Serendipity Staff

Our teachers are exceptional educators with varied backgrounds, and when combined, create an extremely dynamic team. They approach the educational process with a questioning and innovative mind as they play the role of a researcher. Teachers seek ways to enrich the child’s experience which will allow the child’s inner wisdom to express itself. Self-discovery, learning and understanding become a natural bi-product of exploration
and experimentation.

	The educational backgrounds range from some earning a State Teacher Certification to others rich with experience and specialized training in our educational approach. We are extremely fortunate to have one teacher who has not only earned her State Teacher Certification, but also went back to get a second degree as an Early Childhood Education Specialist. What they all have in common is to be gifted with the ability to touch the minds, hearts and spirit of each child. With the cornerstones of our educational commitment built on the four core values of *honesty, respect, compassion and self-responsibility,* these core principles are carried into the daily classroom practices as we work with the children. This positive role modeling is crucial in our teaching techniques.
	Our administrative approach is a unique blend of integrating *“Cross Training”, “The Looping Classroom”* and selecting “Curriculum Specialists”** within our own staff who have exceptional ability to help other teachers implement certain areas of curriculum. By establishing “Curriculum Specialists”, we automatically encourage “Cross Training”, since the visiting teacher will observe and work within the specific dynamics of many classrooms. This system promotes a high level of professionalism and proficiency!
	*“Cross Training”* allows a teacher to understand the full scope of *multiple* classrooms, allowing them to efficiently cover for a teacher due to illness, maternity leaves or for special trainings. “Cross Training” offers an efficient and supportive system for all classrooms which reinforces a sense of community within the center and offers a familiar face to the children in times of unexpected change.
	“*The Looping Classroom”* is an educational concept tested in many programs across the US where a primary teacher will follow her class through successive programs for as many as 4 years of their development. Theoretically, a teacher could “follow” a child from toddlerhood all the way to Pre-K with this concept. We have had at least four teachers who have moved with their class through at least 2-3 different classes. This offers an extension of the bond created between the child and teacher to continue for an added sense of security and belonging to an extended family. It also gives the teacher an advantage of knowing each child very well during each change in program.
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