Andrea Borrell with the Temecula Play and Learn School has been selected in as first recipients of the North American Preschool Educator of the Year Award celebrating the 40th anniversary this year of Discovery Toys, a trusted learning through play brand.
“We want to bring attention and recognition to the countless preschool teachers across the US and Canada who resist the pressure to pump academic content into the minds of children at such a young age, and instead use play-based learning methods to develop executive-functioning skills and creative thinking. These are the skills that young children need to be successful learners and eventually successful workers.”
Discovery Toys CEO, Jerry Salerno
The award program recognizes those preschool teachers who effectively employ techniques to develop the traits that today’s young minds will need to become the lead contributors in tomorrow’s world. These traits include divergent thinking, creativity, inquisitiveness, initiative, resiliency, social confidence, empathy, and diplomacy.
When the preschoolers ask her questions, she does not immediately respond but instead asks them what they think. Teaching in a co-op setting, Ms. Borrell executes the extra task of guiding and training her parent assistants each day with a smile on her face.
Andrea Borrell is the director and lead teacher at the Temecula Play and Learn School (PALS), a member of the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Preschools (CCPPNS). As a cooperative preschool, PALS is run by an Executive Board and a Parent Board, both consisting of co-op parents. The parents do the entire administration and day-to-day operation of the school. Ms. Borrell is the only paid employee.
The school’s goal is to provide a positive introductory learning experience for 3 and 4-year-old children in preparation for elementary education. This is achieved with a developmental philosophy in which a child is encouraged to grow at his or her own pace in an environment rich with child-centered and teacher-directed activities as well as field trip experiences. Each day, the children are immersed in an interactive world where they learn through play and discovery.