Jardín de Niños Staff
Rocio Serna
Rocio Serna is our Pre-Toddler (one year olds) Teacher. Serna was born in Cusco- Peru. She is certified in teaching Psychology and Philosophy with 10 years of experience in teaching in her country. In 2000, she earned a Master Degree in Planning and Administration of Education. In 2007, Serna concluded a Graduate Research Student Program at the Miyagi University of Education in Sendai-Japan, and worked 3 years as Part-time Teaching Assistant in an Elementary School in Japan.
Her objective is to apply her knowledge and experience to children and help them to develop their skills. Serna desires to continue her education and to keep preparing herself professionally in order to carry out her duties as an educator and offer great support to the children of “Jardín de Niños Interlingua” and their families as well.
Nelly Mendez
Zulema Mendez is our Infant Teacher. She is from Ciro de Acosta, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Mendez is certified as a development specialist in orientation and planning with infants. She has worked in Early Stimulation programs for ten years.
She has a CDA (Child Development Certification with Infants) from the State of Texas.
She believes that “Teaching children is most important to me, because they are the future.”
Mayte Flores
Ms. Mayte was born, raised and educated in Mexico City; Mayte got married and moved to Austin TX where she formed her family. She received her Bachelor in Early Childhood Education from Universidad Normal Santa Teresa de Jesus in Mexico City with an early stimulation specialization.
Ms. Mayte worked for Mexican public education and different privates schools throughout Mexico and Austin.
Mayte feels a strong affinity to Jardín de niños Interlingua School’s focus on a multicultural, multilingual IB program.
She promotes her students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers by creating a nurturing environment in the classroom where students are encouraged to ask questions and explore.
One of her goals is encourage children to be tolerant and respectful people who, with their knowledge, will be equipped to take action.
Maria Dominguez
Maria Elena Dominguez is from Austin. She attended Texas State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, majoring in Bilingual Education. Maria received her EC-4 Bilingual Certification from the state of Texas in December 2007. In 2008, Maria began her career as a Kindergarten teacher at Jardin de Niños South. She has volunteered as a catechist in St. Louis Catholic Church. In addition, Maria worked at Tobias International Elementary School in Kyle, Texas as a third grade TAKS tutor. Currently she is working on a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education with a Minor in Educational Leadership at Texas State University. Last semester she was inducted as a Kappa Delta Pi member for her standing as a graduate student.
Dominguez believes bilingual education should not be an option but instead it should be required in every educational setting. Research has proven that bilingual children outperform their monolingual peers. The United States has become a multicultural country and we can better prepare our children by providing them with a bilingual education. She enjoys working at Jardin de Niños because it provides our children with the tools to become multicultural minded. But most importantly, Dominguez love the fact that the teachers are caring and that they work with our children’s families to assure their child’s transition into the program.
Iris Moreno
Iris Moreno is native from Saltillo Coahuila, Mexico,
Grace Avila
Grace Avila is our Pre-K Teacher. She is from a little town near Barranquilla, Colombia called Sabanalarga.
Avila holds a BA in Education from Universidad Del Atlántico located in Barranquilla. She worked as a Spanish and English teacher there for 7 years.
Avila moved to the United Stated in 2006. Since 2006, she has been teaching primarily Elementary, but specially Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First grades. She believes in the potential kids have and knows that the teachers have the tools and resources necessary to help develop that knowledge, and help this world to be a better place.
Avila is motivated to have the chance to work as a Spanish teacher at Jardin deNinos.
Fernando Valerio
Mr. Fernando Valerio holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Sciences from Instituto Politécnico Nacional. He later received his Master's Degree at in Education from National Pedagogical University. Fernando worked several years in public education in Mexico city, where he had the opportunity to work directly for the ex-president of Mexico Vicente Fox Quesada and the ministry of education Reyes Tamez Guerra improving the quality of the bilingual education and different educational programs, he represented Mexico in Chile, Ecuador and Costa Rica for the Educational Planning System for the Americas and windows on science.
Fernando moved to Berkeley, California where he continued his studies in different languages at the University of California and cooperates with the AmeriCorps program teaching different educational contents in Oakland California, he speaks English, Spanish, Italian and German. Fernando believes that a combination of our Spanish immersion combined IB program is not only an academic framework but is also a real and well structured experience that forms sensitive human beings that are able to successfully face their future.
Fabiola Ramirez
Fabiola Ramirez was born in Laredo, Texas and grew up in Monterrey Mexico. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Early
Childhood Education at the University of Monterrey Mexico. She has a Certification in Neurolinguistics and Montessori Programs from Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey Mexico.
She has taught in English Language Immersion Schools in Monterrey Mexico and worked as a lead teacher of Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade at Stanford Bilingual Institute. While working in Elementary Schools in Mexico, she worked with the PYP (Primary Years Program) and implemented Windows on Science Routines (Project of the Mexican educational system).
“I strongly believe that the first steps in a child’s education are the most important steps in their lives. I want to create an atmosphere of values, communication, and trust, for your children and you. I want your children to learn Spanish as a mother tongue (natural process) and in order to do this I will need your support at home. Reading at home and having a good communication with your children”"I’m very excited to join the Jardin de Ninos community as Kindergarten Teacher and committed with JDNI in setting a strong foundation for future growth and success.”
Cynthia Ramirez
Cynthia Ramirez is our Pre-Toddler (one year olds) Assistant Teacher at JDNI. She was born and raised in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico where she received a BA in International Trade. In 2009, she talk Spanish in Seoul, South Korea. While living in Asia, we was lucky enough to be able to travel throughout the region, highlights including China, Cambodia, Thailand, and India. Being able to immerse herself into diverse cultures has given Ramirez the opportunity to be aware of students’ varied needs and heritages.
Passionate about early childhood education, Ramirez is currently working on receiving her Child Development Associate Certificate (CDA) in order to gain more skills for her profession. Ramirez believes Bilingual education is a cutting edge field and will be crucial for the future of an increasingly multi-cultural America. She is excited to see a generation of bilingual, problem solvers, and critical thinkers students bringing their skills and knowledge into the world.
Claudia Aguilar
Claudia Aguilar is a native from Coahuila, Mexico and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. Ms. Sanchez studied at Sabinas Coahuila University in College Station and received a bachelor degree in systems engineering with a minor in industrial Sociology. She has worked in Early Childhood Education field for over 17 years
Her teaching methods support the teacher as a guide in children’s learning. My goal is to enrich a child’s abilities and support their development towards independence and positive socialization.
