Our lead teachers average eleven years with Little Acorns. In an industry where turnover runs above 30% annually, that number matters more than almost anything else we could tell you.
11 yrs
Average lead teacher tenure at Little Acorns
100%
Of classroom staff current in Pediatric First Aid and CPR
30+ hrs
Annual professional development required of every staff member
Leadership and lead teachers
The people your child will know by heart.
Jasmine Ortega
Center Director
14 yrs
M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education, University of Colorado Denver
Jasmine opened Little Acorns in 2011 after spending a decade in Denver Public Schools' early childhood division. She holds a master's degree in Early Childhood Education and is a CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) certified observer. Jasmine leads the NAEYC accreditation process, mentors every new teacher through a three-month onboarding program, and still reads aloud to the Pre-K class every Friday morning. She firmly believes that investing in teachers is the same as investing in children.
Areas of focus
NAEYC accreditation leadership
Staff mentorship and professional development
Family engagement and partnership
Colorado Shines quality improvement
Maya Whitley
Lead Infant Teacher
9 yrs
B.S. in Child and Family Studies, Colorado State University; Infant Mental Health certification
Maya was drawn to infant care after working as a postpartum doula and recognizing how much the first year of life shapes everything that follows. She is certified in Infant Mental Health through the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and trained in the Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) approach. She maintains deep relationships with families long after children move to the toddler room. The babies are impossibly lucky to have her.
Areas of focus
Primary caregiver model implementation
Infant Mental Health supports
Parent-caregiver communication and trust-building
Feeding and sleep routine partnership
Theo Park
Lead Preschool Teacher
7 yrs
B.A. in Child Development, Metropolitan State University; Reggio Emilia study tour, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Theo completed a two-week study tour in Reggio Emilia, Italy and came home with notebooks full of ideas that now live in the preschool classroom. He is the architect of Little Acorns' project-based learning documentation system and the designer of the science studio. He is also an amateur mycologist, which means his class has done several very excellent units on fungi. He believes children deserve to be taken seriously as thinkers.
Areas of focus
Reggio Emilia project documentation
STEAM and science studio facilitation
Collaborative inquiry with children
Visual arts as a language of learning
Anika Solberg
Lead Toddler Teacher
5 yrs
A.A. in Early Childhood Education, Community College of Denver; currently completing B.A.
Anika is one of those teachers toddlers run toward at drop-off, which tells you everything. She has a gift for reading the emotional state of a room and adjusting the day's plan on the fly without anyone noticing the pivot. Her sensory bins are the stuff of legend in the Denver daycare community - parents have been known to photograph them. She is completing her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, supported by Little Acorns' tuition reimbursement program.
Areas of focus
Sensory-based learning experiences
Toddler language development
Positive behavior support strategies
Outdoor and nature-based play facilitation
Darius Chen
Lead Pre-K Teacher
6 yrs
M.A.T. in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, University of Denver
Darius came to Little Acorns from a kindergarten classroom in DPS and brought his deep knowledge of what children need to be genuinely ready for elementary school - not just academically, but socially and emotionally. He designed the Pre-K literacy and math workshop structures and tracks individual literacy progress for every child. He gives every Pre-K family a detailed readiness portfolio at the end of the year. Kindergarten teachers have been known to send thank-you notes.
Areas of focus
Structured literacy and phonics instruction
Math workshop design and facilitation
Kindergarten transition support
Learning portfolio documentation
Rosa Fuentes
Curriculum Coordinator and Family Engagement Specialist
4 yrs
M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University; bilingual English-Spanish
Rosa joined Little Acorns to build bridges between what happens in the classroom and what happens at home. She coordinates curriculum alignment across all four programs, facilitates parent workshops on topics like reading readiness and screen time, and serves as the primary point of contact for our Spanish-speaking families. She hosts a monthly parent coffee every third Thursday and keeps it radically informal on purpose.
Areas of focus
Bilingual family communication and engagement
Curriculum alignment across programs
Parent education and workshop facilitation
Cultural responsiveness and inclusion
Professional development
We invest in our teachers because you invest in your child.
Every staff member at Little Acorns completes a minimum of 30 professional development hours per year - more than twice what Colorado licensing requires. We fund conference attendance, pay for college coursework through our tuition reimbursement program, and bring trainers on-site for all-staff development days four times per year.
New teachers complete a three-month onboarding program mentored by Jasmine. No new hire enters a classroom without it.
Annual Reggio Emilia study and documentation training
Zones of Regulation classroom implementation
CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) coaching
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
Infant Mental Health reflective supervision for infant staff
Tuition reimbursement for ECE degree completion
Safety and vetting
Trust is built before the first day.
Every person who works at or regularly visits Little Acorns goes through our complete vetting process. There are no exceptions for part-time staff, kitchen employees, or volunteers.
Background checks
Every employee and regular volunteer undergoes an FBI-level background check through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation before their first day, renewed every two years.
First aid and CPR
One hundred percent of classroom staff are current in Pediatric First Aid and CPR certification. We recertify annually, not when state minimums require.
Secure entry
Our building uses keypad entry at all exterior doors. No adult without a code or escort enters the classroom spaces. Drop-off and pickup require photo ID verification for anyone not on the approved list.
Safe sleep standards
Our infant room follows the AAP's Safe Sleep guidelines precisely. Babies sleep on their backs, on firm surfaces, in their own sleep spaces, free of soft objects.
Illness protocols
We follow Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidelines for all communicable illnesses, with conservative exclusion windows to protect the most vulnerable children in our care.
Fire and lockdown drills
We conduct monthly fire drills and two lockdown drills per year. Children are taught age-appropriately. Staff are trained in full emergency procedures annually.
Come meet the team in person.
Our teachers are the reason families choose Little Acorns and the reason they stay. Come see for yourself on a Tuesday or Thursday tour.
