SALEM PRESCHOOL
Growing God’s amazing kids
Why Salem Preschool?
Serving children since 1971
Our established preschool has been serving the New Brighton and surrounding communities for over 50 years.
A nurturing, faith-based environment
In a Christian environment, our students experience God’s love and learn to love and respect others in God’s world.
Established credentials
Our teachers have over 150 combined years of experience working with preschool children and all hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Further enriching activities
Students experience many special educational activities including visits from educational guests, class holiday celebrations, field trips, and programs for their families.
Community Service Projects
Students grow vegetables in the preschool garden that are given to a local food shelter and distributed to local families in need. Additionally, families donate birthday bags filled with supplies for a birthday party to local food shelters.
Preschool Classes
Each week, our play-based curriculum will focus on a theme that guides the activities and lessons. Each month, students will have chapel time with Pastor Mark and memorize a Bible verse.
3-Year-Old Classes
- Social skills – listening, following directions, taking turns, sharing, and functioning in a large group
- Academic skills – phonemic awareness (hearing the sounds in words), rhyming, name recognition, basic shapes, counting, sorting, numbers
- Children must be 3 years old by September 1, 2025 and toilet trained
Green Class
Tuesdays & Thursdays
9:00 am–11:30 am
Tuition: $140 per month
Orange Class
Wednesdays & Fridays
9:00 am–11:30 am
Tuition: $140 per month
4-Year-Old Classes
- Kindergarten readiness skills – letters and beginning sounds, rhyming, writing activities, numbers, counting, patterns
- Building on social skills and kindergarten readiness skills
- Children must be 4 years old by September 1
- If tuition cost is a concern, please contact Shannyn Stoffel
- Monday afternoons include the Marvelous Monday enrichment classes
Blue Class
Mondays
9:00 am–3:00 pm (full day)
Wednesdays and Fridays
9:00 am–12:00 pm
Tuition: $275 per month
Purple Class
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
9:00 am–3:00 (full day)
Tuition: $425 per month
Marvelous Monday Enrichment Classes
Mondays for the Blue and Purple Classes
- Students will bring lunch from home to eat before class.
- No cost for these classes. They are included in the tuition.
Tuition
- $65 non-refundable registration fee for all classes.
- Salem members and families with two or more children enrolled receive a 10% discount.
- Tuition is paid monthly September through May (online or by check).
- The amount due remains the same regardless of the number of sessions each month.
Schedule a Visit
- Want to see Salem Preschool in action? Email Preschool Director Shannyn Stoffel at sstoffel@salem-covenant.church to schedule a visit today.
Registration
- Create a KidCheck account at www.kidcheck.com
- Use your account to login and register.
- If your desired class is full, please contact Shannyn Stoffel at sstoffel@salem-covenant.church to be placed on a waiting list.
Testimonials
Meet the Teachers
Mrs. Stoffel has been at Salem Preschool since 2018, teaching for two years and becoming the director in 2020. Prior to that, she taught kindergarten for 35 years in the Spring Lake Park and Centennial School Districts in Minnesota.
Shannyn received her degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota Morris and her master’s degree in educational leadership from Bethel University.
Mrs. Stoffel and her husband, Mick, have two grown daughters and seven grandchildren. Both Mrs. Stoffel’s daughters attended Salem Preschool and as well as five of her grandchildren.
When she is not at preschool, she enjoys spending time with her grandkids, traveling, reading, and relaxing on her boat.
Mrs. Harris has been teaching at Salem Preschool for over 25 years. She earned her teaching degree from St. Cloud State University.
Mrs. Harris and her husband, Bob, have three children and four grandchildren. Reading, biking, golfing, and spending time with her family are her favorite things to do as well as teaching 3- and 4-year olds at Salem Preschool.
Sheri’s mother-in-law was one of the first teachers at the preschool and all three of her children have attended Salem Preschool. “Be kind to one another” is her classroom mantra.
Mrs. Harris teaches the Purple class.
Mrs. Shelly has been teaching at Salem Preschool for over 30 years. She received her degrees from the University of Minnesota in Child Psychology and an Early Childhood Pre-K teaching license. She also works in the Minneapolis Public Schools as a School Success Program Assistant for Early Childhood Screening.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three grown children in the outdoors, fishing, camping, and boating.
She loves teaching preschoolers because they are so open to the fun and wonder of learning. Shelly strives to make school exciting so the students will enjoy it and become lifelong learners.
Mrs. Shelly co-teaches the Blue class with Mrs. Sykora.
Mrs. Sykora has been teaching at Salem Preschool since 2018. She graduated from Bethel University in 2003 with a BA in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. She taught kindergarten for several years before becoming a mom.
She and her husband, Jason, have five daughters. In her spare time, she loves to run, bake, make crafts, and garden. One of her favorite things of all, however, is teaching! She feels it is a gift to watch God’s handiwork shine through working with children.
Mrs. Sykora teaches the Blue and Green Classes.
Mrs. Carolyn has taught at Salem Preschool since 2018 and holds a degree in theater arts from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Carolyn is married to her husband, Sam, and they have three children, all who have attended Salem Preschool. When she isn’t working at Salem, she enjoys skiing, going for walks, spending time outside, being with friends and family, and creating plays and pretending with kids.
Some of her favorite parts of working with preschoolers are witnessing their curiosity, their ability to be in the moment, their generosity with love and friendships, and their ability to play and pretend. Mrs. Carolyn also loves preschoolers’ willingness to joyfully jump into any song, fingerplay, game, or activity with no inhibitions.
Mrs. Carolyn teaches the Purple and Orange classes.
Mrs. Tanya has served as the Musical Mondays instructor and as a substitute teacher at Salem Preschool since 2022. She is currently a teacher assistant in the Green class. Tanya graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2000 with a degree in K-12 Music Education and also holds a Master’s Degree from Wheaton College in TESOL.
Tanya leads preschool music classes with Music Together in the community and teaches piano lessons out of her home. She has spent the past 24 years teaching in some capacity (five of those years teaching English in China). She can’t wait to join the Salem Preschool team!
When she’s not teaching, Tanya enjoys spending time with her husband and three young children (two of whom attended Salem preschool). She also loves being outdoors, making music, being creative, photography, and baking.
She especially loves working with preschoolers, as their creativity, curiosity, authenticity, and hilarity are wonderfully refreshing! She truly can’t think of a more fun and rewarding job!
Mrs. Hamilton is a long-time member of Salem Covenant Church. She started attending Salem as a preschooler with her parents when she was 4 years old. She began teaching at Salem Preschool in 2023.
Beth attended North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. She also attended graduate school at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and received a licensure to teach students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and mental health issues.
During her teaching career, she has taught at Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Joseph’s Residential Treatment Center in Minneapolis. Beth loves children and has a special heart for those who struggle with disabilities.
She assists the Green class and substitutes for our teachers.
