Staff and Parent-Teachers
Director: Bethica Quinn, MA
I have been teaching in the field of early childhood since 1992. I was fortunate to work for six years as a Head Teacher in the Mills College Children’s School. In addition to working in the classroom with children, I served as a mentor to graduate and undergraduate students of child development and also taught courses in the Education Department. During this time, I also studied brain development, early childhood mental health and the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. I was able to attend two study tours to visit the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy and speak with the teachers there. I learned Spanish after my sister-in-law Rogelia entered the family, both by taking classes here in San Francisco and by living for more than nine months in Guatemala with her extended family. Recently I have been raising my daughter Clio. It was my struggles to find a quality preschool environment in Spanish for her that led me to open Las Olas.
Other permanent staff
We will hire additional Spanish-speaking teachers as needed to fill the gaps in parent-teacher supply. Any teacher we hire will be fully qualified, enthusiastic and a lifelong learner!
Parent-teachers:
The program is designed as a parent cooperative program. This means that each child in the program would have a family member working in the program one day per week. However, if there is nobody in your family who speaks Spanish fluently, or if your work schedule does not permit you to participate, we will have a limited number of spaces available with the option to pay for those work hours instead. We will find another parent who wants to work extra or hire a teacher to fill in for you.
NOTE:
Please be rigorous and honest with yourself and with us about your level of Spanish proficiency. The program will only work if the adults who are working in the classroom can serve as high-quality language models for the children. This means speaking fluently and clearly, eloquently and playfully. They must be able to support the children’s developing language, comfort them in difficult moments, and set limits and negotiate conflicts. If you cannot do all of this in Spanish, please opt out of the parent-teacher option. It is for the good of your own child’s experience as well as that of all the other children and the program as a whole. Of course, if you have a lower level of Spanish proficiency and would like to come and hang out in the classroom to practice your Spanish, we would welcome you on a volunteer basis.