At UUMP, we choose our teachers for their warmth and positive, inspiring spirit as well as for their education, training, and experience. They bring both the heart and the know-how to help young children thrive.
Great teaching starts with great support. Every teacher completes an extensive orientation when they join us and continues to grow through ongoing professional development. Mentoring, evaluation, and partnership are part of daily life at UUMP, so each teacher has the resources and knowledge to flourish in the classroom.
Our staff knows that no two children learn in the same way. For decades, UUMP has been known for a personalized early childhood experience, meeting each child at their own social, emotional, and cognitive level. The result is a fun, loving, and supportive place where children learn and grow at their own pace.
Rosemary Wellons, Director
Rosemary was born and raised in North Carolina and graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Middle Grades Education with a concentration in Language Arts and Social Studies Education. She has an add-on North Carolina license in Gifted and Talented Education, K-12. She is Conscious Discipline Certified, Capturing Kids’ Hearts Certified, and Responsive Classroom trained. Prior to joining the staff at University United Methodist Preschool as Director in 2020, Rosemary taught Language Arts and Social Studies in Durham Public Schools, and for ten years served in various roles including teacher, Assistant Director, and Director of another local preschool in Chapel Hill. Rosemary believes that the key to any successful early childhood education program is ensuring that emphasis is placed on the social emotional growth of young children, relationships, brain-based methods of teaching, and developmentally appropriate play-based practice. She is currently the President of the Durham Orange Preschool Association, which is an organization that consists of twenty-six preschool directors representing half-day, non-profit, church or synagogue housed early childhood programs located in Durham and Orange Counties. Rosemary is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Expedition School, a local non-profit, STEM, project-based charter school in Hillsborough, North Carolina. In her spare time, Rosemary loves reading, sewing, gardening, and spending time with her family and friends. Rosemary and her husband John have one baseball obsessed teenage son.