Little School

Dena Hoenig Valdez

Hello! Welcome to The Little School of Keystone! My name is Dena, and I joined the Keystone staff in April of 2012. I am thrilled to have started Keystone’s first preschool program! I hold a Master of Education and an Elementary Teaching Certification with a specialization in Early Childhood from Southwest Texas University, now referred to as Texas State University. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Family Studies with a Minor in Psychology from The University of Arizona. I am a native of San Antonio and graduate of Robert E. Lee High School.

I have always loved children! My Early Childhood experience has included being a camp counselor, teacher, and Early Childhood Director. After finishing graduate school, I was hired as the Director of Heintz Preschool of Congregation Agudas Achim. I started their early childhood program and was there for 14 years before leaving in 2012 to start The Little School of Keystone.

I am married to my high school sweetheart, Christian. We have two wonderful children. Sari is 14 and graduated from The Little School of Keystone, she is currently in Eighth Grade. Gavin is 16 years old and a junior.

I would describe myself as a hugger and a kisser. Each day I look forward to greeting the children when they walk in our preschool doors. As the Head of Preschool, I look forward to working with each of you and making your child’s early childhood education a very positive and memorable experience here at The Little School of Keystone.

Ofelia M. Linkenhoger

Welcome to our school! My name is Ofelia, but our little ones call me “Ms. O.” I was born in Tampico, Mexico, a beautiful port right off the Gulf Coast (about 300 miles south of the border). I love relaxing by the beach just listening to the sound of the sea. I am the proud mother of my 28-year-old twins, Heather and Mikael, and the proud grandmother of Anabelle and Mitchell (†).

I have been an Educator for 31 years. I started my career at The American School of Tampico teaching Pre-K in the late 80’s early 90’s. In 1995, I took a break to raise my twins and in 1999, I began teaching again. I was the lead homeroom teacher in third grade for ten years. My family and I moved to San Antonio in July of 2010. From 2012 to 2017 I was a teacher and an administrator, teaching second grade, then Math and Spanish in Middle School, being the RenWeb/FACTS Specialist, and Head Coordinator of the Extended Day Program at a private, Catholic school here in San Antonio. I have a bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy with a concentration in Educational Psychology and hold a Master of Science degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from Buffalo State College, State University of New York. I have experience working with children of diverse cultures and different ages ranging from Pre-K3 through Eighth grade. In 2017, I became part of The Little School of Keystone family. I have been blessed to be in one of the most fulfilling professions in life, the formation of children.

It is my hope that your child will find our program to be an enjoyable and rewarding educational adventure!

Isabel Henry

Welcome to the Little School of Keystone! My name is Isabel, and I am a Jr. Pre-K teacher in the Bumblebees’ classroom and the Spanish Enrichment Teacher. I started my teaching career as a Special Education teacher with young children and have taught Kindergarten and First grade. I have been an educator since 2002 and The Little School has been my home since its inaugural year.

I was born in Havana, Cuba and arrived in the United States at a very young age. I received my bachelor’s degree in early childhood and a minor in Special Education from the University of the Incarnate Word. I am also certified to teach Spanish.

I am a mother of two adult boys. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, traveling, baking, and talking long walks.

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do something I love every day!

Erin Ochoa

Hi there! My name is Erin, and I am very excited to be your child’s teacher this year! I was born in San Francisco, California, and lived there for the first five years of my life. I moved to San Antonio just in time to begin Kindergarten. It was then, at that young age, that I realized I wanted to become a teacher when I grew up. I aspired to bring the passion and enjoyment my teachers brought into our classroom every day!

I graduated from Texas State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. I am certified to teach Early Childhood through 4th grade and English as a Second Language. After graduating from Texas State, I was a substitute teacher for Northside ISD. Soon after that, I was offered a teaching position at Primrose School, teaching Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten. In my last three years at Primrose, I was the Administrative Assistant and Mentor Teacher. In 2014, I became one of the teachers at The Little School of Keystone. I absolutely love being part of the Keystone family and am now able to bring my passion for teaching to our classroom!

I met my husband Jason while he attended college. We married in June 2010 and in February 2016, we were blessed with the arrival of our miracle daughter, London, after pursuing IVF. In March 2018, we welcomed our second daughter, Elizabeth. Along with our corgi Rooney, we feel very fortunate to have London and Elizabeth in our lives and love experiencing the wonderful milestones they achieve. Together, we enjoy traveling, doing home improvements, and cheering at Texas Tech and Texas State football games. I also enjoy doing crafts, shopping, baking, writing, watching movies, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

I am excited to be a part of your child’s wonderful school experience here at The Little School!

Viviane van Poppel

Hi! I am Ms. Viviane and Coach “V” on Monday afternoons. I was born in Belgium, Europe and moved to San Antonio when I was 11 years old. I grew up speaking French and Dutch and I still speak both when I can. A few years ago, I became an American Citizen! Even though I was born in Belgium, I am Dutch (because that was my mother’s nationality) and have dual citizenship.

It was my 2nd grade teacher in Belgium that inspired me to become a teacher. As I grew up, I realized how much I loved being around children and knew that I wanted to be a mother and a teacher. I have 2 great boys; Chase is 20 and Vance is 18.

I am certified to teach and graduated from UTSA with an Early Childhood Education degree. My most recent venture in teaching has been working for the past 17 years as a Pre-K teacher (3’s, 4’s & 5’s). I feel a great sense of joy when I see a child grow socially, emotionally, and academically. One of the reasons I enjoy teaching so much is how it brings a smile to my face, when a student comes up to me with a great sense of accomplishment from doing his or her work. As a teacher, I know that I contributed to building that student’s self-confidence and pride.

I have also enjoyed playing and coaching several team sports over the years (mostly soccer) and it has been exciting to help build a love of sports in these younger children and watch them grow. I am happy to continue coaching soccer on Mondays, during after school enrichments. I am so excited to be starting my 11th year at The Little School of Keystone and your children being a part of it!

Janet Whitworth

Welcome to The Little School of Keystone! I am excited to say that I am one of the Pre-K 4 teachers! I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development & Family Sciences, and I am certified to teach Early Childhood through 6th grade. I am also proud to say that I have been with The Little School of Keystone since it opened its doors!

I am blessed with a wonderful husband and three silly children: Liam, Olivia, and Nora.
I enjoy reading, doing yoga, going to the beach, gardening, and binge-watching shows on Netflix.

I am looking forward to getting to know each of you this coming year!

Michelle Gann

Hello there! My name is Michelle, and I am excited to be your child’s teacher at the Little School of Keystone! I was born in Kennesaw, GA and lived there for about 6 months before my father was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In all my military life adventures, I attended eight different schools. These experiences are what sparked my interest in being a teacher. All my teachers welcomed me into their classrooms with open arms; even if this was in the middle of the school year and treated me as if I was there from the first day of school. Finally, after all of our moves I settled back into my home state of Georgia where I graduated from high school and attended college.

I graduated from Berry College in Rome, GA in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education with an ESL endorsement. While I was attending Berry College, I worked as an assistant teacher at the Berry College Child Development Center. After graduating college, I accepted the Private Kindergarten teaching position at Primrose School of Huebner Village, where I worked for four years.

I met my husband when I was 9 years old in my Nana’s Sunday school class. You could say it was love at first sight! We married in August of 2012 in Castroville, TX. Even though Georgia is our forever home, we have enjoyed Texas and the adventures it has brought us thus far. We enjoy traveling, spending time with our kids, visiting our home state, playing co-ed soccer, and enjoying Disney trips together. You can say we are Disney fanatics! We have two kids; our 5-year-old daughter Georgia, who will be attending Kindergarten at Keystone School this school year, and our 3-year-old son, Sawyer, who will be joining us at The Little School this year! We also have our “dog daughter,” a Maltipoo named Snowflake, who we adopted in October of 2013.

I am very excited to continue my journey at The Little School of Keystone and getting to know the families new and old! This year will be fantastic!

Rhonda Payne

Hi, my name is Rhonda, but my students call me Master Payne. This will be our 9th year teaching here at the Little School. I was born in Longview, TX and have lived most of my life in San Antonio. I am an 8th degree Black Belt in both Taekwondo and Hapkido and own the House of Payne, Inc. known as the U.S. Martial Arts Training Center in Converse.

I was fortunate enough to compete in Olympic Taekwondo and won the National and World Championships from 1986-89 and 1993-94 and a gold medal from the 1993 Olympic Sports Festival that was held here in San Antonio. This year, I was honored to be inducted into the Korean Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame.

I have always loved teaching and coaching and making a positive impact on my students. I have a daughter, Angelique. My hobbies are ceramics, woodworking, leather tooling, drawing, and fishing.

I teach self-defense and safety awareness and authored the book, Get REAL, A Safety Guide for Women and Girls.

Rozalia Ravitsky

Hi, my name is Rozalia, and I am looking forward to a new year of musical growth. After founding the European Piano Academy over 30 years ago, I have been at The Little School of Keystone since its inaugural year in 2012.

I received classical European piano training at the Music Conservatory in Moldova. I started the European Piano Academy in 1991 and taught a successful “Piano by Color” program developed to teach children as early as 3 years old. I currently teach private in person and virtual lessons for children in San Antonio, TX, Houston, TX, Manhattan, NY, and Washington D.C.

I have two grown daughters, Greta, and Marianna, and four beautiful grandchildren, ranging in age from 9-14. I am a strong believer in quality education and building a strong foundation at an early age. I look forward to meeting all of you on Wednesday afternoon! I plan to introduce my young pianists to a beautiful and magical world of piano and music.

Lilyann Cázares-Mezquiti

Greetings! My name is Lilyann Cázares-Mezquiti, and I am excited to be one of the Junior Pre-K Bumblebees’ Teachers at The Little School of Keystone. I can’t wait to learn more about our new Keystone families, but first I will tell you a little about myself.

I was born and raised in Laredo, Texas where I received a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Early Childhood Education from Texas A&M International University. In 2002 I earned a Master of Arts in Education with specialization in Instructional Technology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. In addition to my Texas Educator Certification, I received a Teaching Certificate from the State of New York where I had the opportunity of working in both private and public schools ranging from Preschool to a Bilingual Inclusion 1st grade classroom. During my 22 years of teaching, I have worked with curriculums inspired by the teachings of Maria Montessori, Reggio Emilio, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. I worked at Pre-K 4 SA from 2013, when the program began, to 2019. During that time, we implemented the HighScope Curriculum. Being a Keystone parent, I have experienced a wholesome approach to learning that provides our children with a balance in social-emotional, physical, oral language and cognitive development. Together, with these experiences, I am eager to begin my fifth-year teaching at The Little School of Keystone!

While away from teaching, I am blessed to spend my time with my two sons and my husband Robert of 21 years. We enjoy traveling, art, photography, food, and good coffee. Joaquín is 10 years old and currently in 5th grade and Pablo is 5 and attending Kindergarten at Keystone. I hope to be able to share more about them throughout the year. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Keystone Family, and I am looking forward to a year of learning, fun, and adventure!

Blanca Rivas

Hello, my name is Blanca. I graduated from John Jay High School, attended SAC, St. Phillips and Palo Alto College for several semesters receiving a Teacher Assistant/Substitute Certification. I now hold a Pre-K4 Child Development Associate Accreditation.

I am thrilled this will be my third year at The Little School. I started in 2019 in our Extended Day Program. Before then, I was an Assistant Teacher at a pre-school for 2 years and before then, I worked at a catholic school for 7 years with children ranging in grades from Pre-k through 8th grade. I also supported the school with special projects, programs, and events throughout the years. This experience helped me to realize my true passion in life, which is to work with children and providing them with a rich, fulfilling, and nurturing environment in their pre-school developmental years.

I was born in Mexico, but San Antonio has been my home since I was ten years old. I am married, and I am the proud mother of my seventeen-year-old daughter, Victoria.

I enjoy exercising to Zumba class and traveling with my family. I am looking forward to working with the children at The Little School of Keystone and getting to know all of you!

Roxann Calderon

Hi! My name is Roxann Calderon, but our students call me Coach C. I joined Keystone in 2005. I work at the big school as the Upper School Athletic Director, where I oversee our high school sports. I am also the varsity volleyball coach and I teach PE to our 5th-8th graders. I am excited to be teaching PE to our Little School friends!

I was born and raised here in San Antonio, Texas. Growing up, I fell in love with the sport of volleyball. My talents earned me a full scholarship to play collegiately at the University of Maryland. After a year in Maryland, I transferred to be closer to home, where I continued my volleyball career playing at The University of Texas at San Antonio. I also received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UTSA. Go Runners!

I have three wonderful children, Charles 15, Madelyn 9, and Oliver 5. Charles and Madelyn both attended The Little School! I enjoy fishing and going on many different adventures with my family. I cannot wait to start having fun with your children!

Lexi Escobedo

My name is Ms. Lexi. I was born and raised in San Antonio. I have been working with children for 16 years. I began my career working at Family Endeavors assisting with their after-school care program. I have also coached various youth cheer and gymnastics teams. I have been dancing since I was a little girl, and I continue to dance today for Samba Vida Dance Company here in San Antonio. Then, I found Kinderdance in 2011 and taught for 5 years. I was the first Kinderdance teacher here at The Little School of Keystone! I took a break for a while to get married and start my family. My husband, Albert and I have 4 kids- 2 girls and 2 boys, Bella, Aden, Levi and Ryan. Most of my free time revolves around all their extracurricular activities.

I am currently a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley pursuing my bachelor’s degree in early childhood. I am so glad I was able to come back to The Little School of Keystone and now be in the classroom as an Assistant Teacher in Jr. Pre-K. I look forward to spending time with your children and watching them grow!

Emily Rodriguez

Hello! My name is Emily Rodriguez and I’m so excited to be a part of The Little School of Keystone. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and I’m a product of a Catholic school education. I just graduated from St. Mary’s University as an education major with my bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary English Language Arts & Reading. For the past year, it has been my privilege to work at The Learning Center at St. Peter Prince of the Apostles with children between the ages of 18 months to three years old. In my free time, I enjoy being with my family, dancing, and rollerblading. I am the eldest of seven grandchildren and working with children greatly excites me. I look forward to meeting and working with each of your kids during this upcoming school year!

Fatima Lopez

Hello, my name is Fatima Lopez, and I am excited to be starting my second year at The Little School! I am 23 years old and was born in Houston, Texas. I am currently a senior at University of Texas at San Antonio pursuing a bachelor’s in public administration with a Minor in Business Administration. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the EDP staff and I’m excited to spend time with your children!

Nick Miliatis

Hello! I’m Nick, and I am currently a graduate student at Trinity University, persuing my master’s degree in teaching. I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico and grew up there with my younger sister. When I’m not in class or doing homework, I like to spend my time working out, reading comic books, cooking, and playing volleyball with my friends. I hope to be a teacher in the future, so working at The Little School is a very special opportunity!

Michael Sanchez

Hi all! My name is Michael Sanchez! I’m a junior at Trinity University and plan to major in Sociology and minor in Urban Studies. My dream job would be working with low- income communities back home in Houston. I have previously worked with children in an after-school program at a charter school here in San Antonio. I’m beyond excited to start my second year at the Little School!

Addison Wilberg

Hi, my name is Addison Wilberg. I am an engineering student at Trinity University. I moved here from New Orleans, but I was originally born in San Antonio. I love the city and living here has been great! In my spare time, I like drawing and reading. I have a love for math, so if your child tells you he/she is doing math problems with chalk during EDP, well you know who is responsible for that! I am looking forward to my second year at The Little School!

Danny Hawbecker

Hi, my name is Danny Hawbecker and I am 17 years old. I am currently a senior at Central Catholic High School. I am planning to apply to UT Austin to continue my academic career. I love playing soccer and spending time with friends. I am grateful to be a part of The Little School EDP staff for the second year! It has been a true pleasure this past year and I am excited for what the future holds!

Monica Gutierrez

My name is Monica Gutierrez I was born and raised right here in San Antonio, Texas. I graduated from nursing school in 2018 from Wayland Baptist University. Shortly after graduating, I began working as a women’s health nurse. I spent 2.5 years in this role before starting my career at Keystone in 2020. I have been traveling back and forth between the main campus and the Little School of Keystone, where I work as the school nurse. On most days, I start off at the Little School and work my way to the main campus. In my spare time, I enjoy watching sports, football is my favorite. Go Cowboys! I also help coach the little school basketball teams. I enjoy the outdoors and often go on outdoor education trips. I love what I do and plan on continuing my career in nursing for many years to come. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Phoebe Organista

Hello! My name is Phoebe (like in “Friends”).

I am a mother in a blended family of five children, ages 7-14. They are awesome, and I am lucky enough to have our four boys still engage in the home activities I create, from working with clay, to map making, to artist studies. I myself am an artist, specializing in anatomically correct bone drawings and drawing on book pages in ballpoint pen. I have made a lot of art in my life, and as a result, my home is a mini gallery (remember, my friends, there is no such thing as “no more wall space”!) I practice yoga at least four times a week, got my yoga teacher certification in September of 2022 in Peru (my first time out of the States, and it was beau-ti-ful!), and began teaching right away. I believe in the power of breath work, encouragement, and laughter.

Rather than gifts, we give our kids experiences, and have had birthdays and Christmas adventures to many a camping ground, caves, rock climbing, the beach, and to visit alpacas. Highly recommend. Reading is a central piece in our house, and we’ve read the littles (7-9) series like “Aru Shah”, “The Divide”, “Gregor the Overlander”, and “Harry Potter”, along with many stand alone books. We like to engage with the story and concepts, have had wonderful conversations, and often they will beg us to keep reading once time is up. Neil Gaiman is one of my own personal favorite authors; I drew a big piece of one of his main characters, the Corinthian, and am finishing a ballpoint pen series on book pages from his “Coraline”.

From the mouths of (our) babes: “She is joyful, has a big passion for art and yoga, and we love to read together. She is not afraid to show emotions with us, and talk about big feelings and questions together. Once she starts something, she can’t stop until it’s finished. We have two dogs—Marley, our sweet old girl, and Oliver, our crazy puppy who rings the bell all the time and loves to rip up boxes more than anything. We do a lot of training.” (So true.)

I am excited to begin a new adventure here at Keystone as the Little School yoga teacher! ♥︎

Britt Smallze

Hello! My name is Britt Smallze, and I am happy to be a part of the Little School at Keystone community as the Music Enrichment teacher. Music has always been an integral part of my entire life—I was born into a family of musicians, and I have continued to pursue studies in musicianship, musical theatre, songwriting, piano performance, and vocal performance. I am a certified Let’s Play Music teacher, and I greatly enjoy sharing my love of music with children. I have a husband, four children, and two dogs and we enjoy spending time together cooking, traveling, and of course, making music together! We have lived in many cites all over the world, but we feel a special connection to Texas—specifically the big-hearted culture of this San Antonio area, a place we feel proud to call home.