Here is our roster of the staff here at The Children's Place:
Ms. Jennifer Richards-Jenquin*
Ms. Jenquin is one of the co-founders of The Children’s Place where she has been teaching since 1998. She was a Montessori preschool student herself many years ago and earned her Bachelor of Arts at Bryn Mawr College. She has Montessori training through Montessori Centre International as well as the American Montessori Association. She began with the Primary (3-6) students in 1998. In 2003 she moved to the Elementary program where she was the lead teacher for 16 years. In 2019 she was delighted to have the opportunity to teach for a few years once more in the 3-6 program. With the September 2022 class “Ms. J” is back in the elementary classroom every morning and is generally at the 3-6 campus every afternoon. She is also the head of school. Ms. Jenquin has two children who were young students in the Toddler and Primary programs at The Children’s Place and went on to graduate from the Elementary program. They are still engaged learners and now that they are college graduates they continue to challenge themselves to grow and learn as a lifetime habit.
Ms. Katerria
Ms. Katerria has been teaching at The Children's Place since 2000. During her 20 years with the program she continually added to her knowledge by attending workshops, conferences and classes in Montessori and is a role model for the other teachers in classroom management and positive discipline for young children. Ms. Katerria is currently completing the extensive training it takes to become a Montessori teacher in her own right through the AMS affilliated program at The Center for Guided Montessori Study Ms. Katerria's daughter was a student at The Children's Place and now attends local public high school where she is an honor student. She occasionally stops in to read a story or two to her mom's students
Ms. Gina
Ms. Gina has been teaching Montessori for over 15 years. She has worked with children from infancy through, and including, 1st grade level. She has her BS in Education and her 3-6 Montessori Diploma is through the AMS program at the Montessori Western Teacher Training Program in Garden Grove. Ms. Gina’s passion is teaching; she especially enjoys watching the wonder in children’s eyes and the love in their hearts. Ms. Gina sees her family as “the gem of my life” and loves traveling with them internationally as well as gardening, meditation and cooking. Ms. Gina joins our 3-6 class with the September 2022 school year. She says, “I am thrilled to become a member of The Children´s Place team and teach the next generation of young minds. I believe in the Montessori Method. Each child embodies and unique and wonderful spirit. I see ‘whole brain learning’ as the children flourish into joyous autonomous learners!”
Ms. Lawana
Ms. Lawana has been teaching preschool and toddler aged children since 2000. She earned her Early Childhood Certificate in 2008 and graduated with her Associate of Science degree in Child Development in 2012. She joined our teaching team from 2016 through 2018, and returned to The Children's Place again 2019. She is our lead Associate Teacher in the 3-6 program.
Ms. Leon*
Ms. Leon is the assistant teacher in our elementary classroom. She has spent several years previously working with both elementary and high school aged children. This is her first Montessori program. Ms. Leon earned her bachelor's degree in psychology at California State University, Long Beach. She creates experiences and lessons for the students in Spanish, Art and P.E. in the afternoon hours during the school year. She is also our lead elementary program teacher during the summer months.
Ms. Angela
Ms. Angela joined The Children's Place community in early 2023. She earned her BA at California State University, Dominguez Hills where she also earned her California Child Development Teacher Permit. Ms. Angela may be a newer addition to our program but she has been teaching toddler and preschool age students for over 2 decades. She is patient and loving with her students and loves to share a laugh, a hug or a song.
Ms. Yvonne
Ms. Yvonne joined our team in the summer of 2023. She began teaching young children in 2020 and has her teaching certification through Los Angeles Harbor College. This is her first experience with a Montessori program. We especially appreciate her calm, centered approach. She enjoys connecting with children in those calm one to one moments.
Ms. Michelle
Ms. Michelle is our lead Toddler Montessori teacher. She has a gentle patience and a deep understanding of Montessori principles and practices. She has created a very special environment for our youngest community members in the Toddler space. She is also the mother of 3 wonderful children, two of whom have attended The Children's Place Montessori. Ms. Michelle earned her Montessori diploma through The Montessori Institute of San Diego and earned her Masters of Education in Montessori Education through Loyola University, Maryland. She has been a Montessori guide for over 15 years.
Ms. Joann
Ms. Joann, has been involved in the elementary/early childhood field for over 20 years. She studied Business Administration and Child Development and has worked at several area schools as a Religious Education teacher and Teacher’s Aide as well as spending 11 years as a Preschool Admissions Coordinator and Office Manager prior to working at The Children’s Place. Ms. Joann’s love of children is boundless, and her philosophy about every child is: “You are the most special person in the world!” Outside of work Ms. Joann is an avid reader (yes, of real books!), appreciates and listens to many genres of music and relishes taking long walk out in the sunshine. Most special to her is spending time with her family and friends. She counts the experience of helping to raise her triplet nieces through their first year as the most rewarding gift of her life. Although new to Montessori, Ms. Joann is enjoying the experience of seeing Montessori principles put into daily practice and looks forward to future training opportunities to learn more about Montessori
*A note about teacher names at school. We ask that teachers in the elementary school go by their last name since the students and teachers are often together for 5-6 years and by the time students graduate they are becoming young adults. The relationships can be very close. Using last names can help maintain just that bit of distance that keeps the lines from blurring between teacher/peer. In the Toddler and Primary we often use our first names.
Staff photos courtesy of Picture Perfect Photos
www.pictureperfectphotos.net
