Administrative Staff
Hanna Gebretensae
Director
Hanna Gebretensae joined Eliot Pearson the summer of 2013 as the new Director.
Prior to that, she was the Director of Early Childhood Programs at Aspire
Institute/Wheelock College. She has extensive experience in the field of early
education and care including direct services, administration of programs,
teacher education, training/technical assistance, mentoring, anti-bias
curriculum/cultural competency and policy work across Massachusetts and
nationally. Hanna has been a program director at Acorn Center for Early
Education and Care, a bilingual Chinese/English center and a Mentor-Director
for early childhood programs in Boston supporting accreditation and quality of
programs in the city. She is a diversity trainer certified by Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) and various programs and organizations. Hanna has held adjunct
faculty positions at Lesley University, Wheelock College and the Urban College
of Boston on a variety of early childhood topics. Prior to coming to the US,
Hanna also managed early childhood program development and projects in East
Africa and worked with UNICEF. Hanna received a Bachelors degree in Human
Development and Early Childhood Education from Lesley College; received her
masters in Educational Administration, Planning, and Policy from Harvard
University; and a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with a
concentration on Curriculum and Instruction from University of Phoenix. She
also holds a certificate in Educating Children with Special Needs from the
Goldameir International Training College in Haifa, Israel and is a CAYL Fellow
in Early Care and Education Policy.
Maria Hastings
School Operations Coordinator
Maria comes to us from Needham Heights KinderCare where she held the position of an Assistant Director and has 23 years of experience as an administrator and educator in various educational settings. She has been a teacher, a director and an administrator in public/private programs and schools (PK-6) and an adjunct instructor teaching various college courses related to education and psychology. In her role as an administrator, Maria has managed budgets and payroll, monitored and maintained tuition accounts, assisted with financial aid programs to families, and participated in fundraising efforts. Maria has extensive knowledge in maintaining state licensing regulations and has assisted in National Accreditation processes & maintenance. She has effectively handled student and staff records in the areas of admissions, enrollment, financial aid, family/school events, and related tasks, ensuring all updates and requirements were being met at all times. Ensuring efficiency in school operations and creating a welcoming front office area that is inviting, professional and organized are very important to her. She is looking forward to bringing her expertise and enthusiasm to our school. Maria has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration.
Lynne
May Lim
Educational Specialist
Lynne May comes to EPCS with over twenty years of teaching
in early childhood classrooms. She brings to EPCS her vast experience working
with young children of diverse backgrounds and learning styles, and her unique
perspective on anti-bias education. She strives to respond to the multiple ways
young children learn and grow by designing and implementing interdisciplinary,
project-based, and child-centered curriculum, including the use of multimedia
resources to support children’s inherent curiosities in the areas of literacy,
science, engineering, and technology, math, and social studies. Lynne May works
to affirm children’s individual and collective identities explicitly and
consistently by setting up a learning environment that encourages children to
participate and lead in building and maintaining a welcoming, vibrant,
inclusive, and just community. She is also an experienced and dedicated mentor
to full-year graduate student interns in departments of early childhood
education. When not teaching, Lynne May enjoys spending time with her family
and friends. Her interests include drawing, imagining, writing, documenting and
communicating using still and moving images, animated films, and dance. She
holds a Master of Arts in Teaching-Early Childhood Education from
National-Louis University in Illinois, and a Bachelor of Science degree in
Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.
Gabriela
Herrera
Enrichment/ Summer Program Coordinator
Gaby holds a B.A in Psychology from Universidad de las Americas in Mexico City,
and MA in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University. She is also
certified as an Early Childhood Educator in Mexico. Before coming to Boston,
Gabriela worked for four years as a Head Teacher at La Escuelita Kindergarten
School in Mexico City, where she also contributed to their Extended Day Program
with creative dance lessons to parents and their children. Her lessons focused
on movement and enriched motor coordination. They also developed music and
social skills through dance exploration, obstacle courses, and folk dances.
Observing and documenting her student’s growth and development enhanced her
commitment to high quality programs as a way of supporting and enriching
children’s growth in different areas of development. During her time at Tufts,
Gaby had the opportunity to teach in different settings with diverse
populations of students. In addition to working as a Graduate Teaching
Assistant at EPCS she interned in two different enrichment programs in the
Boston area. This variety of experiences helped her understand the impact that
high-quality enrichment programs in the lives of children. Gaby is looking
forward to another year as the Enrichment Programs Coordinator at EPCS.
Katie
Caster
Special Rights Coordinator
Katie Caster has been working in the field of education for the last twelve
years with variety of roles including: special education teacher, ESL teacher,
and Special education coordinator. She has her B.A. in Writing, Literature, and
Publishing, but also holds a Masters degree and an Ed.S in Special Education.
She also has graduate certificates in: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Language and
Literacy, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and Applied behavior
Analysis for special populations. She most recently completed the ECT or Early
Childhood Technology Certificate program at Tufts University. Katie has a
passion for STE(A)M education especially introducing young children to the
benefits of hands on technology. When she is not at Eliot Pearson Children’s
school she is working in Boston public Schools as an ESL and specialty STEM
teacher. Her personal interests include: reading, exploring local culture,
walking her dog, and finding a good cup of coffee.
Nick Drane
Staff Assistant
Nick comes to EPCS after nearly 18 years working in K-12 and university-level educational settings. He has been a teacher, professor, researcher, coordinator, facilitator, and friend to learners of English, history, linguistics, music, and philosophy in the U.S. and Japan. Nick is a language enthusiast with a graduate degree in linguistics from UMass-Boston and is also a licensed Massachusetts educator in history and social studies. Most importantly, Nick has spent the last six years as an active parent at EPCS, and hopes to help new families discover the unique magic of our community. When he isn’t hanging out in the lobby at EPCS, Nick enjoys spending time with his family, reading, napping, and playing guitar.
Head Teachers
Matthew Slepin
Head Teacher – K-1
I
have lived in quite a few places and pursued a number of interests. I taught
courses in the evolving concept of magic in medieval Europe at Northwestern
University and wrangled dishes at a dude ranch in the Sangre de Cristos
mountains of Colorado. I taught Elizabethan history on a living history museum
that not only sailed around Great Britain, but right through Loch Ness (I
didn’t see any monsters though). For almost a decade, I worked on community
development issues on Maui, Hawai’i. I spent most of last year teaching a
combined 3rd and 4th grade class at the Cambridge Friends School. Oh, and I
found myself a beautiful wife, daughter, son, dog, cat, and beta fish somewhere
along the way.
Juliana Fuchs
Head Teacher, PreK-K
Juliana comes to EPCS with thirteen years of experience as an early-childhood educator. She is committed to creating a compassionate classroom community where students feel valued, supported, challenged, and comfortable to make mistakes. She believes that learning should be hands-on and new information is best accessed through open-ended exploration and meaningful, in-depth, and integrated investigations. She is particularly passionate about student and teacher inquiry, anti-bias curriculum, social justice literature, and nature-based education. Juliana comes most recently from Touchstone Community School in Grafton where she taught 6-8 year olds for three years. Before working at Touchstone, she taught Kindergarten at The Fessenden School in Newton and at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City. Juliana received a M.S.Ed in General and Special Education from Bank Street College and a B.A. in History from Williams College. She loves learning, laughing, and being active outdoors!
Victor Bradley
Head Teacher, Preschool West
Victor comes to EPCS with over twenty-eight years of experience as an early childhood educator of children ages two to six in preschool and elementary school settings serving diverse communities. Victor has extensive experience in guiding young children through inquiry-based math and science learning using multi-faceted art and literacy mediums. Victor’s approach to teaching and learning focuses on play-based classroom environments and how they encourage and nurture different modes of learning. Victor has worked with teams of teachers and specialists in pre-k and kindergarten classrooms where he designed, planned, and set up multi-sensory and interdisciplinary learning environments and delivered special support services to children. He brings with him a deep commitment to social justice in early childhood education settings through extensive experience with history, anti-bias, and anti-racist curriculum development and implementation. He has mentored graduate and undergraduate student interns from various Boston area colleges and universities. Victor has broad-based leadership and community- building experiences in classrooms, schools, and community-based organizations serving children, adults, and families from all walks of life. When not teaching, Victor enjoys listening to all kinds of music which he incorporates in his classroom environment, being part of the revaluation counseling community, going for long walks on the beach in all seasons, cooking delicious meals, going to new exciting restaurants locally and when traveling, practicing Reiki, being with his partner Sabina, who is also a teacher, being with his daughter Hazel who is 8. He holds a specialized Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College.
Vanessa Cid
Head Teacher, Preschool East
Prior to joining EPCS, Vanessa worked in kindergarten and preschool classrooms in Boston Public Schools, with experience in planning and facilitating children’s learning through expeditionary and emergent learning projects that integrate literacy, science, social studies and math projects. Through her experience teaching in bilingual and special education settings, she strives to gain a deep understanding of who the child is intellectually, emotionally, and socially and strives to create an environment and educational experiences that foster children’s sense of self. Vanessa has developed storytelling curriculum in collaboration with Harvard’s Making Learning Visible Project and a two-way bilingual school in Boston. She has solid experience working with children from diverse backgrounds and abilities, including dual language learners and children with mild to significant language and cognitive delays. Vanessa is particularly interested in young children’s inner lives and she is currently pursuing advanced studies in child and adolescent intervention to enhance her knowledge of how art, play, and storytelling not only help with children’s intellectual and language development, but also with their social-emotional development. Vanessa constantly seeks to learn and grow as an educator, and surrounds herself with professional development experiences that will deepen her practice. In her spare time, Vanessa enjoys reading, writing, and riding her bicycle. She holds her Bachelor of Arts with a major in Classical Studies (Cum Laude) and two minors, one in Psychology and the other in Urban Education. She holds her Master’s in Teaching from UMass Boston through the Boston Teacher Residency Program.
Assistant Teachers
Katie Hustins
Assistant Teacher, K-1
Katie attended UMass Amherst and studied Sociology, Psychology, and Education. She has worked in schools for the past 6+ years and has worked with children from ages 3-18. During the school year, Katie is an assistant teacher in the K-1 and during the summer is the head counselor of the green room. The areas of teaching she feels most passionately about are social justice awareness, being connected to nature and other living things, and literacy including poetry and writing stories.
Danielle Hart
Assistant Teacher, PreK-K
Danielle graduated from Connecticut College in 2018, where she studied English and studio art. Danielle has worked with children birth through 13 year olds in formal and informal settings for the past seven years. This has included her role as a teacher aid, private tutor/care taker and child Life/Life specialist assistant at Dana Farber where she worked on a multidisciplinary team to provide well-rounded care for pediatric oncology and hematology patients and their families. She also worked on developed therapeutic relationships with children through art and play activities. She spent the last 5 months living, working, and spotting kangaroos in Melbourne, Australia. She loves writing, painting, playing soccer, and hanging out with her three younger brothers.
Cris Paulino
Assistant Teacher, Preschool West
Cris Paulino is a recent graduate of Tufts University, where they majored in American Studies and minored in Drama. Over the past five years, they have spent their working hours teaching and mentoring students of all ages and abilities in high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and early education. They invest much of their free time in theater, be it as a patron, actor, or stagehand. They are excited to join the Eliot Pearson Children’s School and continue their work in fostering the holistic development and success of the children in their community.