Our Staff
At Kids Cottage, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality early childhood education available. Our staff is carefully chosen to ensure our students enter Kindergarten with the skills and confidence necessary to excel throughout the remainder of their education. Our teachers all have college degrees and backgrounds in education. To attract the best teachers, Kids Cottage provides significantly higher compensation than other preschools in the area, as well as a team-oriented philosophy. Our extraordinary staff allows us to prepare our preschool students with a solid Foundation of Excellence.
Both Lori Schell and Taryn Burris are the Chief Administrators/Owners of Kids Cottage. Our staff also includes a Program Director/Manager, Instructors, Tutors, Supervisors, and Assistant Supervisors. View Staff Bios.
Kids Cottage business partners, Lori Schell and Taryn Burris, are native Delawareans and have traveled and lived in various cities. After living in different states, they have both returned to live near their families in Lewes, Delaware. Lori and Taryn are active members of the community. Their combined services and memberships include involvement in the Children’s Beach House in Lewes, DE and the Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Qualifications
All teachers must have a college degree and a background in education. Many of our teachers and Chief Administrators have a Master’s degree in Education and have satisfied the Delaware licensing requirement. All staff members are trained in CPR and First Aid and have successfully passed a Criminal Background Check.
Number of Staff/Ratios
As required by the State of Delaware, the staff child ratio for mixed age groups will be that required for the age group with the largest number of children present in the group.
| Age of Child | Minimum Staff/Child Ratio |
| 2-3 years | 1:10 |
| 3-4 years | 1:12 |
| 4-5 years | 1:15 |
| 5 years and up | 1:25 |
Staff Bios
Lori Schell, Chief Administrator
Lori graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Education and was later certified to teach Special Education. She taught third and fourth grade at Rehoboth Elementary School in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Lori later moved to Boston where her husband, Chris, attended Harvard Business School. At HBS, Lori worked as a professor’s assistant and worked in the classroom as a scribe. After graduation, Lori and her husband returned to Delaware. Chris and Lori have a son, Caden, and two daughters, Cassidy and Kindle. Lori has always immersed herself in her work within the education field, and is dedicated to creating the most fun, innovative children’s center around!
Taryn Burris, Chief Administrator
Taryn graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She received a Master of Education degree for Special Education from the University of Maryland. She taught in Anne Arundel County in Maryland for three years as a special education teacher for grades K-5. In 2003, she returned to Delaware with her husband where she taught sixth grade language arts and reading for one year. Taryn is licensed and certified in Delaware in the areas of Elementary K-6, Middle Level Teacher 5-8 (except 7&8 science/math), Teacher of Early Childhood/Primary K-4, Teacher of Exceptional Children-LD, SED, MH (Elementary 1-8).
Dawn Alt, Caregiver, Infant Program
Dawn graduated from NH Technical Institute in 1995 with an Associates Degree in Human Services. After graduation, she started working with children with learning disabilities and physical handicaps. She worked as a Special Education One-on-One Aide for students in first through eighth grade from 1995-1999. After moving to Delaware in 1999, she started working at the Sussex County YMCA in the after school program and as a camp counselor during the summer. Dawn joined the Kids Cottage family in January 2007. She started as the lead drop-in preschool teacher. For two years she was the lead teacher in the Minnows preschool class and now joins the Infant and Pre Toddler Team. She lives in Milton with her husband Ray, daughter Maddison, and son Jacob.
Laura Meredith, Caregiver, Pre-Toddler Program
Laura studied Fine Arts at the University of Delaware. In 2003, Laura moved to the Rehoboth area where she met her husband. After managing a local business, Laura realized that her dream was to work with children. As a mother of two young girls, Laura is very enthusiastic, loving, and nuturing. She is currently working towards a second degree in teaching and is excited about her future as a teacher of young children.
Sheri Klemkowski, Minnows Teacher (18 to 24 months)
Sheri Klemkowski was born and raised in Linthicum, Maryland. She started college as an Early Childhood Education major and worked in a childcare facility in Maryland while in college. She graduated from the University of Baltimore with a Bachelors Degree in Business Management in 2004. Just after college she moved to Delaware. She now lives in Lewes with her husband, Will and 1 year old daughter, Madelyn. She is excited to be teaching the Minnows this year at Kids Cottage.
Christina Zimmerman, Sandcrabs Teacher (2 year olds)
Christina grew up in the booming town of Houston, Delaware. Although she loves Delaware, Christina decided to study at Brigham Young University in Utah. Christina has known she wanted to work with children since she was a child herself. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development with hopes of opening her own daycare. Christina taught the Minnows class last year, and is also currently a Caregiver in the afternoons for the Infant Program. Christina loves children more than anything and is so excited to work with the two year olds this year!
Melissa Brittingham, Starfish Teacher (3 year olds)
Missy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also attended Chatham University, where she completed 48 credits toward a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. After moving to Delaware in 2005, Missy has focused her work in assisting children and families in crisis through a domestic violence shelter, The Attorney General’s Office, The Department of Corrections, and Delaware Families Inc. Missy has taught in one of the two year old classes at Kids Cottage for three years. She is looking forward to teaching one of the three year old classes this year at Kids Cottage.
Allie Smythe, Starfish Co-Teacher (3 years olds)
Allie graduated from Del Tech in 2007 with an Associates Degree in Elementary Education. She is currently working toward getting her Bachelors from Wilmington University in Georgetown, DE. Allie joined Kids Cottage last year as an Assistant Teacher in the Seahorses Pre-K class, and was also a Caregiver for the Infant and Pre-Toddler Programs. Allie currently resides in Dagsboro, DE and is very excited to be back at Kids Cottage for another great school year!
Amy Keirnan, Starfish Co-Teacher (3 year olds)
Amy is finishing as Associate’s Degree in Elementary Education and plans to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree at Wilmington Univeristy. Amy joined the Kids Cottage team in the fall of 2008 as a Teacher Assistant. She was an Assistant for the Starfish class for 3 years. Amy lives in Milton but grew up in Rehoboth and comes from a big family. Amy is excited for the 2011-2012 preschool year !
Brittany Hoeller, Seahorses Teacher (4 year olds)
Brittany Hoeller graduated from Wilmington University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science with a Focus in Education. She has been certified as a Preschool Teacher by the Delaware Department of Education. Brittany taught preschool for four years until the birth of her first daughter, Abigail, and took a year off. Brittany is glad to be back in the classroom as part of the Kids Cottage preschool team!
Julie Derrick, Seahorse Teacher (4 year olds)
Graduating from the University of Virginia in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music, Julie’s passions lie not only in the arts, but also in working with children. A winding path led her to education, as she previously worked in both music and art industries while living in California. Julie decided to go back to school in 2010 to pursue a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. Julie loves being part of the Kids Cottage team and looks forward to incorporating her love of music and positive outlook into the Pre-K classroom!
Christine Falcone, Seahorse Teacher (4 year olds)
Christine graduated from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY with a degree in Psychology. She then obtained her Master’s Degree in School Psychology from Alfred University. For 13 years, she worked as a school psychologist in North Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware for students ages 2 to 21 in both regular and special education settings. Christine has worked in Preschool Diagnostic Settings and with Delaware Early Choices. She and her husband welcomed their son, Nathan, into the family in August of 2008. Christine joined the Kids Cottage family in January of 2008 and enjoys watching the children learn and grow.