Staff
Jane Zimmerman
Director
My name is Jane Zimmerman, I am so honored to lead the Faith Academy team as the Director. My five – soon to be six children and I are proud members of Franklin, and we are excited to serve our community. I started my journey in the Early Childhood Education field in 2006 by attending Waukesha County Technical College for my Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. From there I have attended many field-related conferences to further my credentials and get new and innovative ideas for the community I serve. I am currently enrolled at Arizona State Global Campus for my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Leadership. I have had the pleasure of working in every position from a floater/breaker to owning my own childcare center. I understand the importance of the first years of a child’s life, and I strive to make a difference by planting seeds of love and learning in the children and teachers I work with. In my free time, I like to spend it outside! Nature walks, farmers markets, and sitting on my front porch reading a good book. I love working with and getting to know the entire staff and our amazing students and families!
Sally Truettner
Program Administrator
My interest in child care sparked after writing a business letter to a local child care center for a high school business English class. My assignment scored me an interview, eventually a job that I thought would work as I went to college, to be an elementary school teacher. Little did I know it was just the beginning of my career. After 2 years in school, I shifted gears and changed my focus to ECE. I have my CDA, Administrator Credential, and associate’s degree. After 22 years in the field, I took some time to be a stay-at-home mom and focus on my daughters Evelyn and Madison. When I decided to reenter the workforce, Faith Academy appealed to me being a private child care center that was Christian-based. I was the lead teacher in the preschool class for my first few years working here and now I am the Program Administrator. I love working with children and providing quality environments where teachable moments occur all day. I enjoy watching children learn and grow, being with them every day is a constant reminder of how exciting the world can be. I love working with all of the children and families in my new role. My goal as the Program administrator is to ensure safety, quality, and consistency in every classroom. I will be working to support the teachers with curriculum and developmental practices for the children.
Christine Cefalu
Feeding your child like they are my own.
My name is Christine Cefalu, your master chef. I am a mom of 3, I live in Oak Creek. I have worked for Faith Academy now for 3 years and I love my job! My hobbies are watching true crime movies, makeup enthusiast, and reading books. I am just not a kitchen manager here, I help our teachers with the kids as well, multitasking just like Moms do!
Brittany Burmeister
I, Mrs. Brittany, wanted to share a little bit about myself with all of you! I have been here at Faith Academy for over a year. Before working here at Faith, I ran an in-home daycare while I stayed home with my two children. Henry, who will be 7 in August, and Nora, who is now 4. I have always enjoyed working with children. I have experience in the medical field as a pharmacy technician and a resident assistant but I felt this was my natural calling. Something about seeing a child’s progress with day-to-day life because of the experiences I get to share with them gets me every time!
When I am not working, I mostly enjoy spending time with my family. My husband and I have been together since high school. We both attended Greendale High School and graduated the year of 2011. We loved it there so much; we didn’t ever leave Greendale and purchased our home in 2019 in the “E” section. My family and I are total outdoorsy people (mostly in the summer). We are always going to festivals, and local events and absolutely love attending my son Henry’s baseball games. We have one pet, a dog named Leo.
Since I started, I have gained these certifications: Abusive Head Trauma, Automated external defibrillator child CPR, Infant and Toddler requirement, SIDS training, First Aid, Infant CPR, and Pediatric First Aid. I have also completed a 6-week Daycare Ownership course and have my daycare ownership certificate. As of right now, I am a level 7 teacher, and I hope to change that in the near future as I am currently working on the proper training and curriculum.
Another huge reason I wanted to work at Faith Academy is that I wanted to gain the knowledge and proper certifications to be the best version I could be while working with children. As soon as I started, I knew this was going to be a career I truly wanted and a place I truly wanted to work at! I look forward to gaining more experience and knowledge in this field. I can’t wait to meet your little ones. I know I will love them as my own, just like I do with the current kiddos I get the pleasure of caring for now!
Tara O’Shea
Hello, my name is Tara! I have been working in childcare since 2022, and this is my calling! Working with children comes so naturally to me. I enjoy working with all age groups but especially love the current age group I am in, which is 2-year-olds. I love how energetic they are and how eager they are to learn. Sometimes I feel I can be a big kid myself!
When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my own two children. Greyson, who is 5, and Mckenna, who is 9. Both of them also attend Faith Academy! I have 3 pets, one dog and two cats.
As of right now, I am working towards being Lead Teacher certified. I currently am certified in:
Mandated Reporting, Abusive head trauma, Infant and Toddler, First Aid, Infant CPR
Cathy Bey
Hello, Faith families I am Mrs. Cathy. I have been married for 22 years. My husband’s name is Derrick. I have two wonderful children. My oldest Parker is 19. He just first year at UW Platteville. My second child Mykaela will be finishing her sophomore year.
I have an associate’s degree from Gateway Technical College. I have worked at Faith Academy since June 2022. I chose this profession because I wanted to make a difference in young minds and how they learn. What I love about teaching is seeing my students grow and change every week. My goals are for my students to go out into the world feeling secure from the love and curriculum I gave them in the classroom such as reading to them, teaching them their colors, numbers/counting/letters, and giving them a hug when they need one.
For fun, I spend a lot of time sitting and watching soccer, as my daughter has played since she was 4 years old. I was also on the sidelines for football, basketball, and volleyball. My family is my everything.
Kara Steele
Nazareth – Preschool Teacher
Kara has completed an Infant and Toddler Credential and her Early Childhood Education Degree. She has been working with children for four years. She started out as a Lead Teacher for a one- one-and-a-half-year-old classroom for two years. After that, she worked with three to six-year-olds and then became a Floater and Extended day teacher at Head Start. She was previously promoted to an Early Head Start Teacher and was working with children 6 weeks to 3 years of age before starting at Faith Academy. Kara has two kids: a son named, Jordan, and a daughter named, Aaliyah. Her son is a huge sports fan so they are always doing something sports-related: going to games, playing them outside, or watching him play a certain sport. They love the warm weather and being able to be outside. They also enjoy going to the beach, and water parks, going to her parents’ lake house, and visiting them throughout the year. Being a mother keeps her busy, but when she gets time to herself, she enjoys: catching up on TV shows, going shopping, or taking a long nap.
Dima Abuhatoum
I have my Bachelor’s degree in physical education, EC I and EC II.
Young Star training: WMELS, SEFEL, Strengthen Families
State training: SIDS, Shaken Baby, First Aid/CPR, Child Abuse and Neglect
Registry level: 14
My name is Dima, I am a mom of 2, and my family and I live in Franklin. I moved to the United States from Jordan in 2006. In my country, I worked as a physical education teacher for 14 years in an elementary school. I also have experience at several childcare centers in the Milwaukee area. I have worked at Faith Academy since 2016! I enjoy working with children because I like seeing their smiles and seeing them learn and grow.
Taylor Schlicke
Became a team member: August 2020
Hello, my name is Taylor! I have been at Faith Academy for 3 years and have worked with children for 5 years and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love working with children because they are our future. They remind me of how much there is to enjoy in life, they see the positive side of everything, and see a world of endless possibilities. Being a part of their growth and development is amazing. I have lived in Greendale Village for the majority of my life and graduated from Greendale High School in 2016. I am currently enrolled at NWTC to receive my preschool credential. I would like one day to become an elementary school teacher and continue to help little ones grow and learn new things. I enjoy the outdoors and spending time with my family, camping, having bonfires, or just hanging out.
“Being a teacher is not what I do, it’s who I am” -Jill Biden
DeAnna Mageski
Galilee – Prekindergarten Teacher
Became a team member: August 2016
Education: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (81 credits in Early Childhood Special Education)
State Training: SIDS, Shaken Baby, First Aid/CPR, Child Abuse and Neglect
YoungStar Trainings: WMELS, Strengthening Families
Registry Level: 11
DeAnna has been teaching preschool since 2007, and she loves it! She has taught 3K-4K and Kindergarten but loves each one. She loves to have the privilege of teaching young children and she looks forward to getting to know each family. In her spare time, DeAnna loves to garden, mission work travel to Guatemala, exercise, and hang out with her family. DeAnna enjoys wildlife and taking photographs. She also loves a good cup of coffee! Although most of her time is taking care of her family, their schedules, and being a taxi, DeAnna is a proud orchestra band, color guard, and dance and swim mom. DeAnna is a mother of two beautiful busy teenagers as well as a wife to her hard-working husband of 17 years. She also has some lovely animals in her family: a cat named Peanut, and a 5 lb. Yorkshire Terrier named, Tank!
Lynn Jaroch
My name is Mrs. Lynn I have worked at Faith Academy since March 2020. I have my Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology and a certificate in Elementary Education. I am also SIDS, Shaken Baby, First Aid/CPR, Child Abuse and Neglect certified, and a level 14 on the Wisconsin Registry.
I received my Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Michigan State University. I received my Michigan Certification in Elementary Education from Oakland University in Rochester MI. I have more than 20 years of experience working in the classroom as a Reading Specialist and as an Assistant Director at the Carpenter Shop Daycare/Preschool in Whitefish Bay.
I love working with children mainly for seeing the excitement on their faces when they learn something new and are proud of themselves. I love the unexpected hugs when I walk in the door; it’s an awesome way to start the day! In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my six grandchildren in Chicago and Michigan. I am an avid reader and love jigsaw puzzles, hiking, and kayaking.
Natalie Remmel
Became a team member: May 23rd, 2023
Education: Ec1, Infants, and Toddlers,
State training: SIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Head
trauma, child abuse, and neglect
Registry level: 1
I love working with kids because it’s amazing to
watch them grow and teach them the importance of
things every day. To be able to build and grow with them as well! I love hanging out with my best friend and being outdoors whenever I can.
Favorite color: Green
Favorite place: Tennessee