Our Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide children with a safe, loving and encouraging atmosphere where they can grow through a creative learning environment. We will accomplish this mission by instilling confidence, self –worth, and Christian morals through our faith-based curriculum. We strive to “Develop the Light in Every Child.”
About Little Shepherds
Little Shepherds Early Learning Community is a not-for-profit, early education and child care facility that owes its founding to necessity. As a nonprofit corporation Little Shepherds is governed by a Board of Trustees all corporate powers are exercised by the authority of the board.
Little Shepherds ELC is a unique mix of both preschool and full time childcare. We believe in the enrichment of young lives, and in need to provide quality childcare for working families. The need for full time childcare should not exempt a child from participating in a robust academic curriculum that is rooted in the Christian faith.
Jesus is at the heart of all we do. We believe in the intentional and purposeful teaching of the Gospel.
Meet Our Faculty & Staff
Shagun Oberoi
Executive Director
Mrs. Oberoi is truly blessed to be working alongside a team of dedicated, hardworking, and most importantly Godly men and women. As she continues to be a part of Little Shepherds she is reminded of what she enjoys the most: to openly share God’s love with each and every child, the community feeling that exists here and the way teachers and families work together, allowing us to witness God’s blessing and growth within each child. Mrs. Oberoi is committed to providing your family with a loving and developmentally sound Christian foundation for a lifetime of learning.
Jennifer Spinks
Bookkeeper
Mrs. Spinks is the Bookkeeper at Little Shepherds. She has over 20 years of experience in several different businesses doing bookkeeping. She lives in Martin’s Creek, PA with her husband Eric and daughter Emily. They attend the Family Life Community Church and are involved with the local volunteer fire department. In her spare time, Mrs. Spinks likes to read and cross-stitch.
Alexandra Hoffman
Infant Teacher
Mrs. Hoffman has a background in the medical field; she is a Registered Medical Assistant and has had several years of experience working with children. Her goal at Little Shepherds is not only to help and watch your children grow but also to provide them with a nurturing, Christ-centered environment for both learning and spiritual growth. She will achieve this by working with the students on different skill sets based on where the development of each child. The little ones work on tummy time, supporting our heads, sitting up, crawling, fine motor skills, sensory skills, and gross motor skills. For young toddlers, they work on fine motor skills, sensory skills, gross motor skills, walking, and feeding themselves. The biggest portion of her lessons will be learning about God; they will learn about different bible verses throughout the year, creating crafts and singing songs that relate to the bible verses.
Amanda Miller
Toddler Teacher
Mrs. Amanda has been part of Little Shepherds since last year. She is excited to be teaching the toddlers and watching them grow and develop the best they can be!
Julianna Deemer
K2 Teacher
Ms. Julianna joined us this year as the lead teacher for our K2 class. She has been working with preschool-aged children for the past 3 years. She has an Associate’s degree in education and she is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Juli is extremely blessed to have been given this opportunity to teach every child that sets foot in her classroom. She looks forward to instilling confidence, self-worth, and Christian morals through our faith-based curriculum.
Dale Kaphan
K3 Teacher
Mrs. Kaphan has been working with children since 2000, mostly in volunteer ministry or school settings as well as substitute teaching. Most recently she was working as the K2 aide since 2016. She says, “I am very grateful to learn from and be a part of this wonderful staff who put forth so much love and energy into the children every day.” She feels privileged to play a part in caring for the young ones. Mrs. Kaphan hopes to instill these in the young ones, respect for others, a healthy sense of self-confidence and independence, and a knowledge of how much Jesus loves and values them.
Heather Wulff
K3 Teacher
Ms. Heather has been working with children from infant to grade six since 2004. She has her early childhood diploma along with numerous childhood certifications. She truly loves working at Little Shepherds and the sense of values and love of God the school brings to the children.
Dawn Schmauch
K4 Teacher
Mrs. Schmauch’s been teaching for almost 20 years. She believes that children have the right to grow and learn in a safe, loving, enriching environment where their physical, mental, social-emotional, and spiritual needs are met. Ms. Schmauch believes that her role is to identify each child’s gift and to use it to help support all aspects of their learning.
Cheryl Reidinger
K4 Teacher
Mrs. Reidinger is entering her eighth year of working with children. Children are TRULY her passion and believes that God has gifted her to teach this age group, the 4-year-olds. As a Christian educator, she has the great privilege of helping build the foundation of Biblical truths upon which children will base their decisions for life. Teachers are a part of the students’ daily lives and routines and are blessed to have the opportunity to teach them through a Biblical worldview.
Carolyn Ross
Office Admin (PM)
Isabella
Infant Aide
Lauren Halstead
Toddler Aide
Rebekah Pyne
K4 Aide
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Nicholas Wulff
K3 Aide
Meghan Mann
Runner
Ms. Meghan joined our team last summer. She has several years of experience teaching Sunday School. Ms. Meghan loves being around children and talking to them about God's love for us!
Elizabeth
K4 Aide
Ms. Elizabeth has 3 children between the ages of 24 and 11. She has several years of experience working with children. She led an after-school program for school-aged kids and assistant teacher for students ages Infant -4. She loves working with the little ones and teaching them how to read and write and doing crafts. She also enjoys teaching them about Jesus. She owes her steadfast faith to her parents who have been a great example of Christians her whole life. She truly believes taking care of little ones is her God-given gift. She is also pursuing her CDA.
