Meet Our Team
Preschool & Daycare Center Serving Montana City, Clancy, Helena, East Helena And Boulder, MT
Rachel Supalla M. Ed
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Rachel has her Master’s degree in Early Childhood administration. She went to college in Springfield, Mo and San Diego California for a degree in Early Childhood education. Rachel became Montessori certified in 2010 and has since developed a unique, progressive educational system that combines the best of all Early Childhood methods.
She has written articles for several magazines and online publications discussing Early Childhood and Montessori methods. Her unique Early Childhood methods have been featured on many popular Early Childhood websites and are well known throughout the country. Through careful observations and assessments, the staff at Discovery Kidzone has seen great success with this method of education. Rachel is continuing her education to eventually obtain her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Administration and Curriculum Development.
When she is not working in the education field, she is at home with her husband and high school sweetheart, Eric. She has been happily married for 20 years and is the proud mother of 4 children named Abigail, Allison, Zackary and Trenton. She has recently begun writing and blogging.
Developing and sharing new teaching methods is her passion! Rachel enjoys being in the outdoors, water skiing, 4 wheeling, horseback riding, traveling with her family, gourmet cooking, baking, decorating and anything creative.
Melissa Velin
Regional Director
Mrs. Melissa Velin has been part of the DKZ family for 5 years and has been in the Early Childhood field for over 13 years. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and has worn many hats within DKZ, but is now the Director of Education and the lead Otters teacher. She is passionate about the families she meets and the children she teaches.
Jennifer Gaudioso
VP of Operations
Jen is one of our newest additions to our DKZ Family and Executive Team. Jen previously owned her own in-home childcare for 18 years before venturing into our multi-location childcare industry in 2018. She comes to us with an abundance of knowledge and passion to ensure we are operating at the highest level for our children, families and staff
Chelsea Rauser
DKZ 4 Director
Chelsea Rauser has passionately served in the Early Childhood Education field since 2006 and has an Associates Degree with an emphasis in Infant/Toddler Development. She lives on a family ranch with her husband and their three kids. Chelsea and her family love to spend as much time together as possible and especially love to explore the great state of Montana.
Chelsea loves working with children and watching their minds create, dream, and work together to make magic happen. Chelsea leads with love and is excited to be back at Discovery Kidzone since stepping away from teaching as the otter class lead in 2016 at the original Discovery Kidzone 1 School.
Sarah Roddewig
DKZ 5 Director
Sarah has been with Discovery Kidzone since 2014. She started as a school age teacher and has since been a cook, floater, assistant teacher, and lead teacher. She is now the Assistant Director at DKZ 2. Sarah has her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood and her daughter, who was born in June 2018, attends DKZ 1.
Claire Lombardo
DKZ 1 Director
Since I was a toddler I have loved infants. I started babysitting at age 10 with supervision from my mom. In 2010 I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development from CSUDH. I accumulated a decade of experience teaching Parent/Child, Preschool, and Grade School development classes at The Little Gym of Torrance and Lakewood, CA.
On October 3, 2020, my husband and I got married. We promptly packed up and moved to Helena the following week. We love to snowboard, hike, and take road trips. We have two cats, one dog, and ten fish.
Prior to being the Regional Director of The Little Gym, I was a Program Director, lifeguard, and swim/dive/water polo instructor for The City of Vacaville, CA. During my college career, I have been a preschool teacher and interned in several child care programs. I have been working with infants at Discovery Kid Zone in Montana City for the last year. I am extremely excited to bring my experience to the Clancy location and have the opportunity to help your little ones grow.
Shelsey Shute
DKZ 3 Director
I was born and raised in the Gallatin Valley just outside of Bozeman, where my love for young children started at an early age through babysitting my many younger cousins and through being a junior lifeguard in the summers. With this love of working with children, I started working at a childcare center in Bozeman in the fall of 2013, I was with the center in various positions until I moved to Helena in the fall of 2018 with my now husband.
Once in Helena, I worked at Shodair Children’s Hospital until the summer of 2021, when I started at Discovery Kidzone as the Lead Sparrow Teacher. I have enjoyed every position I have held since becoming a part of the DKZ family and look forward to many more years to come!
I have a 2-year-old son and just welcomed my daughter in December of 2022.
I have my CDA as well as an associate’s degree through the University of Montana Western and am currently working towards getting my Bachelor’s degree in Early childhood education.
Stacey Graham
Lead Infant Teacher and Director of Administration (DKZ 1)
Mrs. Stacey Graham is one of the Directors and a teacher at Discovery Kidzone. In her many years working for Discovery Kidzone, Stacey received two scholarships to achieve her Montessori Teaching Diploma and CDA certification. Stacey studied ECE in California and is continuing her education here in Montana.
She moved to Montana from California with her husband six years ago, fell in love with this scenic place and has been working for Discovery Kidzone since 2013. Stacey has always been inspired to work with children ever since she could remember. She started out as a substitute teacher, then an assistant who became a lead teacher, and is a Director today. Stacey holds a special place in her heart to welcome every family to this enchanting family-oriented Montessori program.
Eric Supalla
Chief Operations Officer and Jack of All Trades
Eric started his career in Early Childhood as a toddler teacher after many years of experience working for a government contractor and leading teams of mostly men. He is now Mr. Everything. Eric has taught every age group and was the school age Director. He is our maintenance man and does billing for all four schools.
He is also our resident outdoor and survival specialist and handyman. Eric is married to Mrs. Rachel and together they have 4 children. Eric coaches football and baseball in Jefferson County and enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and anything outdoors.
Aurora Sebestyen
Lead Pre-K Teacher Montessori Specialist (DKZ 2)
Aurora has been with Discovery Kidzone since 2015. She has many years of experience in the Early Childhood field and has worked at Large Child Development centers on military bases in California. Aurora is Montessori certified and is our resident Montessori specialist.
Aurora takes pride in her environment and trains other teachers in the Montessori methods. She is married and has one son and two grandsons.
Megan Towers
Support director at DKZ 4
Megan has been in the Early Childhood field for over 14 years. From owning her own in-home daycare to working in centers as a bus driver, teacher, program specialist, and on management teams. She currently has her CDA and is working on her bachelor’s degree. She is very passionate about teaching and the families in her care. She’s excited to help families and teachers alike in their learning journey.
Nicole Kunnary
director of community events & Support Director at DKZ 3
Nicole is one of our lead infant teachers and is a native Montanan. Nicole has been working in Early Childhood for 13 years and started out by helping her mom with her home daycare while she was in high school. She has worked in preschool centers since 2011 and joined the DKZ family in 2017. Nicole has taken both infant/toddler and preschool module classes, and is planning on going back to school this fall to earn a degree in Early Childhood Education.
Jessalyn Burnett
director of family involvement and support director at DKZ 2
How Old Is Your Child?
Infants
6 Wks - 12 Months
Toddlers
2 - 3 Years
Preschool
3 - 4 Years
Advanced Pre-K
4 - 5 Years
Before & After School
6 - 12 Years
