Our Teachers
Elizabeth Hardekopf
Lead Certified Teacher
Elizabeth Hardekopf
Lead Certified Teacher
- What is your position at Brighton Center and how long have you worked for Brighton?
- What is one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- What is the best part of your job?
- What do you love most about working with children and their families?
- What inspires you?
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
- Create a hashtag to describe Brighton.
Avery Gorski
Lead Certified Teacher
Avery Gorski
Lead Certified Teacher
- What is your position at Brighton Center and how long have you worked for Brighton?
- What is one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- What is the best part of your job?
- What do you love most about working with children and their families?
- What inspires you?
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
- Create a hashtag to describe Brighton.
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Samantha Catangal
Lead Teacher
- What is your position at Brighton Center and how long have you worked for Brighton?
- A lead teacher at ECE Higgins location. Started at Brighton at the end of January 2022.
- What is one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- Watching the children grow and seeing who they are after they leave my classroom.
- What is the best part of your job?
- Being able to teach and touch lives forever.
- What do you love most about working with children and their families?
- Being exposed to different cultures and customs to help educate well rounded children.
- What inspires you?
- When children have Eureka moments, and they realize they achieve different milestones.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I am afraid of ketchup.
- You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
- Super Trooper by ABBA
- Create a hashtag to describe Brighton.
- #Holistic
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Emily Blankenship-Menchaca
Assistant Teacher
- What is your position at Brighton Center and how long have you worked for Brighton?
- A teacher at ECE Higgins location since April 2022.
- What is one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- Seeing the kids after they leave and how much of a difference you made in their lives.
- What is the best part of your job?
- The hugs at the beginning of the day.
- What do you love most about working with children and their families?
- The fact that we can be with a team.
- What inspires you?
- Being the teacher that makes an impact.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- That I am a mom.
- You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
- Party in the USA
- Create a hashtag to describe Brighton.
- #BringItOnBrighton
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Shauna Rogers
Assistant Teacher
- What is your position at Brighton Center and how long have you worked for Brighton?
- I have worked at Brighton as a teacher for 8 years.
- What is one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- Connecting with a child and being able to make a difference and help improve their development.
- What is the best part of your job?
- Creating moments with the children and watching the lightbulb turn on.
- What do you love most about working with children and their families?
- Connecting with the children and building a sense of community with their families.
- What inspires you?
- The kids
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I have a love of cars.
- You must sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
- Family Tradition by Hank Williams
- Create a hashtag to describe Brighton.
- #MakingADifference
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Valerie Briseno
Lead Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I have been working as a Lead Teacher at Brighton's Preschool since 2015.
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- I have been working with preschoolers since 2006.
- What is the best part of your job?
- I have several fond memories so it is hard to pick just one, but I do feel that the best memories are when you see children really grasp what they are learning in class like their numbers, colors, etc.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- Watching each child learn and grow throughout the year.
- What inspires you?
- My daughter.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- That I can run up to 7 miles!
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BestCenterEver
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Raeny Maciel
Assistant Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I have been working with preschool aged children for about 3 years.
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- One of the fondest memories I have is watching children that started off in my class as 2/3-year-old, walking the stage at Kinder Ready graduation as 5/6-year-old, with so much with more knowledge and excitement for their next big chapter.
- What is the best part of your job?
- The best part of my job is being able to help these children grow and learn new things.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- They are always very eager to learn! And once they learn, they want to keep learning more and more!
- What inspires you?
- Knowing that I am making an impact on these children’s lives and helping them become who they are.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- Brighton has been my first childcare center as since entering Education as a teacher.
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BrightonInfinit
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Marissa Buentello
Assistant Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I have worked with preschool aged children for about 4 years but I have worked with children from newborn and up for 10 years. I've been a youth care specialist for 2 years and a coach for 3rd-5th grade for 2 years, but a teach for a total of 10 years.
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- I started to put on a cape and one of the kids saw me and wanted one too! So I put on a hat and they did as well, every move I made she did too.
- What is the best part of your job?
- Getting the love and hugs from the kids.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- How their little minds are link sponges! They take in everything that they see and learn.
- What inspires you?
- Watching the kids grow and knowing that I had a part in it. Also, when they trust me! It means a lot for a teach when a child can love and trust them.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I listen to Christian rap
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BrightonFamily
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Ashley Garcia
Assistant Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I Have been working with children for about 6 years!
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- When you see the excitement in a child's eyes, when they finally made a connection to what you've been teaching them, and the love they have for learning.
- What is the best part of your job?
- The joy of giving, is being able to see a child take something I taught and make it into something his/her own.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- Everyday brings something new in a classroom full of curious minds. I love seeing the joy they have when wanting to learn something new, and how their confidence grows as their knowledge expands.
- What inspires you?
- Knowing that I am making a difference in their little lives.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I have a sister who has austism, and when I heard about brighton I fell in love with the work they are doing for the children
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BrightonFeelslikeHome
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Alexis Neuman
Substitute Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I have years of working with preschool aged children at the YMCA and as a preschool Sunday teacher at church. This is my first year at Brighton Center.
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- My fondest memory is helping a child with their writing skills. At first the child couldn't hold a pencil but working on writing their name every day they were able to master it. Their success put a smile on my face!
- What is the best part of your job?
- The best part of my job is getting to see the children grow and learn.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- What I love most about teaching is seeing the children improve every day on their different learning skills.
- What inspires you?
- My parents inspire me to be a better person. My coworkers also inspire me and help me improve on my teaching skills!
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I love to watch NBA, especially Spurs basketball.
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BrightonFriendshipsAreMade
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Vanessa Parra
Assistant Teacher
- How long have you been working with preschool aged children?
- I have a CDA and have been working at Brighton Center for 15 years.
- What is the one of the fondest memories you have while working with preschool aged children?
- The fondest memories I have are seeing the children grow and learn each day.
- What is the best part of your job?
- Spending time and playing with the children and also working alongside my coworkers is the best part of my job.
- What do you love most about teaching and working with young children?
- I love helping them learn new things.
- What inspires you?
- Seeing happy and smiling children everyday.
- What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
- I play a lot of sports and my favorite is Basketball!
- If you had to create a hashtag to describe Brighton, what would it be?
- #BrightonRocks
“My daughter was at Brighton for almost three years. It was a great place for her that provided a positive learning environment and child-centered staff. My daughter learned empathy and acceptance from her peers and teachers. The center is NAEYC accredited and teachers are knowledgeable of developmentally appropriate practices. They truly care about the children and families with whom they work and provide valuable, timely information regarding your child’s growth/performance. Brighton staff always made us feel like a part of their family. I always felt comfortable asking questions and they were both inclusive of ideas I brought to them as a parent and responsive to my child’s needs. We left because my daughter entered Pre K at her public school. She is doing great because of the social, emotional, and academic preparation she received at Brighton Center. We miss everyone very much, and are grateful for everything they did for our family. We ❤️ Brighton and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an inclusive, child-centered day care and preschool.”
