 Infant Room Teacher - Shirley Figaro
Shirley Figaro is the type of person everyone dreams of taking care of their new born. Her eye for detail and desire to meet the needs of others is unbelievable. Shirley will greet you with a smile every morning and be ready to meet the needs of your infant. Shirley is originally from Trinidad where she raised her family. After visiting her daughter here in Atlanta in 1997 she feel in love and decided to stay. She started working in a preschool setting in 1998 where she quickly formed the belief that children especially infants need to be in a loving and caring environment. She also believes that every child’s needs should be adequately met if they are to reach their developmental goals. Shirley continually attends training relating to the development of infants and toddlers. Shirley is married and has two daughters. She enjoys reading, cooking and traveling in her spare time. |
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 Infant Room Teacher - B.J. Dickerson
Brenda Dickerson or B.J. as she in known at Kids R Kids has been working in preschool for over twenty five years. Her love for infants is amazing to see. B.J. enjoys being part of a child’s life for the time they spend with her. She loves watching them develop and grow. B.J. spends time with the infant’s everyday reading with them and exposing them to many different forms of language. B.J. also works with her co-teachers and parents to make sure that the needs of each individual infant is being meet, social, emotional, and physically. We love having B.J. as part of our infant room staff and could not imagine the room running as smoothly if she were not with us. While not at work B.J. enjoys traveling, curling up with a good book, and shopping. |
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 Infant Room Teacher - Angel Alvarenga
Angel Alvarenga has worked in a preschool setting since 2004 where a majority of her time has been spent working and caring for infants. Angel has dreams of someday returning to Kennesaw University to complete her degree in Early Childhood Education and majoring in Sign Language. Angel loves being able the see the children grow. Everyday bring a new discovery in the infant room and that is what continues to spark Angel’s joy of teaching. Angel believes that every child is a unique individual and should be taught in such a manner. Angel is looking forward to implementing our new infant curriculum “Baby Sign” in the fall of 2006.
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 Infant Room Teacher - Zeba Sayedzada
Zeba Sayedzada has been employed at Kids R Kids since 2003. Zeba started in our infant 1 program and with in a year promoted up to our infant two classroom. In this room she began to implement a structured program allowing the children to explore centers and creative arts. Zeba likes to make the activities that are presented to the children fun and developmentally challenging. Zeba loves to help the children achieve new goals and learn something new everyday. When not at work Zeba enjoys spending time with her husband and her two girls, shopping, and working out.
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 Infant Room Teacher - Mercedes Sanchez
Mercedes Sanchez currently has been teaching in a preschool setting since 1989. In this time Mercedes has worked with infants and toddlers helping them to explore the world around them. Mercedes joined our team in 1999 where she helped with the smooth transition of our infant room suite. When Mercedes interacts with the children in her care she communicates with them in English and Spanish. The parents love this for it is proven that they earlier you introduce a foreign language to a child the more they will retain later in life. Mercedes also encourages friendships and love in her classroom by bringing children together for music and movement and story time. In her spare time Mercedes enjoys playing volleyball, cooking, and reading. |
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 Toddler 2 Lead Teacher - Roxie Jordan
Roxie Jordan has been teaching children since 1985. During this time she has earned a degree in Early Childhood Development and continues to attend trainings that relates to her field. Roxie joined our staff in 2002 where she became a strong leader in our toddler program. Roxie has implemented ongoing parent teacher conferences, daily circle time with her toddler class that allows the children to express themselves through music and movement. Roxie has three strong philosophies on how children learn and develop. First is to positively promote education to every child. Second being able to spark the enthusiasm to learn within each child is a wonderful gift and should be treasured. Third the ability to provide the foundation for insight as children becomes lifelong learners. Roxie believes if these three philosophies are incorporated into a daily routine children will be able to grow filling their mind with wonderful knowledge. Roxie’s desire to teach is wonderful but outside of work her time is spent cooking wonderful meals and treats for her family and playing all types of card games. |
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 Toddler 2 Teacher - Beverly Smith
Beverly Smith has been working with children since 1981. Beverly has had the privilege to work with several age groups ranging from infants to three year olds. Before joining the staff here at Kids R Kids Beverly enjoyed working at an in-home daycare and a church pre-school program. Both these programs were rewarding and taught her a lot about how children learn and develop. Beverly realized the most important skill you can offer to any age child that will help them to flourish is love. When a child feels they are loved and appreciated they will be willing to try new things for they feel safe and secure in their surroundings. While in the classroom Beverly enjoys reading with the children helping to build their vocabulary, singing and dancing, and just playing with them. Beverly is very active outside of work where she enjoys volunteering at her church, spending time with her children and grandchildren, and relaxing while doing puzzles and crosswords.
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 2 Year Old Teacher - Melan Blaize
Melan Blaize attended Hunter College where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Early Childhood Education. We are very fortunate to have Melan as part of our team here at Kids R Kids for she brings consistency and compassion to our two year old program. After graduating, Melan taught pre-kindergarten in Pennsylvania where she gained the knowledge that children develop cognitively, socially and emotionally. Melan believes if she plans activities that meet these three areas of development a loving, nurturing environment, then the children will learn through play, and interacting with their peers. Melan is rewarded by the presence of happy faces and children eager to learn and blossom into independent individuals. When Melan is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her loving husband and children, decorating her home, and traveling to new places. |
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 3 Year Old Teacher - Wannta Dawson
Rupwanti Dawson or Wannta as the children affect ional call her has been a certified preschool teacher since 1994. Wannta started her career in Virginia at Children’s World Learning Center. While there she taught several age groups but fell in love with the three year olds. In 2001 Wannta moved to Atlanta where she continued to teach in a three year old classroom. In 2006 Wannta was able to bring the experience and knowledge of three year olds to Kids R Kids. Wannta believes there are four key points that help a three year old grow and thrive. One always greet children with a smile and they will in turn smile back. Two: make learning active and fun for three year olds have more energy then anyone else on the planet. Three: three year olds can never receive to much praise for they are born explores and need to understand there are no limits to their imaginations. Four: invite the parents to be actively involved in a three year old education for this the beginning to a life of learning. Wannta is a strong foundation to our three year old program and we look forward to all that the wonderful ideas that she is able to bring to our program. When not at work Wannta loves to hang out with friends and attend poetry nights.
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 3 1/2 Year Old Teacher - Sandra Bengah
Sandra Bengah has been a certified preschool teacher since 1999. Sandra has worked in several age groups but spending a majority of her time with three year olds. Sandra daily responsibilities in our three year old classroom consists of effectively running the High Reach Curriculum, evaluating the children’s developmental levels, daily communications with parents, holding annual parent-teacher conferences, and interacting with the children in a fun and energetic way. The children in Sandra’s classroom enjoy exploring life in new and interesting ways daily. At the start of each day Sandra brings the children together on the circle rug to sing, dance, introduce the daily theme, and to just talk about what ever is on their minds. Sandra is able to take what she heard in circle and meet the children’s individual needs through out the day. Sandra also loves to joke around with the children and challenge them to think outside of the box. When not busy at work Sandra spends a lot of her time playing with her three children. Sandra also enjoys playing solitaire and shopping. |
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 4 Year Old Teacher - Debbie Smith
Debbie Smith has been a certified preschool teacher since 1985. Debbie enjoys working in with three and four year olds even though she has worked with children from birth to twelve years of age. Being a strong preschool teacher some of Debbie’s duties include effectively implementing the High Reach Curriculum, holding regular parent-teacher conferences, assessing the needs of the children's development, and playing with the children in her class. Debbie’s philosophy on how to handle all of these tasks is with patience and understanding that everyone is unique. By taking the time to evaluate how a child learns and grows allows for Debbie to schedule a well balanced mix of activities. Debbie says the look in the children’s eyes when the realize they have accomplished something new is a rush of excitement by all. When not at work Debbie enjoys drawing and reading. |
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