OUR TEAM
“It takes a big heart to shape little minds.”
We have a staff of passionate, dedicated educators who ares committed to excellence and genuinely cares for each child. We thoughtfully hire our educators and consider the diverse experiences and personalities of each individual as we create teaching teams.
Mushky Glitsenstein
Executive Director
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mushky spent close to every weekend and summer since high school as a counselor in camps and running children’s programs. In 2018, Mushky and her husband, Moishie, moved to Michigan to open Chabad of Royal Oak with the intention of creating a warm and non-judgemental space to explore Judaism in the Royal Oak area. Since its inception and through Mushky’s vision, Chabad of Royal Oak has flourished. Through creative programming and events for young families, opportunities to support those in need in the greater community, and lasting meaningful relationships have been formed through Chabad of Royal Oak. Mushky created many creative programs and events for families with young children, which were attended by hundreds.
The many preschool requests coupled with Mushky’s strong desire to open a full-time early childhood education center bore “Lamplighters Preschool”. She envisioned a place that would instill in its children the knowledge of their inherent value. She envisioned a preschool that is more like a family, a giant hug. She wanted to create a community where parents support each other and celebrate.
Mushky’s favorite thing is seeing a child’s face light up when they are helping a friend. She is always expanding her knowledge of early childhood education and is constantly observing and making visits to the library to understand these amazing people we call children.
Jordana Fruchter
Consultant
Jordana Fruchter is based in New York City and currently serves as a consultant to Lamplighters Preschool, supporting us in developing our strategy, program development and team.
She received a BA with honors from The University of Michigan and a MS in Elementary Inclusive Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities from Teachers College at Columbia University. Following graduate school Jordana was a founding faculty member at Avenues: The World School, an independent school in New York City, and later went on to become the Director of a prominent preschool in Manhattan, where she has worked for seven years.
Jordana’s expertise include school leadership and culture, early childhood program development, and parent engagement. She believes in the fundamental role the brief yet enchanting early childhood years play in the lives of both children and their parents, and the importance of building a strong and meaningful connection between home and school. In her role as School Director, Jordana leads with a profound respect for each child, teacher and parent, and works with her staff to create a dynamic, intentional, and magical educational experience.
Lauren Bennett
Teacher
Lauren, a beloved Lamplighters teacher, graduated from Wayne State University with a BA in communication sciences and disorders. She originally planned to pursue a career in speech therapy, but found her passion in early childhood education after spending five years in various preschool settings.
She has been working with pre-K students since 2016 as a counselor and director at Huntington Woods Fruit Camp. In addition, she was a teacher for two years at the Huntington Woods Pre-K program.
Lauren brings her background in speech and language into the classroom by nurturing students’ communication development and providing frequent opportunities for speech and language growth. She strives to create a joyful classroom environment that encourages learning through curiosity.
In her spare time, Lauren loves to read, sing, and take photographs of nature.
Emily LeDuc
Teacher
Emily LeDuc is a passionate early childhood educator with many years of experience working with infants and young children. She is passionate about helping each child reach their potential and is also a huge believer in the power of play!
After receiving her masters degree in early childhood special education, she worked as a preschool teacher in a general education environment and as a
preschool special education teacher in both a special day class (SDC) and an inclusive
classroom setting. Through these positions, she learned how to create positive behavior support strategies for student
behaviors, design evidence-based curriculum, adapt instructional materials to meet
students’ needs, and track progress on students’ development and IEP goals. She also collaborated with students’ families, classroom staff, and related service providers (like speech therapists).
Outside of her professional and educational background, she loves spending time with her family; her husband and an 11-month old son named Gabriel, and two silly dogs. She loves traveling, reading, cooking and breaking a sweat at orange theory or Pilates.
Esti Shmotkin
Teacher
Esti grew up in a family and environment centered around education. She has spent all of her summers in various overnight and day camps across the country, as well working for individual families as a part-time nanny. She has also been a familiar face in Lamplighters over the years, subbing and leading children’s events.
She is passionate about the importance of the early years in a child’s life and the way that they shape them forever, making her presence in the classroom intentional and thought-out. Classroom community is an important one for her and something she works hard to create in whatever setting she’s in. Esti feels strongly about building connections with the kids and getting to know them on a deeper level as an individual. She enjoys learning and expanding her knowledge on early childhood and observing the way it plays out in the children.
Fun fact about Esti - she’s an identical twin! In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and hanging out in nature.
Fisher Shim
teacher
Fisher Shim has lived and taught in Detroit and the Metro Detroit Area since 2016. After graduating with an Associates in Arts in 2014 with goals for Elementary Education, Fisher spent a year serving in the mountains of Tegucigalpa, Honduras with at-risk youth, and came back enthusiastic to work in Early Childhood Education and provide opportunities for students to thrive and grow as early as possible. She worked as a lead Preschool Teacher in Canton, then stayed with Pathways of Promise Preschool in Detroit for nearly 6 years, where she taught ages 3-5 in a low-income community and earned her Child Development Associates in 2020.
Fisher was homeschooled all through high-school and brings many of the ideas and themes she was taught into her own philosophy as a teacher. The ideas that students should be in and learn from nature, to follow the interests of the child and to create and explore art as much as possible, to be connected with families and community, were all just how her mother taught. Fisher saw the positive difference between her education and the traditional school system, and was inspired to bring those themes into the classroom in order to create an environment where students could really blossom and flourish.
Outside of the classroom, Fisher enjoys tending to her houseplants, creating traditional and digital art, and building her skills as a home cook. She is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, training regularly and is an instructor for the children’s self defense and BJJ at Mash Gym in Redford. She lives in Detroit with her husband and cat. Together they take walks in the neighborhood and enjoy trying new restaurants and eating good food.
Rochel Shmotkin
teacher
Rochel was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Every Saturday in middle school and high school she spent running a children’s group. She would prepare activities and curriculum, and her main goal; to give the children the most fun and educational experience.
After moving to Michigan, Rochel began volunteering her time at the Friendship Circle. Much of her school vacations and summers were spent nannying for her relatives in California and Virgin Islands. She also worked one summer, as a personal shadow for a young girl with special needs. Her love for children brought her to spend a year in the Virgin Islands, running a mixed aged preschool program.
Rochel has a magic touch that makes children who come in contact with her feel relaxed and safe. The parents of the children in Rochel’s care try to find every opportunity for their children to be able to spend more time with her. She is passionate about connecting children to nature and enjoys simply observing their innate curiosity and readiness to learn and grow.
Kristina Kalanzi
cook
Kristina, or Titi, as she is fondly referred to by the children, is a proud mother of five and loving grandmother. Originating from Uganda, she made her way to the states about 25 years ago, where she worked as a beloved nanny for 15 years, until she took a break to devote a few years to helping her daughter and spending time with her grandkids.
In 2021, we were lucky enough to have Titi join our Lamplighters team, where she shares her delicious cooking with us. All of her lunches are cooked to perfection, packed with nutritious ingredients, filled with flavor and infused with her signature warmth and attention to detail. She puts her whole heart and soul into each dish and you can taste her love for the children with every bite.
Kristina is especially famous for her fluffy basmati rice that no one can quite replicate. Some of our Lamplighters’ favorites include, falafel, tuna patties and chicken soup.