Mrs. Jill Funck, Director
Mrs. Martha Pierce, Office Manager and Music Teacher
Mrs. Pierce graduated from Susquehanna University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She taught Middle School and High School General and Choral Music for 10 years in Pennsylvania, while earning her Masters in Choral Conducting from Messiah College. This is her 8th year teaching at NLA. Mrs. Pierce lives in Palmyra with her husband and two children. She loves teaching private music lessons, theater, reading, the beach, shopping, coffee and spending time with her family!
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. Kelly Breckenridge, Tiny Turtles (2 year olds)
Mrs. Breckenridge graduated from Susquehanna University in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. She worked in Public Relations until 2017, when she became a stay-at-home mom to her son (who is a ’23 alumnus of NLA). Sad to say goodbye to NLA upon her son’s graduation, she joined the Turtles’ classroom in the fall of 2023. Mrs. B. lives in Palmyra with her husband, son, their bloodhound-labrador mix, Honey, and her horse, Darcy. She is a voracious reader and serves on the Board of Directors of the Palmyra Public Library. When not in the classroom, Mrs. B. can be found practicing Tang Soo Do, traveling, or in Stone Harbor, NJ, learning to sail a sunfish in the back bays.
Mrs. Brianna Esposito, Busy Bees (2 year olds)
Mrs. Esposito, better known as Ms. Bree, is in her 5th year of teaching at NLA. Ms. Bree has been a Preschool and Daycare teacher for the past 18 years! Ms. Bree is excited to be back with the Busy Bees (she taught the Llamas classroom last year). She lives in Palmyra with her husband, 2 children, 2 dogs and rabbit. She loves the beach, reading, and hosting friends and family get togethers.
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, who is currently an NLA Pre-K Lion! Her oldest daughter attended NLA for Pre-K and her family loved their experience. She was thrilled to join the team! This is her fourth year at Noah’s and third 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. Alissa Kwiatkowski, Tigers (3 year olds)
Mrs. K graduated from Moravian College (now University) with a double major in Elementary Education and Sociology. This will be her fourth year working at NLA and her second 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. Alicia Laudermilch, Foxes (4 year olds) and Little Llamas
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. Mary Manning, Lions (Pre-K)
Mrs. Manning earned a BA in Art and Theater from Millersville University. She is in her 8th 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 this year is 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. Michelle Mazur, Llamas AM/PM Enrichment
Mrs. Mazur has been a Palmyra transplant (by way of Chester County, PA and New York) since 2007. She lives with her husband, three children (17, 12, & 10), and their dogs, Maisie and Addie. Her love for this area has grown so deep that she hopes to never have to be transplanted again. She recently earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Penn State University (WE ARE!) and is continuing her thirst for knowledge this fall as she begins a Master of Arts in clinical mental health counseling at Messiah University. When she has free time away from her various schools, Mrs. Mazur enjoys cooking, reading, doing yoga, taking hikes, drinking coffee, and listening to BTS (among other types of music, of course). This will be her 8th year at Noah’s and her 1st year as lead teacher. To say she is excited for this new challenge is a huge understatement!
OUR CLASSROOM FLEX AIDES
Kristen Cassidy
Cristina Cooper
Joanna DePaolo
Heather Derr
Lisa Evans
Barbara Franzetti
Jennifer Harman
Bronagh Houser
Jocelyn McCafferty
Karen Robinson
Wendy Shirk
Sherry Shirk
Beth Stefanchik
Susie Stern
Luciana Supsic
Angela VanLieu
Tracie Witmer