Meet Our Team

Melissa Jacobs

Center Director

Melissa is the Center Director of the Sylvan Learning Centers in Waco and Woodway, where she leads with passion, dedication, and a deep commitment to student success. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Tech University and brings both leadership and organizational expertise to her role. With over 5 years at Sylvan, Melissa is detail-oriented, creative, and highly driven—traits that carry through in everything she does. In her spare time, she enjoys racing, fishing, hunting, baking, and cooking. At Sylvan, the highlight of her day is welcoming students into the center, partnering closely with families, and helping set every child up for long-term success.

Carol McLaren

Tutor

Carol is a tutor at Sylvan of Waco & Woodway. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts from Baylor. At Sylvan, Carol enjoys teaching English, remedial math, history, and Spanish. When not at Sylvan, she enjoys reading, hiking, cooking, and needlework.

George Donaldson

Tutor

George is a tutor of K-8 Reading and Math as well as Study Skills at Sylvan Waco and Woodway.  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas-Arlington as well as a Master of Fine Arts from Oklahoma State University.  In his free time, George likes to exercise, paint, watch movies, and read scripts/plays as well as direct plays.  What he enjoys most is spending time with his wonderful kids!

Jeannie Frost

Tutor

Jeannie Frost is a graduate of Tarleton State University with a degree in Kinesiology and Education, and also of McLennan Community College with a degree in Business. She has over 27 years of teaching experience and holds certifications in Early Childhood, Physical Education, Education, and Health. She loves working with the students at Sylvan and watching them succeed. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching sports, and kayaking on the lake.

Madison Klement

Tutor

Madison is a tutor at Sylvan Waco and Woodway. She has her Associate of Arts in Teaching EC-12 and is currently pursuing her Bachelor degree in EC-6 from Tarleton State University-Waco campus. At Sylvan, Madison enjoys teaching K-12 Reading and K-6 Math. When not at Sylvan, she enjoys spending time with friends, reading, writing, and shopping.

Katherine Clarke

Tutor

Katherine is an Upper-Level Math tutor. She is a senior at Baylor pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a minor in Biochemistry. Despite her passion for the sciences, Katherine has always been a math whizz from a young age and loves the opportunity to teach others. She credits her love of math and teaching to her Dad, who is a high school math teacher. Katherine’s ultimate goal is to receive her PhD and lead groundbreaking medical research. In her free time, Katherine can be found at McLane Stadium sporting her Alpha Phi letters and cheering on the Bears with her sisters.

Aiden is a student at Baylor University, class of 2025, graduating with a degree in Mathematics. He has three years of experience in the tutoring environment, helping students from grades K-12 in various subjects, from basic spelling to differential calculus. He loves the strong community at Sylvan, dedicated to both learning and inspiring students to cultivate new aspirations of knowledge and success. When not working with students at Sylvan, Aiden enjoys playing musical instruments, researching advanced math and logic topics, and playing Mario Kart.