Our School Family
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Meet The Administration
Learn a little more about us!
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Meet Shannon Mercer
Co-Owner & Dedicated Educator
Shannon Mercer brings a lifelong passion for early childhood education to The Little School at Kids Cottage—a journey that beautifully came full circle when she took ownership of the school in 2009 after attending it herself as a child. Deeply committed to fostering a nurturing environment, Shannon has extensive training in Conscious Discipline, a trauma-informed, brain-based approach that empowers children with essential social-emotional skills. Whether she is guiding staff, collaborating with parents, or engaging with our classrooms, Shannon supports our school family in many ways, ensuring every child feels safe, valued, and ready to learn.
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Meet Lisa Ratliff
Co-Owner & Community Advocate
Lisa Ratliff’s dedication to early childhood education extends far beyond the classrooms of The Little School at Kids Cottage—the very school she attended as a preschooler and proudly co-purchased in 2009. Driven by a deep passion for community service, Lisa is a prominent advocate for early childhood infrastructure throughout Delaware. She actively collaborates with state legislators and coordinates advocacy initiatives to increase childcare accessibility for local families, combat regional shortages, and uplift early educators. With a rich background in local civic leadership, Lisa channels her service-oriented heart into strengthening our community and ensuring every family has a supportive village behind them.
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Meet Alexis Stotler
Preschool Director
Alexis Stotler brings a deeply personal dedication to her role as Preschool Director at The Little School at Kids Cottage—a community she has loved for a lifetime. As a proud second-generation alumnus of the school, Alexis walked these very halls as a child, following in her family's footsteps. Since stepping into her leadership role in 2019, she has combined her intimate knowledge of the school’s rich history with a modern passion for youth development. Alexis works hand-in-hand with our educators, children, and families every day, ensuring that the same warm, nurturing legacy that shaped her own childhood continues to inspire the next generation of learners.
Our Traditions
Traditions create magical moments that nurture joy, connection, and lifelong friendships for our students at the little school at Kids Cottage.
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The Bell: Began at the original little school and was brought over when the new building was established. Ringing the bell before and after school has been a tradition for decades and many more to come!
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Field Trips & Visitors: Field trips and visitors are a large part of the little school experience. Different classrooms will experience different trips depending on the age of the children. There are some trips that the children will experience every year; however, the age of the child and classmates will change that experience so that it is a new one each time. The other benefit of doing the same trip again is that the children who are experiencing it for the second time gain self-confidence and pride when they can correctly answer the questions being asked by the presenter/teacher. Some trips on rotation include: fall fest at Fifers Orchards, Dover Air Force Base, the little farm and Brecknock Park.
Click below to view some of our Field Trip and Visitor fun:
Dover High School Drumline - Reptile World - The Pretty Crazies Concert - Hatching our Spring Chicks - Red White and Blue Day - Bowers Beach
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The Halloween Parade: Each Halloween we have a designated day that we allow the students to dress up in non-scary costumes. The students line up by classrooms and parade outside and around the building. Our families are invited to come and celebrate our students and take pictures!
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Thanksgiving Feast: The week of Thanksgiving all classes will gather on the indoor playground and the school provides a family style meal for the school to enjoy together!
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The Holiday Program: Our older Preschool and Pre-K classrooms go to a predetermined location to perform a Holiday program for their families. The families will meet us there to enjoy songs and fingerplays they have practiced with their class! All families will take their children home with them when they are finished with their Act.
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Holidays/Celebrations: We celebrate all major holidays throughout the year! Halloween, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Chinese New Year, MLK Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Juneteenth among others. We will have parties with sign-ups for parents to bring snacks and/or supplies. Teachers may choose the level of parent participation for their class.
Click some of the celebrations below to see what we have been up to!
Super Bowl - Butterflies in Spring - Clothes Study Parade - MLK Day - Pow Wow - Alumni Event
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Art Show: One of our most popular events of the year! Each classroom teacher chooses a theme and collects art work from our students throughout the year to be put on display in the springtime for our Art Show. Families of our current and past students, as well as people from the community may come and walk through our classrooms to enjoy the hard work and amazing progress our students display throughout a year!
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Moving Up Day: This is our Pre-K moving on celebration as our oldest group of students “moves up”! All of our Pre-K classes practice a collection of songs with Ms. Jackie that they perform for their parents and teachers. On our moving up day, the Pre-K students will promenade through our school as all of our other classes cheer them on to their new adventure!
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End-of-Year Picnics: Each teacher will schedule an end of the year picnic to enjoy with their students and their families to celebrate their hard work and reflect on memories made throughout the year!
