Alejandra Zelaa

 

A native of Venezuela, Alejandra’s passion for teaching children developed through dance. She taught dance for several years to children ranging in age from 6 to 12 years old.

 

“Every child should get the opportunity to take dance at one point or another,” she says. “Dance teaches coordination, balance, and confidence among many things, and these are skills that are transferable to any discipline”.

 

After moving to the United States, she worked as a Spanish teacher for children ages 6-12. Her students often commented on her kind and gentle demeanor and she stood out among her peers thanks to her professionalism towards both parents and school personnel. Alejandra was soon promoted to program coordinator responsible for scheduling teachers, capturing new sales, and following up on client concerns.

 

Alejandra graduated from Arturo Michelena University with a degree in Communication Studies and a concentration in Public Relations. She lives in Sugar Land, Texas with her husband and their amazingly intelligent Golden Retriever.

 

 

  

  

Gabriela Johnson

 

Gabriela is a native of Venezuela and has lived in the United States for more than 18 years. Her professional experience includes serving as manager of language services at a regional hospital, coordinating and overseeing 25+ medical interpreters in more than 10 languages. Her passion for helping others and her love for children led her to the non-profit sector where she worked as a project manager for Communities in Schools at the elementary and middle school levels. Guiding and helping at-risk families keep students in school gave Gabriela new ideas about educational environments that challenged and motivated the child not only to stay in school, but to “love” school. Later, she worked with an English as a Second Language adult program.

 

After becoming a parent, she decided to homeschool her daughter during a period of her elementary school education. Through this experience, Gabriela developed a deep knowledge of curriculum and teaching techniques while gaining a great respect for educators and other homeschooling families. Gabriela believes in a dynamic classroom where the teacher is personable and engaging.

 

“Learning is an active process,” she says, “not only because it’s continuous, but because it requires concepts to be presented to the student in a variety of forms for optimal understanding and assimilation. Deep learning does not happen by completing sheets and sheets of work alone.”

 

Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Furman University, as well as having studied business administration with a concentration in the hospitality industry in Venezuela. She also lived in Europe where she studied French.

 

Gabriela and her husband are proud parents of a daughter and son, each of whom has been identified as gifted and advanced a grade level. Gabriela and her husband teach their children to “do the right thing” and “to always strive for excellence.”