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Wesley Hall
© 2009 - 2013

Staff


Patty Fowler is the new Director of the school beginning July 1, 2009.  Born in Kentucky and long involved in childhood education, Patty has held positions as teacher, assistant director, and director of schools in Virginia and New Jersey.

Educated at Virginia Tech in the fields of Communications and Family Counseling, she has experience in day care, science enrichment classes, religious education classes, choral and instrumental music.

Patty has been involved with Wesley Hall since 1987, first as a parent, then as a substitute teacher, a Playcare teacher, and since 1990, as a lead teacher for the Elephant and Frog Pond four year old classes.  Her artistic and musical interests combine to offer children visual, oral and kinesthetic activities.  She, her husband, Glenn and daughter Stephanie, an alumna of Wesley Hall, are residents of Scotch Plains.

Patty is eager to continue and enhance the fine reputation of an outstanding school, “I am excited to meet this challenge by extending my talents, experience and professional services to those current and new families at Wesley Hall.  Our goal is to make a difference one student at a time, and I believe educating young children is a very important job.”

Barbara Ellsworth was raised in Westfield and is a graduate of Westfield High School and Lynchburg College, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. Barbara worked in the Pharmaceutical industry after college before becoming a stay at home mother. She joined the teaching staff at Wesley Hall in 1994 and has been teaching at the 3 year old, 4 year old, and Kindergarten levels. She has been instrumental in developing Math, Reading, and Cooking enrichment classes along with the Funtastic Fridays. Her children are graduates of Wesley Hall. Barbara, her husband and youngest son live in Westfield.



Wanda Valenti grew up in South Carolina and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Journalism.  In 2000 she attended Kean University for a Group Teaching degree.  She has been with Wesley Hall since 1985, and has been a teacher for 2½, 3 and 4 year-old classes since 1990.  Two of her three children are alumna of Wesley Hall.  Wanda, her husband from Westfield, and their children are residents of Clark.  Her daughter is working on her master's in communication and teaching.   Her twin boys graduated from college, both in finance, and are both looking for employment.




Beth Ripperger attended Susquehanna University where she received degrees in Business Management and Art. After working in the Insurance industry for 10 years and being a stay-at-home mom for 10 years she decided to develop art programs for early childhood education and go into teaching. She has taught Art Enrichment at Wesley Hall since 2006. Beth lives with her husband and three children, alumnae of Wesley Hall, in Westfield and is active in the Westfield public schools.



Nancy Anderson earned the A.B. in History from Rutgers University and has completed masters equivalent courses from the city of Newark and Kean University. She has experience in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, and in Secondary Social Studies through grade 12. She has fifteen years experience in the Newark School district in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades. She has been a full-time Wesley Hall teacher for the past sixteen years teaching fours, four-pluses, and kindergarten. Her two children are both graduates of Wesley Hall. In between her Newark and Wesley Hall stints, Nancy has been active as the Sunday School Superintendent of First United Methodist Church in Westfield, as part of the PTO at the Tamaques and Westfield High Schools, and in various sports, scouting, and music activities at Westfield HS.

Sue Constantine has a marketing degree from Berkley College.  She worked for 9 years as a manager in the fashion mail order catalogue industry before obtaining her state group teaching certificate.  A teacher at Wesley Hall for 10 years, she has taught the 3 and 4 year old classes, and is currently teaching the 3 year olds in the Duck Pond class.  She is also the cooking enrichment teacher for the kindergarten and 4 year old classes.  Sue is a longtime resident of Westfield and has two Wesley Hall graduates; a daughter starting in college and a son starting at Westfield High School.



Anna Daniels is the Supervisor of the Play Care program at Wesley Hall. She is a certified fitness instructor and teaches the Kindergarten physical education class. Anna was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to Wesley Hall, she was employed for 20 years as the senior Office Manager of a wholesale diamond distributor located in New York City, where her duties included traveling to various parts of the world. Anna and her husband Frank moved to Union, NJ in 1996, where she has been involved within the community ever since. She also teaches fitness classes at the Westfield YMCA, as well as a senior aerobic class for the Fanwood recreation department. Her eleven-year-old son Frankie is an alumnus of Wesley Hall.

Anne Auda is a lifelong resident of Scotch Plains and has been a member of the First United Methodist Church since childhood. She is a graduate of Bucknell University and worked in the healthcare financial consulting field for eight years until becoming a stay-at-home mom with the birth of her first son. Both of Anne's children attended Wesley Hall where she became an active member of WHOOPS and later served as treasurer for the school. Anne is currently the afternoon kindergarten aide at Wesley Hall and teaches preschool swim lessons at the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA. She is active in the PTA at her sons' middle school and loves to read, bake and spend time with her husband and two boys.

Susan Granski
Lisa Crosta is Administrative Assistant for the Director.  Her career started with the FBI in Newark, NJ, first in the Steno Pool, leading up to Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Special Agent in charge of the Newark, NJ Division. She joined Wesley Hall in 1992 to form the parent committee WHOOPS (Wesley Hall Organization of Parents.)  Lisa has worked as a lunch aid, secretary, substitute teacher, and was a teacher for five years in the Duck Pond class.  In 2002 she became the Administrative Assistant. Lisa lives with her husband and two daughters, alumnae of Wesley Hall, in Westfield.


Lea Kaluzny is a graduate of Jersey City State College, where she earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Education. Her New Jersey State Certifications include Elementary School Teacher and Principal/Supervisor.  Before coming to Wesley Hall, Lea taught grade 7 and 8 for many years and was Principal of an Elementary School in Cranford and Hoboken.  Lea is currently teaching both a three year old and a four year old class at Wesley Hall. She has also taught Math and Reading Enrichment classes. Lea resides in Mountainside with her husband and son.



Kathy Sherman grew up in New York and attended Queens College.  Her career path has taken her from  legal secretary to executive assistant in advertising for RH Macy's to 10 years on Wall Street as a Telecomm and Market Data Manager and Consultant. She was a stay at home mom for 7 years and once her children left Wesley Hall to attend elementary school, she started teaching with us and has been here for the past 12 years. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, traveling and cooking.




Pat Guglielimi resides in Westfield. She is the mother of three daughters and the grandmother of three granddaughters, two grandsons and one grandson-in-law. They range in age from twenty-three to two and a half.
She started at WHNS in 1978 working in the office, subbing, and later becoming the Director of Play Care.
When her husband died in 1998 she left to take over their coffee shoppe located in Westfield. After seven years and a very hard and emotional decision, she gave up the business. The previous director called and asked if she would like to return to WHSEC, and with much joy and enthusiam she is now working as a Puppy Class teacher with her good friend and co-worker Wanda. Mrs. G.  has worked with four different Wesley Hall directors throughout her career.

Becky Schulz is starting her second year with the kindergarten class at Wesley Hall.  She teaches the math and language arts core kindergarten curriculum, and science as well.

Becky obtained her teaching degree from Glassboro State College with a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.  She began her teaching career in public school teaching Title 1 Preschool and Kindergarten.  She was Head Teacher for many years at a preschool as her children were growing up and was the Founding Director/Head Teacher for twelve years at a preschool prior to coming to Wesley Hall.

Becky resides with her husband and son in Woodbridge.  Her daughter is out on her own enjoying life and a career.  She has had a wonderful first year experience at Wesley Hall and looks forward to another great year.

Ann Conlon grew up in Limerick, Ireland. She got her BA from the University of Limerick. She taught French at a private tutoring school in Ireland, before coming to the US in 1988. She worked at Citibank in NYC, right up until the first of her 4 children were born, in 1993. She was a stay at home Mom until her fourth child was 3 years old and was starting at Wesley Hall Nursery School. Wesley Hall offered her a position teaching the Pupppy class in 2004. She is currently teaching our 3 year old Ducks. In addition, she also teaches French to our Kindergarten class. Ann volunteers at the Westfield YMCA (aquatics department) where her children swim competitively. In her "very little" spare time Ann likes to go to the gym to take a spinning class!

Teresa O'Donnel is a graduate of St. Peter's College in Jersey City, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. After working in the field for several years, she became a stay at home mom. Her two children are alumnae of Wesley Hall, attending the three, four and four plus programs. While her children were here, Teresa was very active in our WHOOPS program and president for one year. After her youngest graduated in 2003, she stayed on to sub and work our lunch bunch program. In 2005 she was hired for a teaching position and received her group teaching certificate in 2007. Teresa lives in Westfield with her husband and two children.

Peggy Flynn has been involved with Wesley Hall since 1981: first, as a parent and then as a 4 year old teacher and finally, teaching full time in the Bunny and Tiger (4+) classes. She received her degree in Biology from the College of St. Elizabeth and did graduate work in Early Childhood Education at both Seton Hall University and Kean University. She holds a New Jersey head teacher certification. Early in her career, Peggy did research at a pharmaceutical firm. She has experience in religious education and science enrichment programs as well as being active in scouts, sports activities and music and drama programs.

Peggy and her husband have lived in Westfield for 32 years. All four of her children went through the Westfield school system and two of them are alumnae of Wesley Hall. These days, she is enjoying four grandchildren!

Joe Guarraci is the Church Maintenance Supervisor. Joe is responsible for keeping the physical engine of the church running smoothly. In fact, he is responsible for maintaining the health and safety of the 30,000 square feet that make up the church, the church grounds, Wesley Hall Nursery School, and two parsonages.

With the knowledge associated with his N. J. Black Seal Boiler License he safely operates two- 500 horsepower boilers. He inspects our buildings, roofs, and all other ground dwellings, carrying out repairs for smaller projects that include electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and masonry. When large projects arise, Joe bids out, supervises and inspects all contractual work performed by outside contractors. He also manages all part-time custodians and janitorial services and is our interface to the local Fire Department, the Town Inspector, and the Police Department.

In line with keeping us safe, Joe makes sure that we conform to all health and safety standards including the uniform fire code and standards. He maintains security for all dwellings including the Wesley Hall Nursery School, is on call 24 hours for our alarm systems, and is responsible for snow removal. He also keeps us beautiful, procuring all goods and landscaping services for the grounds as needed and efficient by maintaining records for coordination and scheduling of room setups for parties, meetings retreats, and all other outside functions.