Staff Directory

Kara was born and raised in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Kara received her B.A in communications from George Mason University. For nine years, Kara was a camp counselor in the nursery school at St. Patricks Episcopal Day School, where she attended as a child. Before teaching at Little Folks, Kara was a teacher’s assistant at Hyde-Addison Elementary School in Georgetown. Entering her tenth year working as a teacher at the Little Folks School, Kara’s passion for teaching “her Little Folks kiddos” grows stronger with every year. Her commitment to the Little Folks philosophy of creating an environment that supports the whole child, is something she strongly believes in and continuously strives to achieve on a daily basis. This year, Kara is also teaching ballet in the afterschool enrichment program. She studied ballet for 15 years at The Washington School of Ballet.

Helen Hagerty, former Little Folks parent and current Little Folks Board Member, joined the Little Folks Staff as Gay’s assistant in 2003. She quickly became an indispensable member of our team, special assistant to staff and students alike. Helen received her B.A. in Russian from New York University. Helen’s is the first voice you hear when you contact the school and as a former parent herself, she is in the unique position of informing prospective parents about what the Little Folks School program has to offer. She is always there to support staff, children and current and future parents.

Reka Keller grew up in a small beach town in Mystic, Connecticut. After graduating from American University with a Bachelors in Elementary Education, focus in Early Childhood and a minor in Literature, she began her teaching career in Title I education. After 3 years of teaching in an environment with refugee and immigrant students hailing from 30 different countries; Reka learned a great deal about infusing a classroom with culture, sense of self, and social emotional strategies. Reka also has worked as a camp counselor and assistant director at Beauvoir’s summer program in the D.C. area. She is excited to join the Little Folks team and bring a creative literature focused approach to social emotional learning to help children grow and develop to be their best selves!

Mike has been working with children for eight years and has spent the last three teaching preschool in DC. He graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor’s degree in English/Linguistics. Knowing that, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Mike is a strong believer in the power of words and the importance of an inquisitive mind, both of which he believes he brings to the classroom. One of Mike’s favorite sayings is “You speak like those you speak to”; and since Mike speaks with a lot of kids, he has learned that teachers have a responsibility to model positive ways for children to speak. When Mike isn’t teaching, he can probably be found writing, making movies, or juggling.

Danyel is a self-taught musician and plays piano, guitar, ukulele, violin and djembe. She received her Masters in Vocal Performance from James Madison University and her B.A. in Music with a double minor in Theatre and Dance from UNC Charlotte. Her vast experience in opera, musical theater, and various dance styles has allowed her to perform in the U.S, Nova Scotia and Germany.

She has shared her love of the arts with children of all ages by teaching music,dance and theatre classes.In the DMV she has worked with children at The Theatre Lab,The National Children’s Chorus, Callaloo Media Collaborative and most recently as an Executive Board Member for The Canady Foundation for the Arts. Her future plans include a second Master’s degree in Music Therapy and a Doctorate in Music Education all to benefit healthy vocal development in children.

She has worked as a preschool teacher in various locations and enjoys the endless possibilities of early childhood education.It is her pleasure to bring her love of children and the arts to Little Folks!
Email Address: dreid@littlefolks.org

Leonor Rosero, known affectionately as “Nory” to the children of the Little Folks School, was born in the Philippines. She studied Communications at the Far Eastern University in Manila, majoring in Drama. She is an accomplished Musician, sharing her musical expertise with the Little Folks community through circle time and weekend guitar lessons for children. Nory has been teaching at the Little Folks School since 1990. Nory’s love of children does not end at the Little Folks School - she reads stories to children at libraries in Fairfax County and serves as a ballroom dance choreographer for teenage students in Maryland and Virginia. This year, Nory is teaching drama afterschool, including script writing, set design, costume making, and dramatic performances of classical stories. Nory also helps children develop creative skills through visual and manipulative arts during before school class.