staff in August of 2023. Miss Kaitlyn has done an internship for the FBI which she thoroughly enjoyed. A fun fact about Miss Kaitlyn is that she is the oldest of fourteen children. With thirteen younger siblings she is just about ready for anything!

Miss Samantha began teaching with us in September of 2023. She has a passion for working with younger children and can most often be found in our toddler classrooms! Her teaching philosophy is to approach each child with kindness, patience, and understanding. You can expect to always see a smile on Samantha's face! We appreciate her positivity in our school.

Dalianna began working with us in August 2024. Her first day was our August Teacher In-Service and she was a big help on such a crazy day! Dalianna was born in Cuba and moved to Puerto Rico where she attended school and learned English. She has a beautiful 4 year old daughter and loves working with children. You will find Dalianna teaching Spanish to the babies and the other children throughout the school!