Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Special Education Pre-K Teacher

Ms. Gardner moved to Raleigh in 2020. She is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Gardner is the special education pre-k teacher here at Powell. She enjoys working with children and fostering growth in her students. When Ms. Gardner is not teaching, she enjoys hanging out with her Maltshipoo named Toby. Ms. Gardner focuses on teaching social emotional learning inside the classroom. Ms. Gardner also enjoys traveling to different countries.

My Play-losophy:

Play is Life and Life is Play and that is how children learn. If a child doesn't know how to play they can't learn.

My favorite quote is "Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” -O. Fred Donaldson 

Special Education Pre-K Instructional Assistant

Mrs. Holman grew up in Wake Forest, North Carolina. She attended Meredith College and majored in Social work with a minor in Psychology. While at Meredith, Mrs. Holman worked in the Meredith Autism Program, and did a Social Work internship. After graduation, she gained experience working as a social worker for one year, before she decided to shift her path towards working with children. Mrs. Holman has experience working with children aged 0-5 in various settings. Mrs. Holman is married, has a one-year-old daughter, and a son born in December 2024! This is Mrs. Holman's second year at Powell, and she is excited to be here helping children learn and grow.

My Play-losophy:

Play has a major role in childhood development, which is why it is important to integrate it into education. Everytime a child plays, they are developing in some way. There is no right or wrong way to play, so any child is able to participate, in their own way, and learn.

Pre-K Instructional Assistant