St. Joseph Catholic Preschool Staff

Miss Kelly has taught preschool at St. Joseph Elementary for 13 years.  Miss Kelly is an alumnus of St. Philip Catholic Central High School and graduated in 1999. Following high school, Miss Kelly graduated from Western Michigan University. After graduation, Miss Kelly taught at Doris Klaussen Developmental Center for 5 year years, working with emotionally impaired children. She and her husband Jason have two children who both attend the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools. Miss Kelly loves to spend time with her family and take trips to South Haven.

Email: kfrancisco@bcacs.org

Mrs. Downey loves working with children and believes in meeting children where they are developmentally. She has been teaching at St. Joseph for 21 years. She is an alumnus of St. Joseph Elementary and St. Philip Catholic Central High School. She graduated from Albion College with a BA in English and her Elementary Teaching Certificate, an Early Childhood Endorsement and Masters degree in Early Childhood from Spring Arbor University. She is married to Patrick and together they have 4 children. She loves to run and spend time by the lake with her family.

Email: adowney@bcacs.org

Hello, my name is Deb Caudill, and I’m excited to be a full-time preschool teacher at BCACS!!  I have thirty-two years of teaching experience and spent the majority of those years teaching children with special needs.  I retired two years ago after spending twelve years working for Calhoun Intermediate School District.
I graduated in 2001 from WMU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education along with Elementary Education. I also have a Minor in Early Childhood.  I have a Master’s Degree in The Art of Teaching from Mary Grove College.
I’m married and live in Bedford.  My husband and I have two daughters. Our oldest daughter is a teacher, and lives in Battle Creek. Our youngest lives in Grand Rapids and is in HR for the Meijer Cooperation.
Last year I was fortunate to work at St. Joseph as a tutor in grades K-2, and also as a substitute teacher.I greatly enjoy working with preschool children and spent my last five years at CISD as an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher. I’m excited to meet all of the students and parents, and to be a part of such an amazing staff!!
Email: dcaudill@bcacs.org

Miss Meghan is an alumni of St. Joseph Elementary and St. Philip Catholic Central High School. This is her fourth year as an assistant teacher, working alongside Mrs. Downey. Miss Meghan is passionate about helping young children feel successful and giving them the confidence to master new tasks. She is married to Nate and together they have 2 children. She loves traveling with her family and spending their summers on the lake.

Email: mdarlington@bcacs.org

Miss Nicole is in her 9th year as a teacher assistant. She has a bachelor’s Degree from Western Michigan University. One of Miss Nicole’s favorite things about preschool is getting to know all of the kids and their personalities. Miss Nicole has 3 daughters, all who have attended and either graduated from BCACS or will in the future. One of Miss Nicole’s favorite things to do is to travel, especially to the ocean.

Email: nstevens@bcacs.org