Menu
I am the lead teacher in the Explorers Pre-K class. I earned my Master’s in Education (PK-8) at Marymount University. I enjoy working with 4-year-olds and have been teaching at CWP for many years. All three of my children are CWP graduates!
My name is Ana Maria Lopez and I am originally from Bolivia, South America. When I was a little girl, my favorite game was “school”, my youngest and oldest sisters were the students and I was the teacher! After getting my license as a psychologist in my country and working in different schools, I dreamed to open a day care center. In 2004, I began volunteer work in a church program in Northern Virginia called Children of Hope. I worked in different ES tutoring programs after school as well. In 2007, I started working as an Aide at CWP and around 2 years ago, I became a lead teacher. I am very proud and very happy to be part of the CWP family (dream fulfilled!). I am single but I love to say that I have many children to whom I love so much.
I first fell in love with Children’s Weekday Program as a parent when both of my children attended CWP. I began as a volunteer and substitute teacher then joined the staff full time in January of 2020. I have a degree from Elon University and in 2023 I earned my CDA certificate, a nationally recognized certification for early childhood educators.
I hold a BA from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a MA from Purdue University. I have worked at CWP since 1975 and during that time I have taught all ages from the nursery to the 4-year-olds. I have four children all of whom attended CWP.
I have been involved with CWP since 2005 when my oldest son started attending the program. Both of my sons attended CWP's Parents Day Out and Preschool programs until they transitioned to kindergarten. Shortly thereafter, I began working as an Aide in the Parent's Day Out program. Currently, Across the years have led various teaching teams within our Nursery, two-year old, and our three-year old classrooms. I currently am the program director for our Special Lunch Bunch program.
I was born in Bronx, NY and educated there also. I was one of five children. My dad was a chief engineer on the Staten Island Ferry and a Naval Reserve officer in charge of interviewing boys for the Naval Academy. My mom was a stay-at-home mom. I did work in a New York pre-school as an aide. I also worked as a teller in the Seamen’s bank on Wall Street. I got married in 1976 and moved to Arlington. My husband worked for the Metro system as an electrician. I did work as a bulk bank teller in DC for two years until my son was born. I felt I could not find anyone I would like to take care of my son and so I retired from my job. I have four children, three boys and one girl. They are my greatest gifts. I was a stay-at-home mom for 8 years until I got the call from CWP. All my children were educated in Arlington until after High School. I started at CWP in 1986, when my third son was 2. I began as the 2-Day 2’s teacher. I did this for quite a while, and then they asked if I could be the aide for the 3-Day 3’s class. I was only the aide for a few years when that teacher moved. The director asked if I would take on the teacher position in the 3-Day 3’s, which I did. After being the teacher all five days for a couple of years I stepped down as the 2’s teacher and just did the rotating aide position on Mondays and Tuesdays. I was the 3’s teacher for many years, with some wonderful aides. Finally, I decided I did not want to do the planning anymore and I swapped positions with my aide at the time. I still wanted to play with and care for the kids. She became the teacher and excels in that position. I have been with CWP for many years and worked with the best women you can imagine. I love this school, the teachers, and the children that are entrusted to us. This year is my 40th year as a CWP teacher!
I was born and raised in Leesburg, Virginia and now call Arlington home. Prior to being on staff at CWP as an aide, I worked in the hospitality industry for many years for the Hilton Brand hotels. Today I am a mom to a CWP alum and a former CWP board president! I am an avid reader, who loves to travel, and Disney! I love CWP and am excited to be part of team this year!
I'm happy to say that I have been part of the CWP Family for a long time. I was a parent from 1997-2009 when my six children attended the school, and I was very active with co-oping and volunteering. Then I joined the staff in 2015 and have worked with various teaching teams and classes for two, three, and four-year-olds. I truly enjoy teaching children and just love being a part of this school!
My name is Mabel. I was a nurse who worked with children for a couple of years in Peru. After moving to the USA and becoming a mother for the first time, I found CWP. It was a wonderful opportunity for my sons to socialize and learn. While my oldest son attended CWP, I had the opportunity to co-op and it was such an amazing experience for me. In 2019 I joined the CWP staff as an aide with our youngest students and really enjoy it. After a few years I was asked to be the aide for our amazing pre-k program. I love what I do and am currently pursuing my CDA, a nationally recognized certificate for early education teachers. I look forward to returning each day because I cannot wait to see those beautiful little faces again!
I grew up in Michigan and was raised in a family with five siblings. I am very proud to have two daughters, two wonderful son-in-laws and a granddaughter and grandson. The career I retired from was in telecommunications which brought me to DC several years ago. As a change of pace, four years ago, I began working at CWP as a substitute assistant and the last two years I have served as the assistant to Ana Maria Monday and Tuesday mornings. While this position is completely different from my previous career, it brings me so much joy! The little people are learning something new every day and are curious and energetic in everything they do.
