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| Founding Owners |
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Vicki Cockrell-Williams - USA |
| Vicki has lived in Plano for 30 years. She has two children, ages 19 and 16. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is currently finishing a Master of Education. Although not a native speaker, she loves the language and culture. Vicki loves working with children and wishes to share her love of the Spanish language with them. |
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Mónica Ramirez - Mexico |
| Monica moved to Plano in 1995. She is from Mexico City, where she earned a degree in Computer Science. She is married and has two children, ages 8 and 6. Monica loves sharing her culture and language with the children in the United States. Her children are bilingual and she would like to give this gift to other children in the United States. |
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Josie Gerber - Peru |
| Josie has been in the United States for 11 years. She is from Peru where she studied Graphic Design. She is married with three children ages 10, 6 and 2. Josie loves working with the children in the United States and teaching them the songs and customs she learned as a child. Josie's children are bilingual, so she knows how natural it is for children to learn and speak two (or more!) languages. |
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| Campus Owners and Directors |
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| Allen Campus |
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Owner/Director – Paulina Parker - El Salvador |
| Paulina was born and raised in Florida. At the age of 10 she moved to El Salvador, which she considers home. A passion for teaching motivated her to earn a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Master's degree in Family Counseling. Paulina owned and directed her own preschool in El Salvador for 12 years. In 2002, she moved to Texas where she taught 4 year olds at a Christian preschool in Frisco. In 2003, she started the Spanish Schoolhouse Afterschool program for the Frisco ISD. She continues to direct the program for multiple school districts. She is blessed to be the director and owner of Spanish Schoolhouse in Allen. It allows her to enrich the lives of children with academic excellence and the Spanish language. She is married and has two daughters and two stepsons. |
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| Arlington Campus |
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Director - Ana Baylon – México |
| Ana was born and raised in Chihuahua, México, where she obtained a Degree in Business Administration. She has been married to her husband for 11 years and has two daughters. Prior to joining the Spanish Schoolhouse team, Ana owned her own childcare center in Alexandria, VA. She has now been working with children for over ten years, and she finds teaching extremely rewarding. She is excited to offer a program that provides children with the confidence and knowledge to be anything they want to be, while giving them another view of the world around them. |
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| Castle Hills/Carrollton Campus |
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Owner/Director – Gabriela Ramirez - Mexico |
| Gabriela has lived in Texas for 9 years. She is from México City, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Education and an Associate's Degree in Psychology. Gaby was a teacher in México for more than 20 years and has training and experience in teaching children with special needs. Her three children love Spanish Schoolhouse and are part of the team at Castle Hills. Gabita is the Spanish Kindergarten teacher, Guillermo is in charge of school administration, and Mariel assists the Stay and Play teachers in the afternoons. Teaching is Gaby's passion in life. She is very happy to be the Director of her own school and to be able to share the Spanish traditions and language with the children in the United States. |
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| Coppell Campus |
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Director – Jennifer Granadillo – Venezuela |
| Jennifer is a native Spanish speaker from Caracas, Venezuela. She and her husband moved to the Dallas area in 2002. Her son, Santiago, is a Spanish Schoolhouse graduate. Jennifer holds degrees in Education, Human Resources, and Organizational Development. Jennifer knows first-hand the value and advantages of speaking two languages. She is proud to be the Director of the Coppell school, where she loves to share her culture and traditions. |
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| Fort Worth Campus |
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Owners/Directors - Yolanda Armas (Spain) & Dusty Gotcher (USA) |
Yolanda was born and raised in Spain where she graduated in Marketing and Communications before coming to U.C.L.A. for a post-graduate degree in Public Relations.
Dusty was born and raised in the Fort Worth area, graduated from Texas A&M in Speech Communications, and also holds a Master of Education in Instructional Leadership. As a 12 year veteran educator (8 in Kindergarten), he has extensive experience in educational development, curriculum design and delivery, and assessment.
The married couple have three children and are proud to have them learning and growing in the Spanish Schoolhouse program. They are committed to the benefits of being multilingual and excited to offer the best preschool available to Fort Worth families. |
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| Frisco Campus |
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Director - Beatriz Gomez – Colombia |
| Beatriz was born in Medellin, Colombia. She first came to the United States 20 years ago and lived in Ohio for several years while her husband completed his Master's degree. They returned to Colombia for awhile before returning to the Dallas area permanently in 1996, with their two daughters, now 15 and 19. Beatriz has worked at Spanish Schoolhouse since its opening. She has worked as a preschool teacher and a teacher coordinator, and has been the school Director for the past two years. Beatriz loves working with her team of teachers, and especially loves watching the children grow in their love of the Spanish language. |
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| Keller Campus |
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Owner/Director - Martha Schirripa – USA |
| Martha Schirripa, a native of Texas is the owner/operator of Spanish Schoolhouse Keller. Schirripa, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Administration in Marketing has an extensive background in both community work and Corporate America. Prior to joining the Spanish Schoolhouse franchise Martha was a director of Supplier Diversity for a global corporate bank where she was responsible for creating access for historically disadvantaged business .
Martha studied international business at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico and earned her Master of Science degree in Applied Economics from the University of North Texas. Active in the community she has held many roles, most recently the Vice President of Economic Development for the Ft.Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Martha is married to Salvatore Schirripa and they have two sons who both attended the Spanish Schoolhouse. As a Spanish Schoolhouse parent, she was thrilled to see the growth in her boys linguistically and educationally and developed a true passion for the school and their teaching methods. It is that passion that fueled her desire to move from Corporate America and bring Spanish Schoolhouse to the families of Keller. |
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| McKinney Campus |
| Owners/Directors - Rafael Mena (Mexico) & Ann Mena (USA) |
| Rafael was born in Mexico and raised in Texas. Rafael, a native Spanish speaker, earned his PhD from Ohio State University and has taught university level courses since 1993. Ann was born and raised in New Mexico. She holds a Masters degree from Stanford University and a minor in Spanish. She has been involved with Spanish Schoolhouse for the past 6 years. Ann has a love of learning and enjoys challenging and teaching young children. The couple has two young children who both graduated from the Spanish Schoolhouse program. It was through their experience as parents that they learned about and grew to love Spanish Schoolhouse. With their passion for education, and their experience raising bilingual children, they are thrilled to bring the program to local families as owners of the McKinney campus.
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| North Dallas Campus |
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Director - Roxana Polanco (Perú) |
| Roxana Polanco is originally from Perú, and has lived in the U.S. for 11 years. Married for 22 years, Roxana has 3 children, Andres, Alejandra, and Mateo (an SSH graduate). She holds a degree in accounting from Catolica Santa Maria, in Arequipa, Perú. She also studied English and German. Prior to coming to North Dallas, Roxana worked as a teacher in the Frisco pre-school for 6 years, taught after-school Spanish classes for elementary age students, and was the Summer Camp director at Frisco. Previously, she owned her own businesses in clothing, hospitality, and real estate. Roxana is happy to be here to share her culture and language with the students. She loves to get to know each child and to be able to provide each one with the best educational and social experience. Roxana is excited to be a part of the North Dallas SSH team!
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| Rockwall Campus |
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Owner/Director – Rebeca Zambrano – Mexico |
| Rebeca is a native of Mexico and has lived in Texas for 7 years. She holds an Associate's Degree in Special Education and has been teaching children for over 20 years. She also holds a Degree in Social Services which has given her the special opportunity to help underprivileged families in Mexico. She is married and is the proud mother of four children who are also bilingual and bicultural. Rebeca is delighted to be the owner and Director of Spanish Schoolhouse in Rockwall, where she is able to share her culture and her passion for teaching with children. |
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| Southlake Campus |
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Directors - Vicky Flores (Mexico) & Fernanada Benavente (Chile) |
Vicky was born and raised in Mexico where she earned her degree in Interior Design. She and her husband moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 1999. They have a 13 year-old son who is bilingual. Vicky knows personally the value and advantages of speaking two languages. She has been a part of the Spanish Schoolhouse team since 2004, and has worked at several campuses in both teaching and administrative roles. She is proud to be the Director of the Southlake school, where she loves to share her culture and traditions.
Fernanda was born in Chile. At the age of 3 she moved to Mexico City, which she considers home. She earned a Business Administration degree at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. After a successful career in marketing, Fernanda and her family moved to Austin, and a couple of years later they settled in the Dallas area. Fernanda's love of children lead her to join the Spanish Schoolhouse team, first as a teacher and more recently as the director of the Southlake campus. She is grateful to be in an environment that helps shape children's lives with academic excellence, and allows her to share the many things her culture has to offer. Fernanda is married and is the proud mother of a daughter (former SSH student) and a son, (current student at Spanish Schoolhouse). |
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