Our Team
Our team is full of fun, loving, educated people dedicated to your child's early education who have been with us for years. Our family cannot wait for you to join us.
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Click on your child's teacher to learn a bit more about them.
Administration
Debbie Betts
Director of Billing & Enrollment
I have been at AHP for seven years. I love that I can always take breaks from computer work to go watch the children learn, grow and play. I have three kids - a step-daughter who lives in Indiana, a son in high school and a daughter in elementary school.
Erin Fisher
Director of Schools
I am originally from Rochester, MN but have lived in Colorado since 1999. I have been with AHP for 16 years in a variety of roles and have been the director for 7 years. I love working with kids because they are eternally optimistic and innocent. They make me laugh and I can continue to be young at heart and in spirit because that is what kids love and relate to!
Janice Morrin
Assistant Director
I have been at Abiding Hope Preschool & Kindergarten for 16 years. Children are so innocent and honest. They brighten my day and make things not seem quite so difficult - especially during this pandemic. Hearing their belly laughs is contagious! My husband and I have recently become empty nesters which is quite different and quiet!
Specials
Melissa Buecher
Music Teacher
I have been teaching at AHP for seven years and all four of my kids attended preschool here before that. My husband and I have lived in Colorado for seventeen years and we enjoy spending time as a family hiking, biking, camping and exploring. I love that I get to teach music and movement to all 200+ students every week. They make me laugh every day!
Ronda Hall
Arts & Science Teacher
I have been teaching over twenty years and have been with AHP for 15 of those years. I love working here because of the wonderful teachers, staff, students, and families. The joy of teaching is seeing the wonder in a student's eye when they learn something new.
Mackenzie Schmid
P.E. Teacher
Littles
Kelly Plungis
Littles Teacher
This is my eleventh year at AHP. I have been a part of the Abiding Hope community for most of my life, I attended preschool here when I was little!
Carolyn Reilly
Littles Teacher
This is my first year at AHP and I am so excited to start this journey with the Littles! I have lived in Colorado since 1992 and I previously worked in the healthcare field. I absolutely love working with children; their smiles and laughs make every day fantastic. I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to growing and learning with the students!
Tweens
Cristina Vega
Tweens Teacher
I have been working for AHP for ten years. I love this place and the wonderful children that attend school and the special people that work here.
Tammy Weiser
Tweens Teacher
I have been at AHP for six years and absolutely love working with the kids. Prior to that, I worked in the financial world for over 20 years. My husband and I have 2 daughters and 2 dogs. We have lived in Littleton for over 20 years. I grew up in Granby and we still enjoy a family cabin in Grand Lake.
Tweens
Mackenzie Haviland
Tweens Teacher Assistant
This is my first year at Abiding Hope Preschool and I am super excited to be working with the Tweens. I have lived in Colorado for 22 years now. I grew up with 7 siblings whom I adore very much. I have always loved working with kids and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.
Marjan Zandi
Tweens Teacher
I was born and raised in Iran. After receiving my BA in Chemistry, I moved to the USA. I have been in the USA for 27 years. I am married and have three children. I started teaching 13 years ago, and I have enjoyed every moment of my teaching career.
Threes
Anja Hickman
Threes Teacher
I have been working at AHP for four years in the Threes classroom. What I love most about being with the Threes is watching them grow socially and emotionally. Nothing better than seeing their proud smiles by the end of the year when they are showing you how they can share, how to be a good friend, and how to put on shoes and jackets all by themselves.
Kailey Horton
Threes Teacher Assistant
Crystal Lukens
Threes Teacher
I have been at Abiding Hope Preschool & Kindergarten for 16 years. Children are so innocent and honest. They brighten my day and make things not seem quite so difficult - especially during this pandemic. Hearing their belly laughs is contagious! My husband and I have recently become empty nesters which is quite different and quiet!
Threes
Lynn Kessinger
Threes Teacher
I moved to Colorado from Los Angeles in December 2014 so I could be part of my daughter's and grandsons' life. I joined the AHP team in August 2015. I began working with children in 1979.
Gayle Lindsey
Threes Teacher
Teaching is an adventure. Every day is different and you learn as much as you teach!
Sophie Plouffe
Threes Teacher Assistant
Pre-Kindergarten
Mallory Bowman
Pre-K Teacher Assistant
I am thrilled to be a part of the preschool team here at AHP! This will be my 9th year teaching and my 1st at AHP! Prior to AHP, I taught Kindergarten in Jeffco for 8 years!
I grew up attending AH, and currently live in the area with my husband, 2 year old son, and chocolate lab! I graduated with my BA in elementary education with a minor in literacy from The University of Northern Colorado. I am truly passionate about early childhood education! I believe in starting our child's educational career with a strong foundation of learning built upon God's love, laughter, trust, friendship and community!
Michelle DeVaney
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I am originally from Kansas and have lived in Colorado for 25 years. I have three children, two in college and a junior in high school. I have an old yellow lab named Cash. I love teaching because of the reward it brings watching them learn and grow. The love and hugs are priceless. I believe it is the best job in the world.
Pre-Kindergarten
Jessica Korinek
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I have been a preschool teacher for 21 years! I have worked at AHP for 8 years. I enjoy spending my free time with my family! We love hiking, and chasing our chickens and ducks
Gina Rea
Pre-K Teacher Assistant
Pre-Kindergarten
Elaine Bohn
Pre-K Teacher Assistant
I began substituting quite a lot a couple of years ago. I love this age group! The kids are funny and interesting. I enjoy working and playing with them and seeing the wonder in their faces.
Paula Murray
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I am from Dell Rapids, SD and have lived in Colorado since 1993. I have 1 son, Ty, born in 2001. I have been teaching at AHP since 2007 and I love teaching Pre-K because I am just a big kid myself! I love dogs, Mountain Dew, traveling, and the joys of life.
Pre-Kindergarten
Sally Lord
Pre-K Teacher Assistant
This is my first year at AHP after a long break from teaching. I'm enjoying it so much! I especially like working with the older kids, probably because I used to be an elementary teacher. I taught for 13 years in SC, GA, WA, and Bogota, Colombia. I love kids and teaching, so AHP is a great place to be! Thank you for being so friendly to me!
Valia Panchev
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I am from Bulgaria. My majors are geography and history. I became a teacher because I enjoy helping children reach milestones - build self-esteem through education and have been teaching over 20 years. I also feel early childhood education is particularly important because it sets children up for success throughout the rest of their school careers. In my spare time, I like to spend time with my husband and daughter. We love to travel a lot!
Pre-Kindergarten
Dianne Brush
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I love teaching because every year is different. Each child is unique and watching them learn and grow is magical.
Jill Ross
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
I have been a lead Pre-K teacher at AHP for 8 years. I love teaching students through dance, play and hands-on learning. I also enjoy reading and sharing stories from the Bible to teach children about God's Love. Outside of AHP, I love spending time with my husband and my three beautiful children. Our family loves movies, board games, dance parties, camping and sports. One of my favorite sports is volleyball, which I played in college. I have a BA in Biology, AA in Liberal Arts and my Certificate in Early Childhood Education. I love teaching at AHP and am very blessed to be where I am today.
Junior Kindergarten
Carlie Kapp
Jr. K Teacher Assistant
Cris Vega
Jr. Kindergarten Teacher
Hello, I was born in Los Angeles, CA and moved to Littleton in 2006. I've taught for 8 years; 5 of those at AHP. I love teaching Pre-K and Junior Kindergarten because it's an age group where they are becoming independent, are loving the learning aspect of school and you can have the funniest conversations with them!
Jr. Kindergarten/Kindergarten
Jenni DeLauro
Kindergarten Teacher
My passion is teaching kindergarten! Kindergarten is such a fun age as they are learning to read and write. I enjoy spending my free time with my family. We enjoy hiking, paddle-boarding and bike riding.
Dolores (Lolis) Tiznado
Kindergarten Teacher
I love working with kids. I have worked at AHP for 3 years. I love spending time with my family and dog.
Morning Care
Jessica Korinek
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Gayle Lindsey
Threes Teacher
Tammy Weiser
Tweens Teacher
Marjan Zandi
Tweens Teacher
Afternoon Care
Dainne Brush
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Michelle DeVaney
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Kelly Plungis
Littles Teacher
Kat Smith
After Care Teacher