Meet the Team
Core Values
Our Space
Our Story
The Beginning
Jennifer Woodruff and Jennifer Friedman founded La Escuelita in 2003, with a mission to create a dual-language Spanish and English preschool that values diversity and play-based learning. With their backgrounds in early childhood education and bilingual speech-language pathology, they knew that preschool is the ideal time to acquire language, and wanted to give their own children the gift of bilingualism. They set out to create their ideal preschool and over 20 years later, La Escuelita is a thriving community of diverse families, talented educators, and happy and engaged children.
Meet Our Team
At La Escuelita, our dedicated team of passionate educators provide a wealth of experience and expertise. Our teachers create a nurturing and stimulating environment for your child’s growth. They offer individualized attention, working closely with families to establish a strong partnership.
Teachers & Administrators
Kelley Grant
Executive Director
I fell in love with La Escuelita when I was looking for a Spanish immersion preschool for my daughter in 2011. Although...
Jacqueline Vásquez
Educational Director
It is a great honor to continue working at La Escuelita, now in this new role as Educational Director....
Juleime Cepeda
Executive Assistant
I am grateful to continue to be part of such a talented and passionate team! I was born and raised in Queens, New York...
Brenda Abreu
Administrative Assistant
We are delighted to have Brenda join our team as our new part time Administrative Assistant. She looks forward to...
Zuleika Cespedes
Assistant Educational Director / Head Teacher
I migrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic when I was only thirteen years old, without the ability to...
Erica Olivo
Head Teacher
I have experienced first-hand the benefits of a bilingual education. Coming from a Dominican family, I only spoke...
Edelyn Maceda
Head Teacher
I was born and raised in New York, and have lived most of my life in Jackson Heights, Queens. My...
Brandon Taft
Head Teacher
I was born and raised in New York City and live in Riverdale, The Bronx. My family consists of Dominican, Argentinian,...
Natalia Morici
Head Teacher
I was born in Argentina. I´m the...
Berenice Ruiz
Assistant Teacher
Born and raised in Colombia, I earned an Associate's degree in Child Development from LaGuardia Community College and...
Carmen Andrade
Assistant Teacher
I was born and raised in Cuenca, Ecuador where I earned my Associate's Degree in Accounting but I taught English in...
Iris Alvarado
Assistant Teacher
I was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the Bronx. I received my bachelor’s...
Laura Villegas
Assistant Teacher
I was born and raised in Dominican Republic and I have 2 wonderful children, 11 and 9 years old. For a while I studied...
Martha Paguay
Assistant Teacher
I was born and raised in the U.S. and my parents came from Ecuador. I am a music teacher, and I received my bachelor's...
Miriam Baez
Assistant Teacher
Miriam is joining us for a second year at La Escuelita. She looks forward to sharing more about herself soon.
Pedro Carol Hernández
Assistant Teacher
I was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in December 2001, upon completing the course work for my...
Yerania Poline
Assistant Teacher
I was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States when I was sixteen years old. After high school, I...
Board of Directors
Kevin Woodruff
President, Board of Directors
Kevin is Morgan Stanley's Global Head of Equity Derivative Products and Structured Notes Global Product Head. He joined...
Vilda Vera Mayuga
Vice-President, Board of Directors
Vilda is the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. She...
Jacqueline Hirsch
Secretary, Board of Directors
Jacqueline is an Executive Advisor at Banco Santander International covering Private...
Martha Escobar
Treasurer, Board of Directors
Martha has been a leader in the La Escuelita community since the school's inception. Her four children's tenures at the...
Abhishek Mistry
Board of Directors
Abhishek leads a team of engineers at Hudson River Trading, building software to...
Adriane Miliotis
Board of Directors
Adriane is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and serves as the Clinical...
Andrés Varón
Board of Directors
We are delighted to have Andrés back on the board. Andrés is a parent to two La Escuelita alumni. He looks forward to...
Erica Rivera
Board of Directors
Erica is the Managing Partner of Crenshaw Associates Consulting, a global provider...
James Thomas
Board of Directors
James is a Tax Partner with Ernst & Young LLP, a multinational professional...
Jennifer Weiss Friedman
Board of Directors
Jennifer is co-founder and former director of La Escuelita. Both of her children graduated from La Escuelita. Prior to...
Jennifer Woodruff
Board of Directors
Jennifer's motivation for co-founding La Escuelita in 2002 was for her children to experience the many benefits of...
Justin Tyack
Board of Directors
Justin is the Chief Operating Officer at Bank Street College of Education. In this role, he oversees the Division of...
Kimberly Miller
Board of Directors
Kimberly L Miller is a mother to four young bilingual children, and an advocate of meaningful spaces to learn and grow....
Lindsay Kaden
Board of Directors
Lindsay Kaden works in brand management in the consumer-packaged-goods industry. She is currently the VP of Marketing...
Megan Passanisi
Board of Directors
Megan is an Engineer Manager at Google, supporting Google Workspace for Education. Her...
Pablo Kapusta
Board of Directors
Pablo Kapusta is a trusted legal advisor to publicly traded companies with over a...
Core Values
Play-Based
Everything we do is rooted in developmentally-appropriate practices, centering play and child-led learning. Teachers plan thematic units around children’s interests and our classrooms are designed for age-appropriate and creative exploration.
Diversity
La Escuelita has an unshakable commitment to welcoming and creating a community of families of diverse backgrounds and compositions. This not only fosters a warm and open environment, but also promotes authentic and valuable learning opportunities.
Bilingualism
Using research-based practices, La Escuelita immerses children in a rich and engaging linguistic environment, fostering the development of bilingualism, biliteracy, and multiculturalism in students from all language backgrounds.
Our Space
Our school is located in St. Michael’s Church on the Upper West Side, in a space built especially for us. Our beautiful space includes six classrooms, a cozy library, a large indoor gymnasium, and a private outdoor playspace.