Jenny Miller she/her

Jenny has always been happy in the company of small children and learns at least as much from them as they do from her. 

She worked her way through college at the nursery school on campus, getting a B.A. in architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. She later earned a teaching credential from the Northern California Montessori Teacher Training Center in Mountain View, CA.

Jenny joined Garden Day as the art teacher in 1996 and has been there ever since, currently as classroom teacher and director. She loves getting to know the children, and being a part of a vibrant and caring community of young families.

Jenny is the parent of three grown children, and the guardian of one big-hearted Australian Shepherd.

 

Jaq Dalziel they/them

Jaq started teaching weekly dance classes at Garden Day in 2014 and fell back in love with teaching at a preschool. Over the last fifteen years, they have worked within many different sectors of childhood care and education. These include a dance, piano and acting teacher, transgender/non-binary/GNC youth advocate, curriculum developer and writer, preschool teacher’s aide, after-school program instructor, family assistant, camp counselor, and private nanny.

In order to teach in the classroom, Jaq completed their early childhood education credentials at Merritt College and DVC. In addition, they hold a MFA in dance (Mills College), BFA in interdisciplinary studies, minor in dance, and AAS in human services (University of Alaska, Anchorage).

Jaq believes that each human, no matter how young, is worthy of empathy and respect. For Jaq, connecting with children is an opportunity to provide a place of trust and safety for them to learn, grow, and find who they are.

Outside of small school, Jaq spends their free time nesting at home with their two cats, Tyke and Jeremy, exploring the Bay Area, and road-tripping into nature with their spouse, Eden-Marcel, and their dog, Dougie.

Gabriella Palladino she/they

Gabriella has been nannying and volunteering in classrooms for around seven years, working with children aged 0-12. She began teaching preschool during her senior year at UC Berkeley, where she completed a major in gender and women’s studies and a minor in education.

After working as the head teacher of a large preschool program, Gabriella decided that a smaller, home-based program was more inline with their teaching philosophy; they feel strongly that all students should feel safe and welcomed in the classroom, and want to be able to offer more flexible and personal support to all of their students.

Gabriella believes in taking a respectful approach with children, honoring their emotional and bodily autonomy. Her work also focuses on teaching mindfulness, consent, and anti-bias.

In their free time, Gabriella enjoys painting, crocheting, baking, yoga, and spending time with loved ones (especially their rabbits, Jeff and Socks). Gabriella feels incredibly lucky to be apart of the Garden Day community and looks forward to growing alongside all of the wonderful teachers and families. 

Ciantelle Tienzo they/them

Ciantelle is a new teacher who brings a love of plants and picture books to the preschool sphere. They earned a BA in psychology with a minor in disability studies from Cal. Experiencing the positive impact of green spaces on health and well-being led them to study landscape horticulture at Merritt College. While there, they got their early childhood education credits out of a desire to share a love of gardening and nature with kids.

They’ve engaged one-on-one as a youth art and baking teacher, served at a public library and currently work at a flower farm.

Ciantelle looks forward to witnessing what sparks curiosity in children, fostering their exploration and using observation to support their growth. In their free time, Ciantelle enjoys camping with a view, nature photography, making things and building skills to create children’s picture books.