Ms. Donna
Director

Ms. Donna is our Preschool Director.  She has been passionately working in the early childhood field for almost 30 years.  She loves the relationships that are formed with each family, the staff, the church members, and, of course, the children.  She was born and raised in New Jersey, but moved to Virginia 37 years ago with her Navy husband.  After his retirement, they decided to call Virginia Beach home for their son, rescue dog and the sweetest cat ever.  Ms. Donna enjoys reading, gardening and watching her New York Yankees.

Ms. Kenda
Assistant Director

If you’ve called our school, had a tour, or paid tuition, you know Ms. Kenda!  Ms. Kenda has been with CCPA for 14 years now and is basically the piece that keeps us all running smoothly.  She’s from Duncan OK, where she earned her Associate’s degree in Secretarial Administration.  She loves that her position lets her get to interact with both the preschoolers and their families.  In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crafting, and spending time with her family.

Ms. Julie
Fine Arts Teacher

Ms. Julie is our Fine Arts teacher.  She first experienced CCPA as a parent, and then joined 17 years ago as a music teacher.  As we have moved toward a Reggio-inspired school, Ms. Julie has added “Fine Arts Teacher” to her resume.  Ms. Julie is originally from Lubbock, TX, and earned her BSEd degree from Texas Tech University.  Upon moving to the Virginia Beach area, she became a kindergarten teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools.  After taking a break from teaching to raise her two youngest children for a few years, she enrolled them at CCPA, and joined the staff shortly thereafter.

About her job, Ms. Julie says, “I love that I get to work with all of the children at CCPA.  Their enthusiasm is amazing and fills me up every day.  I love my job and feel I have the best job in the school!”  Ms. Julie also loves spending time with her family at the beach and trying new restaurants.  In addition, she enjoys shopping thrift stores, flea markets, and antique stores to find treasures she can turn into projects.

Two Year Olds

The Jellyfish Class - Two, Three and Five Day

Ms. Jean
Two Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms.Jean was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA and lived in Bath, ME for 13 years where she raised and home schooled her children. She is the mother of six children (5 boys and 1 daughter) and a grandmother of to 3 grandsons. She has an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education and over 30 years experience teaching children. For the past 10 years she has been teaching in multiple preschool settings, including an Outdoor Nature Based preschool for 7 years in Maine. Along with teaching at CCPA, she is also the Assistant women’s Indoor and Beach Volleyball Coach at Regent University. 

She loves seeing children light up as they make new discoveries about the world they live in and the God who created it. Her favorite part of her job is helping children develop a life long love of learning. She is happy to be a part of an amazing and strong Jellyfish team of teachers and is always excited for each new year ahead!

Ms. Kaitlyn
Two Year Old Assistant Teacher (M-F)

Ms. Joni
Two Year Old Assistant Teacher (MWF)

Ms. Christine
Two Year Old Assistant Teacher (T/Th)

Ms. Christine grew up in Mays Landing, NJ, and began her career in aerospace engineering before her path shifted toward family and service. She is military wife and mom of five who during her time as a preschool parent here at CCPA fell in love with the staff and school. She loves the giggles and discoveries of the 2’s!

Three Year Olds

The Seahorse Class - Five Day

Ms. Taffy
Three Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms. Taffy is originally from Ohio and has lived in Virginia Beach for 37
years. She has a professional certificate in Early Childhood Education
from George Washington University. She has been in the childcare
field for over 35 years. She is married to a retired sailor and current
employee of the City of Virginia Beach. She has two married children, a
daughter and a son and five grandchildren. In addition to teaching
three year olds, she teaches Sunday school to elementary school age
children. She loves to spend time with her family, with Sunday dinners
being one of her favorite things in life. Believing that children truly
have a voice, her favorite quote is from Dr. Seuss, “A person’s a
person, no matter how small!”

Ms. Monica
Three Year Old Assistant Teacher

Ms. Monica is a Norfolk native and currently lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and three children. She began teaching at CCPA in 2008 and has come back after working in the public schools for a few years. She has a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Old Dominion University. Her favorite hobbies are to spend time with family and friends, movies, gardening, church activities, and shopping. She loves collecting children’s books! She has one large fluffy dog named Meg and two cats, Otto and Boo. 

The Sharks Class - Five Day

Ms. Anne
Three Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms. Anne hails from Linthicum, Maryland.  She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Foods.  She is a registered dietitian and has her Career Studies Certification in Early Childhood Development from Tidewater Community College.  Anne’s favorite part of her job is “working alongside children, talking with them, connecting with them, and seeing the ‘aha’ moments.”  In her off time, Anne loves to focus on her family.

Ms. Christy
Three Year Old Assistant Teacher

Ms. Christy is a mother of three and originally from Murrieta, California.  She began at CCPA as a preschool parent.  All three of her children attended CCPA and that where she fell in love with the school and its staff.  Her favorite part of working with children is talking with them and hearing what they think about the world around them.  She also enjoys reading, going to the beach and spending time with her family.

The Sea Stars Class - Two Day and Three Day

Ms. Kim
Three Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms Kimmie is originally from Plainfield,IL She has also lived in Houston, TX and was stationed in Virginia Beach while serving as a navy corpsman.  After serving and returning home for college, she and her husband decided to make Virginia Beach their home, Ms. Kimmie has 3 boys, 2 who have graduated and one in high school. She also has 2 bearded dragons and a 3 legged Boxer mix Named Buck. 
Ms. Kimmie has been teaching over 14 years, including 4 years in a Spanish immersion classroom. She loves that she gets to have fun and be silly in the classroom, especially when reading some of her favorite stories to the children or getting messy in art. In her spare time, Ms Kimmie volunteers heavily with the Kellam Marching band. She loves traveling and going on adventures with her family, concerts, the beach and cooking.

Ms. Lacey
Three Year Old Assistant Teacher

Ms. Lacey was born in western Massachusetts and resided there until she started
traveling with her family as a military brat. Once she graduated high school, Ms. Lacey
pursued her education in dental assisting and practiced dentistry for over 10 years until
she had her first son. She began to realize her passion for teaching children, and when
her second son was born she decided to explore her options in the early childhood
education setting. She began working at CCPA in 2023 and also enrolled in Early
Childhood Education classes. She is now certified in Childhood Development and
continues to take classes to stay on track with new advances and techniques in the
field.
Ms. Lacey loves to form connections with children, learning what makes them tick and
following their interests. She believes that true learning comes when children are
allowed to explore, play, and ask questions. She also loves to bring learning outdoors
when feasible and can often be found making sand castles and moats on the
playground with the kids! In her free time, Lacey enjoys exploring Virginia Beach with
her two children, Ethan and Maverick.

Four Year Olds

The Seals Class - Five Day

Ms. Kaitlin
Four Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms. Gibson has a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Lynchburg University.  She is happily married to her husband of 10 years. Together they share three young children. Their first two children both attended CCPA and her third child will begin his first year at our school this Fall. 

Before becoming a mother, she was a full time 2nd grade teacher in the Suffolk Public School System. She took time off to focus on being a mom to her kids, but always missed teaching. She is so excited to be back in the classroom working with you and your sweet children.

Ms. Lindsay
Four Year Old Assistant Teacher

Ms Lindsay was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia and met her husband of 10 years at Tidewater Community College.  She has two beautiful daughters, both attended CCPA, with her youngest still right across the hall. Ms. Lindsay loved the CCPA staff and atmosphere so much that she just had to join them. In her free time, you will most likely find her spending time with my family or reading a good book. Three-years old is such a wonderful age and she looks forward to watching our little friends curiosity for life become their building blocks for future learning.

The Pufferfish Class - Five Day

Ms. Mary
Four-year Old Lead Teacher

Ms. Mary is from Norfolk, Virginia and has lived in Virginia Beach for 30 years. She attended Mary Washington University and received a BA in English Literature with a teaching certification in PK-4th grade. She has been teaching at CCPA since 2008.  She also has a wonderful husband and three adult children.  Outside of school, she loves to travel.

Ms. Caroline
Four-year Old Assistant Teacher

Ms. Caroline was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts/Graphic Design from Virginia Commonwealth University.  While working in design, she met and married her Army husband.  They and their two children have lived all over the United States from Seattle, the Midwest, Northern Virginia, and back to Virginia Beach. 

Ms. Caroline began at CCPA, as a preschool parent for two years and then joined us as a staff member in the Twos and Fours.  Ms. Caroline loves working with our CCPA family, but most of all she cherishes her time with the children and all their sweet smiles, funny observations and getting messy with Art.  In her spare time, Ms. Caroline enjoys tennis, bike riding, the beach, spending time with her family and walking her big clumsy black Labrador.

The Sea Turtle Class - Two and Three Day

Ms. Jenn
Four Year Old Lead Teacher

s. Jenn is in her 14th year of teaching at CCPA.  During this time, she has brought her creative energy to many classrooms.  Currently, she teaches one of our 4-year old classes.  Ms. Jenn is a dynamic teacher who brings a lot of fun and creative activities to the children.  She especially likes to do amazing science experiments in the classroom!  Ms. Jenn is married and has two beautiful daughters and three dogs who keep her very busy.

Ms. Kylie
Three Year Old Assistant Teacher (MWF)

Ms. Kylie is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. She received her bachelors degree in elementary education  from East Carolina University. She has taught both first and third grade in North Carolina and Virginia.

Ms. Kylie has been happily married  for 11 years. She has two children, both who attended CCPA. She also has a golden retriever, cat, hamster, and a hermit crab.  She and her family love to be outside and do all things Disney. After being at home with her children, Ms. Kylie is excited to get back in the classroom to work with children again.

Ms. Brigette
Four Year Old Assistant Teacher (T/Th)

Ms. Brigette is originally from New Orleans, but has lived in VA Beach for the past 26 years. Her husband is a retired Navy SEAL and they have two adult children who both graduated from JMU and currently live in Harrisonburg, VA.  She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she majored in Theatre and Dance.  After college, she worked for Walt Disney World as a dancer/performer for several years before moving to Virginia. 

Ms. Brigette has been a teaching assistant in the Sea Turtle class for the past 3 years. Prior to that, she was a Pre-K lead teacher at VBUMC for 5 years and then worked as a substitute teacher for Virginia Beach City Public Schools for 7 years.  In her spare time, she can be found working in her garden or choreographing musicals and plays for the Kellam High School Fine Arts Department.

The Sandpiper Class - Two, Three and Five Day

Ms. Devon
Four Year Old Lead Teacher

Ms Devon is originally from Charlotte NC, but has lived in Hampton Roads for over five years. She is married to her high school sweetheart, a Navy pilot, and they have two elementary aged boys together. In college, Ms. Devon studied Special Education with a minor in Child Development. For the past decade Ms Devon has worked as a 4th grade teacher, an online ESL teacher, a Registered Behavior Technician, and as a stay at home mom.

Her hobbies include dancing, reading, buying plants, and spending time outdoors. Ms Devon is thrilled to be back in a classroom again and is looking forward to sharing her love of reading with her classroom and helping her students grow!

Ms. Heather
Four Year Old Assistant Teacher

Originally from Harrisonburg, Virginia, Ms. Heather graduated from James Madison University with a masters in early childhood education. She began her teaching career in Virginia Beach, where she taught third grade in the public school system. After several years in the classroom, she took time off to be a stay-at-home mom.

Now, as a proud CCPA parent, Ms. Heather is thrilled to return to teaching—this time with a special connection, as one of her children is headed to kindergarten and the other will be just two doors down the hall! She has truly missed being in the classroom and is excited to bring her love of learning, creativity, and enthusiasm back to students and families.

Extended Preschool Care

Ms. Taffy
Extended Care Program Supervisor 

Ms. Taffy is originally from Ohio and has lived in Virginia Beach for 37
years. She has a professional certificate in Early Childhood Education
from George Washington University. She has been in the childcare
field for over 35 years. She is married to a retired sailor and current
employee of the City of Virginia Beach. She has two married children, a
daughter and a son and five grandchildren. In addition to teaching
three year olds, she teaches Sunday school to elementary school age
children. She loves to spend time with her family, with Sunday dinners
being one of her favorite things in life. Believing that children truly
have a voice, her favorite quote is from Dr. Seuss, “A person’s a
person, no matter how small!”

Ms. Isabella
Extended Care Lead Preschool Teacher

Isabela is a recent 2025 graduate from Landstown High School. She participated in Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow (VTFT) and interned with two middle school classrooms. Isabela is originally from Cleveland, Ohio but has been in Virginia for over 10 years. After a gap year she will be attending TCC and transferring to Longwood University to get her degree in History and Secondary Education! Isabela loves theater, singing, music, history, teaching, and her family and friends.