StaffInés Almario – is a student in the Education Department at Grand Rapids Community College where she is working on her Associates degree in Early Childhood Development. She previously studied Education in Barranquilla, Columbia. In’es works with us as a teacher and a teaching assistant.
Lucila Avellaneda – is a student in the Education Department at Grand Valley State University where she is working on her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and Early Childhood Education. Lucila also works as a Spanish tutor and has experience in the child care field. Lucila works with Hola Amigos as a teaching assistant and a substitute teacher.
Sarah Blackmore – is a teacher with the Rockford Public Schools BAC program and studied in the Education Department at the graduate level at Grand Valley State University. Sarah also holds a Michigan Elementary Teaching Certificate with a Reading Endorsement and is fluent in Spanish. Sarah works with us as a teacher and an assistant.
Amparo Phaneuf – is one of the original founders of this program and received her degree in Early Childhood Education/Elementary Education with a teaching certificate from the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Before opening the Hola Amigos Spanish Immersion Preschool, Amparo taught Spanish for Our Lady of Consolation for grades K-6. Amparo works with Hola Amigos as a consultant and a teacher.
Sara Matthews – studied the Spanish language and Mexican literature in Guadalajara, Mexico. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and from Michigan State University with a Master’s in Hispanic Studies/Spanish Literature/Linguistics. She previously studied Early Childhood Education and Child Development at the Master’s level at Michigan State University as well. Sara is a Professor of Spanish in the Modern Languages Department at Aquinas College, the current director of Hola Amigos Learning Center and the Spanish Immersion Preschool Program, and she teaches for the program as well.