Ms. Rachel is a traveler! She was born in San Francisco- but has lived in Germany, Alaska, Arizona and North Carolina (Father was in the Army). She moved to the Bay Area after graduating with a Bachelors in Sociology from University of the Pacific in Stockton. Once she arrived in the Bay, still unsure of her future-she started working as. a substitute for a Preschool, and immediately found her passion. She actively pursued early childhood education units to further her skill set in this new field, and quickly moved from a Substitute to Aide, Teacher, Assistant Director, Director and currently is a Regional Director for L’Academy Preschool, with her primary center at Kensington Campus. Rachel has a very deep passion for creating a home away from home for the children and building a strong partnership with the entire family. She believes that each child- given the right tools, can succeed and WILL succeed- she encourages children to find their passion, to be kind and to be little leaders!

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, curled up watching a good movie, going to farmer’s market or community events, or reading a good book- she is an avid Stephen King fan! She also likes to dabble in arts and crafts!

Ms. Tatiana was born in El Salvador. Her very first job after arriving in the US was working at a family childcare 12 years ago.  She has been working with children ranging from 6 weeks to 4 years ever since.  Ms. Tatiana completed her child development studies at City College of San Francisco. Ms. Tatiana seizes every opportunities to teach children to help each other and be kind and respectful, through playing and exploring.

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Elizabeth was born in San Francisco CA. She is a mom to a handsome and very active son named Nathan. Before beginning her journey in early childhood education she knew that once she was of age to start working it would be with children. Working with kids was one of her first jobs she had after graduating from high school, she worked for the City of San Pablo in their recreation Department with children of all ages. She then continued her journey in ECE by working at a center with children who had developmental disabilities. Working in that realm with children taught her so much and further motivated her to continue in this field to support and scaffold each child’s learning. Elizabeth feels happiest when engaged in play/conversations/ activities with children, “they are so kind and joyful!- just one small smile and they help to make your day complete!”.

In her time off, she is usually with her son at the park, playing soccer or going for a walk around the neighborhood. When not with her son, she loves to browse around Target, look for freebies on social media platforms and work on lego projects!

Yasmina was born and raised in Algeria. She moved to the United States as an adult with her husband. They have a young daughter, Leana, who also attends L’Academy. Yasmina has been working with young children since 2012, mostly while living in Algeria. She has a strong passion for working with all ages, but has really found her niche in working with infant age groups (under 2). She feels grateful to have the opportunity to help support each child’s growth and development while also being able to watch each child become more confident in their own abilities each day. Yasmina is also a polyglot- she is able to speak several different languages- specifically: English, French, Berber, Arabic, and is learning Spanish. She has been working with us at L’Academy since 2023.

In her spare time she enjoys shopping, spending time with her family, traveling and eating at new restaurants.

Ms Ava Luo was born and raised in Guang Zhou, China. She studied accounting and became a trained accountant in China. After immigrating to the United States and raising her two children, she decided to utilize her experience and passion for early childhood education and began working at a Montessori preschool from 2016-2018, followed by an international school from 2018-2022. Ms. Ava has studied and acquired her ECE units to work within this field and is also First Aid and CPR certified.

In Ms. Ava’s free time, she enjoys playing the GuZheng, cooking and volunteering at her local temple!

Teacher Skye is a Bay Area native. Being the oldest of four children helped shape her into a natural caregiver. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Child Development from California State University, Chico. During her time in college, she began working in schools right away beginning as a student teacher. Skye has been working in education for the last 7 years. She has worked with a wide range of age groups from the preschool level all the way up to 6th grade. Over the last several years Skye has found a passion for working in early childhood education, helping young children gain knowledge and independence. She strives to make the school environment a safe place to learn and grow. Outside of teaching, Skye has also coached a few softball teams. She grew up playing softball for 12 years and always loves to give back to the sport that gave her so much.

In her spare time, she spends time with her family and her three cats.

Ms. Lizeth is a wife and a Mother to three beautiful daughters. She has a passion for working with young children and truly thrives from scaffolding their learning and watching them grow! She feels so fulfilled being able to actively participate in being a positive influence in the lives of each of the children in her care. Some of her favorite activities to do with young children include: reading books/ storytelling, exploring music and creating art! Lizeth found her passion for professionally working with young children in 2021 and is working on achieving her early childhood education units, while utilizing her own personal experience in working with children that she has attained as a Mother.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family-one of their favorite places to go as a family is Six Flags! She also enjoys dancing, fishing and going to the gym.

Ms. Cynthia is excited to work on our education team and brings to us a wealth of knowledge around working with young children! She is a fun and flexible early childhood educator, and loves that the kiddos keep her on her feet., keep her active and keep her youthful. She likes knowing that each day provides ample opportunity to make a positive impact on each child’s life. She also loves being able to teach the children Spanish through singing and playing! Ms. Cynthia has been working with young children for over 10 years.

In her free time, Ms.Cynthia enjoys cooking while listening to Christian music and going on walks or hikes with her husband, daughter and her two dogs. She also loves to go shopping!

Ms. Emi was born in Celaya, Mexico. She started working with children in 2017 as a nanny for a 1 year old girl. She quickly realized how passionate she was about being able to work with young children, while also being able to support the family unit. After experiencing the joy of working with young children, she continued her nanny role working with other families of children ages 9months-8 years. Ms. Emi has been working with L’Academy in nearly every classroom since 2022.

Ms. Emi truly loves being able to work with children everyday and especially loves doing art or cooking projects with them! She likes to see the children happy and engaged in play- because that is how they learn! She feels proud to be able to work in a language immersion preschool and to help teach children her own native language: Español!

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her four daughters and cats.

Ms. Karla was born in El Salvador, and her first language was Spanish. She arrived in the United States in 2014. While living in El Salvador, she dreamed of one day becoming a teacher and being able to teach little children. In 2020, she began taking care of children professionally, working in a home based daycare and then for a school that sent her to support different Montessori, HeadStart and Mandarin immersion preschools as needed. While working at the home based daycare and the other other schools, she was able to learn so much about early childhood from the educators and the children! She is passionate about continuing in this field and continuing to learn from others while honing her skills as a professional early childhood educator.

In her spare time she enjoys spending it with her beautiful 5 year old daughter, drawing and reading books!