At the Colonial Schools, our unique early childhood education program is built on the experience of our teachers and the care and attention they bring to their classrooms. Take a moment to get to know a little bit about the educators at the Westover Preparatory School and the Preparatory School on the Square.
Heather Reister
Administrator
Mrs. Reister joined the Colonial family in 2001 working as an assistant at the school. During that time she earned a Master’s Degree in Family and Child Studies from Miami University. She continued working at Colonial as the Director of Marketing for both communities, Berkeley Square and Westover for two years before returning to the school in current role as Administrator. “Working with children and their families has always been my passion. It is amazing to me how family members influence one another. I love getting to know our children and their families.” Mrs. Reister spends free time with her family and friends attending sporting events, cooking and enjoying her husband and two children.
Ginger Powers
Kindergarten Teacher
For Ms. Powers, after 12 years of teaching she gets the most pleasure out of watching each child grow – both academically and socially – and seeing when the “light bulb” comes on in with true understanding and mastery of a subject. But her true favorite is the unit of the human body – when children get to examine real cow organs to see how the body functions, some even pretend to do surgery as they study the heart, kidneys and more. Staying in touch with her sorority sisters is a monthly ritual, but Ms. Powers also enjoys rock concerts, gourmet cooking and reading to her grandchildren.
Lynne Fansler
Kindergarten Assistant
Ms. Fansler has been a part of the Colonial Schools for over 13 years. For her, the best part of teaching is watching children discover how to perform some action or task they had not yet mastered. This comes as no surprise since Ms. Fanslers’ favorite activities involve performing too – singing for the residents and dressing up in the drama center are among her favorites. Outside of class, she spends lots of time enjoying her own children.
Mary Ann Williams
Pre-Kindergarten Assistant
For Ms. Williams, the best thing about teaching pre-K is watching her students’ faces when they learn something new. After 17 years of teaching, her favorite activity is still playtime, a time where she is able to discover each child’s true personality. Outside school, Ms. Williams enjoys spending time with her family and taking jazzercise.
Eileen Mignerey
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
As an avid gardener and nature lover, it is no surprise that Mrs. Mignerey’s favorite activity with her students is when they are studying plants and butterflies together. She most enjoys simply being with children and has been teaching at the Colonial Schools for 16 years. When not in her garden, Mrs. Mignerey spends time enjoying books and magazines.
Sharon Weekley
Preschool Teacher
Ms. Weekly likes working one on one with children – learning from them as much as they learn from her – especially during hands-on activities and projects. Being able to share experiences and see children learn and grow with her involvement has been her favorite part of teaching at the Schools for the last five years. Ms. Weekly also enjoys quilting and crafting.
Julie Hensler
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Hensler has been teaching at the Colonial Schools for 16 years. Teaching her children new songs and hearing them sing along is rivaled only by her favorite activity of “egg parenting” – 21 days spent helping incubate and care for chicken eggs before seeing them hatch. As a mother and grandmother, she loves spending time and vacationing with her family.
Vicki Madden
Preschool Teacher/Preschool Assistant
Ms. Madden has been at the Colonial Schools for over 10 years and still feels that just being with the children and experiencing all the energy they bring to the class is her favorite part of teaching. She enjoys everything that they study, but especially loves to listen to the stories the children tell. Away from school, Ms. Madden does jazzercise and spends time with her husband.
Mary Ann Honchell
Pre-Kindergarten Assistant and Pre-School Teacher
For Ms. Honchell, she loves teaching new units and days later, seeing her students recite it all back to her verbatim. Seeing their skills improve throughout the years is one of the things that has kept Ms. Honchell at the Schools for the past eight years. She enjoys most the one-on-one time with children, getting to know them and drawing out their personalities. Spring trees and pilgrims are also favorite units. With family as her number one priority, she spends much of her free time with her husband and kids.
Lori W. Rich
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher & Teacher’s Assistant
For nearly 10 years, Ms. Rich has been working with children and residents at the Colonial Schools and considers the staff her second family. She enjoys watching as the children progress throughout the entire year, but her favorite is chick-hatching time in the spring. She also considers activities with the Colonial residents very special – witnessing a resident’s eyes light when making a child smile – this is what makes the Colonial Schools so special and unique. With two teenage children of her own, she keeps busy with their activities and her friends and family.
Chiqui Maria Aull
Spanish Teacher
Mrs. Aull has been working with Colonial Schools to Spanish into the classroom for over six years. Mrs. Aull is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and French. She loves singing and playing games with the kids, and their excitement with a new language. Outside of class Mrs. Aull enjoys spending time with her husband and two children and traveling to Spain each year to visit with family.
Patti North
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. North graduated from Our Lady of Angels High School before attending Miami University. During that time she found she had a passion for working with children and as luck would have it the Colonial Schools was looking for a fabulous teacher. Nearly 13 years later, Mrs. North says favorite thing about teaching is watching children learn, “I love when a parent stops in to tell me what their child learned at school that day—it’s amazing how much information they retain.” Her favorite area of study is the butterfly unit- the children love to watch the caterpillars grow, make their chrysalis and hatch into butterflies! Mrs. North stays busy with two teenage children of her own.
Linda Dungan
Enrichment 
Ask anyone what they like about the Enrichment Program at the Colonial Schools and they will tell you Mrs. Dungan! She has made the program a favorite part of the children’s day by incorporating fun and exciting activities into the time they are with us. Weather the children are donning chef’s hats and aprons while baking cookies or painting “puffy” pictures with with shaving cream there is never a dull moment. In her free time she enjoys babysitting her grandsons, working crossword puzzles and reading.
Beth Enderle
Teacher’s Assistant 
Beth Enderle came to the Colonial Schools after years of teaching as an elementary teacher in the public schools. Mrs. Enderle is a graduate of Badin High School and the University of Dayton. She loves working with preschoolers because there is never a dull moment in her day. “I also love the ‘light bulb’ moments when I know they really get it,” she says. Mrs. Enderle spends her free time with her two children, Will and Sarah. She and her husband own a farm where they fish and ride 4-wheelers. Her other hobbies include shopping, gardening, and reading (especially Harry Potter!).