Prelude Preschool Faculty
Prelude Preschool of the Arts Director
Rebecca Storozuk
rstorozuk@communitymusicschool.comcreate new email
413-732-8428 ext. 114
Becca Storozuk has been the Director of Prelude Preschool for the past three years. Prior to Directing, she was the Lead Teacher in the Allegro Classroom. Becca has worked in private and public early childhood and elementary settings for over ten years. She has a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education and a Masters degree in Education. She is inspired by various educational philosophies including Visual Thinking Strategies and Inquiry Based Learning. Becca is deeply committed to supporting the social-emotional and creative well-being of children and families through the use of the arts, play, and literature.
Prelude Preschool Classroom Teachers
Whitney Thompson Romeo, Lead Teacher and Assistant Director, has been working with preschool age children for over twenty years, including eight years as a Director of a preschool program. She has her Associates degree in Early Childhood Education and a Masters degree in Human Services and has worked extensively with at-risk children. She looks forward to applying her Prelude training and early-education skills to her students to foster a dynamic and creative learning experience.
Alison Needham, Lead Teacher, has a BS in Art Education and has been in the field of early education for 15 years. She has experience as a public-school art teacher and has made art the focus in all the years in which she has been teaching. She is a mural artist and currently has work displayed in a few schools in Springfield, including Prelude! She is also a mother of 2 boys, Emmet and Jacob, who are the world to her.
Donna Allard, Lead Teacher, has been a Lead Teacher at Prelude Preschool of the Arts for ten years in the Pre-K classroom. She has been teaching in the field of Early Childhood Education for almost 25 years and has received her Lead Teacher Certificate, as well as attended additional training courses. She has a natural passion for early education, by enriching young minds through play and learning experiences within a classroom setting.
Bella Nettis, Lead Teacher, has been in the early childhood field for nearly 4 years and continues to love working as well as growing as a teacher. She is passionate about helping her students succeed and developing their young minds. Bella also has an associates degree from STCC and is EEC certified. She is excited to use more of an integrated arts approach with her students and let them use their creative abilities to lead their educational experience. Bella appreciates the inclusiveness of a small preschool center environment and is excited to be the newest member of the Prelude Preschool and to think outside the box!
Mariah Roman, Assistant Teacher, has worked with children for more than three years at a local nonprofit. She is a passionate artist in her free time. She is in her final semester of her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her next journey after that will be to continue on to her Master’s in library science and a life of enriching the community she lives in with art and literature.
Cathy Heaton, Substitute Teacher, has been teaching preschool for over 20 years. She is EEC Lead Teacher certified. She loves teaching children empathy and coping skills. When she’s not teaching, she loves to spend time with her grandchildren and she loves to help others.
Prelude Preschool Teaching Artists
Rick Marshall, Percussion Teaching Artist, has been a force among the Springfield music scene for more than 30 years! He has toured the country with Matt “Guitar” Murphy of the Blues Brothers, and played and recorded internationally with numerous renowned musical groups. Mr. Rick teaches drumming and drumming history, leads drumming workshops throughout New England, and leads several of CMSS’s Community Partnership Programs.
David Casali, Bass Teaching Artist, has a Bachelor’s in double bass performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Masters in double bass performance from Indiana University, and is currently a music education PhD student at UMass Amherst. He has taught elementary music at the East Street School in Ludlow and in the Springfield Public Schools. He is focused on curriculum development and creating music technology for the general music classroom. He wrote the Pre-K and Grade 1 curricula for the Springfield Public Schools, helped the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) roll out their new arts standards as their music education ambassador for western MA, and edited DESE’s Guidebook of Culturally Diverse Artists and Artworks. He is currently the double bass instructor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, subs with the Springfield Symphony and plays with numerous orchestras and groups in the Springfield area.
Mia Friedman, Violin Teaching Artist, works with CMSS’ Sonido Musica program and Prelude Preschool of the Arts. Mia graduated from New England Conservatory where she studied with Anthony Coleman, Carla Kihlstedt, and Hankus Netsky, and is an active composer, performer, and educator. Her song “Across the Water” won the 2011 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the folk category, and she was the 2006 New Hampshire Highland Games Scottish Fiddle Champion. She is largely influenced by American roots music and old-time Appalachian traditions, and blends this with contemporary experimental music in her compositions.
Mary Daboul, Yoga Teaching Artist, has a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and over 30 years of experience working with children. She has trained with Mindful Schools, Deep Play for Kids, Kidding Around Yoga, Yoga Ed., and MBSR-Teen. Mary has been sharing yoga and mindfulness with Prelude families and the Western Mass community for many years. She is joyfully committed to offering these practices that have changed and enriched her life.