Our Staff
Liza Drennon
Owner/Executive Director
Miranda Schultz
Sweet Olive - Lead Teacher
Liza Drennon is the owner and director of The Crescent School. She has over 10 years of child care experience that ranges from infants through 4th grade. Liza is dedicated to early childhood education and enriching the lives of every student she meets and has the opportunity to teach.
Liza grew up in Austin and San Antonio where she attended schools that were neighborhood and community focused. She found her love for education through the education she was given at a young age. Liza has lived in New Orleans since 2012 and has a degree in Sociology from Loyola University. She now resides in Algiers Point with her dog and cat.
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Miranda is a Louisiana native whose daughter attends our oldest class! Miranda is a Certified Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Advanced VBAC Doula, Placenta Encapsulator, and Childbirth Educator. She is currently working towards becoming a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist. She strives to continually learn how to best support families in their pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond.
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Miranda is a co-lead teacher in our newest class, The Sweet Olive Class! She hopes to be a peaceful presence for our youngest class and is excited to help make the babies and young toddlers feel loved and cared for at school.
Miranda resides in Algiers Point with her two children Ruby (4) and Oliver (6). In her spare time, Miranda likes to hang out with her kids in the neighborhood, walking the levee with friends, coffee shops, live music, and gardening!
Wenona McClain
Sweet Olive - Assistant Teacher
Wenona is originally from Reno, Nevada, but has been spending most of her life in Dallas raising her family and pursuing education. Wenona found her passion for education after raising her daughter, teaching her daughter and friends, and eventually opening and running her own in-home childcare center. Wenona moved to New Orleans in 2022 to be closer to her daughter who is also an incredible educator. She has continued her career in early childhood education here in New Orleans and is now a co-lead teacher in our newest class, The Sweet Olive class!
Wenona now resides in Algiers Point. In her spare time, she enjoys tending to her garden, decorating her home, sit with her cats and watch sci-fi!
Ciara Long
Magnola Class - Lead Teacher
​Ciara is originally from New Orleans! She attended the University of Monroe where she studied Cardiac Rehab, but after some experience with kids, she found that her passion lies in teaching. After teaching in Monroe, she moved back home and has been teaching at Bright Horizons. She used to be Wilder June's teacher! And now gets to teach Cosmo! We love to see our community connect with each other in different ways! Ciara hopes to move to the Westbank soon and in her free time, she enjoys listening to audiobooks and podcasts and drawing. She is excited to bring a lot of creativity to The Magnolia Class!
Maylin Boutwell
Magnolia Class - Assistant Teacher
Maylin was born and raised in Algiers Point and is happy to give back to the community that she comes from. Maylin's experience ranges from early childhood education to most recently, elderly care.
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As a free spirit, Maylin finds joy in connecting with children in creative and meaningful ways-whether that is through dramatic play, storytelling, or art projects. Through these practices, Maylin's goal as an educator is to nuture young friends confidence, encourage them to embrace their true selves, and inspire them to hold onto those big, beautiful dreams we all have as children.
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As a soft-spoken and compassionate person, Maylin strives to create a warm, loving, and supportive environment where each child feels valued and seen. Being a part of the Algiers community has always been deeply meaningful to Maylin - the neighborhood has shown her and her family kindness and has shaped the person she is.
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Maylin currently resides in Algiers Point with her husband and young daughter, Talullah.
Andrea Rambone
Palmetto Class - Lead Teacher
Andrea comes to New Orleans form Rhode Island. She has a double major BS in physchology and history, a masters degree in clinical psychology, is a 12 year Army veteran who served 3 rounds in Afghanistan and at the US embassy in Dublin for five years. Since then, Andrea has been a CrossFit coach, focusing on special needs adaptive training and kids programming.
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Andrea found her way to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina when she was a part of a search and rescue team stationed in the Audubon Zoo parking lot. Andrea now lives in Algiers Point with her amazing son, Cian. In her free time, Andrea enjoys spending time with her son, and fostering special needs kittens for a neighborhood based rescue.
Pete Wolf
Palmetto Class - Assistant Teacher
Mx. Pete began their educator journey six years ago and has come to The Crescent School by way of NOLA Nature School. After dedicating their training and education to the Reggio Emilia philosophy, Pete bases their approach to educating young children on Reggio inspired and child-led education.
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Pete has their BA in English from the University of Illinois and has resided in New Orleans since 2009. When not teaching, Pete is busy raising their four children, spending time outside with their partner, riding their bike, playing bass guitar, and reading.
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