Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Coop

Sarah Sanford, Parent/Infant Teacher
Sarah, the Parent/Infant teacher, has a B.A. in Art History and a Masters in Teaching. She facilitates the Parent/Infant class with a focus on babies’ and parent’s enjoyment. She is a big fan of the community of co-op and enthusiastically welcomes new families. Sarah joined the PNPC as a parent in 2001 and has two pre-school age children.

Denise Bryan, Toddlers Teacher
Denise joins the PNPC community this year. Denise received a B.S. in Child Development and Family Studies and an M.S. in Developmental Studies/Early Childhood Education. Since 1991, Denise has taught, directed and evaluated early childhood programs serving children ages 0-5 years old. Some of the programs were ranked top 10 in the U.S. and served as best practice program models for working with young children and their families. Denise and her husband returned to Seattle in 2002 and now they enjoy doing walks around Green Lake with their 2 year old daughter, Lily.

Aaron Gill, Twos Teacher
Aaron joins the PNPC this year as the Two’s teacher. He has a M.A. and B.A. in Geography and is currently studying Early Childhood Education. Aaron has been in Co-op preschools for the last seven years, serving many positions including Teaching Assistant, Parent Coordinator and Treasurer. He volunteers in his children’s classrooms at West Woodland Elementary and currently serves as C0-President of the PTA. He loves all the things children teach him. He lives on Phinney Ridge with his wife, Marie and their two children Kaye and Lila.

Francie Ringold, Threes Teacher & Head Teacher
Francie Ringold is the Threes Teacher and the Preschool's Head Teacher. She started with the PNPC in the fall of 1995. Francie has taught the Toddlers, Twos and what was the Fours class. She loves teaching the Threes and working with parents and kids. She has a B.A. in Psychology and has attended many trainings and workshops in the last 18 years on early childhood education and parenting issues. Francie previously worked for the JCC childcare center and Directed Camp Fire's Special Saturday Club sites which ran programs for special needs children and their siblings. She lives in the neighborhood with her husband and two boys who are 20 and 17.

Pre-K Teacher position open click here for job description.

Irene Wagner, Parent Educator – Parent/Infant Class
Irene Wagner holds a Master of Social Work, with post-graduate training in family systems. She has worked with children and families for many years. Irene joined the Parent Education faculty at North Seattle Community College in 1995, and provides parent education to parents of infants and toddlers. In addition, Irene maintains a part-time clinical private practice in Seattle. Irene has three daughters, and she and her husband have enjoyed raising them in the Ravenna neighborhood. Irene’s favorite activities are participating in Rotary service projects with her family, attending her monthly book club, and singing with the Enzian Swiss Ladies Singing Society.

Leigh-Ann Andrada, Parent Educator – Toddlers Class
Leigh-Ann joins the Parent Education faculty this year after several years of cooperative preschool with her own children. She taught kindergarten and first grade, both in Washington and California, and holds a Master of Education from UW in Special Education. Her graduate work focused on early literacy. She grew up in California, and has lived in Seattle for 12 years. She has three daughters, ages 8, 5, and 3. She just finished her third time through Toddlers as a parent, and is looking forward to her new role as Parent Educator, and sharing this exciting and wonderful year with parents and children.

Cesily Crowser, Parent Educator - Twos Class
Cesily was born and raised here in Seattle. She holds a BA in Psychology from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. She's been teaching Parent Education for 5 years, primarily at Seattle Central Community College. Cesily also worked as a Family Support Worker for Seattle Schools, and as a volunteer Parent Education Instructor at the Ardell Mitchell House (a shelter for homeless teenage mothers). This year she's excited and honored to be beginning a new phase in her career by becoming a full-time faculty member at North Seattle Community College. She has 2 children; a daughter Victoria,11 years old, is starting middle school at Seattle Girls School, a son Phillip, 8 years old, is a 3rd grader at Montlake Elementary School. With 2 young kids everything she brings to you for Parent Education has been first applied and tried at her house. Cesily looks forward to sharing with you a year full of fun, excitement, and knowledge.

Nancy Houtz (Nat), Parent Educator - Threes Class & Pre-K
Nat has been a parent educator for 28 years in the co-op system at Edmonds Community College and at North Seattle for five years. She has also worked as a researcher at the Parenting Clinic, School of Nursing, at UW for about 12 years. She has done her graduate work in Human Development at Pacific Oaks. She is the mother of two grown children and two (still) adolescent cats.