About Our Educators

Meet Ms. Amanda

Amanda M. Lugo, M.A.Ed., is our Program Director and Lead Teacher. She has been working with children in education since 2006.

She is a member of an indigenous, bi-racial, bilingual family with an investment in

Waldorf-inspired education and educational social justice initiatives.

She is interested in cultivating empathy

and holding space for young children

while nourishing a love for and connection with the natural world.

She is committed to the hard and sometimes messy work of self-reflection, exploring biases,

and listening and learning along the perpetual journey toward anti-racism.

At The Maple Hill Play Garden, she strives to create a nurturing, inclusive, home-like environment

to help foster children's emotional growth and well-being.

Meet Ms. Shanté

Shanté is our Associate Teacher and Afternoon Lead Teacher. She has been working at Maple Hill since the fall of 2023.

She grew up nearby and cherishes our daily walks in the woods. She loves helping the children build joyful memories on this land.

In her previous work, she was a part of a worker-owned cafe in Berkeley, CA, where she was able to collaborate with and assist in a number of people-powered movements and mutual aid efforts.

From this work, and her undergraduate background in sociology, she brings a commitment to equity, collective-care, and liberation.

She returned here to the valley in 2021 where she started work as a nanny until joining us at Maple Hill in the fall of 2023.

She is grateful to be able to play a supportive role for the children and families of her community, bringing elements of that spirit of communal care to the work.

She is passionate about music, learning and intergenerational community building.

Meet Ms. Jaime

Jaime is our beloved, full-time Assistant Teacher. She has been working at Maple Hill since December 2024.

An Offering of Thanks from Ms. Amanda

to Honor those who have offered the teachings that lead to the creation of Maple Hill

I would like to offer a heartfelt thanks to my mentors: to Faith Baldwin Collins from Joyful Toddlers, who inspired my journey along this road of childcare and who first taught me how to hold space for young children; to Dr. Rebecca Ossario, who opened my eyes to the ways in which space is held - or not held - for children of the global majority and children of other non-dominant groups; to Magdalena Toran, who encouraged me to begin this program; to Celia Riahi and Barbara Audley from the Cottage Garden, who offered me invaluable practical insights and shared with me their wealth of resources; to Alya Stoffer of Farm Hands Preschool in Northampton, who shared the keys to cozy outdoor forest school napping in cold weather and countless other resources and insights with me; to Rossana Salazar, for helping to translate our application into Spanish; to my parents - Linda and Greg Wade - who showed me the meaning of love and warmth and who provided me with so many of the opportunities I've experienced; to my teachers - Hector Ibarra, David Atekpatzin Young, and Joseph Laford - who helped me to understand the importance of a forma and who, through those formas, strengthened my appreciation for the interconnectedness and sacredness in all things and helped ground me in my experience here; and to my loving partner, José Lugo, who walks hand in hand with me through everything on this strange, beautiful, and sometimes challenging road, and to whom I offer my heart.