Staff
All of our wonderful teachers have either their Bachelor's degree or a Masters degree in teaching!
• Caring, patient, creative and loving ...
• State approved
• First Aid and CPR certified
• Childhood Development experts
• Trained in the teaching of Judaica for very young children ...
• Sensitive to the needs of each child ...
• And lot's of fun!
We pledge to instill in your child a strong Jewish identity with an emphasis on Jewish values and traditions. Your child will be excited to celebrate Jewish holidays and weekly Shabbat celebrations with you.
Marilyn Milne, Director of Early Childhood Education
Marilyn Milne has close to 20 years experience in the early childhood education field, which has included both teaching and administration of child development programs. She has a BA in Child Development and work towards an MS in Child and Family Development from California State University, Northridge. Throughout the United States and Canada she has both attended and presented workshops at numerous professional conferences. In the Los Angeles area where she was raised, she was a field work supervisor for students from Pierce and Valley Community Colleges and California State University, Northridge. It is considered by Marilyn to be a great privilege and tremendous responsibility to be involved in such a tender and influential stage of life.
Marilyn lives in Escondido with he husband, Michael, and teenage son, Spencer. Her hobbies include cooking, gardening and hiking.
Barbara Cohen, Lead Teacher Prachim Class
Barbara Cohen was born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island. She moved from New York City to San Diego with her husband Danny and two sons, Adam, 20, and Julian, 15, in 1994. As a former New York City Public School Teacher and Special Education Language Arts Teacher, Barbara became an advocate for children's rights after her teaching experiences in New York.
In addition to teaching Hebrew at Temple Adat Shalom's Mosad Shalom Religious school for five years, Barbara has been with Ganon Gil for three years. She holds a BA in Speech Pathology from the University of Rhode Island with a concentration in Early Childhood Education and Languages.
In her free time, Barbara enjoys culinary arts (she worked professionally as a corporate chef) film, travel, theatre, opera, being with her family and helping her community.
Neta Bourlas, Lead Teacher Paparim Class
With three teachers in her family, educating children was a central part of Neta's growing up. It was for this reason that she chose education as her field of study: to inspire students to learn and become curious about the world. Her favorite quote is "Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers." She believes that children learn best in a happy, loving, interesting, and safe environment. It is her goal to provide a classroom that encompasses all of that.
Neta Bourlas has been an educator for over 25 years and has a passion for stimulating her students to love learning. She is also an artist and understands the importance of the creative process. As an artist, she has created a body work called Shtetle Art, which consists of ceramic pieces representing Jewish people in Europe, circa 1920-1949 and has had a number of exhibits in San Diego.
Neta has taught at a Hebrew Bilingual Kindergarten class in Canada for 8 years and went on to teach an English Kindergarten for another 6 years. She has taught ESL and other grades in the public schools in Winnipeg, Canada. She speaks and has taught in Hebrew and French. She is currently teaching Pre K/K at Ganon Gil and K-6 art at Mosad Shalom School.
Raquel, Lead Teacher Devorim Class
Raquel has a BA from the University of Minnesota, where she studied Child Psychology. She grew up in Minnesota and moved to San Diego 10 years ago. For over 20 years, Raquel has been working with children in the Jewish community. Some of her professional endeavors have included Hebrew and religious school teacher, camp director, synagogue youth director and preschool teacher. She has also worked extensively with children with special needs.
In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, cooking and spending time with her children.
Sarah Milch, Lead Teacher Devorim Class
Sarah Milch Sarah has been in the field of education since 1991. In the past, she has worked at Beth Israel, Francis Parker, Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School, and began at Ganon Gil in 2006. She has a BA in Multiple Interdisciplinary Studies from National University and has completed a fifth year for a California teaching credential. Previously Sarah had taught first grade in public school, but her greatest interest is in early childhood education.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys playing and swimming with her son, going to the movies, shopping and baking.
For more information on the Ganon Gil Early Childhood Center, please call Marilyn at 858-451-6558 or email mmilne@adatshalom.com.