About Us
Staff
Susan Parker, Director
AUCP Director Susan Parker came to AUCP in 1997 as a co-oping parent and a Panda teacher. Formerly the director of recruiting for a law firm, Susan became a teacher in 1997, served as AUCP's assistant director in 2003 and 2004, and became director in 2005. Susan earned bachelor's degrees in secondary education and English from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in education from the University of Virginia. Susan and her husband have a 13-year-old daughter and twin 10-year-old boys. Susan encourages parents to "enjoy the journey with your child--the highs and as well as the lows. Help your children savor the few years they have to be self-directed learners and explorers. If you provide them with the tools to be life-long learners, you'll never have to teach them anything else."
Diann Vaughan, Assistant Director
Diann holds her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Masters degree in Professional Counseling. She and her family joined the coop in 2005.
JJ Gardiner, Penguin Teacher
JJ holds a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology from Galludent University. She has been an active member of AUCP since 2005.
Gwendy Danvers, Penguin Teacher
Gwendy Danvers began her AUCP "career" in 1990. She has her BA in French. Gwendy will be sharing the Penguin teaching position with JJ Gardiner.
Brooke Jones, Kangaroo teacher
Brooke Jones has over 3 years of experience teaching preschool. Brooke has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina.
Asmaa Rosenberg, Panda Teacher
Asmaa Rosenberg joined AUCP as a teacher and parent in 2008. Asmaa holds a Diploma in Childhood Education from the Croissant Rouge, Rabat, Morocco and is fluent in Arabic, French, and English. With this background, Asmaa has taught preschoolers from Rabat, Morocco to Arlington, Virginia. Asmaa draws inspiration from her father, also an educator and principal: learn one thing every day; have fun with your friends, and believe in yourself.
Maruja Ubelaker, Lunch Bunch teacher
Hi. I am Maruja Ubelaker. I have enjoyed my affiliation with AUCP since 1994. I was the lead Dolphin teacher for nine years; I was the Owl class teacher for a few years as well. I found that the environment and quality of learning of AUCP were unique because it involves the entire community. I have been very happy to belong to this institution that promotes the involvement and participation of parents in the child's growth and discovery.
I am from Ecuador and came to the USA after I married my husband Douglas whom I met in Ecuador while we were working on an archeological excavation. After many years we now have two grown children who are pursuing their PHDs and successfully entering the fields of academia and research.
I have been in the education field for a long time; first I taught Kindergarten in Ecuador at the Americano School in Quito Ecuador, then I came to the USA and got my BA from Marymount College. The following years I was a co-oping parent during almost ten years at Beverly Hills co-op and Sleepy Hollow co op preschool for my two kids.
After my younger child went to elementary school day at Fairfax County I worked as an assistant at Sleepy Hollow for about 5 years; then I had a year try out at the public schools and that was not my calling. Then I was lucky to come to AUCP and since then I have grown and learned a lot from this community. After a short break I came back to AUCP teaching art and being a lead teacher at the Lunch bunch class.
My philosophy is centered on promoting and exposing children and adults to discovering, experimenting and exploring different aspects of real life transferred to the class. What is important to me is to have children find out for themselves their best ways to express themselves. In regard to art and projects in general one can teach the techniques but all the projects should have lots of room for self expression. Play, play, experiment and explore are the core of learning in the preschool years.
Patricia Bullington-McGuire, Dolphin Teacher
Patricia became an AUCP parent in 2003. She has a B.A. in Philosophy and previously worked in the government relations field. Her time cooping in the classroom inspired her to further her education at the George Mason University Elementary Education PDS program, and she returned to AUCP as a teacher in 2006. Patricia has three children, all current or former AUCP students. She strives to build a classroom environment that meets each child where he or she is and supports children's development as they grow.
Nora Rosenberger, Eagle Teacher
Nora is a graduate of Marymount University where she studied PreK-3 education. She has more than 10 years of experience working with young children.
Joan Boswinkle, Panda and Koala Teacher
Affiliation: Parent at AUCP from 2001 to 2006; paid co-op substitute/aide from 2007 to 2009; second year teacher.
Education: B.S. degree in Nutrition (University of North Carolina - Greensboro); B.S. degree in Hotel Restaurant Management (Virginia Tech).
Background: Worked with Marriott in its Health Care Division for 10 years; performed a variety of managerial duties.
Family: I have been married for 19 years. My husband, Bill, is a CPA and works for General Dynamics. Bill has just published his first novel "This Sane And Rocky Earth." We have three Children: Jackson, 12 years old; Kaleb, 10 years old; Willow, 7 1/2 years old. Kaleb and Willow are former AUCP graduates.
Hobbies: I enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, and cycling with my family. I like watching my children play soccer on the weekends. I am known as a "gym rat." I also enjoy reading and relaxing with family and friends. Philosophy: Provide opportunities for young children to explore, grow, and learn about themselves and the world around them.
Anna Bowman, Panda Teacher
Affiliation: This is my fourth year teaching Pandas.
Background: I taught 1st grade at Barrett Elementary in Arlington for 12 years. Before that I taught two years of pre-k in Buffalo, NY.
Education: I received a BS in Early Childhood Education (pre-k through 6) at Buffalo State College and have taken many graduate classes in reading and ESOL at GMU.
Children: AUCP Alum
Philosophy: Children are our world and we have so much to teach them and so much to learn from them. They are a wonder and I strive to provide them an environment where they feel safe, nurtured, loved, free to explore, excited to learn, confident and most definitely happy!
Julie Luncher, Owl Teacher
Julie has over 10 years of teaching experience. Her most recent position was as an assistant teacher at Faith Lutheran Preschool. In addition, Julie has worked as a resource teacher and as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher. She has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
Alison Marino, Music Teacher
Affiliation: I started at AUCP as a parent in 2000. I started teaching one day a week in the Panda class in 2003 when my oldest daughter started kindergarten just to discover that baby #3 was on the way. I went back to the co-oping parent role until another Panda teaching position opened in 2005. In 2007 I started doing the music program in addition to teaching the Pandas.
Background: I have been working with children in some capacity since 1988. I was a classroom assistant as a college student, have been head teacher in various pre-k programs and have been both an assistant director and director of child development centers. In 1997 I became a stay at home mom.
Education: I got my degree in ECC at Union College and studied Special Education at Kean University in NJ.
Children: I have 2 daughters, 12 years old and 9 years old, and a son who is 5 years old.
Philosophy: My philosophy is to create a safe, fun, and creative environment that the children are able to explore and experience while learning and having fun!
Kevan Miller, Cheetah Teacher
Kevan has been an AUCP parent since 2007. After five years working in publishing, she began her teaching career in 1996 as a summer camp counselor at Burgundy Farm Country Day School. This led to a full-time spot at the school as one of its pre-Kindergarten teachers. Four years later, Kevan completed a Masters in Early Childhood Education and spent the next nine years at a Fairfax County public school as a first grade teacher and reading specialist. Inspired by children's natural curiosity and sense of wonder about the world, Kevan strives to create an environment that encourages children to ask questions, express their thoughts and ideas, and grow as creative problem solvers and learners.AUCP Address
4444 Arlington Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22204
703-892-3878
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