Children's Center
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital
Our Mission & Values
Our mission is to nurture, inspire, support and educate through play.
The Children's Center upholds the UnityPoint Health - Meriter values of excellence as a way of life, people being our most important resource, and a commitment of service to others. Our teachers work as a team to provide an environment in which parents, children, volunteers and staff can grow and develop together.
Our Learning Environment
We offer a caring and safe learning environment that supports each child in growing and learning to their full potential - emotionally, physically, cognitively and socially.We teach the skills that model the respect that fosters a sense of belonging in our community of classrooms. Our teacher-to-child ratios enhance relationships and support the development of strong social and language skills.
Programs Offered
Infant Program
In our Infant programs we focus on the total child, and we make ourselves totally available to meet each child's individual needs.
Infant ProgramToddler Program
In our Toddler programs and in celebration of children, we honor the importance of play during these early learning years of a child's life.
Toddler ProgramPreschool Program
The Badger Sett is a mixed aged classroom with children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years old. In celebration of children, we honor the importance of play during these early learning years of a child's life.
Preschool ProgramEnrollment & State Forms
Meet our Staff
Our staff at UnityPoint Health - Meriter - Children's Center offers a caring and safe learning environment that supports each child in growing and learning to their full potential - emotionally, physically, cognitively and socially.
Rachel Weber
Children's Center Manager
Rachel has been with Meriter Children's Center since August 2017. She has been in the ECE field since 1998, she has her B.S. in Early Childhood Leadership. Rachel has held many roles in the field from infant teacher, preschool teacher to Director and Regional Manager. Supporting child, family and teacher is why she choose this field. She enjoys being a part a child's life and their family. Watching both a teacher and child have an "ah-ha" moment, tells her she is in the right place!!! Rachel, the mother of two, Liv and Ella, moved here from Illinois in 2017, they fill weekends with activities to enjoy Wisconsin and all it has to offer. When she gets time to herself, she enjoys reading, crafting and spending time with friends.
Traci Adams
Program Supervisor
Traci brings over 25 years of experience in education to Meriter Children's Center. She joined the MCC team in June 2012. Her background spans curriculum development, environments, teacher education, and supporting the social emotional development of each child. Traci obtained her BS in Social Work and went on to gain a UW certificate in Infant, Early childhood, and Family mental health. She believes that every child deserves an enriching and engaging environment that supports them as an individual learner. Traci is a mom of two girls herself and lives with her husband in the DeForest area where they enjoy traveling, the outdoors, and time with family and friends.
Anne Gerl
Teacher
Anne has been with Meriter Children's Center for 16 years. She has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education. Anne has experience teaching all age levels but can be found working full-time with our Chipmunks. Anne is the mom to three children, Jordan, Kelsey and Max, a grandma to a sweet baby boy, Liam.
Bex Hessler
Teacher
Bex has been working in childcare since 2016 and started with Meriter Children's Center in December of 2020. She graduated from Madison College with an Associate of Applied Sciences in Early Childhood Education. She has worked with children of all ages but, Bex most enjoys encouraging the progress infants and toddlers make in language, motion, and social-emotional development. She appreciates good books and exploring nature and delights in sharing those passions with young children.
Chris Engleson
Teacher
Chris has a BS in Preschool/Kindergarten from the University of Wisconsin. She has worked at Meriter Children's Center for over 20 years. Her interest in art, music and especially literature are carried over into her classroom teaching. Chris is a Badger and Packer fan born and raised in Wisconsin.
Diane Helt
Teacher
Diane has been working over 30 years in the early childhood field. She has been at Meriter Children's Center since its first day! Diane studied early childhood care and education at Madison College. Diane lives on a working farm with her husband and 19-year-old daughter, Sydney. Diane works part-time as a resource teacher supporting primarily our infant and toddler classrooms.
Holly Clemens
Teacher
Holly has been a teacher at Meriter Children's Center for over 20 years and has an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been an infant/toddler teacher as well as a teacher in the preschool program. Holly and her husband Barry, have three boys- Ridge, Crew, and Kylar. Some of her interests include playing softball, going on walks and bike rides with her family, and attending her sons' sporting events.
Holly Craig
Teacher
Holly has been at Meriter Children's Center since 2006. She has a bachelor's degree in Child and Family Studies from UW Madison. She has worked with of all ages for the last 30 years. She taught Kindergarten, was a substitute in the public schools, as well as, ran an in-home child care program. She has a husband, and one daughter who now lives in Florida, and attends graduate school. In her free time she enjoys reading, art, music, and spending time with friends, and her pug, Vader.
Julie Trieloff
Teacher
Julie began working at Unity Point Health Meriter in 2006. She graduated from UW Whitewater in 2009 with a degree in Early Childhood Regular and Special Education. She has spent the last five years serving as a resource teacher for the center so she has experience with children ranging from three months to five years old. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and children.
Kelsey Springsguth
Teacher
Kelsey has an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been working at Meriter Children's Center since May of 2018. She lives with her two cats, Othinn and Loki. Her hobbies include reading about history, knitting and cooking.
Khadija Boudribila
Teacher
Khadija has earned her Degree in Business Administration at Stratford University, and the last years while she worked as a teacher, she continued her education in early childhood education. Khadija joined Meriter Children's Center in November 2019. She is the mother of two beautiful girls and a boy. She grew up in Casablanca, Morocco. One of the things Khadija enjoys about teaching is she gets attached and enjoys every moment spent with the kids. She adores their innocence and willingness to learn, she also liked the ambiance, it is an interesting experience and such an amazing career.
Mari Lin Van Haveren
Teacher
Mari Lin joined Meriter Children's Center in the fall of 2019. She has many years of experience in the field of early care and education. She has her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education, and is DPI certified in the State of Wisconsin. Mari Lin enjoys scrapbooking, reading and walking her two dogs. Mari Lin and her husband live in Madison, with their three sons.
Melinda Felker
Teacher
Melinda has been in the childcare field for the past 19 years and has been with Meriter Children's Center since October of 2005. She is the mother of two Eli, and Emma! Melinda is very excited to be using the Continuity of Care Model and watching the children grow and learn new things.
Melissa Wold
Teacher
Melissa has been with Meriter Children's Center since 2019 and is very happy to be a part of the family. She has been in childcare for over 9yrs working with many age groups but enjoys working with infants and toddlers. Melissa is a mother to two boys. She will be working towards her associate's degree in early care and education.
Rachel Haney
Teacher
Terri has been with Meriter Children's Center since 2004. She has also been a lead childcare teacher for 30 years. She currently has her CDA, and is working on an Inf/Toddler credential at Madison College. She has experience teaching all age levels but enjoys working with the infants and toddlers. Terri supports all of our classrooms at MCC, as a resource teacher.
Rhonda Wright
Teacher
Rhonda has over 27 years in the early childhood field. She has worked with children of all ages but has specialized in infant and toddler care. She joined MCC in October of 1995. Rhonda earned an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from MATC in 1991 and has kept current by taking numerous classes and trainings over the years. Rhonda brings a personal understanding to the classroom, having four children and three grandchildren of her own.
Sarah Beth
Teacher
Sarah joined Meriter Children's Center in February of 2021 after moving to Madison from Arkansas. She is originally from Nashville. She has been working in childcare for six years. She has a bachelor's degree in communication Disorders from Western Kentucky University. She loves working with children, especially infants and toddlers. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, going to sporting events and concerts.
Terri Griepentrog
Teacher
Terri has been with Meriter Children's Center since 2004. She has also been a lead childcare teacher for 30 years. She currently has her CDA, and is working on an Inf/Toddler credential at Madison College. She has experience teaching all age levels but enjoys working with the infants and toddlers. Terri supports all of our classrooms at MCC, as a resource teacher.
Vicki Stahl-Lambrecht
Teacher
Vicki has a B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Care and Education. She has worked at Meriter Children's Center since 2004. She has over 25 years of experience working with children of all ages. She loves to travel, and spend time with her husband, Randy, and daughter, Lilly. Vicki supports all the classrooms at MCC, you will see her most of the time working with our preschool children.
Ann McDermott
Creative Arts Specialist
Ann is a music and art educator, community builder and long-time Madisonian with over 30 years experience developing and teaching integrated arts programming for preschoolers, school-aged children, teens, and adults. She holds a BS in Art Education from UW Madison and a piano pedagogy certification from Edgewood College. Ann has been the owner and manager of Ann McDermott Piano Studios for over 30 years, teaching piano lessons to all ages. In addition, she is the co-founding director of the Monroe Street Arts Center where she served as Artistic Director for several years. For 10 years, Ann served as choral director of the Children's Training Choir at Luther Memorial Church and she served as a Music Specialist at Preschool of the Arts for 8 years. In addition, Ann is the incoming Director of Children's Music Ministry at Midvale Community Lutheran Church.
Lori Peters
Kitchen Coordinator
Lori has been with Meriter Children's Center since 2004. Each day she prepares two healthy meals and a snack for 80 children and almost 30 staff. She ensures that our meals are safe for our little one's with food allergies and comes up with new and delicious menu items when the season changes. Lori also supports our classrooms as a resource teacher, you can see her covering breaks and the end of the day. Lori lives in Marshall with her two children, Cora and Grant. She spends a lot of time watching her children play soccer and basketball. In her free time, Lori can be found camping or hanging out with her family at the lake.
Children's Center Information
Children's Center
Department Information
For Enrollment and Tour Information, Please Contact: (608) 417-5258Address
Open Hours
- Monday: 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
- Thursday: 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
- Friday: 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed