The Discovery Center
Child Care and Preschool
The Discovery Center Staff
Karen Phillips is one of the founders of The Discovery Center. She and Marcia began the center in 1976 after working for another preschool since January, 1970. Karen has both bachelors and masters degrees in education. In addition to attending National, State and local conferences in early childhood education she has given presentations at the local level. She has traveled widely and visited child care centers and preschools around the world. Her photographs appear regularly in the Young Children journal and other NAEYC publications.
Marcia Betts has a B.A. from Michigan State University with a major in Art History and a minor in art. She was a teacher at Guilford Pre-School for 1 1/2 years and was a founder of The Discovery Center. She has been a teacher since 1974 and the administrator since 1987.
In 1984, Marcia helped to set up the Infant/Toddler program and worked in that area for two years. She has attended "hundreds" of seminars over the years on child development, education, and childcare administration. Marcia has also given seminars and practicums on various aspects of childcare and administration. She has acted as an early childhood consultant for several different centers and agencies. She is currently President of the Board of Child Care Resources.
Mary Anne Christensen has worked at The Discovery Center since 1985. She has worked with all age groups: infant, toddler, and pre-school. She has a teaching certificate from Western Michigan University in secondary education and 15 hours of post-graduate study in Early Childhood Education. She also attends conferences and workshops several times a year at the national, state, and local level to keep up with the latest information. She is currently very interested in the new research in brain development as it applies to how children learn (including children with the Spectrum "Disorders"). Mary Anne recently completed a course in administration through WMU.
Sue Danna is a WMU graduate with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education. She taught six years in several Michigan cities and was a substitute teacher after settling down in Kalamazoo to raise her family: son Jeff and daughter Kristyn.
She became enchanted with preschoolers while her daughter Kristyn was attending The Discovery Center. She was a teacher at D.C. from 1980-1986. She left to join her husband in a tire business venture and returned to D.C. in 1991 to resume teaching preschool. Sue says she enjoys the dedication, teamwork and camaraderie of all the staff at The Discovery Center.
Sue hopes to continue her education and attends workshops and conferences to keep up to date on her profession.
Sue enjoys art, music, dance, nature, gardening, reading, collecting and the many adventures of her grandchildren: Taylor, Peyton, Cameron and Alayna, children of Jeff and Becky.
Virginia (Ginny) Middleton received her B.S. in Education from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT with a major in elementary education and a minor in music. She taught Kindergarten, first grade and 7½ years of preschool before coming to The Discovery Center in 1989. In addition to her formal education, she has attended many conferences and workshops. Also, for the past twelve years, she has been in charge of the school-aged program for 6, 7, and 8 year olds.
Of all her teaching experiences, Ginny enjoys teaching preschool the most because it gives the child the opportunity to grow socially and emotionally as well as academically.
Ginny has two grown daughters. She enjoys reading, exercising (especially belly dancing) and all of the fine arts.
Vickie Poucher came to The Discovery Center in 2004-06 as a substitute teacher and then cook while her grand-daughter attended. In January 2009, Vickie returned as a pre-school teacher. She hold an elementary teaching degree from Western Michigan with post-graduate credits in teaching elementary science
Vickie has experience teaching all levels from pre-school to high-schoolers, along with being the director of a tutoring center which offered assistance to students 4-17 years old. She especially enjoyed training college students as tutors. At the local Girl Scout council, she served as Membership and Program Specialist, training and managing adult volunteers as well as creating age appropriate programs for girls.
Vickie found it refreshing to join the dedicated staff at DC to guide children to be confident, curious, and kind. She ranks this position as one of her all time favorites!
When not at DC, Vickie enjoys spending time with her grand-daughters Allisha and Grace. She and her husband, Dave, are parents of three adult children.
Jan Stycos has been teaching at the Discovery Center since 1986, first with the Infant/Toddler Program, then at her present position with the Transition (2½ year old) Group. She has her B.A. degree in Elementary Education, from WMU, followed by many workshops, classes, and conferences in Early Childhood Education. She also reads and does independent research in early childhood issues.
Jan is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and is active in her church and local community.
"This is the best job in the world!! Who else has so much fun at work??"