West Cypress Hills Elementary School

WCHE COLLABORATIVE TEAM 2022-2023

Pictured left to right, front row:  Joanne Molinyawe, Candice Shrout, Jessicca Allen, Emily McMurray, and Caroline Harris. 

Second row, left to right:  Clover Yordanova, Mary Kevan Smith, Jessica Rodriguez, Rachel Henson, Erika Durham, Tracey Curriel LaFountaine, and Christina Otwell.

Jessicca Allen – Ms. Allen is very excited to be West Cypress Hills Elementary’s LSSP this year. This will be her fifth year as an LSSP.  She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and her Specialist in School Psychology degree from Texas Woman’s University. Ms. Allen enjoys reading mysteries and listening to music and podcasts in her spare time. She has a Border Collie/Lab mix named Cookie, and they love to go on walks and visit the park.

Erika Durham - Mrs. Durham has been married 22 years to Brett Durham who also works in the district as the Assistant Director of Special Services.  Mrs. Durham has two beautiful children:  Sean, 19, and Elizabeth, 12.  This is Mrs. Durham’s 5th year with WCHE and her 10th year in Education.  She is excited for another wonderful year with her Special Education team and can’t wait to see her kids.  For fun, she attended Le Cordon Bleu to learn how to make French pastries.  

Caroline Harris – Mrs. Harris is very excited to start this school year as one of WCHE's Speech Language Pathologists!  She grew up north of Chicago and attended Baylor University (Sic 'Em!) for her undergraduate and graduate studies.  She started her career at Northside ISD in San Antonio and moved to Austin in the fall of 2021 after she and her husband married in September!  They are excited to be a part of the community and to support our Tiger parents and kids.  

Rachel Henson – This Mrs. Henson’s first year at West Cypress Hills Elementary and her eleventh year as a speech language pathologist.  She received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. This summer she, her husband Erik, and dog Breaux, moved back to the Austin area from Dallas.  Mrs. Henson is excited to be a Tiger!

Emily McMurray – Mrs. McMurray moved to Austin 10 years ago from Chicago, Illionois.  She’s married to her husband, Matt.  They have a daughter Keira,10 years old, and a son Kellan, 8 years old.  Keira will be entering the 5th grade for the 2022-2023 school year, and Kellan will be entering third grade. Mrs. McMurray taught preschool for 4 years before joining the Tiger family. The 2022-2023 school year will be her third at WCHE, and she is looking forward to another great year!

Joanne Molinyawe – Mrs. Molinyawe graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Elementary Education. She taught 1st and 3rd grade in Alamo Heights ISD in San Antonio before moving to Austin. She substitute taught in LTISD for 8 years before joining WCHE as a Resource Teacher. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting and volunteering at Austin's city animal shelter.  Mrs. Molinyawe is married to Matt, and together they have an 8th grader, Alexis, who attends LTMS. They also have 3 rescue pups!

Christina Otwell – Mrs. Otwell has worked for the Lake Travis Independent School District for the last eight years. This is her third year providing G3 services but the first year that she’s provided G3 services on the WCHE campus. Mrs. Otwell is also the Supervisor of the WCHE Extended Care program.  She is married and has precious daughters.

Gabriela Rodriguez -- Ms. Rodriguez comes to us with prior experience working with children in clinical, home, and classroom settings providing ABA therapy.  She is currently attending St Edwards University where she has a year left to complete her Bachelor's in psychology and a minor in business administration.  After earning her Bachelor's, she plans to continue to pursue a Master's in applied behavior analysis and then, finally, her Ph.D in neuropsychology. 

Lari Rogge -- We are excited to welcome Mrs. Rogge to our WCHE ARD team. She has taught for 14 years, 12 of those years in special education and 2 as a third grade classroom teacher.  Mrs. Rogge completed her Masters in Special Education and has been an Educational Diagnostician for 12 years.  This is her 4th year with the LTISD. 

Johann Salas -- Mrs. Salas is the proud mother of 3 grown children - Bryan, Jeremy and Monica - and 2 grandchildren, Leilani and Liliana.  She and her husband moved to this area a couple of years ago.  They moved from Arlington, Texas, to be closer to their children and grandchildren.  They agree that it is beautiful here, and they love it!  Mrs. Salas has been a school based Occupational Therapist for over 29 years and LOVES working with students, educators, staff and parents. She has many hobbies that include arts and crafts, walking, biking, hiking and socializing with friends and family. Mrs. Salas appreciates the warm welcome into this awesome community!

Christina Shoemate -- Mrs. Shoemate graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. She has worked in education for 17 years, 9 of those years teaching first and second grade. This is her eighth year as an ESL (English as a Second Language) Specialist for the LTISD. She is originally from Houston, Texas and moved to Austin 12 years ago. She loves reading, crafts, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her family and friends. Mrs. Shoemate has been married to her husband, Robert, for 11 years. They have 2 beautiful children, Aiden, 6, and Aria, 3. They also have a sweet dachshund named Roxy. Mrs. Shoemate and her family love being a part of the LTISD family! 

Candice Shrout – Holding a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas University and a Master’s Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Mrs. Shrout has been an educator for over 17 years.  She and her husband have two beautiful daughters.

Mary Kevan Smith - Ms. Mary Kevan Smith has worked in education for 5 years, most recently moving to Lake Travis from the Denton ISD. She attended West Virginia University where she earned her BA in Psychology.  She has 1 dog and loves taking her on walks and runs.  Mrs. Smith is very excited to get this school year started!

Christine Urban -- Mrs. Urban has a B.S in Exercise Science from Texas A&M, B.S and M.S from Texas Woman's University in Physical Therapy.  She is married to her wonderful husband, Johnny.  They were both widowed and now married with 6 children and 1 grandson.  Mrs. Urban has been a PT for 32 years and a school-based PT for 22 years.  She is now in her 9th year with Lake Travis ISD and loves her job!  She's always happy to be a resource to our team.

Clover Yordanova - Ms. Yordanova received her undergraduate degree at SUNY New Paltz, in N.Y. state, where she earned her Elementary Education teaching certification.  She went on to volunteer for two years in the  Peace Corps in Dobrich, Bulgaria as a teacher of foreign language at Hristo Botev Elementary School. After her volunteer work, Mrs. Yordanova attended Teachers College at Columbia University, where she received her Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist ages Early Childhood to Adult.  Mrs. Yordanova holds her Reading Specialist certificate in Texas.  She has also trained at the Dyslexia Center of Austin, where she became a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She has recently become a Licensed Dyslexia teacher in the State of Texas. She has two children and three dogs.