OUR STAFF | bhcdc

Christmas 2013

Anna Cheney

Director

Mrs. Anna travelled around a lot as a child and young adult with her family. She settled in our area with her husband Darrell in 1986. She has four children - two sons and two daughters - and two grandchildren. She started teaching in 1987 at Enon Child Development Center and has been in early childhood education ever since - 27 years! Anna attended the University of Alaska and Arkansas Tech University with a concentration in Socialology. She is CPR and First Aid certified also. Anna worked at BHCDC as the Three Year Old Teacher for a few years before accepting the position as Director in 2013. Anna loves working with children and getting to know their families. "The kid business" is her business!

Melinda Boerner

Asst. Director

Mrs. Melinda joined our staff in 2005 as the Asst. Director. She is the mother of two - one son and one daughter. Both of her children attended BHCDC as young children. She has a degree in Psychology from Christopher Newport University and is certified in First Aid and CPR. In addition to her office responsibilities, Mrs. Melinda helps the teacher's in the classrooms when needed and is a subsitute teacher when a member of our staff must miss a day. Mrs. Melinda donates a lot of her time to helping the school and is very involved in the day to day runnings of the school. Mrs. Melinda loves being with the children and her favorite thing to hear a child say is, "I can do it".

Joan Waff

Pre- K Teacher

(ages 4-5)

Mrs. Joan moved to Virginia in 1979 from Windsor, North Carolina and started working at BHCDC in 1988. She is the mother of two sons and one daughter and has four grandchildren. She has an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education from John Tyler Community College. She is also certified in First Aid and CPR. Mrs Joan loves working with the children and it shows through her creative and educational acitivities she prepares for her class. Mrs. Joan is always looking for new and fun ways to teach the children!

Kathy Phelps

Pre- K Teacher

(ages 4-5)

Mrs. Kathy and her husband have lived in the Chester area for 35 years. They have two sons together. She joined the BHCDC staff in 2014 as an Older Preschool Teacher working with Mrs. Joan. She worked 10 years in the Hopewell Public School System teaching first grade and was part of the Hopewell Head Start Program for four years. She retired from the public school system in 2013. Prior to her public school career she worked at Nazareth Lutheran School in Hopewell for 10 years and our facility for 5 years. Mrs. Kathy is excited to be back at the Preschool Level and we are very happy to have her back!

Mindy Wilts

Preschool Teacher

(ages 3-4)

Mrs. Mindy joined our staff in 2007. She grew up in Iowa and moved to Virginia back in 2005. She is the mother of two children - one son and one daughter. Mrs. Mindy started at the school as a Teacher Aide and quickly earned her title as a Lead Teacher due to her special connection with children. Mrs. Mindy is caring, loving and nurturing and enjoys teaching children. She inspires the kids to learn through fun and engaging activities to ensure they are prepared for Kindergarten. It is clear where Mrs. Mindy's heart is....the classroom!

Note: The Older Preschool Class and Younger Preschool Class both use the public school guidelines for entering Kindergarten to create their lesson plans and activities to ensure each child is prepared for their transition to public school.

Kelley Keen

Preschool Teacher

(ages 2 1/2 - 3)

Mrs. Kelley joined our staff in 2013 as a preschool teacher. She was born and raised in Chesterfield County specifically the Chester area and received a degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the mother of one daughter. Because most of her children in her class have never attended a preschool before, Mrs. Kelley strives to introduce basic educational goals and self help skills in a structured manner to our young ones. She loves showing kids new things and watching them grow!

All members of our staff are required to attain 16 hours of continuing education per year.