Our team
Teachers who stay.
The most important thing in child care is the person in the room. We pay for training and planning time, and our lead teachers stay for years. Children notice.
- 24 teachers and staff
- 7 yrs average time with us for lead teachers
- 30 hrs of paid training per teacher, every year
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR · 14 YEARS
Alana Brooks
Alana taught infants and toddlers for eight years before opening Little Lantern in 2012. She still does the morning door most days.
“I opened Little Lantern to be the center I wanted for my own kids: calm rooms, honest answers, and teachers who are treated well enough to stay.”
B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies
Room leads and staff
You will meet your child's lead teacher on your tour whenever they can step away from the room.
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Marco Ruiz
Assistant director and family contact
Marco runs tours and the waitlist, and answers most of your billing and schedule questions. He started as a pre-K teacher here.
- With us
- 9 years
- Training
- B.A. in Early Childhood Education
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Grace Lindqvist
Infant room lead
Grace set up our infant routine cards and safe sleep checks. Parents say she can tell a tired cry from a hungry one across the room.
- With us
- 11 years
- Training
- Child Development Associate (CDA), infant and toddler
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Tasha Monroe
Toddler room lead
Tasha leads our toddler team and our potty learning plan. Her room sings a song for everything, including cleanup.
- With us
- 8 years
- Training
- Associate degree in Early Childhood Education
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Priya Shah
Preschool lead
Priya plans the weekly topics with the children. Last spring the room spent three weeks on bridges and built one you could walk on.
- With us
- 9 years
- Training
- B.A. in Early Childhood Education
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Daniel Okafor
Pre-K lead
Daniel runs our kindergarten readiness checklist and the spring meetings with families about the move to school.
- With us
- 6 years
- Training
- B.S. in Elementary Education
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Hannah Weiss
School-age and summer coordinator
Hannah runs before and after school, the van schedule and all ten summer themes. She also coaches our kickball club.
- With us
- 5 years
- Training
- B.A. in Recreation Management
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Rosa Delgado
Cook and menu planner
Rosa cooks breakfast, lunch and snacks every day and keeps every allergy plan in her kitchen binder.
- With us
- 10 years
- Training
- Certified food protection manager
How we hire and support teachers
Good care starts with treating teachers well.
Teacher turnover is hard on young children. We pay for the things that keep good teachers in the room for years, and we are open with families about it.
- Background checks before anyone starts, renewed on schedule
- Infant and child CPR and first aid for every teacher
- Paid planning time each week, so lessons are not thrown together
- Health insurance and paid time off for full-time staff, which keeps good teachers here
Meet the team in person.
Tours include time with the room you are interested in. Ask the teachers anything.