About Our Staff
Meet Our Staff
We carefully select teachers for their warm and caring nature, credentials and experience. Together, we bring a full range of educational and cultural backgrounds, providing bilingual Spanish-speaking teachers to every classroom; we also have teachers who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Many staff are committed to life-long learning and continue to pursue advanced credentials and degrees during their employment with us. All staff are re-certified biannually for CPR and go through background checks: fingerprints, coursework, credentials & references.
Alma Ortega
Director
Alma has been with us since 2000. She previously taught the PreK class for many years, and she was the assistant director for several years before her promotion to director in 2015.
During her tenure as a teacher, she held a Site Supervisor credential, with which she was mentored and supervised aspiring students from Canada College's Early Childhood program. Alma also serves as a Professional Growth Advisor to teachers who are applying or renewing their Teacher Permits. Some of her recent achievements include: designing and implementing a unique Parent Partnership Agreement to increase teacher-parent communications, bolstering the PreK curriculum to reflect Common Core school-readiness objectives, and Spanish Immersion Circle Time.
Alma holds an MS in Teaching and Dual Language Learning, a BA in Early Childhood Education, and a Director's Permit from the State of California.
Kathy
Administrative Manager & Accountant
Kathy takes care of business matters in the administrative office along with Alma. She manages business operations running the Center, such as resource planning, family billing, human resources, website, and marketing. Kathy has served in various management, administrative, and board membership roles throughout her corporate and non-profit careers, and she has been with us since 2003.
Kathy is a CPA, has a BS in Business Administration, and 20 units Early Childhood Development.
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Carol
Pre-K Teacher - Eagles
Teacher Carol brings a rich teaching experience, having been a kindergarten teacher for the Redwood City School District. She enjoys multi-sensory modes of teaching, as with cooking projects, introducing the children to new foods, etc. She also takes pride in introducing children to life science through hands-on experiences, such as growing seeds and growing and harvesting vegetables and flowers in the garden.
Carol holds a BA degree in Liberal Studies and is working toward her Site Supervisor Credential from the State of California.
Becky
Pre-K Teacher - Eagles & Assistant Director
Teacher Becky co-teaches the Eagles Class with Carol. Her philosophy is to educate the whole child in fun, interactive, and multi-faceted methods in order to set the stage for life-long learning. Her experience is mostly in special education, and she is fluent in American Sign Language. In her personal life, she enjoys reading, as well as participating in and going to theater shows.
Becky has a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies, as well as a BA with a major in Child Development and a minor in Counseling. She has been with us since 2016. Teacher Becky will be transitioning to her new role as Enrollment Coordinator/Assistant Director.
Valerie
Preschool Teacher - Woodpeckers
Teacher Valerie co-teaches the young four-year-olds in the Woodpeckers class with Varsha. Valerie has a wealth of experience having been in the field for about two decades.
She has a Masters Degree in Education. She enjoys teaching and working with children. She has been with us since 2017.
Varsha
Preschool Teacher - Woodpeckers
Teacher Varsha co- teaches Woodpeckers with Valerie. Her personal philosophy is that each child is an individual who should be respected for unique ideas and beliefs. In the classroom she utilizes the power of spontaneity, and children's willingness to learn, and the spirit of having fun. Varsha has over a decade of experience working with children of all ages, infants to teenagers. She has had the privilege of running her own home-based daycare for more than a decade.
Varsha holds a Bachelors in Education, majoring in Child Development and Geography with a minor in Language Arts. She holds a Certificate in Early Childhood Edu. Administration. She has been with us since winter 2018.
Nancy C
Preschool Teacher - Redbirds
Teacher Nancy co-teaches the young three-year-olds in the Redbirds class with Nina, along with co-teaching Spanish Immersion Circle Time for this classroom. She has terrific results in creating a positive experience for the "reluctant" potty trainers. She and Nina plan and provide a very rich curriculum that meets the children individual needs and interest.
Nancy has completed 24 units of Early Childhood Education from Canada. Nancy holds a Teaching Certificate from Mexico City. Teacher Nancy has been with SCC since 2013.
Nina
Preschool Teacher - Redbirds
Teacher Nina co-teaches the Redbirds class with Nancy. Children inspire her every day and she finds it very rewarding to know that she is helping them learn new things daily. Having previously worked with young children for over 20 years at other child care centers, she especially enjoys working with children ages 3-4 years old.
Nina has completed 12 units of Early Childhood Education and has been with SCC since the spring of 2023.
Nelly
Preschool Teacher - Owls
Teacher Nelly teaches the two-year-olds in the Owls classroom with Ruth. Utilizing her international perspective from Lima, Peru, she loves to teach children about the world around us, and about people in different countries.
Her commitment to quality early education shines through in all the little things she does. She co-created the philosophy for our "Spanish Immersion Circle Time" program in 2013, and she also co-developed our pilot "Early PreK" Woodpeckers program in 2014. She has also mentored and supervised aspiring students from a nearby college for their classroom experience.
She holds a BA in Education, and a Site Supervisor Credential from the State of California. She has been with us since 2004.
Ruth
Preschool Teacher - Owls
Teacher Ruth teaches in the Owls class. Some core values she emphasizes with her students are respect for yourself and others and a love for learning. She teaches these through fun structured activities, and also by role modeling. She loves to sing, dance and make learning fun! She has worked with young children from different backgrounds, special needs and English language learners. Ruth has worked in early childhood education for approximately 5 years.
Ruth holds a BA in Sociology with a minor in Child Development. She has been working with us since August 2021.
Kimberly
Toddler Teacher - Hummingbirds
Teacher Kim co-teaches the Hummingbirds class with Gabby. Kim has a passion for encouraging personal growth and community engagement within dynamically diverse settings, and strives to positively influence the lives of others, both personally, and as a community. She eagerly utilizes her skills and knowledge in the classroom to encourage young children to grow and meet their potential. She has ten years of previous experience working with young children and adolescents in various settings including summer school, after school, and nanny positions. She was previously a toddler teacher here, from 2018 -2020, and returned to us in Spring 2022.
Kimberly has a B.A in Psychology with a minor in Sociology, and additional coursework in Early Childhood Education and Counseling.
Gabriella
Toddler Teacher - Hummingbirds
Teacher Gabby co-teaches the Hummingbirds class with Kim. She enjoys planning fun art activities, games, singing and dancing with the children. She helps the toddlers learn self-help skill. Gabby has sixteen years of previous experience, and has a certificate in Early Childhood Education.
Gabby is currently working towards her AA degree in Early Childhood Education, and has over 30 ECE units. Gabby has been with us since 2019.
Helen
Infants - Butterflies
Teacher Helen She teaches the Butterflies (newly walking -18 months). Her focus is to provide the children a variety of experiences and opportunities to allow them to develop curiosity, initiative, problem-solving skills, as well as to help them develop a sense of self and belonging. Helen speaks English, Cantonese & Mandarin. Helen includes some Chinese cultural activities in the curriculum.
Helen has an AA degree from San Francisco City College, Certificate in Infant/Toddler Care from City College and a Site Supervisor Permit from the State of California. She has been with us since 2013.
Fabiana
Infants - Butterflies
Teacher Fabiana is one of our newer teachers, bringing to SCC a wealth of knowledge in early childhood education. She loves teaching the Butterflies (18-22 months) at SCC using LearningGames™ and Baby Signs™, Spanish and Latin culture in the daily activities. Fabiana works and plays with the children using age appropriate toys and books, with much love.
She recently graduated from Sonoma State University with a BA in Psychology and is continuing her education toward a Master’s Degree in Child Psychology and 18 ECE units. Fabiana is also bilingual (English/Spanish). Fabiana has been with us since January 2021.
Chi
Infant Teacher - Ladybugs
Teacher Chi is the primary caregiver for the Ladybugs (10-14 months). Chi enjoys a deep connection with young children from diverse backgrounds and cultures, on multiple levels. This enables her to put into practice her key teaching principles following the child’s instinctive desire for learning, learning through play and growing with mutual respect. In her personal time, Chi loves cooking (mostly Vietnamese food) and traveling to foreign countries.
Chi is pursuing her Teacher Permit in Early Childhood Education from Canada College. She has completed 12 ECE units. Chi joined us in December 2021.
Nancy Le
Infant Teacher - Ladybugs
Teacher Nancy Le is the primary caregiver and teacher for our youngest infants (5 months to crawling). Her focus is to provide the children a warm and personal setting to support exploration and development. She talks to them throughout the day, reads books, plays music and plays Learning Games. Nancy takes great pride in building relationships with the children through responsive and warm interactions and creating smooth and positive transitions from home to school for both children and families. Nancy speaks English, Vietnamese, and Cantonese. She previously worked at a Montessori school and has over 10 years of training in Montessori.
Nancy has 28 units in Early Childhood Education, 32 units in Montessori training and has over two decades of experience as a mother, and Montessori teacher. She has been with us since 2013.
Maria Luisa
Floating Teacher
Maria Luisa helps to fill in wherever needed to assist the other teachers with breaks, days off, and special projects. Maria Luisa has been with us for many years and has taught at all age levels.
Maria Luisa is a graduate of Canada College's ECE Certificate program, and she continues her education by regularly attending workshops. She has been with us since 2007.
Maria
Floating Teacher
Teacher Maria enjoys playing and doing fun art projects with the children. Maria Adriano assists with the Spanish Circle Time in the PreK class, as well as helping out in all classrooms.
Maria Adriano has 15 units of Early Childhood Education. She has been with us since 2011.
Aaliyah
Floating Teacher
Aaliyah supports the preschool teachers and assists with the Spanish Circle Time in the Hummingbirds class. She enjoys creating special play time moments with all the children. She helps with teacher breaks, lunches and curriculum planning time. She has 6 years of experience working with young children and school age children.
Aaliyah holds an Early Childhood Education certificate from Canada College and her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been with us since Summer 2021.
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Doreatha
Floating Teacher