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Day School Staff

Teachers and assistants at Grace Episcopal Day School hold college degrees. All employees have passed extensive background checks and have attended child abuse prevention classes sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. In addition, all personnel participate in continuing education opportunities, including infant and child CPR, and work together to maintain the high standards of the Day School.

Jean Grinnell

Director
Director, Jean Grinnell, is starting her 18th year at Grace. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech in Elementary Education, specializing in Pre-K through 8th grade, and has taught the two-year-old, three-year-old, four-year-old and Kindergarten classes. She has lived in York County with her husband and four children since 1999. Prior to moving to the area, her family has lived and traveled all over the world including Florida, Las Vegas and Okinawa, Japan. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family – especially her 4 grandchildren – as well as traveling and relaxing by the pool.

Chris Giesken

Chris Giesken is the Kindergarten teacher. She enjoys working in early education and with children just starting their academic journey. Her goal is to provide a happy classroom environment filled with learning experiences to encourage a love of learning in her students. She is glad to be a part of the team at Grace Day School. Chris is a certified Montessori teacher and has a masters degree in Reading Education from the College of William and Mary. When she isn’t working Chris enjoys spending time with her family and friends and watching field hockey games. She and her husband have three daughters and live in York County.

Nayibe Sanborn

Nayibe Sanborn is the teacher’s aide in one of our 4-year-old classes. Nayibe is a native of Venezuela who spent many years as a stay-at-home mom before going back to college to start a new career. After earning an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education, she worked for three years as a substitute teacher in York County public schools. She is happy to have joined the Grace team providing students a caring, high-quality first learning experience. Nayibe is married and the proud mom of three boys: a stepson who joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2016; a biologist who graduated with honors from William & Mary; and smart, creative and energetic 15-year-old.

Meredith Moore

Meredith Moore is the lead teacher for the 4-year-old class. She has two children, both of whom attended Grace Day School from the 2’s through Kindergarten. In addition to teaching at Grace, Meredith also works at FAME Allstars. She likes to spend time with her family and friends.

Jenny Baldwin

Jenny Baldwin has been a teacher’s aide for the 4-year-old class. Jenny moved to Yorktown when she was 13 and graduated from York High School. She moved to Florida and earned her associate’s degree in computer animation and eventually moved back to Yorktown. She has a bachelor’s degree in web design and media from Westwood College Online. She has been working from home providing daycare for her five nieces as well as working as web search engine evaluator. All her nieces attended Grace Day School.

Stephanie Winter

Stephanie Winter is starting her second year at Grace and is a lead teacher for one of our 4-year-old classes. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to Virginia with her husband and three boys. She loves arts, crafts and exploring the outdoors.

Michele Donnelly

Michele Donnelly is starting her second year at Grace after retiring in 2020 from a 31-year career as an occupational therapist assistant. During that career she was the clinical supervisor at a private therapy company, utilizing her extended training in feeding delays, sensory integration and as a Certified Early Intervention Therapist for home health services. Her passion is working with children and nurturing their growth. Michele has been a member of Grace Church for 20 years and has taught Sunday School, participated in mission trips and helped with several outreach projects. Her goal as the lead teacher for our 2-year-old class is to provide a safe, loving first school environment for all children in her care.

Jennifer McMasters

Jennifer McMasters is excited to be a part of the Grace Day School family as the five-day 3-year-old class’ lead teacher. She has taught preschool for 17 years, having earned a bachelor’s degree from Radford University and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from the College of William and Mary. She and her husband Brad have been married for 25 years and have two college-aged children. Jennifer enjoys reading, tai chi, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Mariana Nous

Mariana Nous, the teacher’s aide in our 3-year-old class, is a native of Egypt. Mariana studied law in college, then earned certification as an EKG technician from Virginia Peninsula Community College. She is married with two children, a girl and a boy. Mariana has worked as a teacher’s aide for many years and her favorite part about working with children is watching them grow and learn new things every day. Mariana enjoys reading and spending time with friends and family.

April Walker

April Walker is the assistant teacher for the 2-year-old classroom. She studied geology and secondary education at JMU, and then taught middle school science for 8 years before having her twins, Levi and Hayes. Levi and Hayes attended Grace Day School from ages 2-4. April enjoys cycling, crafting, reading, and snuggling with her miniature dachshund, Petunia!