Our Exceptional Team
Windmill School and Laurel Education Center include Directors and Teachers with more than 80 years of collective experience teaching at Windmill. Each of our teachers is an early childhood specialist experienced in working with young children and their parents. Each class has a group of teachers operating as a team, led by a head teacher.
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Administration
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Jane Garvey, Director Of Operations & Admissions
Jane earned a Bachelor's Degree in English with a minor in Business Administration and Commercial Art from St. John's University in New York. After working on Wall Street and in Advertising, Jane left New York for California with her husband, Bill. While in California, Jane did Sales & Technical Service at a Software Company in Redwood City and spent 10 happy years as a Kindergarten Aide at El Carmelo Elementary in Palo Alto. Most recently, Jane ran the Catering Department at the Palo Alto Elks. Jane loves traveling, playing golf and spending time with her family and friends.
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Nicole Willard, EdD Interim Director of Education
Nicole moved to the Bay Area from Boston, Massachusetts in 2020. She has been working in the field for over 10 years. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science from Wheelock College in Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education in 2014. After a couple of years of teaching, she went back to earn her Master’s of Teacher Leadership from Quinnipiac University in 2018. During this time she has found that one of the most important assets to children’s educational journeys is the relationships they create with teachers and classmates. Nicole finished her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership at Northeastern University in 2021 where she studied the impact of early childhood educator's professional development. In her spare time, Nicole enjoys reading, practicing yoga, and going to the beach.
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Toddler Programs- Karen Tate Community Hall
TEACHER JEAN Toddler Teacher
Bio coming Soon!
2's/3's Program, and 3's/4's Programs
Willow Room
TEACHER ALEXA, HEAD TEACHER 2's/3's & 3's/4's
Alexa graduated from San Diego State University in 1997 with a B.S. in Child and Family Development. Prior to coming to Windmill in 1999, she taught at Stanford Arboretum Children's Center. Alexa has worked with children of all ages since high school; including 6 summers of volunteer work. Alexa grew up in the Bay Area. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, collecting children's books, doing arts and crafts, traveling, going to musicals, photography, and reading.
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​TEACHER LAIS Teacher 2's/3's and 3's/4's
Born in Brazil, Lais relocated to France in 2003 to pursue a Master’s degree in literature. After moving to San Diego, in 2007 she began her career at the French American School. She continued her professional development by completing Early Childhood education courses. In 2014, Lais and her family moved to the Bay Area, where she taught for two years before taking a break to focus on her children.
During this time, she dedicated many hours to volunteering at her children’s preschool, where she developed a strong interest in play-based learning. For the past two years, she has served as a substitute teacher at Silicon Valley International School and a guest teacher at Laurel and Oak Knoll.
Lais enjoys visiting France, attending events with her daughters, and spending quality time with friends.
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​TEACHER TESSA Teacher 2's/3's and 3's/4's
Tessa was born and raised in Palo Alto, and started at Windmill School as the receptionist, where she found her incredible joy in supporting children, which is when her teacher journey began. After completing her A.A. in early childhood development at Foothill College, she transferred to what is now titled Cal Poly Humboldt where she received her B.A. in child development and family studies with a minor in American Indian Education. In her spare time, she cuddles her tuxedo cat, Tip Toe, and cooks with her family. She is so grateful to be a part of the Windmill community once again.
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​TEACHER ALLYSA Teacher 2's/3's
Bio coming Soon!
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Maple Room
TEACHER NICOLA, Head teacher 2's/3's & 3's/4's
Nicola received her diploma in Early Childhood Education from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She worked as both a nanny and a preschool teacher before moving to the Bay Area in 2001. While living in California, she continued her course work at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, receiving her B.A. in Psychology in 2005. Nicola spent thirteen years as a volunteer at the Alzheimer's Association in Lafayette, California. Prior to coming to Windmill, Nicola taught at TOPS (The Orinda Preschool) in Orinda, California for seven years. She held a headteacher position in the 3s/4s class for the last four years. She and her husband, of nineteen years, recently relocated to Menlo Park from Walnut Creek. Nicola enjoys reading and visiting her local library. She also enjoys shopping at the farmer's markets and cooking and baking using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Nicola enjoys running and practicing Yoga. She and her husband enjoy going to Canada whenever possible to spend time with friends and family.
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TEACHER PARSHATI Teacher 2's/3's and 3's/4's
Parshati was born and raised in India and moved to the U.S in 2004. She lives in Cupertino with her husband and daughter. Parshati has a B.S degree in Mathematics and a B.A degree in Education from India. She is pursuing her certificate in Early Childhood Education from De Anza College, Cupertino. Her professional experience includes 8 years as a teacher in a High School in India and 2years as a Youth Program Coordinator at Colorado State University Apartment Life (2005-2007). As a teacher and a youth programmer she enjoyed teaching science to youths and teens and planning educational, fun, social activities for children to enhance their development. In her spare time, she loves watching movies, reading books, and doing art projects with her daughter.
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Teacher Cathy, Teacher 2's/3's and 3's/4's
Cathy graduated from Fairmont State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences. Cathy has worked with children in the home and school setting for over 20 years. Her teaching experience includes Stanford Madera Grove where she worked in the infant classrooms. She was also a substitute teacher for Ladera Community Preschool as well. She is a Portola Valley resident and alum of Windmill. Her daughter, Ellie, attended Windmill from 2009-2011. In her spare time, she likes to hike and spend time with her family.
Teacher Trisha Teacher 2's/3's
Trisha earned her B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Central Florida in 1999. She taught first grade for a few years before meeting her husband, (breaking her number one dating rule of never dating anyone in the military), but she happily followed him around the world where they lived in former Soviet Union countries and in Europe. No matter what country they lived in, Trisha was always involved in community work, especially with children. Whether it was in a refugee camp, orphanages, working as a nanny, or volunteering in a kindergarten classroom, she always stayed true to her passion and love for children by giving her time to make a difference. Trisha is also trained in multiple literacy development programs and early intervention strategies for dyslexic learners. Trisha was a Reading Resource Teacher for K-3 at a private school in Northern VA prior to moving to CA in 2018. Now free of the military lifestyle, Trisha, her husband and their 17-year-old daughter are enjoying putting down roots in this beautiful area. In her spare time, Trisha enjoys exploring anywhere on the west coast with her family, spoiling her dog Pippa, and “walk and talks” with her friends.
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Redwood Room - PreK
TEACHER ANITA, Head Teacher PreK
Anita was born and raised in a little town in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, and came to California at sixteen to finish her high school education. She has a great love for family and children. This may be due to the fact that she is the 2nd youngest in a family of 14 children! Anita has formally been working with children for the past 7 years. Two of those years she taught at Windmill. In 2008 she moved back to Southern California to have her daughter and to complete her bachelor's degrees in Child Development and Psychology. Anita is excited to be back living in the Bay Area and especially to be teaching again at Windmill. Outside of teaching, Anita loves to spend time with her daughter, and her interests include salsa dancing, hiking, and cooking.
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Teacher Lupe Teacher PreK
Lupe grew up in East Palo Alto and Fremont, California. She received her associate degree in Early Childhood Studies and Early Childhood Education from Ohlone Community College in 2018. She continued her education at San Jose State University, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Child & Adolescent Development with a community focus in 2021. Prior to joining Windmill School, Lupe was a preschool teacher in Palo Alto, CA and prior to that, she worked with the City of Fremont Recreation Services for 7 years where she worked many roles throughout the years such as a camp counselor, camp coordinator, and tot sports coordinator. In her spare time, Lupe enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, and traveling.
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Teacher KATIE Floating Teacher
Katie grew up here in the Bay Area, and has worked in various Early Childhood Education programs over the last 10 years. She’s worked at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, Action Day Schools, and Google’s Children’s Centers. Katie’s teaching style centers: social-emotional concepts, diverse and inclusive learning opportunities, and curiosity. She enjoys spending time with her loved ones, going out to local community events, and doing anything crafty!
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Substitutes
Windmill teachers substitute for each other whenever possible. The Director will have a pool of available substitute teachers and all substitutes must go through the required clearance procedures.
ALL STAFF MEETS STATE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS. WINDMILL SCHOOL IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.