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Staff Profiles
 We, at Del Rey Christian Children's Center (DRCCC), know that you, as parents, desire a safe, loving, and nurturing place for your children while you are not able to be with them.
Our staff are trained over and above the minimum state requirements, and screened by our Director and Church Leadership to verify their ability to teach and guide your child. Additionally, staff members are trained regularly by the Red Cross in first aid and are Infant/Toddler CPR certified.
Our staff is employed here because they feel "called" to be in this profession and wish to participate in the intellectual, spiritual, and physical development of your children. Our hope and prayer is that we will be able to exceed all of the expectations that you may have while your child attends our school.
Please check out our Staff Profiles below:
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Candace Welty – Director
Candace, also known as “Teacher Cactus,” has been teaching at DRCCC since 2001. She began working as an aid and during that time acquired her teaching credentials from a combination of schools including West L.A. College, Santa Monica College, and UCLA. Candace has previously worked as an aid in the nursery and the 2-year-old classroom, and as lead teacher in the 3-year old classroom. She most recently finished off teaching in the Pre- Kindergarten classroom for the second year in a row. However, she has also been a teacher in the Nursery, Duckie, and Froggie room! Wow. She has enjoyed teaching young children in a Christian environment and loves watching the children figure out how to sound out letters and write their names on their own. Her favorite activity to do with her class is cooking activities such as making goop or smoothies during “Healthy Me” week..
When she is not at work, Candace enjoys scrap-booking, traveling to places like Big Bear and Hawaii, and spending time with her husband Chris, her son Riley, and their new baby, Jeremiah. She also is a dedicated member of Del Rey Hills Church and, along with her husband, loves pouring into the kids at the church’s youth group.
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Lizzie Moses – Assistant Director
Lizzie Moses has been working at DRCCC since August 2005. She currently serves as DRCCC's assistant director, and previously worked as both a teacher’s aide and a teacher.
Lizzie grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and ventured to California in 2001 to attend Loyola Marymount University. After earning her degree in psychology in 2005, she began working at DRCCC as a Teacher’s assistant. In the spring of 2005, Lizzie attended Vanguard University and earned the early education units necessary for being a lead teacher. Lizzie began working with the 3-year-old class and then moved into the nursery. Her favorite activity to do with the children is music and movement exercises.
She still enjoys substituting in the classroom, but now, along with the director, focuses the majority of her efforts on being a liaison between the school and parents. She also conducts school tours for potential attendees’ parents and works to bridge the gap between the preschool and church families. Lizzie is very excited to be going back to school in the fall of 2008. She will be working towards getting her master's in psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at Azusa Pacific University. In her free time, Lizzie loves to read and run (but not at the same time)!
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Clara Morales – Lead Froggie (3- to 4-year-old) Teacher
Clara Morales has been working at DRCCC since April 2006. After attending Del Rey Hills Church, Clara says she felt a renewed called to work in ministry. This desire, combined with her life-long passion to work with children inspired her to accept a position as lead teacher in the 3-year-old classroom (also known as the “Froggie” class). Clara received her teaching credentials from El Camino College. She hopes to one day go back and receive her A.A. in early childhood education.
Clara displays her love for her favorite activity - music - and is our NEW Jesus Time teacher. She also enjoys movement and outside activities such as duck-duck goose. Clara is such an inspiration to new teachers, and she mentors many of them.
Clara is married to Mario, who also works on staff at Del Rey Hills Church, and they have two children; Illiana and Mario. When Clara is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, specifically, watching her own children play sports.
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London Bordenave – Assistant Froggie Teacher
After London graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills with a degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in child development, she began working at DRCCC as a teacher’s aid. She is currently enrolled in classes to obtain her Early Education Certificate (which is different from an elementary education). London has been a great sport about assisting in many of the classes at Del Rey. London has recently become our 2-year-old co-teacher with RoNne. She spent a lot of time with the older children at Del Rey and is now excited to teach the Duckie Class, and use her various skills and talents in a new outlet. She is also creative when it comes to organizing and decorating the classroom with each child’s artwork. London has been working at DRCCC since late 2006.
In her free time, London loves to shop and hang out with her family and friends. One of her hidden talents is impersonating her favorite aspects of people she knows. Ask her to do an impression and see for yourself how accurate she can be!
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RonNe Fuller – Duckie (2- to 3-year-old) Lead Teacher
RonNe is one of our newest teachers. She began working at DRCCC at the start of the 2007-2008 school year. RonNe has been working in a childcare environment for over six years and chose to work at Del Rey to continue her experience and work in a Christian environment. After earning her degree in social work and child development, she returned to school to continue her education in early childhood development at El Camino College. RonNe is a great asset to have because of her social work experience with children and families. In her class, she enjoys reading stories to the children and doing art work.
RonNe also enjoys DRCCC because it allows her to work with her cousin London. In her free time, she takes pleasure in hanging out with her nephews and reading. She is enthusiastic about being a part of the larger mission at DRCCC.
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Judith Hernandez – Lead Koala (Nursery) Teacher
While Judith was a student at El Camino College, she developed a strong desire to work with children and learn more about childhood education. She also hoped to be able to incorporate Christian values into her curriculum. All of those aspirations came true for Judith when she began working at DRCCC in 2006.
Judith says she enjoys making “messy” art such as painting with whip cream or shaving cream. Judith is in an appropriate position because she has been a lead teacher of the two-year-old classroom, and therefore, has knowledge of their expectations. She really likes the infant age and enjoys working with parents as their children transition from infant to toddler.
Judith spends her free time with her new husband and is also extremely involved with her church, specifically, the youth group. Our question is; is Judith ever surrounded by adults? Either way, Judith has an excellent energy about her and continues to enlighten the school with her expansive knowledge on child development.
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Sasha Bozzalla – Assistant Koala (Nursery) Teacher
Sasha says she always had a desire to work with children, but it wasn't until she found DRCCC in 2006 that she finally took the plunge into a full-time position as the assistant teacher in the nursery. She has maintained that position ever since. Sasha has been taking classes at Santa Monica College and West L.A. College since 2006 to earn her teaching credentials, and is focused on constantly trying to find new and more innovative ways for the infants to learn through artwork. She also really enjoyed her Literature for Children classes and she understands the importance of exposing children to books at an early age.
Sasha is married and has a son named Jacob. She enjoys scrap-booking, taking Jacob for walks, and going to the park with her family. She also has a special place in her heart for “In ‘n Out” as this company was her previous employer. If you ever need help ordering “secret” menu items, Sasha will be more than willing to assist you!
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Nancy Estrada – Pre-K Teacher
Nancy has been working diligently to earn her degree in Early Childhood Education from Santa Monica College. She has worked at several schools as an aide to earn credit for her classes. DRCCC was her first school in which she was a lead teacher. She also interns at another school in the mornings as she strives to finish off her degree. One of Nancy's many strengths is her extraordinary patience while interacting with kids. She enjoys doing messy projects with her students, and experimenting with new mediums in which to cultivate learning. Outside, Nancy enjoys gathering a group together for story time.
Other than going to school, Nancy is really close with her family and enjoys spending time with them. She also loves to read and watch movies.
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Teacher Anna Maximo - Pre-K Assistant Teacher
Teacher Anna has been working in child care for over eleven years. She came to our school highly recommended by her previous director. Anna has worked with kids that range from age 6 weeks to 5 years. Anna loves doing arts and crafts with the children. She also has a wealth of experience that she is able to contribute to our school because of her vast education in the early childhood field. Anna received most of her formal training from East Los Angeles College and Los Angeles Harbor College. In her free time, Anna enjoys spending time with her husband and reading Christian literature.
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Shannon Tracy – Assistant Teacher
After graduating from El Segundo High School, Shannon began working for us in the late spring of 2007. Shannon is currently working towards her degree at Santa Monica College and has chosen a major in liberal studies. She hopes to teach math someday. Shannon works part time in DRCCC’s nursery. She also helps out with the older kids from time to time. Shannon began working at Del Rey because she has a heart for God and for children.
Shannon is an avid attendee of Del Rey Hills Church, and is also a leader in the church’s Junior High and High School Youth Group. Recently, Shannon has also become active in The Station, a college group that Del Rey Church facilitates.
In her free time, Shannon attends Bible studies, enjoys reaching out to those less fortunate, and spends time with her friends. Shannon is a born leader. Recently, she helped facilitate a car wash for the Church youth group to raise money for Winter Camp. You can see the pictures of the car wash on the church’s website!
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Teacher Debbie Miller – Assistant Duckie Teacher
Teacher Debbie began teaching at DRCCC in June 2008. She recently moved to Los Angeles after working at a preschool in central California for over 11 years. She has been working the field of early education and child care for over 14 years. Wow!
Currently, Debbie has her A.A. in Liberal Studies and she is on her way to earning her Associates degree in early education (preschool) as well. Not only does Teacher Debbie bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, she also bring a lot of creative ideas for the energetic duckie class. Debbie loves to play on the floor with the kids and read stories to them. The two year olds have definitely taken to Teacher Debbie! They love her.
Thus far, her time in L.A has been a blessing and she is eager to continue teaching the children at DRCCC. She is so excited to finally work at a Christian preschool where she can remind children openly that they are special in God’s eyes and that Jesus loves them unconditionally. In her free time, teacher Debbie likes to read biographical books, knit, and spend time with her sister.
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Teacher Shamira Gardner - Floater Teacher
Teacher Shamira started with DRCCC at the beginning of the 2008 school year. She has an intense passion for early childhood education. Shamira has attended Los Angeles Trade Tech to obtain her teaching credentials. She has her undergraduate degree in child development. She has worked with children in various capacities over the past few years. She loves doing science activities with children which is great because DRCCC is known for their unique class pets. One of Shamira’s special talents is her ability to use sign language She also loves being able to teach in a Christian environment where the Bible can be freely discussed. Shamira teaches, subs, and assists in all four of our classrooms. She is a great addition to our team.
In her free time, Shamira enjoys spending time with her husband of two and a half years.
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Mike Dolan – DRCCC Superintendent
Mike Dolan oversees the Del Rey Christian Chidlren's Center as our superintendent. He is passionate about the school and knows personally the amazing impact our program has on kids. All four of Mike's kids have attended DRCCC. In addition to his role over the school, Mike is an associate pastor in our church handling the administrative functions of our campus and ministries. Mike hosts a Bible Study in his home on Wednesday nights that preschool parents are invited to attend. He is available to meet with the families of our school for counseling and prayer any time. If you need help with anything, please don't hesitate to approach Mike. He is a happily married man of 14 years to his high school sweet heart, Joy. As an active member of the Westchester / Playa community, Mike volunteers in everything from neighborhood watch programs to coaching little league teams. In fact, he has been coaching little league for over 8 years and he is currently the head coach of the award-winning Lady Bugs. On a personal note, Mike's favorite food is ketchup (he puts it on everything) and he enjoys playing golf, beach volleyball, and beating his brother-in-law on his x-box console. Mike is also an avid reader and fantasy football devotee, so if you want to get in on the action just let him know.
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Matt Jones Pastor
Matt Jones is the lead pastor of the Del Rey Church and Del Rey Christian Children's Center. He has been pastoring here for 10 years and is a native of the Westchester area. As lead pastor, Matt oversees all of the ministries of the church, including our preschool, working closely with our superintendent. Pastor Matt was raised by a mother who has been a Preschool Director for over 20 years now. He worked as a preschool teacher's aid while finishing his undergraduate studies. With this upbringing and experience in preschool education, Pastor Matt has a passion for the well-being and success of our preschool, its families and the staff. Pastor Matt is very passionate about education and his wife, Erika, shares this passion. Erika works at the church as our Children's Ministry Director and she holds a California Teaching Credential. Between the two of them, Matt and Erika hold three masters degrees and Matt is currently working on his doctorate at Biola University. They have two sons and live in Los Angeles (where Matt dreams of having more children). When he’s not at church or at home with his family, Matt and his wife like to spend time together in the outdoors (although they proudly confess that they are homebodies). For fun, Matt enjoys reading (lots of reading!), writing, watching PBS, and building his wishlist on Amazon.com. Pastor Matt is here to serve the families of our school through counseling, prayer and other practical needs that may arise. Please don't hesitate to call Matt if you want to get more acquainted with our church and school. |
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