ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Mrs. Jill Funck, Director
Mrs. Funck, a native of Palmyra, attended Bloomsburg University, where she studied English and Education. After graduation, she enjoyed her time interning as a sixth-grade creative writing instructor at Scott-Roland Middle School in Harrisburg, PA. Following the birth of her son and daughter, Mrs. Funck spent her days with them while self-employed. It was during that time that she started as a substitute and transitioned to a teaching position in the 3- and 4-year-old and PreK classrooms here at NLA in 2009. She left NLA in 2016, where she served as a substitute teacher in the Annville-Cleona, Cornwall-Lebanon, Northern Lebanon, and Palmyra School Districts. It was at the Palmyra School District that she fell in love with the Autistic Support classroom, where she spent the next three years before returning to NLA in 2020 as Director of Operations.
Mrs. Tracie Witmer, Office Manager
Mrs. Cathy Corrigan, Finance & Human Resources Manager
Mrs. Corrigan came to us with 35 years experience in non-profit accounting and administration. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Accounting from Shippensburg University and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Kutztown University. After “retiring” in 2020, she realized that she had too much time on her hands and joined the NLA staff in 2022 part-time and now considers herself “semi-retired”. Mrs. Corrigan lives in Annville with her husband. She has 4 teenage grandchildren who keep her very busy traveling to Schuylkill County to cheer them on in their activities. In addition to spending time with her grandkids she loves baking, crafting and gardening.
OUR TEACHERS
Mrs. Brianna Esposito, Busy Bees (2 year olds)
Ms. Brianna Esposito, better known as Ms. Bree is in her 6th year of teaching at NLA. She has been a Early Childhood teacher for 20 years. Ms. Bree is currently working towards her degree in Special Education. She lives in Palmyra with her 2 children and 3 dogs. Away from the classroom she enjoys the beach, reading, spending time with loved ones, and pet sitting.
Mrs. Kaitlyn Blase, Owls (3 year olds)
Mrs. Blase grew up in Cleona and attended Lebanon Valley College. She graduated in 2007 with a degree in Elementary Education and later earned a Master degree from Wilkes University in Educational Development and Strategies. Her first work experiences were long term substitute jobs in 5th grade, 4th grade (where she met Mr. Blase!) and 3 years in kindergarten/first grade at Hershey Elementary. She landed a permanent first grade teaching position, which she enjoyed until the birth of her first daughter in 2016. She did a bit of day to day substituting at Hershey from 2017-2019 before having her second daughter. Her daughters attended NLA and her family loved their experience. She was thrilled to join the team! This is her fifth year at Noah’s and fourth year as the Owls teacher. In her spare time, Mrs. Blase enjoys baking, sewing, finding a good bargain while out shopping, and of course, spending time with her family.
Mrs. Alicia Laudermilch, Foxes (4 year olds)
Mrs. Laudermilch is excited to begin her sixth year teaching the Fox Class. She holds a degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University. She lives in Palmyra with her husband and two children. They have a mini Goldendoodle named Ginger, and an old, very patient cat, Squiggy. When Mrs. Laudermilch is not at school, she likes to spend time with her family and pets, garden, read and go on adventures.
Mrs. Alissa Kwiatkowski, Tigers (Pre-K)
Mrs. K graduated from Moravian College (now University) with a double major in Elementary Education and Sociology. This will be her fifth year working at NLA and her third year as the Tigers teacher. She lives in Palmyra with her husband and two kids, Sydney and Luke. Both of her kiddos attended NLA and had wonderful experiences. Mrs. K also has two dogs, a 4 year old lab named Napoleon and a 5 month old rescue lab-mix named Murphy. When she is not playing taxi-cab driver for her kids and their busy sports schedules or attending one of their numerous activities or sporting events, she loves to read, travel, play games, do puzzles, and watch Netflix!
Mrs. Mary Manning, Lions AM & PM (Pre-K)
Mrs. Manning earned a BA in Art and Theater from Millersville University. She is in her 9th year teaching Pre-K at Noah’s Little Ark. Mrs. Manning is very active in the Palmyra community. She is the costumer for the PAHS Theater program, as well at the Hershey Area Playhouse. She lives in Palmyra with her husband and children. In addition to costuming, in her free time she serves as chauffer to her 6 very busy kids!
Mrs. Stacie Stroup, Giraffes (Pre-K)
Mrs. Stroup graduated from Shippensburg University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Minor in Reading. This will be her third year at NLA. She started as a Part Time Aide, moved into a teacher position for the Busy Bees and is now the teacher for the Giraffes Pre-K class. Previously, Mrs. Stroup was a long term substitute in first grade and taught second grade until the birth of her first child in 2011. She lives in Palmyra with her husband and three children. Mrs. Stroup loves the beach, coffee, and baking.
Mrs. Barbara Franzetti, Bible
OUR CLASSROOM FLEX AIDES
Lauren Broyles – Owls
Cristina Cooper – Lions AM & PM
Melissa Craig – Busy Bees
Joanna DePaola – Foxes and Little Llamas
Heather Derr – Lions AM
Barbara Franzetti – Music
Sara Graham – Foxes
Jennifer Harman – Tigers
Brittany Henning – Giraffes
Bronagh Houser – Busy Bees & Little Llamas
Jocelyn McCafferty – Lions PM
Karen Robinson – Lions AM
Sherry Shirk – Substitute
Beth Stefanchik – Substitute
Luciana Supsic – Owls & Little Llamas
Angela VanLieu – Giraffes