MEET OUR TEAM

Mrs. McClure has a bachelors degree in elementary and special education from the University of Delaware along with a certificate in early childhood education. . She been a teacher for over 20 years, including teaching at CUMC Preschool for 8 years. She became Director in 2021. Her three children are alumni of the preschool and include a college sophomore, a college senior and a recent college grad. Outside of school, Mrs McClure enjoys volunteering at the county animal shelter and spending time with her friends and family.

Mrs. Keeley has a bachelors degree in business with a concentration in marketing from the University of Mississippi. She also worked in a preschool as an assistant when her children were younger. She uses her skills to manage the business side of the school as well as handle all marketing and community outreach. She has four mostly-grown children. Outside of school, Mrs. Keeley enjoys crafting and reading, as well as hanging out with friends and family.

After receiving her bachelor's degree in elementary education from BYU in Provo, Utah, Mrs. Mills taught elementary school for three years. She then took a break from teaching, got married, and raised four kids of her own (three boys and one girl). While raising her own children during their early years, Mrs. Mills found that her passion for teaching had turned toward early childhood education. She went on to pursue an associate's degree in early childhood education from Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada where she worked as an assistant in a 3-4 year old classroom for two years. More recently, Mrs. Mills has worked in prekindergarten as the lead teacher. She enjoys running, exercising, cooking/baking, and playing games with her family.

Andrea was born and raised in the DMV region and spent most of her life living in Northern Virginia before relocating to Taneytown, MD in November of 2021. She has a professional background in both Early Childhood Development and Human Resources. Andrea has an innate desire to help others and a strong passion for impacting the lives of children and families. She considers it her life’s mission to positively influence the next generation and leads with an emphasis on love, kindness, and respect. When she’s not teaching she enjoys spending time with family, reading both fiction and non-fiction, spending time outdoors, and giving back to the community. She is a proud mother to three girls: Annelise, Victoria, and Elizabeth.

Mrs. Rucker has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Certificate from York College of Pennsylvania. She also has a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland and taught for 13 years in the MCPS system before choosing to be a stay-at-home mom after her second son was born. She has 3 boys- one in middle school and two in elementary school. All 3 of her boys attended CUMP! She also has 2 Labrador retrievers- a yellow male named Bailey and a chocolate female named Kahlua. In her free time she enjoys reading, baking, spending time with family and friends, and watching her boys play sports.

Mrs. O’Keefe has been a Preschool Teacher for 7 years and an Aide for 5 years at Mt. Zion Christian Preschool in Howard County, Maryland. She lives on a farm in Howard County with her husband and three children—A daughter, aged 23, a son aged 21 and another daughter aged 17. Mrs. O’Keefe enjoys walking, camping, being in nature, and life on the farm. She has a cat named Milo, a dog named Teddy, a horse named Sunny, and several goats and chickens.

Mrs. Barnett has been a member of Covenant United Methodist Church for over 24 years. She has also been the church’s Sunday nursery care provider since 2008 and assisted in the former Terrific Two’s Program since 2009. Mrs. Barnett has a 17 year old son who is an alumni of the Two’s Program and the Preschool. She also has a 30 year old step daughter. Mrs. Barnett enjoys spending her vacations in Ocean City, Maryland, loves reading, crocheting and cross stitching.

Mrs. Modarress earned a business management degree from Franklin and Marshall College and worked as a commercial claims adjuster for various insurance companies. After the birth of her first son, she stayed home to be a full-time mom. All three of her boys attended Covenant United Methodist Preschool and in 2016 she joined the staff as an assistant teacher. In her spare time, she loves to cook, bake, read, and spend time with family and friends.

Mrs. Durning received her Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State University in elementary education. She has been a private tutor for 18 years and an assistant preschool teacher for 7 years. Her adult sons include a statistician, a Towson senior and a UMD senior. In her free time, she keeps busy with her new pug puppy, Gideon. She also enjoys cooking large amounts of food on weekends during football games when all 3 sons are at home.

Mrs. Liu has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Michigan. She's excited to be back in the classroom after 16 years. She has a wonderful husband and four kids. When she's not busy driving soccer carpool, she enjoys running, working out on her Peloton,and reading.

Mrs. Hurtado was born in Lima, Peru, and has primarily resided and received her education in Montgomery County. She is happily married and of three children. Following several years as a stay-at-home mom, she decided to continue her passion for nurturing children at CUMC Preschool. During her leisure time, she enjoys baking, playing volleyball, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Mrs Jechova is from Prague, Czech Republic where she graduated from a business and economics school. She has been living with her husband and their two children in Maryland for over 12 years. Her son and daughter are a former Ladybugs. Besides being a stay-at-home-mom, Mrs. Jechova enjoys practicing yoga, training for sprint triathlons, skiing and reading history. She volunteers in a Czech and Slovak school and she’s on the PTA board for Stedwick Elementary.

Mrs. K is originally from Long Island, New York. She attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology. She taught grades 2-6 in New York City for 11 years before moving to Houston, Texas and becoming a Stay At Home Mom. In 2021, she moved to Clarksburg, Maryland with her husband, two sons, Stephen & Henry and Rottweiler, Gemma. She is excited to be back in the classroom and working with students once again! In her free time, Mrs. K enjoys tutoring and loves to spend time outdoors hiking with her family or walking her dog.

Mrs. Zetts has a bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation Management from Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA. She and her husband pastor a church in Rockville, MD where she has served as a Sunday School teacher for over thirty years. She has also worked as an assistant teacher at a private school, as well as in the “Terrific Two’s” program (2007-2015). She is the mother of five adult children and “Dee Dee/Gigi” to four adorable grandchildren. She enjoys family time, gym classes, reading and vacationing in the mountains of Virginia.

Bio Coming Soon!

Ms. Nicole born and raised on a farm, and always had a love for wide-open spaces and hard work. Now, with four amazing kids, her life is filled with joy and a different kind of adventure. She and her family are die-hard baseball fans. They also love taking walks as a family with their dog, Hudson. Ms. Nicole spent a lot of time in the classroom as her mom was a public educator. While her formal training is not in the education field, she loves learning from the children and working with the exceptional staff at CUMP. She is looking forward to being back at CUMP for the second year.