DIRECTOR AND LEAD TEACHER
MS. GRACE
She/Her

Grace grew up in Grand Rapids, right down the street from Grace Preschool. She still lives near by with her husband and two children. Together they love reading, playing outside, and creating in all sorts of ways - interests that transfer well to the preschool classroom.

Grace earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood General and Special Education and has a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with focuses on early childhood and inclusive education. The majority of Grace’s teaching experience comes from the preschool classroom and, while she has enjoyed spending time teaching and learning with other ages, preschool students have remained her favorite.

PRESCHOOL AIDE
MS. KATHY
She/Her

Kathy is excited to return to her sixth year of teaching at Grace Preschool. She received her BA in Advertising at MSU, Teaching Certificate from Eastern Michigan University, and Masters in Early Childhood Education from Elmira College. Kathy has worked at Wealthy Elementary School as a special education paraprofessional, taught English and Science in a fifth grade classroom in Delaware, taught an extended day kindergarten class in Massachusetts, and assisted in a second grade classroom in New York. “I find preschool children to be the most fun and exciting to work with.”

She has lived in Grand Rapids with her family for the past ten years, and has two daughters in the in the East Grand Rapids School District; Addison in 7th grade and Alyssa in 10th grade. She also has two sons; Nicholas, a senior at Bucknell University and Nathan, a graduate from The United States Military Academy in West Point a Lieutenant in the US Army. In her free time she enjoys reading, swimming, biking, and walking her dogs Belle and Thor. “I can’t wait to get back in the classroom and help motivate and encourage students to become lifelong learners.”

PRESCHOOL AIDE
MOE
They/Them

Moe is excited to be joining the Grace Preschool staff this year. They have spent a year and a half as a Teacher's Assistant at Milestones Development Center in Caledonia, where they found their passion working and learning with children. Moe's goal is to foster creativity and curiosity while learning and working with children on their respective levels.

Moe grew up in Caledonia, Michigan where they graduated from High School in 2021 and is now taking an online program through Penn Foster. Moe has eight younger siblings that they spend their time goofing off with and learning all sorts of things from. They are excited to continue learning and working in Early Childhood at Grace Preschool.

AFTERCARE SUPERVISOR
MS. NATALIE
She/Her

Natalie is delighted to return to the Grace Preschool team this year! After earning an Associate’s degree in Psychology at Calvin University, she plans on pursuing her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education to continue exploring her passion for helping children learn and grow. Before working at Grace Preschool, Natalie realized her love of encouraging children’s learning through babysitting for local families, assisting in toddler and children’s ballet classes, and volunteering to mentor Elementary school students through organizations such as Kid’s Hope USA. Despite having experience working with a wide variety of age groups, from infants to pre-teens, she still finds preschool students to be one of her favorites to interact with due to their eagerness to explore and learn about the world around them.

Natalie grew up in St. Charles, Illinois, graduating in 2018, and has since moved to Grand Rapids. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, dancing (especially ballet!), and baking desserts for her family and friends. She is grateful for the opportunity to help provide a welcoming and supportive environment to foster students’ growth and learning this year!

AFTERNOON + AFTERCARE AIDE
MS. MARY
She/Her

Mary Davis has been a Grand Rapids resident her whole life, previously living on Hall St. for 9 years during her childhood. Most weekend she has the pleasure of spending time with her two granddaughters, which keeps her quite active. Mary has one daughter that lives here in Grand Rapids and another daughter that lives in Farmington Hills, where she commutes often.

Mary has been working in the educational field for more than 10 years as a school bus driver. For the past 3 years she also worked in Student Supervision and Instructional Staff within the classroom as well. Mary has also fostered children between the age of 2 and 17 years for 10 years which encouraged her to learn more about early childhood learning, development and behavior.

Pursing her degree in Juvenile Services, along with student supervision in the classrooms drives her passion to work in Early Childhood, especially knowing what a huge impact this time has on a child’s development of emotional, social and cognitive skills for future learning. Mary has some experience in Daycare as a teacher for ages 2-3 at Kingdom Care Early Learning Center, which closed permanently due to staff shortage. Even though her plan is to possibly continue pursuing a career in adolescents/juveniles, she is excited about the opportunity to work in Early Childhood at Grace Preschool.

VOLUNTEER
MS. MARIA
She/Her

Maria is a student at EmpowerU, a program for young adults seeking additional job skills. She also has a part-time job at Le Macaron in downtown Grand Rapids near Rosa Parks Circle. Maria has previously volunteered at Whistlestop Child Development Center where she played and read with kids, made snacks, helped out at lunch, cleaned the tables and arranged mats for naps. She is good at writing and helping others, especially her friends and family. Maria’s hobbies include crocheting, coloring, listening to peaceful music, ballet, hanging out with friends, family and her Young Life leader, and talking to friends on the phone. She is outgoing and positive. In the future she is planning to sell crochet crafts she makes. Maria is excited to be a part of Grace Preschool.

BOOKKEEPER AND ADMINISTRATOR
She/Her

Kristen received her Bachelors in Business Administration and Masters in Accounting from Grand Valley State University. Her experience comes from working with non-profit organizations in various settings. Kristen’s most relevant experience was shaped while serving in multiple positions on the Board at the Cooperative Preschool where four of her six children attended.

Kristen has a passion and love for helping others and seeing them reach their potential. She loves music, volunteering at her children’s schools, cheering her kids on in their interests and spending time together as a family.

As a wife and mom, Kristen knows and appreciates the love, care and time that goes into making decisions about sending your children to preschool. After over a decade of managing her home and growing family, Kristen is excited to be a part of Grace Preschool and to have the opportunity to serve the school and families in this role.

SUBSTITUTE
MS. LIZ
She/Her

This will be Liz's 7th year working as an aide or sub at Grace Preschool. Liz grew up on the east side of the state, but has called Grand Rapids home for 22 years, with prior stops in Chicago and Memphis. She and her husband Steve live in Cascade with their 8 year old Labrador, Zoey. They have 3 grown children; daughters living in Columbus and Traverse City, and a son in Royal Oak. They have been members of Grace Episcopal Church for 21 years where they were first acquainted with the preschool. Liz's hobbies include reading, hiking, kayaking and traveling.

Liz is excited to continue at Grace, and looks very forward to being a part of, and supporting, the mission of Grace Preschool. "Watching preschoolers explore, grow and learn never gets old"!

SUBSTITUTE
MS. SARAH
She/Her

Sarah is looking forward to another year with the wonderful staff and children at Grace Preschool! This will begin her third year working as a substitute teacher aide. After growing up in northern Michigan, Sarah moved to Grand Rapids as a student teacher, and found her home there. Sarah is married and has two adult children. Daughter Kate lives in Midland Michigan. Katie is married with two elementary aged boys. Son Dan lives and works in Grand Rapids.

Sarah received her Bachelor's degree in education at Central, Michigan University and her Master’s at GVSU. She retired after 35 years as a teacher for the Grand Rapids Public Schools.

In her spare time Sarah, enjoys reading, gardening, biking, cross country skiing, and camping. Her favorite thing is spending time with friends and family.