Our Staff

A little bit about the teachers at the Ark …

Can you imagine how you would feel if your teachers looked and encouraged you the way our teachers do? The expression you see on Miss Cindy’s face and in her eyes is real love and, of course, children know it instantly. These kind of moments add up and change lives. At the Ark , children feel very important to their grown-ups here, because they are. The Ark is a place where the teachers are deeply invested and committed to their students as if they were their own children. Students are not simply liked, they are LOVED.

The teachers at the Ark School are trained in both the Montessori and Reggio approach, with teaching degrees and provincial Early Childhood Education Certification - rigourous programs which cover all aspects of the early years learning environment beyond academics, including child emotional well-being and social development, speech and language, trauma and culturally-informed practices, health and nutrition, behavioural guidance & self-regulation, as well as classroom environment with effective boundary-setting expectations. Regular, on-going professional development is a requirement for the maintenance of teaching credentials. All staff hold current First Aid Childsafe certification. In addition, staff members hold University degrees, additional specialized teaching certificates and special needs certifications. Our team members are chosen on the basis of character first, and then of course, credentials, skills and experience. Together, our staff represents over 105 years of teaching experience! The Ark is a highly professional learning community which works closely with parents to collaboratively guide our entire learning community forward while implementing respectful and authentic academic pedagogy. Collective and collaborative community values cultivate a supportive atmosphere and encourage the kind of reasonable, considered risk-taking necessary for all learners to foster self-improvement and a healthy growth-mindset.

Professional Learning Communities have:

  • Supportive and shared leadership, in which teachers, parents and administrators are viewed as collaborative partners in decision-making in response to learners’ needs

  • A collective creativity and resourcefulness that encourages and promotes collaborative brainstorming and original thinking

  • Shared values and vision with a focus on what’s most important – confident, assertive, independent learners .

  • Supportive conditions , including available time and resources to implement the work towards learning and development outcomes

  • Shared personal practices which require the transparent information-sharing, open classrooms, honest observations and discussion, and regular feedback loops to elicit the changes necessary for growth to happen.

Staff Development

Parents often ask us questions about staff certification as this seems the logical thing to do. As a provincially licensed Early Childhood Center and Independent School registered under with the BC Ministry of Education, parents need to know that that the regulating bodies ensure full accreditation and certification, as well as conduct annual inspections to ensure full professional compliance. The BC Childcare Licensing Act and Ministry of Education Legislation encompasses the regulation of all staff qualifications, on-going education, Criminal Record checks, current First Aid training, staffing ratios, immunizations, medical clearance, fire safety, emergency and security practices, Municipal regulation compliance and so on, and so on….

The important questions parents need to be asking is: What ADDITIONAL and DIFFERENTIATED qualification, experience and training do the staff have? How informed are they on current developmental research and progressive practices in the field of brain science and child development? What kind of books do the staff read? How can we learn to advocate for appropriate early supports and interventions when needed to avoid costly developmental delays? What special and specific learning resources does the Ark implement? How is this knowledge translated into practical support for the child’s journey of discovery? 

At the Ark, all the staff log many hours of highly specialized continuous professional training.  We take pride in being fully prepared every day to help each child meet as much of their real potential as possible.

A Sampling of Continuous Professional Development:

  • Trauma-Informed Safe and Caring School Communities - January 2025

    Safer Schools Together / ERASE & Ministry of Education

  • Basic Threat and Risk assessment - November 2024

    Safer Schools Together / ERASE & Ministry of Education

  • Foundations of School Safety - October 2024

    Safer Schools Together / ERASE & Ministry of Education

  • Learning to be Anti-Racist, BC Ministry Of Education - July 2024

  • CCRR Inclusion Resource Training - December 2023

    Center for Richmond Childcare Resource & Referral

  • Establishing Safe, Caring and Respectful Digital Communities - November 2023 Safer Schools Together / ERASE & Ministry of Education

  • KAUFMAN (KTEA-3) Psychological Education Clinical Test Administration, Scoring & Interpretation - October 2023

    Jasolyn Henderson / Pearson Education

  • Foundations of Inclusive Child Care - August 2023 Early Years Professional Development Hub / BC Early Learning & Childcare

  • Advanced Digital Threat Assessment - August 2023 Safer Schools Together / International Center for Digital Threat Assessment

  • Normal & Atypical Communication / Shari Linde SLP - February 2023 Ministry of Education and Childcare

  • Heart of The Matter Conference - February 2023

  • Autism and Neurodiversity in the Early Years / UBC Faculty of Education - January 2023 Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism

  • Positive Parenting Conference - May 2022 The Fine Parent Academy

  • Overview of the Provincial VTRA Protocol and Digital Threat Assessment - November, 2021 Safer Schools Together and Ministry of Education

  • Indigenous Canada, University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies - September 2021 University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies

  • Digital Threat Assessment and Violent Threat Risk Assessment Hybrid Training-February, 2021 Safe Schools and Ministry of Education

  • Building Brains with Hand-On Play - January 2021 Children The Heart of the Matter (Virtual Conference)-CCRR

  • Creative Art With Young Children-January 2021 The Heart of the Matter (Virtual Conference)-CCRR

  • What If Today Was Their Only Day? By Lisa Murphy- January 2021 The Heart of the Matter (Virtual Conference)-CCRR

  • Yoga and Mindfulness for Self-Regulation-January 2021 Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR)

  • Approaching Autism -November 2020 Vancouver Coastal Health

  • Safe School Coordinators - Behavioural Trends, Racism & Trauma-Informed Practices - October 2020 Ministry of Education

  • Heath and Healing in Troubled and Changing Times - April 2020 Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC)

  • Law for Educators and Educational Leaders - November 2019
    UBC Law Faculty

  • Supporting Children & Families in Communities of Compassionate Practice:ACE’s Informed Practice with Dr. Linda O’Neil, Provincial Outreach- November 2019
    Federation of Independent SChools /FISA BC

  • Move and Groove: Incorporating Dance and Movement into Your Play Spaces by Stefanie Tong- November 2019
    Child Care Resource and Referral, Surrey

  • Challenging Behaviours: Transformative Tools for Challenging Behaviours with Amy Eshelby & Dr. Nora McNamara - October 2019
    Montessori Training Centre of BC

  • First Nations Principles of Learning: Weaving Connections: Tswalk-nish’ with Shawn and Heather Atleo - October 2019
    Montessori Training Centre of BC

  • FitFlow Yoga Teacher Course- June 2019 FitFlow Yoga

  • Playing with Language to Discover How Words Work: Engaging Phonological Awareness Instruction in the K-3 Classroom - May 2019 POPEY & FISA BC

  • FitFlow Yoga for the Kids- April 2019 FitFlow Yoga

  • Reflecting with Lella Gandini: In the Spirit of the Studio by Lella Gandini- February 2019
    Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House

  • Engaging Plural Identities: Creating a Sense of Belonging in a Globalised World by Stephanie S. Siqueira- January 2019
    Children the Heart of the Matter Conference

  • Heart- Mind Well being: Caring for You by Jennifer Westobya- January 19, 2019 Heart of the Matter Conference

  • More Children! More Heart! More Fun!!! by Stuart Ellis- Myers- January 19th, 2019
    Children the Heart of the Matter Conference

  • Early Literacy (Designing Comprehensive K-3 Literacy Framework)- January, 2019 POPEY & FISA BC

  • Building Capacity: Learning-Centred Design, Provincial Outreach-October, 2018 Ministry of Education & FISA BC

  • Creating an Oasis in Your Child Care Program: Best Practices for Working with Children Who Have Experienced Trauma- May 2018 The City of Richmond Child Care Development Advisory Committee

  • Understanding Anxiety in Young Children- May 2018
    Richmond Children First

  • Conflict Resolution: Navigating Difficult Conversations- May, 2018 FISA, Justice Institute of BC & Ministry of Education

  • Coding and Computational Thinking - April 2018
    FISA & Society of Christian Schools

  • A Day in the Studio - March, 2018 Anna Cuomo

  • Living Assessment, Provincial Outreach- October 2017

  • E.R.A.S.E. Bullying Level 1, 2, & 3- April, 2017

  • The 18th Annual Learning and the Brain Conference - April 2017 Richmond School District No. 38

  • Children the Heart of the Matter 20th Annual Conference - February 2017 Dr. Deborah MacNamara

  • Circles of Caring Conference- February, 2017
    The Child Care Training & Professional Society of Richmond

  • Should I Worry? A Guide to Speech and Language Development- November 2016
    Richmond Public Health Speech & Language Program

  • Supporting Multilingual Development- May 2016
    Richmond Public Health Speech & Language Program

  • Circles of Caring Child Care Conference- February 2016
    The Child Care Training & Professional Society of Richmond

  • Approaching Autism- January 2016
    Richmond Public Health Speech & Language Program

  • Children the Heart of the Matter 19th Annual Conference - January 2016 Maureen Wagner

  • Life Threatening Allergies What to Do - April 2015
    Vancouver Coastal Health, Community Care Facilities Licensing and The Early Childhood Public Health Nursing Team

Children the Heart of the Matter 18th Annual Early Learning Conference- February, 2015
Gary Anaka

Circles of Caring 2014: The Power & Wonder of Children’s Stories- November, 2014
The Child Care Training & Professional Society of Richmond

5th Kindergarten and Primary Institute: Optimal Environments for Teaching and Learning - August, 2014
University of Victoria.

Child Abuse Workshop - April, 2014
Vancouver Coastal Health, Child Care Licensing & The Ministry for Children and Family Development

Reggio Network Meeting - Materials Encounters Exhibit - March 2014
Bev Superle and Linda Murdoch

Exploring Pedagogical Narration and Photography - July 2013
Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre

Selective Mutism - December, 2013
Dr. Annie Simpson

Early Development Instrument, Research to Planning Human Early learning Partnership - November, 2013
UBC

Potential - The Starting Point - November 2012
Lella Gandini, Reggio Emillia, Italy

Topic: Inquiry Into Wild Animals- November 2012
Marcia MacKenzie and Roeanne Law

Fine Motor and Written Skills Workshop - April 2012
Brian Lai, B.Sc., O.T., M.H.S.

Whole Brain Teaching - July 2011
Chris Biffle / Maricopa County School District, Arizona

“Hold on to Your Kids!” - June 2011
Dr. Deborah MacNamara

Taking Early Childhood Outside- April 2011
Vancouver Community College

“Children’s Environmental Health”- February 2011
Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre

Brain Development and Learning 2010 - July, 2010
UBC Interprofessional Continuing Ed.

BC Association of Math Teachers / BCAMT - April 2010
Regional Meeting & Professional Development
Richard De Merchant, Ministry Of Education

Sensory Processing, Self-Regulation and Stress Management - February 2010
Marc Landry, Occupational Therapist
VSB / Vancouver Coastal Health

Boys and Girls Learn Differently - February 2010
Bruce Ivany / Dr. Michael Gurian, Gurian Institute

The Explosive Child - November, 2009
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) and Intervention
Dr. Ross Greene

40 Developmental Assets - November 2009
Community and Adolescent Resilience
Derek Petersen

Fluency Strategies and Assessments - October 2009
Reading Interventions and Strategies
Jerry Johns / Roberta Berglund / LOMICRA

Social Thinking Across the School and Day - August 2009
Michelle Garcia Winner / SFU

SMILE - Small-group Intervention for Language Emergence - August 2009

Let’s Talk About Touching - June 2009

Kids Are Worth It! - February 2009

Barbara Coloroso

The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander
Barabara Coloroso

Understanding the Roots of Anxiety - February 2009
Tamara Strijak, R. Psych.

HIGH FIVE-Because Every Child Deserves a HIGH FIVE - February, 2009
Kara Leier and Heather Muter

How to Grow a Child’s Brain - February, 2009
Gary Anaka

The British Columbia Early Learning Framework Implementation Project – Nov. 2008 to March 2009
University of Victoria

Child Abuse Prevention and Disclosure - November, 2008
Vancouver/Richmond Coastal Health

Non-Violent Crisis Intervention - October, 2008
Crisis Intervention Institute

Memorization of Basic Facts
Western Montessori Teachers’ College-May 12, 2008

  • Emergency Preparedness Training - March, 2008
    City of Richmond & Vancouver Coastal Health

  • SAFER Suicide Intervention - November, 2007
    BC Mental Health / Vancouver Coastal Health

  • Challenging Behavior - October, 2007 Human Resources Development Canada / Ministry for Children and Families

  • Learning and the Brain Conference- April, 2007

  • Inspired Teaching: Exploring Early Childhood Practice that Nurtures Children’s Identities and Potentials- October, 2005
    Margie Carter, Deb Curtis, and Ann Pelo
    UBC

  • Sanitation Program for Food Handlers- October, 2001
    Simon Fraser Health Region

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