Ms. Katie is the Owner, Director, and Lead Teacher at Purple Bloom School. Before Purple Bloom School emerged, Ms. Katie owned and operated her in-home child care including Purple Bloom Preschool for 14 years. She spent that time studying the philosophies of Play Counts®, Heather Shumaker, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, Handwriting Without Tears®, Get Set for School®, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Reggio Emelia, Magda Gerber, Janet Lansbury, Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Method, and Dr. Maria Montessori At 17 years old, Katie received the KCRG TV9 “A+ for Education” for creating an immersion program for the special education students in her high school. Ms. Katie is a trained and certified Suzuki violin and viola instructor. She owned and operated Stringworks School of Music for 10 years and taught violin at the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki Music School. She earned her associates degree from Kirkwood Community College and has since continued her education at the University of Northern Iowa and University of Iowa. Ms. Katie served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the North LIberty Food Pantry in 2020.
Ms. Katie and her husband, Irakli, have four children, three whom attend Purple Bloom School.
Ms. Kelley is the Assistant Director and Lead Teacher of room 6 AT Purple Bloom. She initiated and oversees the upbringing of monarch butterflies with our students. She owned and operated her in-home childcare for four years. Ms. Kelley has experience working in the Iowa City School District as a one on one paraprofessional and a behavioral interventionist. She earned her AA degree and is certified in all early childhood education required training. She and her husband, Malik, have two daughters, two beagles, a guinea pig, and a chinchilla! Both of their daughters attend Purple Bloom. Ms. Kelley continues her education by attending various workshops and conferences related to early childhood education. Her favorite part of the school day is watching the kids use their imagination to create something amazing from a pile of “stuff”.
Lisa grew up in Marion, Iowa with her older sister and Purple Bloom School Director, Katie Tsilosani. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. Before joining Purple Bloom, she worked at Kirkwood Community College with marketing and high school outreach. Lisa and her husband Noel have one son, Morgan. She really enjoys working at Purple Bloom because of the supportive community Purple Bloom has become!
"I am from a small, pass-through town in Illinois and originally went to college in Dubuque, IA where I majored in Business and minored in Spanish. From there, I moved to Iowa City where I continued my education by getting a masters degree in marketing. Throughout this education, I participated in multiple teaching opportunities at a spanish-immersion kindergarten, a school in Ecuador, and lots of tutoring. This is where I fell in love with young education. After a few years of working retail in the business world, I’ve decided to step back and pursue a new degree in education. In my free time I love to read, paint, and work photography!"
Ms. Breanna Davis has her associate degree in Early Childhood Education, She has previous experience working in early childhood education before joining the team at Purple Bloom School including working at another center and nannying. She grew up in Wellman, IA. Ms. Breanna has Tourette’s syndrome and is dedicated to educating others on what it means to have Tourette’s syndrome. She truly enjoys working at Purple Bloom School because of family feel and that children are most important above all else, and staff are treated great.
Ms. Jen Wright has her degree in Elementary Education from Western Illinois University, with endorsements in Language Arts, Math, Science and Gifted Education. Before joining Purple Bloom School, Ms. Jen was an elementary teacher at Prairie Green, 3/4th grade teacher at Lone Tree Schools, and served as the Extended Learning Program Coordinator for Lone Tree and Prairie City-Monroe Schools. She enjoys working at Purple Bloom School because of the multi-age environment and approach in nurturing the whole child. When Ms. Jen is not teaching, she can be found camping, playing sand volleyball, reading, or playing guitar.
"Hi, I’m Megan! I grew up in a tiny town outside of Oskaloosa, IA. When I finished high school I went straight into child care and eventually found that caring for infants was my calling. Since then I’ve spent about 11 years working with children, mainly with infants and toddlers. I live in North Liberty with my wife, our 8 year old daughter, and our 5 year old son. In my free time I enjoy cross stitch, sewing (and learning to quilt!), Perler beads, and playing video games with my kids."
"I grew up in Davenport but moved back to my hometown (Cedar Rapids) 6 years ago. I have been babysitting since 2014 and take care of my family members too. I am on a break from school but hoping to start up again soon to become a teacher. In my free time I like to hangout with my boyfriend, hike, and paint."
“Hello my name is Yahaira! (ya-Hi-ruh)I just started at Purple Bloom and I am looking forward to meeting all the families and getting to know you all!”
"I am new to Iowa, I just moved to live closer to my family! I grew up in Maryland, but have lived in two other states during my life. I graduated high school with the class of 2022!"
Ms. Rachel Plews graduated from the University of South Dakota with a B.S. in Sociology. She is currently certified in all early childhood education required training. She has additional training in social emotional teaching strategies and child led play strategies. Before joining Purple Bloom, Rachel owned and operated her own in-home "tot school". She developed and taught curriculum focused on play-with-a-purpose for children aged 2 and 3 years. She especially loves working with this age group because everything is a new adventure for them!
Rachel and her husband, Kai, live in Iowa City with their five children: Dex age 9, Veda age 8, Gus age 5, and twin 2 year olds Leo and Asa, and their cat, Spyder. Ms. Rachel’s children attend Purple Bloom School.
"Hello Everyone! My name is Curtis Sanders and I'm a recent University of Iowa graduate with a degree in psychology/child life. Over the years, and with the help of my studies, Young Life and Tanager Place, I've gained a passion for helping children explore the world and themselves creatively through the power of education. I'm very excited to join the Purple Bloom School Family as a classroom assistant and I look forward to getting to know you all! If you see me around, feel free to talk to me about all things Chicago, music, and/or sports!"
Ms. Elsy has been with Purple Bloom School for 2.5 years.
Hi! My name is Piper Schoon, and I have lived in North Liberty my whole life. I am currently working towards a degree in Early Childhood Education by taking Kirkwood classes online. I love coming to work at Purple Bloom everyday because I get to see all of the kids and watch them grow. I love working with the younger kids because it’s so amazing to see them just explode with development, but I also love seeing the older children get excited about everyday life and new experiences. In my free time I like to do art, and my favorite mediums are acrylic paint and markers.
My name is Claire Maifield and I am currently a student at the University of Iowa working towards my BA in Math and MA in education. I graduated from Ames High School in 2020 and also coached figure skating for a few years prior to moving to Iowa City. I have always loved working creatively with kids and I am so grateful for this opportunity to continue doing so. I can't wait to meet all of you!
“My name is Marwa, I am from Sudan. In Sudan, I taught Early Childhood Education. I am married and have 2 kids, the oldest boy is 7 Ekleil and Izdihar is one years old. My husband’s name is Abdelmajed and in Sudan he taught English and worked in Human Resources. I am currently studying ESL English. I enjoy working at Purple Bloom and enjoy the people here.”
My name is Priti Vishwakarma. I live in Coralville, Iowa with my husband and 4 years old daughter. I'm originally from India. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and I even have a diploma in fashion designing. I like to do sewing & stitching different dresses, art & painting in my free time. I love working at Purple Bloom School and as I love to spend time with kids!
Hi! I am Skylar. I grew up in Iowa, Washington state, and Japan. I am currently a student at the University of Iowa majoring in Elementary Education. I am so excited to start working and spend time with the kids.
“I grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and wound up at U of I for psychology and medicine. I've switched gears since (after having a child of my own) to a focus in the Developmental Sciences. I plan to fulfill a degree in this field and go into the wild world of teaching! In my free time I do freelance photography work, and write music, but the great majority of my time the last two years has been spent as a stay at home dad to my wonderful daughter while working weekend thirdshift at the UIHC in Perioperative Services!”
The Adkins family have been with Purple Bloom since it's opening in 2018.
Elvis, Martha, and the Gallegos have been working at Purple Bloom since it's opening in 2018.
Click on each staff photo to see their mask photo!