Guilford Park Preschool – 2100 Fernwood Drive

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY.

We are now registering for the 2025-2026 school year.

Please contact the Preschool Office for registration information.

Rebecca Willoughby

rwilloughby@guilfordpark.org

Here at Guilford Park you will see play based learning. The children are engaged and excited, the teachers are intentional with objectives. Our children leave Guilford Park prepared and ready to be life long learners!

Our school year is September-May. Our hours are 9:00am-1:00pm. We offer 5 weeks of summer camps each summer.

We’re About The Little People…

QUALIFIED TEACHERS

We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful, experienced, and caring staff here at Guilford Park.

PRACTICAL LEARNING

We provide opportunities to explore, read, sing, create and practice independence in the classroom.

PARENTS WELCOME

We have very engaged parents at our preschool and we welcome you to our school.

CLASSES

We offer classes from 3 months of age through your child’s Pre-K year.

Guilford Park Preschool admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, and other school-administered programs.

Meet Our Teachers

Photos provided by Melissa Read Photography

www.melissareadphotography.com

REBECCA WILLOUGHBY Director

Rebecca Willoughby, Becca is the preschool director. Becca looks forward to supporting our wonderful staff and each of you and your precious families. Becca has been teaching for over 20 years with experiences in Middle School Math and Science, Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), Summer Church Camps for children, ages 3-12, a Covid Teaching Pod and the delightful years at Guilford Park in the 2s and 3s classes. Her youngest daughter attended Guilford Park. There have been so many rewarding experiences over Becca’s career. A huge highlight is watching the children grow over a school year, connecting with their friends and teachers and gaining confidence in social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. Becca enjoys traveling with her husband and 2 daughters to the beach, mountains and in recent years out West (Utah, Nevada and Arizona) and New York City. They also enjoy visiting historical locations and taking local hikes. She enjoys walking her dog, cooking, baking and Netflix binging, especially Downton Abbey.

MARY BROGDENLead Teacher - Crib Room

Mary Brogden is our crib teacher. Mary has been a part of our preschool for 7 years. She has also taught in the 2s and Pre-K. Working in several different classrooms over the past years has enabled her to see the children at different ages and abilities. Mary is excited to watch the babies learn to sit, crawl, walk, feed themselves and speak their first words as well as become very comfortable coming to school each day. Mary enjoys traveling, especially to the beach and also to see her 3 children. She also enjoys walking, running, reading and gardening.

HAILEY HILLAssistant Teacher - Crib Room

Hailey is our crib teacher. Hailey is enjoying her 2nd year in the crib class and she is the mom of one of our Turtles. Hailey has experience with STEM education, focusing on learning soft skills and fundamentals. Hailey believes that it is imperative that all children have the proper introduction to socialize and build relationships at a young age. Ideally, she would love to see the children learn emotions as their little personalities start to develop and shine through! Her family enjoys quality time together. They are big “foodies” who love to spend their spare time cooking, dining together, and going to local food markets. Hailey also enjoys spending time at the pool and playing with her daughter at the local parks.

MICHELLE LOWELead Teacher - Toddler Room

Michelle Lowe is our toddler teacher. She has been caring for our toddlers for 26 years and her youngest son attended Guilford Park. Michelle’s memorable highlights are getting to develop and practice her own creativity with the children and she loves the progress they make throughout the year. For the year ahead, Michelle is excited to hear the toddlers learn how to speak, paint and feed themselves with utensils. Michelle enjoys hiking in the woods and she loves to spend time with her grandchildren. Michelle has cared for many families outside of Guilford Park with after school care as well.

CAROLINE ASKEWToddler Assistant Teacher

Caroline is our wonderful toddler teacher. Caroline has spent many years at Guilford Park with all four of her children, 2 daughters and 2 sons, attending Guilford Park, serving on our Preschool Committee, teaching in several classes and assisting in the preschool office. For the year ahead, Caroline would love for the toddlers to gain independence and practice sharing and taking turns with friends. Caroline loves to travel with her husband and children to the beach and the mountains. She loves jigsaw puzzles, hiking, watching football and basketball, Go Heels!

HEATHER BURRESSLead Teacher - younger 2's Turtles

Heather is our 2s teacher. She has been a part of our Guilford Park family for many years, first as a parent with her 2 boys attending (crib through Pre-K) and also as a crib teacher. Heather loves to see the tremendous growth of the 2 year olds as they learn to sit at a table for meals, help during clean-up time and learn about taking turns with their friends. She looks forward to helping them learn to use scissors, recognize their first name in writing and take important jobs like Line Leader, Caboose and Weather Reporter. Heather’s hope is that her class will become a loving family-like community where kindness and connection are always top priority. Heather enjoys spending time with her husband and boys exploring new places, participating in Boy Scout activities, cooking, playing games, and watching movies. She loves to visit libraries, read, garden, spend time in nature, and walk with friends.

ABBEY WILLIAMSAssistant Teacher - Younger 2's Turtles

Abbey is our 2s teacher. Abbey is enjoying her second year in the 2’s and is the mom of one of our giraffes. One of Abbey’s career highlights was her time as a nanny and online school tutor for a first grader. She enjoyed being able to help her grow through tough learning conditions. This year Abbey is looking forward to helping the 2s room learn in a creative and fun way through play and crafts. In her spare time, Abbey enjoys spending time outside with her husband and son. They love to go on walks around their neighborhood and also explore Greensboro. She enjoys visiting new restaurants and coffee shops and has recently fallen back in love with reading!

JENNIFER PHILLIPSLead Teacher - Older 2's Toucans

Jennifer Phillips is our older 2’s toucan teacher. Jennifer is new to Guilford Park this year, but has been a part of Guilford Park for many years as a Nanny. Jennifer loves art, music and dance! The sense of pride children have in their work and the self-esteem that art builds in young minds is important to me. I work hard each year to promote cognitive, emotional and social development through the arts. Whether it be a new art project, a dance party, playing instruments or learning new songs at circle time the arts will bring us together many times throughout our day.
I am committed to promoting learning through play while fostering a positive, playful and loving classroom. Play is the work of young children and we love to play! I wish to see my students’ social development soar this year! In conjunction with parallel play we will do activities as a group while forming classroom relationships with friends! With all of our activities we will be working on sharing and taking turns. Jennifer’s one year old grandson is her favorite pastime! She also enjoys hanging out in our yard with her two dogs Irie and Leo. Her family loves to boat, camp and take beach trips. In her spare time she enjoys reading, crafting, shopping online and drinking coffee!

JENN GDOVINAssistant Teacher - Older 2's Toucans

Jenn is our older 2’s Toucan teacher. Jenn is so excited to be in the 2’s this year and to follow along with some of her toddler friends. The highlight of any school day for Jenn is to see a child smiling, and being genuinely excited to see her! She is looking forward to seeing all of the students grow into their own unique personalities, and begin to use their words to express themselves. Jenn enjoys spending time with her husband and four daughters at the Outer Banks and also in New York watching Yankees and Giants games. She also loves to read, exercise and decorate for any holiday.

SARAH THOMASCo-Lead Teacher - 3s

Sarah is our 3s teacher. Sarah has been part of Guilford Park for many years, as a parent, with her youngest daughter attending as well as teaching in the 2s and now the 3s. Sarah has spent her 24 year career in Elementary Education as well as Early Childhood Education, holding a Master of Education degree from UVA. She considers herself a life-long learner and feels the students in her care have taught her invaluable lessons that better prepare her for future students. Sarah is looking forward to fostering a strong connection with and among students and their families. Sarah says, “I look forward to seeing our Bear class working together as a community while growing socially, emotionally and academically.” Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband, son and 2 daughters traveling, hiking, eating out, shopping/thrifting, and watching movies. She also enjoys yoga, puzzling, reading, and listening to music.

CARRIE IVEYCo-Lead Teacher - 3s

Carrie is our 3s teacher. Carrie has been part of Guilford Park for many years, as a parent, with both daughters attending, and as a teacher. She has worked with our crib class, 3s and PreK, engaging in several stages of our preschoolers. Carrie loves to see the children build friendships and grow socially and emotionally over the school year. She looks forward to seeing them learn to be kind to each other, share, and respect their friends. Carrie would like to engage their fine motor skills – holding a pencil and glue stick, cutting with scissors, and writing their name. She hopes they learn to love story time, music and movement time, and outside play. Carrie enjoys traveling, going for walks, and eating meals together with her husband and 2 daughters. She also loves to exercise, take her dog on walks, read and work in her teeny garden!

SHARON BRADSHAWLead Teacher - PreK

Sharon is our PreK teacher. Sharon has been part of the Guilford Park family for many years, first as a parent with her son and daughter attending and a teacher. Sharon has taught 2s, 3s and PreK here at Guilford Park, More at Four and did her student teaching in PreK at Gateway Education Center with children of various learning styles. Sharon is certified in Conscious Discipline and The Incredible Years. Sharon is excited to see her students gain knowledge through play, wonder, and discovery that will carry them deeper into their learning by exploring the world around them. Sharon says, “I create a positive and calm learning environment to facilitate the development of the whole child (social, emotional, intellectual, physical, self-regulating and communication skills) so they will become lifelong learners.” Sharon enjoys traveling with her husband and children to the beach and mountains in their RV. She also loves to hike, shop, watch reality tv and meet friends for lunch.

NAN CIFANIAssistant Teacher - Prek Pandas

Nan is our Prek teacher. She has been a part of our preschool staff for 5 years, in the 2s and PreK classes. Nan loves seeing the explosion of growth that two year old children have during the year. Nan enjoys connecting with all children and it warms her heart when a young child finally trusts their teachers and feels really comfortable at school. Her hope is for the students to have a loving and positive experience so that school in the future is something to enjoy.
Nan and her husband and son have many interests that they enjoy together. They love to explore new places, attend concerts, and cook. Nan loves to be outside as much as possible, listen to music, and reading.

BETH WILLIAMSLead Teacher - PreK

Beth Williams is our PreK teacher. This will be Beth’s 15th year teaching at Guilford Park, she is also a Nana to 4 of our precious GP friends. She has experience as a Kindergarten teacher as well as a tutor and substitute teacher. Beth says, “It is always such a thrill for me to both encourage and witness the special “aha” moments when a child first picks up a new skill. I love the hands-on, messy learning involved in artwork, science experiments and cooking. I love and cherish the wonderful connection with students and their families as we work together to create an amazing PreK year!” PreK will be focusing on preparing children for Kindergarten in ways that are engaging, exciting, rewarding and developmentally appropriate. Beth would like the students to feel good about themselves, get excited about learning, and develop a positive attitude about learning that will follow them throughout their school career. Beth loves to spend time with her husband, mother, 3 children, and 5 grandchildren (4 attend Guilford Park!). They love weekly game nights, family vacations and lots of time in the mountains. Beth loves to read, shop, walk, watch movies, play cards, hike and play with her pets, 2 dogs and one cat.

JASMINE FIORINEAssistant Teacher - PreK

Jasmine is our PreK teacher. Jasmine is currently working on her degree in early childhood education. She has many years of experience as a babysitter and has previously taught toddlers and infants. For the year ahead, Jasmine is looking forward to the children exploring their creativity and developing their story telling skills. She is also excited to see their improvement with reading and writing skills. Jasmine has an older brother and 4 younger sisters. Her father is from Europe and is currently teaching her Dutch! Jasmine enjoys painting, designing, reading, and cooking with her boyfriend. Going to the beach and lake with her whole family is another favorite!

Our Classes

All classes attend 9:00am – 1:00pm

CRIB

Our Crib Room is composed of 8 babies and 2 teachers. Babies can attend 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week. Our goal is to provide an environment where babies can feel very secure and loved. We create a classroom full of music, toys, sensory, exploration, and books.

M T W Th F

Any combination of days offered above.
3-11 months by August 31

TODDLER

Our Toddler Class is composed of 10 toddlers and 2 teachers. We provide opportunities for toddlers to learn social skills, experience creativity, participate in language exploration, and practice gross motor skills. Toddlers learn the world is exciting and fun-filled.

M T W Th F
Any combination of the days offered above
1 year old by August 31

TWO YEAR

Our two‑year‑old class is composed of 12 children and 2 teachers. We provide opportunities to explore, read, sing, create and practice independence in the classroom. The two year olds participate in painting, storytelling, singing, and dancing. We offer a play enriched environment while at the same time integrating developmentally appropriate readiness skills incorporated within the child’s play.

M T W Th F

Any combination (2-5) of the days offered above.
2 years old by August 31

THREE YEAR

Our three year old class is composed of 12 children and 2 teachers. This classroom is very exciting. Language has been mastered, fine motor skills are being sharpened, gross motor skills are constantly used, and memorization pre‑emergent reading and writing all come together. The children are gently encouraged to rise to the next level of development by working together in learning and play centers as well as with individual attention from the teachers. We are beginning the building of readiness skills needed for objectives that will be introduced in the Pre-K classes.

3 days per week – Tuesday-Thursday
4 days per week – Monday-Thursday
5 days per week – Monday-Friday
3 years old by August 31

PRE-K

Each Pre-K class is composed of 15 children and 2 teachers. These classes are preparing your child for Kindergarten. We offer a literacy-rich environment building pre-reading skills through daily activities in phonemic awareness and print concepts. Additionally, important early math concepts are taught through a variety of hands-on activities. Each classroom is a sensory-enriched environment giving the children many opportunities for discovery through cause and effect.

5 days per week – Monday-Friday
4 day option – Monday-Thursday
4 years old by August 31

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