Meet our Staff
Meet Our Leaders of PLAY
We pride ourselves on being a family-oriented environment not only for the students but for the staff as well. Many of our staff first came to the school as parents. They had so much fun, they stayed on as teachers! All of our teachers are licensed through the Department of Children and Families and our VPK staff must maintain a Florida CDA/Staff Credential.
Our Founders
Anastasia Chandler, Executive Director
Anastasia is a Palm Beach County local who grew up caring for children, playing sports, and creating art of one kind or another throughout her life. She studied education and writing in college and came into the Early Childhood field with a vision for growth through hands-on learning and the arts, and a strong background in youth programming from years of program management for the YMCA. She discovered FUMC as a parent of two boys, while teaching mom-and-me classes, graduated to a 3’s teacher once they moved to elementary school, and eventually took over as Preschool Director. A drive to give all families the same gifts her family got from the school of finding a second home and a community of support has led her passion for making The P.L.A.Y. School the unique place it is today. Anastasia serves as the Executive Director and Preschool Director of The P.L.A.Y. School.
Megan Baraldi, Development Director
Megan developed her passion for education and youth development through her experience coaching youth volleyball in Connecticut. Additionally, she loves to travel and learn about the world with her husband and two children. She speaks fluent Spanish and has tutored English language learners as well as children learning Spanish. After moving to Florida, she began teaching preschool. Megan quickly fell in love with our learn-through-play curriculum and embraced our Parents-as-Partners philosophy. We were blessed to have her bilingual education skills and big heart added to our team experience. Throughout her time at FUMC, her dream of opening her own school to grow and spread our mission solidified, and when the old school closed, she seized the moment to make her dream a reality. Megan now serves as the Development Director and Lead Teacher of The P.L.A.Y. School.
Our Teachers
Jennifer DeFalco
Jen is originally from New Jersey where she grew up in a tight-knit family. She went to University in New Jersey and received a Master’s Degree in Primary Education. After school, she taught for a few years and fell in love with teaching, but left to assist in opening a family business. Teaching has always been her passion, and after a decade in retail, she knew she had to return to the classroom. The PLAY School was blessed to find her right at that moment. Ms. D, as we call her, is full of joy and enthusiasm and has a special knack for clueing in to students’ social-emotional needs and spreading joy and silliness throughout the classroom. Although most of Ms. Jen’s family is in New Jersey, her closest family member, her dog Lucy, keeps her Florida home full of love.
Lauren Gumalak
Lauren grew up in South Florida and started her Early Education career in 2014. She has been teaching the Three’s at The PLAY School for two years. She chose early education because she has a passion for nurturing young minds during these important developmental years. Lauren creates a warm and stimulating environment where the kids feel valued and encouraged to explore. By engaging in play-based learning along with PLAY’s age-appropriate curriculum, Lauren is able to nurture social and emotional growth. By supporting a sense of wonder for learning, she hopes to instill a strong foundation that will prepare each child for a successful educational journey ahead. Outside of PLAY Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband, 5-year-old daughter, and their dog, Clover.
Jennifer Long
Jennifer Long has been a preschool teacher for 13 years and is a mom of four. She chose to go into early childhood education because she loves to see young children constantly learning. There is no greater joy than planning fun experiences to support their developing minds and seeing the magic in a child’s eyes when they master new skills. She absolutely loves teaching VPK and learning through play. Play gives each child their own way of learning and allows them to grow physically, academically, and emotionally.
Maria Pietanza
Ms. Maria was born in Venezuela to Italian parents. She graduated from Universidad de el Zulia with a degree in Early Childhood. She taught pre-K and Twos for ten years before moving to South Florida and joining our team. Ms. Maria has a special interest in always finding new and interactive activities that allow our students to embrace the current unit of study through play and inquiry, and she loves to expose the students to fun song and dance from her multiple languages and cultures. Maria is happily married for over 30 years and has three grown boys.
Alicia Shumway
Miss Alicia came to The P.L.A.Y. School after moving to Florida from Texas, where she taught a range of preschool elective classes, as well as in a Threes room. Previous to that, she taught Twos in Texas and served as a Special Needs teacher. Miss Alicia recently finished the rigorous National CDA curriculum to teach VPK in Florida and has a degree in Computer Animation, which makes her an awesome resource for creative art projects here at school. One of our favorite qualities of hers is her endless mental library of awesome old-school songs and finger rhymes, which the kids love! Alicia and her husband have been married for 24 years and have raised her 22-year-old daughter as well as helping to raise her 5-year-old grandaughter.
Join Our Community of Educators
We are always looking for flexible, fun teachers to join our community as leads, substitutes, or floaters! If you have a DCF 40-hour certification or a FL teacher’s certificate, love to PLAY, and would like to join our sub list, please email us.
