Faculty & Staff

Pre-Kindergarten

Maria Carelli

Mrs. Carelli received her AMS Certification 12 years ago. Although her certification goal was primarily the education of her 5 children, Mrs. Carelli found it difficult to be away from the Montessori environment since. In 2016, she joined Montessori Corner, in Plainsboro New Jersey, as head of school. In 2018, she moved to Pennsylvania for her children to receive a classical Catholic education. She joined Regina Coeli’s Children’s House for 3 years and received the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level I certification during this time. Mrs. Carelli considers it a blessing to be able to serve our Lord in the education of children.

Mrs. Clare McGuire

Mrs. McGuire received her AMS Montessori certification from Chestnut Hill College in 1994. She went on to teach at Waldron Mercy Academy in the Montessori Program for 10 Years until her first child was born. In 2002, Mrs. McGuire received the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 1 certification and assisted in several Catechesis programs over the years. For the past 8 years Mrs. McGuire has been working part-time in the Pre-K program at RAA while home schooling her daughter. Both of her children had the opportunity to attend RAA for some of their education. They have made good friends from this community and the foundation they received here has enabled them to stay close to their faith as they transition into adulthood.

Kindergarten

Kathleen Ranieri

Mrs. Ranieri is in her fourth year of teaching Kindergarten at Regina Angelorum Academy. Prior to teaching at RAA, Mrs. Ranieri taught Kindergarten for five years. She graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and has Pennsylvania and Catholic School certifications in education. Mrs. Ranieri loves to read, garden, and spend time with her four children.

1^st Grade

Monica Viola

Mrs. Viola joined the RAA faculty in 2021 after relocating from Miami, Florida. She has taught at three Catholic schools in Miami, before teaching at RAA. Monica is certified in the Orton-Gillingham reading program. She loves teaching phonics and reading to young children. She is also certified in level 1 and 2 of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

2^nd Grade

Marie MacLacklin

Mrs. MacLacklin earned her M.Ed from Temple University and has been a classroom teacher for nine years, focusing on the education of young children. She holds a diploma through the North American Montessori Council and is a certified Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner. She enjoys applying this training and implementing the philosophy and methods of Charlotte Mason, particularly during the study of truth, beauty and goodness in art, music and nature. Mrs. MacLacklin is certified in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level I and considers it an honor to spend time with the children, contemplating the love of the Good Shepherd. She is grateful every day to be granted the opportunity to learn and grow at Regina Angelorum Academy.

Maryanne Mercede

Ms. Mercede grew up on Bryn Mawr and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. Influenced by experiences tutoring in West Philadelphia schools as an undergraduate, Ms. Mercede decided to pursue a career in teaching and joined Teach for America. Following graduation, she moved to Phoenix, AZ to teach elementary grades at a K-8 Classical, public charter school and earned an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Arizona State University. Since moving back east in 2014, Ms. Mercede has been teaching elementary grades in public charter, parochial Catholic, and public district schools in Washington D.C. and northern Virginia. With a particular passion for early literacy and writing, and a strong devotion to her Catholic faith, Ms. Mercede is excited to work with the first-grade students and families at Regina Angelorum Academy.

Mrs. Barrabee joined Regina Angelorum Academy in 2019. She graduated from East Stroudsburg University in 2000 where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, with a minor in Early Childhood Development. She is certified to teach Kindergarten through 6th grade. She has acquired 30 graduate credits from Indiana Wesleyan University with a G.P.A of 4.0 and obtained her Level II teaching certification. She has taught elementary school for over 15 years in various school districts such as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia and Lower Merion School District. Mrs. Barrabee also worked as a summer program leader in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for over ten years. She and her husband Beau have two teenage daughters, Emma Louise and Lily Theresa and live in Lower Merion Township.

4^th Grade

Kim McBryan

Mrs. McBryan has been teaching at the Regina Schools for 18 years. She began her teaching career at the first school, Regina Coeli Academy in Wyndmoor, trained teachers for the sister school, Regina Angelorum, and subsequently moved to the RAA for a permanent position. A graduate of Chestnut Hill College with a BA in History, and married in 1978, Mrs. McBryan worked for a brief time in the advertising business. While raising a family of four children, she stayed at home and was sole proprietor of two business ventures. Mrs. McBryan has been involved in the pro-life movement as a chastity speaker, primarily in the Tristate area for ten years. Presently, Mrs. McBryan is the fourth-grade teacher at Regina Angelorum Academy, and recently certified as a Wilson Language practitioner.

5^th Grade

Kathleen Dalton, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Dalton has spent her entire adult life as an educator. She has taught multiple grades ranging from kindergarten through eighth grades for 16 years in diocesan parochial schools. Her passion for education and the formation of children in the midst of a rapidly changing culture caused her to undergo a journey of discovery through prayer, study and her own ongoing formation on the big questions of life and culture. She has embraced the philosophy of Catholic Liberal education as the premiere model of bringing young minds to eternal truth. She holds an undergraduate degree in Education from Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI and a Masters Degree in Catholic Leadership from St. Louis University.

6^th Grade

Erin Haas

Mrs. Haas is the sixth-grade homeroom teacher at Regina Angelorum Academy. She has taught at Regina Angelorum for five years. She grew up on Long Island and attended college at SUNY Old Westbury (B.A. in Elementary Education) followed by Long Island University (M.S. in Educational Technology). She taught for ten years in Farmingdale School District before permanently relocating to the Philadelphia area. She lives with her husband, Justin, and their four kids in Philadelphia. Mrs. Haas children attend Regina Angelorum (grades, 4, 2 and K). Her youngest child, age 3, looks forward to joining the RAA family for preschool next fall!

7^th Grade

Paula Belocura

Mrs. Belocura earned a BA in Psychology from Ave Maria University and a Master of Letters from Mary Baldwin University in Shakespeare and Performance. As an Adjunct Professor at Ave Maria University, she taught Western Civilization through History and Literature. She also worked as a High School Shakespeare Director and Middle School Theology Teacher for Donahue Academy, a classical school in Ave Maria, Florida. Her other past career experiences, including work in the mental health and philanthropy sectors, gave her a unique understanding of the human person that prepared her well for teaching. She is grateful for RAA’s classical education model and an environment faithful to Christ and His Church.

8^th Grade

Eric Maurer, Director of Classical Engagement

Mr. Maurer holds a BA in classical liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College and a MA in Ancient Greek and Latin from Brandeis University. A co-founder of the Lyceum School in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Maurer taught at a classical school, a behavioral school, an inner-city school, and at St. Paul’s Choir School in Cambridge, MA before coming to RAA. While at SPCS, where he taught math, science, and Latin, Mr. Maurer was a 2020 recipient of Archdiocese of Boston’s Excellence in Education Awards. Mr. Maurer is the moderator of RAA’s Stock Market Club. New to PA, Mr. Maurer lives with his wife in Royersford. His favorite hobbies are reading, hiking, trading, and traveling.

5th and 6th Science | 8^th Grade Writing

Kimberly Petrucci

Mrs. Petrucci is a composition and elementary science teacher at Regina Angelorum Academy. She graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in English. After student teaching high school English in Greenville, NC, Mrs. Petrucci worked for an international nonprofit organization in Washington DC. She has teaching certifications in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Prior to raising her six children, she was employed with Ericsson Telecommunications and currently resides in the Philadelphia region with her husband and family.

Art

Stephanie Nicholson

Mrs. Nicholson is a classically trained artist who has studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts as well as at Studio Incamminati. She earned her BFA in painting with a minor in English from Syracuse University in 2002. From teaching private lessons, she developed a love for teaching and developed her skills by obtaining her Masters in Art Education with an emphasis on Special Populations from Moore College of Art and Design in 2017. Mrs. Nicholson teaching practice has always centered around the beauty of God’s creation, and she often incorporates a wonder for the natural world into her lessons. She finds working at blessing to work with such bright and enthusiastic students in an environment centered around Christ.

Music

Anne Nyaga

Ms. Nyaga has been teaching in Classical Education for nine years. She earned her BA in Music from Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, FL), with a minor in Latin and Greek. She recently completed her Masters Degree in Choral Conducting from Messiah University (Mechanicsburg, PA). Since 2015, she has taught music and Latin in the elementary grades at Regina Coeli Academy and Regina Angelorum Academy and leads the annual Christmas and Spring concerts. In collaboration with the schools, various choir students have been able to participate in the regional Catholic Choir Festival, Pueri Cantores (2017-2019, NYC and Washington, D.C). Prior to living in the Philadelphia area, Ms. Nyaga was born and spent a large part of her childhood in Kenya, Massachusetts, and Ave Maria, FL. She has a passion for teaching music through a classical curriculum and is interested in the link between music and languages. She believes that the study of Gregorian chant and authentic folk music is integral to a complete musical education and classical education. She speaks various languages including two African languages (Swahili and Kikuyu), and French.

Algebra

Felicia Coffey

Mrs. Felicia Coffey, a native of Philadelphia, is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University. She and her husband, Jim, live in Havertown. They have five children, four of whom attended Regina Angelorum Academy. Felicia has a love of music and math and is fascinate by the connections between the two. She has been involved with RAA since it was founded in 2007. Felicia has had multiple roles at RAA, including directing the First Friday Choir, teaching music, first grade math, and pre-algebra. She has been teaching Eighth Grade Algebra since 2016. Mrs. Coffey has witnessed the fruits of this type of education first-hand in her children. She believes that here at RAA, our students have the freedom to be completely themselves and to grow into the person God created them to be. This is achieved because they have the comfort of learning and knowing, through the Catholic Classical Education, who created them, where they came from, where they are going and that they are each loved uniquely by God the Father.

Jessica Carney

Mrs. Carney earned a BS in Mathematics and a Minor in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Catechetics and Evangelization from Franciscan University. A parent of three current RAA students, she appreciates the uniqueness of our school and is thrilled to be joining the faculty. She is teaching a second class of our Algebra 1 course.

Science | Latin | Reading and Writing Enrichment

Bridget Hodgson

Mrs. Hodgson is entering her ninth year of formal teaching. In her first year at Regina Angelorum Academy, she teaches primary Science and Reading/Writing Enrichment and 5th grade Latin. She holds undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish with a minor in Italian from Widener University. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Hodgson tutored newly emigrated students in New Jersey and North Philadelphia. This led her to earn a graduate degree in Education with a concentration in Linguistics/English as a Second Language from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As the wife of an active duty Naval Officer, Mrs. Hodgson has had the opportunity to work in various educational settings and geographic locations throughout the country. She has taught grades K-12 in both public and Catholic schools, and conducted seminars for adult learners. Bridget enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her husband and four children.