Director
Colleen Wilson (Ms. Colleen) is the Preschool Director. She has been with us for over 8 years. For almost 40 years, Colleen has served as a Director of Early Childhood Programs in the Bay Area. Colleen has a true passion for working with young children and families.
Colleen was born and raised in Sacramento. Colleen is now a resident of Concord. Inspired by her passion for children, Colleen received her Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education from the State of California, Sacramento.
Colleen also holds a Site Supervisor Permit through the State of California. Colleen enjoys spending time with her family and loves being a Grandma. She also enjoys shopping, baking and hiking.
“The staff and families here truly make it fun to come to work every day. This is my home away from home. I strive to set a positive example for the staff. We love to get creative, messy and have fun with the kids! I get paid to play all day!”
Pre-K Busy Bees Teacher
Diana Reitz (Ms. Diana) has been with St. Michael’s for 8 years. She is the Pre-K Busy Bee classroom teacher. Diana has been working in the field of Child Development for over 24 years and the past 22 years were as a Pre-K teacher.
Diana has her AA in Early Childhood Education from Diablo Valley College. Diana grew up in Rome, Italy and then moved to the Clayton area. She now lives in Antioch with her family. Diana enjoys spending time with her family and visiting the Hawaiian islands. She has 2 boys and girl and they all love to play sports. She also is blessed with a sweet grandson and granddaughter!
“I love working with the Pre-K kids, they’re hilarious. I enjoy teaching Pre-K and watching the children grow tremendously from the beginning to the end of the year. I also love working at such a great school that provides a loving and caring environment.”
Pre-K Tiger Teacher
Misti Thompson (Ms. Misti) is the Pre-k Tiger classroom teacher. She has been with us for 6 years and loves being a part of our staff. Misti earned her Early Childhood Development units at Los Medanos College and Diablo Valley College. We are very fortunate to have Misti as a teacher, as she has worked in the field for over 20 years! Misti was born and raised in Concord. She lives in Concord with her husband, son and rabbit named Hershey. Her son is just graduated from Mt. Diablo High School. Misti enjoys walks, hiking and bike riding with her family. They also enjoy relaxing at home.
“Pre-K is such an awesome age! They are all so much fun and make me laugh all day. I love teaching them new things and know that they’ll use the skills throughout the rest of their lives.”
Pre-K Llama Teacher
Carla Malouf (Ms. Carla) is the Pre-K Llama Teacher and is new to St. Michael’s Preschool staff, but not new to the field. Carla has been a teacher for 12 years and was a director for 4 years. Carla attended Cal State East Bay, where she acquired her BA in Human Development with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. Carla loves the Christian environment our school offers and is thrilled to have her 2 children attend here as well. She lives in Concord with her husband, 2 kids and a dog, a mini poodle named Bingo. Carla enjoys photography, baking and is quite the foodie. She also loves to travel- her favorite places being Cuba and Thailand. But her favorite thing of all is spending time with her family.
“I love being a heavy influence in these kids lives. This job keeps me young at heart. I truly learn something new from them every day.”
Flamingo Class Teacher
Miriam Canas (Ms. Miriam) is the 3 year old Flamingo classroom teacher. She has been a part of our staff for 9 years. Miriam attended high school at Immaculate Conception Academy in San Francisco. She earned her Early Childhood Development units at Los Medanos College. Miriam has worked in the field for over 15 years. She loves bringing diversity to St. Michael’s! She is fluent in Spanish and loves to teach the children new words each day! She lives in Pittsburg with her family and 3 dogs, 2 turtles and a bird. Miriam also enjoys sewing, reading and spending time with her niece and nephew.
“I love working at St. Michael’s. This is my home away from home. The staff and kids are like family to me.”
Cub Class Teacher
May LaMarre (Ms. May) has been at St. Michael’s preschool for 2 years. She grew up in Florida and graduated from Lyman High School in 2016. After graduation, she moved to California and enrolled at DVC. After a few semesters. May took some time off from school. She went back to DVC right before starting at St. Michael’s, and once she started working here she immediately fell in love with the field and received the rest of her ECE units/Certification from DVC. May is currently enrolled at DVC, working towards a transfer degree in Data Science. During her free time, May loves to go thrifting and to the flea market with her fiancé. At the moment, she spends most of her time planning her wedding and honeymoon for later this year!
“I love the families that we have. I also love the staff and being able to be apart of it!”
Duckling Class Teacher
Jennifer Andrews (Ms. Jennifer) is the 2 year old Butterfly classroom teacher. She joined the St. Michael’s team about 2 years ago and is overjoyed to be here.
Jennifer attended DVC and received her ECE unites there. Jennifer has been in the field and worked as a teacher for over 14 years. She was born and raised in Concord and now lives in Bay Point with her husband of 8 years and their Pembroke Welsh corgi named Zoey and her 3 cats, Anya, Jack and Chadwick. Jennifer does not have any children of her own yet, but she definitely wants a family of her own soon. Jennifer loves to play table top board games like D&D, reading high fantasy fiction and likes to go wine tasting.
“I love the social/emotional connection with children, watching them grow, explore and succeed is incredibly special.”
Sea Turtle Teacher
Kittie Saldivar (Ms. Kittie) is the 2/3 year old Sea Turtle class teacher.
Kittie graduated from Sonoma State with a Bachelor’s Degree. She attended Diablo Valley College where she earned her Early Childhood Education units. Kittie has been at St. Michael’s Preschool for 11 years.
Ms. Kittie loves working at St. Michael’s preschool. She enjoys learning and exploring every day with the children. She lives in Concord with her husband and her cats and dog. She enjoys volunteering, cooking, baking and gardening. She loves visiting her nieces and nephews. She likes traveling and visiting the Hawaiian Islands.
“I love seeing the children’s faces light up when discovering new things. It’s so magical to watch. I also love that we are all family here!”
Teacher
Louis Abano (Mr. Louis) is our “do all” teacher. He helps out in every classroom and assists wherever needed. He has over 12 years of experience working with young children. He has been with St. Michael’s for 10 years and has recently come back to join our amazing staff after staying home with his 2 boys. Louis completed his Early Childhood Education courses from Contra Costa College and truly enjoy being an educator. Being one of the rare males in the field, Louis feels that he can offer a different approach and perspective to the children and staff. Louis lives in Hercules with his wife, 2 boys and dogs.
“I love being a part of the staff- we joke all the time. I love that we all have so much fun!”
Teacher Assistant
Teacher Assistant
Elizabeth Ramirez (Ms. Liz) is the newest addition to our staff. She helps out in the Cub and Sea Turtle classrooms and assists wherever needed. Elizabeth started her Early Childhood career in 2006 and has over 17 years of experience working with young children. Elizabeth was born in San Diego and moved to the Bay Area when she was 4 years old. She attended Angelo Rodriquez High School in Fairfield and attended DVC for her Early Childhood Education courses. Elizabeth lives in Concord with her husband and 5 children ages 13, 11, 9, 3 and 1 years old. Elizabeth loves spending time with her kids, going to the beach, watching movies and loves food!
“There is nothing more special than knowing I make a difference in a child’s life. Being a teacher is magical!”