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Nancy Valaas, Children's Teacher

Nancy has been working with 4 year olds at our preschool since January of 1984. In the 2010-11 school year, Nancy is excited to teacher the three year olds in a combined, multi-age classroom. Nancy graduated in English from Whitman College and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Yale. After teaching English at Edmonds High School and tutoring remedial reading at Sammamish High School, she became involved with the B.C. co-op preschool program as a parent with her three children. In 1985 she began teaching the Bellevue Overlake Fours class. "After several years of working with preschool children and their co-oping families, I am still delighted and fascinated every morning when a child walks through the door."
Lisalynn Reed, Bellevue College Parent Education Instructor
 

Lisalynn has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Davis, but found her true passion is teaching. Lisalynn spent four years as a private tutor in the San Francisco Bay area working with middle and high school students. She then volunteered as a Camp Fire leader for seven years in Davis, CA. After moving to Washington in 2003, Lisalynn discovered Bellevue Overlake Co-op Preschool. Three of her four children are alumni of Bellevue Overlake, and this her second year on staff. As the Parent Education Instructor, Lisalynn spends one day per week in the classroom, working with and observing the children. She also leads monthly parent education discussions that focus on providing relevant information and tools to help parents learn, grow, and cope. Lisalynn is a strong advocate of co-op preschools as a supportive and nurturing environment not just for preschoolers, but for parents, too. “Parenting can be the most difficult and rewarding task we ever face, and we need all the support we can get. Bellevue Overlake Cooperative Preschool provides that support.”
 Together, Nancy and Lisalynn offer a program of focused individual attention to enable each child to reach his or her personal potential.​

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