Who We Are - Meet Our Preschool Staff
Kisha Johnson (she/her) | Interim Director
A.A. Early Childhood Education
Kisha Johnson comes to us as Interim Director with over 20 years of childcare experience. Kisha has an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arizona Global Campus.
She is a business owner and non-profit operator.
Kisha is newly married, has 3 grown children, and lives in Covington, Georgia.
“Working with children is such a joy and a blessing for me. I enjoy building relationships with not just the parents of the children in my care but also the children. I believe that patience, communication, love, trust, and honesty are the five best skills needed when dealing with people regardless of their age or condition. Teamwork is extremely important to me!”
Tami Patterson (she/her) | Young Preschool Educator / English
Tami Patterson has been an Atlanta resident since 1978. She received her BFA from the University of Georgia with a concentration in graphic design. She is married with two grown daughters and two Norwegian Elkhounds. She has been a member of Redeemer since 2000 and taught at Midtown Lutheran Preschool for almost ten years. She enjoys watching the children grow in their knowledge and social skills and seeing the excitement they express when realizing they can do new things on their own.
In her free time, Tami fills her passion for horses with riding every weekend. She loves going to concerts and enjoys collecting vinyl records, as well as art, cooking and baking.
Claudia Schalko (she/her) | Multiage Educator / German & English
My name is Claudia Schalko, I am originally from Austria, a small town next to Vienna called Klosterneuburg. Before my family and I moved to the US in 2014, I have worked for over 20 years as a Primary Teacher from preschool to Grade 4. I earned a Master’s Degree in Education and Pedagodics from the University in Vienna and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Pädagogischen Hochschule Vienna and Krems.
In Atlanta, I taught for 4 years at Atlanta International School where I acquired a lot of experience in the play-based and inquiry-based International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP). Since 2019 I have also been teaching first grade at the German School of Atlanta.
I feel delighted to be a part of my student’s journey through the beauty of bilingualism. Most of my free time I spent with my two daughters, and my husband. We love to play board games, swimming, canoeing, watching movies, reading, and baking.
Barbara Smith (she/her) | Young Preschool Educator / German
Barbara was born in Russia and grew up in Estonia and in Bonn, Germany. After graduating as a Paralegal in 1991, Barbara went on to work as an Assistant of a Managing Director at TV Production Company in Cologne. In 1999 she moved to Berlin where she worked as a Producer Assistant.
In 2007 Barbara, her husband, and her son moved to the US! After her son started Pre-K in 2010, she started to substitute at Rock Spring Preschool and later taught the toddler class and assisted in the two-year and three-year-old classes till May 2018! In fall of 2018, Barbara joined the MTLPS staff.
Barbara loves working with children. She loves to sing, teaching them through play and seeing them grow throughout the school year!
In her free time she enjoys traveling, music, meeting new people, being outdoors, and volunteering in her son’s school!
Other Staff
Chapel
The Redeemer pastoral and ministry staff lead Chapel through the year. Our Chapel leaders include Pastor Mark Larson, Pastor Jenny McLellan, Deacon Mary Houck, Pastor Dorothea Lotze-Kola of the German Church of Atlanta, and Kate Elkins.
You can meet them here (click on the photo in link for a bio).
Movement
Ms. Ericka is our dance/movement teacher. She works with the children on body awareness and movement by having tons of FUN! Ericka is a mother of 5 and a former professional ballerina who loves brining the joy and art of dance to students of all ages!
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
Midtown Lutheran Preschool, established in 2013, is a ministry of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, a congregation of the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA congregation, on Peachtree and 4th in Midtown Atlanta.