Meet the Playschool Atherton Staff!

Ms. Susan started Playschool Atherton in 1998 and has owned and operated it for 25 years. She opened a second site, Playschool Redwood City, in 2001 and operated it for 17 years before closing it in 2018. Playschool is proud to count thousands of local children as alumni. Susan has a degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, where she played on the tennis team. She and her husband Brad have four grown children and two grandchildren. In her spare time she likes to hike, bike, golf, needlepoint, and attend book club.

Ms. Ferneyn joined Playschool in October 1999 (one year after Playschool opened!), teaching in the Preschool class her first year and then in Pre-Kindergarten for 20 years, Afternoon Young Fives for 2 years and Mommy and Me for 1 year. She teaches our two-mornings-per-week preschool class, leads our Music Together Program and also enjoys being a guest chef and gardener in the classrooms. She has her Early Childhood Education Credential from Cañada College. Before joining Playschool, she was the Preschool Director at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto for four years and a teacher at Love-N-Care Preschool in Palo Alto for two years. In her free time she enjoys knitting, baking and gardening. She and her husband Peter have three grown sons and four grandchildren. We are honored to have Ms. Ferneyn as our most experienced Playschool teacher! Many thanks to her for 25(!) years of service to Playschool!

Ms. Diana is excited to return for her 15th year of teaching at Playschool! This year she will teach in Room 2 with Ms. Mariaelena and take over as Director of Playschool Atherton. Diana has more than 24 ECE units and is fluent in Spanish. She completed her college practicum here at Playschool, was a substitute teacher and taught Summer Camp prior to her full-time employment. Diana lives with her husband Andreas and son Alexander (10) in San Lorenzo. In her spare time Diana loves to shop!

Ms. Darice taught Pre-Kindergarten at Playschool for 5 years, at which point she thought of retiring...but we couldn't let her go! For the 2023-2024 year, she teaches in Room 4 a few mornings a week and is our go-to substitute. Prior to working at Playschool, Darice taught for 15 years at CCLC-Stanford Arboretum as both a head and floating teacher. She also taught Preschool at Belvedere Tiburon Childcare Center, Bel Aire School in Tiburon and Merry Moppet Preschool in Belmont. She has an A.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Cañada College. Darice lives in Redwood City and enjoys spending time with her family.

Ms. Shawnta has been teaching preschool since 1993. Before coming to Playschool in August of 2014, she taught at Heads Up! Child Development Center in Palo Alto for 13 years. Previous to that she taught at Sequoia YMCA, Belle Haven Child Development Center and Kiddie Garden Preschool. She has a B.A. in Child Development with a minor in Special Education from San Jose State University. She has been in administrative roles over the years but her true passion is being in the classroom! At Playschool, Shawnta taught Preschool/Young Twos in Room 1 for three years and Pre-Kindergarten in room 3 for five years. For the 2023-24 school year, she teaches in Room 4 and in the extended day program. Shawnta lives with her husband Kurt in Redwood City.

Ms. Mariaelena is finishing up her ninth year at Playschool, where she teaches in Room 2 with Ms. Diana. She was previously at Kiddie Garden Preschool in Redwood City where she was a Preschool teacher (ages 3 - 4) and Floor Supervisor for 4 ½ years. Prior to that she worked as a loan officer for a mortgage company. Mariaelena earned her Early Childhood Education Certificate from Cañada College, speaks fluent Spanish and loves to cook. She lives in Redwood City with her husband and three children: an 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old boy and girl twins. Mariaelena likes to be active – she teaches workout classes, rides her bike and participates in many sports with her family.

Ms. Selena taught 2-3 year olds for four years at Playschool. She has a B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development with a minor in Psychology from San Jose State University. She has taught preschool in different capacities since 2012. Prior to Playschool, she was a Special and General Education Teacher at Learning Links Preschool in Burlingame. In her spare time, she volunteered for three years at Parents Helping Parents supporting families raising children with special needs. On maternity leave, Selena established a moms’ group of babies born in 2021 to share experiences during each stage of development, to set up peer playdates and enjoy family-friendly events together. Selena and her husband live in San Carlos with their 20-month-old daughter, Wrenix. This year she teaches the Mon/Wed preschool class and the parent participation class..

Ms. Betsy returns for her sixth year teaching at Playschool. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design where she majored in painting. She has additional Early Childhood Education units from Cañada and Skyline Colleges. Betsy has been a professional painter (murals, portraiture, abstracts) and floral designer for many years. She also taught preschool in an inclusive preschool setting for seven years: for five years at Learning Links Preschool in Burlingame and, most recently, at Milestones Preschool in Palo Alto. At Playschool she has taught Pre-Kindergarten in Room 4 with Ms. Ferneyn, Ms. Darice, Ms. Cristina and Ms. Rose. Betsy has two grown daughters and lives in Menlo Park. We love to see some of her artwork alongside her students’ here at Playschool!

Ms. Rose taught Summer Camp at Playschool for two years and we loved her so much that we hired her for a full-time position as soon as one was available! She taught with Shawnta in Room 3 for three years and this year she joins Ms. Betsy in Room 4. Rose was a teacher’s aide in a first grade classroom for two years at St. Dunstan’s School in Millbrae. She has a B.A. in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Elementary Education from San Francisco State. Rose has an 8-year-old son and lives in Daly City.