The MELC staff have been educating and nurturing children in the Glen Ridge and surrounding towns for 50+ years of combined experience. Our teaching staff is the best part of our program. The teachers are experienced, professional educators who are, above all else, child advocates. They have prepared our school environment to encourage movement, exploration and discovery: to stimulate interest and choice; and to foster independence, socialization, self-confidence and self-worth. They work with determination to make school a good place to be, and to make this first school experience productive, safe and happy for all the children in their care. All teachers are CPR/First Aid/AED and EpiPen certified and fulfill the requirements by the State of New Jersey to complete professional development hours of early childhood education training annually.
Linda Trojanowski: Linda is starting her 31st year at MELC. She has been a teacher, head teacher and an Associate Director. She is currently the Head Teacher in the 4’s class as well as in the PM class. She also serves for the past 18 years as the Director. Linda received an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, a BA in Multidisciplinary Studies from Caldwell College and has completed the course work for the P-3 certification. Prior to working at MELC, Linda worked at Ricoh Corporation as a Corporate Human Resources Manager. She grew up in Glen Ridge and continues to live there with her family.
Diane Murphy: Diane is starting her 24th year at MELC. She teaches in the PM class as well as the AM 3’s class where she is the Head Teacher. Diane received a BA Degree from Albright College and earned a certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for Nursery/Kindergarten in the Private Academic Schools as well as a certificate from the State of New Jersey as a Teacher of Home Economics, K-12 as well as Nursery/Kindergarten. Prior to working at MELC, she taught for eight years at Wayne Hills High School. Diane has grown up in Glen Ridge and continues to live there with her family.
Kathy Salvatelli: Kathy is starting her 16th year at MELC. She teaches in the AM 4’s class as well as the PM Class. Kathy received a BS Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Providence College. Kathy also worked for Lehman Brothers for 5 years as a Human Resources Supervisor. She lives in Glen Ridge with her family.
Gretchen Allin: Gretchen is starting her 12th year at MELC. She is teaching in the AM 3’s class. Gretchen received a BA from Montclair State University in Family and Child Studies, Elementary Teacher (K-5). Gretchen also received an In-House Childcare Specialist Certification from the National Academy of Nannies Incorporated and worked as a Nanny for 11 years. In addition to working at MELC, she is a Library Assistant at the Glen Ridge Public Library. Gretchen lives in East Hanover with her family.