Meet The Academy Educators
Mrs. Becker
Hi, my name is Dane Becker aka Mrs. Becker and I am so excited to be part of The Academy Day School and most importantly your teacher.
I was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I am an only child and very close to my family. When I graduated from high school I attended The University of North Dakota majoring in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations-Go Fighting Sioux! All during school-junior high through college I worked for my Mom; who is the Director at a facility preschool, Project Kids and Tots, where I learned and experienced first-hand how a fine tuned preschool works. Daily, I would go to work and read a sign that still hangs in their entryway:
One Hundred Years from now
It will not matter
what kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
how much money was in my bank account
nor what my clothes looked like.
But the world may be a better place because
I was important in the life of a child.
Little did I know how much this would come full circle! I moved to Arizona in 2001, worked in the PR field for years, married a wonderful man, Dean, became a Mother to Barrett in 2007 and Brooke in 2008. We decided, at the time, I would be a Stay at Home Mom-which, for the record, is the hardest job I have ever come across. I enjoyed having the luxury of being a stay at home Mom, but knew, honestly, it was not for me. As my children were coming up on their preschool years, I took an opportunity and got back into teaching preschool-and that was when everything clicked--my Mother's poem made sense!
Today, I am proud to be an Educator/Owner of The Academy Day School along with my partner, Mrs. Novak. We are very excited for this upcoming year and look forward to welcoming you to The Academy Family!
Are you part of the A Team? I AM!!
Mrs. Novak
Hello! I am Mrs. Novak (Valery) and am the proud Educator/Owner at The Academy Day School in Chandler. This is such an exciting journey for us and we are thrilled to have you experience it with us.
I was born in Costa Rica, moved to Bermuda and settled for most of my adolescent years in Miami, Florida. During my freshman year of high school, my family moved to Moline, Illinois. I graduated from high school and spent my first two years of college at Western Illinois University. I started my journey into education at The University of New Mexico where I majored in Speech Pathology and minored in Special Education. After graduating, I taught at a small private school where I was able to use my background in Special Education with children ranging in ages from 5 – 13. My husband and I had our first child, Logan in New Mexico and moved shortly thereafter here, to the Valley of the Sun.
In 2006, we welcomed our daughter, Malia, into our family. I was fortunate enough to stay home with Logan and Malia where I could watch them grow and experience life through their eyes. I re-entered the teaching world in 2011. I decided that after my many years of staying home with my children and my teaching experience that I wanted to create a learning environment for children that was fun and educational, there are not many preschools that offer our type of education and curriculum. I am so excited to be embarking on this new adventure with my business partner, fellow educator and friend, Mrs. Becker (Dane).
We welcome you to join us as part of The “A” team!