Annie Merrick, Director
Annie Merrick has been working in the early childhood field for 19 years. She has worked in every position, starting with afternoon assistant and ending with director. She earned her BA in Sociology from UNCW and earned her 90 hour and 45 hour certificates. She is married to her husband Chris and lives in Canton with him, her very favorite dog, George, and their two daughters! She loves cooking, watching soccer (go Liverpool!) and home projects. She is looking forward to meeting all you and your kiddos.
Ashley Patrick, Interim Director
Amara Anderson, Teacher
Amara Anderson--Amara has been working in the early childhood education field for about four years. She currently has her 90-hour in early childhood education, and is studying toward her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education . She has always had a love for teaching children and making a difference in their lives ever since a young age. She enjoys crafting, cooking, reading, and being with family. Her two all-time favorite books to read are “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein. Her goal while working with children is to inspire the next generation and impact every child’s life for the better.
Leanna Gutermuth, Teacher
Leanna Gutermuth, a native of Baltimore, is a teacher and mom to Ian (3) and Naomi (14). She loves to hang out at her house gardening, cooking, reading, watching TV and playing with her kids. She has been teaching infants for five years and is excited to teach two year olds especially since her own son is two. Her teaching philosophy is inspired by Albert Einstein’s quote, “Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere.” Her future goal is to become a labor and delivery nurse because she is passionate about and just absolutely loves babies and young children. She is happy to be a part of the team that is establishing the new twos program at The Highlandtown Preschool.
De'Ashisa "Dee" Fields, Teacher
De’Ashisa Fields, also known as Ms. Dee in the classroom, has six years of professional childcare experience. She has served as a Lead Two’s Teacher for nearly four of those years. She strongly believes in children learning through play and exploration. In the near future she plans to work towards a degree in Early Childhood Education. De’Ashisa spends her spare time writing, reading, and cherishing moments with family, particularly her two nephews. In her classroom you'll always hear soft music, as De’Ashisa believes it fosters a gentle mind. Her passion lies in Arts & Crafts and sensory play, allowing children to unleash their creativity. De’Ashisa encourages her students to believe in their abilities no matter how small or big the obstacle may seem.
She looks forward to an exciting and fantastic school year!
Jazmine Garcia, Teacher
Jazmine Garcia is a highly enthusiastic and creative preschool teacher with a passion for nurturing young minds and helping them grow. She strives to create a warm, welcoming, and inclusive classroom environment where children can explore, learn, and have fun. She is excited to be a part of your child's learning journey, and she looks forward to creating a nurturing and stimulating learning environment for them, where they will thrive.
Ms. Jazmine comes to us from the DBCC (Downtown Baltimore Children's Center). She has also worked at the House of Ruth and the New Century School. Ms. Jazmine grew up here in Baltimore (Edmondson High School) and all of her professional experience is here in our city. Ms. Jazmine speaks English and Spanish.
Katie O'Hara, Teacher
Katie O'Hara worked at Kennedy Krieger for 10 years with children ranging from Pre-K to 8th grade. She has a masters degree in early childhood education. She lives with her husband, 2 sons, 1 cat, 4 fish, and a hamster. In her free time, she loves adventuring with her boys. This summer they went shark tooth hunting at Calvert Cliffs, camping at Ohiopyle, and went on tons of awesome hikes and bike rides. She has a passion for nature, art and amateur mycology (fungi are amazing!). Ms. Katie is excited to be at HTP and am enjoying creating a fun, cozy, learning environment for her students.
Pat Newman, Afternoon Teacher
Pat Newman is thrilled to be joining the Highlandtown Preschool staff as the afternoon teacher.
Pat has lived in Baltimore since July 2023 and loves city life. Moving from Florida to Maryland has been challenging and rewarding. She survived her first snowstorm in 20 years and has embraced the quirkiness of her Conkling Street neighborhood. Darth Vader, in full armor, lives just down the street in a row house window.
Pat has decades of experience working with children as a Montessori-certified primary teacher and a traditional preschool educator. She loves the arts, nature, and music. She hopes to integrate all these areas of study onto our afternoon curriculum.
Gladis Vásquez Calderón, Classroom Aide
Gladis Vásquez Calderón is friendly and cheerful. She loves working with children. She is patient. She has many years of experience taking care of babies, including as a nanny for some of our HPS families. She loves to see them happy and to see them grow. She likes to work in a team. She is spontaneous, creative, and flexible.
She also likes nature, walks in the park, hiking, exploring, and taking pictures of birds. She likes exploring resources and reading to learn more about children's education.
Gladis speaks English and Spanish.
Ty'jai Smith, Classroom Aide
Ty’jai Smith grew up in East Baltimore and is a graduate of Baltimore Design High School where her pathway was architecture. She comes from a big family with 3 sisters and 1 brother and now is proud to say that she has one niece and nephew. She has been described by her family as a “natural” with children. She worked for three summers as a Youthworks counselor. In this position she planned activities for kindergarten age children, walkied to Patterson Park to take the kids to the pool, and read books at circle time. In her free time, Ty’jai enjoys watching hair styling, nail design and fashion design videos.
She is really excited to be at The Highlandtown Preschool because everyday she is learning something new. She loves getting to know the kids and seeing their individual personalities.
Ty’jai is looking forward to growing in her role as an aide in the three year old classroom and hopes in the future to become a lead preschool teacher. Her caring demeanor is felt daily as the kids have grown to love her.
Romeris Tejada, Classroom Aide
Romeris Tejada is a native of the Dominican Republic who has been in Baltimore for 10 years. She has been married for 13 years, and has three children (ages 8, 5, and 2.5). Previously, she has served as a babysitter, and she recently graduated from a great local Early Childhood Education training program (with the Julie Community Center).
Romeris speaks English and Spanish.
Patricia Jimenez, Office Administrator
Patricia Jimenez is originally from Mexico, and the Highlandtown community welcomed when she made it her home in 2009. She met her husband here, and now they have an eight-year-old daughter and a rabbit. As a mother, it brings her joy to work in the preschool office and assist families in ensuring their children are in a safe place while they work. She also enjoys helping people from other countries who arrived here, as she did, to settle into this community.
Patricia speaks English and Spanish.
Pastor Mark Parker
Pastor Mark Parkeris a native of Baltimore City. He has served as pastor of Breath of God Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, since 2009. Breath of God has roots in Highlandtown going back to 1900, but is always looking to find new ways to serve our neighbors and share God’s love within our community. Mark and his family live in Highlandtown, and his daughter was one of the first students at the preschool. Mark speaks English and Spanish.
Mark has been involved with young people and education in a variety of capacities since 2000. During college and graduate school those efforts included two mentoring programs, a high school leadership program, and running the summer camp at the Downtown Sailing Center. Here in Southeast Baltimore, Mark helped to launch a summer camp and after school program, supports our local public schools, and is involved with youth sports. He particularly appreciates our existing partnerships with our local schools, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Creative Alliance, Patterson Park Audubon, Soccer Without Borders, Patterson Park Academy of Music, and the Southeast Youth Collaborative.
Mark is dedicated to this mission of nurturing children, preparing them for success in school, supporting working families, and providing equitable and just access to education for children of all backgrounds.