Meet Our Preschool Team

All members of our teaching staff are life-long learners and have a passion for teaching preschoolers! Teachers attend regular trainings on best practices in the field of Early Childhood Education.  

My name is Breanna Cleeves and I am the Director of the Little Comets Preschool Programs. Preschool is such an exciting, impressionable time in a child’s life.  It is a special time when children develop a love for learning.  I am always amazed at the developments that occur over the school year within each child.  Watching our students grow is a favorite part of my job! They are not only learning letters, numbers, and how to write, but are also developing positive attitudes toward independence, exploration, cooperation, motivation, and creativity.  I feel very fortunate to be working amongst a group of supportive, inspiring, early childhood professionals.  What an amazing team I have!    

In 2008, I graduated from Spring Arbor University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.  I then obtained my Master’s Degree in Instruction and Curriculum in Early Childhood Education from Grand Valley State University.  Prior to re-opening Holbrook, I enjoyed teaching preschool in Atlanta and in the Lansing area.  I also taught full-day Kindergarten for four years.  I love that our program has grown and  expanded over the years, creating a need for our Delta Mills location in West Lansing!  When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, traveling, boating, shopping, and down-hill skiing.  I have a passion for interior design and enjoy decorating and re-decorating my home in Grand Ledge. My husband and I have two beautiful children who bring so much joy to our lives! 

Hi!  My name is Maria Dionise-Kurdunowicz.  I am the Assistant Director at Delta Mills.  I graduated from Michigan State University in 2012.  I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Letters with a minor in Education and Spanish.  I also have a ZA endorsement in Early Childhood.  I have always worked in preschool!  During college, I was a preschool aide and in years prior I was a lead teacher at Little Shamrock’s Preschool.  I was a Lead Teacher at Holbrook Early Childhood Center location from 2013-2017. I transferred to Delta Mills as the building opened in 2017 and I am enjoying my role as Assistant Director. I love sharing my knowledge and excitement for preschool with the early childhood staff. My husband and I have two amazing children- June and Leo.  A few of my favorite things include spending time with my family and friends, MSU football and traveling to new places with my husband, our daughter and son!

Hello! My name is Carmen Palmer and I am the Lead Teacher for the half-day program at Delta Mills Early Childhood Center. I graduated from Olivet College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.  I absolutely love working with preschoolers, it is my passion! I believe each child has the right to learn at their own pace and I am passionate about finding what learning techniques work best for each individual child. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Eric. We have three wonderful children. Hannah, is my oldest and lives in her own condo. Cameron got married in June so I gained another daughter, Jack. My youngest child, Bella works at Volunteers of America and lives at home with us. I also have two fur babies, Delilah and Lily. I love reading books and being crafty any chance I get. I love reading and working on crafts. I am very fortunate to be working for such a wonderful preschool program.  It is a pleasure and a joy to teach here!  

Hello! My name is Cathy Starr, and this is my sixth year teaching three/four-year-old Full Day Preschool at Delta Mills. I received my Bachelor’s in Education from Central Michigan University and my Master’s in Literacy Instruction from Michigan State University. I taught Kindergarten and First Grade in Lansing for over twenty years before making the move to early childhood in the Little Comets Preschool Program. 

I have always enjoyed helping, teaching, and working with young children. They bring so much joy and life into the teaching process. I believe in creating a positive, engaging, and play based learning environment in order to meet the needs of each child.

When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband Scott and our four children. Our daughter, Abbie teaches first grade in the area. Our sons, Nick and Gabe almost done with college, and our youngest daughter Chrissy is in tenth grade. I also enjoy reading, playing cards with friends, spending time Up North, and cheering on the MSU Spartans.

My name is Jala Howard! I am a Co-Lead Teacher in our Young Preschool Room at Delta Mills. I am a Grand Ledge graduate and I have been teaching for six years. I started off as a Teacher Assistant and soon realized that I wanted to do more in the classroom, so I started to take classes to become a Lead Teacher. I was a Lead Teacher at Looking Glass Child Development Center. I joined the Little Comets Program at Delta Mills in 2023. I absolutely love the environment and the compassion we all share. I enjoy watching children learn new things and achieve their goals on top of developing social emotional skills. When I am not teaching, I am spending time with my boyfriend, our daughter Analise and our rambunctious puppy, Louie. I enjoying kayaking and traveling. 

My name is Kristi Heemstra and I am a Lead Preschool Teacher at Delta Mills.  I earned a Bachelor Degree in Humanities from Michigan State University and a certificate in childhood education from Lansing Community College.  I began working with children at Head Start and am thrilled to be working for Grand Ledge Public Schools.  My own children have attended Grand Ledge schools.  Allison is a graduate of Grand Ledge High School and Megan is in 7th grade at Beagle.

Preschool age is an amazing time of curiosity and growth.  My goal is to foster a play-based, rich academic foundation while supporting creativity, confidence and independence.  My favorite part about being a preschool teacher, is the bond I get to form with each individual child.  I enjoy getting to know each of them and seeing them grow and flourish. 

I live in Delta Township and love the many parks and paths it has to offer.  When I am not teaching, I enjoy hanging out with my two girls, running, hiking, biking, paddle boarding, and taking walks with my dog.  I also enjoy the occasional ‘lazy day’ of not doing much of anything productive.