A LITTLE ABOUT US...
A LITTLE ABOUT US...
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You've likely heard the saying "it takes a village," well... It is our sincere hope that River East can be the village it takes! We've set out to bring together a group of people who hold similar ideals, values, hopes and desires for their children's lives - kind and empathetic individuals, joining together with the goal of immersing young children in a progressive educational environment that will help us all to be better, and create a better world in the process.
We also believe that once you join the River East community, you become our family, and to us, family is forever. We've created the River East School environment to feel like an extension of the home, where our extended family feels comfortable and that is the environment we continually strive to provide and create.
River East School is a full-day, year-round school for local families, enrolling children approximately 18 months through 5 years of age. We have two locations. Our main campus, for children 2.5-5 years of age, is located in Atwater Village. Our Transitional Preschool, for children 1.5-2.5 years of age, is located in Silverlake. We feel that children of all ages are well-suited to come together, so they can both learn from, and along with, one another, which fuels our strong belief in facilitating a mixed-age program. By offering children of varying age groups ample opportunities to work together, alongside their teachers, the children develop strong bonds, which facilitates an undeniable sense of community between the friends and the teachers.
River East School is open Monday-Thursday from 8:30am-4:00pm and on Friday from 8:30am-3:00pm, with an early closure to allow for teacher planning. Our neighborhood and community provide us with many opportunities for concrete experiences that broaden the children's understanding of the world around them. Walks through our neighborhood streets and trips to the park and horse stables contribute to an essential understanding of what it means to be part of a larger community - the many resources available to us in our community consistently provide our school environment with invaluable teaching tools and opportunities.
THE RIVER EAST SCHOOL TEAM
THE RIVER EAST SCHOOL TEAM
We are tremendously proud of our dedicated and energetic team. River East School teachers are meticulously screened and selected based on their passion for early childhood education, patient and nurturing approach to childcare, alignment with River East School ethos and values, and wellness of team dynamic and fit. As a result, the teachers at River East School have extensive educational experience from various backgrounds and disciplines. Having a team with varied and unique skills and experiences has created the forward-thinking and progressive environment River East School has become and contributes to its continuous progression and evolution over time.
Dina Voorhees
Co-Founder | Creative Director
Dina co-founded River East back in 2017 out of a desire to reinvigorate and reimagine early childcare education for today's world. With over 20 years of experience in health in wellness centered around yoga & holistic nutrition, she passionately infuses time-honored traditions & principles into River East's philosophy and weekly curriculum.Dina's mission is for River East to be a space where each child is viewed and celebrated as an unique individual; where individual needs and points of view are nurtured and guided with intention, empathy, and compassion.
Josh Goldman
Director
After graduating cum laude from the University of Maryland with a BA in Communication and Media Analysis, Josh worked in education and private childcare before joining the RES team in 2019. Now, with over 15 years of experience in childcare, Josh leads River East as an active Director, always making sure to set aside time with friends each day.When he isn't teaching, Josh is an actor-writer, a passion he brings into the classroom on a daily basis. These skills greatly inform his teaching style, as he engages with the friends on a deep and empathetic level through active storytelling, literature, exploration, and, most importantly, conversation.
Delight "Dee" Moore
Site Supervisor | Teacher
Dee has 35+ years of experience in the Early Childhood Education field, and a personality that truly matches her name.
Raised in Hawaii before moving toSouthern California, Dee's true passion is to help children see their connections with each other through play, learning, and real-life experiences. She loves touse provocations to engage her students in play, inspire ideas, solve problems, and resolve conflicts.
When she isn't in the classroom, Dee can be found spending time with herhusband and children, traveling, and just being silly!
Raised in Hawaii before moving toSouthern California, Dee's true passion is to help children see their connections with each other through play, learning, and real-life experiences. She loves touse provocations to engage her students in play, inspire ideas, solve problems, and resolve conflicts.
When she isn't in the classroom, Dee can be found spending time with herhusband and children, traveling, and just being silly!
Desiree "Desi" Breise
Assistant Site Supervisor | Teacher
Desi is a passionate early childhood educator with extensive experience working with children from infancy through preschool, since 2016, and holds a BS in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Union College.She creates nurturing classroom environments that facilitate creative play, skill development, and emotional growth. Desi’s strengths include developing engaging lesson plans, promoting recreational activities, and working closely with families to support each child's unique needs.
When Desi isn’t teaching, she can be found painting, hanging out with her cat or spending quality time with her wife, Sarah!
When Desi isn’t teaching, she can be found painting, hanging out with her cat or spending quality time with her wife, Sarah!
Nicole Acosta
Teacher
Nicole has been part of the RES team since our founding, with over 25 years of experience in Reggio-inspired and co-op classrooms. "I fell in love with the RES idea of children constantly learning and discovering in their own way with nature and the outdoors as their safe and nurturing classroom."As a very proud member of the RES community, Nicole continues to embrace how young children explore and develop rich and wonderful relationships with others and the world around them.
Giorgis Despotakis
Teacher
Giorgis (Your-Geese) is an educator, language teacher and artist, with over 10 years of experience in all ages education. Born in Oakland, they grew up in Athens, Greece where their family founded the first progressive all girls' school in 1927. Raised by a single mother who also was the headmistress of a kindergarten at the time, Giorgis’ career in teaching may have been inevitable.They have a BA from the University of Warwick in the UK and further studies in storytelling at UCLA. They spent 6 years teaching at bilingual preschools in Madrid, Spain. Giorgis loves singing, dancing silly, and helping friends express themselves. They like to start their River East School day asking themself: "Can I discover the queries each friend has about the world and encourage them to explore and learn the answers for themselves?"
Jada Bryant
Teacher
Jada Bryant is a native Angelena, and comes to River East with 6+ years of experience in the private childcare sector!Communication is very important to her, and her passion for working with children comes from her desire to help them develop empathy, healthy communication skills, and strong support in their social-emotional development.When she’s not at River East, she loves cooking at home, singing karaoke, scrapbooking, and going to see plays and comedy shows!
Da'Jonna "Day" Swaing
Teacher
Day is very passionate about working in childcare and has worked in educational settings for over 10 years with students of all learning styles and abilities. She feels inspired by the way our youth naturally create their own paths using their imaginations with the support of like-minded adults, seeing them for who they are individually. She is a kid at heart and enjoys storytelling, singing, and expressing herself with fun socks, mismatched shoes, and silly t-shirts. She’s always smiling and believes that hugs and love will always be the key to success. She aspires to make a difference in every child’s life by encouraging them to be true to themselves and trust the music created by their very own hearts.
Sierra Perlik
Chef |Teacher
Sierra Perlik is an educator with over 10 years of experience working with children across multiple settings. After earning her degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education in 2017, Sierra worked as a Child Care Coordinator for her local YMCA in the small town of Sewickley, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh. Sierra moved to Los Angeles in 2023 to continue her growth in writing music, as well as explore new opportunities working in the field of education.In her free time, Sierra has developed a passion for food and cooking. A self-proclaimed “picky eater,” she has found that exploring new textures and flavors has been just as inspiring as writing a new song or developing a new lesson plan.
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