Ms. Annie, Director
Ms. Annie 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.
Ms. Leanna, Teacher
Ms. Leanna, a native of Baltimore, is a teacher and mom to Ian and Naomi. 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.
Ms. Katie, Teacher
Ms. Katie 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.
Ms. Nicol, Teacher
Ms. Nicol was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and moved to Baltimore when she was three, so she's grown up right here in the city and even stayed local for college at Notre Dame of Maryland University. During her senior year, she signed up for Teach for America and decided to stay and teach in the same city that raised her.
She taught 4th grade Dual Language ELA, and being able to use her Spanish in the classroom while helping her students grow in their biliteracy was one of her favorite parts of the job. She is excited to continue in education and support our students here in Highlandtown.
When she is in Baltimore, you can usually find her walking her dog around Lake Montebello near her house, trying new food spots with friends, or at a family reunion with a full table of Dominican food, especially a good sancocho.
Every summer, she tries to go back to the DR to visit her mom’s side of the family. That’s when she is at her happiest, spending time with my grandmother and cousins, enjoying beach days, and late-night ice cream from Helado Bon.
Ms. Ty'jai, Teacher
Ms. Ty’jai 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 co-teacher in our downstairs two-year-old classroom. Her caring demeanor is felt daily as the kids have grown to love her.
Ms. Madisyn (Maddie), Classroom Aide
Ms. Madisyn grew up in Baltimore and has lived here all her life. She enjoys reading and writing. She loves watching YouTube videos. And she loves animals so much! She has one dog (Itsy) and one guinea pig (Pickles).
Since she was little, she has always loved kids. But it wasn’t until she got into high school that she knew she wanted to teach kids, to help them learn, and to watch them grow.
Maddie is a big sister with two little brothers and one little sister, and she has older brothers as well. She wants to show that she is a loving and caring teacher because we make impact on children we teach.
Ms. Luisa, Classroom Aide
Ms. Luisa is originally from Mexico. Her family consists of her husband, three children, two birds, five goldfish, and Luisa. They have lived in the Highlandtown area since 2015, after moving from New York. They enjoy the outdoors and spend most of their free time at Patterson Park. Luisa was a nanny for many years, and now she has the opportunity to work at The Highlandtown Preschool, sharing her knowledge with the children while learning alongside them.
Ms. Lizbeth (Liz), Classroom Aide
Ms. Liz grew up in Baltimore and is a graduate of Western High School. She has been working in childcare for over a year. She is currently attending Harford Community College and majoring in Education. In her free time, she enjoys going on long walks in Patterson Park with her German Shepherd/ Husky mix named Max. She also enjoys going to concerts and Hershey {ark with family and friends. She is happy to be a part of the 2’s building because she likes learning something new everyday and seeing her students improve on their academic performance. She has a passion for education and loves working with preschool kids. She is kind and patient.
Ms. Patricia, Office Administrator
Ms. Patricia 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 a 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.
During the summer, you'll often find me doing activities in Patterson Park, attending local festivals, enjoying my coffee while I walk through the Fells Point Farmers Market on Saturdays, or taking boat rides to appreciate Maryland's beautiful waterfronts.
Patricia speaks English and Spanish.
Pastor Madeline Tallman
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. In addition to his work with our congregation and school, Mark serves as a City Councilperson here in Southeast Baltimore.
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.