A+ Preschool Owner
I am a wife and the proud mom of three beautiful children. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education, Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education, certifications in ESL and Preschool, and an MBA. For eight years I was an elementary school teacher, winning Teacher of the Year in my 7th year. I spent five years as a college professor at Central Piedmont Community College.
Teaching has always been my passion. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to experience teaching wide age ranges of children in a variety of settings. As an elementary school teacher I taught grades kindergarten through third. The never ending enthusiasm my kindergartners brought to school with them daily absolutely won my heart. Kindergarten was my favorite grade to teach. After the birth of my daughter I opened a family child care center in my home. I loved becoming close with the families of the children in my care daily.
This particular path in my career initially piqued my interest in helping young children prepare for kindergarten. While teaching in the elementary school setting I noticed a large gap in knowledge among students even at the beginning of their kindergarten school year. As the year progressed the gap between students, known as the achievement gap, became larger. From experience teaching older grades I knew this gap would never close for most students. They started kindergarten "behind" and would never catch up. I began A+ Preschool as a way to prepare children properly before kindergarten. Starting elementary school with confidence and knowledge so they will begin their educational career ahead is my goal for each child who attends A+ Preschool.
Just before opening A+ Preschool I was an instructor in the Early Childhood Education Department at Central Piedmont Community College for five years. During this time I saw first hand how the majority of preschool aged children are taught in a typical preschool or daycare. Although focus on play is important most preschools do not emphasize appropriate academic foundations enough, if at all. This pushed me to explore appropriate ways to make learning easy and entertaining, yet meaningful.
When opening A+ Preschool I married all of the pieces of my career together to offer a strong and memorable learning environment that truly prepares children for the academic years ahead. And I am still learning! I am a student at Oregon State University, perusing a post-bacc in Spanish with a minor in psychology. I am also perusing my Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning at Clemson.
I absolutely love everything about owning and running A+ Preschool. I love teaching, I love and appreciate our A+ families, and I am enormously proud of the amazing school we have built. I look forward to working with you and your child!
Warm regards,
Rachel
Photo credit: Bugasaurus Photography
Teaching has always been my passion. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to experience teaching wide age ranges of children in a variety of settings. As an elementary school teacher I taught grades kindergarten through third. The never ending enthusiasm my kindergartners brought to school with them daily absolutely won my heart. Kindergarten was my favorite grade to teach. After the birth of my daughter I opened a family child care center in my home. I loved becoming close with the families of the children in my care daily.
This particular path in my career initially piqued my interest in helping young children prepare for kindergarten. While teaching in the elementary school setting I noticed a large gap in knowledge among students even at the beginning of their kindergarten school year. As the year progressed the gap between students, known as the achievement gap, became larger. From experience teaching older grades I knew this gap would never close for most students. They started kindergarten "behind" and would never catch up. I began A+ Preschool as a way to prepare children properly before kindergarten. Starting elementary school with confidence and knowledge so they will begin their educational career ahead is my goal for each child who attends A+ Preschool.
Just before opening A+ Preschool I was an instructor in the Early Childhood Education Department at Central Piedmont Community College for five years. During this time I saw first hand how the majority of preschool aged children are taught in a typical preschool or daycare. Although focus on play is important most preschools do not emphasize appropriate academic foundations enough, if at all. This pushed me to explore appropriate ways to make learning easy and entertaining, yet meaningful.
When opening A+ Preschool I married all of the pieces of my career together to offer a strong and memorable learning environment that truly prepares children for the academic years ahead. And I am still learning! I am a student at Oregon State University, perusing a post-bacc in Spanish with a minor in psychology. I am also perusing my Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning at Clemson.
I absolutely love everything about owning and running A+ Preschool. I love teaching, I love and appreciate our A+ families, and I am enormously proud of the amazing school we have built. I look forward to working with you and your child!
Warm regards,
Rachel
Photo credit: Bugasaurus Photography
Meet Our Teachers
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Mrs. Jennifer
Mrs. Jennifer has been with us for many years. She is a baseball mom to a kind young man. She teaches our STEM class at our Lower School and is especially talented at creating fun activities for her students.
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Ms. NaomiMs. Naomi is a mom to two girls. She loves outdoors and trying new things. Mrs. Naomi has been our lead Spanish teacher for many years. She is able to create contagious excitement for her students when introducing new Spanish themes.
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Mrs. DeyMrs. Dey is a mom to a beautiful daughter. She is a Spanish teacher at our Lower School. Mrs. Dey loves to be in the classroom with her students. She sings and dances along with the kids during lessons.
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Mrs. BricieMrs. Bricie is a mom to three. She is a Spanish teacher at our Upper School. Mrs. Bricie is incredibly patient and kind.
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Meet our CFO
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Tony (Mr. T)Tony Hall, Rachel's husband, is our CFO. He works behind the scenes to keep the business side of the preschool running smoothly.
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