About Us

Our Mission

The Diane K. Trust Center for Early Education of Temple Ohabei Shalom (TCEE) is a cheerful, sun-filled, state-of-the-art facility in a historic building, supported by Boston’s oldest congregation. Through discovery, exploration, and wonder, our emergent, play-based curriculum provides children plentiful opportunities to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills and allows each child to grow at their own pace. We are a neighborhood program, dedicated to creating an environment that nurtures relationships among families and builds a welcoming and meaningful Jewish community.

We offer extended hours and flexible schedules in order to address the needs of modern working families. Busy parents can feel confident about leaving their children for a full day under the attentive supervision provided by our warm and nurturing teachers and staff.

Our Goal

The Diane K. Trust Center for Early Education (TCEE) of Temple Ohabei Shalom provides the building blocks for each child to develop a love of learning that will serve as the foundation for their personal journey of discovery and wonder. Your child will participate in a program of individualized activities, anchored in the developmental stages and needs of young children, in a nurturing Bayit (home)-like setting created by a team of caring and dedicated professionals, all within an inclusive community that encourages Jewish identity and respect for social values.

Our Philosophy

TCEE supports the growth of young children through a developmental, play-based curriculum that recognizes and addresses the individual needs (social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and cognitive) of students, and creates opportunities to allow each child to grow at their own pace. At the Trust Center, we borrow from the best of many schools of early educational thought, including Reggio-Emilia and Montessori, to provide children with a well-rounded program that meets the distinct needs of every learner.

Our highly qualified, nurturing teaching staff is able to take advantage of our low student/teacher ratios to carefully get to know each child’s strengths, interests, and areas for growth. While we work carefully to weave appropriate pre-academic skills into our daily play-based curriculum, we also understand that social and emotional growth are equally important areas of early learning, and devote a significant amount of our time to helping students develop these key skills.

We also strive to build partnerships with parents by creating open and easily accessible channels of communication between parents, teachers, the TCEE Director, and synagogue clergy and staff.

Our Team

Director of Early Education

  • Anna has been active in the field of progressive early childhood education for over fifteen years, in both New York City and the Boston area. She has experience in teaching and teacher supervision, emergent curriculum development, progressive Jewish education, school leadership, and expertise in the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Barnard College and a Master of Fine Arts degree in English and Writing with a focus on Children’s Literature from the City College of New York. In 2018 Anna completed her Early Childhood Education Director II Level certification through Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University and the MA EEC. Anna previously taught at the JCC Manhattan Saul & Carole Zabar Nursery School in New York City, and most recently served for two years as the Executive Director of The Family Cooperative, a Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood center in Watertown, MA. Anna lives in Brighton with her husband, Nick, who is a play therapist and the school counselor at the Advent School, and Owen, her energetic four-year-old son. Anna previously worked at TCEE, where she was a teacher, curriculum specialist, and afternoon program coordinator between 2016 and 2020, and is grateful to be back at the wonderful TOS community as Director of Early Education since 2022. Her philosophy of education holds that young children come to us with their own ideas, experiences, and questions about the world and that we are their guides in turning those questions into deep inquiries and learning opportunities–TCEE is a place in which this happens on a daily basis.

TCEE Assistant Director

  • Emma stepped into the role of TCEE Assistant Director in 2022 after a year as TCEE Toddler Coordinator. Before coming to TOS, she spent her career as a toddler teacher at the Brookline-Brighton JCC ELC. She graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in Sociology and has been working in early education classrooms ever since. Watching kids grow and learn to be independent, confident people gives her endless joy. In her free time, Emma enjoys trying out new recipes, walking in the woods, and learning new art skills. She lives in Brighton with her wife and their two cats.

Learning Specialist

  • Edye began her journey at The Trust Center for Early Education as a preschool teacher in 2011. After the birth of her son, Edye returned to TCEE in a dual role of Learning Specialist and a parent of a child in the school. As an educator it has always been an important part of her philosophy that children’s social and emotional development are imperative to their growth and well-being. Edye’s role in our school has many facets to it, including supervising preschool classroom teachers or helping to develop strategies for different children’s learning styles. Edye works in classrooms on a weekly basis, doing “small group work” that emphasizes concepts such as how to be part of a group, recognizing their own as well as others feelings, and learn tools to help handle some of the big emotions. Another important part of her role is supporting families at home whether it’s answering questions about child development or helping parents problem solve behaviors at home by creating materials that encourage positive behavior, or sending articles to parents. Edye feels so fortunate to work in such a diverse and welcoming community, as well as being parent alumni whose child thrived at TCEE. Edye lives in Needham with her husband and son and enjoys playing sports, going to music concerts, inviting friends over to BBQ and watching reality TV.

Administrative & Afternoon Coordinator

  • Emma graduated from Boston University with an EdM in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Counseling in 2017. As a child mental health intern, she worked closely with classroom preschool teachers and discovered a passion for social and emotional learning and teaching. Since then, she worked as a preschool teacher full-time for many years before moving into an administrative role in 2023. She enjoys learning every day from the trials and triumphs of working with young children!

    Before she became an early educator, Emma worked with youth of many ages, stages and backgrounds. In the past, she has been an after-school teacher for teenage immigrant and refugee students in Vermont, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at a university in Brazil, and a teacher-counselor for local adolescent girls in residential treatment. She draws on these many experiences to build positive relationships with children during the most important time of their lives: early childhood. She looks forward to caring for and learning with the TCEE community. Outside of the classroom Emma enjoys playing soccer, cycling, gardening and reading.

Music Educator

  • Joshua Cohen is beyond excited to continue with the Temple Ohabei Shalom family this year as the Music Educator! Josh grew up in Northern California going to Jewish camps and participating in youth group activities. Before he knew it he had fallen in love with Jewish music, playing guitar, and singing. Over 15 years later, he is excited to bring his love of spiritual music to TOS. The last few years he has been fortunate enough to be a Songleader for BBYO, which has allowed him to travel the country spreading ruach to Jewish young adults. He has been living in Boston for several years now and has been involved with a variety of Temples in the area, but now is very happy to finally find a home with TOS.

Nesharim Teacher

  • Alisa grew up in the Liberal Jewish youth movement in London and at the age of 19 moved to Israel to live on the Reform Kibbutz Lotan for 16 years. She moved to the States with her husband and two children in 2002. She gets a deep satisfaction sharing her love and knowledge of Hebrew, Israel and the Jewish holidays and traditions in the day to day school life.

    Alisa is also a certified yoga instructor who also leads many yoga classes in different preschools in the area. She enjoys integrating these skills into her classroom learning through yoga and movement, seeing, touching, listening and singing. She strongly believes that using all of these senses will help develop many aspects of a child’s mind, body and spirit.

Bluejays Teacher

  • Andrew graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2021 with degrees in History and Education. He loves working with kids and worked with toddlers for over a year in Maine. He is excited to continue working with toddlers at TCEE! He also worked for 3 years at a Girl Scouts summer camp in Plymouth and plans to continue working with children, specifically toddlers, for many years to come.

Sparrows Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Atelierista

  • Bret joined the TCEE teaching staff in 2015. He is from a small mountain town in Pennsylvania where he went to Mansfield University and studied art education and worked with students from preschool to 12th grade. He has worked previously in preschools as an art and general education teacher. He looks forward to exploring the ideas of the world and our communities with students.

Yanshufim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Yanshufim Teacher

  • Caroline was born and raised in Boston. A graduate of Bridgewater State University with a BS in Psychology, she also completed her Early Childhood Education Director II level certification. Caroline has over a decade of work experience in Early Childhood Education and thoroughly enjoys young children. In her spare time, Caroline appreciates all that Boston has to offer, traveling and spending time with her friends and family.

Tukim Teacher

  • Emma is thrilled to be making the move to full-time staff at TCEE! She spent the last 2 summers in toddler classrooms and has developed a passion for educating (and playing with!) young children, especially toddlers. She recently graduated from Boston University with a Master’s in Mathematics Education and a Bachelor’s in Deaf Studies. While most of her time at BU was spent across various theaters, she discovered a joy in 2019 for working with children and has sought out mentorship, tutoring, and classroom opportunities ever since. When not at school, you can find Emma hanging out with friends, chattering on about her dog, or doing some random theatre-related task! She can’t wait to start in Tukim and build connections with the children and their families.

Yonim Teacher

  • This is Colleen’s fifth year at TCEE. It was in college, when she was part of the Jumpstart program, that she discovered her love for working in early education. Colleen went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Merrimack College. After college she worked at a childcare center in Dedham and for the Milton Public Schools. When not in school she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Yanshufim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Barvazim Teacher

  • Hannah graduated from Brookline High School in 2015 and from Lasell College in 2019 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been working with children in various preschool, elementary school, and day camp settings for the past decade. She enjoys working with children because she can watch them make connections between themselves and their world.

Nesharim Teacher

Tukim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Barvazim Teacher

  • Kenia Ferreira is certified to work with infants and toddlers, with eight years of experience, in addition to working with the Montessori methodology and teaching the Spanish language. She was also a student of plastic arts and business administration in the Dominican Republic. She studied Early Childhood Education at Urban College. She currently lives with her family in Allston, MA. She has a son who is 25 and he is studying to be a doctor in Medico. She also has a daughter who is 17 and she wants to be an artist. She has a beautiful cat named Lion. She likes country life, and is passionate about reading, arts, and cooking in her free time. She likes working with children because it is the purest and most beautiful feeling for a human being. She wants to continue learning spontaneity from them.

Tukim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Agurim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Barvazim Teacher

  • Makayla loves music, outdoor activities, and reading. She completed a year of service through Americorp in Newark, NJ before coming to TCEE and absolutely adored her kids despite getting placed in a middle school over an elementary school, which was definitely out of her comfort zone! It ended up being a really rewarding experience for her and she learned a lot about herself and teaching. She loves going for walks especially on the beach and cozying up with a good mystery book at the end of the day. She loves most genres of music and played the clarinet and saxophone throughout her middle school and high school years. She is excited for this year and looks forward to all the good things to come!

Bluejays Teacher

  • Natalie (she/her) is excited to be a part of the TCEE staff this school year! She has worked with children of all ages in classrooms, daycares, and tutoring over the past decade and loves engaging young minds! She enjoys reading, doing puzzles, and discussing unicorns (who doesn’t?) and is looking forward to a fun and fruitful year.

Yanshufim Teacher

  • Melanie can’t wait for her third year with TCEE! After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education and applied linguistics from Washington University in St. Louis, she spent a year working at the Brighton branch of the Boston Public Library. Now she is excited to grow and learn along with her TCEE kids! Originally from Las Vegas, NV, Melanie spends her free time exploring the Boston area, taking care of her houseplants, and surviving the long winter.

Agurim Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Float Teacher

  • Bio coming soon!

Pedagogista & Yonim Teacher

  • Priscilla graduated from Boston College with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Studio Art. She also has a Master’s in Developmental Psychology from CUNY. Her teaching practice is influenced by inclusivity for both children and families, the role of developmental psychology in early childhood education, and child-led curriculum. Her favorite part about working with children is making the space for genuine interactions and dialogues, as well as helping to nurture children’s innate curiosity and desire to learn. She has been teaching for ten years, and she has completed her Early Childhood Education Director II level certification. In her free time, Priscilla enjoys reading and playing with her cat Gus. 

Float Teacher

  • Sarah is excited to be back with the TCEE community this year. Prior to joining the team last year, she had worked two years as an Assistant Teacher at the Harbor School in Maryland, where she grew up, working with children ages four/five. She worked for four years as an Assistant Teacher at Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center in the Longwood area with different age groups. She got her master’s in early childhood education in December of 2020 at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Sarah is a big fan of sports, going to concerts and trying new places to eat. She is looking forward to the upcoming school year, watching children grow and helping them achieve their goals.

Yonim Teacher

  • Sydney recently graduated from UConn with a BA in Psychology. During her undergrad, she worked at the Child Development Labs with infants and toddlers. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, reading, and spending time with her family in Connecticut. She is excited to start her first school year at TCEE and explore Boston!

Sparrows Teacher

  • Vanessa was a music educator for 18 years with a Master’s Degree of Education in Music, and has been in general education settings including early childhood education for over 5 years. She has taught in both public school and private school settings. She is passionate about teaching, and loves helping children become curious and joyful learners! She is excited to grow in her career at TCEE!

Tukim Teacher

  • Sarah is excited to return to TCEE for her fourth year, with this being her third as a Toddler Teacher. Her first year she was the HomeBASE Director working with students from the Brookline Public Schools. Prior to that, she was the Youth and Families Director at the YMCA of Greater Boston working with children and families of various backgrounds. Sarah first knew she enjoyed working with children when she was the Program Coordinator for Charles River Center. During her time at Charles River Center, she was working with children and adults with disabilities and was also the liason between the organization to Special Olympics Massachusetts. Sarah’s goal at TCEE is to help children by giving each child the building blocks to develop a love for learning. Sarah believes in allowing each child to choose their own path while gently guiding them along the way.

Agurim Teacher

  • Thanh is excited to join TCEE this school year! She graduated from Boston University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and has been teaching toddlers/preschoolers for over 5 years. Thanh enjoys watching children grow as they develop new skills. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.

Yonim Teacher

  • Selina is excited to join TCEE for her second year! She has three years of experience in leading a preschool and after-school program. Having worked predominately with ESL and I.E.P. students, she has a passion for making education accessible and enjoyable for all her students.

    Selina is originally from Portland, Oregon. Studying at Portland State University, she volunteered with youth programs in Women’s Resource Centers and safe shelters. She previously was administration support with Planned Parenthood, where she worked closely with their Teen Council program. 

Bluejays Teacher

  • This is Zach’s first full year at TCEE. He has spent the last six years working as a special education teacher in Southborough, including the last year-and-a-half in a preschool classroom. He is very excited to be a part of the Blue Jays this year!

Nesharim Teacher

  • Taylor Goodwin is very excited for his second year as a TCEE teacher. Taylor graduated from Skidmore College in 2020 with a degree in Theater, with a passion for creativity and encouraging others to have fun and be themselves. He has spent his last 7 summers working in Maine at Camp Micah with the youngest campers, and is looking forward to continuing that work over the year in an academic environment.

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant

  • Deena graduated from The Bank Street College of Education with an MS in Child Life in 2004. She worked with children and families in a variety of different hospital settings including the Emergency Department, the Intensive Care Unit and long-term rehabilitation units. Deena currently lives in Brookline with her husband and children. After being a stay-at-home mom to her 5 children she returned to work as a Lead Teacher in a toddler classroom. Deena is really excited about stepping into the role of the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant at TCEE because it allows her to use her training and experience in supporting children and families and apply it to the Preschool setting that she loves!

Barvazim Teacher

  • Andrea is very excited to start the new year. She has been working with kids since 2013 and thinks it has been one of her best decisions in life. Being around kids and being able to teach them and get to know them by who they are is just amazing and unique.