ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Jenny Tan -
Head of School
Meet Jenny Tan, the head of school at Eastside Children's Academy. Originally from Shanghai, China, Jenny moved to the U.S. in 1990 where she met her husband, and they began to grow their family and careers. In addition to being a very involved owner, Jenny also volunteers within the community for local schools, such as Lakeside where her daughter goes.
Jenny enjoys spending quality time with her own family by swimming some laps at the local club, playing tennis, and listening to classical piano music & classic Chinese songs. In addition, her own belief in the value of community and dedicating herself to ensuring that Eastside Children's Academy is not just a school in Bellevue, but a school FOR Bellevue, is the keystone to delivering the highest caliber of support as an early childhood education program. "This belief," Jenny says, "it pervades everything we do — from our partnerships with other organizations, to ensuring that each of our families feel valued and included in the collaborative culture of their child's classroom. We are committed to serving the families of Bellevue." She is so dedicated to achieving this belief that she has returned to school to pursue her Early Childhood Education degree.
With such a strong woman at "the helm of the ship" Eastside Children's Academy continues to thrive as an exceptional bilingual school here, in the heart of Bellevue.
Man Wai Chiu-Center Director
Man Wai Chiu-Center DirectorMy name is Man Wai Chiu, Center Director in Eastside Children’s Academy. It is my pleasure joining this community. I am the first generation in my family to travel thousands of miles across the country to American to pursue a democratic life. I graduated with my Master’s degree in early childhood education. I have worked as a dual language instructor, a participatory researcher, and a dual language teacher and a site director with the Head Start Program, Seattle Preschool Program and Preschool for 23 years.
I speak Cantonese, English, and am learning Spanish with the children and their families. I have been developing my bicultural identity and balancing myself in a diverse community over the years. As a citizen and member in the community, I have been participating in different kinds of community activities. My goal is to build up an inclusive community to support children, families, staff, and community’s cultures, languages, and beliefs. The emphasis is in providing high quality service to children and their families with an understanding of who they are and their rights to stand up for something they believe in. I am committed to respecting and preserving each individual’s cultural heritage and cultural pride, home language, values, and appreciation for others.
Besides working in the office, I like to go for walks with my family and my puppy, Rory. If you want to know more about me, please feel free to stop by in the Office. Thank you for letting me work for you, your child, and your family.
我是赵文慧 易思达幼儿园 中 心经理。 我很高兴加入这个社区。我是我家中第一代成员跨越千里来到美国追求民主生活。我毕业于幼儿教育硕士学位。我拥有二十 三 年在启蒙机构、西雅图学前班和幼儿服务担任双语教师、研究人员、 大学 双语 讲师 、 和中心 经理 的经验。我说粤语、英语，并 与 孩子们及其家人一起学习西班牙语。我在一个多元化 的 社区 中 发展我的双文化身份 及 其 取得平衡。作为公民和社区的成员，我一直在参与各种社区活动。我的目标是建立一个富有包容性的社区，以支持 发展 儿童、家庭、员工和社区的文化、语言和信仰。重点是为儿童和家庭提供高质 数 的服务，让他们了解他们是谁以及为保护他们信念的权利。我致力于尊重和保护每 个 人的文化遗产和文化自豪感、母语、价值观，以及 欣赏 他人 。除了在办公室工作外，我 喜欢和家人以及小狗 Rory 一起散步。如果您想了解更多关于我的信息，请随时前往办公室 与我交谈 。感谢您让我为您、您的孩子和您的家人提供服务。
LEAD TEACHING STAFF
Lisa Zhang
Lead Infant Teacher
Hello, my name is Lisa Zhang. I am very happy to join the ECA family. I like children very much. Playing games with the children and talking to them always make me very happy. I enjoy to see their cute smiling faces and very happy to see them growing up here.
I have a lovely daughter who is in Grade 6. While raising her, I learned a lot of parenting skills. These skills make me feel confident to work as an early childhood educator.
Tons of children songs, picture books and activities will be offered to kids in my class. I will give kids a safe and fun environment with unconditional love to grow.
In my free time, I love traveling, hiking, and watching movies in the sofa with my family.
Ella Lao
Lead Waddler Teacher
Hello. My name is Xiaoxiong Lao. I graduated from Guangxi Normal college in 1999. I have eight years' working experience in preschool education, and I have obtained a certificate of Mandarin Proficiency Level estimate during my teaching career. I so honored to be a member of teaching team at the Eastern Children's Academy.
As a teacher, I will carry out children's teaching work and help children's learning. Encourage children to learn to be independent and actively participate in various activities. I will try my best to finish the education work.
Based on my 8-year working background in early childhood education in China, and my continuous self-learning experience after coming to the United States., ever since 2014. I believe I can hold the attention and interest of all children in the class. Let children learn new skills through playing. Accompany the children to grow up everyday.
Bolorerdene Shura
Lead Toddler Teacher
Hello, my name is Bolorerdene Shura. My friends and colleagues call me Bogi. I am originally from Mongolia; my family and I came to the U.S. in 1999. We lived in San Francisco for the first 7 years and moved to Washington 2006. We’ve been here ever since. I am a mother of two beautiful kids.
I have over a decade of experience early childhood education. I love teaching young children. Watching children grow gives me great joy. I also love incorporating fun learning activities into my lesson plans to keep them engaged and having fun. When I work with kids I try my best to give them my full support. I strive to foster a safe, warm, and happy environment.
Some of my hobbies and things I enjoy doing are spending time with my family, hiking in the outdoors with friends, camping, traveling, doing makeovers and beauty services for my friends, and watching movies with my daughter during girls night. I am happy to teach young children and be a part of the Eastside Children’s Academy team.
Vicky Chuang
Lead Early Preschool Teacher
Lead Early Preschool TeacherHello everyone! I am Vicky, and I come from Taiwan. In 2008, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with my two daughters due to my husband's job transfer. In 2009, I gave birth to my youngest son, and in 2021, we relocated to Seattle. In Taiwan, I worked as a campus advocate for promoting life education, spending five years visiting tens of thousands of elementary, middle, and high schools. Cherishing life and valuing every precious soul that came into my life has always been my belief.
Even though I became a full-time mother raising three children for fourteen years after coming to the United States, I continued to learn about topics related to life and love through online courses and gatherings. I have a deep love for children, and in them, I can feel the wonderful creation of the divine. Each child is so unique and precious, and through our interactions, I always find great joy.
Therefore, when I felt it was time to let go and allow my own children to grow independently, I hoped to devote myself to early childhood education. I am very grateful to be a part of the ECA family, where every teacher wholeheartedly guides each child to grow in love, everyday routines, and learning. I also aspire to nurture every precious child who comes before me with steadfast love every day, helping them prepare themselves for the next stage of life.
Bing Liu
Lead Early Preschool Teacher
Hi, my name is Bing Liu. I came to the United Stated in 2014 and have been an early childhood educator for 8 years.
For me, early childhood education is to warm kids with a sincere heart and accompany them to grow up. In my class, I will offer kids tons of songs, stories, crafts and activities based on their age. Meanwhile, I will encourage kids to explore new things, to be creative and to freely express themselves.
Love is the soul of education. Educators who give pure love to kids are true educators. I hope every kid in my class will have a happy childhood in my love.
Lisa Deng
Lead Early Preschool Teacher
Hi everyone, my name is Lisa Deng. I came to America in early 2000 from China. I was working in hospital and practicing in pediatric physical therapy inChina. After moving to America, I got an opportunity to work at a bilingual daycare center with kids age from 2-3 years since 2006. I enjoy playing, reading, and making crafts with children. I also like outdoor activities and planting and enjoy doing these with children at school. As a teacher I will provide a safe and loving environment to all children. This will help the children to thrive to their best by stimulating their emotions, body language and cognitive learning.
Yue Wang
Yue WangLead Preschool Teacher
My name is Yue Wang you can also call me “Xiao Yu”. I came from a beautiful Island State called Hawaii. I move to Seattle December 2022. I live with my family. I have a two-year degree on Criminal Justice.
In my free time I enjoy reading, watching movies, listening music, spending time with family and friends. My favorite thing to do is travel and explore new places. I chose to work with children because I love kids and since I was a little girl, I always want to be a teacher, so when I arrive to Seattle, I decided to follow my dream.
I am very excited and happy to be part of Eastside Children’s Academy. It is also my honor to be the Lead Teacher for Preschool. I find inspiration everyday through working with children in school and knowing that I am part of their first school.
Ian Wu
Lead Preschool Teacher
Hello. My name is Ian Wu. I am thrilled to join the ECA family, and it is my honor to be the lead teacher in Preschool 9. I was born and grew up in China. My family moved to the United States when I was 16 years old.
Male teachers are rare nationwide in early education programs. Studies show that students benefit when they are surrounded by a diverse group of teachers. And their conceptions of gender roles and identity are rapidly forming at age 3-4. I want to be a male role model for the young kids. I get a great deal of satisfaction by playing a meaningful role in the development of children. I really enjoy the unique sense of pride a child displays after learning something new as the direct result of an activity that I have planned for them.
Personally, I love to work out at gym. I transformed my garage into a home gym when the pandemic hit. I also enjoy hiking, music, video gaming, and spending time with my family. Currently I am training on weekends to finish my very first half marathon run.
Yuanli Wang
Yuanli WangLead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Hi , my name is Yuanli Wang. Kids love to call me Lily laoshi . In China , I got my Advanced High School Teacher Certification and was a high school English teacher there. After moving to Bellevue since 2009, my new journey of teaching bilingual learners began . I have been teaching different grades at a Chinese school and different preschools as well as kindergarten in Bellevue.
My daughter is in 6th grade and my son is in 5th grade now . As a mother and teacher , I know how important the early childhood education is . It is far more than academic preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing. I believe a teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of kindness, curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in young kids.
They say the most precious jewels you will ever have around your neck are the arms of children. The amount of hugs I get everyday is insane! Working with young kids is such a joyful experience for me. Each day is an amazing adventure we can explore together!
Yvonne Lin
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Hello. My name is Yvonne Lin. I’m originally from Guangdong, China. I studied and lived in Sydney, Australia for the last 7 years and recently moved to the States. I am very excited to join the team at Eastside Children’s Academy and wish to build a strong and collaborative relationship with the team members and the families.
I started my career in the Early Childhood Education field since 2018 during my Master of Teaching degree study. I became an early childhood educator because I really enjoy spending time with children to see their development and learning.
"We love ECA so much. We have had our daughter enrolled since it’s inception. Our daughter LOVES her teachers and has grown so much in her time here. I attribute her early math and social skills to her teachers thoughtful lesson plans. Jenny has made us feel welcomed into the community and worked alongside us to resolve age appropriate behaviors that popped up. From those experiences, we have high trust in her leadership and vision for ECA. I highly recommend ECA if you’re considering enrolling your child."
Elizabeth Waters
