Congregation B'nai Israel
Early Childhood Center Faculty

2's Teachers

3's Teachers

4's Teachers

Coffee & Cuddles

Director

2's Teachers

Debbie Viens, 2's
This is Debbie’s 9th year teaching at B’nai. Debbie says that she considers teaching the 2’s a huge and very rewarding responsibility as it is the children’s first introduction to school. She finds it is very important to be loving and caring, recognizing each child’s need to feel comfortable and safe. She loves hugging and cuddling with the children, describing herself as a touchy-feely person. Debbie is very excited about working with her new partner, Debbie Weiss, and feels this is going to be a great year of new beginnings for everyone in the 2’s class.

Prior to teaching at B’nai, Debbie was a Pediatric Occupational Therapist in various school systems for 15 years.  Debbie and her family; husband Dan, children Matthew and Jaime and dog Colby, reside in Fairfield. Matthew is a junior at the University of Maryland and Jaime is a freshman at Fairfield Warde High School.  She has been an active member at B’nai Israel for over 13 years and this was a motivator for her to become a teacher at the nursery school.  In her free time, Debbie enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with family and friends and doing volunteer work.

Debbie Weiss 2’s
I’ve always loved babies.  I remember as a child stopping mothers to look and coo at their children. My training and experience to be working with our children at B’nai Israel has come from some very conventional, and some very non-conventional experiences. The more unusual part of my past was when I worked as the Producer of the Canadian television show, Real Families, with my husband Michael. The show was all about the typical ups and downs of raising children and the usual struggles that families confront in day to day life – getting kids to bed, eating a decent diet, how to manage sibling battles and how to promote cooperation.

I then entered the true study of child development by getting married and having two wonderful, if active daughters. That was where I truly found my calling; I loved to be with my kids, even on the days that could be tough.

So, when the pre-school program needed some temporary aides in the some of the classes, I figured I’d give it a try. That’s all it took. With all of the tears and fears, with all of the hugs and kisses, I was hooked. Spending time with your children is a blessing to me as I feel like I’ve found my calling.

3's Teachers

Lynne Marks, 3’s
Lynne is celebrating her 10th anniversary at B’Nai Israel, currently in her second year of teaching in our 3s program.  During her first two years, she facilitated Coffee & Cuddles and, then, spent the next six years in our 2s program.  Teaching is Lynne’s way of “giving back” and carrying on the Jewish education tradition that was provided to her where she grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and to her own children here in Fairfield.  She brings tremendous energy and warmth into her classroom and to the nursery school, in general. 

Lynne grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved to Fairfield in 1992 from Washington, D.C., with her husband, Brian, and daughter Maddie.  She also has a son, Aaron.  Lynne has also worked for the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, and Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows, Inc.  

Alexa Cohen, 3's
Alexa just began her seventh year at B’nai Israel Nursery School. Her background is in early childhood education and she has always worked in the field, most recently as the Preschool Director at the JCC. Two and three year olds are her favorite age groups to teach. She enjoys seeing how they think things through and learn to solve problems, and loves watching them develop.

Alexa’s husband is also trained in the field of early childhood education. She says being a mom to their son and daughter definitely helps her be a better teacher. Spending time with her family is important to Alexa, and one of her favorite activities when doing so is baking, especially with her children at home as well as her students.

Stacy Giglietti, 3’s
I have lived 3/4 of my life in Fairfield, CT.  After high school I went on to attend the University of Connecting in Storrs, CT, graduating with a Bachelors degree.  I went on to take a role in Marketing at Smith Barney and then at a small private marketing firm.  I am married with 2 boys, Noah -8 and Adam - 6, both of whom attended pre-school at B'nai Israel.   I enjoy reading, running and playing tennis.   I am an active member in my temple, participating in the PTA at North Stratfield and assisting with community events.

After the birth of my children, I realized the importance of a good support system and the importance of early childhood development.  After watching my children go through the B'nai Israel pre-school program and develop some very important skills around socializing, interacting, and learning through play, I realized that participating in developing these skills in others was something that was of interest to me.  This is my second year teaching at B'nai Israel and I believe my strengths in teaching are my ability to understand the keys to develop children at the right pace and help prepare them for their entry into elementary school.

4's Teachers

Mara Fudin, 4's
Mara has been part of the Fours teachers for a number of years. Before joining the staff at the Nursery School, Mara taught kindergarten at B’nai Israel Religious School for two years. With a background in nutrition, she was the dietary supervisor at the Princeton Medical Center, did benefits training at Champion International Corporation, and worked at the Monroe Early Childhood Intervention Center. In 2009, she received her Child Development Associate credential.  Thus, it comes as no surprise when Mara says she “always, always wanted to be a teacher.”

Mara enjoys teaching children, being with them, and helping them to discover the world around them. She also likes to figure out what appeals to each child — what puts the smile on their face — and says she really loves the joy of watching them discover new things.  Mara and her husband have two teenage children, a son and a daughter.  The newest family member is Blackjack, a Havanese puppy, who joins Button the bunny.

Jill Ellen, 4’s
Jill has been teaching at B’nai Israel since 1998. She has a masters in Social Work with Children and Families as well as a masters in Early Childhood Education and previously worked at a children’s psychiatric hospital in Brooklyn , NY. Jill has taught our 2’s and 3’s and recently graduated to the 4’s teaching the full day class from 1:00-3:00. Regarding teaching the fours, Jill says she loves the kids’ enthusiasm, and the excitement of seeing the “light bulb” go off when they learn or master something new every day.  She is also thrilled to be preparing them for the next stage in their education.

Jill enjoys using her artistic abilities to create many projects both with the children for the classroom as well as her home. You may also notice her wearing an article or two of Mickey Mouse clothing. She’s been a devoted fan since childhood, and has many prints adorning the walls of her home — and an entire bathroom decorated with the round-eared fellow!

Jill lives in Trumbull with her husband and her daughters, Brittany and Carrie. And we can’t forget the family dog, Lucy.

Phyllis Shangold, 4's
Phyllis started teaching at B’nai  Israel over 20 years ago, when the school first opened. (She and Gail Weinstein taught together.) Phyllis was trained as a teacher, and she says that she loves being with the kids. She particularly enjoys seeing the growth throughout the year, and helping get the kids ready for kindergarten.

Phyllis has raised three boys and has 3 grandchildren. Her husband breeds Tibetan Terriers, and consequently they have many dogs! When she is not busy with all those dogs, she enjoys reading, traveling and cooking. Many may not know it, but the Shangold family has hosted foreign exchange students originating from Argentina, France and Italy.

Coffee & Cuddles

Kim Sherman, Coffee and Cuddles
Kim Sherman comes to Bnai with an elementary teaching background.  She lived in Seattle Washington for 4 years with her husband, Brett where she received her Master’s in Teaching from Seattle University.  She  taught 2nd grade for 4 years before moving back to the East Coast.  Kim then went on to teach in both Scarsdale and Westport before taking a break to raise her three boys. 

Two of her sons, Owen and Dylan attended Bnai Israel Nursery School. During that time Kim has been teaching the Coffee and Cuddles class here at Bnai.  Kim enjoys hiking, biking, running, swimming and reading in between, football games, karate practice and basketball tryouts.  She just recently completed the Fairfield Triathalon and hopes to begin training for another very soon.   Kim is also preparing for her oldest son’s Bar Mitvah this year which is very exciting.  She says that she is thrilled to be a part of the Bnai community and looking forward to many more celebrations to come.

Kim has taught Coffee and Cuddles at  Bnai  Israel for a total of 4 years.   She says she enjoys watching how much the kids grow from the beginning of the year to the end.  Within just a few months they  are able to understand how to sit for circle time, sing a long and work on an age appropriate art project.  It is such a pleasure getting to know the parents and watching the kids learn to share, investigate new toys and explore through new experiences.  Kim says she has actually met many of her closest friends through teaching the program.  Getting to know the parents is as much fun as getting to know the kids

Gail Weinstein, Director
Gail Weinstein’s affiliation with B'nai Israel Nursery School began with its inception in 1986. She taught the school’s first class, which had 14 three-year olds. Gail continued to teach and was also the interim director until 1995 when she became the full-time director of the Nursery School. Through Gail's efforts, the school has grown from a one-class school of 14 students to over 100 children, meeting the needs of families with babies, toddlers and nursery school age children.

She has an undergraduate and master's degree in education. Before becoming a full time director, Gail attained a 6th year (MAT) degree in early childhood/administration.

Currently, Gail is a member of NAEYC (National Association for Education of Young Children) and the local chapter Mid-Fairfield, where she has served on the board. She has taught an introductory course on early childhood education  and language and literacy at Housatonic Community College. She is also active in the Bureau of Jewish Education Preschool Directors Network, and the Early Childhood  Educators of Reform Judaism and the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE).