Director of CCNS
Allison Mlodinoff Clarke
Director of CCNS
Allison Mlodinoff Clarke grew up on Long Island, NY, and earned her bachelor's degree from New York University in 1994. She began her career in early childhood education as a teacher in two through five- year-old classrooms on Long Island. After relocating to New Jersey with her family, Allison continued teaching in various classrooms and spent years teaching before and aftercare programs. She has been working with children ages two through five for twenty years. Allison brings warmth, experience, and dedication to Croton Community Nursery School. She is also the proud mother of Sophie and Zoe. Sophie is currently working on her PhD at Stanford University in Bioengineering and Zoe is working towards becoming a Physician Assistant.
Teacher (3s-4s class)
Julie Purves
Teacher (3s-4s class)
Julie began teaching in Maryland in 2009. She received a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Arcadia University, and taught Pre-K and Head Start before moving to New York and starting a family. Her family found a wonderful community at CCNS while all four of her children attended over seven years. After many years as a stay at home mom, she is excited to return to teaching and CCNS this year..
Assistant Teacher (3s-4s class)
Haley Newman
Assistant Teacher (3s-4s class)
Haley is so excited to be part of the CCNS family! Her connection to the school began as a parent when her 6-year-old son, Zayden, started in the 2-3s class and stayed through his 4s graduation. She officially joined the CCNS team a couple of years ago during summer camp, and last year she loved working as the second assistant in Ms. Brianne's class. In addition to her classroom role, she works with Lunch Bunch and collaborates alongside Ms. Heidi in Playgroup. CCNS is such a wonderful community, and she's looking forward to another fantastic year supporting our students!
2s Teacher
Brianne Cimaglia
2s Teacher
Brianne received her Master's Degree in Childhood Education from Hunter College in 2011. While living in NYC, she taught both preschool and the early elementary grades. Since moving to Westchester in 2016, she's tutored grades K-12 while raising her two children. Brianne is thrilled to be a part of the CCNS teaching staff!
Assistant Teacher (2s class)
Heidi Berisha
Assistant Teacher (2s class)
Heidi loves Croton Community Nursery School. She has been involved since 2019, first as a parent, and now as an assistant teacher. She and her husband live in Croton with their daughter, and they were looking for a good nursery school for their precious little one. She remembers walking down the street to CCNS with a million questions in her mind, but when they arrived and met both the teachers and some of the families, she immediately felt comfortable. All her questions were answered. Her daughter loved attending CCNS and called it "My red school." As a parent, and now an assistant teacher, Heidi has watched her daughter and her peers build confidence and learn with each other through play. Children here are not just filling a slot, they become part of the family. She is so thankful to have the opportunity to help little ones get off to a wonderful start at school.