Staff Bios

Bobbi Cecio has spent over 26 years in the field of Education, providing learning experiences for both adults and children. Her extensive background in a variety of educational forums has made her a leader in creating working environments - both corporately and in the home - that have common communication practices, strong teams and effective tools.

Bobbi's passion is to create environments where each and every person is known and celebrated for their unique gifts.  

Bobbi has a Master's of Business Administration and Bachelors in Mathematics. For 14 years prior to coming to California, Bobbi was the Head of School for two large private Montessori schools in New Jersey. Her experience and background in Montessori education has included roles with individual schools as well as serving in a leadership capacity for six years for the New Jersey Montessori Administrator's Council - A statewide organization comprised of Montessori Administrators. In addition, she has been a speaker at several regional and national Montessori Conferences and has consulted for several schools in a variety of capacities. Her strength in the field of Education and Consulting comes not only from her background in school leadership, but also from a variety of other additional certifications and trainings: She is a Certified Corporate Empowerment Consultant, a Certified Parent Educator and Parent Educator Trainer through the International Network of Children and Families and a Certified Trainer of Redirecting for a Cooperative Classroom. Additionally, she is an Instructor for Your Infinite Life Training & Coaching Company and has facilitated classes nationally for schools, individuals, families and corporations. Bobbi has also been very involved with the TED organization and organized multiple TEDx conferences. This diverse array of knowledge and experiences has allowed her to lead a school that raises and celebrates the diverse brilliance of our students.

Larry Cecio has been a Montessori Elementary Teacher for the past twenty-five years. He started the very first Elementary Program for a school in Central New Jersey where he taught for ten years. Larry later became the Director of Elementary Education for another Central Jersey Montessori School for four years prior to re-locating to Southern California. After college, Larry spent many years working with developmentally disabled adults. Among his triumphs were; writing several proposals on behalf of his clients that were accepted into legislation and coaching one of his clients to win two consecutive gold medals in the Special Olympics. Upon making his move into Montessori education, in addition to his Bachelor's Degree in Education, Larry is dually trained, attending both the Princeton Center for Teacher Education in Princeton, New Jersey and the New Gate School for Teacher Education in Sarasota, Florida. Larry is a certified Redirecting Children's Behavior Instructor and has an extensive background in coaching and personal growth. Larry's extensive background, affinity for children and his natural ability to connect with his students make him an incredible teacher and an asset to every environment he leads.

Having been with Village Gate since the inaugural year, over the years Marcus has overseen the language arts program, technology, physical education, and music. He is currently the Vice Principal of Elementary Education, overseeing language arts and co-teaching in the Upper Elementary classroom. He lives in Encinitas with his wife and two children. 

Marcus was born in Minnesota but spent the majority of his childhood in Phoenix. After graduating from Arizona State in 2002 with a degree in English literature and creative writing, Marcus spent the better part of five years in Latin America, traveling, surfing, writing and teaching English.  The next move was to Los Angeles to work with friends at a small production company and to happily struggle as a struggling writer. While avoiding rent by moonlighting as manager of an apartment building in Hollywood's Little Armenia, his future in education came knocking at the door in the form of the dozen little hands of the children of the complex, who very quickly entered his life and kitchen and then living room to take part in forming an impromptu tutoring center and helping inspire Marcus towards his current path of education.

Maddie is a lifelong Californian who uses all gender pronouns. They played field hockey and softball at The Bishop‘s School before attending Stanford University, where they gained a Bachelor's with Honors in Urban Studies and Education.

During summers, she was a camp counselor at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park.

Prior to Village Gate, Maddie worked at a Montessori nursery school, an educational library and a tutoring center.

In his free time, Maddie loves embroidering, skateboarding, and observing wildlife.

Marcus and Larry are thrilled to have Maddie join their trio.

Jennifer Blackman is the lead teacher in the  Newer Elementary classroom at Village Gate Children's Academy. This school year will be her twelth year with Village Gate as a teacher.

Jennifer received her teaching credential at Azusa Pacific University, as well as her Master's Degree in Special Education.  Her Bachelor's Degree was in Behavioral Sciences and was completed at National University. This past year she obtained her Montessori Teaching credential for the Lower Elementary Program. 

Jennifer has completed the Redirecting Children's Behavior course and uses the methods taught through the course for classroom management.

Previously, Jennifer was a Program Director at Developmental Services Continuum, where she managed the daily routine of three residential facilities for persons with Intellectual Disabilities. When she left, she became an active board member with DSC and served as Board President for one year.

Caity Cecio has grown up with Village Gate as part of her life since early childhood. Caity has spent time working with children from all around the world. In 2016, she spent time performing, volunteering and traveling with the organization Up with People spending some time in different parts of the US, Mexico, Bermuda, Sweden, and Denmark. After returning, she went on to a conservatory program in New York City to study performing arts, which she desires to incorporate into her work at Village Gate. 

 

Before moving to the beautiful town of Cardiff, Caity was working at the Boys and Girls Club/ASES in Fullerton, CA at Valencia Park Elementary School, assisting children ages 6-13 with math and reading. She also created several other programs to support her students development in the areas of friendships and relationship building by assisting them in accessing and understanding their feelings. During this time, she was also taking courses in Psychology, Brain Development and Behavior as well as continuing to enhance her knowledge and skills of American Sign Language.

 

Caity is eager to work at Village Gate with a community that understands the importance of having a child master his/her own true potential. Going forward, Caity will be be getting Montessori certified while working in the Newer Elementary classroom with Jennifer Blackman and Beth Hagen, who she's elated to learn from.

Delaney Ryan is currently a college student eager to earn her teaching degree. She has a long list of children who know her as their babysitter, and she worked as an attendant in the childcare center at Eōs Fitness in Encinitas. Before she found her passion for teaching, she spent the majority of her life studying and practicing music, theatre and improv comedy. She strongly believes that her job at Village Gate teaches her valuable lessons each day that she couldn’t access from a desk in a college classroom.

Andrew began his career in education four years ago. He attended Boston University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 2018.Andrew’s passion for teaching was ignited at his first post-grad job as a special education assistant at Russell Street Elementary School in Littleton, MA. He then relocated to Los Angeles, where he taught at Aspire Titan Academy. After finishing his Aspire school year completely remotely due to the pandemic, Andrew was able to move back to the Littleton school district where he continued his career at the local middle school.

In his free time, Andrew enjoys running and traveling around the country. San Diego has offered Andrew much to experience and explore and he’s looking forward to future adventures in the area.

Andrew joined the Village Gate staff at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. During the school year, he developed strong relationships with his colleagues and the families of Village Gate. He is thrilled to continue his teaching career at Village Gate Children’s Academy.

In 2011 Kathy was thrilled to discover Village Gate for her three children, Jake, Emma, and Genevieve.  They thrived in their first year and the whole family became active members of the community.  In 2012 Kathy joined the staff of Village Gate to participate in the exciting endeavor of creating a new middle school with three intrepid seventh grade students. 

Her eclectic background in education includes earning a masters degree in art history from UCLA; establishing a Latin program at La Jolla Country Day School; teaching English literature to eighth and tenth graders at The Bishop’s School; lecturing on European and Islamic art and architecture at UCSD Extension; and tutoring high school students in all subjects.

No matter the subject, Kathy aims to inspire students to engage with the world, to make meaning out of its chaos, and to discover ways to contribute to its beauty.

Caitlin is a graduate of MIT with several years of teaching experience in both formal and informal settings. She has worked as a science and math teacher at a private middle school and high school for four years before coming to Village Gate in 2014. Prior to teaching in schools, Caitlin worked as a science educator at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, where she taught just about every kind of science to children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Throughout her years of teaching, she has found the mentoring relationships she has developed with her students to be the most rewarding. For three years, Caitlin served as an adviser and mentor for several after school science clubs for girls. As a result of Caitlin’s guidance and support, many of the girls continued in the clubs for multiple years. Being a part of their journey as they went from shy fourth graders to confident sixth graders was a true joy. In her previous teaching position, all classes were conducted on a one teacher to one student basis which she enjoyed because it allowed her to truly know her students and develop strong mentoring relationships with her students. In addition to her teaching experience, she created and evaluated curriculum for multiple programs at the Fleet Science Center including; the young scientists program, school workshops, after school science clubs and summer camps. Caitlin is absolutely passionate about developing programs and activities that engage learners and develop critical thinking.

Courtney has been working in the field of education since 2008, when she began teaching adults personal finance and business in the salon/spa world. This evolved into business education, and she became the executive director of career services for a group of private colleges. When her son was one, she relocated and began considering other career options. In touring an assortment of early childhood facilities, one type of education stood out: Montessori. Watching children being happily productive and learning relevant, enriching things made her seek to know more. In 2016, Courtney completed her Montessori education at Maria Montessori school in San Diego. She also holds a certificate in Early Intervention. She has an 11-year-old son and lives in Leucadia where she carries the vision of Montessori into her own life, cooking and gardening. Courtney has been a part of the Village Gate Academy community since 2017.

Arianna has been working with children for more than 6 years. She began her career in education as an assistant teacher at the Boston University Children’s Center. Over the 3 years she spent there, she developed an understanding of and admiration for the Montessori method.

Arianna graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Film and Television. She primarily studied screenwriting and creative producing. A film she wrote her senior year, Pennybrook Rd., received Best Drama Short at the Burbank International Film Festival in 2020. In her free time, Arianna enjoys writing, reading, and spending time at the beach. 

After navigating the first year of the pandemic in Massachusetts, Arianna moved to San Diego in the summer of 2021. Shortly after that, she began teaching art and leading the aftercare program at Village Gate. During the 2021-2022 school year, she developed and implemented art lessons based on cultural curriculum, and created an environment that made aftercare a fun and exciting after school hangout.

Working with children is one of Arianna’s greatest passions, and she is thrilled to be working in Kindergarten this school year. She believes the importance of instilling imagination, resilience, and kindness in children cannot be overstated.

Arial Cohen graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management. She has over 5 years of experience working in administrative and supportive roles. She graduated from college with High Honors along with receiving several business and marketing certificates. She is passionate about serving others and creating a positive atmosphere.

She recently relocated from South Florida and is excited to get to know the city of San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys sewing and designing clothing as a personal hobby as well as weightlifting with her husband.

She is eager to continue her career journey with Village Gate and happy to provide any administrative support that is needed.“

Hello, my name is Haley Gillian, and I am Village Gate’s new art teacher. I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful learning community! I am a passionate artist and educator. I attended college at California State University San Marcos for my bachelor's degree and credential program specializing in the arts and education. I’ve taught the last two years in Arizona, and I couldn’t be happier to be back in my home state, California. I’m a very dedicated fine arts teacher, and I look forward to guiding young minds to explore their creativity!

Chris Prescott is a San Diego-based multi instrumentalist, specializing in percussion and guitar. He has been teaching since 1990 with a steady roster of private students as well as holding group classes. While working as both an educator and professional recording and touring musician, Chris completed his B.A. in Music at UCSD.  At UCSD Chris earned the highest Summa Cum Laude honors among other scholarships and college distinctions. In 2010, Chris published his first book on drumming, entitled Creative Construction. The editors of Modern Drummer magazine soon after hearing about Chris's book, commissioned him to become a regular magazine contributor.  There have been 5 pieces published in Modern Drummer at this point, with more on the way. 

Over the past 25 years Chris has performed in over 160 cities worldwide, including concerts in Russia, Europe, Japan,Czech,  Australia, Canada and all across the United States. With around 50 releases to his credit, Chris has made a name for himself as an important and influential contributor to the San Diego music scene.  Some bands that Chris has performed with over the years include Pinback, Rocket from the Crypt, No Knife and many others.

As a longtime Encinitas resident, Chris has deep roots in the local community and has shifted his interests more and more towards education and spending time with his family. Both of his children attend Village Gate Academy and he is looking forward to working closely in the development of a diverse and highly rewarding music curriculum.

The funny thing about music, is that I can't truly teach you anything; I can only teach you to teach yourself. 
After graduating from the Florida State University Music Program and spending some years in the Rocky Mountains, my path has led me to Californian coast. I'm very excited at this opportunity and look forward to manipulating the soundscapes with all of you!

Music is the Mother of All Science
  -Victor Wooten

Grace is a gardener and horticulturist who recently relocated to Encinitas from the Bay Area. She earned her Bachelors in Sociology from Grinnell College, and before working in the garden full time she was a grant writer and nonprofit development professional. Floristry is her favorite hobby and she loves making garden-grown arrangements for friends and special events. She has a deep love for plants and can't wait to share with her students the joy of growing and learning from nature. Her favorite things to cultivate are roses and basils.

In her free time, Grace loves spending time with her toddler, husband, and dog. She is thrilled to join the Village Gate community.

A graduate of Cal Poly Pomona with a secondary emphasis on Teaching, Trevor Farrell has several diverse years of tutoring behind him, in subjects ranging from standardized testing, geometry, calculus, humanities, and special interest curriculum. He is currently working at Village Gate Children's Academy as a special interests instructor for American Sign Language. In his free time, you can typically find him writing about mathematics or science fiction, or otherwise riding his unicycle around.