Infant and Toddler 

Kenton Programs

Preschool and Kindergarten 

Kenton Programs

Maria Ramirez

Hola, my name is Maria Ramirez. I am 23 years old and a native Spanish speaker. I am the oldest of 6. I also have a daughter named Naydyn. She’ll be 8, Dec. 23rd. I’ve been a sub for Escuela Viva for the last 6 months. I’ve also subbed at In A Child’s Path/ Wild Lilac. I’m really excited to be a part of such a close community. When I’m not at Escuela Viva, you’ll find me at home with Naydyn helping her with homework or watching a film. Naydyn and I often travel to Mexico. Most of our family lives in a state called Puebla. We also enjoy camping. (fun fact: Both Naydyn and I were born at the OHSU hospital in Portland). We love the rain, so going for walks in the rain is our thing. Overall I can be very silly when it comes to hanging out with children. I really do enjoy being around them. I always leave Escuela Viva with the biggest smile on my face.

Edith Shamrell

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My name is Edith Shamrell. I was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, but studied and lived in France, before moving to the USA.

I started my childhood education career 20 years ago while working as a Cultural and Art Counselor for French Public Schools. Since then I have worked in different language immersion preschools over the years. I`m also a certified yoga instructor, who extensively taught yoga classes for children. As the mother of two young girls, I have been involved with different Cooperative Schools as a parent educator and  have been an active volunteer in their Elementary schools. I believe that parents /teachers/ communications and teamwork are key to ensuring that children get the best learning opportunities and grow to be confident and happy adults.

Emma Grose

Hi all! My name is Emma and I'm so, so excited to join the Escuela Viva community! I started working with young children in highschool as a program aid at a summer camp that I grew up going to. I quickly realized my passion for helping young ones to grow and learn! My favorite activities to do with the kiddos is getting creative together, doing projects and letting the children explore their imaginative side, and they usually end up teaching me some cool tricks along the way with whatever materials we end up exploring with. When I’m not at school, you can usually find me drawing for hours on end and listening to true crime podcasts.

Lexi Gordon

I am thrilled to be joining the Escuela Viva community at the Wabash location. I grew up in the Portland area and have known that I wanted to be a teacher since I first started attending preschool myself. I went to pursue an education at the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Educational Foundations. While attending school I was also working as a student-teacher at the child development center on campus where I worked with children ages 6 months to 6 years old and quickly fell in love with Early Childhood Education. After completing my undergraduate degree in 2016 I immediately went on to obtain my Masters in Curriculum and Teaching with a focus on elementary education. While in my graduate program I realized just how much I missed learning from and assisting in the growth of children in early education programs. After moving back to the Portland area I started working the past few years at a local preschool until hearing about Escuela Viva from one of the current families in the Escuela Viva community. Although English is my first language I am excited to learn from my fellow teachers and learn Spanish from the children in our community, some of our greatest teachers! I am passionate about outdoor education, teaching through music and movement, and finding projects that combine children’s individual interests. Outside of school, I enjoy camping, hiking, reading, and taking care of my plants.

Angie Garcia, MSW

Multi-Site Director and Owner

Hola, my name is Angie Garcia and I am the owner and multi-site director of Escuela Viva. I was born and raised in Oregon and I am the proud granddaughter of migrant workers from Fabens Texas. They instilled in all of us the value of hardwork and the importance of getting an education, which is how I landed here.  I began my educational journey after graduating from Portland State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts and in 1997 with a Masters of Social Work. I worked in the field of Domestic Violence as a social worker.  In all of my work I have had the honor of working with an array of vulnerable populations, children, domestic violence survivors, the aging, and those in recovery. I have worked for Multnomah County managing Child Abuse Prevention contracts, and the State of Oregon as a permancy worker. When I had my first child and could not find the early childhood program I wanted for her, I started Escuela Viva in the basement of my home. We opened our doors to the first group of children in July of 2004.

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Using my life to be of service to others, is at the heart of all I do. With this in at the forefront, I created Escuela Viva's purpose statement:

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To create a highly respected revolutionary early childhood program/model that directly enhances the lives of the whole school community and contributes to the betterment of our community at large. 

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Our school community works tirelessly to this end. 

When I am not working, I am living the life of a single mama. I have two amazing children, Mayah and Eddie. 

We live in Portland, where we hike, meditate, cook and bake, garden and share a lot of love and laughter with our community of family and friends.