Meet Our Administrative Team

Kathy Hoszkiw established ABC Academy in 1984. She is very active in the early childhood profession. She is currently a member of the Great Start Collaborative Executive Committee, along with a member of the Child Care & Early Education subcommittee and the Great Start Event Committee Chairperson and a member of the Great Start Readiness Advisory Council.

As the chair person of the Jackson Area Early Childhood Conference she oversees the organization of this annual event attended by over 300 early childhood providers each year at Baker College.

Kathy was the past Vice President and President of the Jackson Area Early Childhood Association, currently holding the office of Treasurer. She is a member of the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of the Education of Young Children and is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Mariann Gladstone is the Executive Director of ABC Academy. Mariann graduated from Jackson Community College with an Associates Degree and Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She taught at Western School District for four years.

In 1992, Mariann hired in at ABC Academy on Lansing Ave. as a Teacher, Toddler Coordinator and Assistant Director. In 1997 when the JCC site opened, Mariann became Program Director which has since became a Nationally Accredited program. Mariann is a certified HighScope Trainer.

Throughout her career, Mariann has been a member of the SMAEYC and the JEYC. She has served on her children’s PTA, is a Pioneer Leader and has remained a member of Kappa Delta Pi, a leadership in education.

Mariann says that she is proud to be part of a group of hard working and caring individuals that provide an excellent program for the students of JCC and the community.

Andrea McCabe is the Quality Improvement Specialist at ABC Academy. She has been with ABC Academy since 2002 where she began as a Youth Group Teacher for the school-age children. She demonstrated her ability as a leader and quickly moved into a preschool lead teacher position and became the assistant director at the Laurence Ave. location. When the director position opened at Laurence Ave. Andrea was promoted and remained the director for 3 years until she had her second child; upon her return she moved into the Quality Improvement Specialist Assistant position.

Andrea has a Bachelor’s Degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University, along with an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Jackson Community College.

In the Quality Improvement Specialist position, Andrea has supported our administrators and teaching teams with child assessment data analysis, planned and organized the company parent education and family events, has planned and organized the Jackson Area Early Childhood Conference, worked to help each location maintain NAEYC Accreditation, and supported each administrator with administrative duties for the day to day operations of the centers.

Andrea is a current member of the Jackson Educators for Young Children, a local child care director’s leadership group and the Directors Leadership Group, a national director’s leadership group. 

Lori Jonas is the center Director for ABC Academy located at 3210 Lansing Avenue. Lori has been with ABC Academy since 2002. Lori began her career at ABC Academy as a teacher assistant in our infant toddler program. She quickly demonstrated her strong teaching and leadership skills and was promoted to the lead teacher of our preschool classroom and center assistant director.

Lori utilized every training opportunity that was available to her including the extensive HighScope Preschool Curriculum training. After becoming certified in this preschool curriculum program, Lori began training her co-workers in this hand’s on approach to learning. ABC Academy was selected to participate in the Numbers Plus Math Program being developed by HighScope.

Lori’s classroom was selected to participate in working with the HighScope Foundation, validating the program prior to launching the math program internationally. After receiving her extensive training in the HighScope curriculum, Lori was asked to mentor students in the Early Childhood Programs from Baker College and Jackson Community College on the daily Plan-Do-Review process, active learning and the daily routine, receiving very positive feedback from the professors of the colleges.

Lori has been a committee member of the Jackson Area Early Childhood Conference since it’s inception and is a current member of the Jackson Educators for Young Children, a local child care directors leadership group. Lori is currently working towards earning her Bachelors’ degree in Early Childhood Development.

Greetings! My name is Jolene Crawford and I am the Program Director at ABC Academy on Laurence Ave. I have been blessed to be a part of ABC Academy’s team since 2006. My career has been multi-faceted; I began my employment as a Teacher Aide – since then I have been a Teacher Assistant, Lead Teacher, Assistant Director, Instructional Coach and Program Director.

Now, as the Program Director, I have the opportunity to work directly with our teaching team as well as the children and families at ABC Academy; my primary responsibility is to provide a safe and engaging learning environment for the children and my teaching team.

My professional life is very fulfilling and my personal life is no exception. I married my high school sweetheart and together, we have a wonderful son, Jack. We all enjoy spending time outdoors; camping and hunting. We love travelling and sharing adventures with one another. In my spare time (the little that exists), I enjoy running and exercising, reading and spending time with family.

I believe that children are our most valuable resource and that we must invest in them, each and every day. We are continuously provided with teachable moments and it’s what we do in those moments that make the most impact. ABC Academy provides children with a high-quality, early childhood education that focuses on active learning and encourages children explore, question and engage in the world that surrounds them. I am proud to be a part of the ABC Academy. On behalf of myself and our team, welcome to ABC Academy!

Audrey Burgher is the Director of ABC Academy on Jackson College Campus. Audrey has dedicated her life to working with children and I have always been passionate about education. She came to ABC Academy with experience in working with children, staff, and parents in the public school environment. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), a Master’s Degree in K-12 Curriculum from Eastern Michigan University, and an Education Specialist Degree in K-12 Administration from Michigan State University.

I have experience as a classroom teacher, an Instructional Consultant, a Gifted and Talented Director, an Elementary Principal, and as a High School Principal. I have also had experience as a consultant with the Michigan Department of Education and as an adjunct professor at Spring Arbor College. In addition to all of this, Audrey started a Before-School and After-School Program and Childcare Center for the Elementary School in Reading, Michigan in which she was school principle and Childcare Director. Audrey formally retired from Michigan Public Schools in 2010 and held various consultant jobs as well as helped out area schools when they have needed an interim principal. But, she have missed working regularly with children, hence my desire to come here to ABC Academy! It is such an honor to be working with all of the great professionals here at ABC Academy! Most importantly, it is fantastic to be working with all of the wonderful children and parents!

Audrey and her husband, Dave live in Jackson where we have made our home since 1984. They have two children who are both now graduated from college and both now married. Their oldest, David II, is married to Anna and they live in Orlando, Florida. Our youngest, Elizabeth, is married to Ray and they have a daughter, Ellie. They live in Tampa, Florida. Audrey has two Chihuahuas, Carlos and Pedro, who keep me busy when she is at home. 

Cody Blair joined ABC Academy after seven years in the early childhood field. Cody is the Director and Lead Teacher of the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) at Concord Community Schools. Cody graduated with honors from Baker College of Jackson with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Cody’s early childhood experience began as an assistant teacher in an infant/toddler center based program for Early Head Start. After three years in Early Head Start, Cody took a position in a Head Start/GSRP classroom as a teacher for two years, and most recently was a lead teacher for a GSRP program in Hillsdale county.

Cody is a very active member of the early childhood community. He is the past vice chair of the Early Childhood Collaborative of Hillsdale County, a board member for the Child Care Network, and the Special Projects Chair of the Michigan Association of the Education of Young Children (MiAEYC). Cody has also presented at conferences state wide to educate other teachers and professionals that work with young children on best practice in the early childhood field. In 2014, Cody was selected as 1 of 10 in the Nation to represent young leaders in the Early Childhood field as a Lasting Legacy Scholarship recipient. He was invited to Dallas, Texas to the National Education for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) annual conference as a special guest.

Cody’s passion is educating and interacting with young children and their families. He is dedicated to making every interaction and experience a special one for all children. Cody is excited to join ABC Academy and provide a high-quality education experience for the children in the Concord Community.

Kim Kloack is the Director and Associate Teacher of the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) at Hunt Elementary, in Jackson Public Schools. Kim joined the ABC Academy staff in October, 2016. She has worked in the early childhood field for 20 plus years. Kim attended Central Michigan University where her emphasis was in Special education and took classes towards her CDA from Baker College of Jackson.

Kim has had extensive HighScope Preschool Curriculum training and is certified as a HighScope trainer. She has taught Preschool and Prekindergarten, and has experience as a director for three years.

Kim is a member of the Jackson Educators for Young Children (JEYC), National Education for the Education of young Children (NAEYC), and has a HighScope membership.
Kim has lived in Jackson all of her life, she is married to David. They have two sons, Jason (Jordan) and Brian (Shara). Antwon and Gracelynn are their two grandchildren. 

“ABC Academy … a great place for your child
to grow, learn and succeed!”

Contact Us or Call 517-784-9161 to learn more today!