The mission of The Island Academy of Hilton Head is to provide preschool through 12th grade students with a collaborative, challenging, and creative learning environment empowering them to be contributing citizens.

We seek to ensure that all students participate in their own education. We provide a unique learning opportunity by partnering with our community, focusing on mastery over grades, and teaching children how to become curious lifelong thinkers and doers who explore and create in and beyond the classroom. 

School Calendar for 2023-2024

We are excited about this extraordinary year so far and to come! Stay updated with events this school year.  If you cannot find for what you are looking, contact us! We love hearing from you. 

Our Team

Alicia Brown, Primary Teacher

Ms. Alicia graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education.

Prior to the Island Academy she was a public school teacher in both South Carolina and Pennsylvania. She also has experience as the director of a daycare.

Ms. Alicia loves anything active: paddle boarding, kayaking, ice skating, and hiking to name a few. But, her happy place is definitely in the middle of a crowd at a concert or at the beach throwing a lacrosse ball around with her three children!

Deiha Torin, Preschool Program Director/Lead Teacher

Deiha Torin moved to Hilton Head Island with her family in 1996 from Pennsylvania. Deiha has her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and holds a South Carolina teaching certificate. With nearly 30 years of teaching experience with children ages 3-5, Deiha most recently served as the Director and lead teacher at Island Lutheran PreSchool for twenty years.

Deiha’s passion for the wonder and magic of early childhood honors the child’s right to play, to be collaborators in learning, and to dream. She honors the journey for children as investigators, life changers, and advocators. She nurtures children to build their own ideas, an art that requires incredible intentionality and heart.

In her spare time, Deiha has led several Girl Scout troops on HHI ranging in age from 5-18 years old. She enjoys cooking, working in her yard, traveling with friends and family.

Kendall LaMantia, Preschool Program Assistant Teacher

Kendall LaMantia graduated from High Point University in May 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Prior to joining The Island Academy she was a floating teacher at First Presbyterian Day School and she worked as a Paintbox Activities Attendant at Montage Palmetto Bluff! Kendall is passionate about working with children and helping them achieve their goals.

In her free time, she loves crafting! Kendall believes creativity and imagination have no limits. When she’s not crafting you can find her behind a camera lens, as she is the owner of Kendall LaMantia Photography. She also loves coffee, the color pink, babysitting and spending time with family and friends.

Troi Hopkins, Jr. High Teacher

Troi Hopkins attended University of Alabama, and Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. degree in Recording Industry Management as she is from Nashville.

Her Master's degree is in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix. She has more than 30 years in education. Troi was the Project Manager for the first chartered elementary school in the state of New Hampshire and a Program Director of the Gifted and Talented program for the largest school district in that state. She has taught Kinders through 8th grade in many public and private schools. She loves teaching and advocating for kids.

Troi owns a successful tutoring business in HHI and is a local artist with items featured in stores on and off the island. She also works at Sea Pines Resort in the Racquet Club but she doesn’t play tennis! She has twin 18 year olds, one at College of Charleston and a Jr. Golfer who's tournament hungry. Troi’s husband and her love living here, enjoy the beaches and as a local Google guide, they truly enjoy trying new places to eat and go!

Mollie Kinard, Moore to Life Outdoor Science Teacher

Mollie Kinard, a native of Hilton Head Island, joined the Island Academy family in the fall of 2016 as Assistant Teacher and has since transitioned to our Primary School Teacher. Mollie graduated from the College of Charleston in 2008 with a B.S. in Anthropology.

Prior to joining the Island Academy team, Mollie served at Sea Pines Montessori in Hilton Head and Flour Bluff Elementary School in Corpus Christi, Texas where she worked as an assistant in the fourth grade classroom aiding small groups of children with learning disabilities. Mollie has also enjoyed working in the arena of event planning with Destinations DMC. She was an administrative manager of the Better Business Bureau of Houston and South Texas and is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, and as a DONA certified birth doula.

Outside of work Mollie enjoys spending time with her husband, Brian, her daughter, Clementine, and her son, Cash. Her family enjoys exploring the waterways of the lowcountry and going camping in their travel trailer. Mollie is also a certified Master Naturalist and enjoys bringing her love of nature and the lowcountry into her classroom.

Ellyn Levin, College Counselor

Ellyn holds a Master’s degree in education and has 35 years of experience with U.S. higher education, including 21 years as a university guidance counselor at the International School of Geneva. She has successfully helped over 1,000 students of diverse nationalities create admissions applications which highlight their individual uniqueness, securing acceptances at the most selective universities and colleges in the world.

She not only sees herself as an advisor on the mechanics of the application process, but also as a motivator, always ready to encourage and gently nudge when necessary. Ellyn has personally visited hundreds of universities, developed meaningful relationships with key admissions officers, and stays up to date on admissions trends through attendance at multiple professional conferences throughout the year. In addition to her expertise as a college counselor, Ellyn was an application reader for UCLA and is a certified Morrisby career adviser. 

Ellyn is also the 2020 recipient of the International Association for College Admission Counseling Lifetime Achievement Award. This award, which represents international ACAC’s highest member tribute, is presented to an individual who, over a period of years, has performed outstanding service to interactional ACAC, to the profession, and the international college counseling community.

Louanne Barrett, Art Teacher

Believing she was created to be creative, Louanne Barrett has been an artist, designer, and teacher of visual arts the majority of her life. She enjoyed twenty years on the west coast as an Interior Designer, visualizing and creating home and work environments where people could thrive. As a professional member of the ISID, Louanne owned and operated Interior Domain for seventeen years. Her work was published in several prominent magazines.

Even though her business grew, her passion for teaching was still important to her. She taught design and drafting classes at the college level in San Diego. In 2002 she sold her business and moved to Hilton Head where she returned to teaching visual arts while raising her son on this beautiful island. 

Louanne was honored to exhibit twenty-five of her paintings, representing the beauty, grace and strength of Low Country trees, in the Art League of Hilton Head Gallery at Shelter Cove in 2015. Additionally, She is honored that her recent works, inspired by the amazing Low Country scenery and wildlife, have been selected for a featured artist exhibit for Fall of 2024. You can see Miss B’s art here: labarrettartist.com