As the Founder & Principal of Villa Preparatory Academy, a non for profit private school, I've adopted a similar system and requirements as Miami-Dade County Public Schools but incorporated accommodations to meet the needs of our school's population. Thanks to the flexibility of being a private school our students receive the same quality education as students in public schools but with a private school environment. In VPA students are not just a number. Each student in our school knows that they are part of a family and that they have a team that they can count on.

My name is Giovanna Marino and I was born and raised in Miami, Fl. I attended Florida International University for their Bachelor’s in Psychology program, with a minor in Political Science. After 8 years of being a social/emotional learning instructor and movement therapist for children with special needs, I founded a Non-Profit organization named Table Talk Now, Corp that promotes and teaches social and emotional intelligence through group and one-on-one learning strategies, to all students in grades Kinder-12th grade. Research shows that emotion and cognition are profoundly interrelated processes. At Villa Preparatory Academy, my main objective is to focus on the overall achievement of the child by providing them with the tools to perform their best socially and academically.

My name is Amanda Vazquez-Suros, I am the Activities Director here at Villa Preparatory Academy. I am currently attending Florida International University, majoring in Early Childhood Education. I have been in the field of Education for 6 years and grow fonder of his profession every year. I am responsible for organizing and overseeing all student, parent and staff activities at Villa Preparatory Academy. Some of these activities include field trips, school dances, field day, student clubs, holiday events, staff meetings, parent involvement, and working as part of the leadership team to coordinate both school-wide and community events.

As an undergraduate I received a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Elementary Education with an ESOL endorsement from Barry University. I later returned to Barry and obtained a Master's of Science Degree in Reading with a certification as a Reading Specialist.

I decided to go into teaching at a very young age when a teacher had a very profound impact in the way I viewed education and how it could change my future. As I grew older I knew I wanted to have such an impact on the next generation. Imparting a love of learning but overall of reading in a child is the legacy I choose to leave behind. I hope to leave all my students a warm memory of their childhood and of their education.

Tanya has been writing curriculum for over 14 years as a teacher of the gifted and talented, a science and STEAM coach, and education consultant. She holds several advances degrees including a specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been invited to present her work at the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC), Florida Association for the Gifted, Education Fund’s Annual Expo, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), Teach Your Heart Out National Conference, and Get Your Teach On National Conference. She currently offers professional development to VPA staff to better integrate differentiated instruction, NGSS science standards, class transformations, and STEM. If interested in my consultant services please click “Hire Me” button below for further inquiry.

Learning is one of the most beautiful gifts a human can receive from others. Teaching is my perpetual gift that I can give to the world. My endeavors are centered on the compassionate , spiritual, loving, social and academic progress of all the students that I may encounter in this life. As a teacher in the chain of many, I value the gifts of freely learning and developing empowering knowledge to all my students to benefit their future. I emphasize the importance of whom I am and whom I must be which are one in the same, in order to develope significant relationships with each child. My goals are to achieve genuine love, respect, empathy, kindness and boundless enthusiasm for all the wonders found through the discovery of the world we live in through each other. As a educational teacher I live through the world inspired by theorist as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky , that all students are motivated through choices in an environment that is enriching and stimulating. Students are curious and have the desire to learn from their environment and from those around them. I encourage positive interactions and will always provide a safe place to explore their ideas and thoughts. I seek to guide students through meaningful instructional strategies and learning styles towards their journey through realization of making their dreams become reality.

Hello! My name is Mr. Aris and I am Villa Preparatory Academy’s middle school Math, Science, and Social Studies teacher. I graduated from Christopher Columbus High School and finished my university years at Florida International University this year of 2022. I finished university aiming to attend medical school and I am currently in the application process, so if you have any questions let me know! I am so glad to be teaching this school year and I hope to teach everything I know to my students.

I’m Ms. Santiago, I studied at MDC for my associates. I will be returning to MDC for bachelors in ESE K-12. I decided to become a teacher because I grew up in a low income neighborhood and I want to be able to make a difference in each child’s life.

Teaching has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I earned my Associate Degree at Miami Dade College and finished my Bachelors in Education at Florida International University. Being an educator allows me to inspire minds, encourage hands to create, and hearts to love. Having children of my own truly impacts my way of teaching. Just as much as I would want them to learn and grow, I strive everyday to make a significant change in my students' lives. It brings happiness to my heart knowing I can truly make a difference in every child's life through believing in them and allowing them to become the very best version of themselves. My goal is to teach children to love learning, but most importantly to give them the confidence they need to change the world.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Solorzano

This year I have been blessed with teaching Kindergarten and First grade’s Science and Social Studies. I currently attend Miami Dade College where I am pursuing a career in Early Childhood Education. By understanding the social development of children, I am able to strengthen my pedagogical approach in my classroom. This information helps me create lessons that puts a child’s needs first. In defining my philosophical approach in the classroom, I know that I was meant to teach children. Being from a military background as a child, I have experienced many different school systems and classroom managements in multiple states. With this experience, I believe that I can make an impact in our little ones lives. It brings me great joy to be part of the students growing and learning. After all, the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today.

Thank you,

Dejah Perez

I’m Ms.Bueno and I believe that Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together make this world a beautiful garden. I strive to empower students to make decisions for themselves so that they develop self-confidence and critical thinking skills. I believe each student is gifted and can find their gift within their classrooms environments. Through my educational journey and in process of receiving my bachelors, I want to be able to provide my students the building blocks needed to educate them. I want them to leave my classroom with new ideas and inspirations. I will guide them and mold them to out-standing citizens of our community. As a educator I am setting a personal goal for my classroom to be a place where students feel safe and committed, I plan to have a friendly learning environment where children want to grow and learn.