Darren Norton - Lead Teacher, Middle School Catechist -
Darren Norton is the Lead Teacher and Middle School Catechist (Religion Teacher) at Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary School. He is also our Assistant Principal. He has 27 years of experience in education in both public and Catholic schools. Six of those years were spent in administration of alternative schools and fourteen in administration in Catholic schools. Mr. Norton received his Bachelor’s Degree in English Education, Master’s of Educational Leadership and Rank 1 Certification from Eastern Kentucky University. He has been happily married to Kathy Norton, a prior Pre-K Teacher at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School, for over 33 years. His three children graduated from Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School, Lexington Catholic High School and Eastern Kentucky University.
Elizabeth Ward - Science Teacher -
Mrs. Ward teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Mary Queen. She has a Biology Degree from Butler University and a Masterss Degree in Teaching from Georgetown College. She has taught for 15 years in public and private schools at both the middle school and high school levels. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.
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Lynn Frank - Math Teacher -
Lynn Frank teaches middle school math at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary. She has 18 years of teaching experience in both public and Catholic schools, 15 of those here at Mary Queen. Mrs. Frank received her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Kentucky in Middle School Education and her Master’s Degree in Middle School Education from Georgetown College with Math and Social Studies as areas of specialization. She is the coach of the Mary Queen MathCounts team. She is the mother of four, two girls and two boys; all who have gone through Mary Queen for their primary and middle school education. She also is the grandmother to two wonderful grandkids! She loves doing home improvement projects in her free-time.
Cindy Herman - Language Arts -
Meet Cindy Herman, just one of three powerhouse teachers in our Middle School Language Arts department! This is her 3rd year at MQ after 14+ years in public education as a special educator. With dual BS degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education from Ball State University and a Master's in Literacy Specialist from the University of the Cumberlands, Cindy's education game is strong. This summer, Cindy attended a conference in Nevada to help bring the latest innovative teaching strategies to our Middle School students. She also introduced a week-long summer camp for our students which she hopes to offer again during summer of 2024. Beyond the classroom, Cindy is a proud mom to three boys, 17-23 years old. She's not just local, though - in 2022, she took her teaching skills to South Africa's Kya Sands, igniting young minds, and will return at Thanksgiving, 2023. Her focus? Empowering teachers and students to make magic with limited resources. When not teaching, Cindy is a TV marathon champ, chilling with her two canine buddies. And she's no stranger to the web, scouring for the ultimate vacation steal! Cindy Herman: teacher, adventurer, and all-around inspiration!
Dr. April Wood -Language Arts-
Dr. Wood teaches middle school Language Arts at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary. She has 20+ years of teaching experience in the public school and at the university level. Dr. Wood received her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Kentucky in Elementary Education, her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Georgetown, with a Gifted Education Certification, and her Master's and Doctorate Degrees in Administrative Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University. She is the mother of one\ daughter, Morgan. Dr. Wood lives on a farm in Jessamine County with her two dogs, Titan and EllaGrace.
Denise Piekarski -Science and Religion-
Denise Piekarski teaches middle school science and Religion. She has a teaching degree from Western Illinois University and an administration degree from Dominican University. Mrs. Piekarski has 8 years experience teaching middle school, and 2 years as a principal of an all-girls high school, all a part of the Archdiocese of Chicago. She is married and has 2 daughters attending Mary Queen School.
Mary Lowe-Social Studies-
Mary Lowe is the middle school Social Studies teacher. This is her second year teaching; she has taught 6-8th grade Social Studies, 8th grade Writing, and Kindergarten/3rd grade Religion, all within the Diocese of Lexington, and was a preschool assistant at Mary Queen during the 21-22 school year. In 2019 she received her Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education Social Studies with a minor in Japanese Studies in 2019. Mrs. Lowe also holds a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Kentucky, 2020. Although originally from Louisville, Mrs. Lowe attended Catholic school for her K-12 education and is now a Mary Queen parishioner. She is married to Ryan, and they are expecting their first baby, a little boy, this November. During her free time, Mrs. Lowe enjoys spending time with her cats and reading a good book.
Devin Lynch -Middle School Math-
Devin Lynch teaches 6th Grade Pre-Algebra, 7th grade Algebra I, and 7th grade Religion. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Ole Miss and Master’s Degree from Belmont University. Previously, she wrote curriculum and taught middle school math in Memphis TN. When she is not at school, she loves watching college football (Go Rebs!) and is constantly on the move with her baby Keegan!