Meet the Preschool Team

2021-2022

Waverly’s preschool teach­ers have substan­tial knowl­edge of child devel­op­ment, years of expe­ri­ence working with young chil­dren, and a strong commit­ment to the philos­o­phy of the preschool program.

Faculty Rodarte Connie

Connie Rodarte

Connie is the preschool director/​teacher. Connie has a B.A. in Spanish and human devel­op­ment from the Univer­sity of Cali­for­nia, Davis. She previ­ously worked at The Little Preschool as a preschool teacher and summer program direc­tor. Connie says, Every day is a new learn­ing oppor­tu­nity when working with chil­dren. Their daily discov­er­ies serve as a reminder of the impor­tance of creat­ing an envi­ron­ment that supports their devel­op­men­tal needs.” (Email)

Faculty Birito Stephanie

Stephanie Brito

Stephanie is the preschool asso­ciate teacher. Stephanie grad­u­ated with a Bachelor’s in child devel­op­ment from Humboldt Univer­sity. Most recently, she worked at Altadena Chil­dren’s Center with the toddler group.

Faculty Dahlen Marina

Marina Dahlen

Marina is a preschool teacher. She has an A.A. degree from the College of the Redwoods with an empha­sis in early child­hood educa­tion. Marina is one of the found­ing teach­ers of The Waverly School and has worked with young chil­dren for more than 30 years. Marina says, I am inspired by how the students are willing to teach as much as they are willing to learn.” Marina’s son Emmett 08 grad­u­ated from Waverly. (Email)

PS Cheenu Kashyap 2021

Cheenu Kashyap

Cheenu is a preschool teacher. She has a B.A. from the Govern­ment College for Women in Punjab, India, and has studied early child­hood devel­op­ment and educa­tion at Pasadena City College and through UCLA Exten­sion. Of Waverly’s approach to teach­ing, Cheenu says,​“Above all, we appre­ci­ate that every student will have a differ­ent path, and that it is incum­bent upon us to under­stand each student’s journey thus far as well as the chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties that lie ahead. We provide students with tools to reach farther, a support­ive plat­form where they are comfort­able taking risks, and a culture of cele­brat­ing values-based deci­sions.” Cheenu loves to cook and she has two sons, one of whom also teaches at Waverly. (Email)