Our administration team has more than 15 years experience working with children. All of our teachers are fully qualified, and we do not have any teacher aids. All teachers are Infant, Child and Adult CPR and First Aid certified, cleared through the Department of Justice, FBI Database and the Child Abuse Index.
Hello there. My name is Crystal Page and I am happy to introduce myself as the director of Knowledge Tree. I have been in the education field since 2004 and have a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Development with a minor in Education, as well as multiple subjects teaching credentials. I’m inspired by the natural curiosity children have about everything around them and the desire they have to learn. I love the joy and excitement that children find in little things that we as adults often overlook and the innocence that children possess.
I firmly believe that preschool sets the foundation for a child’s love of learning and education. Outside of my dedication to the education of young children I enjoy spending time with my 2 daughters and husband. We enjoy spending time outdoors, traveling, and doing arts and crafts.
Hello! My name is Cheylynne Shingoitewa. I have worked in education since 2000, most recently as a Pre-K teacher here at Knowledge Tree Children’s Academy in the Owl Classroom. Prior to that, I started my teaching career in the Bay Area teaching children at all levels of development. My degree is in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in teaching children with special needs.
In my years of teaching and leading, I have enjoyed working with students in achieving their full potential and creating a safe and trusting atmosphere. I strongly believe in the importance of creating a joyous and intentional learning environment. I am inspired by the innovational curriculum Knowledge Tree Children’s Academy brings to Early Childhood Education and its mission to include and empower each child. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with Ms. Crystal as her Assistant Director, as well as with a wonderful group of motivated and focused educators. Being originally from the beautiful state of Utah, I enjoy many outdoor activities; such as camping, fishing, hiking, and anything that involves a lake! I also love running, crafting, and traveling to new places with my husband.
Hi, my name is Frank Lin. I serve as the curriculum coordinator as well as the Mandarin teacher here at Knowledge Tree. As the co-coordinator, my responsibilities are mostly prep-work and making adjustments to lessons issued by headquarters and translating if necessary. My educational background is in Science where I obtained my bachelor’s at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Soon after, I studied ECE in Sierra College obtaining my ECE teacher certificate. I taught as a Pre-K teacher for 5 years.
My time as a teacher taught me the importance of scaffolding children’s learning and to encourage their sense of wonder. In my spare time, I enjoy drawing, watching films, and play the violin.
My name is Erica Van Tongeren. I have been at Knowledge Tree since the beginning and have my BA in child development. I am the youngest of 4, and love being around my family. My passion for being a teacher started when I first became an aunt at 7 years old, I now have 5 nieces and 1 nephew. I am married to my best friend that I have known almost all my life. I love art, anything to do with being outside, and animals. My philosophy when it comes to children is that they have the capability to do amazing things when we give them the chance. I believe in guiding rather than pushing them to learn.
What I love about teaching is watching how the children react to learning something new, and knowing that I am helping them reach new levels of understanding. I look forward to helping your children prepare for kindergarten while having a lot of fun.
I have been an Early Education Teacher since 2010 and began teaching in Lake Tahoe. I married my best friend 10 years ago and we have an 8-year-old son, Logan in second grade and a 20-year-old daughter, Kyla in her Junior year at California State University Long Beach working towards her Technical Theatre BA. I began teaching when Kyla was 2 to keep her with me during the day and fell in love with Teaching!
I love spending time with my family as well as doing anything music, art or theatre-related. I also like to incorporate these things into my teaching style and have also been an art teacher. I love doing volunteer work. I took 2 years off teaching to get my Medical Assistant and CNA certifications to broaden my usefulness in my volunteer activities. I have worked with orphans in Ukraine, as well as, Sudanese refugees and their families in San Diego. I try to instill these values of thinking outside of yourself as well as introducing conservation skills into young children.
I am beyond excited to be working with your kiddos. A little about myself, I am from Merced, CA and moved to Sacramento to pursue a college education at Sacramento State. I graduated from Sacramento State in 2018 with a B.A. in Child Development and am currently working on completing my Master’s in Child Development as well. Although this is my first teaching position, I have completed many hours of fieldwork throughout the duration of my undergraduate career. During my fieldwork, I gained experience working with children ranging in grades from kindergarten to second. I was also fortunate enough to be able to work with children who were on the moderate to severe Autism spectrum. During this time, I learned a lot about myself and the field but, more importantly, I uncovered my passion to positively impact the youth in the surrounding community.
I am recently engaged and will be getting married October, 2021, following my graduation with my Master’s. My fiancé and I do not have any children, but we do have two dogs named Beau and Paisley. In my free time, when I’m not doing homework or reading for school, I enjoy crocheting, taking my dogs to the dog park, reading articles for my thesis topic, Sudoku puzzles, building a Pinterest board for my wedding, and sketching.
I am incredibly excited to be a part of Knowledge Tree. More importantly, I am THRILLED to be your child’s teacher. We will be having a lot of fun learning in the Panda classroom.
I graduated from Yuba Community College with my Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education and then transferred to the California State University of Chico where I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and minor in Early Childhood Development. I recently completed my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at Chico State. I have been working with children since 2010 and have taught Preschool since 2016. Teaching is my favorite thing to do, it is my passion! I was born in Thailand and raised in Marysville, CA. I come from a very BIG Hmong family. I am the fourth oldest of eleven children. In my free time, I love spending time with my family and going on family trips. I also enjoy reading, hiking, traveling, and shopping..
Hello Families! My name is Diane. I have been working with children since 2004, which 6 years were with infants and toddlers. I have a teenage daughter and a daughter who is a toddler. My husband’s name is Brandon. I also have a dog named Angus.
Toddlers are my favorite age group. I enjoy the chaos! I love to explore different sensory activities with the children. I love dancing in dramatic play. I also enjoy the moments of calmness, when a child so actively engaged in play. Thank you for entrusting me with the care of your child. Welcome to the Panda Class!
Greetings! My name is Stefani, and I have been working closely with toddlers and two-year-old since 2015. I currently hold an associate’s teaching certificate and am working towards my A.S degree in Early Child Education. I have worked with children of different ages ranging from Infants to 5-year-olds. Toddlers and two-year-olds hold a special place in my heart since I have worked with them the longest. I am a big supporter of the arts and in my spare time I love to paint, dance, and sing along to musicals and Broadway songs.
I am a firm believer that children are the future and my favorite part of teaching is watching children grow. Aside from English, I also speak Spanish and have knowledge of ASL. I am committed to communicating with families to the best of my abilities whether in English, or Spanish, or perhaps even ASL. I look forward to working with your children and your family.
My name is Josephine. I have been married for over 30 years and have two daughters and one son. I have been in licensed child care for thirty years. I love being with young children and bringing love and positive care to all. I have a great amount of respect for all children and feel that being with them is the most rewarding job in the world. My job makes me feed needed.
Watching children develop and interact with one another day by day is a wonderful experience. I feel blessed. I make children and families feel comfortable by making the classroom a warm and friendly environment. I am committed to providing the highest quality care.
Hello families, My name is Ms. Dale. I am very excited to be a part of the Lions class as their afternoon Teacher. I am a Jersey girl and have 2 adult children as well as 1 grandson. My journey in teaching started when my own 2 children attended a co-op preschool. It wasn’t difficult to decide my career after spending time with the children. I attended Sierra College and my life truly began. My first preschool brought me to Roseville where I taught a TK class and eventually became the Program Assistant Manager. After a few years, I ventured into the Developmentally Disable Field. I then retired from that and because I missed the children very much, I returned to Roseville. I taught children ranging from Infants to School-age. That is when I met the wonderful Ms. Wen.
I am so pleased that I have been brought to this wonderful school, KTCA, I love new adventures and hope to introduce new ideas in Science, Art, Music, and Cooking. This will be a paradise of learning and fun for all. A few of my favorite things: Traveling, music, crocheting, cooking, and plant rescue.
Hello, my name is Liza Vusik and I’m thrilled to be the teacher for the Caterpillars! Teaching children has always been my heart’s desire ever since I was a child myself. I was a nanny to a variety of families for the last five years. Just recently I did a student teaching practicum at PCOE, Child Development Center. That experience gave birth to a greater passion for working with children professionally. In May 2019 I got my AS-T degree in Early Childhood Education.
As of today, I am happily married to the most caring and loving man I have ever met. We have a cat by the name of Drogo whom we love dearly. In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, camping, drawing sketches, and spending time with friends and family. It would be my greatest joy to impact the lives of every child and family I meet at Knowledge Tree! Providing developmentally appropriate education for children is my highest priority. I am looking forward to being a part of every child’s first steps to their life journey!
My Name is Rani Mahorker. I was born in India, I have two sons, and my husband is a software engineer. I did my Bachelor’s Degree in education in India and moved to the US 18 years ago. I have completed 25 units in early childhood education and have worked with children since 2014. I strongly believe in providing a curriculum that is developmentally age-appropriate. It provides a strong foundation for learning, with equal emphasis on academic, social, emotional, physical and creative development. I also believe that good communication between staff and parents will always show high-quality care and education for children, and also contributes to good relations between a teacher and parents.
I love to spend my time with my family, going on trips, cooking, and watching movies. I am very happy to be a part of the KTCA.
Hello, I’m Lindsey! I’ve worked here at Knowledge Tree since May 2019. I came from another preschool where I worked for a year and a half. I have also nannied for many years. Infants and Toddlers is the age I love the most and have the most experience in. Seeing children learn and grow is what makes me love teaching.
While attending college, Child Development was not my first major. I first started studying Film making, Photography, Art, and Animation before going into Child Development. Some may not think these subjects have anything in common, but I disagree. My experience in all these fields helped me to incorporate each of them into my teaching. I look forward to being a part of your children’s learning and growing here in the Honeybee Room.
Hello and greetings to the KTCA children and families. My name is Idelle Enteria and I’m the chef who makes all the food for the children here at KTCA. I moved from the bay area 3 years ago, but I am originally from the Philippines. I came to the U.S. with my family when I was 11 years old. I am the oldest of my siblings. I am blessed with two awesome kids. My son is 31 years old who also recently moved here from the bay area. My daughter is 30 years old and lives in San Diego. During my teen years and early motherhood, I enjoyed baking, sewing, reading, crafting, and Hulu dancing.
Nowadays my past times are dancing, listening to music, and singing in the car on the way to work! I also like to have a little “me” time whenever I can. I enjoy interacting with your children when I deliver snacks and lunches to their classrooms. Their greetings and little waving hands are the cutest! I am pleased and grateful to be a part of the KTCA family.
Hi, my name is Pino Fiorenze and I’m the bus driver here at Knowledge Tree. I was born and raised in southern Italy in an area known as Calabria. When I finished school I joined the Italian Navy where I served as a communications specialist. After my serves, I then came to America with my wife Josephine when I was 23 years old.
Josephine is the Monkey’s teacher here at Knowledge Tree and together we have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. We enjoy being with family and attending the various events that our grandchildren participate in such as plays, dances, and sports. In my spare time, I also enjoy watching professional soccer and bowling. I like the great people who work here at knowledge Tree and we all appreciate the opportunity to work with your great children!
