Our low student/teacher ratio gives us something other schools might consider a luxury: time to get to know the student.

Laura Alvarez

First Grade Teacher

Mrs. Alvarez's love of learning will no doubt touch the youngest of Saint Patrick Catholic School students. A former nanny and substitute teacher for local school divisions, Laura completed her Master of Education degree, Pre-K through Grade 6, at Old Dominion University's Darden School of Education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Furman University in South Carolina and participated in the University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School for Art Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy, one of the finest programs in international arts education.

A child who lives with gentleness
Will touch with gentle hands.
A child who's understood
Becomes someone who understands.
A child who lives with patience
Learns a way to wait for things.
A child who's taught to smile at life
Is one who laughs and sings.
When children find acceptance,
That's another trait to learn.
And children who are love a lot
Will give love in return.

~ Author Unknown

An avid community volunteer, Laura has worked with Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald House and the American Cancer's Society's Relay for Life, and has served as a volunteer art therapist as well as a tutor for underprivileged children.