Ms. Katie is the owner and director at Purple Bloom School.  Prior to opening PBS, Ms. Katie owned and operated her in-home child care center, 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. Kelley is our Assistant Director and has been with Purple Bloom School since our opening in 2018.  Kelley is heavily involved in many parts of the school and the state's education.  She serves on the advocacy board for the IAEYC Professional Engagement Group (PEG), is a T.E.A.C.H. program ambassador, and has launched our butterfly raising project where the students learn how to raise monarch butterflies from an egg to their release through hands-on experience.  Prior to PBS, she owned and operated an in-home childcare center for four years and worked as a paraprofessional and a behavior interventionalist for the Iowa City Community School District.  

Outside of PBS, Kelley spends a lot of time with her husband and two daughters, plus their two dogs, guinea pig, and rabbit.  If they are not at home, you can probably catch them at the local Heartlanders' hockey games.

Ms. Erin is our On-Site Supervisor at Purple Bloom School and has been with us since 2022, starting as our Jr. Pre-K Lead Teacher.  Erin is currently working online towards her Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education through the T.E.A.C.H. program.  Prior to Purple Bloom, Erin worked as a retail manager and had already earned her Bachelor's in Business Management and her Master's in Global Marketing Management.  During this period in her life, Erin has had a lot of experience working with children in their education through student-teaching at a Spanish-immersion school, teaching English to young students in Ecuador, and tutoring young elementary students in a variety of subjects.  Her favorite part of working in education is teaching young children social emotional skills like playing with others, setting and respecting boundaries, being 'bucket fillers,' growing confidence, and problem solving.  

Outside of Purple Bloom, Erin lives a slow and mellow life with her husband (Kevin) and her two Boxers (Merry and Pippin).  She spends a lot of her time immersing herself into books in her home library, taking care of her (many) indoor plants, tending to her garden in the warmer months, maintaining her sourdough starter and ginger bug, cooking/baking, and painting.  

Ms. Breanna Davis has her Associate's in Early Childhood Education.  She has previous experience working in early childhood education prior to joining the team at Purple Bloom School, including working at a different center and nannying.  Ms. Breanna has Tourette’s syndrome and is dedicated to educating others on what it means to have Tourette’s syndrome.  She enjoys working at Purple Bloom School because of family-feel of the environment and the children are prioritized as the most important.

Ms. Megan grew up in a tiny town outside of Oskaloosa, IA.  When she finished high school, Megan went straight into childcare and realized that caring for infants was her calling.  Since then, Megan has spent over 11 years working with children, mainly with infants and toddlers.  

Megan now lives in North Liberty with her wife, daughter, and son.  In her free time, Megan enjoys cross-stitch, sewing, Perler beads, and playing video games with her children.

Ms. Piper has been with Purple Bloom for  years and has lived in North Liberty her whole life.  She has earned her Associate's in Early Childhood Education from Kirkwood through online classes.  Piper loves coming to work at Purple Bloom School because she gets to watch all the children grow throughout the years.  She enjoys working with younger children because they are constantly exploding in their development; however, Piper also enjoys watching the older children have such excitement about everyday life and new experiences.  

In her free time, Piper likes to do art, acrylic paint and markers being her mediums of choice.

Ms. Jen 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, Jen was an elementary teacher at Prairie Green, a 3rd and 4th grade teacher in Lone Tree, and served as the Extended Learning Program Coordinator for the Lone Tree and Prairie City-Monroe Schools.  She enjoys working at Purple Bloom School because of the multi-age environment and the approach of nurturing the whole child. 

When she is not teaching, Jen can be found camping, playing sand volleyball, reading, or playing guitar.

Mr. Aaron grew up in Sioux City, IA and ended up at the University of Iowa to study Psychology and Medicine.  After having a child of his own, Aaron has switched gears and is now focused in Developmental Science.  With this track, he plans on earning his degree and enter the world of teaching.  

Since having his daughter, Aaron has kept busy as a father, but also dabbles in freelance photography and writing music.  When he isn't working at Purple Bloom, he is working third-shift at UIHC in Perioperative Services.

Ms. Marwa is originally from Sudan.  While living there, Marwa taught Early Childhood Education.  She enjoys the people and being able to continue to utilize her skillset while working at Purple Bloom.  Marwa is continuously working hard and studying English as an ESL student.  

At home, Marwa keeps busy with her husband, who teaches English and works in Human Resources, as well as her son and two daughters. 

Ms. Priti lives in Coralville, IA with her husband, daughter, and son; however, Priti and her husband are originally from India.  In India, she earned a Bachelor's in Fashion Design and owned her own shop.  Priti loves coming to work and spending time with all the children that she meets at Purple Bloom.

At home, Priti enjoys sewing and stitching different kinds of dresses, crafting, and painting.  

Elvis and the rest of the Gallegos family have known Ms. Katie for a long time and have worked at Purple Bloom School since our opening in 2018.