STAFF & OPERATIONS

Andrea Florendo is the Senior Director of Youth Development. She graduated in 1999 with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. She has been employed with Twice As Nice since March, 2010. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Phil and three children Dean, Maya, and Caleb. If she is not at work, she can be found cheering her children on at their sports events.

Becky Peckham is our Education Coordinator and Teacher in the full day program here at Twice As Nice. She has been teaching here since 2012. She began her career working as a teacher’s assistant for two years before becoming a lead teacher. Becky graduated from the University of RI in 2008 with a degree in Art. She also completed Early Childhood Education courses at CCRI. In her free time, she enjoys spending time and camping with her family.

Ashley Barker is a Pre-K teacher at Twice As Nice. She has an associate degree in Early Childhood and Special Education, and has completed RIELDS trainings. She began her career at TAN in 2016, working as a part time teacher’s assistant. She quickly took on a lead role in the three-year-old classroom, prior to moving on to the Pre-K room. She brings a lot of energy and many smiles to the faces of the children in her classroom.  In her free time, she likes to visit  local coffee shops, go for walks, and hang with friends.

Tayler Stevens is a teacher in our Pre-K classroom.  She brings two years of early childhood experience to our program, as she previously worked at TAN. We are thrilled to have her rejoin our TAN family. Tayler is a licensed EMT and previously worked at the Newport Hospital as a cardiology technician. She will be starting school in the Fall, 2022 to pursue her goal of becoming a Speech/Language Pathologist.  In her free time, Tayler likes to go to the gym, bake goodies, and spend time with her family, friends, and 5 cats.

Maryssa Vaillancourt joined our team at Twice As Nice as a preschool teacher during the summer of 2021. She brings four  years of teaching experience. One of her favorite life lessons is teaching the children about nature while exploring the outdoors. Maryssa also has a great passion for photography and crafting with her cricut. In her free time, she loves spending time with her husband Neil and daughter Scarlett.

Klein Borbe is a Teacher in our Toddler Program at Twice As Nice. She was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She graduated from one of the top Universities in Asia, the University of Santo Tomas in 2018 with a degree in Secondary Education in English. Klein pursued the field of teaching because she loves working with children. She loves to travel and spend time with her loved ones and friends during holidays and weekends.

Daphne Borbe is a teacher’s assistant in the Pre-K classroom. She was born and raised in the Philippines and earner her High School diploma in 2019. She loves working with kids. When she was home in the Philippines, she spent much of her time as a teacher volunteer to the teacher volunteer to the children in the orphanage. In her free time, you will often find Daphne her reading books and spending time with her family and friends.

The staff to child ratio in our preschool is 1:9. We accept children ages 18 months-5 years old. All children must be fully toilet trained.

Per our DHS license, all staff are required to complete and pass CANTS background check, Fingerprints, DHS Health and Safety training, submit immunization records, and submit proof of their annual flu vaccination. In addition, all staff must complete a minimum of 20 hours of approved professional development.

The Newport County YMCA and Twice As Nice Preschool require all staff to be CPR/First Aid Certified, complete OSHA training, Praesidium Child Abuse Training, and monthly staff meetings.

Substitute Teacher positions available.