Peace Lutheran Preschool Leadership
Peace Lutheran Preschool teachers play a vital role in the development of children. They introduce children to reading and writing, expanded vocabulary, creative arts, science, and social studies. They use games, music, artwork, films, books, computers, and other tools to teach concepts and skills. Peace Preschool is blessed to have a leadership team who is truly dedicated to Christ and accomplishing His will. Following are brief bio's of our leadership team and their qualifications for ministry.
Mrs. DeeAnn Dupler
Director
Hi my name is DeeAnn Dupler, and I am the director here at Peace Lutheran Preschool. I have been a preschool teacher at Peace Lutheran Preschool off and on for twelve years and have served as the director since May 2020. I graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Early Childhood Education. My past work experiences have also included Service Coordinator with the State of Nebraska Developmental Disabilities Division and Child and Family Services Specialist with the State of Nebraska Division of Children and Families Services.
I am very passionate about working with children, and I believe that as long as children feel safe and loved they can accomplish anything. I love creating relationships with the children and families that we serve. I feel so fortunate to be able to share God’s love with the children and let them know how much Jesus loves them.
In my spare time, I love to travel and spend time with my husband Mike and our three children, Austin, Addisyn and Nate. Austin and Addisyn are both graduates of UNL and work full-time in Lincoln. Nate is currently attending UNL as a junior. We also have two Labrador Retrievers, Murphy and Hank, who I adore. As an empty nester, I have time to pursue my other passions which include reading and crafting.
Mrs. Bri Olson
Lead Teacher
Hello! I am Mrs. Olson and have been blessed to be part of the Peace Preschool team for three years.
I moved from Iowa to Grand Island seven years ago (Go Hawkeyes!) with my husband, Mike, who is originally from the Kearney area. We have two children, Ella who is eight and Paxton who is four.
I have a bachelor's degree in Physiology and Criminal Justice, and spent the last twelve years working in different positions with children in the social work field. I have also worked with providing respite care services for children in the foster care system.
Working with and being around children is an absolute passion of mine. There is nothing better than watching and learning through the eyes of a child. I feel so lucky to be able to go to work each day at Peace and continue to share the love of learning with your children, watch them grow, support their curiosity and imagination, and support each and every child's individuality.
Mrs. Chanda Bowers
Lead Teacher
Hello, I am Mrs. Bowers, and I teach 3-4 all day and 4-5 all day classes. I have my associates degree in Early Childhood Education and have been with Peace Lutheran Preschool for six years. I am blessed to be able to teach children the basics that will help them throughout their lives and love when the children light up when they learn something new.
My husband Blake and I have grown up in Alda and are still living there on a family farm. We have two daughters, Paysen, and Nicklin, who are our world. We have three dogs, a farm cat and cow/calf pairs. We are both involved in the Alda Fire Department.
We are members here at Peace Lutheran Church, where we are involved in Cultivating Holy Beauty and Every Man a Warrior bible groups. My husband is also a lay minister.
My hobbies include spending time with family, coloring or taking pictures, and our cattle. We both love helping others and just being with our families and teaching our daughters the love God has for us.
Mrs. Lori Brown
Lead Teacher
I have been employed with Peace Lutheran Preschool since 2012. I have my associate's degree in Early Childhood Education. My husband, Aaron, and I moved to Grand Island from Columbus in 2006 and have three children, Ashlynn, Taylor and Austin. We enjoy watching our children participate in their activities and taking vacations. We are also members here at Peace Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Mackenzie Eynetich
Lead Teacher
Hello! I'm Mackenzie Eynetich. I have been employed at Peace Lutheran Preschool since 2017 and have been working with children for sixteen years. I have my associate's degree in Early Childhood Education, and I absolutely love teaching children the basics they need to know to succeed in school. Peace Lutheran Preschool was my own preschool, and I love the fact that I get to work here myself!
My husband, Jeff, and I have been married since 2014, and we have two children, Reid and Korra. We love spending time together by doing all things sports, hunting, or anything outside!
Mrs. Kristen Poppert
Lead Teacher
Hi! I'm Mrs. Poppert. Teaching is an absolute passion of mine. I love watching and helping children grow their brains! I believe learning should be fun and exciting.
I am a pr0ud mother of Raegan in fourth grade and twins Rilee and Jax who are seven. They take up most of my free time, but some hobbies I enjoy are crafting and spending time with my pets...a cat Donut and our dog, Rowdy. I also enjoy traveling.
This is my third year teaching at Peace Lutheran Preschool. It is my mission to instill a lifelong love of learning for all of my students. The most important thing I want all of my students to learn is to be kind to one another.
Mrs. Kathy Kroeger
Lead Teacher
Hello, my name is Kathy Kroeger. The first preschool class I taught at Peace Lutheran Preschool was for the 2003-2004 school year and later helped with snack and art for two years. Following, I was a substitute teacher for about 15 year and taught for several maternity leaves. Last year, I was excited to be back full time as a teacher's aide. This year, I am privileged to be back as a lead teacher for a 4-5 year old class. Sharing my faith and the love of Jesus as our Savior is what I love most about Peace Preschool.
I love spending quality time with my family. My husband, Kurt, and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in April 2021. We have five children and one granddaughter. Jeremy is married to Juliana. He loves to farm, and Juliana is the Ag teacher in Deshler. Their daughter, Adelynn, just turned one on August 29th, 2022. Macey was in law school when she married Micah. On their sixth month anniversary, Jesus took her to live in heaven with him. Micah is a chemistry graduate student at UNL. Brandon works for Affiliated Foods in Norfolk. He and Michelle will be married in June, 2023. Michelle works for a financial firm. Jessica is a freshman at Northwest High School, and Stephanie is a sixth grader at St. Libory Public School. They both love sports and are talented in music and dance. When I am not busy with teaching or family activities, I enjoy my embroidery machine, crafts, baking, and being outside in the summer.
Mrs. Lindsey Hiegel
Lead Teacher
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL MRS. HIEGEL
My name is Lindsey Hiegel. I have been married to my husband since 2008. We have two girls, Alexxa (13) and Alivia (9) and two Cavalier King Charles spaniels. I started working at Peace Preschool in the fall of 2019 as an aide. I now have my own class as a lead teacher! I love being one of the first experiences that these children have with school. It is such a pleasure to see them grow in all the different ways that they do.
Mrs. Karen Garrett
Aide
I have worked at Peace for 12 years. My husband and I moved to Grand Island 15 years ago and have enjoyed raising our family here in Grand Island. We have two sons, both of which attended Peace Lutheran Preschool.
Mr. Jared Stauss
Aide
Hello! The kids call me Mr. Jared. This is my third year as an assistant at Peace Lutheran Preschool, and I am also a member of Peace Lutheran Church. My first priority is to make sure the children know they are loved by God. It's been my great joy watching the kids grow in knowledge and character. If you see me in the hallway, don't hesitate to say hello!
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL MR. JARED
Mrs. Stephanie Villanueva
Aide
Hello, My name is Stephanie Villanueva, and I am an assistant in Mrs. Kroeger's class for the four and five year olds Monday thru Friday. This is my first year at Peace Lutheran Preschool; however, I currently work with children at church and also worked with children in my previous job, which lasted for a few years.
My family and I moved to Grand Island in November of 2017 for my husband's job, shortly after our third child was born. We have three children in total, with our oldest being a high school sophomore, our second child is a 7th grader, and our youngest attends preschool here at Peace Lutheran.
When I have free time, I enjoy baking and staying home, but I also enjoy attending local family-oriented events in Grand Island.
Mrs. Thressa Trausch
Aide / Snacks
I've been married to David for 21 years (I think!) and have three children, one in college, one at Northwest High School and one who attends Westridge Middle School. I've been working at Peace Lutheran Preschool for nine years in various capacities. The majority of my time has been spent in Mrs. Brown's classroom as her aide.
Mr. Bill Klinginsmith (Mr. Bill)
Volunteer
We have been fortunate to have Mr. Bill as a volunteer for the past ten years. Volunteering in Mrs. Dupler's classroom, she describes him as involved, compassionate, hard-working, engaging and wanting the children to learn. His kind, gentle demeanor has made for a happy and comfortable learning environment.