Faculty & Staff

Katie Reifsteck grew up with several educators in her family. Early on, she showed signs of joining them in “the family business.” I’ve always been interested in teaching, ever since I was little,” she recalls. “I used to play school all the time.”

Mrs. Reifsteck joined St. John Little Lamb Preschool in 2016, following nearly a decade of working with young children—first at Prince of Peace Community Early Learning Center in St. Joseph and later providing home day care.

She finds that working with preschoolers is a great opportunity to steer them onto the right track from the start. “They’re so inquisitive at this age,” she says. “When we do Bible stories and lessons, they want to know, ‘Why did Jesus do this?’ ‘Why did Moses do that?’ We can help them understand why they should be loving and kind to everyone. I like to instill good habits at an early age, both in how children think and how they act.”

With each child, Mrs. Reifsteck strives to take an individualized approach to teaching. “Children are all different and they learn in different ways,” she says. “You have to get to know their individual personalities. I‘ve learned to always stop and think: ‘What’s the best way to deal with this particular child?’ ”

Mrs. Reifsteck has an Associate certificate in Child Development from Parkland College.