Who We Are

Get To Know Us

The faculty of Hollingworth Preschool is composed of educators who share a commitment to life-long learning, child-responsive education, and the enactment of theory into practice. Our head teachers bring many years of experience working with young children and are leaders in their advanced graduate programs at Teachers College. Our associate and assistant teachers are selected through a competitive application process and bring diverse accomplishments. Each of these teachers must be concurrently enrolled in a Master’s programs at Teachers College while at Hollingworth. Our leadership team with its extensive expertise contributes to the research and service in the field of early childhood education.

Director

The Hollingworth Center

She/Her/Hers

This marks Dr. Lisa Wright’s 35th year as the director of The Hollingworth Center where she works closely with all of our programs. For 45 years Dr. Wright has devoted her practice and her research to early childhood and gifted education. The depth of her comes from playing and working with over 700 Hollingworth preschoolers.  As a faculty member in Teachers College Department Curriculum and Teaching with a specialization in giftedness,  Professor Wright teaches masters level students in courses including the Nature and Needs of the Gifted, Nurturing Potential in the Early Years, and guides practicum experience.

Director

Hollingworth Preschool

She/Her/Hers

Sarah Duer is the Director of Hollingworth Preschool. Beginning in 2014, Sarah has held a number of leadership positions within the Center. In these capacities she designed early childhood programs and developed curriculum with a special focus on phenomenon and place–based science as well as robotics. 

Head Teacher

Yellow Class

She/Her/Hers

Sophie Brotherton is delighted to begin her second year as the Head Teacher in the Yellow Class at Hollingworth. A graduate of Smith College, Sophie received her B.A. in East Asian Languages and Culture. While at Smith, Sophie spent her junior year in at Doshishs Univeristy in Kyoto, Japan. This experience inspired Sophie to begin her teaching career in Tokyo where she taught English at the high school level.

Head Teacher

Blue Class

She/Her/Hers

Emily Kutz (she/her/hers) is the Blue Class head teacher at Hollingworth Preschool and a student in the Teachers College EdM in Applied Linguistics - Second Language Acquisition program. She holds a MA in Applied Linguistics from Teacher College and a bachelor's degree Summa Cum Laude from Juniata College in both Early Childhood and Spanish Education. Prior to her position at Hollingworth, Emily taught PreK in Madrid, Spain at the American School of Madrid for two years and on a prestigious Fulbright Teaching Fellowship grant at Colegio Alameda de Osuna International School for one year. Emily also taught preschool and kindergarten in Pennsylvania and Mexico. As an early childhood educator, Emily explores and incorporates process art and inquiry into her practice to scaold student learning. She enjoys witnessing young students construct their own learning through natural play and authentic experiences. Emily is multilingual with her research focus on the intersection of emergent literacy of young children and multilingualism. Emily is a certied teacher in TESOL, early childhood, and Spanish. When she is not in the classroom, she loves boxing and traveling. Some of her favorite places she has visited include Portugal and Mexico.

Art Teacher

Hollingworth Preschool

She/Her/Hers

An alum of both Hollingworth Preschool and Science Camp, Nina Borland completed her undergraduate studies at Clark University, where she studied studio art and graphic design. Nina joined Hollingworth Science Camp as an assistant art teacher in 2012, encouraging children's understanding of scientific phenomena through the visual arts for five summers. Nina joined Hollingworth full time in 2015. During her time at the Center, she has spent invaluable time both inside and outside of the classroom designing and implementing curriculum, planning events and creating educational materials. Currently, Nina serves as Curriculum Innovator and Creative Designer for Hollingworth, supporting our programs with her expertise in graphic design, communication, teaching, and the visual arts. One of Nina's favorite aspects of her job is teaching Art with our youngest learners at Hollingworth Preschool! She is back for a fourth year of fostering artistic agency through exploration, inquiry, and play.

Outside of the classroom, Nina finds time for her personal practice, creating art, photography, and design surrounding themes of body, sense of self, the natural world, and intersectional feminism. Nina can often be found singing songs, making things, and delving into the wonderful world of sci-fi and fantasy.

Assistant Teacher

Hollingworth Preschool

She/Her/Hers

Jingwen Xu (she/her/hers) joins us for a second year as an Assistant Teacher at Hollingworth. She completed her undergraduate program at Syracuse University’s highly ranked program in Inclusive Early Childhood Education with honors each term. While at SU, she was an apprentice teacher in toddler, pre-k, kindergarten, and rst grade classrooms. Jingwen’s time at SU engendered a growing interest in gifted education and is now a matriculating bilingual graduate student in TC’s Education of the Gifted Department. Jingwen deeply values and applies integrated pedagogical strategies to ensure the growth of children with unique learning proles. Centering her teaching within the context of a collaborative community, Jingwen nurtures each child’s cognitive capacities, social and emotional development, and a sense of place within a caring community.

Assistant Teacher

She/Her/Hers

Jenna Beucler (she/her/hers) is a recent magna cum laude graduate of Bucknell University where she studied Education and Dance. She has worked with various age groups in school settings, teaching dance classes, and in summer camps. She always nds herself returning to the preschool age group as she is drawn to their vivacity, wisdom, and optimism. She is currently enrolled in TC’s Masters of Early Childhood Education program and hopes to continue learning with, from, and about children through this experience. Her favorite pre-school experience so far has been working in a Danish Børnehave while studying abroad in Copenhagen. She was extremely inspired by the focus on a democratic classroom, play based learning, and autonomy. In addition to loving preschool Jenna loves her pets, dancing, cannolis, the Barbie movie, and being in the sunshine!

Assistant Teacher

She/Her/Hers

Emma Zhang (she/her/hers) is joining us as an Assistant Teacher and is a recent graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs. She also studied at the National Institute of Early Childhood Development in Singapore in Child Psychology and Early Education. Emma has taught in a variety of schools both nationally and internationally, including the HFSE International School in Singapore, the Klondike Elementary School in Indiana, and the Ben and Miller Laboratory School at Purdue University. Emma believes that all children are eager to explore their surroundings and has limitless potential and is looking forward to all of the collaboration ahead of us at Hollingworth!

Assistant Teacher

He/Him/His

Christopher Lapp (he/him) joins us for a second year as an assistant teacher at Hollingworth Preschool, bringing music into each day that the children enjoy at Hollingworth. Chris discovered a passion for music at an early age, spurring him to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree at Clark University in Worcester, MA. He majored in both musical recording technology and composition, with a minor in English literature. He is trained in four instruments, including the piano and guitar. He has worked at many early childhood music programs including Kidville's Rockin’ Railroad, a musical performance alongside puppets helping introduce children to instruments across musical genres as well as foundational learning concepts like manners or letter recognition. Over the last three summers, Chris has taught at the Hollingworth Science Camp in a variety of capacities with special expertise on the intersection of science and music. Chris has also worked as an audio engineer for concert venues in Manhattan, making sure what the audience hears is the clearest, most authentic sound possible. In addition, Chris loves animals, including his own 22 year old corn snake named Coil! He enjoys teaching and learning about lesser-known creatures of this world. Today, Chris is completing his MA in the Design and Development of Digital Games program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is looking forward to using his auditory talents to become a sound designer for video games in his future endeavors.

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