Faculty
Holly Gannon
Lead Teacher, Toddlers & Associate Teacher, 5-Day 2s
Holly is the Toddler Teacher as well as the Associate Teacher in the 5-Day 2s class. She received a BA in Art History from Davidson College and an MA in Art Therapy from NYU. As a licensed art therapist, Holly worked in both clinical and educational settings with elementary aged children before joining the teaching team at Third Street.
Hannah Netter
Lead Teacher, Nearly 2s and 3-Day 2s
Hannah is a longtime member of the Third Street Preschool community. She is a parent, a teacher and an alum. Hannah’s undergraduate degree is from Columbia University.
She began as a Toddler Teacher and this year, moved into the role of Lead Teacher in the Nearly 2s and 3-Day 2s class.
Lourdes Rivera
Associate Teacher, Nearly 2s & 3-Day 2s
Lou is the Associate Teacher in the Nearly 2s and 3-Day-2s class. Prior to joining the Third Street Faculty, she was an Assistant Teacher at a preschool in the Chelsea area for twenty-five years.
Kim Wurster
Lead Teacher, 5-Day 2s
Kim has been teaching downtown’s littlest learners for over thirty years. Prior to joining the Third Street Faculty, she ran her own early childhood program, Little Peep Peep, and was the Lead Teacher at the Early Childhood Center for Infants and Toddlers at the Children’s Aid Society in Greenwich Village. Kim holds her BA from Empire State College in Educational Studies and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College.
Juliet Tallmer
Co-Lead Teacher in our Threes classroom
Krystal Perez
Co-Lead Teacher, 3s Classroom
Krystal received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from City College, where she is currently pursuing her MA in Early Childhood Education. Before coming to Third Street, Krystal was an Assistant Teacher for a UPK class for three years.
Juliet Tallmer
Co-Lead Teacher, 3s Classroom
Juliet holds an M.S.Ed. in Childhood Education with a Concentration in Math and Science from CUNY Hunter College and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from the College of Charleston. With over 16 years of experience in early childhood education, she has worked in a variety of private school settings. This is Juliet’s first year as a teacher at Third Street.
Maite Castillo
Associate Teacher, 3s Classroom
Maite received her BA from SUNY Albany with concentrations in Spanish Literature and Film. She worked in television commercial production in New York City for 15 years. In 2011, Maite began volunteering at Third Street’s preschool and soon thereafter began working at Third Street.
Alison Roque
Lead Teacher, 4s Classroom
Alison has over 30 years of experience in early childhood education and had the privilege of helping launch the Pre-K for All initiative with Bank Street College as a classroom coach across New York City and more recently as a Lead Teacher in a preschool setting on the East side. She has her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools from Lesley University.
Honora Dearie
Associate Teacher, 4s Classroom
Honora is an Associate Teacher in the Fours class. She received a BA in Sociology from Fairfield University and a MSW from Columbia University. She is a licensed master social worker with experience working with children with special needs.
Crystal Harrilall
Associate Teacher, 4s Classroom
Crystal is an Associate Teacher in the 4s class. She received her B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University and her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from CUNY Queens College. Over the years Crystal has worked with children in various capacities, from being a tutor to a caregiver.
Alana Bronson
Associate Support Teacher, All Classrooms
Alana holds her Bachelor of Music Education and Music Performance as well as her Graduate Artist Certificate in Flute Performance from the University of North Texas. Before joining the Third Street faculty, Alana was an Assistant Pre-K teacher at The Avenues School, Saint Stephen of Hungary School, and Dos Amigos at School in the Square.
Lala Copely
Art Specialist
Lala is a working artist and is the founder and owner of Art Retreat NYC. This is her third year at Third Street Preschool. Lala has experience with students of all ages, and the learners at Third Street look forward to their weekly art classes with her.
Ashley Byler
Music Specialist
Ashley is an early childhood music specialist at Third Street. She grew up performing in regional musical theatre and dance companies and now lives between NYC and Alaska, where for two decades she’s taught early childhood music and movement. She has a BA in Music from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (vocal performance and cello) and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College.
Mik Manenti
Movement Specialist
Mik has been Third Street’s Music and Movement Specialist for thirty years. In addition to teaching independent toddler movement classes, Mik teaches weekly classes within the preschool. She incorporates the Orff/Kodaly approaches into her program, linking these to classroom curriculum. Mik has an extraordinary (magical) way of communicating with young children. She is a revered member of the Preschool faculty. Her extensive training embraces dance, movement, and theater. Mik has a BFA in Theater and MA in Dance from New York University.
Yuka Aikawa
Yuka began playing piano at the age of five in her native country, Japan. She studied classical piano and dalcroze eurhythmics (music education) at Kunitachi college of music, Tokyo. After graduating from music school, she became interested in jazz and moved to NYC. She studied at Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where she received her M.A. in jazz performance under the guidance of Sir Roland Hanna and Jimmy Heath. Yuka joined Third street music school in 2013, accompanying for pre-ballet classes and movement classes.
