Meet the CommuniKids team!
Raúl Echevarría: Co-founder and Director of Curriculum;
Spanish Teacher, DC
A native speaker of both English and Spanish, Raúl has been a language teacher for seven years. He has taught Spanish and English as a Second Language in the Montgomery County, MD and Washington, D.C. public schools. As an original member of George Washington University's Teacher 2000 program, he was among the first to complete a rigorous teacher certification program designed for professionals who wish to pursue a career in language education. He holds a BA in Political Science from Boston University, a JD from the University of Puerto Rico, and has completed extensive Spanish language and cultural studies at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid, Spain. For the 2008-09 academic year, Raúl is planning all the curriculum and teaching a full schedule of classes. His energetic yet relaxed style guarantees that he has quite a following among CommuniKids families, and his classes often fill up immediately. He can be reached at raul@communikids.com.
Jeannine Piacenza: Co-founder and Director
Jeannine has been a foreign language educator for over 15 years. She has taught Spanish, ESL, and history in public schools in Falls Church, Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Seattle, Washington. Her international experience includes teaching and serving as the Director of the English and Bicultural Studies departments at a bilingual school in Mexico City, Mexico. In her role as director, she developed curriculum for numerous courses and supervised over 35 teachers. Jeannine holds Virginia state K-12 teaching certificates in Spanish and English as a Second Language, and 7-12 certification in history. She studied Spanish in San Jose, Costa Rica, and holds a BA in Spanish and History, a BS in Education, and an MA in History. In 2003, when she couldn't find an immersion preschool for her own daughter, she responded by co-founding the Caterpillar Co-op, a Spanish immersion preschool in Washington DC. Jeannine is a passionate advocate of multilingual education and has a wealth of knowledge, both practical and academic, about the subject. She can be reached at jeannine@communikids.com.
Mariana Tarre: Co-founder and Director of Education;
Spanish Teacher, DC
Mariana is a preschool teacher who has taught in a Spanish immersion preschool for the past four years. Her experience teaching languages dates back to her teenage years, when she began teaching English to both children and adults in her native Venezuela. Having spent her entire schooling in a total immersion English program in Caracas, she is a firm believer in bilingual education and can attest first hand to all the benefits and advantages it offers children. She came to Washington, D.C. in 1996 to pursue her Masters degree from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. She has a law degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas, and is also a certified translator of written English-Spanish/Spanish-English. Mariana was also looking for an immersion program for her son when she co-founded the Caterpillar Co-op with Jeannine Piacenza and a group of other parents. She has been the lead teacher since its induction, working with children aged 18 months to four years old. Mariana's current and former students can attest to the fact that she is the most loving and nurturing of teachers! She can be reached at mariana@communikids.com.
Maria Walker: Director, Falls Church
CommuniKids is thrilled to welcome the newest member of our education leadership team, Maria Walker. Maria has taught Spanish for over seventeen years in a variety of settings. She taught for fifteen years in public school districts in Richmond, Falls Church, and Loudoun County, Virginia, where she was also the Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Heritage High School in Leesburg. She also taught at Department of Defense Schools in Germany and has trained adults in business Spanish as well. She has extensive experience in medical, community, and social services interpretation. Maria has studied in Seville, Spain and holds a Masters in Teaching, a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies, and a Post-Graduate Professional and Teaching Certificate in Spanish from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She can be reached at maria@communikids.com.
Karen O'Connor-Floman: Director of Communications, DC
Karen is thrilled to be a part of the CommuniKids team. She is responsible for internal and external CommuniKids communications, marketing and advertising, and the administration of the DC location. Karen holds a Ph.D. in English Literature, with a specialty in Children’s Literature, from the George Washington University. Her favorite part of the job is talking with current and potential CommuniKids families! Also one of the original co-founders of the Caterpillar Co-op, she is raising two bilingual children with her Swedish-speaking Finnish husband and taking advantage of the full-immersion environment at CommuniKids by brushing up on her French and beginning to learn Spanish. She can be reached at karen@communikids.com.
Gladys Valenzuela: Spanish Teacher, DC
Gladys hails from Lima, Peru and has been an early childhood professional for over 24 years. She has been a preschool teacher at Saint Albans Day Care Center in Washington since 1992. At St. Albans she has worked with infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. In Lima, she taught Kindergarten through second grade for several years as well. She has years of professional development training in all areas of early childhood education and holds a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from the University Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in Lima Peru. Gladys's happy, gentle, and thorough teaching style means that she is a great favorite of both children and parents at CommuniKids. She can often be found in the classroom long after class is over, answering questions from parents and preparing for her next lessons. Her email address is gladys@communikids.com.
Joelle Tressel: French Teacher, DC
Joelle is a native of Paris, France and is raising two bilingual children. Joelle's background is in engineering, and she holds an M.S. in Engineering from France, but one look at her in the classroom reveals that her gift and passion is clearly for teaching. After an six-month training period, she inaugurated our three-day-a week Intensive French class for the 2007-2008 school year and designed all of the curriculum for the nine-hour-a-week program. As a testament to the program's success, all of her "graduates" are also back for the 3-4 year old Intensive French class this year! Joelle's calm demeanor, excellent classroom management skills, and creative art projects make for a wonderful French learning experience for all of her CommuniKids students. She can be reached at joelle@communikids.com.
Daphne Zhang: Chinese Teacher, DC
Daphne comes to CommuniKids with over ten years of international experience teaching Chinese and English as a Second Language to children and adults. She is especially skilled at understanding and meeting the needs of non-native speakers. Daphne worked for many years in DC metro-area public schools, and she has worked with highly gifted students in Montgomery County. Children respond warmly to Daphne's charismatic and nurturing personality; she makes Chinese fun and understandable for children at every skill level, from complete beginners to near-native speakers. She holds a B.A.in English Literature and graduate certificate in English. She can be reached at daphne@communikids.com.
David Beddea: Spanish Teacher, DC and Falls Church
David, a native of Venezuela, brings his high-energy, performing- and visual-arts background to CommuniKids. David has many years of experience teaching art and yoga to children. His Spanish classes for 3-4 year olds at CommuniKids are filled with laughter, movement, and creativity, and can often be heard down the hall! David's email address is david@communikids.com.
In the news: CLICK HERE to see a picture of David performing at the Soiree Carte Blanche at the French Embassy in October 2008.
Carmen Cedeno: Spanish Teacher, Falls Church
In Falls Church, Carmen Cedeño (Spanish) comes to CommuniKids with many years of experience working with young children. A native of Puerto Rico, she holds a B.A. in Business Administration and has extensive experience as an early childhood educator. Her experienced touch informs her CommuniKids classes for 3-4 and 5-6 year olds; and her work as a Zumba (Latin dance-based fitness) instructor guarantees that the 80 minutes are filled with zing! Carmen can be reached at carmen@communikids.com.
May Aoun: Arabic Teacher, Falls Church
May launched CommuniKids' Arabic program in the Spring of 2007 at our DC location. Originally from Lebanon, she is a native speaker of Arabic who is fluent in French and English as well. May has many years of experience teaching grades pre-k through third in her native Beirut. She has also taught French to elementary aged children in Lebanon. She is very skilled in making handicrafts such as painting and porcelain work. May holds a Bachelors degree in Education and Child Psychology from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon. Her email address is may@communikids.com.
Wendy Aguilar Montalvo: Assistant Director and Spanish Teacher, Falls Church
Wendy hails from Bolivia, where she received extensive training as a language teacher. She taught children aged three and up in an intensive English program in Cochamamba where she taught classes, designed curriculum, and trained other teachers. She then taught K - 5 in a bilingual elementary school. Wendy attended the Universidad Privada Santa Cruz de la Sierra where she is currently completing her Psychology degree. In addition, she has completed numerous hours of pedagogical training in both language teaching and early childhood education. Wendy can be contacted at wendy@communikids.com.
Isabelle Regnier-Wilson: French Teacher, Falls Church
Isabelle, a native of Normandy France, has been a language teacher for thirty years. She has taught French to young children in Virginia at both the preschool and elementary levels since the 1970s. In addition to CommuniKids, Isabelle teaches French at a preschool in Alexandria and frequently holds storytime and puppet shows in French at the Alliance Francaise in Washington, DC. She earned a Baccalaureate of Philosophy and Languages from the College de Caen in Normandy France. Isabelle's email address is isabelle@communikids.com.
Jane Zhang: Chinese Teacher, Falls Church
Jane is a native of Shanghai, China where she taught high school Chemistry and English. She has ten years of teaching experience and taught Chinese to young children at two langauge academies in Virginia. She designed all of her own curriculum and materials and engaged the children through games and active play. Jane holds a BS in Chemistry from Shanghai Normal University in China. Jane can be reached at jane@communikids.com.
Alexandra Cerpe, Portuguese Teacher, DC
Alexandra, a native of Sao Paulo, has been teaching Portuguese for almost twenty years and is extremely skilled at teaching multi-aged classes. She comes to CommuniKids from the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute, where she served as Director of Courses, and she also serves as an adjunct professor of Portuguese at the University of the District of Columbia. Alexandra's calm and nurturing demeanor, coupled with her thorough understanding of the best practices in language teaching, ensure that her students are both supported and challenged as they learn. Alexandra's email address is alexandra@communikids.com.
Patrick Rice: Italian Teacher, DC
Patrick, an energetic and skillful young teacher, was raised in Genoa and is very experienced in working with young children. He hails from a family of international educators and has been immersed in international education best practices from a young age. Patrick can be contacted at patrick@communikids.com.
Marietou Diagne: French Assistant Teacher, DC
Marietou brings her extensive childcare experience to CommuniKids as a loving assistant teacher for the 2-3 year old Intensive French class. She hails from Senegal by way of Belgium. Marietou's email address is marietou@communikids.com.