Rosi Tistoj started her time at St. Mark’s in the spring of 2019. She started as a substitute teacher and was then brought on as an assistant teacher. Rosi has been working with children since the age of 15. She is a student at Southwestern College studying Child Development.

Rosi has a fur baby named Rey who is her best friend! Rosi loves working with children and feels like she learns as much from them as they do from her!

Maribel Romo Tistoj is the new lead teacher in the Toddler Room. She is very excited to be part of this classroom and be able to work with your child.
Maribel has been married for almost 27 years and has 3 adult children. Two of her children are in the US Army. One of her boys just came back from Poland after being gone for 1 year, her other child is currently stationed in Oklahoma and visits every few months. The youngest child is currently attending college with a major in child development and is working at St. Mark’s as well. Besides Maribel’s 3 beautiful children she has 3 granddaughters. Her family also includes 3 dogs, all rescued dogs whom she loves with all her heart. Maribel started in this field as a parent volunteer and worked her way up to where she is now.

Maribel has 55 units in Child Development, including infant & toddlers and Children with special needs development and curriculum from San Diego City College, Southwestern college and California State University, Hayward. She currently holds a Site supervisor permit and an Associate Degree in Child Development. Maribel has worked with children ages 6 weeks to 5 years for more than 15 years. She also has experience working with school aged children up to 3rd grade. Maribel is very passionate about what she does and loves to learn from the children. She feels school should be a place where children feel safe, comfortable and loved for them to learn.

Maribel wants to get to know each one of the children and their family. She is very excited to take on this journey.

Mrs. Janie Altmann has been teaching and still learning with children over 28 years at St. Mark’s Nursery School. We all are a family here and strive with the same goals in mind. Each day Janie is given the opportunity to play, discover and learn with young children. Yep, she couldn’t have chosen a more satisfying job than being a Prekindergarten Teacher, except being a parent!

Janie would like you to know a little about her and how she came upon this great adventure with children. Janie has always been an outdoors girl discovering something new around the next corner or under a rock! As she grew into an adult, she acquired new interests such as; riding horses, drawing and painting, photography, gardening, traveling, meeting new people and spending time with her family, and more. Janie has been married to her best friend for over 40 years! They are so proud of their two beautiful grown daughters and 5 grandchildren; and savor the moments spent together!

Janie’s adventures in teaching began with her own children and volunteering in their schools when young. She fell in love with the young children’s sense of openness, wonder and adventure. These experiences helped her develop an interest in wanting to learn more about how children tick. Janie decided to go back to school in hopes of being a kindergarten teacher. It wasn’t long after being in college Janie learned how important a child’s development is in forming their early years of growing and becoming a happy, caring and confident individual. She became more interested in early childhood education and school development. So here she is after 28 years and counting, a Prekindergarten Teacher.

Janie’s philosophy is simple. She would like every child to obtain a vital importance of themselves as a person and in the community. To know their ideas and interests are important as well as others and practice empathy towards one another. Janie provides a place for children to feel safe, important, express their feelings, gain confidence and be loved. This is created by giving them numerous opportunities to explore, learn through creativity; play and allow hands on experiences while keeping their interests in mind.

Patty Harris has served as the lead teacher in a variety of our programs. She began teaching at St. Mark’s Nursery School in the fall of 1995, originally working with Geri & Lupe in the Parents Day Out program teaching our Toddlers. Patty has worked with all ranges of preschool ages and in different classrooms. She is now the lead teacher in room 8 working with the Pre-K Children. She’s had the unique pleasure of teaching a few of her own Parents Day Out “graduates” when they moved into the nursery school. Patty began her child development career as a junior in high school, participating as a ROP student. She realized early how much she enjoyed working with young children. After graduating, she went to San Diego Mesa College where she earned an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Development and a B.A. in Early Childhood Education from National University in 2011. Patty has two amazing children who are both St. Mark’s grads. She finds pleasure in reading, watching movies, and joining fellowship at her church. She really enjoys working with young children. “I love their sense of humor, their common sense, their openness, their creativity, and their energy. I learn something new about life and about myself from them every day.”

Ky Kingston has been working in early childhood education since 1994. While living in Washington State she was able to earn her Child Development Associates Credential in an on-the-job training program. Ky returned to San Diego in the summer of 2000 when she found St. Mark’s School and began assisting here that September. Her experiences have included all age groups from infants through school-age, but she has found that working with nursery school children is most rewarding.

Ky’s own children Pearl, Trey, Ruby, and Jade, had the biggest influence on her decision to work with children. They are the ones that bring out the best in her. Using the knowledge she has gained through her education, her experiences, and being a parent she hopes to make a difference in a child’s life. That makes her work very worthwhile. Ky just loves children, and they are very important to her. She wants to do all she can to help them learn.
Her goals for herself and the children at St. Mark’s are to do the absolute best to provide for them, using her best judgment to guide them so they will have happy and productive lives. Ky’s goals for our parents are to help them support and enjoy the opportunities available for these children.

Kalia Vue has been working with St Mark’s Nursery and Preschool since October 2010. She is the eldest daughter but the second oldest of eight children. She was born in San Diego, Ca. then moved to Wisconsin during the summer of 1994. Kalia returned to San Diego during the summer of 2010.

Kalia’s first experience working with young children was in 2001 as an Assistant Teacher through the AmeriCorps – V.I.S.T.A. Program which helped children from low income families. After working with that program she knew she wanted to work with other teachers and young children in a childcare environment. Kalia worked and volunteered with a non-profit organization at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse for the next three years as a tutor for children ranging from elementary school to high school. While going to school from 2005-2007 she worked as a teacher’s assistant in a childcare facility. Kalia graduated from Western Technical College, March 2007, with an Associate Degree in Instructional Assistant. After completing school she was able to gain more experience as a Paraprofessional in a Pre-K classroom.

Kalia has the utmost respect for the teachers, students, and parents whom she has worked with and cannot express her gratitude to all the people who are involved with St. Mark’s School. She will continue to provide a loving, caring, educational and FUN environment for all the children she works with.

Cheryl Liecker has been working at St. Mark’s since the 2002 – 03 school year. She is a parent of two children – both are graduates of St. Mark’s. Both children have enjoyed coming to school and participating in all that has been offered. Cheryl enjoyed experiencing early childhood education right along with them!

When she was choosing a preschool, Cheryl was impressed by the care that she observed the St. Mark’s staff giving to children. She was also impressed by the variety of activities available to each of them. Since she always enjoyed caring for children, she was happy when the opportunity came to join the loving staff. She started working as a substitute for each of the classes but had the opportunity to work in her dream room, the infant room. Working with the infants during this special time is wonderful. Cheryl enjoys being part of their lives as they grow and change.