| Our Staff |
Executive Director, Lucia
D’Souza is responsible for the day-to-day
management of the Learning Springs Academy and oversees all components
of the program.
Lucia has over 17 years of experience working in both elementary and
preschool regular and special education settings. She spent 4 years
as the School Director of a non public school in Palo Alto serving students
with extreme behavioral and emotional challenges. She has thirteen years
of direct classroom experience teaching in San Francisco and Palo Alto working with
children of all ages with special needs.
Lucia also taught regular education in Hong Kong and worked
with multi-cultural families as she lived in a wide range of countries
globally.
Lucia has a Masters of Education from Vanderbilt University in Nashville
TN and a Masters of Science in Psychology attained from the University
of East Asia, Macau. In addition to this, she has a Post-graduate
Certificate in Education from the University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor’s
of Science in Sociology from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad
and Tobago.
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Karina Medina is the Teacher for the Green Room Karina comes to us with a Bachelor
of Arts in Child Development from SJSU, a Child Development Center Administration Certificate and
an Associate in Arts Degree from DeAnza College . She has worked at Rainbow Bridge Academy and at
the YMCA as a teacher and most recently, as the Assistant Director of their preschool program.
In addition to being bilingual in Spanish and English, Karina brings a wealth of experience in
coordinating family nights and networking parents with local community resources.
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Karen Braich graduated in psychology from the American University of Paris in 2006, with
a special interest in child development. She subsequently worked as an Intern and Volunteer in France and
the USA. Earlier she had some experience as a counselor to children. Thanks to her several years in
France, she brings to her assignment as teaching assistant a certain sensitivity towards children of
different national backgrounds. Karen is the Lead Teacher in the Red Room which serves our four
year old students.
Contact Karen
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Jenny Subil attained her B.A. in Sociology last year from California State
University East Bay Hayward, CA, and joins our team with varied experience as a Behavior Therapist,
Extended Care Leader and Recreation Leader.
She has worked with children with special needs such as those with from autism and ADHD; organized
social and charitable activities (including AIDS and Breast Cancer Walks), neighborhood clean-up
campaigns; and planning and supervising after-school activities (including games, arts and crafts,
field trips and helping with homework.) She joined our team as a teaching assistant for the Yellow
and Red Room.
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Monique Vosika is the Front Office Manager and a Qualified Teacher for
Learning Springs Academy, Monique’s warm smile and positive
outlook are contagious and representative of the warm and welcoming
atmosphere we provide for children, parents and visitors to the Learning
Springs Academy.
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Shalini Agrawal has had varied experience in different areas after graduating in 1979 with an
MBA from the University of Allahabad, India. She worked as a Teacher Assistant on several occasions between 1993
and 1996. She gained further experience as a Teacher's Aide and Associate Teacher dealing with children with
special needs from 2006 to 2007 at Deanza College in Cupertino.
She is fond of preschool age children and wants
to inspire them to be lifelong learners. Shalini is a Substitute Teacher at LSA.
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Annie Posadas is the Lead Teacher for our three year old classroom. Annie is currently
working on attaining her BA degree in Early Childhood Education at San Jose State University. Annie works
with Rocio Reyes to help coordinate the children's daily routine, prepare and implement activities
and coordinate schedules. Annie's gentle introduction to academics helps children excel in their education.
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Rocio Reyes has joined to broaden her professional and academic experience that is
already varied and extensive. Her bicultural and bilingual background (she has a major in Spanish and a
minor in Latin American studies from San Jose State University)serve to enrich our program as she is a
valued resource when working with our bilingual students and families. Her background as an art instructor
allows her to use her creativity and experience in her teaching on daily basis. Rocio teaches our three year
old classroom along with Annie Posadas.
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Sandra Cervantes is the Lead Teacher in the Yellow Room.
She has been working towards an AA at Ohlone Community College, Fremont and plans on transferring to
San Jose State University. She has had experience working with children, mainly aged 5- 12, but also with 2-4
year-olds.
She was a Recreation Leader at the Washington High School, Fremont (1999-2002); Instructional
Assistant/Extended Care Leader at Saint Edward School, Newark, CA, (Oct. 2000-June 2008), helping students with
special needs with their class work and homework assignments, games and arts and crafts; and Program Director at
the City Of Fremont, Fremont, planning weekly field trips for 5-12 year- olds, and trained and supervised 22 staff
members (June 2006-August 2007).
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Nagham Hussain is a part time Teacher's Assistant in the Yellow Room working with our two
and a half year olds. She is working towards a certificate in Child Development at Mission College in
Santa Clara, Nagham has her B.A from Rafidan University and speaks Arabic fluently. Nagham is very familiar
with Learing Springs as her older daughter Sara was in our pre-k classroom and her son is currently
enrolled in our program.
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Kazuko Gold Substitute Teacher. It is not merely our children that hail from different
corners of the globe. Our teachers too trace their origin from far and wide. Our latest recruit, Kazuko Gold,
speaks Japanese fluently having work experience in Japan and the USA.
After obtaining an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Kazuko worked for seven years as the lead
teacher in an elementary school in Japan and later as a Japanese teacher in Redding, California. From May 2006
to the present she has been teaching in San Francisco.
Two of Kazuko's children attend Learning Springs and are in the Green and Yellow Room.
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Languages spoken by our staff
Arabic, French, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, Japanese and Vietnamese. |
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Contact Information
1718 Andover Lane
San Jose, CA 95124
408 216-8867
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