Meet Our Staff

KVS Secretary
Teresa DeBoer has worked at Kelloggsville Public Schools for the past 16 years. She currently serves as both the main secretary at Southeast Kelloggsville Elementary and Kelloggsville Virtual School. She holds an Associate’s Degree from Northwestern College in Iowa with a major in Business with an emphasis in  Accounting.  Mrs. DeBoer has two teenage boys that keep her very busy with Football, Hockey and Track. She enjoys working with the staff and students of Kelloggsville Public Schools as every day is different and seeing the students smiles makes her day!

Director of KVS 
Beth serves as the Director of the Kelloggsville Virtual School. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University. Beth was a middle school teacher for 15 years and has held several leadership positions including; Assistant Principal of Kelloggsville Middle School, Principal at East Elementary and Kelloggsville Middle School before taking on the role of creating a virtual school option for the Kelloggsville community.  Beth leads the Virtual Sign Language Club and enjoys the challenge of creating a new learning opportunity for students. She enjoys spending time outdoors at the lake with her husband, children, and grandson.

Diana Berlanga is the Spanish teacher for Kelloggsville’s Virtual School. She is Mexican-American. She was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. Her parents are from Guanajuato, Mexico. She enjoys teaching and sharing her native language and culture with her students. Diana has a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Grand Valley State University. She has been teaching for seven years at Kelloggsville High School. Diana enjoys reading books, listening to music, and meditating.

Middle School Teacher
Heidi Doherty was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Grand Rapids City High, she attended the University of California Santa Barbara, where she earned her B.S. in Psychology. Moving back to Grand Rapids 10 years later, she attended graduate school, where she attained her teaching certificate from Grand Valley State University, with a background in Science.  Before transferring to Kelloggsville Virtual School in 2021, she taught grades 5 and 6 at Northview Public Schools for 3 years, and  from 2016 to 2021, taught grades 6, 7, and 8 at  Kelloggsville Middle School. Heidi enjoys spending time in nature, especially  hiking and kayaking. She is excited to find new ways to help her students be successful in a virtual environment while maintaining a cooperative classroom feeling.

Middle School Teacher
Amber Ramirez attended GRCC and Ferris State University to complete her Elementary Teaching Program. She has been teaching in Kelloggsville Public Schools with experience from young 5’s to eighth grade since 2016. Amber loves teaching virtually because students can expand their learning in ways that in-person learning simply can't allow time for. She is a Kelloggsville Public School graduate (2010) and married her high school sweetheart, Jamie.  They have two-year-old twins, Mason and Emilia that keep her very busy at home! In her free time, she enjoys exploring nature, the springtime, and doing arts and crafts.

Upper Elementary Teacher
Luke Ferrell is the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher here at KVS. He has been at Kelloggsville Public Schools since 2018 and taught at Southeast and East before joining KVS. He also taught early childhood with the Great Start Readiness Program as a lead teacher for 2 years. Luke studied at the University of Toledo and has a degree in Early Childhood Education. He is interested in technology and computers and enjoys exploring the potential of new technology when applied to education. He loves reading and enjoys in-depth comprehension discussions around a text with students. He is married with two young children at home and enjoys spending time with his family.

High School ELA Teacher
Briana Green is the Kelloggsville Virtual School's high school English teacher and a former Rocket. She graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2021 and returned to her former school district, this time as a teacher. Briana is an avid reader and writer. Her passions lead her to help students succeed with the written word. She leads young authors in the creative writing club.

Jen Boeve is the Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade teacher at KVS.  This is her first year teaching in Kelloggsville Public Schools and her 27th year teaching overall. Before beginning at KVS, she taught in a variety of school settings and grade levels. Jennifer graduated with a degree in Elementary Education, including a Math focus from the University of New Orleans. Professionally, she enjoys learning how to be a more effective teacher, technology tools for the classroom, and listening to positivity podcasts. In the classroom, she loves making connections within concepts, building relationships with her KVS families, and observing student growth that comes from acceptance and success. Jen is married with three children- two are adults and one is in high school. Outside of KVS, she loves spending time outdoors with her family, cooking for her family, watching football, and gardening.

6-12 Music Teacher
Amanda VanderMeulen co-teaches all of the middle school and high school in-person band classes, as well as teaching the middle school and high school music appreciation classes for KVS. She graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2000 with her Bachelor of Music Education degree. She began her teaching career in the fall of 2000 and taught at two other districts before finding her way to KPS where she has been teaching for the last 15 years. Amanda still enjoys performing and has been a member of the saxophone section in the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band for 16 years as well. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys traveling, puzzles, movies, games and spending time with her family and friends.

Special Education Teacher
Erin McKay comes from a family of 4 generations of West Michigan teachers, many of whom taught special education students. She attended Michigan State University, majoring in Zoology and minoring in Mathematics. Later, she graduated from Aquinas College certified in English and Special Education. Today, she has been a KPS teacher since 2015 covering a range of students from Young 5’s - High School, with a home base of 7th grade in-person learners at KMS. This is her second year of teaching online and she loves the independence it can give her students. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing trivia, and finding new solutions to problems

High School Social Studies/PE Teacher & Middle School PE Teacher
Dakota hails from Jackson Michigan and attended Grand Valley State University. He has taught virtually with Michigan Virtual since 2016 and been at Kelloggsville since 2016 as well. He taught 4 years in person and virtually since the 20-21’ school year. Dakota enjoys fitness, camping, music, dogs, and food.

High School Science/PE/Health Teacher
Erin Graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Animal Science and Zoology and worked as an Animal Technologist at a preclinical research laboratory for 5 years.  After spending time at home to raise her two children, Erin decided to pursue a career in education.  She has worked as a paraprofessional, reading interventionist, substitute teacher and veterinary technician before joining the team at Kelloggsville Virtual School to teach Science, PE, and Health.  Erin is passionate about all things science, fitness, sports, animals, the outdoors, and guiding students to achieve their highest potential. 

EL Teacher
Carrie Zylstra has been teaching in Kelloggsville since 2014, all in the Fourth Grade.  She joined KVS last fall, working with English Language Learners, from 1st grade to 12th grade.  Carrie grew up on a small farm in rural Minnesota, and graduated with a B.S from St. Cloud State University.  She knew she wanted to see more of the US, so she accepted her first teaching position in Southern California.  After a few years she got restless again and spent the next few years living in several different states, Delaware, Washington, Nevada and finally Michigan.  Carrie enjoys reading, gardening, and golfing. Carrie has 2 children, teenagers, and a wonderful puppy named Wally that she adores.