My name is Missie Starkey and this will be my 15th year teaching at Lake Murray Elementary.  I taught kindergarten here for ten years and this will be my fifth year teaching 3rd grade.  I have loved teaching 3rd grade! 

 I was born in Valdosta, Georgia and moved to Columbia when I was 10 years old.  I grew up in Irmo and attended the wonderful District Five schools.  I graduated from The University of South Carolina in 1988 with a B.A. in English, worked a few years downtown at the State House, and then went back to USC and completed my M.A.T. in Early Childhood Education in 1994.  I received my National Board Certification in Literacy: Reading-Language Arts.  I am a firm believer in life-long learning!  

 I married my husband, Darryl, in 1991, and we have lived in the Chapin area for the past 28 years and have loved raising our family here.  I taught second grade in Lexington prior to having our first child, and then stayed home for several years with our three children, Susannah (23), Jack (22), and Garrett (19).  I went back to full-time teaching when Garrett started kindergarten and he is now a freshman at Midlands Technical College.  My older son, Jack, is a senior at USC , and my sweet Susannah completed a B.A. in English at USC and is working on a career in writing.  

I enjoy reading, cooking, taking long walks, working in the yard, and spending time with my family and friends.  As a family, we enjoy going to the beach and the North Georgia mountains.  We have a 5 pound Yorkie (Lily) and 5 cats (Batman, Lola, Cedric, Katniss and Archer).   Life is busy, but good and we consider ourselves extremely blessed.  

 I am so proud to be at LMES and love teaching children!  I am so excited about spending this school year with your child.  We are going to have a great year!