Meet Kari Planz – Director, Head Teacher

I am so happy you are interested in our school! I am the Director and head teacher of the 4 yr old class. The students have been calling me Mrs. Planz, but the rest of my coworkers have recently changed over to using their first names and I am feeling a little left out… and old! I am ready to join them and let the kids call me Miss Kari. 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 27 to 15. The oldest is Megan, who is also a teacher, then Brian who is an Engineer in Chicago, Jenna who is a newly graduated Occupational Therapist, Emily, who is our head 3 yr old teacher, and a graduate student at SUNY Albany and Stephen, who is 15, and a junior at Niskayuna High School. We also have 2 dogs at our house, their names are Molly and Lennon. This is my 12th 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 Charity Preston – Assistant Teacher

Hi! My name is Charity Preston and I am honored to be your child’s teacher! I grew up in Eastport, Maine which is the Eastern Most city in the United States. I graduated from Elmira College with a B.S. in Psychology and I have a Paralegal Certificate. I am a mom to a son, Matthew, and twin daughters Katherine and Abigail. I am an upbeat and positive person. I absolutely LOVE teaching preschool! I am excited to grow and learn with your child with lots of reading, play, and laughter along the way.

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 11 and is in the 6th grade at St.Pius X and I have a 4-year-old Ellie who also attends school here. 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.