 |
    |
 |
|
 Kathleen Tortolani, Director University of California at Davis B.S. Academic Language Therapy Training Certified as a Montessori Educator (C.M.E.) for children ages 2.5 to 6 years old Appointed 2003 Kathleen Tortolani came to Fairview Country Day School with more than 18 years of experience with preschool children. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Davis in Human Development with a minor in Education. She completed her Academic Language Therapy Training in 1998 and has been certified as a Montessori Educator (C.M.E.) for children ages 2.5 to 6 years old since September, 1999. She currently serves as the Director of Fairview Country Day School as well as teaches the 4 and 5 year old class. Kathleen is a director who believes in good communication, active listening and the need for cooperative play/work. She enjoys comparing notes with her mother who is a retired preschool director. Amy Beaudette Teacher: Starter Class Amy joined the FCDS family in 2006 as lead teacher for our 2 year old age group Starter Class. Amy studied early childhood and elementary education at Henderson State University in Arkansas where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Education. She earned her Early Childhood through Eighth Grade Teacher Education Certificate from the State of Texas with an English as a second language (“ESL”) certification. Prior to joining FCDS, Amy taught Kindergarten with the McKinney and Allen Independent School Districts. Amy’s additional training includes Kindergarten Reading Academy, First Grade Reading Academy, and Intel Teach to the Future. In addition, she actively participated on a Discipline Committee and Student Support Team for at-risk students at her prior experience with the public school system. Amy believes that early experiences have profound effects on a child’s development and learning and that children learn best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers. She appreciates that the teacher’s classroom plans and organization, sensitivity and responsiveness to all the children, and moment-to-moment interactions with them have the greatest impact on children’s development and learning. In her spare time, Amy enjoys boating on the lake with her husband and two children. Jennifer Leigh Ethridge Teacher: Preschool Class Jennifer is no stranger to FCDS, having been a member of the Board of Directors of FCDS since 2003. She now joins FCDS as a Teacher for the Preschool Class. Jennifer has a strong academic background, having participated in the Hillcrest Professional Development School while she attended Baylor University, graduating from Baylor in 1994 with a B.S. in Elementary Education. From there, she obtained specialty training in Alphabetic Phonics from 1996-1998 at Southwest Academy MTC. She then attended the University of North Texas and obtained a Learning Resources Specialist Certification in 2002. She is also trained in Multisensory Math. She has taught both Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten at the White Rock North School, Dallas from 1994-1996. She then joined the staff of Southwest Academy from 1996-2010. She then worked from March to November of 2011 at the Allen Independent School District where she worked with special resource children from Kindergarten to 6th grade. In her spare time, Amy enjoys boating on the lake with her husband and two children. Jennifer and her husband, Dr. Mark Ethridge, DDS, live in Allen with their three girls, ages 11, 8, and 4. She is a Girl Scout Leader and loves painting, piano, gardening, writing and cooking. As a member of our board, she not only embraces our philosophy of teaching, but has also helped to design and implement it. Walkiria Gonzales Teaching Assistant Walkiria joined the FCDS staff in 2007 as our Teaching Assistant. Walkiria brings much excitement and energy to our teaching programs. She works closely with the children to encourage the love of learning and helps provide the most enjoyable environment possible for the children’s learning. Prior to joining FCDS, she earned an Associate of Arts degree in liberal arts from East Los Angeles College, and obtained three years experience as a teacher’s assistant. Walkiria uses her abundant creative skills to implement the school’s art program and fully embraces the need to listen carefully to the children and respond respectfully and reflectively to the questions of our students. She skillfully acknowledges the children’s innovative ideas and conceptualizations when they occur and lets the students know that they too are creators of knowledge. She encourages interactive learning and helps the students learn the varied methods, procedures and convections of whatever particular discipline is the topic of the day, be it art, language arts, math or science. After school, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two children and her parents. Copyright © 2012 Fairview Country Day School Fairview, TX (Collin County) Web design by  |
|
||||||||
 |
