About Us

Hi!  My name is Ashley Schell and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work at Upstate Literacy!  I have worked with children of all ages, but have mostly worked with pre-K up to 2nd grade students.  For a little over 13 years I served the military community overseas in Germany as a civilian teaching students.  It was such a great experience to serve families from all over the world, and to guide them not only by teaching but by helping them through different life experiences that the military life brings. While overseas I took as many face-to-face college courses that were offered on base through Central Texas College in elementary education, and then finished my degree with Liberty University and obtained my bachelor’s degree.  I have been back in the Upstate since 2017 and since then married my wonderful husband, Chase.  We have 3 fur babies Lex, Reesie, and Maverick who are always keeping us on the go!  I currently teach 2nd grade at a Chinese immersion school in Greenville which is perfect for me since I love to learn about different countries and languages!  I look forward to meeting all of you soon and guiding your little ones on their road to becoming stronger readers! 

My name is Gena Kearse and I am so excited to be working with Upstate Literacy under Andrea Bishop's leadership. Louisiana State University is my alma mater and other teaching certifications I received at Clemson. I have training and experience in structured literacy and have been a special education teacher for 20 years and am passionate about teaching children in reading, writing or math. 

My husband and I live in Landrum and on weekends we enjoy exploring new areas to ride bikes. I have recently retired from the public school system and have a list of so many things I have been waiting to do ”once I have time”. I do have 12 grandchildren with tons of energy so I’m sure they will be waiting for me to take them swimming, hiking and mountain biking!