The role of the educator in this setting is that of guide, researcher and learner. We believe that every individual in the school community is actively engaged in learning. It is the educator’s responsibility to open the doors to knowledge, to observe and pay attention to details, to listen to and consider children’s ideas – even the ones that are not “true” or “correct.”
Administrative/Pedagogical Staff
Founder / Executive Director
Teresa became interested in early childhood education in the capacity of parent volunteer at her children’s preschool. While being involved there, she developed an understanding of what wonderful early childhood education could and should be. Progressing from volunteer to President of the Board of Directors and ultimately Director of Operations at the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool, Teresa discovered her passion to broaden the availability of these experiences to more families and children.
In 2011, Teresa opened The Nest Nursery School with two co-founders in the Ormewood Park neighborhood in southeast Atlanta. Several years later, Teresa extended her experience to the City of Decatur in the form of a new center for infants and young children – The Willow School. The Willow School will offer to its families a unique environment inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
Teresa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Accounting from University of Phoenix and is pursuing a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of Colorado. She has been on three study tours to Italy to deepen her knowledge and understanding of the Reggio Emilia approach. These inspiring visits shape the philosophies and practices that Teresa brings to childhood education: respect for the learning process, a love of children, and a passion for advocacy for the causes of the very young.
Teresa lives with her husband, Adam, in Grant Park. They are the proud parents of five wonderful children, two grandchildren, and a stubborn but loving dog.
Director
Keli Jackson, also known as Mrs. Keli, is a founding member of the Willow School Team! She has been working with infants and toddlers since 2008 and has enjoyed every minute. Before becoming an early childhood educator, she worked as a full-time opera singer. She holds a B.A. in music from Spelman College and an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Walden University.
Keli has been married 16 years to her incredible husband Santana, and they are the proud parents of a magical daughter.
Each day Keli is inspired to make a difference in the lives of children and families. It is her goal to make each day a great day for every child. She became a teacher because of her love for children and loves to get messy and explore! Working with young children, Keli realizes how important these early years are and the positive impact that early childhood educators have on their growth and development. It is these things that make this job so rewarding.
Assistant Director
Lenoir was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Atlanta. Lenoir has an associates degree from Georgia Piedmont College, specializing in infant and toddler care. She also has experience working with Preschool and Pre-K aged children. Lenoir loves working with all children and watching them grow and interact with the world around them. Having the opportunity to work with infants at the Willow School is a dream come true! In her free time, Lenoir loves listening to music and writing poetry.
Enrollment and Family Engagement Coordinator
Melissa Godbee is the Administrative Assistant for the Willow School.
Director of Music Program
The Director of Willow Music, Adam Cole is a pianist, composer and conductor who has worked professionally in Atlanta since 1991. He also serves as the organist at First Christian Church of Decatur.
A graduate of Oberlin College and Georgia State University, he is the author of numerous books on jazz and classical piano and vocal instruction. A former Choral Director with Atlanta and Fulton County Schools, he has worked as a Project Manager for the Georgia Department of Education to develop Georgia’s Standards for Music Instruction. In addition, Adam earned his Guild Certification in the Feldenkrais Method in 2000. To learn more about Adam, please visit www.acole.net
Atelierista
Amy Fields moved from Great Britain to the United States in 2011 and is now settled with her husband and three children ages. She gets regular shipments of tea from England, but is loving family life in Decatur.
Amy’s degree is in Social Science and Drama, Film and TV. She also has a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She has taught ages 3 to 16 years of all abilities and from varied backgrounds, some of whom had specific disabilities and some with incredible talent. Amy has a passion for discovering and helping the children fulfill their true potential.
In her spare time, Amy enjoys traveling, cooking, having casual dinner parties and tea parties with friends, singing, craft projects and reading stories with the kids. She is often found curling up in front of an open fire with her cats and a good book, going for a stroll in the park or the woods with her children or going for sushi and a movie with her husband.
Atelierista
Amanda Espinosa has been an early childhood educator since 2010 and has worked with young children for more than 15 years. She holds a bachelors of fine arts degree from the Art institute of Atlanta, and believes that children approach learning with creative minds. She especially enjoys linking school lessons with the creative arts. In her free time she enjoys reading, gardening, and sewing.
Administrative Assistant
Dale has been happily married for almost 37 years, is a mom to 4 adult children and has 4 grandchildren as well as two fur babies. She loves spending time with family and friends. Having come from a large family, she has been around and/or taken care of children most of her life. She worked in the medical field for almost 30 years but made a change due to health reasons. When she returned to work, it was at The Willow School in 2018 as a chef because her son decided it would be a great idea to work with him, and a spot was available. She’s so happy she made that choice! She loves the Willow Community! She worked as a chef until March 2020, and then returned back to Willow as Administrative Assistant.
Support Staff
Chef
Kayla was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Decatur, Georgia. She has over 10 years of experience serving young children and holds multiple certifications. Kayla has obtained her TCC in Child Development, Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education and is approaching completion of her Bachelors Degree in Psychology. She is passionate about educating children and assisting them in successfully reaching developmental milestones. Kayla is grateful for the opportunity to strive at The Willow School excelling in many educational professions. She has worked with Infants and Toddlers. She is currently enjoying the opportunity to nurture children with healthy, nutritional foods and coordinating meaningful aftercare experiences. Kayla is passionate about education, baking, and writing poetry.
Prep Cook
Support Staff
Assistant Chef
Support Staff
Facilties Caretaker
Infant Educators
Infant Teacher
Infant Teacher
Essence Gaynor is a current Georgia State University student studying Journalism and Communications. Originally from New York, she loves being in the city of Atlanta. She is passionate about early childhood education, and she is excited to explore the field. In her spare time, she is usually reading or writing for leisure.
Toddler Educators
Toddler Teacher
Vinccetta has been working in Early Childhood Education for more than twelve years. She is super excited to be a part of your child’s journey and provide them with a safe, fun environment to learn, play and grow. There are a lot of milestones that happen in our classroom which she loves to see. She has three beautiful children whom she loves and adores: two boys and one girl aged 8,12, and 14.
Toddler Teacher
Synai Ingram has been working with children for over 6 years. She loves watching them grow, and her students have a special place in her heart.
Toddler Teacher
Kimberly is originally from Savannah, Ga. She moved to Atlanta, Ga in 2021. She has earned a Bachelors of Arts in English with an emphasis in Communicative Arts from Columbia College (SC), She also earned a Master’s degree in Instructional Design from American InterContinental University. She has served in education for fifteen years. Kimberly began working at the Willow School in 2022 as a support teacher in the Preschool department. She has moved up to Co-teacher in the Toddler 2 classroom.
Toddler Support Teacher
Sebastian Cloyd first started working with children during the pandemic in 2020. He has always been involved with children, whether it was watching over younger cousins or children of close family friends. He is interested in psychology, human development and has a nurturing and compassionate spirit. In his spare time he enjoys hanging out with friends, cooking, drawing, listening to music, watching tv and playing video games.
He is ready to learn alongside the children to continue to be a wonderful educator.
Twos Educators
Twos Teacher
Antoria Cooley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her TCC Degree at Atlanta Technical College and is currently working on her associate’s degree. She has been working with children for over 12 years. She enjoys reading and being with family and friends. She advocates for children, and believes it is her duty to help them blossom and flourish.
Twos Teacher
Danielle Pritchard is a native of Georgia. She is the proud mother to two beautiful daughters. She has been an educator for 17 years and would not trade it for the world. She joined the Willow team in August 2022, and loves it. She has always enjoyed working with children, and she is passionate about teaching them new skills. She loves seeing efforts made by children and witnessing their moments of success. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her daughters. She likes organizing things, so you often see her cleaning and rearranging. She looks forward to meeting you and your family soon.
Preschool Educators
Early Preschool Teacher
Christopher has been part of the Willow family since 2020. He is now with early preschool students and has worked with toddlers as well as the twos classroom, always happy to teach and learn from all age groups. Christopher is a playful spirit that doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty alongside the children. A father himself, he keeps his ears and heart open to every child he encounters, sharing his enthusiasm and love of play. After wearing many hats, teaching has been the most fulfilling part of his career journey.
Early Preschool Teacher
Straight from Virginia, Andreia knew early childhood was the field fit for her. Andreia spent her high school career doing internships and student teaching, which helped bring her career journey to light. Andreia graduated from Georgia Piedmont College with an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. Andreia really enjoys teaching and wishes to become an elementary school teacher in the future.
Preschool Teacher
Rashida (pronouns – she/her) was born and raised in Georgia and currently resides in Atlanta with her children Chloe(19), Lee(15), and her pets. When not working she enjoys spending time with family, going to the movies, reading, skating, thrifting, researching astrology and (most of all) traveling. She has worked in Early Education for 9 years, studying at Atlanta Metropolitan College and currently holding a Child Development Associate Degree. She has taught with many different curriculums and the Reggio Emilia approach is her favorite. She really enjoys working here at the Willow school!
Georgia Lottery Pre-K Educators
Pre-K Teacher
Tyra Carlis graduated from Georgia State University and is currently attending the University of Phoenix. She can’t wait to get to know each and every student so that they will learn from each other and grow to their fullest potential. It will be a year full of learning, new adventures, and memories!
Forest Class Educators
Forest Class Teacher
Cadesha Harrison-Howell has been with the Willow School for over 5 years. She holds a degree in Elementary Education from Brenau University and a degree in Early Childhood Studies from Walden University. She has a passion for learning, gardening and for pets. She is a member of: Georgia Association of Educators, The National Education Association, The Community Emergency Response Team, and also a Member of the Dekalb County Emergency Management Agency. She is trained in working with children with ADD, ADHD. She is very excited to be a part of The Willow School.
Classroom Support Staff
Support Teacher
Drew is an Atlanta native who spends his free time gaming and reading. He has always been involved in watching his younger cousins and siblings, but it was the birth of his nephew in 2008 that really sparked his passion for children.
Though this is his first job in education, he finds great joy in learning alongside children, watching them grow and seeing them enjoy the nutritious meals he helps to prepare. Drew is currently planning to go back to school and is looking forward to everything a career in Early Childhood Education could possibly offer.
Support Teacher
Corinda decided to work with children when she was very young and has been working in the early childhood education field for over 10 years. She was influenced by her kindergarten teacher and mentors who instilled in her a passion for learning and made her feel special, nurtured and loved. Because of their teaching practices, Corinda knew she wanted to become a teacher. Corinda believes that it is most important that you care and love what you do and she truly loves caring for young children and influencing their lives in positive ways. She believes that being knowledgeable about child development is the cornerstone to good educational practice and therefore earned her Early Childhood Certificate in May 2015. Corinda is currently enrolled at the University of Phoenix pursuing her Bachelor’s of Art degree in English. She is very excited to further her career in at The Willow School.
Corinda is the mother of one handsome boy and he is her inspiration and motivation. He teaches her something new each and every day.
Support Teacher
Support Teacher
Nancy Guarnieri has been working in education for many years. Her experience includes teaching and assisting teachers in the classroom, as well as case management work, which involves assisting children and families. She earned her degree from the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, which prepared her well for the challenges of working with students, children and families from diverse backgrounds.
Support Teacher
A Georgia native,Savannah is a graduate of Agnes Scott who loves working and engaging with young ones. She studied in Neuroscience as well as Psychology. She began as a substitute teacher in September 2019 and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Willow School community ever since. She is a proud member of the Willow School team!