EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT
Our Staff
HERE AT PALM ACADEMY, OUR STAFF IS DEDICATED TO CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT FOSTERS THE LEARNING AND GROWTH FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR TALENTED TEACHERS AND STAFF!
Administration
MS. RUTH YONG, PHD
Board of Directors
Education: Purdue University
Experience: 8 Years
About Me: Someone once described Ruth as an ‘Educator at Large’. She has worked in and around education for most of her career, including being a classroom teacher, a center/school administrator with a wide variety of responsibilities and a coach and trainer for aspiring teachers and entrepreneurs. Dr. Ruth came to education and child care services with over 10 years of industrial experience, which helped her approach educating children from a very different perspective. She thinks that emotional intelligence is just as important, if not more important, than intellectual intelligence in today’s world. Ruth was raised in Fremont, California, went to Mission San Jose High School, graduated with a Bachelors of Science from the University of California, Berkeley and Purdue University for her Masters and PhD. degree.
During her time in industry, she traveled extensively to different regional offices in the U.S. and overseas to conduct training certifications for upper management. She has also worked with research and development to develop a computer training module that, still this day, continues to train thousands of employees every month.
It was her family that brought her back to Fremont, California to start Fastrackids and Palm Academy in 2006. Besides dedicating most of her time to our preschool centers and children’s education, she also coaches aspiring entrepreneurs, teaches children’s Sunday school and sings in the choir.
MRS. SUCHITRA
Enrichment Lead
About Me: This is Suchitra Jayakumar, currently working as a PALS Lead Instructor and an After-school Lead. She grew up in India and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Physics and a Master's Degree in Computer Applications (MCA) from Madurai Kamaraj University. She finished her Early Childhood Credentials from Ohlone College. This is her seventh year working with Palm Academy. She has a zeal for teaching and strives to spark the same excitement within her students. Her goal is to inspire the students to achieve their full potential.
When she is not teaching, she enjoys cooking, reading, gardening, and spending time with her family. Her husband is a Software Engineer and they are blessed with two kids. Her daughter is a recent graduate from Rutgers University, New Jersey. Her son is a senior at Mission San Jose High School.
MS. LIPING
About Me: This is Liping Yao. She has obtained 15 ECE units both from Ohlone College and UCLA Extension and just recently became a fully qualified Infant teacher. She has been working with young babies for almost 4 years and she loves seeing them grow every day. She likes reading and playing sports in her leisure time.
MS. SASMITA
About Me: This is Ms.Sasmita. She had eleven years' experience working with children. This is her second year in Palm Academy. She did her Post-graduation in Political Science, minor in Child Psychology from India and finished her Early Childhood Credentials from De Anza College. She loves being a teacher. She enjoys reading to the children and hearing their responses to the stories. She enjoys doing circle time, art and science. Every day seeing their happy and intrigued faces and attitude makes her happy. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves to paint, read, and cook. She loves to help the young children develop positive self-esteem that helps them building their social and communication skills.
MS. NICHOLE
About Me: This is Nichole Wu. l have been at Palm Academy since August of 2021. Prior to that, I was working part-time as a childcare provider for several years. I really enjoy working with kids because I always think they are the wondrous gifts from the Creator. I have taken several early childhood development courses from Ohlone College and other online education institutions. I am planning to take additional courses to enrich my professional knowledge in this area and apply them to my work. Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, hiking, doing floral arrangement, and spending time with my family (including my puppy pet, Zoe).
MR. CHRISTOPHER
About Me: This is Christopher Sabiniano, He has 4 years’ experience in assisting classroom management from preschool levels to 5th grade. He joined Palm Academy in 2018 as co-teacher for the 3-4-year-old preschool group. His classroom specialty is identifying and meeting children’s social and emotional needs.
MS. CHRISTINA
About Me: My name is Christina. For a year, I have been taking courses to receive an Associate certification. I received an online Child Development permit from Chabot College in their Art of Institution program. My degree helps me promote imagination and creativity among student/teacher interaction.
