Meet Kari Planz – Director

I am so happy you are interested in our school! I am the Director. I have been at Calvary since 2007, except for the year that we lived in Kansas City and upon our return, I went to St. Mary’s waiting for my position here to open back up! I grew up in Latham, but my family and I have spent some time living in North Augusta, South Carolina and Kansas City, MO. I attended North Colonie schools, HVCC, and Clarkson University, where I received a BS in Mechanical Engineering. It didn’t take me long to decide that engineering was not the right field for me, so once we started our family in 1993, I went back to school for Early Childhood at Augusta College. Since then, my husband Eric and I have added 4 more children, yes we have 5 kids, they range in age from 29 to 17. The oldest is Megan, who is also a teacher, then Brian who is an Engineer, Jenna who is an Occupational Therapist, Emily, who is a counselor in Rotterdam and Stephen, who is 17, and a incoming freshman at Siena College. We also have 2 dogs at our house, their names are Molly and Lennon. This is my 19th year in a preschool setting, I have done preschool gymnastics and assistant teacher positions, before becoming a head teacher and then director at Calvary. I am very excited to get to know your children and your families this year.

Meet Stacey Hartman – Lead Teacher

Hi! My name is Stacey Hartman and I am so excited to be back at the preschool. I am from and currently live in Colonie with my family. I have a son Ayden who is 12 and is in the 7th grade at CBA and I have a 5 year-old Ellie who also attended here and is now headed to kindergarten at St. Pius X. I have an associate’s degree in Early Childhood and a Bachelors’s degree in Elementary Education. While at home I love to do DIY projects around the house and you can always find me in the kitchen cooking for my family which I enjoy. I am looking forward to the year ahead with your children and getting to know them.

Meet Michelle Hykin – Lead Teacher

Hello! I was born and raised in Latham, NY where I lived until college. I attended SUNY Geneseo where I majored in Childhood Education and Spanish. From there I went to SUNY Stony Brook to get my Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. After graduation, I moved to Syracuse where I taught K-5 English as a Second Language for over 7 years. I am married to Sam, and we have 2 kids – Jackson who attended Calvary Methodist Preschool and will be in 2nd grade this fall, and Kelsey, who is very excited to have mama as a teacher in the fall.

In my free time, I like to craft and read. I love ice cream, animals, and wearing pajamas. 🙂

Hello! My name is Tori Galvin and I am so happy to be a part of Calvary Methodist Preschool. I grew up in Troy and currently live there with my family. My husband, Tim, and I have two daughters. Ada, who attended here last year, is 5 and will be starting kindergarten. Quincy is 2 and will be beginning the 2 year old program here this year. I attended SUNY New Paltz, majoring in Childhood Education and went on to the University at Albany to get my Master’s degree in Special Education. I taught multiple grade levels before taking a few years off to stay home with my family. I have also taught dance for the past 6 years to children ages 18 months through elementary level. In my free time, I love to read, bake, and watch scary movies. I look forward to getting to know you all this year!