Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Our New Staff

Kim Gebert is a young, energetic new teacher with an experienced background in child care. Kim is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in criminal justice and hopes to work with youth in the detention system. She's very "young at heart" and has already demonstrated her ability to create bonds with the kids. She has quickly become an important figure to several of the Puppies and we know that Kim will prove to be a committed and long term teacher at Emerson Academy. We are so excited to have her on our staff.

Amy Twilly is a certified Special Education teacher with four years of teaching experience in Arlington public schools. She recently moved to Austin and searched for a position that would allow her to work closely with children in an inclusive setting. She was referred to Emerson Academy by one of our own parents and after spending time with Amy during the interview process and observing her in the classroom, we knew right away that she was a perfect match to work with the 4-5 year olds as a co-teacher with Ms. Mallory, as well as helping out with general behavioral support, training and modeling in all of our classrooms. We are thrilled to have Amy as a member of our staff.

Mary Herrera is mother, grandmother and experienced caregiver. She has a warm and caring personality and was a perfect fit for our infant class. She is fluent in Spanish and will be assisting with our daily enrichment program, as well as assisting Ms. Kim in the Dolphin class full-time.

We are so excited about our new staff...please help us welcome them to Emerson Academy!

Camping

Our 3-5 year olds had a blast putting up their tent, building a campfire and roasting marshmallows this morning!
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Emerson Academy Vision

Emerson Academy was the vision of our Co-Owner and Program Director, Sarah Johnson. Sarah graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor's degree in Education and a passion for working with children specifically in Special Education, but her dream was to work in her own school where she could affect the kind of change that would make a difference in the lives of children. After having worked in a local school district's Special Education department and completing her Master's degree in Education, Sarah felt like it was time for her to try to make her dream a reality. With much planning, discussing, decision making, construction, re-modeling and sweat, Emerson Academy became a reality in October of 2007. Those of us who participated in the process are so very proud to be a part of this unique child development center and proud to work with Sarah in order to continue to make her vision a possibility each and every day. Kudos to Sarah for her innovative thinking and her amazing accomplishment!