St. Michael Academy Welcomes Alyssa Roper to the Role of Director

Last month, St. Michael Academy Preschool was pleased to welcome our new Director, Alyssa Roper. Although Alyssa is new to this role, she is already a very familiar face at the preschool. Bringing her 15 years of teaching experience at St. Michael Academy to the Director position, Alyssa is excited to see what this next step in her journey with the school will bring!

Alyssa began teaching music at St. Michael Academy the same year that she enrolled her oldest son in the preschool. After two years of music instruction, she moved into the 4-yearold classroom, where she taught for another 13 years. The strong sense of community shared by the teachers, students and families has made the school feel like a second home.

“I truly love my job,” she says. “I love working with the children and the staff. If you look down the roster, you’ll see that most of the staff have been here as long as I have, and some even longer. All of the teachers are very close, and I feel like the teachers have that same bond with the families because it is a parish ministry, so we cater to that and try to develop those relationships with the parish families. The school really is like a family.”

The tight-knit community and staying power of the staff at our preschool is highlighted by the long tenure of Patti Lavender, who just retired after serving as a teacher and the director of St. Michael Academy for more than 30 years. Alyssa began training under Patti last fall and is thankful for the experience and guidance Patti shared with her during that time.

Having taught in the classroom for so many years, personal interaction with the students is still a top priority for Alyssa. She is present for the drop-off and pick-up of children each day, and pops into the classrooms several times throughout the day to say “hello” to everyone.

“My favorite thing about being at the school is working with the children,” she says. “I leave every day feeling joy after being with them all day and knowing that hopefully I made a difference in their life just in that short time. It’s hard to describe — it just fulfills me.”

St. Michael Academy serves children ages 12 months to five years, providing them with the opportunity to learn

St. Michael Academy welcomes longtime teacher Alyssa Roper to the role of Preschool Director.