Our staff has over 85+ combined years of experience here at Lads & Lassies Community Preschool!
Director & Pre-K Teacher
I have been in education since 1996. After graduating from Miami University with a Bachelors Degree in education and a K-8 certification, I taught 3rd grade in Lebanon Public Schools. I took a break from teaching to stay at home with my own children for a few years and then entered the field of Early Childhood Education in 2003 as my own daughter’s preschool teacher here at Lads and Lassies Community Preschool. I quickly realized preschool is the place for me! I set out to learn all I can about how young children learn. I was introduced to The Project Approach and the schools of Reggio Emilia, and find this to be such a beautiful and authentic way to work alongside children. This approach/philosophy became the heart of my work with children. In 2010 I became the Director of Lads and Lassies. Through teaching, reflecting and researching I continue to follow my passion… learning about how children learn!
Pre-K Teacher & Friday Stars Teacher
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Virginia and a Master of Education in Special Education. I spent 9 years teaching in an elementary resource room in Hershey, PA and Troy, MI until my family and I moved to Wyoming and I decided to stay home with my daughters, Lucy and Sophie. Sophie started kindergarten in the fall of 2006 and I planned to spend the year looking for the perfect teaching job. Well, the perfect job found me! A church member passed along my name to the director and I ended up joining the staff on Sophie’s first day of kindergarten!
I have taught happily in the Bear classroom and have found no two days at preschool are ever alike and not a day goes by I don’t laugh.
3-4’S Teacher & Pre-K Friday Teacher
This is my 17th year at Lads & Lassies and the Fish Room is one of my favorite places to be! My husband Todd and I have been married for 26 years and have 3 children. Kyle is 24, Evan is 22 and Reese is almost 11. She had a heart transplant as a baby and is doing great!
I love vacations with family – I love the lake and the beach! I love long walks, reading and listening to music.
My background is in Occupational Therapy and I enjoy working on gross/fine motor skills and sensory integration.
3-4’s Teacher
I am so excited to return to Lads & Lassies as a Fish Teacher! My husband Johnny and I moved to Wyoming in 2001. Our three children- Paige, 24, Gus, 21 and Genevieve, 19, are all graduates of Lads and Wyoming High School! I have known Laurie Ryan since we were 13, and we are excited to be teaching your children. Another Lads connection is my daughter, Paige, and Stacy Akers’ daughter, Chloe, met in preschool and are still best friends today!
Some of my favorite things to do are listening to my girls sing and play music, watching my son play soccer for BGSU, and reading and drinking coffee. I’m a HUGE sports fan: I love the Reds, Bengals and FCC!
3-4’s Teacher
Hi! I am excited to return to the froggy class this year and get to know your child – and you as well! 😊 I’ve honestly lost track, but I believe this will be my 17th year teaching at Lads and Lassies Community Preschool. I have taught all age groups here and am also blessed to teach music each Thursday. One of the many things I love about teaching is seeing all the new faces each year, knowing that by May, our class will have grown into a close-knit school family! I am married to my high school sweetheart and have two adult daughters and two rescue dogs.
Some of my favorite things are teaching (and laughing) at LLCP, spending time with my husband and dogs, visiting kids with my therapy dog, Sunny, appreciating God’s love and the awesome world He created, working in my yard and flower gardens, celebrating seasons and holidays (isn’t every day some type of holiday?!), reading books and listening to music, eating donuts, homemade baked goods, and Graeter’s chocolate chip ice cream!
3-4’s Teacher
I am excited to be teaching at Lads & Lassies this year! I have been at another area preschool for the past few years. I’m a mom of 5 kids – Jackson (22), Amelia (20), Della (20), Francie (17) and Sully (16). My youngest 4 went to Lads & Lassies!
Some of my favorite things are going on vacation with my husband and children, family dinners, traveling with friends, walking my dog, Gilly, tacos and brownies, morning coffee, antiquing, home decorating and indoor plants, the color green, and Amazon and TJ Maxx!
Office Manager
I have had the pleasure of knowing so many wonderful children and their families over the years. I love running into them around our community. It’s a joy coming to work with children every day, not to mention our awesome staff! They are the best!
My husband, Kevin (high school sweetheart) and I married in 1986. We have 3 adult children who are “20 and 30 somethings,” and Jagger, a chocolate lab. I spend lots of time walking, hiking and playing pickle ball, knitting, sewing and some traveling. I am an avid reader (I’ve been in a book club with the same 8 women since 1998), a sports enthusiast, a longtime member of the handbell choir at Northminster Church, and a techie…I love the lastest and greatest gadgets! And of course, I love kids! Working in such a happy, positive environment full of children, laughter and the best coworkers anywhere on the planet is truly hard to beat!
Art Studio Teacher
I am the Art Studio teacher! I am excited to have joined the happiest group of teachers I’ve ever seen, and have long held an interest in project-based learning. I taught Musikgarten for 10 years at the Wyoming Center for the Arts with my mentor, the beloved Ms. Mary.
I was a child who grew up living in many places and attending many schools in Ohio and Texas, but my summers were spent at my grandparents’ and dad’s farm in NW Ohio, riding bikes for miles a day, “adopting” barn kittens, building clubhouses, and singing at the top of my lungs in the barn loft. There, my voice became my own and my dreams were a big as the blue sky. Eventually, I studied voice and opera at The University of Houston under Katherine Ciesinski (now at Eastman) and director Buck Ross, where I was honored to sing leading roles with full orchestra. Masters work brought me to CCM, where I sang as soprano soloist in Philip Glass’ 6th Symphony, a peace blessing written for the millennium which was attended by Mr. Glass himself.
Like most parents, my children are my life’s work. Talk about project-based learning! My husband Eric and I have been together for over 20 years, with our 3 children. My son Emory is 21 now, bright and voraciously curious, and getting ready to graduate from Rose Hulman. A born science “geek”, he jumped for joy on the bed when he discovered the periodic table of the elements at age 4! Oliver, age 18, is a peaceable fellow who loves animals, language and legos in equal measure; he is a “lefty” and a quirky learner with an IEP at school who has taught us that the glass can be both half-full and over-flowing at the same time. Our 16 year old daughter, Amelia, is our family’s truest extrovert, by turns tender and ferocious, playful and driven. Her main frustration is that her family won’t let her go out into the streets (at night, no less!) to fight crime as a superhero.
Friday Pre-K Teacher and Sub
I am thrilled to be a member of the Lads and Lassies family! After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Early Childhood Education, I spent the previous 12 years teaching preschool in the Finneytown community. I love watching preschoolers make new discoveries, develop their language skills, and learn from one another. They are truly some of the most inciteful and creative people I have ever met!
I live in Loveland with my husband, Vagelis (or “V” for short) and my two boys, Peter (14) and Leo (10). We are a sporty family, and most weekends, you can find me watching my boys play soccer, basketball or baseball. I love visiting the Loveland Bike Trail, cheering on the Reds and UC, traveling (especially to the beach), music of all kinds, dancing, attending Broadway shows, and reading a good book.
I started at Lads & Lassies Community Preschool 2 years ago in the Frog Class! Before working here I stayed at home with my 3 children – Patrick is 13 and in 7th grade, Joseph is 11 and in 5th grade, and Maggie is 6 and is in 1st grade! We also have a service dog named Misty and cat named Callie.
Before being a stay-at-home mom, I was a 7th & 8th grade teacher at Mercy Montessori for 5 years. I have my masters and license to be an Intervention Specialist teacher, which I returned to this year part time. I grew up in the area and went to Lads & Lassies myself, so I am excited that I have come full circle!
I enjoy going to movies, hanging out with friends, and being with my extended family.